The Forum > General Discussion > Four Weeks is Not Enough to E-Petition the House of Representatives
Four Weeks is Not Enough to E-Petition the House of Representatives
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Posted by 4WeeksIsNotEnough, Thursday, 19 October 2017 3:46:34 PM
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Any online petition (e-petition) to the House of Representatives has to happen via the APH.Gov.Au system (https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Petitions/House_of_Representatives_Petitions/Petitions_General/Petitions_List ). Unfortunately though, e-petitions to the House of Representatives are only active for 4 weeks. Whilst some petitions are able and needed to be completed in a short space of time many need to have much time to properly reach their desired target. E-petitions are greatly restricted from adequately being campaigned and promoted as well as neither gaining enough signatures to be successful. Signees also don’t necessarily have enough time to regularly visit and reflect on e-petitions.
This stands in contrast to other petitioning practices. One can run a paper petition for as long as one likes. The ACT, Queensland, Tasmananian, and Victorian Parliaments e-petitions system all have a maximum of six months. This is a more desired length of time to allow people time to campaign and properly sign.
At the moment the House of Representatives Petitions Committee is currently conducting an Inquiry into E-Petitions. Although submissions have closed it is still possible to contribute by participating in the Inquiry Survey, which allows a short input at the end (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/epetitions). Guiding the Petitions system to the usage desires of Australians is beneficial for it to be in the national interest.
This week I’m running a Twitter survey about if people think the House of Representatives’ maximum active period of e-petitions should be extended (https://twitter.com/4WeeksNotEnough/status/919455404865634304). Any input is welcome.
Making the e-petitions system the most functional and supportive of Australians is important for political advocacy.