Chapter 3 - Publication
of Senate proceedings
Broadcasting and privilege
A publication of a record or report of the proceedings of the Senate or
its committees, where the publication occurs by an order of the Senate or a
committee, attracts absolute parliamentary privilege (Parliamentary
Privileges Act 1987, s.16; see Chapter 2, Parliamentary Privilege, under
Preparation and publication of documents). As noted in this chapter, various
publications are ordered by the Senate or by committees. Apart from the live
publication of proceedings on the Internet, however, broadcasts of proceedings do
not occur by an order of the Senate or a committee, in that the relevant
resolutions permit the use of excerpts selected by the media.
The Parliamentary
Proceedings Broadcasting Act confers immunity from legal action on the radio
broadcast of proceeding by the ABC, although the terms of the Act are not
confined to that particular broadcast.
The Transport and Communications Legislation Amendment Bill 1991,
introduced by the government, included provisions to amend the Parliamentary
Proceedings Broadcasting Act to extend to the televising of the proceedings of
the two Houses and their committees the absolute privilege provided by the Act
to radio broadcasts of the proceedings of the Houses. In the proceedings on the
bill in the Senate on 14 November 1991, the provisions in question were struck
out of the bill with the agreement of all parties. It was pointed out that the
absolute privilege given to radio broadcasts was enacted when the only
broadcast of proceedings was the virtually continuous radio broadcast by the
then Australian Broadcasting Commission. When television stations were
authorised to televise extracts of proceedings of the Houses and their
committees, the question of extending absolute privilege to those broadcasts
involved different issues. It was also pointed out that section 10 of the
Parliamentary Privileges Act provides privilege for all fair and accurate
reports of parliamentary proceedings, and that this cover is probably as much
as is appropriate for the televising of extracts. Edited television extracts
could constitute highly unfair and inaccurate reports of proceedings and should
not have absolute privilege.
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