Chapter 3 - Publication
of Senate proceedings
Journals of the Senate
The Journals of the Senate are the official record of proceedings in
the Senate. The Clerk records
all proceedings in the Journals, which are signed by the Clerk. The publication
of the Journals for public meetings of the Senate is authorised by standing
order 43(1), and
therefore attracts absolute privilege.
A Journal is published for every sitting day. It records, among other
things, all notices of motion, resolutions, tabling of documents, proceedings
on bills including amendments moved to bills, petitions, messages received from
the House of Representatives or the Governor-General, divisions and attendance
of senators. The Journals are produced from the minutes kept by the Clerk and
the sound and vision record of proceedings. A proof Journal of a day’s
proceedings is printed for distribution on the next day. A final Journal is
produced after any necessary corrections are made. A limited number of bound
sets of the final Journals is produced for the official record. Proof and final
Journals are also entered in an information systems database which provides a
useful facility for research, and on the Internet.
Material recorded in the Journals of the Senate and in the official
record of debates (Hansard) may be considered in the interpretation of a
provision of a statute to ascertain the meaning of the provision, under section
15AB of the Acts
Interpretation Act 1901.
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