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

Mr Speaker, I wonder whether I might seek your indulgence very briefly to mention a matter that arose late in the Main Committee last evening. I would have sought your indulgence at the chair but intervening events prevented that. As you will be aware, the House collapsed early last night when the adjournment debate was not proceeded with. At that time, the Main Committee was proceeding. The Main Committee debate was not recorded in the Hansard subsequent to the adjournment of the House. That was a matter of some discussion between the clerks and me. I understand it has now been agreed that those proceedings be included. I thank you, the clerks and anyone involved. The point I wish to make is that plainly it was a proceeding of the parliament. The Main Committee was being chaired and any circumstance that would have been resolved otherwise has the potentiality of having members speaking in a proceeding of the parliament. Had an event arisen which might, for example, have raised a matter which could have been an issue of defamation, privilege or the like, the House would not have been given protection. I simply raise this matter so that it be recorded as a precedent of the parliament. That circumstance may arise again. I simply want to say that in my view it was resolved correctly after the intervention of the clerks and I wish to record that fact formally in the House.

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

I thank the member for Denison. As he has fully explained it, I think the matter has been resolved favourably. I therefore think that no precedent has been set other than that Hansard will record his speech.