Chapter 18 - Documents tabled in the Senate
Publication
of documents
The
publication of each document laid on the table of the Senate is authorised on
tabling (SO 167). This provision
attracts paragraph 16(2)(d) of the Parliamentary Privileges Act, which extends
the protection of proceedings in Parliament to the publication of a document by
or pursuant to an order of a House or a committee, and to the document so
published (see Chapter 2, Parliamentary Privilege, under Preparation and
publication of documents).
A standing order in these terms was first adopted on 19 February 1988 after the Procedure
Committee had drawn attention to a potential difficulty arising from the wording
of the old standing order, which did not make it clear that the publication of
every tabled document was authorised. It was considered that there was no
absolute privilege for the publication of a tabled document in the absence of
an order of the Senate authorising its publication. In recommending that the
standing order be changed, the committee suggested that the new order should
enable the Senate to continue the past practice of making tabled documents
generally available (First Report, 63rd Session, PP 215/1987).
All documents laid upon the table and not ordered to be printed are
referred to the Publications
Committee, which considers all such documents, and reports from time to time on
which documents ought to be printed. The Senate usually adopts the reports of
the committee, thereby ordering the printing of documents in accordance with
recommendations of the committee.
Documents ordered to
be printed, either by order of a House or by the adoption of the
recommendations of the Publications Committee, are published as Parliamentary
Papers. This series of papers is widely distributed according to a list
approved by the Presiding Officers on the recommendation of the Clerks of the
Houses. The series is distributed to organisations such as state public
libraries and universities, which retain them for reference and research
purposes. (See Supplement)
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