STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator LAMBIE (Tasmania) (13:52): Sue Neill-Fraser was found guilty of murdering her partner, Bob Chappell, aboard their yacht in Hobart in 2009. Ms Neill-Fraser has always protested her innocence and no body has ever been found, and no murder weapon either. But she was convicted and sentenced to 26 years in prison.

Sue was released on parole in 2022, thank God, but, when in late 2024 she was approached by 60 Minutes, Ms Neill-Fraser did the right thing and advised the Parole Board of Tasmania about a possible upcoming story. The Parole Board added a condition that she not speak 'directly or indirectly with any media outlet to claim her alleged innocence or wrongful conviction'.

But then, in May 2025, they made the condition even more restrictive, which meant she couldn't even talk about her case with her family, her friends and her supporters. Yesterday, in the Supreme Court in Hobart, Justice Stephen Estcourt ruled the condition was invalid because it denied Sue Neill-Fraser procedural fairness, was legally unreasonable and created uncertainty.

But, wait, that's not the shocking part. Neill-Fraser's barrister, Patrick Coleridge, told the court the Parole Board secretary used artificial intelligence to prepare a rationale justifying the parole condition, citing case law that was fictitious and likely AI hallucinations. Sarah Schwartz from the Human Rights Law Centre said yesterday: It's really concerning that the Parole Board of Tasmania, a public authority, used AI in generating this document that so severely has restricted our client's fundamental freedoms.

I hope the Human Rights Law Centre and others will be watching the upcoming parliamentary inquiry into Tasmania Police, because, let me tell you, there is a lot more to be concerned about.