Monday 23 April 2012

Lying to Parliament to become criminal offence again

The drafting of laws making it illegal to lie to the Queensland Parliament will be reinstated under the new State Government.

The LNP Cabinet will endorse their election commitment to reintroduce this as a criminal offence.  

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Jarrod Bleijie MP says they will amend the Queensland Criminal Code to re-enact laws repealed under the previous administration.

 "The Queensland community expects its parliamentarians to act responsibly and with the highest integrity," Mr Bleijie said.  "Knowingly giving false evidence before the Parliament or one of its committees is conduct cutting to the heart of parliamentary privilege and is deserving of criminal sanction."

In 2006 the Labor Government repealed the section that made lying in Parliament a criminal offence after the Parliament had dealt with allegations that the then Minister for Health, Gordon Nuttall MP, had misled a Parliamentary Estimates Committee.

"At that time, the matter constituted not only a contempt of Parliament but under section 57 of the Criminal Code, knowingly giving false evidence before Parliament was a crime with a penalty of up to seven years' jail,"  Jarrod Bleijie says. "The Parliament resolved to deal with the matter as contempt of Parliament, rather than a criminal offence, and accepted Mr Nuttall's resignation as a Minister and member of the Executive Council and his apology to Parliament as an appropriate penalty."

"The previous government then passed amendments to the Criminal Code to repeal section 57, giving Parliament exclusive jurisdiction to deal with a person who provides false evidence to it or one of its committees." Mr Bleijie said.

Reintroducing this section of the Criminal Code will enhance Queensland Parliament's reputation.

3 comments:

jim Cavill said...

good and the not wasting time are they surly there are more important things to do.

kafmil said...

Check out this petition, something like this is needed help clean up Canberra. Its fine to make lying an offence, but when it is so easy to deliberately mislead without technically lying the law has no real effect. http://www.communityrun.org/petitions/improve-misleading-parliament-laws

:Kevin-John: Morgan. said...

How does one keep politicians from lying when their lips are moving?
How does one keep politicians, lawyers, police, judiciary and the banks, when they cannot even read or write, AND, cheated on their exams?
Politicians and their "minders", the police & judiciary do not work for the public, they all work for corporations.
Corporations cannot make laws.
Corporations can only make by-laws.
Will you allow by-laws to take your house, your children, your car, your assets?
Magistrate Black has already been caught on record as saying: "As long as I'm on the bench, the Truth will never be allowed in my court".
Have a nice day Queensland.