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(詳細はAustralian parliament was convened in 1974, in which members of the Senate and House of Representatives sat together as a single legislative body. The joint sitting was held on 6 and 7 August 1974, following the double dissolution 1974 federal election, and remains the only time that members of both houses of the federal parliament have sat together as a single legislative body pursuant to section 57 of the Constitution. This sitting deliberated and voted upon the following bills: *''Commonwealth Electoral Bill (No. 2) 1973'', which sought to make Commonwealth electorates more even in size by reducing the allowable quota variation from 20 per cent to 10 per cent *''Senate (Representation of Territories) Bill 1973'', which gave the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory two senators each *''Representation Bill 1973'', which stated that neither the people of the territories nor the territory senators could be included in the formula for determining the number of House seats for each state *''Health Insurance Bill 1973'', which was the main bill that established Medibank (now known as Medicare) *''Health Insurance Commission Bill 1973'', which established the Medibank administrative agency the Health Insurance Commission (now known as Medicare Australia) *''Petroleum and Minerals Authority Bill 1973'', which was included despite some uncertainty as to whether the provisions of s.57 had been met. This established a statutory body to control the exploration for, and development of, petroleum and mining resources All six bills were affirmed by an absolute majority of the total number of members and senators, a requirement under the Constitution for the bills to pass. All proceedings of the joint sitting were broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Commission and a complete sound record was made for archival purposes. This would be the first Australian television coverage of parliamentary debates.〔(Odgers ''Australian Senate Practice'' ), chapter 21〕 ==Political background== In early 1974, the conservative parties led by Billy Snedden had chosen to use their majority in the Senate to oppose key government legislation. As the Senate had rejected the bills twice, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam advised a double dissolution under section 57 of the Constitution. The Governor-General Sir Paul Hasluck agreed, and on 18 May an election for both houses of parliament was held. Campaigning for the Labor Party, Whitlam asked the electorate to let him "finish the job" and used the slogan "Give Gough a Go". The Liberal and Country parties focused their campaign on government mismanagement and the state of the economy. The Labor Party was returned with a slightly reduced majority in the House of Representatives and, crucially, still without the Senate majority it required to pass the legislation in question. The new parliament convened on 9 July. On 11 July, Sir Paul Hasluck's term as Governor-General ended, and Sir John Kerr was sworn in. The legislation was reintroduced, but, as expected, it again failed to pass the Senate. Now, all the constitutional requirements for a joint sitting had been met. At Whitlam's request, on 30 July Sir John Kerr issued a proclamation convening the joint sitting. The coalition parties sought to prevent the joint sitting by challenging its constitutional validity in the High Court. The writs were issued by Senator Sir Magnus Cormack (Lib) and Senator Jim Webster (CP) on 1 August. The Queensland government also brought an action, although it sought a narrower declaration. The court delivered a unanimous decision on 5 August (''(Cormack v Cope )'' (1974) 131 CLR 432) and ruled that the sitting was constitutionally valid. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Joint Sitting of the Australian Parliament of 1974」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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