Speaker says privilege abused

Press, 1 October 1983, Page 2

Speaker says privilege abused

PA Wellington Members of Parliament should not diminish public confidence in statutory commissions unless it was necessary to their argument, said the Speaker, Sir Richard Harrison, yesterday. Sir Richard was making a ruling in Parliament after attacks were made there this week on members of the Representation Commission, which drew up boundaries for the 1984 General Election. X j ;

The Leader of the House, Mr Thomson, had asked Sir Richard to consider the “regrettable accusations and their consequence, to determine whether Speakers’ rulings give adequate guidance to members in such matters?’ ■ ■ „ ; Mr Thomson said on Thursday that Parliament had seen “unwarranted per-' secution” of the commission’s statutory officers. He described the claims as a “disgraceful abuse of the necessary privilege of Parliament.”

An attack made by Labour and Social Credit members was unsupported by any evidence and was “quite contemptible,” Mr Thomson said.

Sir Richard said, “Members in this House must take care that they say nothing that will tend to diminish the public acceptance of or

confidence in a commission, of whatever status, unless it is necessary to thefr argument and then only to the extent that it is necessary.

“By that, I mean that their argument must be of sufficient public importance to override this principle and the words containing the reflection on the commission or member must form a necessary link in the argument.” The Speaker repeated an earlier ruling, which said a Royal commission or commission of inquiry, if headed by a serving member of the Judiciary, would be shielded from unbecoming references.

Parliament’s standing orders gave protection to members of the Judiciary, and the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1908, gave to the judge, and to the commission to which he was appointed, the' powers, privileges, and immunities of a judge of the High Court.

Sir Richard commented on the. previous ruling, “I did not think it would necessarily extend to commissions of lesser status ... nor did I think the protection could be extended to retired judges, any more than the protection afforded members, with which we are all familiar, could be extended to former members.”