VOL. 83 FOR 2015 THEJOURNAL OFTHESOCIETYOF CLERKS-AT-THE-TABLE IN COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTS VOLUME 83 2015 £15.00 Journal of the Society of Clerks-at-the-Table in Commonwealth Parliaments Please check colours, board and finish with Kinnaird marketing Green and red should match Vol.75 2007 edition???? The Table THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF CLERKS-AT-THE-TABLE IN COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTS EDITED BY NICOLAS BESLY VOLUME 83 2015 THE SOCIETY OF CLERKS-AT-THE-TABLE IN COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTS HOUSE OF LORDS LONDON SW1A 0PW 724 The Table v3.indd 1 25/08/2015 20:12 ©The Society of Clerks-at-the-Table in Commonwealth Parliaments 2015 ISBN 978-0-904979-40-7 ISSN 0264-7133 724 The Table v3.indd 2 25/08/2015 20:12 CONTENTS Editorial 1 Legislating for parliamentary privilege: 8 the New Zealand Parliamentry Privilage Act 2014 DEBRA ANGUS Scottish independence referendum begat constitutional 16 commission begat command paper and draft legislation STEPHEN IMRIE The Smith Commission for further devolution of powers 19 to the Scottish Parliamant: faster, safer, better change? TRACEY WHITE Archibald Milman and the procedural response to 22 obstruction, 1877–1888 COLIN LEE Waiving good riddance to section 13 of the Defamation 45 Act 1996? ALEXANDER HORNE and OONAGH GAY OBE Clerks at war—William Rupert McCourt, Frederick Barker 54 Langley and Harry Robbins DR GARETH GRIFFITH Miscellaneous notes 57 Comparative study: voting in the chamber 97 Privilege 128 Standing orders 146 Sitting days 160 Unparliamentary expressions 162 Books on parliament in 2014 171 Index 176 iii 724 The Table v3.indd 3 25/08/2015 20:12 724 The Table v3.indd 4 25/08/2015 20:12 The Table The Journal of The Society of Clerks-at-the-Table in Commonwealth Parliaments EDITORIAL There are three themes in the articles in this edition of The Table: recent developments in parliamentary privilege; the referendum on Scottish independence; and former clerks. The edition begins with an article by the Deputy Clerk of the New Zealand House of Representatives, Debra Angus, on New Zealand’s Parliamentary Privilege Act 2014. There are some parallels with the 1987 Australian legislation on privilege: both statutes followed adverse and unexpected court rulings; the matter was then considered by a committee which recommended legislation; and the Acts which followed, while comprehensive, were not attempts at exhaustive codification. The article draws on this comparison and developments elsewhere in the Commonwealth in what makes for a fascinating read. Later in the edition privilege is covered from the opposite angle. Alexander Horne and Oonagh Gay from the UK House of Commons Library write about the repeal of a statutory provision on privilege. Section 13 of the Defamation Act 1996 allowed individuals to waive privilege so far as the individual was concerned for the purpose of a defamation action. It was an unusual creature: it was passed in a hurry in response to a political scandal; it was unclear that it had the support of the then government or the mover of the amendment which became section 13; it marked a significant departure from the principle that privilege is owned by the House not the individual, and therefore is for the House to waive; and it was rarely invoked. Hence soon after its enactment in 1996 there were calls for its repeal. These calls were finally successful in the Deregulation Act 2015. This article recounts the full story of a provision which is unlikely to be missed. There are two articles on the September 2014 referendum on whether Scotland should become an independent country. Stephen Imrie, clerk to the Scottish Parliament’s Devolution (Further Powers) Committee, begins by examining events that led up to the referendum. He then sets out developments since. One of the most prominent of these was the Smith Commission. This was a cross-party group set up immediately after the referendum to reach consensus on a package of further devolution. Its timetable was tight. Tracey White, a clerk in the Scottish Parliament, was seconded to the Smith Commission secretariat and covers its workings. The first article in this edition about clerks gone by is written by Colin Lee, a Principal Clerk of the UK House of Commons. He details the first part 1 724 The Table v3.indd 1 25/08/2015 20:12 The Table 2015 of the career of Archibald Milman. Milman joined the House of Commons clerkship in 1857 and retired as Clerk of the House. This article covers the period 1877 to 1888, during the latter part of which Milman was Second Clerk Assistant to Sir Thomas Erskine May, the Clerk of the House of Commons and Under-Clerk of the Parliaments. This was a time of significant procedural change in the Commons, with obstruction by Irish MPs wanting home rule leading to the introduction of disciplinary powers for the chair and the ability to curtail debate. As Mr Lee puts it, Milman and other clerks “were by no means passive observers of the situation”, showing a level of intervention which would probably now be considered inappropriate for an impartial clerk. The article is a thorough examination of Milman’s career during this period. Readers can look forward to further information about Milman’s later career in a future edition of The Table. Finally, there is an article by Dr Gareth Griffith, manager of the New South Wales Parliamentary Research Service, about the experiences of three New South Wales clerks during the First World War. All three rose to be Clerk of the Legislative Assembly after wartime heroics. Dr Griffith covers their stories. In addition to these interesting articles, this edition contains the usual parliamentary miscellanea, developments about privilege and standing order changes, and a comparative study about procedure during divisions. The editor is grateful for all contributions and hopes readers find the volume useful and enjoyable. MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY Australia House of Representatives On 1 January 2014 Bernard Wright retired as Clerk. He was succeeded by David Elder. Senate Distinguished former member of the Society of Clerks-at-the-Table, Harry Evans, former Clerk of the Senate (1988–2009), died on 6 September 2014 after a long illness. Acknowledged as one of the driving forces behind the development of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987 (Cth), Evans also undertook a major revision of the standard text on the Australian Senate, Australian Senate Practice, after its original author, J R Odgers, produced the first five editions and contributed to the sixth. Renaming the workOdgers’ Australian Senate Practice, Evans edited six editions of the work before his retirement in 2009. On the first sitting day after Evans’ death (22 September 2014), senators speaking to a motion of condolence paid tribute to a long and distinguished 2 724 The Table v3.indd 2 25/08/2015 20:12 Editorial career of public service to the Senate and the people of Australia. Rachel Callinan was appointed as Usher of the Black Rod in June 2014, having served in that role in the New South Wales Legislative Council. New South Wales Legislative Council On 30 June 2014 Susan Want was appointed the 25th Usher of the Black Rod, replacing Rachel Callinan (see above). Ms Want was formerly the Director— Procedure in the Legislative Council. South Australia House of Assembly Malcolm Lehman retired as Clerk of the House of Assembly on 30 May 2014. Rick Crump was promoted to be Clerk of the House of Assembly with effect from 18 December 2014. Victoria Legislative Assembly Dr Vaughn Koops was promoted to Assistant Clerk (Committees) in September 2014. Victoria Legislative Council Wayne Tunnecliffe announced his retirement as Clerk of the Legislative Council in 2014. Although he will remain Clerk until July 2015, he took accumulated leave from July 2014. Wayne has been Clerk of the Legislative Council since December 1999. He has been a parliamentary officer since January 1967, having begun as a junior clerk in the Legislative Assembly aged 17. He spent most of his first seven years learning the basics of the parliamentary service in various positions in the Legislative Assembly, except for 12 months in the Legislative Council from 1968 to 1969. He transferred back to the Legislative Council in 1974 and worked as Clerk of the Papers and Joint Secretary to the Statute Law Revision Committee for nine years. Wayne was Usher of the Black Rod for five years, when he organised the 1985 and 1987 openings of Parliament, and Clerk Assistant and Clerk of Committees from 1988 to 1999. Matthew Tricarico has taken extended leave before his retirement as Deputy Clerk of the Legislative Council takes effect in November 2015. Matthew served the Parliament of Victoria for 37 years. Following a brief career in the public service, he was appointed Accounting Officer at the Parliament of Victoria in 1978. He then rose through the ranks first as a committee clerk and then secretary of various parliamentary committees to become Clerk of the Papers and Assistant Clerk of Committees in 1983. In 1988 Matthew was appointed Usher of the Black Rod, a position he held until 1999 when he was appointed Deputy Clerk of the Legislative Council. He held this position until 2014. Andrew Young has been appointed Acting Clerk until July 2015, when he 3 724 The Table v3.indd 3 25/08/2015 20:12 The Table 2015 will take up the position permanently. Anne Sargent was appointed Deputy Clerk in August 2014. Western Australia Legislative Council Nigel Pratt became Clerk of the Legislative Council in February 2014. He had previously been Deputy Clerk of the Tasmanian Legislative Council. Canada House of Commons In September 2014 Audrey O’Brien, the Clerk of the House of Commons, went on extended medical leave.