Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee
22 September 2026
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Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee Australian Parliament
19:17 - 21:33
Speaker 1
I open this public hearing of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee inquiry into the Crimes Amendment (Prohibiting Shackling During Childbirth) Bill 2023. The committee's proceeding today will follow the program as circulated. These are public proceedings being broadcast live in Parliament House and via the web. For people participating today, you can see that the committee is joined today by Senator Thorpe in the room, Deputy Chair Senator White, Senator McLachlan, and I'm sure Senator Shoebridge will be joining us very shortly. I remind senators of their obligations under the behavior code for Australian parliamentarians to treat witnesses with dignity, courtesy, fairness, and respect.
I remind witnesses that in giving evidence to the committee, they are protected by parliamentary privilege. It is unlawful for anybody to threaten or disadvantage a witness on account of evidence given to a committee, and such action may be treated by the Senate as a contempt. It is also a contempt to give false or misleading evidence to the committee. The committee prefers to give evidence in public, but under the Senate's resolutions, witnesses have the right to request to be heard in confidence, described as being in camera. If you are a witness today and intend to request to give evidence in camera, please let us know as soon as you can.
If a witness objects to answering a question, the witness should state the ground upon which the objection is taken, and the committee will determine whether it will insist on an answer, having regard to the ground on which it is claimed.
If the committee determines to insist on an answer, the witness may request that an answer be given in camera. Such a request may of course be made at any other time. A witness speaking for the first time should state their full name and the capacity in which they appear. Witnesses should speak clearly into the microphones to assist with Hansard's transcripts of proceedings. Notwithstanding, we have had some tech issues today, so it might not be on your end, it could be on ours is what I'm foreshadowing.
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