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Chapter 2

Parliamentary Privilege: immunities and powers of the Senate

Contents

• Parliamentary privilege and the Senate
• Constitutional basis
• Privileges: immunities
• Relationship between immunities and powers
• Immunities and powers part of ordinary law
• Executive privilege
• Immunities of the Houses
  • Immunity of proceedings from impeachment and question
  • Statutory declaration of freedom of speech: background of the 1987 Act
  • Effect of the 1987 Act
  • Is the 1987 Act too restrictive?
  • Activities incidental to proceedings
  • Repetition of parliamentary statements
  • Provision of information to members
  • Subpoenas, search warrants and members
  • Prosecution of members
  • Circulation of petitions
  • Freedom of speech in state parliaments
  • Other tribunals
  • Parliamentary privilege and statutory secrecy provisions
  • Preparation and publication of documents
  • Qualified privilege
  • Minor immunities
  • Detention of senators
• Powers of the Houses
  • Power of the Houses to determine their own constitution
  • Power to conduct inquiries
  • Rights of witnesses
  • Power to punish contempts
  • Statutory definition of contempt
  • Defamation of the Houses and their members
  • Matters constituting contempts
  • Contempts and criminal offences
  • Criticisms of the power of the Houses to deal with contempts
  • Should the power to deal with contempts be transferred to the courts?
  • Penalties for contempts
• Procedural Matters
  • Raising of matters of privilege
  • “Waiver” of privilege
  • Proceedings before the Privileges Committee
  • Abuse of parliamentary immunity: right of reply
  • Reference to Senate proceedings in court proceedings
• Parliamentary Precincts
  • Police powers in the precincts

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