COMMITTEES

Ms BELYEA (Dunkley) (10:01): Congratulations, Mr Speaker, on your election as the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. It is an absolute amazing achievement. I present the 16th report of the Petitions Committee for the 48th parliament, together with 68 petitions and 41 ministerial responses to petitions previously presented.

The petitions being presented cover a range of topics such as the varroa mite infestations, access to nicotine pouches, blood donations and visa processing. There are currently 58 petitions open for signatures on the house e-petitions website on matters such as aged-care assessments, visas, an Australian bill of rights and targeted online advertising. Further certifications will follow at the committee's next meeting.

To those people looking to submit a petition, as the chair I would like to remind people to make sure when they prepare a petition they are sending it to the right level of government. Nearly 50 per cent of the petitions we receive are for state, territory and local governments. Because these e-petitions are being sent to the incorrect level of government, unfortunately they are deemed out of order.

In the next month, the committee and I will be tabling a report including a range of recommendations to ensure there is more information on petitions website so that we receive the right petitions for the right level of government. Thank you, Mr Speaker, and, once again, congratulations. I look forward to providing the House with further updates on the work of the Petitions Committee.