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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 8 Hansard (28 August) . . Page.. 2587 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

Mr Humphries just spoke of the principles. I think the first principle is a very important one, because it recognises the role of the Speaker in this place and the authority of the Speaker in the management of the Assembly. In dealing with that issue, the Speaker, of course, is, in many ways, a product of the Assembly. One of the talents he has to develop is that of a barometer, which leads us to that understanding of what is or is not a landmark debate. Also, of course, it is a consideration of what might be of supreme public interest. I think the Speaker's authority permeates all of those principles which have been outlined in the motion that Mr Moore is about to move. I think the most important of those authorities given to the Speaker is in principle 2; that is:

The Speaker, in granting authorisation for the broadcasting of proceedings of the Assembly, shall make it conditional on the requirement that the broadcasting cease should the Speaker so direct or in relation to broadcasting of committee proceedings it should cease at the direction of the Presiding Member.

Those authorities, I suppose, give the weighty responsibility to the Speaker and the presiding member to keep their eye on proceedings; to ensure that they have an understanding of what might be broadcast to the community; and to be able to act if they identify an area of broadcast which is mischievous by somebody who is a member of a committee or the Assembly, by somebody appearing, say, before a committee, or so far as the media is concerned.

I think all of the authorities are most plainly set out in these principles. I think they give the Speaker and, in some cases, presiding members great authority; but at the same time they give them great responsibility. There are some decisions that have to be made without going through the Assembly's democratic processes; but, as I said earlier, it gives the Speaker responsibility to act as a barometer of opinion of the Assembly and also as a barometer of opinion out there in the community. It is always open, I suppose, for this Assembly to disagree; but the responsibility, I think, is properly bestowed by these principles on the Speaker and on presiding members in some cases.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

MR MOORE (11.19): Mr Speaker, I ask for leave to move a motion relating to the adoption of principles for the authorisation of public broadcasting.

Leave granted.

MR MOORE: I move:

That this Assembly adopts the following principles to be used by the Speaker in determining whether to authorise the broadcast to the public of proceedings of the Assembly or one of its committees and the conditions under which that broadcast can be made:

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