OVERSEAS PARLIAMENTARY NEWS November 2019

Parliamentary Library Research Paper

A summary of news from overseas parliaments

Australia

Searchable register of senators’ interests recommended

The Committee of Senators’ Interests recommended that the Senate should endorse the enhancement of the online Register of Senators’ Interests, which is currently available in pdf form, to create a search function. Since the start of the current Parliament in July, senators have been able to fill out and lodge their statements of registrable interests online. The Committee proposed that a database could be created from the new online forms system, with a search function that would enable users to search by senators’ names, by state and party and other keywords, and to filter and sort the content. The database would not be retrospective. The Committee suggested that the start of the next Senate, when all senators must provide fresh statements, would present an opportunity to make the use of the online forms system compulsory, which would provide a complete data set.

Report: Senate Committee of Senators’ Interests, Enhancement of the online Register of Senators’ Interests, 13 Nov. 2019 https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Senators_Interests/reports/Report_No_2_of_201 9

Parliamentary foreign influence transparency scheme not currently recommended

There are a number of considerable difficulties, the Senate’s Committee of Privileges considers, in developing a parliamentary scheme to sit alongside the executive Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme. Members of Parliament, their staff and members of the state and territory parliaments are exempt from the Scheme, under which anyone who undertakes parliamentary or general political lobbying, communications activity to the public, or disbursement activity on behalf of a foreign government or government-related entity or individual or a foreign political organisation must register their activities. The Register of Senators’ Interests could easily be modified to accommodate the registration of such activities, but the Senate should not proceed further at this point. The House of Representatives has yet to consider participating in a single parliamentary scheme, which, as well, could not cover members’ staff, who are employed by the Department of Finance, or members of the state and territory parliaments.

Report: Senate Committee of Privileges, Foreign influence transparency – a scheme for Parliament, 28 Nov. 2019 https://www.aph.gov.au/~/media/Committees/priv_ctte/178/report.pdf?la=en

OverseasImmigration Parliamentary chronology: News selected events 1840 - 2017 27 February 2017 November 2019 1

European Parliament

Appearance of impartiality of Bureau’s decision compromised

The Alliance for Direct Democracy, a Eurosceptic party, was granted €1,241,725 (NZ$2 million) by the European Parliament for the 2015 financial year. Following checks and an external audit, Parliament’s Bureau decided that the Alliance’s expenditure of €500,615.55 (NZ$830,000) of the grant had been ineligible and requested it to repay €172,654.92 (NZ$286,000). The Alliance asked the General Court of the European Union to annul the decision on several grounds, most of which the Court dismissed. The Court found, however, that the appearance of the impartiality of the Bureau’s decision had been seriously compromised by statements made beforehand by one of its members. The Court said that Parliament must provide sufficient guarantees to rule out any doubt over the lack of bias of its members when taking administrative decisions, which means that members must refrain from making public statements relating to parties’ proper or improper use of funds when these are under examination. The decision was annulled.

Judgment: General Court of the European Union, Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe ASBL (ADDE) v European Parliament, 7 Nov. 2019 http://curia.europa.eu/juris/celex.jsf?celex=62017TJ0048&lang1=en&type=TXT&ancre= Press release: The European Parliament’s decision on the financing of the ADDE party in 2015 is annulled for lack of impartiality, 7 Nov. 2019 https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2019-11/cp190138en.pdf

Ireland

Leave granted for judicial review of Speaker’s decision

Private members’ bills that involve the appropriation of revenue or other public moneys may only proceed to their third, or committee, stage if the government has recommended the purpose of the appropriation to the Dáil in a money message. The present government, by withholding money messages, has blocked the progress of numerous private members’ bills that have passed their second stage debate. A member’s motion to amend the standing orders to enable many of the blocked bills to proceed was ruled out of order by the Ceann Comhairle on the basis that it could allow bills to progress through the Dáil in an unconstitutional manner. An application to the High Court for judicial review of the Ceann Comhairle’s decision was granted. The judge said he was satisfied that there was an arguable case that the government was overusing its power to withhold money messages, and he was also satisfied that it was arguable that the Ceann Comhairle’s decision might be justiciable. Glossary: Dáil Éireann – House of Representatives; Ceann Comhairle – Speaker

Hansard: Order of business, Dáil Éireann Debate, 5 Nov. 2019 https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2019- 11-05/ Judgment: High Court, Smith v An Ceann Comhairle, 6 Nov. 2019 https://beta.courts.ie/view/judgments/e5cbdbd0- a5a0-4338-bbff-d588cc60eabc/a664e0eb-c0c0-414a-8817-d6139dc22167/2019_IEHC_746.pdf/pdf Media article: Dáil suspended after argument breaks out over ‘undemocratic’ money message veto, The Journal, 5 Nov. 2019 https://www.thejournal.ie/money-message-bills-blocked-dail-4879157-Nov2019/

Attendance registration system to be reviewed

In order to qualify for the full amount of their travel and accommodation allowance members must personally register their attendance at Leinster House on at least 120 days per year. Registration is either by key fob at a terminal or by signing a form and may be done at any time during the day. Questions have been raised about the integrity of the registration system after it was revealed that some members had not taken part in any votes on days that they had registered as being in attendance at Leinster House. The Houses of the Oireachtas Commission has agreed to undertake a review of how members’ attendance is recorded. Glossary: Houses of the Oireachtas – Parliament

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Media articles: Calls for review of Dáil attendance and expenses system, The Irish Times, 1 Nov. 2019 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/calls-for-review-of-d%C3%A1il-attendance-and-expenses-system-1.4068575; Michael Healy-Ray says he broke no rules on ‘fobbing in’ row, The Irish Times, 5 Nov. 2019 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/michael-healy-rae-says-he-broke-no-rules-on-fobbing-in-row-1.4072453; Oireachtas agrees to ‘focused review’ on how members attendances recorded, The Irish Times, 12 Nov. 2019 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/oireachtas-agrees-to-focused-review-on-how-members- attendances-recorded-1.4080792; Dara Murphy insists he complied with attendance rules, The Irish Times, 30 Nov. 2019 https://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.4195619?q=oireachtas

Members’ right to privacy upheld

A member who cannot attend Leinster House on certain days may still be able to be recorded, or reconciled, as present for the purposes of their travel and accommodation allowance if their absence was due to ill health that was certified by a medical practitioner, attendance abroad in the performance of their duties as a member or office holder or within Ireland on behalf of an Oireachtas committee, or extraordinary circumstances which the Ceann Comhairle or Cathaoirleach determined were good and sufficient and could not have been foreseen. In response to freedom of information requests the Houses of the Oireachtas Service released the names of members for whom reconciliations had been made, together with the reasons and dates, except for absences due to ill health or extraordinary circumstances. The Information Commissioner found that the public interest in favour of granting access to the withheld records did not outweigh the public interest in protecting the privacy rights of the individuals concerned. Glossary: Houses of the Oireachtas – Parliament; Ceann Comhairle – Speaker of the House of Representatives; Cathaoirleach – Speaker of the Senate

Decision: Information Commissioner, Mr Y and Houses of the Oireachtas Service, 14 Nov. 2019 https://www.oic.ie/decisions/mr-y-and-houses-of-the-oi/index.xml

Kiribati

Speaker ordered to allow no confidence motion

The government’s decision to replace diplomatic relations with Taiwan with diplomatic relations with China led to the loss of its majority in the Maneaba. An opposition motion of no confidence in the government, because it had made the switch without consultation, was declared out of order by the Speaker because it raised a matter or issue that was the same in substance as one already resolved in the previous session, when a motion of no confidence due to the construction of a new stadium had been defeated. The High Court determined that the Speaker’s decision was justiciable as it concerned the members’ exercise of their constitutional right to propose a motion for debate. It ruled that the matter or issue of the two motions was not the same in substance, as one related to diplomatic relations with China and Taiwan and the other to a stadium, and consequently the Speaker’s decision was invalid and he must allow the motion to be introduced. The Speaker adjourned the Maneaba three days later. Glossary: Maneaba ni Maungatabu – Parliament

Judgment: High Court, Tebau v Uaai, 11 Nov. 2019 http://www.paclii.org/ki/cases/KIHC/2019/121.html Media articles: Kiribati opposition MP calls for president to step down, Radio New Zealand, 5 Nov. 2019 https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/402598/kiribati-opposition-mp-calls-for-president-to-step-down; Kiribati opposition’s hopes of no confidence vote quashed, Radio New Zealand, 14 Nov. 2019 https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/403271/kiribati-opposition-s-hopes-of-no-confidence-vote-quashed

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New South Wales

Parliamentary Budget Officer’s term of appointment should be extended

In his 2019 post-election report to the Public Accounts Committee the Parliamentary Budget Officer recommended that the Committee should consider making the position permanent, instead of an appointment being made six months prior to each election. As well as costing election policies at the request of parliamentary leaders, a permanent Officer could cost policies for minor parties and independent members, advise committees, publish and update information on fiscal issues and provide independent and confidential advice to members. The Committee considered there was insufficient justification for the cost of a permanent Officer, but there was merit in increasing the time available for him to carry out his work. It recommended appointing the Officer one year before an election. There would be scope to provide costings for all members in the first six months of operation, and exclusively to parliamentary leaders of the government and opposition in the six months prior to the election as in current practice.

Report: Legislative Assembly Public Accounts Committee, Report on the Parliamentary Budget Office 2019 post- election report, 12 Nov. 2019 https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/ladocs/inquiries/2565/Report%20on%20the%20Parliamentary%20Budget%20Offic e%202019%20Post-Election%20Report%20-%20November%202019.PDF

Northern Territory

Committees merged to form single legislative scrutiny committee

Sessional orders adopted in 2017 provided for the establishment of the Social Policy and Economic Policy Scrutiny Committees to consider bills and other matters. Each committee comprised three government members, one opposition member and one non-party aligned member. On the recommendation of the Standing Orders Committee, the sessional orders have now been amended to replace these two committees with a single Legislation Scrutiny Committee. The Committee will continue to consider other matters besides bills. Its membership is the same as for the former committees, but members may be substituted by alternate members. The replacement of two committee chairs with one and the reduction in the overall number of committee members enables a modest cost saving. The change also addresses the problem that arose with the occasionally arbitrary allocation of referrals to the former committees in an attempt to balance their workloads.

Report: Standing Orders Committee, Report to the Legislative Assembly on a submission to the Committee received from the member for Sanderson concerning the scrutiny committees of the Legislative Assembly, 27 Nov. 2019 https://parliament.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/761393/Report-to-the-Legislative-Assembly-on-a-Submission- to-the-Committee-Received-from-the-Member-for-Sanderson-concerning-the-Scrutiny-Committees-of-the-Legislative- Assembly.pdf

Scotland

Witnesses’ expenses scheme made more accessible

One of the overarching aims of changes made in 2018 to the witness expenses scheme for people invited to give evidence to committees was to make the scheme more accessible to those who need it. A set of underlying principles and rules was introduced that emphasises that expenses are primarily for those who would otherwise find it difficult to participate. Expenses may now be booked and paid for by the Committee Office upfront where the claimant cannot afford to cover them themselves, and the list of claimable expenses in relation to carers and videoconferencing has been expanded. People invited to participate in evidence-gathering activities outside formal parliamentary proceedings may also have their expenses paid. Since the changes were made two committees have been able to hear from witnesses at informal evidence-gathering events in Edinburgh and Dundee that the witnesses would otherwise have been unable to attend. Children and their carers were also able to travel to Edinburgh to give evidence.

Report: Witness expenses scheme, 21 Nov. 2019 https://www.parliament.scot/SPCB/2019/SPCB(2019)Paper_069.pdf

Overseas Parliamentary News November 2019 4

Support for processing members’ bills

A member wishing to introduce a member’s bill must first lodge with the Clerk a draft proposal, together with a document to form the basis of a public consultation. After the consultation, which must last at least 12 weeks, the member may lodge a final proposal, accompanied by a summary of the consultation responses. In some instances the consultation requirement may be waived. The bill may be introduced if the final proposal, within one month of its lodging, obtains the support of at least 18 other members from at least half of the political parties represented in the Parliamentary Bureau. No member may introduce more than two members’ bills in the same session. The Non-Government Bills Unit, whose main role is to support members seeking to introduce members’ bills, advised a member whose public consultation had generated almost 10,000 responses that within the context of its current priorities it could not produce the consultation summary. The member was granted additional funding for her staff to process the responses.

Reports: Members’ bills: resources and timescales, 21 Nov. 2019 https://www.parliament.scot/SPCB/2019/SPCB(2019)Paper_062.pdf; Reimbursement of members’ expenses scheme – exceptional expenses application, 21 Nov. 2019 https://www.parliament.scot/SPCB/2019/SPCB(2019)Paper_067.pdf

Sweden

Increased penalties for crimes against elected representatives

The Committee on the Constitution has recommended that the Riksdag should pass an amendment to the Penal Code that would create an additional aggravating circumstance that must be taken into consideration for the purposes of sentencing. It would be an aggravating circumstance if the offence was committed against a person in the context that that person, or someone close to them, is an elected representative at the local, national or European level. The Committee shares the government’s view that there is a need for the protection that increased penalties offer to elected representatives for crimes committed against them. It also believes that there are other categories of people for whom such protection is important in a democracy as crimes committed against them can inflict damage on democracy. It recommends that the government should investigate providing similar protection to other occupational groups, such as journalists, who play a particularly significant role in a democracy. Glossary: Riksdagen – Parliament

Report: Brott mot förtroendevalda: Justitieutskottets betänkande, 14 Nov. 2019 https://data.riksdagen.se/fil/7A3E7F43- 8C95-4CAF-B51B-9D404CB1C841

Wales

Member secretly recorded private conversations

After a member who was under investigation by the National Assembly for Wales Commissioner for Standards discovered that the Commissioner had made a damaging remark about him in his absence during a hearing, he covertly recorded other conversations of the Commissioner, his staff and a complainant that occurred when he was not present and compiled and passed a report on them to a newspaper. The Commissioner resigned, saying that it was wholly unacceptable that a member could behave in such a way and he was not prepared to continue in his role. The Llywydd told the Assembly that the covert recording of private conversations on the Assembly estate was a serious breach of trust. She had asked the Police to investigate how the recordings were made and their legality. She would also make a complaint to the acting Commissioner, once appointed, regarding the member’s use of covert recording devices and the unauthorised release of confidential information. Glossary: Llywydd – Presiding Officer

Hansard: Statement by the Llywydd, The Record, 12 Nov. 2019 https://record.assembly.wales/Plenary/6041 Media article: Assembly Standards Commissioner resigns after being captured on secret recordings, WalesOnline, 11 Nov. 2019 https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/neil-mcevoy-assembly-roderick-evans-17240606

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Publishing information on members’ meetings with stakeholders

Recommendations made by the Standards of Conduct Committee in 2018 to improve lobbying transparency included a recommendation that information about all events sponsored by members and held on the Assembly estate, and not just those held in public spaces, should be published. In an update on the implementation of the recommendations the Assembly Commission reported that Assembly staff had begun publishing in the Assembly Calendar all new bookings made for member-sponsored activity involving external guests in bookable locations on the estate. Members were unhappy, however, that this had resulted in private informal meetings between members and stakeholders being included in the Calendar and had asked for them to be removed. Officials are now working on an alternative approach that will be more acceptable to members.

Statement: Assembly Commission, Update on the implementation of recommendations from the Standards of Conduct Committee’s report into lobbying, 27 Nov. 2019 http://www.assembly.wales/laid%20documents/gen-ld12893/gen- ld12893%20-e.pdf

Pleasance Purser Research Analyst Parliamentary Library

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