Page 17 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 13 February 1990
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PRIVILEGE
Statement by Speaker
MR SPEAKER: I wish to make a statement on a matter of privilege. On 25 January the presiding member of the Standing Committee on Conservation, Heritage and Environment, Dr Kinloch, gave written notice of a possible breach of privilege concerning the premature and unauthorised release of information in articles and an editorial published in the Canberra Times on 20, 21 and 25 January respectively. The articles and editorial referred to the recommendations of that committee's draft report on commercial and domestic waste management.
Under the provisions of standing order 71, I must determine whether or not the matter merits precedence over other business. If, in my opinion, the matter does merit precedence, I must inform the Assembly of the decision and the member who raised the matter may move a motion without notice forthwith to refer the matter to the Standing Committee on Administration and Procedures. The Assembly standing order 241 provides:
The evidence taken by any committee and documents presented to and proceedings and reports of the committee shall be strictly confidential and shall not be published or divulged by any member of the committee or by any other person, until the report of the committee has been presented to the Assembly: Provided always that the publication or divulging of any evidence, documents, proceedings or report confidentially to any person or persons by the committee or by any member of the committee for the execution of any clerical work or printing, or to the Speaker, a Member or, if it be necessary, in the course of their duties, to the Clerk or other officers of the Assembly, shall not be deemed to be in breach of this standing order.
Under section 24 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act the Assembly and its members and committees have the same powers, including privileges and immunities, as those for the time being held by the House of Representatives and its members and committees.
The publication of draft reports of committees before their presentation to the House of Representatives has been pursued as a matter of contempt. As Speaker, I am not required to judge whether there has been a breach of privilege or a contempt of the Assembly, I can only judge whether this matter merits precedence. Having considered the newspaper articles and Dr Kinloch's complaint, I am prepared to allow precedence to a motion to refer the matter to the Standing Committee on Administration and Procedures.
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