COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA | |
ENTERED ON RECORD by me, in Register of Patents No. 20 , page 13 , this 29th day of March 1985
J. SWIFT Acting Secretary to the Federal Executive Council | ELIZABETH THE SECOND, by the Grace of God Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth: TO DONALD GERARD STEWART GREETING: WHEREAS by Letters Patent issued in Our name by Our Administrator of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia on 25 June 1981 We appointed you to be a Commissioner to inquire into and report upon certain matters relating to Terrence John Clark and persons associated with him: AND WHEREAS by Letters Patent issued in Our name by Our Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia on 28 March 1983 the first-mentioned Letters Patent were varied so as to require that you make inquiry into certain matters: AND WHEREAS the Letters Patent issued on 25 June 1981, as affected by the Letters Patent issued on 28 March 1983 and by other Letters Patent, require that, not later than 30 April 1985, you furnish to Our Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia a report of the results of your inquiry and your recommendations: AND WHEREAS you are authorized by section 7B of the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979 to make use of certain documents referred to in that section for the purpose of your inquiry. NOW THEREFORE We do, by these Our Letters Patent issued in Our name by Our Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia on the advice of the Federal Executive Council and pursuant to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Royal Commissions Act 1902 and other enabling powers, vary the Letters Patent issued on 25 June 1981, as affected by the Letters Patent issued on 28 March 1983, 15 December 1983, 27 June 1984 and 21 December 1984 so as to require that, to the extent that you are not already required to do so, you make inquiry into the following matters, namely- |
| (a) whether there exists, in the possession of any person (including any member of the New South Wales Police Force or the Australian Federal Police), any information or material (including documents or tape recordings) arising out of or relating to the unlawful interception, on or before 28 March 1985, in New South Wales of communications passing over a telecommunications system, being information or material that discloses the commission of criminal offences or the possible commission of criminal offences against a law of the Commonwealth or of a Territory and which warrants further investigation; and (b) the nature of the offences or possible offences disclosed by information or material referred to in sub-paragraph (a): AND WE direct that in making recommendations arising from your consideration of documents referred to in section 7B of the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979 and information or material referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of the preceding paragraph, you identify any person for whom you recommend the grant of an indemnity against prosecution for a criminal offence against a law of the Commonwealth in connection with the interception of communications passing over a telecommunications system, being a person whom you consider to be in a position - (c) to give evidence which will tend or would have tended to render such documents, information or material admissible in a prosecution for a criminal offence against a law of the Commonwealth or of a State; or (d) to give information that may lead or that may have led to the discovery of evidence of such an offence: AND We further direct that any recommendation you make for the grant of an indemnity against prosecution for a criminal offence be a recommendation for the grant of an indemnity upon the following conditions, namely - (e) that the person concerned, in your opinion, gives his co-operation in the conduct of your inquiry, including the giving of evidence truthfully and withholding nothing of relevance; and (f) that you are satisfied that the acts to which the indemnity would relate were done solely for the purpose of obtaining information for use in the investigation of crime: AND We further direct that in making any recommendations as to the grant of indemnities against prosecution, save in exceptional circumstances, you limit your recommendations to persons who have, within 28 days after the date of publication by you of a notice inviting persons to appear before you for the purposes of your inquiry into the matters specified in these Our Letters Patent, given to you notice in writing of their intention so to appear and give evidence: AND We further direct that you report -
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| (g) on the extent to which documents have been given or information communicated pursuant to sub-section 7BA(4) of the Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979; and (h) on the extent to which the conditions specified in sub-paragraphs (e) and (f) have been complied with by the persons to whom they relate: AND We require you to make such further recommendations arising out of your inquiry as you think appropriate, including recommendations as to the method of enforcement of the criminal law and the legislative or administrative changes (if any) that are necessary or desirable in the light of the results of your inquiry: AND, notwithstanding anything in the Letters Patent issued on 25 June 1981, as affected by the Letters Patent issued on 28 March 1983 and by other Letters Patent, We require you as expeditiously as possible to make your inquiry and - (i) not later than 30 June 1985, to furnish to our Governor-General of the Commmonwealth of Australia a report of the results of your inquiry and recommendations in relation to the matters, specified in the Letters Patent issued on 28 March 1983; and (j) not later than 31 December 1985, to furnish to our Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia a report of the results of your inquiry and recommendations in relation to the matters specified in the Letters Patent issued on 25 June 1981 and in these Our Letters Patent. WITNESS His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Ninian Martin Stephen, a member of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council, Knight of the Order of Australia, Knight Grand Cross of The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. Dated this twenty ninth day of March 1985. N. M. STEPHEN Governor-General By His Excellency’s Command Attorney-General and on behalf of the Prime Minister |