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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
New South Wales
Parliamentary Electorates and
Elections Amendment (Joint
Parliamentary Committee) Bill 2003
Contents
Page
1 Name of Act 2
2 Commencement 2
3 Amendment of Parliamentary Electorates and Elections
Act 1912 No 41 2
Schedule 1 Amendments 3
b03-405-p01.18
New South Wales
Parliamentary Electorates and
Elections Amendment (Joint
Parliamentary Committee) Bill 2003
No , 2003
A Bill for
An Act to amend the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 so as to
provide for the constitution and functions of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to
monitor the work and activities of the Electoral Commissioner for New South
Wales; and for other purposes.
Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Amendment (Joint Parliamentary
Clause 1 Committee) Bill 2003
1
The Legislature of New South Wales enacts:
2
1 Name of Act
3
This Act is the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections
4
Amendment (Joint Parliamentary Committee) Act 2003.
5
2 Commencement
6
This Act commences on the date of assent.
7
3 Amendment of Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912
8
No 41
9
The Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act 1912 is amended
10
as set out in Schedule 1.
Page 2
Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Amendment (Joint Parliamentary
Committee) Bill 2003
Amendments Schedule 1
Schedule 1 Amendments 1
2
(Section 3)
3
[1] Section 3 Definitions
4
Insert in alphabetical order in section 3 (1):
5
Joint Committee means the Joint Committee called the
6
Committee on the State Electoral Office constituted under
7
Part 9.
8
[2] Section 21AA
9
Insert after section 21A:
10
21AA Veto of proposed appointment of Electoral Commissioner
11
(1) A person is not to be appointed as Electoral Commissioner
12
until:
13
(a) a proposal that the person be appointed has been
14
referred to the Joint Committee under section 191, and
15
(b) either the period that the Joint Committee has under that
16
section to veto the proposed appointment has ended
17
without the Committee having vetoed the proposed
18
appointment or the Committee notifies the Minister that
19
it has decided not to veto the proposed appointment.
20
(2) A person may be proposed for appointment on more than one
21
occasion.
22
(3) In this section and section 191, appointment includes re-
23
appointment.
24
[3] Part 9
25
Insert before Schedule 1:
Part 9 Joint Parliamentary Committee 26
27
189 Constitution of Joint Committee
28
As soon as practicable after the commencement of this Part
29
and the commencement of the first session of each
30
Parliament, a joint committee of members of Parliament, to be
31
known as the Committee on the State Electoral Office, is to be
32
appointed.
Page 3
Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Amendment (Joint Parliamentary
Committee) Bill 2003
Schedule 1 Amendments
190 Functions of Joint Committee 1
2
(1) The functions of the Joint Committee are as follows:
3
(a) to monitor and to review the exercise by the Electoral
4
Commissioner of the functions of the Commissioner
5
under this or any other Act,
6
(b) to report to both Houses of Parliament, with such
7
comments as it thinks fit, on any matter appertaining to
8
the Electoral Commissioner or connected with the
9
exercise of the functions of the Commissioner to which,
10
in the opinion of the Joint Committee, the attention of
11
Parliament should be directed,
12
(c) to examine each annual and other report made by the
13
Electoral Commissioner, and presented to Parliament,
14
under this or any other Act and to report to both Houses
15
of Parliament on any matter appearing in, or arising out
16
of, any such report,
17
(d) to report to both Houses of Parliament any change that
18
the Joint Committee considers desirable to the
19
functions, structures and procedures of the State
20
Electoral Office,
21
(e) to inquire into any question in connection with the Joint
22
Committee's functions that is referred to it by both
23
Houses of Parliament, and to report to both Houses on
24
that question.
25
(2) Nothing in this Part authorises the Joint Committee to monitor
26
or review a decision made by an electoral official in the
27
scrutiny of votes in a particular election.
28
(3) The functions of the Joint Committee (other than the function
29
referred to in subsection (1) (a)) may be exercised in respect
30
of matters occurring before or after the commencement of this
31
section.
32
191 Power to veto proposed appointment of Electoral
33
Commissioner
34
(1) The Minister is to refer a proposal to appoint a person as
35
Electoral Commissioner to the Joint Committee and the
36
Committee is empowered to veto the proposed appointment
37
as provided by this section. The Minister may withdraw a
38
referral at any time.
Page 4
Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Amendment (Joint Parliamentary
Committee) Bill 2003
Amendments Schedule 1
1
(2) The Joint Committee has 14 days after the proposed
2
appointment is referred to it to veto the proposal and has a
3
further 30 days (after the initial 14 days) to veto the proposal
4
if it notifies the Minister within that 14 days that it requires
5
more time to consider the matter.
6
(3) The Joint Committee is to notify the Minister, within the time
7
that it has to veto a proposed appointment, whether or not it
8
vetoes it.
9
(4) A referral or notification under this section is to be in writing.
10
192 Membership
11
(1) The Joint Committee is to consist of 9 members, of whom:
12
(a) 4 are to be members of, and appointed by, the
13
Legislative Council, and
14
(b) 5 are to be members of, and appointed by, the
15
Legislative Assembly.
16
(2) The appointment of members of the Joint Committee is, as far
17
as practicable, to be in accordance with the practice of
18
Parliament with reference to the appointment of members to
19
serve on joint committees of both Houses of Parliament.
20
(3) A person is not eligible for appointment as a member of the
21
Joint Committee if the person is a Minister of the Crown or a
22
Parliamentary Secretary.
23
193 Vacancies
24
(1) A member of the Joint Committee ceases to hold office:
25
(a) when the Legislative Assembly is dissolved or expires
26
by the effluxion of time, or
27
(b) if the member becomes a Minister of the Crown or a
28
Parliamentary Secretary, or
29
(c) if a member ceases to be a member of the Legislative
30
Council or Legislative Assembly, or
31
(d) if, being a member of the Legislative Council, the
32
member resigns the office by instrument in writing
33
addressed to the President of the Legislative Council, or
Page 5
Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Amendment (Joint Parliamentary
Committee) Bill 2003
Schedule 1 Amendments
1
(e) if, being a member of the Legislative Assembly, the
2
member resigns the office by instrument in writing
3
addressed to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly,
4
or
5
(f) if the member is discharged from office by the House of
6
Parliament to which the member belongs.
7
(2) Either House of Parliament may appoint one of its members
8
to fill a vacancy among the members of the Joint Committee
9
appointed by that House.
10
194 Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson
11
(1) There is to be a Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson of the
12
Joint Committee, who are to be elected by and from the
13
members of the Joint Committee.
14
(2) A member of the Joint Committee ceases to hold office as
15
Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson of the Joint Committee if:
16
(a) the member ceases to be a member of the Committee, or
17
(b) the member resigns the office by instrument in writing
18
presented to a meeting of the Committee, or
19
(c) the member is discharged from office by the
20
Committee.
21
(3) At any time when the Chairperson is absent from New South
22
Wales or is, for any reason, unable to perform the duties of
23
Chairperson or there is a vacancy in that office, the Vice-
24
Chairperson may exercise the functions of the Chairperson
25
under this Act or under the Parliamentary Evidence Act 1901.
26
195 Procedure
27
(1) The procedure for the calling of meetings of the Joint
28
Committee and for the conduct of business at those meetings
29
is, subject to this Act, to be as determined by the Committee.
30
(2) The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly is to call the first
31
meeting of the Joint Committee in each Parliament in such
32
manner as the Clerk thinks fit.
33
(3) At a meeting of the Joint Committee, 5 members constitute a
34
quorum, but the Committee must meet as a joint committee at
35
all times.
Page 6
Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Amendment (Joint Parliamentary
Committee) Bill 2003
Amendments Schedule 1
1
(4) The Chairperson or, in the absence of the Chairperson, the
2
Vice-Chairperson (or, in the absence of both the Chairperson
3
and the Vice-Chairperson, a member of the Joint Committee
4
elected to chair the meeting by the members present) is to
5
preside at a meeting of the Joint Committee.
6
(5) The Vice-Chairperson or other member presiding at a meeting
7
of the Joint Committee has, in relation to the meeting, all the
8
functions of the Chairperson.
9
(6) The Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson or other member
10
presiding at a meeting of the Joint Committee has a
11
deliberative vote and, in the event of an equality of votes, also
12
has a casting vote.
13
(7) A question arising at a meeting of the Joint Committee is to
14
be determined by a majority of the votes of the members
15
present and voting.
16
(8) The Joint Committee may sit and transact business despite
17
any prorogation of the Houses of Parliament or any
18
adjournment of either House of Parliament.
19
(9) The Joint Committee may sit and transact business on a sitting
20
day of a House of Parliament during the time of sitting.
21
196 Reporting when Parliament not in session
22
(1) If a House of Parliament is not sitting when the Joint
23
Committee seeks to furnish a report to it, the Committee may
24
present copies of the report to the Clerk of the House.
25
(2) The report:
26
(a) on presentation and for all purposes is taken to have
27
been laid before the House, and
28
(b) may be printed by authority of the Clerk, and
29
(c) if printed by authority of the Clerk, is for all purposes
30
taken to be a document published by or under the
31
authority of the House, and
32
(d) is to be recorded in the Minutes, or Votes and
33
Proceedings, of the House on the first sitting day of the
34
House after receipt of the report by the Clerk.
Page 7
Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Amendment (Joint Parliamentary
Committee) Bill 2003
Schedule 1 Amendments
197 Evidence 1
2
(1) The Joint Committee has power to send for persons, papers
3
and records.
4
(2) Subject to section 198, the Joint Committee must take all
5
evidence in public.
6
(3) If the Joint Committee as constituted at any time has taken
7
evidence in relation to a matter but the Committee as so
8
constituted has ceased to exist before reporting on the matter,
9
the Committee as constituted at any subsequent time, whether
10
during the same or another Parliament, may consider that
11
evidence as if it had taken the evidence.
12
(4) The production of documents to the Joint Committee is to be
13
in accordance with the practice of the Legislative Assembly
14
with respect to the production of documents to select
15
committees of the Legislative Assembly.
16
198 Confidentiality
17
(1) If any evidence proposed to be given before, or the whole or
18
a part of a document produced or proposed to be produced to,
19
the Joint Committee relates to a secret or confidential matter,
20
the Committee may, and at the request of the witness giving
21
the evidence or the person producing the document must:
22
(a) take the evidence in private, or
23
(b) direct that the document, or the part of the document, be
24
treated as confidential.
25
(2) If any evidence proposed to be given before, or the whole or
26
a part of a document produced or proposed to be produced in
27
evidence to, the Joint Committee relates to the proposed
28
appointment of a person as Electoral Commissioner, the
29
Committee must (despite any other provision of this section):
30
(a) take the evidence in private, or
31
(b) direct that the document, or the part of the document, be
32
treated as confidential.
Page 8
Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Amendment (Joint Parliamentary
Committee) Bill 2003
Amendments Schedule 1
1
(3) Despite any other provision of this section except
2
subsection (9), the Joint Committee must not, and a person
3
(including a member of the Committee) must not, disclose
4
any evidence or the contents of a document or that part of a
5
document to which subsection (2) applies.
6
Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units or imprisonment for 3
7
months, or both.
8
(4) Despite any other provision of this section except subsection
9
(9), the Joint Committee (including a member of the
10
Committee) must not, and any person assisting the Committee
11
or present during the deliberations of the Committee must not,
12
except in accordance with section 191 (3), disclose whether or
13
not the Joint Committee or any member of the Joint
14
Committee has vetoed, or proposes to veto, the proposed
15
appointment of a person as Electoral Commissioner.
16
Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units or imprisonment for 3
17
months, or both.
18
(5) If a direction under subsection (1) applies to a document or
19
part of a document produced to the Joint Committee:
20
(a) the contents of the document or part are, for the
21
purposes of this section, to be regarded as evidence
22
given by the person producing the document or part and
23
taken by the Committee in private, and
24
(b) the person producing the document or part is, for the
25
purposes of this section, to be regarded as a witness.
26
(6) If, at the request of a witness, evidence is taken by the Joint
27
Committee in private:
28
(a) the Committee must not, without the consent in writing
29
of the witness, and
30
(b) a person (including a member of the Committee) must
31
not, without the consent in writing of the witness and
32
the authority of the Committee under subsection (8),
33
disclose or publish the whole or a part of that evidence.
34
Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units or imprisonment for 3
35
months, or both.
Page 9
Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Amendment (Joint Parliamentary
Committee) Bill 2003
Schedule 1 Amendments
1
(7) If evidence is taken by the Joint Committee in private
2
otherwise than at the request of a witness, a person (including
3
a member of the Committee) must not, without the authority
4
of the Committee under subsection (8), disclose or publish the
5
whole or a part of that evidence.
6
Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units or imprisonment for 3
7
months, or both.
8
(8) The Joint Committee may, in its discretion, disclose or
9
publish or, by writing under the hand of the Chairperson,
10
authorise the disclosure or publication of evidence taken in
11
private by the Committee, but this subsection does not operate
12
so as to affect the necessity for the consent of a witness under
13
subsection (6).
14
(9) Nothing in this section prohibits:
15
(a) the disclosure or publication of evidence that has
16
already been lawfully published, or
17
(b) the disclosure or publication by a person of a matter of
18
which the person has become aware otherwise than by
19
reason, directly or indirectly, of the giving of evidence
20
before the Joint Committee.
21
(10) This section has effect despite section 4 of the Parliamentary
22
Papers (Supplementary Provisions) Act 1975.
23
(11) If evidence taken by the Joint Committee in private is
24
disclosed or published in accordance with this section:
25
(a) sections 5 and 6 of the Parliamentary Papers
26
(Supplementary Provisions) Act 1975 apply to and in
27
relation to the disclosure or publication as if it were a
28
publication of that evidence under the authority of
29
section 4 of that Act, and
30
(b) Division 5 of Part 3 of, and Schedule 2 to, the
31
Defamation Act 1974 apply to and in relation to that
32
evidence as if it were taken by the Committee in public.
33
199 Application of certain Acts
34
For the purposes of the Parliamentary Evidence Act 1901 and
35
the Parliamentary Papers (Supplementary Provisions)
36
Act 1975 and for any other purposes:
Page 10
Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Amendment (Joint Parliamentary
Committee) Bill 2003
Amendments Schedule 1
1
(a) the Joint Committee is to be regarded as a joint
2
committee of the Legislative Council and Legislative
3
Assembly, and
4
(b) the proposal for the appointment of the Joint Committee
5
is to be regarded as having originated in the Legislative
6
Assembly.
7
200 Validity of certain acts or proceedings
8
Any act or proceeding of the Joint Committee is, even though
9
at the time when the act or proceeding was done, taken or
10
commenced there was:
11
(a) a vacancy in the office of a member of the Committee,
12
or
13
(b) any defect in the appointment, or any disqualification,
14
of a member of the Committee,
15
as valid as if the vacancy, defect or disqualification did not
16
exist and the Committee were fully and properly constituted.
Page 11
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