On 18 September 2001 the President informed the House that the Leader of the
House had nominated Revd Mr Nile as the Chair of the Committee for this inquiry.
The reporting date for the inquiry was extended to 15 November 2001 by
resolution of the House on 24 October 2001.
On 6 December 2001 the Legislative House resolved:
That the House adopt recommendations Nos 1 to 4 of Report No. 13 of the
Standing Committee on Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics entitled “Possible
intimidation of witnesses before General Purpose Standing Committee No. 3 and
unauthorised disclosure of committee evidence.”
That the President write to the Commissioner of Police informing him of the
terms of Recommendations Nos 2 and 3, namely:
Recommendation 2:
That Police Management be reminded that intimidation or
coercion of police officers who give evidence before parliamentary committees,
whether intended or not, in relation to their evidence constitutes a contempt
of Parliament.
Recommendation 3:
That the Police Commissioner be advised of the need to
develop a clear set of procedures for management when dealing with officers
under their command who appear as witnesses before parliamentary inquiries.
These procedures should be published and widely circulated to avoid future
problems between the Police Service and the Parliament.
On 15 November 2001, the House resolved:
That this House, having considered the recommendations of Report No. 13 of the
Standing Committee on Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics entitled "Possible
intimidation of witnesses before General Purpose Standing Committee No. 3 and
unauthorised disclosure of committee evidence", requests the Standing Committee
on Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics to inquire into and report on appropriate
guidelines for dealing with unauthorised disclosure of debates, reports or
proceedings of Legislative Council committees.
Resolution of the House on the motion of Revd the Hon Fred Nile MLC:
Minutes of
the Proceedings of the Legislative Council No. 132, Thursday 15 November 2001,
item .