Plenary Sessions

An open forum

Decisions are taken by the State Parliament in the Chamber where all the MPs meet and discuss bills. The Chamber is the venue for political debate and the forum at which important political statements are made by parliamentary groups and the government.

Verbatim minutes of parliamentary proceedings – which are always open to the public – are recorded by the official stenographer. The minutes of proceedings and consultative papers (parliamentary journals and publications) are all made available to the general public.

Proceedings in the Chamber are chaired by the President or one of the Vice-Presidents. The President is flanked by two MPs who act as recording clerks and provide support maintaining order and directing voting proceedings. When deciding who should be called to speak in a debate the President must not only take account of the order in which requests to speak have been received, but must also try to ensure that a balance of political views is represented during a debate. Official spokesmen or women of the government must be called to speak on request even if they are not included on the list of speakers or in the agenda. Details are governed by the State Parliament's standing orders.