If something is said during a debate in the Assembly you believe damages your reputation or violates your privacy, you can use your right of reply.
Why a right of reply?
What members say during Assembly proceedings is protected by parliamentary privilege. It is legal immunity that allows members to share and debate information about decisions they are making as openly as possible. This means that when talking about people or corporations in debate, members can speak freely without fear of being charged with defamation.
But there is a condition to this privilege: it shouldn't be used to damage someone's reputation or invade their privacy (called 'adverse mention'). The right of reply is a way someone who believes something said in the chamber has done either of these can seek to respond to what was said and have it entered into the parliamentary record.
Indicators something may be an adverse mention
- What was said happened during a sitting of the Assembly chamber, and
- You or your corporation were been referred to by name, or in a way that makes it easy to identify you, and
- You believe what was said has harmed your or your corporation's:
- public reputation, or
- employment or finances, or
- private information.
Using your right of reply
The full process for a right of reply are set out in continuing resolution 4 of Standing Orders, the Assembly's rule book.
To use your right of reply, write to the Speaker at speaker@parliament.act.gov.au. In your email, you must include the statement that the complaint is about (from the Hansard), how you have been adversely affected, and a response to the statement. Statements from corporations must include its common seal.
If the Speaker refers your email to the Administration and Procedure committee, they will assess it against these criteria:
- Is it free of content that is frivolous, vexatious, or offensive?
- Has it demonstrated that that there has been damage to a person’s reputation or invaded their privacy?
- Is it brief and directly relevant to what was said in the Assembly?
If the committee agrees that you should be granted a right of reply, they may contact you to discuss the terms of the response. The committee would generally then recommend the agreed statement may be published and included in Hansard. If they do not agree it meets all of these criteria, the committee may recommend no further action is taken.
You must be an Australian citizen or resident, or an Australian-registered corporation, to be eligible for a right of reply.
For more information, contact the Clerk Assistant at clerk.assistant@parliament.act.gov.au.