Parliamentary committees and inquiries

Committees are an understudied aspect of parliamentary life and the policy process. There has been no recent comprehensive review of the Australian system. Yet in terms of activity and output, committees occupy a significant proportion of the time of Members of the House of Representatives and Senators. For example, in the 43rd Parliament, there were fifteen House Committees, twenty-four Joint Committees and twenty Senate committees. Twenty were single subject Select Committees but most were standing committees with on-going oversight and investigatory roles. These issued 712 reports, averaging about 237 each year, ranging from short statements to quite lengthy reviews. This chapter offers a preliminary appraisal of committee activity – in particular, their actual and potential significance in the political and policy development process.