Standing Committee on Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics

(i) Foreword by the Chair The current inquiry arose from a speech given by the Hon Franca Arena MLC in the Legislative Council on 17 September 1997 during debate on the Final Report of the Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service. The speech suggested that certain prominent persons, including the Premier of NSW and the Royal Commissioner, had been involved in meetings or agreements concerning an alleged “cover-up ” of names of high-profile paedophiles. The Legislative Council resolved to authorise the Governor to establish a Special Commission of Inquiry to investigate Mrs Arena’s claims and the basis on which she had made them. The Special Commission concluded that Mrs Arena had no evidence to support those claims. On 12 November 1997, as an amendment to a motion for the expulsion of Mrs Arena, the Legislative Council resolved that the Standing Committee on Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics investigate and report on what sanctions should be enforced in relation to Mrs Arena’s conduct in this matter. The investigation of this matter raised issues of considerable complexity and sensitivity which required detailed and careful consideration by the Committee. The Committee’