Matter of Privilege

Matter of Privilege, Speaker's Statement

The SPEAKER (18:22): Members, earlier I indicated that I would return within the hour to rule in relation to a matter of privilege that had been raised with me. Matters—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members! Other business intervened. On the report of the Select Committee on the Conduct of the Hon. Vickie Chapman MP regarding Kangaroo Island Port Application being brought up earlier today, I have had the opportunity to closely and carefully consider the report of the committee.

I refer now to standing order 132, which provides that any question of privilege suspends all other business before the house until the matter is decided. The practice has evolved since at least the early seventies of a Speaker listening to an allegation, deliberating on it and later giving a ruling on whether a prima facie case has been made out, and if so found, to give precedence to a motion.

In arriving at a decision, it is not my role on behalf of the house to form an opinion on any allegation that may be raised as a matter of privilege. In Parliamentary Practice in New Zealand, McGee expressed the view that the test for whether a matter is a matter of privilege might be determined by asking whether it could, given its proper construction, genuinely be regarded as tending to impede or obstruct the house in the discharge of its duties. That test has been, as I indicated on an earlier occasion, adopted by other Speakers. I have also earlier indicated that I adopt that test. I use that test here.

In my opinion, the findings and recommendations set out in the report are of sufficient weight to make out a prima facie case of privilege. In my view, the matters raised in the report could genuinely be regarded as tending to impede or obstruct the house in the discharge of its duties.

In order to take a different course from the one that I have now proposed to the house, I would have needed to set aside each of the 12 findings made by the committee, make alternative findings or find some other error with each finding so as to take a different course. That would have been an extraordinary course to take in view of the findings as I have considered them. Accordingly, I propose to give precedence to enable members to pursue this matter as a matter of privilege immediately if they wish.