Why do members of parliament only have 4 minutes to return to the Senate or House to vote on a bill?
This time limit is set in the standing orders of the Senate and House of Representatives.
When members of parliament are required for a division – a counted vote – the bells ring for 4 minutes. This gives members time to get from wherever they are in Parliament House to the Senate or House in time to vote. If a second division is called straight after the first, the bells are rung again for only one minute.
Members of parliament (along with all other building occupants) are alerted to a vote being called by the bells and lights that sound and flash in the many clocks throughout the building. After the bells have finished ringing, the doors to the Senate or House are locked. Anyone who arrives after the doors are locked cannot vote in the division.
It was decided that 4 minutes is long enough for members to walk from their offices and meeting rooms in the building to the Senate or House, but short enough to avoid delaying business.
In Provisional Parliament House (now known as Old Parliament House), the bells initially only rang for 2 minutes because the building is much smaller. This increased to 3 minutes in the 1970s when an extension was added. When the new Australian Parliament House opened in 1988, members of parliament decided the bells should ring for 4 minutes due to the increased size of the building!
A clock at Parliament House
Parliamentary Education Office (peo.gov.au)
A clock at Parliament House
Parliamentary Education Office (peo.gov.au)
Description
The clocks at Australian Parliament House have red and green lights that indicate that the Senate or the House of Representatives bells are ringing. This happens to let senators and members of the House know when a vote is about to happen.
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