Parliamentary privilege faces SA challenge
The South Australian parliament has been debating a bill today that aims to temporarily remove parliamentary privilege normally covering the actions of MPs. The privilege traditionally protects parliamentarians from defamation actions, for all comments aired in the parliament. The move follows a string of allegations aired in parliament by speaker, Peter Lewis and his staff, who claimed that a serving MP, a former MP and two police officers are pedophiles. The bill will temporarily remove the privilege covering Peter Lewis, while an investigation into the allegations is conducted. The legislation – which is being debated as we go to air – is expected to be knocked back in the State’s Upper House by the Democrats, who hold the balance of power there. Dean Jaensch is a Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Adelaide’s Flinders University. He spoke earlier with Erica Vowles about the circumstances that prompted the South Australia government to introduce the bill