Legislative Council
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7657 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Wednesday 4 December 2002 ______ The President (The Hon. Dr Meredith Burgmann) took the chair at 11.00 a.m. The President offered the Prayers. AUDIT OFFICE Report The President tabled, pursuant to the Public Finance and Audit Act 1983, a performance audit report entitled "Managing Grants", dated December 2002. Ordered to be printed. COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND Appointment of Representative Motion by the Hon. Michael Egan agreed to: That under section 9 of schedule 1[3] of the University of New England Act 1993, Ms Fazio be elected as the representative of the Legislative Council on the Council of the University of New England. STANDING COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL ISSUES Extension of Reporting Date Motion by the Hon. Michael Egan agreed to: That the reporting date for the Standing Committee on Social Issues inquiry into the Department of Community Services be extended to Tuesday 10 December 2002. PADDINGTON PAVILION AND FOX STUDIOS DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION Motion by the Hon. Richard Jones agreed to: 1. That, under Standing Order 18, there be laid on the table of the House by 5.00 p.m. on Wednesday 11 December 2002, and made public without restricted access, all documents and correspondence in the possession, custody and power of any Minister, government department or agency in relation to Development Application No. 189-6-2002–Demolition of the Paddington Pavilion (Building 36) and three sheds (Buildings 40, 41 and 42) and the erection of a craft shop in the Working Studio Precinct at Fox Studios Australia, from BBC Consulting Planners. 2. That an indexed list of all documents tabled under this resolution be prepared showing the date of creation of the document, a description of the document and the author of the document. 3. That anything required to be laid before the House by this resolution may be lodged with the Clerk of the House if the House is not sitting, and unless privilege is claimed, is deemed for all purposes to have been presented to or laid before the House and published by authority of the House. 4. Where a document required to be tabled under this order is considered to be privileged and should not be made public or tabled: (a) a return is to be prepared and tabled showing the date of creation of the document, a description of the document, the author of the document and reasons for the claim of privilege, (b) the documents are to be delivered to the Clerk of the House by the date and time required in paragraph 1 and: (i) made available only to members of the Legislative Council, (ii) not published or copied without an order of the House. 7658 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 4 December 2002 5. (a) Where any member of the House, by communication in writing to the Clerk, disputes the validity of a claim of privilege in relation to a particular document, the Clerk is authorised to release the disputed document to an independent legal arbiter, for evaluation and report within five days as to the validity of the claim. (b) The independent legal arbiter is to be appointed by the President and must be a Queen's Counsel, a Senior Counsel or a retired Supreme Court Judge. (c) A report from the independent legal arbiter is to be lodged with the Clerk of the House, and: (i) made available only to members of the Legislative Council, (ii) not published or copied without an order of the House. BILLS UNPROCLAIMED The Hon. Eddie Obeid tabled a list detailing all legislation unproclaimed 90 calendar days after assent as at 3 December. STANDING COMMITTEE ON PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE AND ETHICS Report The Hon. Helen Sham-Ho, as Chair, tabled report No. 21, entitled "Report on Inquiry into the Pecuniary Interests Register: Supplementary Returns", dated December 2002. Ordered to be printed. PETITIONS Genetic Engineering Freeze Petition calling for protection of the rights of farmers who wish to remain free from genetic engineering contamination, establishment of genetic-engineering-free zones, declaration of a freeze on the intentional release of new genetically engineered crops, and consultation with all farming groups, received from the Hon. Duncan Gay. Freedom of Religion Petition praying that the House reject legislative proposals that would detract from the exercise of freedom of religion, and retain the existing exemptions in the Anti-Discrimination Act applying to religious bodies, received from Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile. Suncorp Metway Employees Working Conditions Petition praying that the House request Suncorp Metway Ltd not to transfer employees of GIO Australia Ltd to non-union agreements, and to ensure that GIO conditions and the role of the Finance Sector Union of Australia are protected, received from the Hon. Ian West. THE HONOURABLE MALCOLM JONES INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION INVESTIGATION Personal Explanation The Hon. PETER BREEN by leave: Yesterday I was roundly condemned by a number of members for unleashing the dogs of the Independent Commission Against Corruption [ICAC], which earlier this week undertook a search and seizure operation at the Hon. Malcolm Jones' parliamentary office and home. The Hon. Malcolm Jones told me how he stood by helplessly while the ICAC investigators systematically rifled through his daughter's worldly possessions, including her personal clothing. When he attempted to locate audio equipment to record the operation, access was denied on the grounds that he might emerge with a shotgun and blow the investigators away. As it turned out, the only shooting that occurred was undertaken by the ICAC investigators, who filmed the entire operation. I understand that they did eventually allow the Hon. Malcolm Jones to use his recording equipment. 4 December 2002 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 7659 Some members have informed me that the Greiner Coalition Government made a grave error in giving such extensive powers to the ICAC. Those powers are now being used against members of Parliament. Somehow Ms Lee Rhiannon and I are held to be responsible for this perceived injustice. Apparently we conspired to bring down the Hon. Malcolm Jones. According to the allegations we have engaged in some kind of legal frolic for our own selfish political purposes. The truth is very different. Ms Rhiannon and I were approached, separately, by a former staffer of the Hon. Malcolm Jones and a former member of his party. Both people made serious allegations about a misuse of parliamentary resources and they requested a joint meeting with Ms Rhiannon and me. The whistleblowers requested that the meeting take place under a Morton Bay figtree in the Domain. Ms Rhiannon and I approached the Clerk, John Evans, and outlined the claims being made by these two people about the Hon. Malcolm Jones. Mr Evans advised us to refer the matter to the ICAC. He canvassed the possibility of a referral to the Standing Committee on Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics, but alerted us to the fact that any evidence taken by the committee would become privileged and therefore be placed beyond the reach of the ICAC. I made a decision to pursue the ICAC path and I believe that it was the right decision. I ask honourable members who believe I made the wrong decision to consider what they would do if approached by whistleblowers who appear to have a legitimate complaint about the misuse of public resources. Personally, I am outraged about the way the ICAC has treated the Hon. Malcolm Jones and I regret that I was the source of the complaint. I had no idea that the ICAC took itself so seriously. The Hon. Duncan Gay: What did you expect? The Hon. PETER BREEN: The honourable member can have his say later. Given the importance of public confidence in the independence of members of Parliament, if the same circumstances were to arise again I would act no differently. In many ways members of Parliament are the last cards in the pack. Many think that I am the two of spades and that Ms Lee Rhiannon is the two of clubs. I would like to think that we have upheld the traditions of Parliament and that all members remain free to articulate concerns raised by whistleblowers on any issue. MOTOR ACCIDENTS COMPENSATION FURTHER AMENDMENT (TERRORISM) BILL WORKERS COMPENSATION AMENDMENT (TERRORISM INSURANCE ARRANGEMENTS) BILL TERRORISM (COMMONWEALTH POWERS) BILL TERRORISM (POLICE POWERS) BILL Second Reading Debate resumed from 3 December. The Hon. Michael Gallacher: Point of order: This is without doubt one of the most important packages of legislation this House will debate during this session and, indeed, this Parliament. Will the Parliamentary Secretary indicate why the Minister is not here to steer this legislation through the House? The Hon. Ian Macdonald: The Minister requested a pair which the Hon. John Jobling granted. The PRESIDENT: Order! There is no point of order. The Hon. IAN COHEN [11.17 a.m.]: It is clear that the legislation is being handled by a more experienced member. This is extremely important legislation and I am sure it has not escaped the notice of a number of honourable members that certain accusations have been made about its carriage through the House. Perhaps I should ask for the Government's permission to keep speaking on this matter. This morning, media reports and a Government press releases stated that the Greens, crossbenchers and Opposition are inappropriately holding up the passage of this legislation and that we are breaking the Government's appropriate momentum by daring to foreshadow amendments to this draconian legislation. The Government's position, as stated in the media today, shows how easily it can twist the fragile democracy of this State and spread a series of lies in the media to twist around something that is clearly in the control of the Government of the day.