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Ch4 Parliament House and access to proceedings / ACCESS TO PROCEEDINGS / Relations with the media



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House of Representatives                                Ch 4                                                 p 122

 

Parliament House and access to proceedings / ACCESS TO PROCEEDINGS

 

Relations with the media

Important and useful though they may be, broadcasts and Hansard reports of parliamentary proceedings reach a relatively small proportion of the population. Undoubtedly most people rely on media reports for information about proceedings in the Parliament, and about the actions and policies of the Government. The effectiveness of parliamentary democracy is therefore in large part dependent on fair and accurate reporting.

Since its establishment the Commonwealth Parliament has acknowledged the importance of the media. This recognition is exemplified in the setting aside of galleries from which members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery may view parliamentary proceedings and the provision of office space and access to other facilities in Parliament House. Because, with some exceptions, newspaper and television organisations do not maintain offices in Canberra other than those provided in Parliament House, their staff operate from Parliament House on a full-time basis for the reporting of Canberra and district news, parliamentary or otherwise. Ministers as well as Members also work principally from their Parliament House offices when in Canberra. The result is a degree of formal and informal interaction. The ability to use excerpts from proceedings in television and radio programs has added to the ability of the electronic media to report on parliamentary proceedings.