Peter Andren was elected as the first independent member to represent
the Federal seat of Calare in March 1996. He is one of three
independents, with Tony Windsor and Bob Katter, currently in
the House of Representatives.
Peter is committed to due parliamentary process and firmly believes
that the House of Representatives should be the chamber for the
voice of the Australian people, and not an empty vessel for
party rhetoric.
While much legislation is non-contentious day-to-day ‘housekeeping’,
Peter takes the issue of voting on legislation very seriously and
views every one of his votes on a piece of legislation as a conscience
vote.
Peter will not vote blindly on legislation he knows nothing about – thus
works very hard to be aware of whether each bill deserves further
attention.
Consequently Peter’s votes are based on thorough research,
discussion with expert opinion, consultation with his electorate
and serious consideration.
Unlike party MPs, Peter is not dependent on party policy to determine
his vote and every issue stands on its own merits. This is the
value of an independent.
APH Website
The best way to search for Peter's contribution to the Parliament
on any issue is to search the Hansard on the Australian Parliamentary
database.
The Hansard is the official record of Parliamentary proceedings.
It includes speeches, motions, Private Members Bills, Questions on
Notice and Questions Without Notice, votes, petitions etc.
You can search the Parliamentary database by going to the Australia
Parliament House website. It's easiest to follow
the ParlInfo tab
at the bottom of the page, and then follow the prompts for your search.
To find Peter’s contributions, choose the Chamber collection
and then choose House of Representatives Hansard.
The APH website is a terrific resource for information about parliamentary
processes, Members and Senators, and of course about introduced legislation
(bills). The Information & Research link, with the further link
to Parliamentary
Library Publications will take you to information
about current issues and introduced legislation.
The Who’s Who link will provide details about Members and
Senators and their contact details.
Links on the Education page of the aph website take you to information
about things like Australia's political system, how the Parliament
works and legislation is made etc.
You can view Acts (legislation that has become law) at www.comlaw.gov.au where you need to search for Act Compilations for the most up-to-date
version of that legislation.
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