The Standing Committee on Agriculture is a committee of the Australian House of Representatives. The committee is a "General Purpose Standing Committee" governed by Standing Order 215. It consists of nine members, five government members and four non-government members (three members of the official opposition and one member of the crossbench). The chair is appointed by the Prime Minister and the deputy chair by the Leader of the Opposition under Standing Order 232.
History While General Purpose Standing Committees of the House of Representatives were first established in 1987, Agriculture or Primary Industries were not explicitly called out until the amendment of Standing order 28B following the election of the Howard Government in 1996. The committee has been regularly renamed since; some recent names include:
Committee Name Parliament(s) Years Primary Industries, Resources and Rural and Regional Affairs38th1996-8Primary Industries and Regional Services39th1998-2001Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry 40th and 41st2001-7Primary Industries and Resources42nd2007-2010Agriculture, Resources, Fisheries and Forestry 43rd2010-2013Agriculture and Industry44th2013-2016Agriculture and Water Resources45th to 46th2013-2022Agriculture47th2022-Present
Membership 47th Parliament In the 47th parliament (July 2022 – present), the membership of the committee is the following:
Member Party Electorate Meryl Swanson Chair Labor Division of Paterson, New South Wales Rick Wilson Deputy Chair Liberal Division of O'Connor, Western Australia Matt Burnell Labor Division of Spence, South Australia Mike Freelander Labor Division of Macarthur, New South Wales Brian Mitchell Labor Division of Lyons, Tasmania Fiona Phillips Labor Division of Gilmore, New South Wales Rebecca Sharkie Centre Alliance Division of Mayo, South Australia Aaron Violi Liberal Division of Casey, Victoria Andrew Willcox Liberal National Division of Dawson, Queensland
45th Parliament In the 45th parliament (September 2016 – 11 April 2019), the membership of the committee was the following:
Member Party Electorate Rick Wilson Chair Liberal Division of O'Connor, Western Australia Andrew Broad Nationals Division of Mallee, Victoria Joel Fitzgibbon Labor Division of Hunter, New South Wales David Gillespie Nationals Division of Lyne, New South Wales Justine Keay Labor Division of Braddon, Tasmania Matt Keogh Labor Division of Burt, Western Australia John McVeigh Liberal National Division of Groom, Queensland Nola Marino Liberal Division of Forrest, Western Australia Tony Pasin Liberal Division of Barker, South Australia Rowan Ramsey Liberal Division of Grey, South Australia Meryl Swanson Labor Division of Paterson, New South Wales
McVeigh and Broad lost their positions on the committee upon joining the Ministry, with Marino and Gillespie being elected to replace each respectively. Swanson was discharged from the committee and replaced by Fitzgibbon. Swanson was again appointed to the committee when Keay lost her seat her seat in Parliament during the parliamentary eligibility crisis. Keay regained it at the ensuing by-election, and was reappointed to the committee in the place of Fitzgibbon.
List of Chairs Member Party Electorate Parliament(s) Years Michael Ronaldson Liberal Division of Ballarat, Victoria 38th 1996 Fran Bailey Liberal Division of McEwen, Victoria 38th-39th 1996-2001 Kay Elson Liberal Division of Forde, Queensland 40th 2001-2004 Alby Schultz Liberal Division of Hume, New South Wales 41st 2004-2007 Dick Adams Labor Division of Lyons, Tasmania 42nd-43rd 2007-2013 Rowan Ramsey Liberal Division of Grey, South Australia 44th 2013-2016 Rick Wison Liberal Division of O'Connor, Western Australia 45th-46th 2016-2022 Meryl Swanson Labor Division of Paterson, New South Wales 47th 2022-present
See also Australian House of Representatives committees United States House Committee on Agriculture United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
References
External links Official website of the Australian House of Representatives