UQ’s TC Beirne School of Law students will be treated to a formidable double act when both the Speaker and the Deputy Clerk of the House of Representatives present guest lectures at the University of Queensland next week.
The Speaker, Mr Harry Jenkins, and the Deputy Clerk, Mr Bernard Wright, will make their presentation at 2pm on Tuesday September 1 as part of a new School of Law elective course, the Law of Political Institutions.
The visit was organised under the federal Parliament’s ‘House Calls’ scheme, by School of Law Associate Professor Nicholas Aroney and course convenor Associate Professor Graeme Orr.
Dr Nicholas Aroney said the guests would be sharing decades of practical parliamentary experience with UQ’s Law students.
“The lower houses of parliament are where governments are formed and crucial debates about our future are held. Mr Jenkins, as Speaker, will talk about what it is like to have the responsibility to oversee and regulate parliamentary debate, while Deputy Clerk Mr Wright will speak about the rules and procedures which facilitate and enhance the quality of parliamentary debate.”
The new Law of Political Institutions elective course was introduced by UQ’s School of Law in January 2009 and has attracted over 120 students in its first year.
Course Convenor Dr Graeme Orr said the course gave students an advanced understanding of how institutional and electoral politics is governed.
“This course is unique in Australia. During my 16 years in academia, which has included teaching courses for Parliamentary Clerks and founding a course on electoral regulation, there has been no course which draws together Parliamentary and electoral law for undergraduates.”
Media:
Dr Nicholas Aroney, 07 3365 3053, n.aroney@law.uq.edu.au
Dr Graeme Orr, 07 3365 3014, g.orr@law.uq.edu.au
Lynda Flower, School of Law Marketing, 07 3365 2523, l.flower@law.uq.edu.au
