Page 4083 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 24 November 1993
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AUDITOR-GENERAL - REPORT NO. 9 OF 1993
Overtime and Allowances
MADAM SPEAKER: Members, I present, for your information, the Auditor-General's report No. 9 of 1993, "Overtime and Allowances".
Motion (by Mr Berry), by leave, agreed to:
That the Assembly authorises the publication of Auditor-General's report No. 9 of 1993.
Motion (by Mr Berry) agreed to:
That the Assembly takes note of the paper.
PRIVILEGE
Statement by Speaker and Referral
MADAM SPEAKER: On 12 November the chairperson of the Select Committee on Estimates, Ms Szuty, gave written notice of a possible breach of privilege concerning the premature and unauthorised release of information in an article published in the Canberra Times on 12 November 1993. For the information of members, I table Ms Szuty's letter. The article referred to the recommendations of that committee's draft report which had not, at that stage, been presented to the Deputy Speaker for its printing and circulation. 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.
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and documents presented to and proceedings and reports of the committee shall be strictly confidential and shall not be published or divulged by any member of the committee or by any other person, until the report of the committee has been presented to the Assembly: Provided always that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 a 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.
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