Page 2601 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 21 September 2022
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Wednesday, 21 September 2022
MADAM SPEAKER (Ms Burch) (10.00): Members:
Dhawura nguna, dhawura Ngunnawal.
Yanggu ngalawiri, dhunimanyin Ngunnawalwari dhawurawari.
Nginggada Dindi dhawura Ngunnaawalbun yindjumaralidjinyin.
The words I have just spoken are in the language of the traditional custodians and translate to:
This is Ngunnawal Country.
Today we are gathering on Ngunnawal country.
We always pay respect to Elders, female and male, and Ngunnawal country.
Members, I ask you to stand in silence and pray or reflect on our responsibilities to the people of the Australian Capital Territory.
Privileges 2022–Select Committee
Statement by Speaker
MADAM SPEAKER: Members, before we get to business, on 15 August of this year, Mr Milligan, as chair of the Select Committee on Estimates 2022-23, gave written notice of a possible breach of privilege, alleging that a minister had interfered with the estimates committee by writing to certain MLAs and making incorrect assertions about what had been agreed by the estimates committee considering the conduct of hearings.
Mr Milligan has alleged that the minister’s correspondence had the effect of falsely reporting what he had reached in agreement with the committee, and this letter was circulated to witnesses. Under the provisions of standing order 276, my role is to determine, as soon as practicable, whether or not the matter merits precedence over other business. If, in my opinion, the matter does merit precedence, I must inform the Assembly of that decision, and the member who raised the matter may move a motion without notice forthwith to refer the matter to the select committee appointed by the Assembly for that purpose. If, in my opinion, the matter does not merit precedence, I must inform the member in writing and also inform the Assembly of this decision.
I am not required to judge whether there has been a breach of privilege or a contempt of the Assembly; I can only judge whether the matter merits precedence. Having considered the matter, I have concluded that the matter does merit precedence over other business, and I wrote to Mr Milligan on 12 September informing him of such. I will be forwarding the relevant material to the privileges committee. In the absence of Mr Milligan from the chamber today, I now give the call to a member who may wish to move that this matter be referred to the privileges committee.
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