The royal commission has received evidence by video
link before but it is normally from the controlled environment of a
court room.
Because of the speed with which this session has been organised, the four-star Hotel Quirinale was chosen. It
had a room large enough to fit the expected number of media and
supporters and the facilities to assist with this logistically
complicated exercise.http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-28/what-to-expect-from-cardinal-pells-royal-commission-appearance/7205710