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Indexes to Parliamentary Debates (Hansards)
- Overview
- Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates
- NSW Parliamentary Debates
- Need further help?
- See also Government Publications guide
- See also Government Information guide
Overview
Parliamentary debates are transcripts of parliamentary proceedings (ie. they provide a verbatim record of what was said in Parliament). The transcripts are commonly known as 'Hansard', after the name of the original publisher of these volumes).
Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates
These began in 1901 with the Federation of Australia.
On the Web:
| Years | Title/details |
|---|---|
| 1981+ | Parliament of Australia Hansard - Browse fulltext of House of Representatives and Senate Hansards by parliamentary sitting date 1981+ |
| 1981+ | ParlInfo Web (Australian Parliamentary Information) - Search fulltext of Hansard 1981+ |
In the Library:
Indexes are available within the hard copy volumes listed in the table below.
| Years | Title/details | Format/location/call number |
|---|---|---|
| 1901-1953 | Parliamentary Debates of the Senate and the House of Representatives (issued in one combined volume until March 1953) | Hard copy in Level 2 Compactus at C 328.9402/1 |
| 1953+ | House of Representatives Hansard (issued in green bound volumes from 1962+) | Hard copy in Level 2 Compactus at C 328.9402/2 |
| 1953+ | Senate Hansard (issued in red bound volumes from 1962+) | Hard copy in Level 2 at Compactus at C 328.9402/3 |
Search Tip: Using the Commonwealth Hansard Index:
Hansard normally has two indexes for each parliamentary session. These are usually located in the back of the last bound volume published for the relevant session.
1. Indexes to Speeches - entries listed under speaker's name
2. Indexes to Subjects - entries listed under broad categories including:
- Bills
- Parliament (Committees)
- Parliament (Reports)
- name of responsible authority/government department (eg. for war related discussions see subheadings under 'Defence')
For more information on using Hansard indexes see pp. 123-132 of The Guide to Government Publications in Australia (1990) (Law Lending - KZ/015.94053/Har/1)
NSW Parliamentary Debates
Official volumes of parliamentary debates have been formally published from 1879/80 onwards. The parliamentary debates of years prior to 1879, however, were reported in the NSW colony's main newspaper, the Sydney Morning Herald. Many early years of NSW debates have now been digitised (see below).
On the Web:
| Years | Title/details |
|---|---|
| 1843-1880 | Parliament of NSW Records of Legislative Proceedings - Browse or search fulltext 'Reports of Parliamentary Debates' from the Sydney Morning Herald 1843-80 |
| 1881-1987 | No online index available - use hard copy indexes listed in table below |
| 1981+ | Parliament of NSW Hansard & Papers - Search or browse fulltext of Hansard by parliamentary sitting date 1981+ |
| 1991+ | Parliament of NSW Hansard Indexes - Browse fulltext of Hansard by alphabetical list of Bills, Speakers or Subjects September 1991+ |
In the Library:
Indexes are available within the microfiche and hard copy volumes listed in the table below.
| Years | Title/details | Format/location/call number |
|---|---|---|
| 1831-1879 | Sydney Morning Herald 'Reports of Parliamentary Debates' | SMH on microfilm in Newspaper Collection (Media room Ground Level) at N 079.944/3 |
| 1856-1880 | NSW Index to Parliamentary Debates (Sydney Morning Herald). Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly - First to Ninth Parliaments, comprising the period from 22 May 1856 to 9 November 1880 (ie. an index to above reports published in SMH) | Index on microfiche (in black folder) in Law Primary Collection (Ground Level) at KH/62.2/New) |
| 1879-2004 | NSW Parliamentary Debates. Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly (issued in bound volumes) | Hard copy in Level 2 Journals at 328.94406/1 (note: UOW holdings are incomplete) |
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