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Parliamentary Privilege
6 Matters constituting contempts
Without derogating from its power to
determine that particular acts constitute contempts, the Senate declares, as a
matter of general guidance, that breaches of the following prohibitions, and
attempts or conspiracies to do the prohibited acts, may be treated by the
Senate as contempts.
Interference with the Senate
(1) A person shall not improperly
interfere with the free exercise by the Senate or a committee of its authority,
or with the free performance by a senator of the senator’s duties as a senator.
Improper
influence of senators
(2) A person shall not, by fraud,
intimidation, force or threat of any kind, by the offer or promise of any
inducement or benefit of any kind, or by other improper means, influence a
senator in the senator’s conduct as a senator or induce a senator to be absent
from the Senate or a committee.
Senators
seeking benefits etc.
(3) A senator shall not ask for, receive
or obtain, any property or benefit for the senator, or another person, on any understanding
that the senator will be influenced in the discharge of the senator’s duties,
or enter into any contract, understanding or arrangement having the effect, or
which may have the effect, of controlling or limiting the senator’s
independence or freedom of action as a senator, or pursuant to which the
senator is in any way to act as the representative of any outside body in the
discharge of the senator’s duties.
Molestation
of senators
(4) A person shall not inflict any
punishment, penalty or injury upon, or deprive of any benefit, a senator on
account of the senator’s conduct as a senator.
Disturbance
of the Senate
(5) A person shall not wilfully disturb
the Senate or a committee while it is meeting, or wilfully engage in any
disorderly conduct in the precincts of the Senate or a committee tending to
disturb its proceedings.
Service
of writs etc.
(6) A person shall not serve or execute
any criminal or civil process in the precincts of the Senate on a day on which
the Senate meets except with the consent of the Senate or of a person
authorised by the Senate to give such consent.
False
reports of proceedings
(7) A person shall not wilfully publish
any false or misleading report of the proceedings of the Senate or of a
committee.
Disobedience
of orders
(8) A person shall not, without
reasonable excuse, disobey a lawful order of the Senate or of a committee.
Obstruction
of orders
(9) A person shall not interfere with or
obstruct another person who is carrying out a lawful order of the Senate or of
a committee.
Interference
with witnesses
(10) A person shall not, by fraud,
intimidation, force or threat of any kind, by the offer or promise of any
inducement or benefit of any kind, or by other improper means, influence
another person in respect of any evidence given or to be given before the
Senate or a committee, or induce another person to refrain from giving such
evidence.
Molestation
of witnesses
(11) A person shall not inflict any
penalty or injury upon, or deprive of any benefit, another person on account of
any evidence given or to be given before the Senate or a committee.
Offences
by witnesses etc.
(12) A witness before the Senate or a
committee shall not:
(a) without reasonable excuse,
refuse to make an oath or affirmation or give some similar undertaking to tell
the truth when required to do so;
(b) without reasonable excuse,
refuse to answer any relevant question put to the witness when required to do
so; or
(c) give any evidence which
the witness knows to be false or misleading in a material particular, or which
the witness does not believe on reasonable grounds to be true or substantially
true in every material particular.
(13) A person shall not, without
reasonable excuse:
(a) refuse or fail to attend
before the Senate or a committee when ordered to do so; or
(b) refuse or fail to produce
documents, or to allow the inspection of documents, in accordance with an order
of the Senate or of a committee.
(14) A person shall not wilfully avoid
service of an order of the Senate or of a committee.
(15) A person shall not destroy, damage,
forge or falsify any document required to be produced by the Senate or by a
committee.
Unauthorised
disclosure of evidence etc.
(16) A person shall not, without the
authority of the Senate or a committee, publish or disclose:
(a) a document that has been
prepared for the purpose of submission, and submitted, to the Senate or a
committee and has been directed by the Senate or a committee to be treated as
evidence taken in private session or as a document confidential to the Senate
or the committee;
(b) any oral evidence taken by
the Senate or a committee in private session, or a report of any such oral
evidence; or
(c) any proceedings in private
session of the Senate or a committee or any report of such proceedings,
unless the Senate or a committee has
published, or authorised the publication of, that document, that oral evidence
or a report of those proceedings.
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