Rowley v O'Chee

Rowley v O'Chee was a case before the Supreme Court of Queensland, where the plaintiff, Michael Hebbrom Rowley, sought damages for defamation against the defendant, William George O'Chee. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant made defamatory statements during a radio interview regarding commercial fishing in protected marlin fishing fields. The defendant, a senator, denied the allegations and claimed that the documents relevant to the case were protected by parliamentary privilege. The plaintiff applied for an order to inspect specific documents in the defendant's possession.

The primary legal issue in the case was whether the documents in question were protected by parliamentary privilege, and if not, whether they should be disclosed for inspection in the defamation proceedings. The court had to determine the scope of parliamentary privilege and whether it applied to the documents in question.

The court considered the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987, Article 9 of the Bill of Rights 1688, and various authorities on the topic of parliamentary privilege. The court concluded that none of the documents in question were protected by parliamentary privilege. The court held that the privilege did not extend to documents created for purposes other than transacting the business of the Senate. The court found that the defendant's claim of privilege was not substantiated by the material before the court and that ordering the inspection of the documents would not interfere with the defendant's duties as a senator.

The court ordered the defendant to produce the documents in question for inspection by the plaintiff's solicitors within fourteen days and that the defendant pay the plaintiff's costs of and incidental to the application.