Duncan Kerr (Denison, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I have a question to you. This morning my attention was drawn to claims appearing on the honourable member for Bass’s website, which is linked to this parliament’s home page, that the honourable member had been:

... awarded the Order of the British Empire Award for Community Service in 2000.

Mr Speaker, will you give consideration as to whether the publication of a false claim to have received an honour in the gift of the Crown by a member of the House in a document linked to this parliament may be a contempt of the House as an act of deception or as a deliberate misleading of it? If in your opinion such conduct may constitute a contempt, would you report to the House so that further consideration may be given to a motion. I hand up a clean copy of the text as it appeared this morning. For completeness, I inform you the text has since been altered following public disclosure of this issue in the other place.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Denison. I will make further inquiries on the points he raises and respond accordingly.