Points of Order — Parliamentary ICT System—Email Security System

I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I want to raise with you a very serious matter with regard to members of Parliament being able to conduct their business, and it does relate to the order of the House. It has come to my attention in the last 24 hours that the Parliamentary Service is using an email security facility that monitors the content of, and in some cases blocks, emails to and from members of Parliament on the basis of Government security classification. I had an email exchange last night with a journalist—a member of the press gallery—that was blocked, and I was not able to send it, because the document that I was attaching, which I had obtained under the Official Information Act, had previously had a Government security classification on it.

This is a very serious matter because it does not actually matter how I came to hold the document; the fact that the Parliamentary Service is monitoring the emails coming to and from the email addresses of members of Parliament is completely unacceptable. It is clearly a breach of privilege, and I ask that you investigate that matter with some urgency and ensure that that situation is immediately dealt with.

I will certainly look at the matter and come back to the House tomorrow. It is a matter of whether there is some encryption on that email, perhaps because it is used between Government members. Until I know more detail as to the source of the Official Information Act document, which I will obtain from the member when I catch up with him at the Business Committee later—certainly, once any information is released under the Official Information Act, it clearly is then free and available for distribution.

I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I do not want to be misconstrued. It does not matter how a member of Parliament comes to obtain the information; what a member of Parliament does with that information is then a matter for them and for the Parliament. It is not Government information, and Government security classifications do not and should not apply to any information held by members of Parliament who are outside the executive.

I agree with the shadow Leader of the House. This was actually very similar to the issue that was considered by the Privileges Committee in respect of the complaint by Andrea Vance and others, where it was very clearly found by the Privileges Committee that information belonging to members is actually the members’ information. It does not belong to Parliamentary Service, it does not belong to the Government, and it is for members to do what they think they should, pursuant to our rights of freedom of expression that are guaranteed in this House.

As I have said to both members, I will look into the matter and will come back to the House tomorrow.