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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 13 Hansard (25 November) . . Page.. 4561 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

make a submission or statement in response. The bill provides that the inquiry must include that submission or statement or a fair summary in its report. These two amendments provide persons appearing before an inquiry with statutory rights of fairness. It is fair to acknowledge that those arrangements are based on the provisions that currently apply in relation to inquiries undertaken by the auditor.

The uncertainty created by relying on parliamentary privilege is at least in part brought about by the fact that inquiries are established by the executive rather than the Assembly. The board reports to the Chief Minister, again rather than the Assembly, and the Chief Minister has a discretion whether or not to table the board of inquiry report. The amendments provided in the bill make it clear that any fair and accurate comments made in relation to the board of inquiry are protected from any civil action. This protection is extended to members of the Assembly and to members of the community.

A further benefit to allowing the proposed protection is that protection is provided in relation to the report without the need to wait for the Assembly to be sitting in order for the document to receive absolute privilege, which will allow for earlier release of reports.

The third issue of providing protection to anyone publishing a fair and accurate summary of the board of inquiry report extends the current protection given to anyone who publishes a fair and accurate summary of proceedings before the inquiry.

These amendments are important in making the inquiry process under the act fairer, in providing certainty in relation to protection for fair and accurate comments made in relation to the inquiry's report, and to provide protection for a person publishing and reporting fairly on the board's report.

I have-and we will get to these in the detail stage-circulated amendments which essentially simply provide for renumbering of some sections and respond to comments made by the scrutiny of bills committee in relation to a view by that committee of one particular provision. Perhaps the more significant of those amendments is the one to remove proposed section 38 (4). That decision has been made on the basis of the scrutiny of bills committee's report on its appropriateness.

For the sake of completeness, I also advise members, Mr Speaker, that in my presentation speech I did assert that only two previous inquiries had been undertaken pursuant to the Inquiries Act. In fact, that should have been three, so I just wish to correct the mistake I made in the presentation speech in that regard. I thank members for their contribution to this important debate.

Question resolved in the affirmative

Bill agreed to in principle.

Detail stage

Clauses 1 to 3, by leave, taken together and agreed to.

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