Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

I would have thought that the clause ‘any matter incidental’ would clearly capture the matters raised by Senator O’Brien. From the government’s point of view, these protocols have been in place for some time. Whether they are good enough or, indeed, whether they were breached are matters about which we will listen to the Callinan inquiry for any assistance. Having said that, as a government, we are anxious to make sure that we are as well informed as possible to ensure that such a breach is unlikely to occur again.

In relation to the question which Senator O’Brien has been very patient with me in obtaining an answer on, I now have the advice that there is no formal protection for people who may self-incriminate in giving evidence to a royal commission. That is a matter that undoubtedly the royal commissioner and counsel assisting would need to consider on a case-by-case basis. If someone is willing to come forward and say, ‘I’ve got some evidence that you may be interested in, but I need some protection against self-incrimination,’ I think that may be a matter, potentially, for the Director of Public Prosecutions to deal with. But, as I understand it, there is no blanket protection against people self-incriminating. Of course, if there were people who had done activities that might see them being prosecuted, they would run in and confess all, knowing that as a result of that they could not be prosecuted. That is one of those difficult situations, I agree. The advice I have is there is no formal protection for people who may self-incriminate.