''R v Richards; Ex parte Fitzpatrick and Browne'' (1955) 92

CLR CLR may refer to: * Calcium Lime Rust, a household cleaning-product * California Law Review, a publication by the UC Berkeley School of Law * Centerline Radius, a term in the tubing industry used to describe the radius of a bend * Central London R ...

157, was a legal case concerning the right of privilege of the Australian Parliament.

Background

On 3 May 1955, Charles Morgan, Labor member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Reid in

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, informed Parliament that an article appearing in the ''Bankstown Observer'' for 28 April 1955 had impugned his personal honour and challenged his fitness to be a Member of Parliament. In an article headed "MHR and Immigration Racket", it was alleged that Morgan, a lawyer before entering Parliament, had engaged in corrupt schemes involving refugee migration from

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before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The ''Bankstown Observer'', a free weekly newspaper distributed throughout areas of suburban

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that included the Reid electorate, was owned by Raymond Edward Fitzpatrick, a Bankstown businessman and political rival of Morgan. Morgan ended his speech by moving that the newspaper article be referred to the House of Representatives Standing Committee of Privileges (the "Privileges Committee") for investigation. The House approved the motion.

Privileges Committee

Over the ensuing weeks, the Privileges Committee met on a number of occasions to deal with the matter. Morgan, Fitzpatrick and Frank Browne (the editor of the ''Bankstown Observer'' at the time) appeared before the Committee and were questioned by its members. The Committee report, presented to the House of Representatives on 8 June 1955, concluded that a breach of privilege had occurred and recommended that the House take appropriate action. ''House of Representatives Practice'', 6th ed, Chapter 19: "Parliamentary privilege", pp. 733, 734, 754, 761, 762, 771
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Called before the Bar of the House

The House determined that Browne and Fitzpatrick be required to appear before the Bar of the Chamber on 10 June 1955 to answer the charges brought against them. Having heard statements from both men, the House, on a motion from

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, voted that Browne and Fitzpatrick be committed to 90 days in gaol. The

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

considered an appeal on 22 and 24 June 1955, but the matter was dismissed. Browne and Fitzpatrick applied to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

for leave to appeal against the High Court's judgment, but leave was refused. The sentences were served in the

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police lock-up (while appeals were pending) and Goulburn Gaol. It was the first time anyone had ever been called to the Bar of the lower house, and it was the only time the Parliament has ever jailed anyone.

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has described it as the House using its new mace to swat two blowflies.

Impact on observers

The case left an "indelible impression" on Anthony Mason, junior counsel for Fitzpatrick and later Chief Justice of the

. In a 1996 paper, he wrote "The two men were convicted and imprisoned by Parliament for contempt of Parliament without being given an opportunity to address Parliament on the question of their guilt or innocence. They were convicted in absentia, in the absence of any specification in the warrant of commitment of the nature of the breach of privilege of which they were convicted, and after they were denied representation by counsel who was to appear on their behalf in the Committee of Privileges and in the House. As counsel who was refused leave to appear, my sense of outrage over Parliament's denial of due process and natural justice remains undimmed after a lapse of 40 years".

Documents released

From 1944 until 1987, all meetings of the Privileges Committee were held behind closed doors, and none of the evidence or other material it considered was made public. In December 2000, the Parliament voted to publish the evidence from the Browne-Fitzpatrick case, and it is now held in the

National Archives of Australia The National Archives of Australia (NAA), formerly known as the Commonwealth Archives Office and Australian Archives, is an Australian Government agency that serves as the national archives of the nation. It collects, preserves and encourages ...

References

Sources

Australian Dictionary of Biography, ''Brown, Francis Courtney''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne-Fitzpatrick Privilege Case, 1955 Parliament of Australia 1955 in Australian law Political history of Australia Australian constitutional law Legal history of Australia 1955 in case law Australian House of Representatives