Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present a supplementary explanatory memorandum to the bill and two addenda. By leave—I move government amendments (1) to (14) as circulated together.

(1) Clause 7, page 4 (after line 18), after the definition of Commonwealth judicial officer, insert:

Commonwealth or State judicial officer means:

(a) a Commonwealth judicial officer; or

(b) a judge or justice of a court of a State or Territory.

(2) Clause 13, page 7 (line 28), omit "a judge, or former judge,", substitute "a former judge".

(3) Clause 14, page 8 (line 5), after "Commonwealth", insert "or State".

(4) Clause 48, page 35 (line 13), before "must not", insert "subject to section 82,".

(5) Clause 67, page 44 (line 22), at the end of subclause (1), add:

; and (c) this Act is taken to be an Act establishing a committee.

(6) Clause 70, page 45 (line 15), omit "(1)".

(7) Clause 70, page 45 (lines 17 and 18), omit subclause (2).

(8) Clause 71, page 46 (lines 1 to 3), omit subclause (4).

(9) Heading to subclause 73(1), page 46 (line 15), omit the heading.

(10) Clause 73, page 47 (lines 7 to 12), omit subclauses (3) and (4).

(11) Heading to subclause 73(5), page 47 (line 13), omit the heading, substitute:

Member who becomes Commonwealth or State judicial officer

(12) Clause 73, page 47 (line 14), after "Commonwealth", insert "or State".

(13) Clause 82, page 51 (after line 29), after subclause (1), insert:

(1A) If:

(a) a Commission gives records to a House of the Parliament under subsection (1); and

(b) the parliamentary presiding officers have been given a separate report under subsection 48(6) that they no longer need;

then the parliamentary presiding officers must give the separate report to the House of the Parliament referred to in paragraph (a).

(14) Clause 82, page 52 (line 1), after "subsection(1)", insert "or (1A)".

I propose amendments to the Judicial Misbehaviour and Incapacity (Parliamentary Commissions) Bill 2012 to address issues raised by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee in its report on these bills. The amendments will do three things. Firstly, the amendments will exclude serving judges of a state or territory court from being members of the commission. This will address the potential conflict-of-interest issues raised by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee. The bill will continue to require that at least one member of the commission be a former Commonwealth judicial officer or a former state or territory Supreme Court judge. Secondly, the amendments will clarify the status of the commission's separate report on sensitive matters for archiving purposes in order to ensure long-term custody and storage consistent with other records of the commission. Thirdly, the amendments will also clarify the application of aspects of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987. This will ensure proceedings of the commission can be used in relation to prosecution of offences relating to a commission's investigation. These amendments ensure there is greater clarity about processes relating to a commission and will assist in addressing operational issues, should they arise.

I also note that I have approved minor additions to the explanatory memorandum of the Judicial Misbehaviour and Incapacity (Parliamentary Commissions) Bill 2012 and the Courts Legislation Amendment (Judicial Complaints) Bill 2012. These additions will provide additional information in the Statements of Compatibility with Human Rights about the bills' engagement with rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to outline that each bill is compatible with those rights.

Question agreed to.

Bill, as amended, agreed to.