Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

The government will also not be supporting the amendments. The government is not currently proposing any changes to the penalties that may be imposed by the houses under section 7 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987. Neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives has imposed a financial penalty in living memory, so, from the government's point of view, we don't believe that the case for the amendments has been made out in practice. If there were a future circumstance where the financial penalties under the Parliamentary Privileges Act were considered inappropriate, the houses may enforce the observance of their privileges and immunities and punish people found guilty of contempt, including a commitment to prison.

Question negatived.