Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House:In considering any matter referred to it which may involve, or give rise to any allegation of, a contempt, the Committee of Privileges and Members’ Interests shall observe the procedures set out in this resolution, in addition to any procedures adopted by the House for the protection of witnesses before committees. Where this resolution is inconsistent with any such procedures adopted by the House for the protection of witnesses, this resolution shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.

(1)

Any person who is the subject of proposed investigation by the committee must be notified in advance of the specific nature of the allegations made against them, preferably formulated as a specific charge, or if this is not possible, of the general nature of the issues being investigated, in order to allow them to respond.

(2)

The committee shall extend to that person all reasonable opportunity and time to respond to such allegations and charges by:

(a)

making written submission to the committee;

(b)

giving evidence before the committee;

(c)

having other evidence placed before the committee; and

(d)

having witnesses examined before the committee.

(3)

Where oral evidence is given containing any allegation against, or reflecting adversely on, a person, the committee shall ensure that that person is present during the hearing of that evidence, subject to a discretion to exclude the person when proceedings are held in private, and shall afford all reasonable opportunity for that person, by counsel or personally, to examine witnesses in relation to that evidence.

(4)

A person appearing before the committee may be accompanied by counsel, and shall be given all reasonable opportunity to consult counsel during that appearance.

(5)

A witness shall not be required to answer in public session any question where the committee has reason to believe that the answer may incriminate the witness.

(6)

Witnesses shall be heard by the Committee on oath or affirmation.

(7)

Hearing of evidence by the committee shall be conducted in public session, except where the committee determines, on its own initiative or at the request of a witness that the interests of the witness or the public interest warrant the hearing of evidence in private session.

(8)

The committee may appoint counsel to assist.

(9)

The committee may authorise, subject to rules determined by the committee, the examination by counsel of witnesses before the committee.

(10)

As soon as practicable after the committee has determined findings to be included in the committee’s report to the House, and prior to the presentation of the report, a person affected by those findings shall be acquainted with the findings and afforded all reasonable opportunity to make submissions to the committee, in writing and orally, on those findings. The committee shall take such submissions into account before making its report to the House.

(11)

If the committee determines to make a recommendation to the House on a penalty to be imposed on a person, the person affected shall be afforded all reasonable opportunity to make submissions to the committee, in writing and orally, in relation to the proposed penalty. The committee shall take such submissions into account before making its report to the House.

(12)

The committee may consider the reimbursement of costs of representation of witnesses before the committee. Where the committee is satisfied that a person would suffer substantial hardship due to liability to pay the costs of representation of the person before the committee, or in the interests of justice, the committee may make reimbursement of all or part of such costs as the committee considers reasonable.

(13)

A member who has instigated an allegation of contempt or who is directly implicated in an allegation, shall not serve as a member of the committee for any inquiry by the committee into that matter.

(14)

Before appearing before the committee a witness shall be given a copy of this resolution.

The House of Representatives Standing Committee of Privileges and Members’ Interests has reviewed its procedures and obtained advice in order to allow for natural justice and procedural fairness for witnesses who appear before it. Although the committee has followed procedures of its own determination, a review began in the 41st Parliament with a view to having procedures and processes that have been endorsed by the House. This proposal is being moved to bring the procedures of the committee in line with those followed by the Senate Committee of Privileges: for example, in recognising the right of witnesses to be accompanied by counsel, the right of the committee to appoint counsel to assist it and the right of a person affected by adverse findings to be given an opportunity to make submissions on those findings before the committee reports to the House.

This procedural motion will mean that any person who is the subject of investigation by the committee must be notified of the allegations against them to allow them to appropriately respond, must be given all reasonable opportunity and time to respond to the allegations or charges, must be given the opportunity to be present with their counsel when evidence is given against them and the opportunity to examine witnesses in relation to that evidence, will be made aware of the committee’s findings and afforded all reasonable opportunity to make submissions to the committee before it makes its report to the House and will be afforded all reasonable opportunity to make submissions to the committee before it reports to the House where the committee recommends a penalty be imposed on a person.

This motion will also ensure that witnesses before the committee may be assisted by counsel if they choose to be so, that they will not be required to answer questions in public where the committee believes that the answer may incriminate the witness, that they will be heard on oath or affirmation, that they may request to be heard in private at their request and that they will receive a copy of this motion before appearing before the committee.

The committee will have the right to appoint its own counsel if it so chooses to assist it with examining witnesses and evidence. The committee will also prohibit any member who is the subject of an allegation of contempt or directly implicated in an allegation from serving for that procedure. This motion has been recommended by the committee. No comment has been received by the committee since its report on this review was tabled in the House in October 2008. I now propose that the procedures be adopted.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The opposition does not oppose this motion on the procedures for the protection of witnesses before the Standing Committee of Privileges and Members’ Interests. We endorse the recommendations that have been made by the committee. It is not a trend but it is useful to have some bipartisanship in this place every now and then. On this issue, the opposition has been part of the process of proposing these recommendations. I note that they are very similar to the rules that largely are in place in the Senate Standing Committee of Privileges. As the Leader of the House has outlined, they allow a person subject to investigation to be given advance notice of allegations raised, they require that a person who is subject to investigation be given reasonable opportunity to respond, they create the opportunity for the first time for any person appearing before the committee to have counsel and for the committee itself to appoint counsel to assist it in its deliberations, and they put in a new rule that a person affected by a committee finding has the opportunity to respond. The committee may consider reimbursement of costs of representation of a witness before the committee. They enhance the process for people who are the subject of matters before the Standing Committee of Privileges and Members’ Interests Committee to be properly looked after and to protect their rights and, as a consequence, the opposition endorses these changes.

Question agreed to.