John Hogg (President) Share this | Hansard source

Order! Earlier today Senator Brandis made a statement in relation to proceedings before the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee and a ruling of the chair, which the committee referred to me. I tabled my correspondence to the chair of the committee. In the correspondence I confirmed that her ruling was in accordance with the practices and precedents of the Senate and I explained the basis on which I came to that conclusion.

As I made clear, the issue is not the meaning of individual words, which may in themselves be innocuous; it is the combination of words that constituted a personal reflection on a witness who, under standing order 193, is a person who attracts protection from such reflections. It is not a difficult concept and nor is it a difficult concept that respect for the chair is fundamental to the effective operation of this place.