Petitions
A Petition is a request made to the House of Assembly for redress of a grievance – for the assistance of the House in addressing a problem. Petitions are presented by Members of the House of Assembly on behalf of the petitioners. However, a Member is not obliged to present a Petition. Citizens may use the attached template in collecting names for petitions. It is recommended that the prayer of the Petition appear on every page above the signatures of the petitioners. The wording should be temperate and respectful of the House. If a Petition is not in order it might be rejected by the Speaker. It is, therefore, important to ensure that a Petition is properly worded. It must also relate to a matter within the jurisdiction of the House. For example, a Petition to the House of Assembly should relate to matters within provincial jurisdiction. The Petition must be addressed to the House of Assembly, not to Government. Petitions usually call on the House to request Government to address the matter to which the petition relates. For example, the prayer of the Petition might read:"We the undersigned residents of Sandy Bay call upon the House of Assembly to urge Government to build a new breakwater in the community."