The Crime and Corruption Commission prepared a report about an investigation into allegations of corrupt conduct against Mr Carne. The report did not contain any findings of “corrupt conduct” against Mr Carne. The report was prepared for the purposes of submitting it to the Commission’s supervising parliamentary committee and was, in due course, submitted to that committee by the Commission.
After the Commission submitted the report to the parliamentary committee, Mr Carne challenged the Commission’s power to prepare it.
In the Supreme Court of Queensland, Davis J held that the report was protected by parliamentary privilege and that Mr Carne’s proceeding infringed parliamentary privilege.
Mr Carne appealed to the Court of Appeal. McMurdo and Mullins JJA (Freeburn J dissenting) held that although the report had been submitted to the parliamentary committee, it was beyond the Commission’s power to report and so was not protected by parliamentary privilege.
The Crime and Corruption Commission applied for special leave to appeal against the decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal.
On 15 December 2022, Kiefel CJ and Jagot J granted the Commission special leave to appeal the Court of Appeal’s judgment.
Matthew Wilkinson and Sarah Spottiswood (led by Peter Dunning KC) appeared for the Crime and Corruption Commission. The ruling is published here.
