George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I understand that Senator Wong has given notice that she will move tomorrow that the matters to which Senator Conroy has adverted be referred to the Senate Privileges Committee for inquiry and report. That is the appropriate course of action, and the government will be supporting that motion. It will then be for the Privileges Committee to determine the appropriate course and, in doing so, to determine its own procedure for investigating the nature of the documents, the nature of the claims and the nature of some of the assertions that are being made in relation to this matter.

The issue raises not one but two important principles. As Senator Conroy has rightly said, it raises the matter of the privilege of the Senate. It is not the privilege of individual senators; it is the privilege of the Senate, as Senator Conroy has rightly said. That is an ancient privilege recognised by section 49 of our Constitution, which provides:

The powers, privileges, and immunities of the Senate and of the House of Representatives, and of the members and the committees of each House, shall be such as are declared by the Parliament, and until declared shall be those of the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom, and of its members and committees, at the establishment of the Commonwealth.

That was the law of Australia from 1901 until 1987, when this parliament passed the Parliamentary Privilege Act, which currently, as interpreted by the courts and by parliamentary practice, governs the matter. That is, as Senator Conroy has rightly said, a high and important principle integral to the functioning of this parliament. In this case it is set in tension with another high and important principle, and that is the due and proper administration of the criminal justice system by those officers charged with its administration—in this case, officers of the Australian Federal Police. It will be for the Privileges Committee to determine the facts of the case, to determine the appropriate course and to determine what steps, if any, the Senate should now take.