CORRUPTION, CRIME AND
MISCONDUCT AMENDMENT BILL 2017
68. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the Leader of the House
representing the Attorney General:
I refer to the Corruption, Crime and
Misconduct Amendment Bill 2017 and the reinsertion of the word ''exclusively''
in section 3(2) of the Corruption, Crime and Misconduct Act.
(1) Since the
2014 reforms to the Corruption, Crime and Misconduct Act 2003, on how many
occasions has the Corruption and Crime Commission received an allegation
against a public officer but been prevented from commencing an investigation
due to the removal of the word ''exclusively'' from section 3(2)?
(2) When exercising the commission's powers to
enter and search a premises, with or without a warrant, where it is
likely to encounter material subject to parliamentary privilege, what are the
commission's procedures or guidelines with respect to notification of
persons and with respect to the conduct of the search?
(3) When a claim
of parliamentary privilege is made in the course of a lawful search undertaken
by the commission, what procedures or guidelines are relevant in determining
such a claim so as to avoid a contempt of Parliament?
Hon SUE
ELLERY replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) Since the
2014 reforms to the Corruption, Crime and Misconduct Act 2003, the Corruption
and Crime Commission has received allegations against public officers in one
matter that it was prevented from dealing with in accordance with the act due
to the removal of the word ''exclusively'' from section 3(2). In
that matter, without assessing the allegations received, the commission formed
the preliminary view that they may have related to proceedings in Parliament,
being subject matter to which parliamentary privilege attaches, and referred
the matter to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
(2) When
exercising the commission's powers to enter and search a premises, with
or without a warrant, where it is likely to encounter material subject to
parliamentary privilege, the commission's practice is to notify and
consult with parliamentary staff before and during the search, as possible and
appropriate. The commission concurs with the statement of the Standing
Committee on Procedure and Privileges in its forty-eighth report, ''Corruption,
Crime and Misconduct Amendment Bill 2017'', that a memorandum of
understanding between the Corruption and Crime Commission and the Parliament
may go some way to addressing the issue of early notification by the CCC of
investigations that may involve a claim of parliamentary privilege.
(3) When a claim
of parliamentary privilege is made in the course of a lawful search undertaken
by the commission, the commission's practice is to consult
parliamentary staff to enable claims to be made and appropriately determined.