For the sitting period 25 August-4 September
1997
PRIVELEGE (1): PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO
SENATORS
In its 67th report, presented on 3 September, the Privileges
Committee found that a contempt had been committed by the taking of
legal action against a person for provision of information by the
person to a senator for use in proceedings in the Senate. The
committee found that the legal action was taken primarily to punish
the person for giving information to a senator for the purpose of
its use in Senate proceedings.
This report is highly significant in identifying circumstances
in which the provision of information to a senator may be protected
by the Senate's contempt jurisdiction. While the report provides an
analysis of the relevant issues, it refrains from expressing any
view about whether the provision of information to a senator, in
these or other circumstances, is also protected against legal
action by the law of parliamentary privilege, so that a court would
dismiss such an action on the basis of that law.
The committee did not recommend any penalty against the
offender, but recommended that the Senate allow the legal
proceedings to take their course.
The committee found that related legal proceedings, actual or
threatened, against other persons and against the senator concerned
did not constitute contempts.
On 4 September the committee received another reference from the
Senate raising similar issues. Documents laid before the Senate by
the President contain a complaint by an academic that a university
has initiated disciplinary proceedings against him because of his
communication of information to a senator who subsequently laid
that information before the Senate.
PRIVILEGE (2): STATE INQUIRIES
The President also tabled, on 25 August, documents relating to a
request by the parliamentary committee of the Queensland Parliament
which oversees the Criminal Justice Commission in that state, that
the Senate investigate a statement made to a Senate committee by
the Criminal Justice Commission. The Queensland committee had
proposed to investigate this statement itself but was advised,
correctly, that it could not inquire into the truth of a statement
made to a Senate committee because that statement was the subject
of federal parliamentary privilege, preventing any court or
tribunal, including a state parliamentary committee, from inquiring
into it.
In response to the Queensland committee's request, the President
had suggested that the committee inquire into the facts and
circumstances referred to in the statement rather than the truth of
the statement itself, but the Queensland committee was not willing
to follow this course and pressed its request for an inquiry by the
Senate.
At the end of the sitting fortnight no action had been taken in
the Senate on the Queensland committee's request.
LEGISLATION AMENDED, REJECTED
The Productivity Commission Bill 1997 and a related bill, which
are designed to restructure advice to government on industry
matters, were rejected by the Senate at the 3rd reading on 3
September after they had been extensively amended in committee of
the whole. The vote indicated a view on the part of the majority of
the Senate that, notwithstanding the acceptance by the government
of several amendments, the bills were still unacceptable.
On the following day the government gave notice of a motion to
revive the bills at the 3rd reading, indicating that some
compromise may yet be reached.
The Constitutional Convention (Election) Bill 1997 (see Bulletin
No. 116, pp 3-4) was finally accepted by the Senate on 28 August.
The Senate did not insist on its amendments, again disagreed to by
the government in the House of Representatives, for the replacement
of a voluntary postal ballot with a compulsory attendance ballot.
Instead, the Senate made a further amendment to the bill in the
nature of a declaratory provision stating the Parliament's
intention that the voting system not be a precedent for any other
elections or referendums. This result was achieved when Senators
Brown and Harradine decided to vote to allow the convention to go
ahead, Senator Brown explaining that this was not what the
government wished! The Chair of Committees, Senator West, made a
statement on 27 August about the implications of equally divided
votes on the future treatment of the Senate's amendments to the
bill, but this circumstance did not arise.
The Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (No. 3) 1997, relating to a
number of taxation matters, was significantly amended on 25 August.
The government disagreed with the amendments in the House of
Representatives but the bill had not been considered again at the
end of the period.
The Excise Tariff Amendment Bill 1997 was amended on 27 August,
one amendment being designed to close a tax loophole and preserve
government revenue, which the government did not wish to do because
it thought that the amendment might be interpreted as a new tax.
The amendment related to clarification of the nature of beverages
subjected to excise tax.
MINISTERIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
Considerable time was taken on 3 and 4 September by statements
by the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth
Affairs, Senator Vanstone, in relation to the awarding of a
contract which had been examined in estimates hearings. Senator
Vanstone had undertaken to provide further explanation relating to
the circumstances surrounding the contract, and Senator Faulkner
had pressed for an early response by the minister.
Apart from providing an example of the government giving an
account of its conduct of administration, this incident illustrated
other matters of significance in recent times: the interest of the
Senate in ensuring that the awarding of contracts is properly
conducted, the insistence of senators that the contracting out of
services does not remove the provision of the services from
parliamentary scrutiny, and the scrutiny of contractors extending
beyond their price and fulfilment of the contract.
COMMUNICATION OF RESOLUTION TO HOUSE
On 28 August the device of a motion to communicate a Senate
resolution to the House of Representatives was again used in a
attempt to compel the government to respond to a particular issue.
The Senate passed a resolution concerning tariffs in the textile,
clothing and footwear industries, and then employed the procedure
in standing order 154 to have the resolution communicated to the
House.
The government gagged debate on the Senate's resolution when it
was reported in the House on 1 September. Even this, however, may
be regarded as achieving the desired aim.
ODGERS' AUSTRALIAN SENATE PRACTICE
The 8th edition of Odgers' Australian Senate Practice
has been released and is available in hard copy and on the Internet
and the Intranet. The volume is updated to 30 June 1997.
COMMITTEES
Date tabled
|
Committee
|
Title
|
25.8
|
Community Standards Relevant to the
Supply of Services Utilising Electronic Technologies |
Document-Regulation of Computer
On-line Services: Part 3 |
"
|
Environment, Recreation,
Communications and the Arts Legislation |
Additional Information-Additional
Estimates 1996-97 |
"
|
Community Affairs Legislation |
Additional Information-Estimates
1997-98 |
"
|
Rural and Regional Affairs and
Transport Legislation |
Estimates 1997-98 |
27.8
|
Scrutiny of Bills |
11th Report and Alert Digest No. 10 of
1997 |
1.9
|
Superannuation |
25th Report-Superannuation
Schemes-Judges and Parliamentarians |
"
|
Legal and Constitutional
Legislation |
Additional Information-Estimates
1997-98 |
"
|
National Crime Authority |
Annual Report 1996-97 |
2.9
|
Employment, Education and Training
Legislation |
Additional Information-Additional
Estimates 1996-97 |
2.9
|
Employment, Education and Training
Legislation |
Additional Information-Estimates
1997-98 |
3.9
|
Privileges |
67th Report-Possible threats of legal
proceedings against a senator and other persons |
"
|
Scrutiny of Bills |
Alert Digest No. 11 of 1997 |
4.9
|
Appropriations and Staffing |
27th Report-Transfer of responsibility
for the administration of senators' travelling allowances |
"
|
Employment, Education and Training
Legislation |
Report-Annual Reports |
"
|
Regulations and Ordinances |
Conference Paper-Scrutiny by the
committee of regulations providing for the leasing of Commonwealth
airports |
"
|
Employment, Education and Training
Legislation |
Report-Vocational Education and
Training Funding Amendment Bill 1997 |
"
|
Rural and Regional Affairs and
Transport Legislation |
Additional Information-Estimates
1997-98 |
Inquiries: Clerk's
Office
Ph: (02) 6277 3364