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Chapter 19 - Relations with the executive government
Statutory authorities and public interest immunity
As noted in the Clerk’s advice to the Select
Committee on Certain Aspects of Foreign Ownership Decisions in Relation to the
Print Media in September 1994 (see above), it has not been settled whether the
executive government may seek to make a claim of public interest immunity in respect of, or on
behalf of, statutory authorities or statutory office-holders.
On several
occasions the Senate has, by resolution, asserted the principle that, while
statutory authorities may
not be subject to direction or control by the executive government in their
day-to-day operations, they are accountable to the Senate for their expenditure
of public funds and have no discretion to withhold from the Senate information
concerning their activities (9/12/1971, J.846; 23/10/1974, J.283, 18/9/1980,
J.1563; 4/6/1984, J.902; 19/11/1986, J.1424; 29/5/1997, J.2042; see also report
of the Standing Committee
on Finance and Government Operations on ABC Employment Contracts and their
Confidentiality, 3 December 1986, PP 432/1986, and the government’s
response, SD, 17/11/1987, pp 1840-4; Privileges Committee, 64th report,
PP 40/1997, 29/5/1997, J.2042).
Officers of statutory authorities, therefore, so far as the Senate is
concerned, are in the same position as other witnesses, and have no particular
immunity in respect of giving evidence before the Senate and its committees.
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