The SPEAKER ( Hon. Bronwyn Bishop ) took the chair at 09:00, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.
That this bill be now read a second time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
That the House take note of the report.
That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.
This undermines the key advantage of unexplained wealth laws over prosecution or traditional confiscation as, in practice, a connection must be made to a specific offence or fairly specific type of offence in order to satisfy the jurisdictional requirement.
… are an important crime-fighting tool to crackdown on the illegal activities of outlaw motorcycle gangs, and should be upheld.
That this bill be now read a third time.
That this bill be now read a third time.
That this bill be now read a third time.
I can't say how disgusted I am with Australian Patent laws which is in the process of allowing the patenting of genes. This isn't about saving lives, this is about making money. It is happening in every genetic research sector including one close to my heart, the genetic heart research sector … I have had the misfortune to have had contact with people within the genetic heart research sector. My opinion is and has been for quite a while that there is something intrinsically wrong with the system.
It is certainly possible to say that maybe the TRIPS agreement should not extend to countries like East Timor, but the bill very clearly, in the explanatory memorandum, adopts the policy position that it should extend to every country, because if a country were to come to us and say, 'We have a health emergency; you're the only one that can help us,' then it would just be an unreasonable position to say, 'No, you don't belong to a particular club; we can't help you.'
Deregulation is a threshold issue for the sector and its passage through the Senate is crucial to protect the international reputation for quality higher education, representing around $15 Billion in export earnings for Australia.
Why is it that a consensus of Australian universities are calling on Senate crossbenchers to support and amend the Government's higher education reform agenda?
The short answer is because the existing funding model is not sustainable and a new approach is needed.
If the Government's package is opposed outright, the quality of the things that our great universities do so well—teaching and research—could be jeopardised. It is simply not possible to maintain the standards that students expect or the international reputation that Australia's university system enjoys without full fee deregulation.
I have a further suggestion to lift our primary vote.
Get rid of HECS, now euphemistically called HELP, and re-introduce free university education and free TAFE courses.
But in supporting start-ups, nurturing creativity and rewarding ingenuity … America shows us the way.
The policy of turn backs obviously has had an effect.
…is a lip-smackingly good university.
… the 2014 Higher Education Budget reforms are necessary. They are logical, coherent, sustainable, equitable and inevitable.
… … …
My guess is that the detractors of micro-economic reform in Australia's higher education industry will find themselves on the wrong side of history in resisting efficiency improvement and innovation, as they will be in opposing the redistributive measures of the package and, curiously, supporting socially regressive subsidies from general taxpayers to more advantaged segments of the community.
… it is expected that most will increase fees by between 100% and 200%, or more.
Where are the government MPs who should be protecting their regions?
… the social costs on regional students in WA have been poorly considered … regional students in WA will be disproportionately impacted by these reforms.
… Launceston and Northern Tasmania has suffered considerably from increased costs and timeliness for exports and imports of freight as a result of the enacting of the Coastal Shipping Legislation.
… this regulation does not serve Tasmania well: it is reducing our capacity to increase investment to the State; nor has the Australian Shipping Industry grown as a consequence of this regulation.
(1) Mr Porter be discharged from the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs and that, in his place, Ms Price be appointed a member of the committee;
(2) Mr Laming, Mr Porter and Dr Gillespie be appointed members of the Joint Select Committee on the Australia Fund Establishment;
(3) Mr O’Dowd, Mr Taylor and Mr Pasin be appointed members of the Joint Select Committee on Trade and Investment Growth;
(4) Mr Laming be discharged from the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights and that, in his place, Ms F. M. Scott be appointed a member of the committee;
(5) Ms F. M. Scott be discharged from the Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs and that, in her place, Mr Laming be appointed a member of the committee.
The devastating impact of Tony Abbott's budget of broken promises on jobs and the cost of living.
You're asking people to make long-term investments and then you change the policy in the middle of that and you reduce the value of those investments.
This is a government that says it's open for business. For Christ's sake, what business are you open for?
Whenever I am asked why we should build submarines in Australia, my short reply is that we can’t afford not to.
Labor has opted out of serious engagement, yet again.
I now look forward to forming a government that is competent, that is trustworthy and which purposefully and steadfastly and methodically sets about delivering on our commitments to you, the Australian people.
… in a week or so the Governor-General will swear in a new government.
A government that says what it means, and means what it says.
A government of no surprises and no excuses—
A government that understands the limits of power as well as its potential.
And a government that accepts that it will be judged more by its deeds than by its mere words.
I give you all this assurance—we will not let you down.
A good government is one that governs for all Australians, including those who haven’t voted for it.
A good government is one with a duty to help everyone to maximise his or her potential, indigenous people, people with disabilities, and our forgotten families, as well as those who Menzies described as ‘lifters, not leaners.’
We will not leave anyone behind.
…finally saying no to the foreign-owned car companies.
Bill Shorten's rally of submarine workers, with its little disguised xenophobia.
Unemployment has hit a 12 year high yet instead of tightening up requirements to import labour – the Government is trying to help employers bypass local workers in the Northern Territory under new designated area migration agreements.
With the construction boom in the resource sector coming to end we will have thousands of construction workers looking for work, but the Government seems intent on destroying the job opportunities of locals while allowing the exploitation of overseas workers.
… the 457 visa scheme was initially created as an emergency stop-gap measure used to address critical skills shortages.
"We find it unacceptable that instead of employing locally-educated nursing and midwifery graduates, employers in some health sectors continue to employ increasing numbers of workers from overseas – the current rate is 3,000 to 4,000 annually, a staggering 400 per cent increase since 2005.
"The Government must act, otherwise more than 3,000 nursing and midwifery graduates who still cannot find jobs will soon become a lost generation of highly trained health professionals who are unable to deliver quality care …"
It is simply not possible to maintain the standards that students expect or the international reputation that Australia's university system enjoys without full fee deregulation.
That makes a mockery of the fact that the Government has been claiming health care expenditure is out of control.
The Government has used this as a narrative in the terms of the lead-up to its Federal Budget, saying health care expenditure is out of control. It has used it to justify the introduction of the GP co-payment. There is no justification for a GP co-payment.
That Ms ML Landry be discharged from the Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs and that, in her place, Mr Coulton be appointed a member of the committee.
We will deliver those submarines from right here at the ASC in South Australia. The coalition today is committed to building 12 new submarines here in Adelaide.
Japan is one of several countries we are talking to actively about our new submarine program.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mrs Andrews ) took the chair at 09:30.
…probably saved my life from being a disaster.
The Seafarers Tax Offset was a key element of the 2012 reforms which help to reduce the operating costs of Australian vessels, increase the competitiveness of Australian shipping and provide significant opportunity for employment of Australians in international trades … the impact [of abolition] is severe with regard to future opportunity …
… the predicted benefits to the overall Australian economy from the implementation of KAFTA appear minimal …
The answer is 'no' under the current wording. If that sort of claim by tobacco companies is a particular concern, the obvious way to preclude it completely is to have a carve out for measures in relation to tobacco.
… with one of the most open and fragmented automotive markets in the world and increased competitiveness due to current and future Free Trade Agreements, it is not viable to continue building cars in Australia.
… it could be the death of the Australian car manufacturing industry.
Anything that potentially sees more imported cars sold here is absolutely not good for local manufacturers …
… The government needs to be extremely careful if this deal goes ahead …
If the government wants to reform Australia's Copyright Act, it should make the argument for this change on the merits, not by hiding behind the flimsy claim that we cannot even debate the issue because of our trade obligations.
The Islamic story in Australia has a rich history and grows stronger each year. Australia’s Muslim community continues to do our nation a great service by fostering enduring cultural and religious harmony, and making a substantial contribution to our national prosperity.
… we should never make the millions of Australians or people who have become Australians—people of every nation and every faith—feel less safe, or less welcome.
If we are to be embroiled in any conflict, in any capacity, we need to include the documentation and combat of systemic abuse of women as one of the top priorities of our mission.
Over the past few months, Islamic State has been conducting an extensive, barbaric campaign of rape against women in Iraq and Syria.
But, oddly, we're not talking about it very much.
If we're going to be using dramatic terms such as 'death cult', shouldn't it be deemed a 'rape cult' as well?
The stories have a sickening similarity. After sustained aerial attack, when soldiers walk into newly emptied, dusty streets in Iraq, dotted with dead bodies and mangled car carcasses, they have found naked women, bound and left on the ground, who have been raped repeatedly.
Then there are the three 'rooms of horror' in Mosul prison where clusters of women have been kept locked up and raped at will.
An Amnesty International report released earlier this month echoes Zeitoun's—
testimony, as does a statement released by the United Nations Special Representative on sexual violence in conflict.
'There are allegations that many of the women and girls who have been abducted by IS fighters, notably girls in their teens and early 20s, have been subjected to rape or sexual abuse, forced to marry fighters, or sold into sexual slavery,' the Amnesty report says.
Zainab Hawa Bangura, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, said: 'Atrocious accounts on the abduction and detention of Yazidi, Christian, as well as Turkomen and Shabak women, girls and boys, and reports of savage rapes, are reaching us in an alarming manner.'
… there has been an impression of women as helpless victims of wars and conflicts. Women’s role in fostering peace in their communities and beyond has often been overlooked.
The main question is not to make war safe for women, but to structure the peace in a way that there is no recurrence of war and conflict. That is why women need to be at the peace tables, involved in the decision-making and in peace-keeping teams. They need to be there particularly as civilians, to make a real difference in transitioning from the cult of war to the culture of peace.
Labor stands shoulder to shoulder with Australia's Islamic community and, now more than ever, we are committed to tolerance, social cohesion, mutual respect and multiculturalism.
Labor will continue to work with you to stop misinformation, bigotry and prejudice directed at the Australian Islamic community.
Regrettably, some in our community, including a very few elected representatives, have made comments which have the potential to damage community harmony and inflame tensions. Labor strongly opposes these ill-informed and dangerous views and we will continue to speak out against them.
We know that the twisted ideology of ISIL bears no relation to a faith of peace, love and tolerance which is followed by millions around the world—and we will continue to make this point.
ISIL has no right to use the name of Islam.
Now that this judgement has been finalised, we believe it is timely, as his peers, to acknowledge the very significant contributions Hall has made to the field of transplantation over the past 30 years. In doing so we believe it is important to stress that all of these contributions have been validated by other research groups, a process which remains the best available test of scientific discovery—
It is our sincere hope that the damage to Hall's reputation can now be repaired and that he be given the opportunity to re-establish his research career without further impediment.
… an institutional dark side, a self-protective, self-inflated, insular, profligate, tax-subsidised reflex that uses stone-walling and evasion whenever the ABC has been caught out.
We have seen numerous examples of ABC evasions … and I am following three separate legal matters in which the ABC has demonstrably made errors which it has chosen to fight in court, at the cost of millions, rather than concede. Sorry seems to be the hardest word for ABC management.
In respect of speech and/or media training since 7 September 2013, (a) what total sum has the Minister's department spent, and (b) what is the breakdown for such training for the (i) Minister, (ii) Minister's staff, and where applicable, each (iii) junior Minister (including Assistant Ministers), (iv) junior (and Assistant) Minister's staff, (v) Parliamentary Secretary, and (vi) Parliamentary Secretary's staff, and (c) what services were provided, and by whom.
(a) to (c) Nil.
In respect of speech and/or media training since 7 September 2013, (a) what total sum has the Minister's department spent, and (b) what is the breakdown for such training for the (i) Minister, (ii) Minister's staff, and where applicable, each (iii) junior Minister (including Assistant Ministers), (iv) junior (and Assistant) Minister's staff, (v) Parliamentary Secretary, and (vi) Parliamentary Secretary's staff, and (c) what services were provided, and by whom.
(a) My Department has not purchased any speech or media training services since 7 September 2013.
(b) and (c) Not applicable
In respect of hospitality since 7 September 2013, has the Minister's department paid for any function to introduce to the department (a) the Minister, (b) the Minister's staff, and where applicable, each (c) junior Minister (including Assistant Ministers), (d) junior (and Assistant) Minister's staff, (e) Parliamentary Secretary, and (f) Parliamentary Secretary's staff; if so, at what cost.
The Department of Communications did not pay for any function to introduce the Minister, Parliamentary Secretary or any ministerial staff to the department.
Since 7 September 2013, (a) how many departmental officials have been seconded to the (i) Minister's office, and where applicable, each (ii) junior Minister's office (including Assistant Minister's), and (iii) Parliamentary Secretary's office, (b) for how long, and (c) at what level.
Since 7 September 2013, one Senior Executive Service, Band 1 Officer was seconded to the Office of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications, from 9 December 2013 to 28 March 2014.
Since 7 September 2013, (a) how many departmental officials have been seconded to the (i) Minister's office, and where applicable, each (ii) junior Minister's office (including Assistant Ministers), and (iii) Parliamentary Secretary's office, (b) for how long, and (c) at what level.
A number of departmental officers were temporarily placed in my office during the transition to government. Departmental officers have also assisted in my office for short periods of less than 12 weeks to cover leave and vacant positions.
The Department has provided my office with two Departmental Liaison Officers (DLO) and the Parliamentary Secretary with one DLO. DLOs are appointed as Executive Level 1 employees for the time they are in the office.
In respect of media monitoring and clipping services in the financial periods since 7 September 2013, (a) what sum has been spent on such services by (i) the Minister's office and where applicable, each (ii) junior Minister including Assistant Ministers, and (iii) Parliamentary Secretary, and (b) what was the (i) name, and (ii) postal address of each media monitoring company, engaged by each of these offices.
The Department has one media monitoring contract for these services, which includes the Minister and Parliamentary Secretary's offices, and these costs cannot be split. The Department's financial expenses are recorded on accrual accounting basis, with these items reconciled at the end of every month. To provide expense data at any date other than month end would risk misstatement of the Department's position and require an unreasonable diversion of Departmental resources to rectify.
(a) From 1 September 2013 to 30 June 2014 the Department spent $355,454 on media monitoring. From 1 July 2014 to 31 August 2014 the Department spent $74,169 on media monitoring.
(b) (i) iSentia
(ii) 131 Canberra Avenue, Griffith, ACT, 2603
In respect of media monitoring and clipping services in the financial periods since 7 September 2013, (a) what sum has been spent on such services engaged by (i) the Minister's office, and where applicable, each (ii) junior Minister (including Assistant Ministers), and (iii) Parliamentary Secretary, and (b) what was the (i) name, and (ii) postal address, of each media monitoring company engaged by each of these offices.
My office and that of the Parliamentary Secretary use the Department's media monitoring service, which includes the provision of portfolio related transcripts and audio visual files. There is no extra cost to the offices in using this service.