Mr Murphy asked the Treasurer, upon notice, on 15 May 2003:

(1) Has the Commissioner of Taxation received a letter from the President of the New South Wales Bar Association referenced 01/120 and dated 9 February 2001.

(2) Did that letter express concern regarding the divulging of information by certain officers of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) regarding certain Bar Association members' taxation obligations.

(3) Was information divulged to the media; if so, under what authority.

(4) Does the letter say, in part, “I (the then NSW Bar Association President) made it clear... the Association was prepared to work with the ATO to inform barristers of potential tax problems” and later “Regrettably they have never come back to the Association...”.

(5) Is it a fact that (a) in 1997 the NSW Bar Association unsuccessfully petitioned the Legal Services Commissioner about Mr Thomas Harrison, and (b) in 1999 the NSW Bar Association successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to strike out Mr Stirling Hamman; if so, did the ATO notify any breaches of tax laws by either of these two former barristers to the NSW Bar Association.

(6) Is there an existing protocol or procedure for the ATO to notify the Bar Associations in each jurisdiction upon the discovery of a barrister's breach of taxation laws so that the Bar Association may commence action under the Legal Profession Act (NSW), or its equivalent in the other jurisdictions; if not, why not.

(7) Is there an existing protocol or procedure for a Bar Association to notify the ATO upon the discovery of a barrister's breach of taxation laws so that the ATO may consider prosecution; if not, why not.

(8) Is it the case that the ATO gave information on the taxation affairs of Mr Thomas Harrison and Mr Stirling Hamman to the media and that this information was not provided to the Bar Association despite its repeated requests for this information; if so, why did the ATO give this information to the Media (namely Mr Paul Barry of The Sydney Morning Herald), rather than to the NSW Bar Association.

(9) Can he confirm whether the Association's letter to the Commissioner of Taxation dated 9 February 2001 contained the statement “This Association views with grave concern the fact that the ATO is apparently more prepared to deal with the media than this association”.

Mr Costello (Treasurer) —The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:

(1) to (5) It would be inappropriate to comment on the private communications of the Taxation Commissioner.

(6) No. Section 16 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 prevents the Commissioner of Taxation from discussing the affairs of individual taxpayers with others except when expressly empowered to do so under the Act. The Bar Association of New South Wales is not an entity to which the Commissioner can provide such information.

(7) No. A formal protocol has not been established with the New South Wales Bar Association.

(8) No.

(9) It would be inappropriate to comment on the private communications of the Taxation Commissioner.