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Parliamentary Privilege
5 Protection of persons referred to in the Senate
(1) Where a person who has been referred
to by name, or in such a way as to be readily identified, in the Senate, makes
a submission in writing to the President:
(a) claiming that the person has been
adversely affected in reputation or in respect of dealings or associations with
others, or injured in occupation, trade, office or financial credit, or that
the person’s privacy has been unreasonably invaded, by reason of that reference
to the person; and
(b) requesting that the person be able
to incorporate an appropriate response in the parliamentary record,
if the President is satisfied:
(c) that the subject of the submission
is not so obviously trivial or the submission so frivolous, vexatious or
offensive in character as to make it inappropriate that it be considered by the
Committee of Privileges; and
(d) that it is practicable for the
Committee of Privileges to consider the submission under this resolution,
the President shall refer the submission to
that committee.
(2) The committee may decide not to
consider a submission referred to it under this resolution if the committee
considers that the subject of the submission is not sufficiently serious or the
submission is frivolous, vexatious or offensive in character, and such a
decision shall be reported to the Senate.
(3) If the committee decides to consider
a submission under this resolution, the committee may confer with the person
who made the submission and any senator who referred in the Senate to that person.
(4) In considering a submission under
this resolution, the committee shall meet in private session.
(5) The committee shall not publish a
submission referred to it under this resolution or its proceedings in relation
to such a submission, but may present minutes of its proceedings and all or
part of such submission to the Senate.
(6) In considering a submission under
this resolution and reporting to the Senate the committee shall not consider or
judge the truth of any statements made in the Senate or of the submission.
(7) In its report to the Senate on a
submission under this resolution, the committee may make either of the
following recommendations:
(a) that no further action be taken by
the Senate or by the committee in relation to the submission; or
(b) that a response by the person who
made the submission, in terms specified in the report and agreed to by the
person and the committee, be published by the Senate or incorporated in
Hansard,
and shall not make any other
recommendations.
(8) A document presented to the Senate
under paragraph (5) or (7):
(a) in the case of a response by a
person who made a submission, shall be succinct and strictly relevant to the
questions in issue and shall not contain anything offensive in character; and
(b) shall not contain any matter the
publication of which would have the effect of:
(i) unreasonably adversely affecting or
injuring a person, or unreasonably invading a person’s privacy, in the manner
referred to in paragraph (1); or
(ii) unreasonably adding to or aggravating
any such adverse effect, injury or invasion of privacy suffered by a person.
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