For the sitting period 22 September-2
October 1997
PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE
By adopting the 67th report of the Privileges Committee (see
Bulletin No. 117, p 1) on 22 September, the Senate endorsed
the conclusion of the committee that a contempt was committed by
the taking of legal action against a person in consequence of their
communication of information to a senator in relation to matters
raised in the Senate. No action was taken to impede the legal
proceedings, which, as they appear to rely entirely on proceedings
in the Senate, should not succeed.
The Privileges Committee received a reference on 2 October on
the question of whether the Attorney-General interfered with a
witness in his dealings with the Australian Law Reform Commission
in respect of its proposed submission to the Joint Committee on
Native Title. The Commission declined an invitation, which had
earlier been accepted, to make a submission to the committee after
a communication from the Attorney-General. The reference was
resisted by the government on the basis that the Attorney-General
had merely sought to confine the Commission to its statutory
charter, and has a power to direct the Commission. In granting the
matter precedence, the President pointed out that the Privileges
Committee and the Senate had endorsed in the past the principle
that an otherwise lawful act can constitute a contempt if it
interferes with a witness in respect of the witness's evidence.
(See also under Orders for production of documents, below.)
ORDERS FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS
Orders for production of documents again provided an index of
matters of controversy.
An order was made on 23 September for documents relating to the
Pacific Cruise Lines matter, which involved the loss of a
considerable sum of money in an employment training contract.
Documents relating to the matter were produced in batches in
response to the order on 29 and 30 September.
An order made on 29 September related to the government's
greenhouse gas emission reduction policy, particularly the
government's claims as to the effects of binding emission reduction
targets. Documents in relation to this order were produced on 30
September.
The matter of the Attorney-General and the Australian Law Reform
Commission (see above, under Parliamentary privilege) was the
subject of an order for documents on 1 October, with a very short
time for production. The documents produced on the following day
included the draft submission of the Commission to the Native Title
Committee.
LEGISLATION AMENDED
The Legislative Instruments Bill, which is designed to reform
the provisions governing the making and parliamentary control of
delegated legislation, was finally passed on 25 September with
extensive amendments, principally relating to the strengthening of
parliamentary control. A significant amendment removed the
exclusive power of the Attorney-General to determine whether an
instrument is of a legislative character.
The audit package of bills, to replace the existing audit
legislation and to reconstitute the office of the Auditor-General,
was also finally passed. One of the Senate's amendments was
designed to prevent the Attorney-General issuing a certificate
restraining the Auditor-General from disclosing certain information
where the information is required by a House of the Parliament or a
parliamentary committee. The government rejected this amendment in
the House of Representatives on the grounds that Attorney-General's
certificates would be made known to the Parliament and a similar
power had not been extensively used in the past. The Senate did not
insist on this amendment on 2 October to allow the legislation to
pass.
The Senate also did not insist on one of its amendments to the
Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (No. 3) 1997 (see Bulletin No. 117, p
3). The amendment was finally lost by equally divided votes, a
situation on which the Chair of Committees has made a number of
statements in recent times but which had not occurred until this
instance (see Odgers' Australian Senate Practice, 8th ed,
p 262).
The Telecommunications (Interception) and Listening Device
Amendment Bill 1997 was amended on 24 and 25 September after
lengthy discussion of the vexed question of whether warrants for
telephone tapping should be issued only by judicial officers.
The Social Security and Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment
(Family and Other Measures) Bill 1997 was the subject of
significant amendments on 25 September. Some of the amendments made
by the Senate to the Social Security and Veterans' Affairs
Legislation Amendment (Male Total Average Weekly Earnings
Benchmark) Bill 1997 were made in the form of requests as they
increased entitlements under the bill and therefore expenditure
from the standing appropriation of the principal act.
The Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Bill 1996 was amended on 22
September in relation to Australian consumer protection law
applying to trans-Tasman trade.
REPORT RECONSIDERED
The question for the adoption of the 27th report of the
Appropriations and Staffing Committee was considered and put again
by leave on 25 September after some senators complained that the
motion had been adopted in haste on the earlier presentation of the
report. The report recommended that responsibility for all payment
of travelling allowance for senators be centralised in the
Department of Administrative Services on the basis that it would be
easier to enforce accountability with such centralisation, a claim
from which some senators dissented. The report was adopted
again.
VACANCIES
Two vacancies which occurred while the Senate was not sitting
were speedily filled and the replacing senators sworn in on the
first day of the sitting period. Senator Childs was replaced by
Senator George Campbell by the Parliament of New South Wales and
Senator Foreman by Senator Quirke by the Governor of South
Australia (the Parliament of South Australia having been prorogued
for the state general election).
The place occupied by Senator Colston is effectively vacant
until the end of the year, as he was granted leave of absence due
to illness on 22 September. This alters and simplifies the balance
of numbers in the Senate: all non-government senators must now vote
together to form a clear majority.
COMMITTEES
The following committee reports were presented during the
period:
Date tabled |
Committee |
Title |
22.9 |
Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Legislation |
Report—Annual Reports |
23.9 |
Economics Legislation |
Report—Annual Reports |
" |
Finance and Public Administration Legislation |
Report—Annual Reports |
" |
Legal and Constitutional Legislation |
Report—Annual Reports |
" |
Privileges |
68th Report—Persons referred to in the
Senate (Mr Ray Platt, Mr Peter Mulheron) |
" |
Superannuation |
26th Report—Small Superannuation
Accounts |
" |
Finance and Public Administration Legislation |
Additional Information—Estimates
1996-97 |
" |
Finance and Public Administration Legislation |
Additional Information—Additional Estimates
1996-97 |
" |
Finance and Public Administration Legislation |
Additional Information—Estimates
1997-98 |
" |
Legal and Constitutional Legislation |
Additional Information—Additional Estimates
1996-97 |
" |
Legal and Constitutional Legislation |
Additional Information—Estimates
1997-98 |
24.9 |
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
Legislation |
Additional Information—Estimates
1997-98 |
" |
Scrutiny of Bills |
12th Report and Alert Digest No. 12 of 1997 |
25.9 |
Community Affairs Legislation |
Report—Health Insurance Commission (Reform
and Separation of Functions) Bill 1997 |
29.9 |
Environment, Recreation, Communications and the
Arts Legislation |
Report—Annual Reports |
1.10 |
Scrutiny of Bills |
13th Report and Alert Digest No. 13 of 1997 |
" |
Community Affairs References |
Report—Australian Human Pituitary Hormone
Program Settlement Offer |
" |
Economics Legislation |
Report—Customs Legislation (Anti-Dumping)
Amendment Bill 1997 and Customs Tariff (Anti-Dumping) Amendment
Bill 1997 |
2.10 |
Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport
Legislation |
Reports—Annual Reports |
" |
Finance and Public Administration Legislation |
Report—Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Bill 1997
and Snowy Hydro Corporatisation (Consequential Amendments) Bill
1997 |
" |
Finance and Public Administration Legislation |
Report—Public Service Bill 1997 and the
Public Employment (Consequential and Transitional) Amendment Bill
1997 |
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