22nd Nov 2022, 4:22 PM – Senate Committees - Procedure Committee - Reference

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Queensland Senator Malcolm Roberts, which means it passed and the matters below will be examined by the Procedure Committee.

Motion text

That the following matter be referred to the Procedure Committee for inquiry and report by 31 March 2023:

(1) The appropriate terms to establish a procedure in the standing orders through which:

(a) senators can confidentially and privately review documents subject to an order for production that a Minister believes would be against the public interest to table; and

(b) after the documents have been made available for review, the Senate can reject a Minister's public interest claim against disclosure and order the tabling of the documents.

(2) Whether the procedure in paragraph (1) is appropriate having regard to the balance between the Senate's constitutional power as the house of review, the necessity of senators to be properly informed of sensitive issues to make informed decisions and the protection of the public interest from public disclosure of sensitive information.