Parliamentary Procedure

Chamber Media Access

The SPEAKER: I advise members that I rise to address the issue of media access to film proceedings. Yesterday in the house a point of order was raised as to whether I had directed media to leave the public galleries. I advised the house that, as I had not been notified of the media's intent to film from the gallery, I advised one of the attendants that they were to leave. I take this opportunity to clarify the situation concerning media access to the filming of the proceedings of the House of Assembly.

As members would be aware, the parliament commenced broadcasting its proceedings last year, which included access to media organisations accredited by the Speaker to the broadcast material. I refer the house to the terms and conditions relating to the transmission and broadcasting of proceedings, as set out in standing order 400 with reference to the following:

6. The instructions of the Speaker or the Speaker’s delegate in respect of broadcasting in the House of Assembly shall be observed.

7. Camera operators and still photographers must operate within the guidelines issued by the Speaker.

8. No other filming or sound recording of proceedings of the House is permitted except by express permission of the Speaker.

Where previously media organisations were required to be in attendance to film proceedings, with media access to the broadcast of proceedings it was considered no longer necessary for the media to have access to the chamber to film the proceedings. However, should the media request access for a particular reason, they could make an application to the Speaker for specific permission.

The standing orders relating to the transmission and broadcasting of proceedings reflect this new paradigm and now operate in such a way so that any media organisation who wish to film proceedings in the House of Assembly need to seek the express permission of the Speaker. As I advised the house yesterday, not being notified of the media's intent to film from the gallery and not having received a request for permission to film, those media representatives were advised to leave. This is consistent with the standing orders. On a related matter, I refer to footage that has formed part of television news services that filmed members of the public in the House of Assembly gallery recently.

As outlined in the standing orders, camera operators must operate within the guidelines issued by the Speaker. On 2 August this year, I advised the house of updated conditions for granting the privilege of still photography and publishing proceedings of the House of Assembly. Part of those conditions included any event other than on the floor of the chamber cannot be published without specific approval. This equates to no filming of the public galleries unless specific approval is sought and provided.

Further, I refer the house to the filming rules and guidelines established by my predecessor the Hon. Michael Atkinson that apply to the camera operators of the broadcasting system and equally apply where applicable to anyone, including media organisations given permission to film proceedings of the House of Assembly. Those guidelines clearly state that filming is not to provide coverage of the galleries. The prohibition on filming people in the public galleries is a long established condition of filming in the House of Assembly and is consistent with the practice of numerous parliaments, not only in Australia but around the world.

The restriction discourages people who attend the parliament from engaging in disturbances that could be filmed and later shown in the media. There are also those members of the public who may be dissuaded from visiting the parliament should they know their attendance could be filmed and later publicised. As I have pointed out, given the number of schoolchildren who are also in attendance in the public gallery, this highlights the importance of control measures around this issue.

I can assure all members that with the introduction of the broadcasting of proceedings, accredited media organisations now have access to 100 per cent of the proceedings that take place in the House of Assembly chamber. If there are any media organisations that feel they need to have additional access to the proceedings, I invite them to apply for permission. Any application will be considered on its merits and, should permission be granted, it will be subject to the same rules and guidelines where applicable that govern broadcast camera operators together with any directions that are imposed by the Speaker.

I now refer to recent comments that have been made in the media concerning public access to the various galleries of the parliament. Standing order 69 clearly indicates that only the Speaker may admit strangers into the Speaker's gallery. Members of the Legislative Council have privileges of admission there. The Speaker's gallery needs to be distinguished from the strangers' gallery, which is the public gallery on the upper level. Members of the public wishing to visit parliament and observe the proceedings of the House of Assembly do not need the permission of the Speaker to sit in the strangers' gallery. I trust this simple explanation will make it clear that the public are free to visit the parliament to observe its proceedings from the public galleries without the need for any permission to do so.

Mr PICTON: On a point of clarification, Mr Speaker, I remember when the previous Speaker, the former member for Croydon, brought in the previous rules in terms of filming in the house. He said that one area which had not yet been decided was in relation to cutaways. To compare our house with the federal parliament, where there are no external cameras allowed into the house, there are quite extensive cutaways that are allowed and happen in the broadcasting system. For instance, if there were people who were guests in the federal parliament when the federal parliamentary system films them as part of the broadcasting system—

The SPEAKER: They have allowed some cutaways. I have seen that.

Mr PICTON: Have you made a determination in terms of whether the system will allow such cutaways, whether it is in terms of people who are being talked about in the chamber but also in the public galleries?

The SPEAKER: I am more than aware of what the federal parliament do. I am happy to take that on notice, have a look at what is exactly determined in the rules about cutaways and come back to the house at a later date.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: On a further point of clarification, sir, when the television journalists were asked to leave by attendants on your instructions on two days, I understand your ruling led not only to the TV cameras being evicted but also the journalists themselves. Is it your ruling that journalists must seek your permission to be in the strangers' gallery?

The SPEAKER: I am quite happy for journalists to be in the strangers' gallery. Let's be very clear about this: it is particularly about the filming that I am referring to. However, if a journalist has a camera in their hands, I can understand how perhaps that message could be unclear, so I trust in good faith that this will now clarify that issue.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: So journalists are free to watch the proceedings of parliament, as they see fit?

The SPEAKER: Absolutely.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: They were asked to leave.

The SPEAKER: Yes, so I hope that clarifies that situation.