MEMBER for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall has been appointed to serve on the NSW Parliament’s Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics Committee.
The appointment was announced in Parliament last week.
“This is a significant body in the Parliament which considers matters of privilege referred to it by the Legislative Assembly,” Mr Marshall said.
“Parliamentary privilege affords members the legal protection to speak freely during ordinary parliamentary proceedings without fear of legal action on the grounds of slander or contempt of court.
“If a member abuses this privilege or commits a serious breach of the standing orders of the House, then a matter will be referred to the committee for consideration and possible disciplinary action, including the suspension of the Member from the Parliament.”
The committee also plays an important role in reviewing the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament.
“A review is currently underway to update the Code and look at a number of additions to bring it in line with community standards and similar codes in other comparable jurisdictions,” Mr Marshall said.
“When I served in local government I had to come to terms with a 32-page code of conduct document and now as a State MP my conduct is governed by a document of only two-pages – I still find this ‘disproportionate’ approach to conduct perplexing.”
“I’m looking forward to serving on this committee and playing my part to try and address behavioral and conduct anomalies of the Parliament and its members.”
Mr Marshall will also continue his work as Chair of the Parliament’s Community Services Committee, Deputy Chair of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) oversight committee and member of the Joint Standing Committee on Road Safety.