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Report of a Select Committee of Privilege on a Failure to Produce Documents under Summons (1998)

Select Committee of Privilege on a Failure to Produce Documents under Summons (1998)· 8 December 1998general_report

A WA parliamentary committee investigated whether Dr. Peter Murphy's failure to produce documents under summons from the Estimates and Financial Operations Committee constituted a breach of privilege or contempt of the Legislative Council. The committee found Dr. Murphy in contempt due to his failure to inform the Clerk of his inability to comply with the summons, as directed by the Minister.

Impact

The finding impacts Dr. Murphy directly and sets a precedent for how public servants should respond to parliamentary summonses, emphasizing the importance of timely communication regarding compliance issues.

public_sectorparliamentary privilegefailure to produce documentssummonscontemptministerial directionpublic servantEstimates CommitteeParliamentary Privileges ActWA Legislative Council

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