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Procedural Orders of Continuing Effect
Committees
2 Disclosure of minority or dissenting reports
(1) For the reasons, and bearing in mind
the considerations, set out in paragraph (2), the Senate resolves and reaffirms
that prior to the printing of a committee report a member or a group of members
of the committee is not required to disclose to the committee any minority or
dissenting report or any relevant conclusions and recommendations which the
member or group of members proposes to add or attach to the report after it has
been agreed to by the committee.
(2) The reasons and considerations
referred to in paragraph (1) are:
(a) the clear terms of standing order
38(2) which confers on committee members the right to add or attach minority or
dissenting reports, conclusions or recommendations “after” the draft report has
been agreed to by the committee;
(b) the conclusions of the Procedure
Committee that committee members “are not obliged to disclose minority reports
to other members” and have a “right not to disclose their minority reports”
(First Report of 1995);
(c) the need to protect the integrity of
the right of a minority group to dissent from the “agreed” report of a majority
group; and
(d) the need to recognise that use of
procedures, practices or guidelines designed in effect to make the majority
report provisional until the minority report is seen and dissected by the
majority group, completely undermines the right of a minority to express its
dissent from the “agreed” report of a majority group.
(3) This order is of continuing effect.
(22 November 1995
J.4198)
3 Unauthorised
disclosure of committee proceedings, documents or evidence
The Senate adopts the procedures, as
outlined in the 20th report of the Committee of Privileges tabled on
21 December 1989, to be followed by committees in respect of matters on
which such committees may wish action to be taken:
(1)
(a) a committee affected by any
unauthorised disclosure of proceedings or documents of, or evidence before,
that committee shall seek to discover the source of the disclosure, including
by the chair of the committee writing to all members and staff asking them if
they can explain the disclosure;
(b) the committee concerned should come
to a conclusion as to whether the disclosure had a tendency substantially to
interfere with the work of the committee or of the Senate, or actually caused
substantial interference;
(c) if the committee concludes that
there has been potential or actual substantial interference it shall report to
the Senate and the matter may be raised with the President by the chair of the
committee, in accordance with standing order 81.
(2) Nothing in this resolution affects
the right of a senator to raise a matter of privilege under standing order 81.
(3) This order is of continuing effect.
(20 June 1996 J.361)
4 Unauthorised
disclosure of committee proceedings
(1) The Senate confirms that any
disclosure of evidence or documents submitted to a committee, of documents
prepared by a committee, or of deliberations of a committee, without the
approval of the committee or of the Senate, may be treated by the Senate as a
contempt.
(2) The Senate reaffirms its resolution
of 20 June 1996, relating to procedures to be followed by committees in cases
of unauthorised disclosure of committee proceedings.
(3) The Senate provides the following
guidelines to be observed by committees in applying that resolution, and
declares that the Senate will observe the guidelines in determining whether to
refer a matter to the Committee of Privileges:
1. Unless there are particular circumstances involving
actual or potential substantial interference with the work of a committee or of
the Senate, the following kinds of unauthorised disclosure should not be raised
as matters of privilege:
(a) disclosure of a
committee report in the time between the substantial conclusion of the
committee's deliberations on the report and its presentation to the Senate;
(b) disclosure of
other documents prepared by a committee and not published by the committee,
where the committee would have published them, or could appropriately have
published them, in any event, or where they contain only research or
publicly-available material, or where their disclosure is otherwise
inconsequential;
(c) disclosure of
documents and evidence submitted to a committee and not published by the
committee, where the committee would have published them, or could
appropriately have published them, in any event;
(d) disclosure of
private deliberations of a committee where the freedom of the committee to
deliberate is unlikely to be significantly affected.
2. The following kinds of unauthorised
disclosure are those for which the contempt jurisdiction of the Senate should
primarily be reserved, and which should therefore be raised as matters of
privilege:
(a) disclosure
of documents or evidence submitted to a committee where the committee has
deliberately decided to treat the documents or evidence as in camera material,
for the protection of witnesses or others, or because disclosure would
otherwise be harmful to the public interest;
(b) disclosure of documents
prepared by a committee where that involves disclosure of material of the kind
specified in paragraph (a);
(c) disclosure of private
deliberations of a committee where that involves disclosure of that kind of
material, or significantly impedes the committee's freedom to deliberate.
3. An unauthorised
disclosure not falling into the categories in guidelines 1 and 2 should not be
raised as a matter of privilege unless it involves actual or potential
substantial interference with the work of a committee or of the Senate.
4. When considering any
unauthorised disclosure of material in the possession of a committee, the
committee should consider whether there was any substantive reason for not
publishing that material.
(4) Before deciding to raise a matter of
privilege involving possible unauthorised disclosure of committee proceedings,
any committee may seek the guidance of the Committee of Privileges as to
whether a matter should be pursued. If the committee decides that such a matter
should be raised, it must consult with the Committee of Privileges before
taking the matter further.
(5) When applying this resolution a
committee shall have regard to the matters set out in paragraphs 3.43 to 3.59
of the 122nd Report of the Committee of Privileges, June 2005.
(17 September 2007 J.4388)
Note: Sessional
order agreed to on 6 October 2005 J.1201.
5 Joint committee documents – disclosure
The disclosure of evidence or documents of
joint committees is authorised by the President of the Senate and the Speaker
of the House of Representatives under the same conditions as are provided in
standing order 37.
(6 September 1984
J.1086)
Note: Adopted
by the Senate on 6 September 1984. Concurred with by the House of
Representatives in relation to joint committees on 11 October 1984, message
reported in the Senate on 16 October 1984.
6 Witnesses’ expenses
In relation to the payment of witnesses’
expenses, if departments, or any other bodies, pay the expenses of other
witnesses, this fact should be made known to the committees concerned, so that
the committees are not misled as to the position of the witnesses and the
status of their evidence.
(29 April 1999 J.815)
7 Reference
of Tax Expenditures Statement to committees considering estimates
The annual Tax Expenditures Statement
stands referred to legislative and general purpose standing committees for
consideration by the committees during their examination of the estimates of
government expenditure under standing order 26.
(11 May 2004 J.3377, amended 14 August 2006: with effect from
11 September 2006 J.2481)
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