Maurice Hayes (Independent)

I too welcome the Minister to the House. This is a timely proposal and we should be prepared to assist the tribunal in any way we can and pay tribute to it for the work it has done.

These tribunals were great cathartic events in the life of the nation. They have done much to purify public life and, I hope, to restore credibility. However, the longer they are allowed to go on the less impact they will have and the more they will become a part of the furniture. It is important to bring them to a conclusion.

I have two comments. One arises from Senator Bannon's call for interim reports. There is much to be said for that idea. It is very important that the tribunals name the people who are corrupt or guilty. It is also important to clear people against whom ungrounded allegations were made because of the way cases are presented; there is an opening statement in which all the dirty linen and allegations the tribunal sets itself to investigate are aired. It is not the fault of the tribunal, but these matters are broadcast publicly on the airwaves and they take on the appearance of fact so that there are people against whom allegations are made whose names cannot be cleared until there is a final report. A means of dealing with that relative injustice would be helpful.

It is intended to bring a Bill before the House. However, the proposal to provide for the tribunal to investigate something it discovers if it is necessary to enable it to make findings on matters it is already investigating might be a bit narrow. What happens if the tribunal is investigating a case and discovers an appalling event relating to another case? Is it to pretend it did not discover it? It should be left to the tribunal, if there is a matter that appears to it to warrant investigation, to come back to the House and ask to be allowed to investigate it. The proposal seems to unnecessarily curtail the tribunal.

I congratulate the Minister on this timely motion, which I support.