Privilege — Policing Functions—Parliamentary Precincts

I move, That the House take note of the report of the Privileges Committee on the draft agreement on policing functions within the parliamentary precincts. I move this on behalf of Matt Robson, the chairman of the Privileges Committee. My comments will be very short, because basically, the report speaks for itself. The purpose of the report is to ensure that police and parliamentary staff are given clear guidance with regard to the roles and powers of the police within the parliamentary precincts.

One comment in the report that is worthwhile repeating is that when parliamentary business is being transacted the buildings take on a unique constitutional status, and parliamentary privilege applies to the transaction of that business, and that is important. This arose because of an earlier incident that involved Shane Ardern, and the view was that we needed to ensure that everybody understood the way in which the protocols worked. I believe that the Privileges Committee has set down a good report. The recommendations are for you, Mr Speaker, to decide finally on how they are to be implemented. However, I would recommend that you take the recommendations seriously. They are very good and were made unanimously. I thoroughly commend them to the House.

Motion agreed to.