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Chapter 16 - Committees
Evidence
gathering
Broadcasting of committee proceedings
A committee may authorise the
broadcasting of its public hearings, in accordance with any rules provided by
the Senate (SO 25(19)). The
following order governs the broadcasting of committee proceedings:
The following rules apply in relation to
broadcasting, including rebroadcasting, in sound or visual images, or in
combined sound and visual images, of the proceedings of a committee.
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Recording and broadcasting
of proceedings of a committee may occur only in accordance with the
authorisation of the committee by a deliberate decision of the committee.
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A committee may authorise
the broadcasting of only its public proceedings.
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A committee may determine
conditions, not inconsistent with these rules, for the recording and
broadcasting of its proceedings, may order that any part of its proceedings not
be recorded or broadcast, and may give instructions for the observance of
conditions so determined and orders so made. A committee shall report to the
Senate any wilful breach of such conditions, orders or instructions.
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Broadcasting of committee
proceedings shall be for the purpose only of making fair and accurate reports
of those proceedings, and, in particular:
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shall not
be the subject of commercial sponsorship or be used for commercial advertising;
and
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shall not
be used for election advertising.
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Recording and broadcasting
of proceedings of a committee shall not be such as to interfere with the
conduct of those proceedings.
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Where a committee intends
to permit the broadcasting of its proceedings, a witness who is to appear in
those proceedings shall be given reasonable opportunity, before appearing in
the proceedings, to object to the broadcasting of the proceedings and to state
the ground of the objection. The committee shall consider any such objection,
having regard to the proper protection of the witness and the public interest
in the proceedings, and if the committee decides to permit broadcasting of the
proceedings notwithstanding the witness’ objection, the witness shall be so
informed before appearing in the proceedings. (23/8/1990, J.237; incorporated in
consolidated order 13/2/1997, J.1447)
Committees may impose conditions on the recording and broadcasting of
their proceedings. Such conditions are usually designed to minimise disruption
to the committee’s proceedings caused by intrusive lighting or movement of
equipment. A discussion of this issue occurred at a supplementary hearing of
Estimates Committee D in November 1993. The committee chair had received
requests from three television networks to bring cameras into the hearing room
to obtain coverage of a controversial issue, notwithstanding that the
committee’s proceedings were being televised by the parliamentary television
system and that it was standard practice for networks to take footage from the
parliamentary service. The chair suggested that the networks follow this
standard practice and also advised still photographers that only one
photographer would be permitted into the hearing at a time, for a maximum
period of five minutes each. These proposed arrangements were discussed during
the hearing and a private meeting of the committee was held in which the
chair’s suggestions were upheld. In conveying the committee’s decision to the
hearing, the chair emphasised the distractions caused by multiple television
cameras as the basis for the committee’s decision (Estimates Committee D
transcript, 9/11/1993, pp D443-6). In making such decisions, committees have
needed to balance the detrimental effects of potential distraction against the
value of having the committees’ proceedings disseminated as widely as possible. (See Supplement)
Witnesses whose
evidence is to be broadcast are given the opportunity to object. A committee
considers any such objection having regard to the protection of the witness and
the public interest in the proceedings. Although a committee is not required by
the order of the Senate to give reasons for its decision, as a matter of
practice they are given and made public. Witnesses, the vast majority of whom
attend voluntarily in response to committee invitations to appear, almost never
object to the televising of their evidence, but in the face of an objection, a
committee must balance competing principles of open proceedings, public
interest, committee effectiveness and fairness to the individual witnesses.
When considering estimates committees are covered by a provision of an
order which provides:
The public proceedings of committees
when considering estimates may be relayed within Parliament House and broadcast
by radio and television stations in accordance with the conditions contained in
paragraphs (4) and (5) of the order of the Senate relating to the broadcasting
of committee proceedings, and in accordance with any further conditions, not
inconsistent with the conditions contained in those paragraphs, determined by a
committee in relation to the proceedings of that committee (consolidated order,
13/2/1997, J.1447).
In all other cases a deliberate committee decision is required to
broadcast committee proceedings. Committees may choose, however, to pass
wide-ranging resolutions covering all hearings in relation to a particular
inquiry, for example. In accordance with the order of 23 August 1990, the committee
must nonetheless take into account any objections to the practice by individual
witnesses.
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