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House of Representatives                                Ch 19                                                 p 728

In the presence of the House or a committee

May states:

Any disorderly, contumacious or disrespectful conduct in the presence of either House or a committee will constitute a contempt, which may be committed by strangers, parties or witnesses. ¹

The most frequent example of disorderly conduct on the part of strangers is the interruption or disturbance of the proceedings of the House by visitors in the galleries, generally seeking to publicise some political cause. In practice, disorderly conduct of this nature would not normally be pursued as a possible contempt but rather dealt with by other means ( see Chapter on ‘Parliament House and access to proceedings’).

It should also be noted that section 15 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act provides:

. . . for the avoidance of doubt, that, subject to the provisions of section 49 of the Constitution and this Act, a law in force in the Australian Capital Territory applies according to its tenor (except as otherwise provided by that or any other law) in relation to:

(a) any building in the Territory in which a House meets; and

(b) any part of the precincts as defined by subsection (3) (1) of the Parliamentary Precincts Act 1988 .

Section 11 of the Parliamentary Precincts Act 1988 provides that the Public Order (Protection of Persons and Property) Act 1971 applies to the precincts as if they were Commonwealth premises within the meaning of that Act.

May , 23rd edn, p. 128.