The SPEAKER ( Hon. Bronwyn Bishop ) took the chair at 12:00, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.
Our resolution demands that armed groups in control of the crash site provide safe access immediately to allow for the recovery of the bodies, and that these armed groups stop any actions that compromise the integrity of the crash site. This is imperative.
There must be a ceasefire in the immediate area around the site. The victims must be treated with dignity, brought back to their homes and laid to rest. All parties are required to fully cooperate with these efforts. Russia must use its influence over the separatists to ensure this. Russia must also use its influence to bring the conflict in Ukraine to an end.
Our resolution also demands a full, thorough and independent international investigation into this act. We must have answers. We must have justice. We owe it to the victims and their families to determine what happened and who was responsible.
That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Deputy Leader of the Opposition speaking in reply to the ministerial statement for a period not exceeding eight minutes.
We look forward to receiving Mary and Gerry again soon in the place and the community they loved so much and which loved them.
It was horrible bringing my very close friend. We used to fly together, and this time we fly together again but in difference situation.
The Coalition has committed to ongoing support for the auto industry and has agreed to continue funding the Automotive Transformation Scheme.
…you can be assured that the Coalition would not seek to do anything to water down these important protections for Australian workers. Some seven weeks ago or so, I released the Coalition's Workplace Relations policy with the Coalition leader, Mr Tony Abbott. We were explicit in the policy that but for the changes proposed in that document we would not make any other changes.
The 16 week cap mirrors the entitlement to redundancy under the National Employment Standards and hence reflects community standards ...
What I am saying is that the potential arises in the dynamic it introduces into negotiations. It is one thing for two parties to sit down and negotiate terms and conditions, but if they know at the back of their minds that ultimately the government will pick up this entitlement our proposition is that that will impact on the bargaining dynamic.
… we anticipate that a $7 co-payment will present a dilemma, especially for lone GPs in small rural and remote towns, and that the viability of these medical practices may be reduced, with consequences for access to health services in those towns.
Fuel tax is a tax on distance. If ever there was a country that should not aggressively tax fuel, it is a vast country like Australia. It is a tax on doing business outside of the capital cities.
In combination, a reduction in Government funding and real interest rate on loans will have a disproportionate impact on the regional and disadvantaged students who study at RUN universities, as well as the communities they come from.
The government's proposed funding arrangements may reduce the capacity for research-intensive regional universities to continue to support innovation, which would adversely impact regional communities, economies and productivity.
It is my very strong view that some of our young people just need an extra prod … They need that prod and that is for us to say … Some people will cry a little longer …
I consider this ideology to be the greatest danger that the world will face in the next decade. Its seeds are growing in Europe, the United States, Asia, and elsewhere. With its twisted religious overtones, this pre-packaged franchise of hate is available for any terrorist group to adopt. It carries the power to mobilize thousands of desperate, vindictive, or angry young people and use them to strike at the foundations of civilization.
… incompatible with the right to equality and non-discrimination …
Under our policy, young people will have just two options: they can be either learning or earning. No third option of sitting around doing nothing.
We'll provide additional work and training opportunities. And young people will be obliged to participate, to do something good for themselves, their families and the community. Learning or earning - no third option under a Labor government.
… doing nothing will no longer be an option.
We want all young Australians climbing the ladder of opportunity, not languishing on unemployment benefits.
… doing nothing will no longer be an option.
We want all young Australians climbing the ladder of opportunity, not languishing on unemployment benefits.
We didn't actually release a higher education policy, …
The combination of the uncapped system and changing student habits, a flat student market, increasing competition from Asian universities and a volatile return on investment in technology has led universities to a ‘point of no return’ irrespective of the higher education reform package currently under debate …
… because we promised that we wouldn’t and Tony Abbott made it very clear before the election that we would keep our promises.
The Regional Universities Network (RUN) and Group of Eight (Go8) urge the Senate to pass the Government’s Higher Education and Research Reform Amendment Bill 2014 with changes to make it fairer for students and universities.
… … …
… RUN supports deregulation of student fees.
The government's broken promises and failures on rural and regional health.
This budget will exacerbate the key inequities in health coverage outside urban Australia …
The new arrangements will only make it much more difficult for rural Australians, who are among Australia's poorest people, to afford healthcare …
The real danger is that many of the poorest rural patients will choose not to see a doctor for preventative healthcare, and will then present in subsequent years with serious health issues that will cost the health system and hospitals significantly more to treat.
We are not shutting any Medicare Locals.
…a good scheme. It remains a good scheme and it is a scheme that provides protection for Australian workers who have earned and accrued entitlements. As a community, I believe it is appropriate to fund those entitlements in circumstances where people lose their jobs as a result of business failure.
… is very generous…it creates a moral hazard … it provides an incentive for employers and unions to sign up to unsustainable redundancy entitlements.
It does not seem plausible either that employees would value highly a provision contingent on insolvency in the future.
… lies not with groups of employees who enter into enterprise bargaining agreements in good faith but with employers (and their advisors) who:
• Fail to operate their businesses in a professional and sustainable manner;
• Who treat employees entitlements (including employee's superannuation) as an interest-free loan for their company;
• Who fail to make proper provision for their employees' accrued and contingent entitlements; and
• Who liquidate one company (to avoid debts) only to open up another the next day in a different name, at the same premises, with the same assets to perform the same work.
… does not include the old cap on the rate of accrual, so that redundancy entitlements accruing at, say, eight weeks a year would be paid to someone who had worked for two years for a business that becomes insolvent. At the very least, the new provision, because of the removal of the maximum rate of accrual, could increase any moral hazard that exists.
… in the same way that the maximum wage that is covered by the FEG, $2,451, is "generous", being 69 per cent above full-time adult average weekly ordinary time earnings of $1,454.22 … fewer than five per cent of employees earn that amount. These are maximum entitlements, so by definition they might be expected to be above the average.
… the government is firmly of the belief that it is the responsibility of employers to meet the cost of their employees. This includes making … provision for redundancy pay when employees are made redundant.
This is not accurate, as the entitlement to 16 weeks redundancy pay after nine years of service provided for in section 119 of the Fair Work Act 2009 is a minimum entitlement for that length of service, rather than a maximum, as section 61 of that Act makes clear. While there is a case for tying employment related, taxpayer funded benefits to minimum standards—for example, the current paid parental leave scheme pays the entitlement at the minimum wage—other elements of the FEG are not tied to minimums, and the case for doing so with redundancy payments has not been made.
By adopting a simple maximum entitlement expressed in weeks of pay, without the structure set out in the National Employment Standards, the amendment introduces a new anomaly. For example, an employee subject to an agreement which provides four weeks’ pay for each year of service will reach his or her 16 weeks entitlement after four years; an employee whose agreement follows the national minimum will reach his or her 16 weeks after nine years. This could result in a 25 year old employee and a 45 year old having the same entitlement.
It is a matter of regret that you have somehow been led to believe that the Coalition would abolish the 'entitlements guarantee' if elected … you can be assured that the Coalition would not seek to do anything that would water down these important protections for Australian workers … We have not flagged any changes to the slightly modified entitlements guarantee that currently exist.
Accordingly, you can be satisfied that there is no risk to your entitlements and I would invite you to pass a copy of this letter to all your fellow workmates …
… creates a moral hazard. It provides an incentive for employers and unions to sign up to unsustainable redundancy entitlements.
The Coalition has committed to ongoing support for the auto industry and has agreed to continue funding the Automotive Transformation Scheme.
The taskforce, which includes LeadWest—
has requested fair and equitable treatment given the state and federal response to the exit of Ford from Geelong and Broadmeadows.
Businesses in Melbourne's north and Geelong each have access to $24.5 million for projects that create growth and job opportunities.
"When Toyota exited, we thought it would only be fair if Melbourne's west had a similar job stimulating funding pool, but our worst fears have been realised as there is no appetite from this government for doing that," he said. Businesses would be drawn by incentives to the north not the west …
Ensure adequate powers rest with ASIC or other regulators to monitor and investigate companies to prevent reliance on FEG, increase the scrutiny on the conduct of company directors when the company has initiated liquidation, hold the management of liquidating companies individually liable for failing to provide for the payout of employee entitlements.
Peter Reith, who preceded Mr Abbott as federal workplace minister, said the scheme was always fraught with moral hazard—a tendency to take undue risks when someone else is bearing the cost.
''The government went into it with its eyes open,'' Mr Reith said. ''I was a party to it, but I wouldn't describe it as my best moment.''
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) is Australia's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing … regulator and specialist financial intelligence unit.
AUSTRAC's vision is an Australian community that is hostile to money laundering, financing of terrorism, serious and organised crime, including people smuggling, and tax evasion.
Under its regulatory role, AUSTRAC oversees compliance with reporting obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 … and the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988 for approximately 16,000 businesses across diverse industry sectors which include financial services providers, the gaming industry and remittance service providers. As Australia's financial intelligence unit, AUSTRAC collects and analyses financial information provided by regulated entities to assist Australian law enforcement, national security, social justice and revenue agencies, and certain international counterparts, in the investigation and prosecution of serious criminal activity, including terrorism financing, organised crime and tax evasion.
In 2013–14, AUSTRAC will continue to improve and supplement its systems to enhance all aspects of its dealings with its diverse regulated population. AUSTRAC will also continue to provide guidance to regulated entities on their obligations.
What we see with these bills is a lazy piece of policy making …
… this is still poor policy-making.
It is not reasonable for the government to recoup the costs of running every government agency if that government agency is providing a public service rather than providing direct services to the people who are being asked to pay for them.
AUSTRAC does provide a very valuable service but we believe that it is not reasonable to come back and to ask the 199 largest users to cover the costs of its running, particularly when really this is all about filling the budget black hole that Labor have created for themselves from their enormous wasteful spending up to this point.
That this bill be now read a third time.
That this bill be now read a third time.
Nineteen of the G20 countries all have automotive manufacturing at their core.
I want to see car making survive in this country, not just survive but flourish.
Some of them will find it difficult, but many of them will probably be liberated to pursue new opportunities and to get on with their lives …
The coalition will be the best friend the car industry has.
So I would say to the Leader of the Opposition … join with the Acting Prime Minister and the government in calling on Holden to come clean with the Australian people about their intentions here. We want them to be honest about it—we want them to be fair dinkum—because, if I was running a business and I was committed to that business in Australia, I would not be saying that I have not made any decision about Australia. Either you are here or you are not.
A hell of a lot of industries in Australia would love to get the assistance the automotive industry is getting. A hell of a lot of other businesses, and foreign owned businesses, would love to be able to remit money from Australian taxpayers to head office in Detroit …
We are working on a solution for the car industry and we will continue to do so.
If the Amendment Bill passes Parliament, it will reduce the Automotive Transformation Scheme by $900 million and intensify the financial pressure on the automotive supply chain at a time when they are trying to transition their operations into new business area.
To reduce the funds available mid-stream leaves companies in the supply chain vulnerable to more competitive international pressures … a reduction in ATS funding will put in jeopardy up to 30,000 jobs in the component industry, not to mention the potential impact on jobs in the vehicle manufacturing side of the sector.
We will deliver those submarines right here at ASC in South Australia.
The Coalition today is committed to building 12 new submarines here in Adelaide.
The House divided. [20:15]
(The Deputy Speaker—Mr Craig Kelly)
That this bill be now read a third time.
… one of the epic failures in public subsidy in Australia's history.
Taxpayers have every right to wonder whether they're getting value for that money. We don’t have any comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of that assistance.
This is an industry that has always had dependence on government assistance. It was created by government assistance, and has survived thanks to it.
With regard to the Big Three, no matter how generous the Australian Government is to our three remaining local car makers, the main game for them is not in Australia. Huge losses, liabilities, declining sales and other problems in the US and elsewhere will be quite rightly foremost in the attentions of their respective parent companies.
As a Victorian powerbroker, Carr relies heavily on the support of the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union … Carr’s strategy was to pay huge amounts of public money to industries such as car manufacturing to prop up the union’s membership coverage and consequently, its influence inside the ALP.
As painful as it is to say, building cars in this country is just not sustainable.
Our costs are double that of Europe and nearly four times Ford in Asia. The business case simply did not stack up, leading us to the conclusion [that] manufacturing is not viable for Ford in Australia in the long-term.
We did everything that we could to transform our business, but the reality is that there are too many factors beyond our control that make it unviable to build cars in Australia. Although the company has made profits in the past, our manufacturing operations have continued to be loss-making despite our best efforts.
… Australia's automotive industry is up against a perfect storm of negative influences including the sustained strength of the Aussie dollar against almost all major trading currencies, the relatively high cost of production and the relatively small scale of the local domestic market.
… building cars in this country is just not sustainable.
Faced with a thankless 40-year battle for career survival, and little material reward or public recognition, it is not difficult to understand why so many young scientists are hanging up their labcoats and taking their extraordinary intellects and years of training elsewhere.
More broadly, they are protesting to preserve not just the hope of democracy … but the institutions of civil society that thrived under British law.
These institutions of civil society have been under sustained assault since the ascendancy of China's impatient and uncompromising leader, Xi Jinping … It is the threat of losing them that has drawn so many in Hong Kong to the streets this week.
Nobody expects Beijing will change its mind, but nor can they arrest everybody. They're not playing for today but for their children … It's a fight for the future not the present. There's no mistake there: either you die kneeling down or standing up, and they're choosing to stand.
In respect of the freeze on indexation to Financial Assistance Grants resulting in an estimated total loss of $925 million in council funding,
(a) is he aware of comments made by the President of the Municipal Association of Victoria,
Councillor Bill McArthur, that these cuts will create a ‘black hole’ in Victorian council budgets, primarily in rural communities,
(b) can he advise what services local councils should cut to recover this loss of funding,
(c) is it a fact that rural, remote and Indigenous councils will at the same time incur rising diesel costs, as claimed by the Chief Executive of the Local Government Association Queensland, Mr Greg Hallam, and
(d) did he ask his department to undertake a regional impact study to assess the impact on rural and regional councils; if not, why not.
(a) Yes.
(b) The management of local government’s programme and budgetary practices is a matter for each individual local government body.
(c) As fuel excise is applied at a flat rate, the re-introduction of indexation will be the same in rural areas as it will be in urban areas.
For those businesses using fuel in off-road operations or operating a vehicle with a gross vehicle mass in excess of 4.5 tonnes, this measure will not increase their business costs. These businesses are able to receive fuel tax credits to offset the fuel duty paid. For off-road activities, this is the full reimbursement of fuel duty while for on-road vehicles with a gross vehicle mass in excess of 4.5 tonnes this is equivalent to the duty rate minus the Road User Charge.
Councils will also benefit substantially from the abolition of the carbon tax, saving millions of dollars in road construction costs, waste management emissions taxes, electricity and street lighting costs.
(d) No. This measure was one of a number of significant packages and measures that were directed at supporting stronger and more sustainable economic growth and repairing the budget, and the 2014-15 Budget makes clear that all Australians are being asked to contribute to this task (page 1-8 of Budget Paper No.1), including all local government bodies.
Following the cessation of General Practice Education and Training:
(a) What funding is available for registrars training in Aboriginal Medical Services.
(b) Will the Government continue to fund:
(i) a registrar research and development officer; and
(ii) a registrar research workshop to build research capacity in general practice.
(c) Has the Government entered into discussions with any university to establish a post‑graduate general practice training program.
(a) General Practice Education and Training (GPET) funding arrangements, including those supporting registrar training in Aboriginal Medical Services, will transfer to the Department of Health, and will continue.
(b) (i) and (ii) The Government will honour any existing commitments under funding agreements entered into by GPET.
(c) No.
(1) The tender process will be run from within existing resources in the
Department of Health.
(2) No.
(3) The role of Primary Health Networks (PHN) will be different from Medicare Locals in many ways. PHNs will:
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.
No money has been spent on media training since 7 September 2013.
a) Nil.
b)
i) Nil.
ii) Nil.
iii) Nil.
iv) Nil.
v) Nil.
vi) Nil.
c) N/A
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.
The Department of Education has not purchased speech and/or media training services since 7 September 2013.
Since 7 September 2013, has the Minister's department paid for or stocked the 'drinks cabinet' for (a) the Minister, and where applicable, each (b) junior Minister (including Assistant Ministers), and (c) Parliamentary Secretary; if so, at what cost.
(a) No.
(b) Not applicable.
(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.
Since 7 September 2013 the Department of Education has paid for one function to introduce Minister Pyne and three of the Minister's staff to departmental staff. The total cost for the function was $222.00 (GST inclusive).
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) Since 7 September 2013, three departmental officials have been seconded:
(i) one in my office
(ii) two in Assistant Minister Ley's office
(iii) none in Parliamentary Secretary Ryan's office.
(b) Secondment periods range from two to eleven weeks.
(c) Two APS 4 and one EL 2.
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.
iSentia Pty Ltd is contracted to provide media monitoring services to the Department of Agriculture. Daily clippings reports are provided to the department, the Minister's office and the Parliamentary Secretary's office.
a)
i) Nil.
ii) N/A.
iii) Nil.
b) N/A.
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.
(a) The Department of Human Services has a media clipping contract with iSentia Pty Ltd. The Minister's office accesses press clippings as part of the department's contract. There are no additional costs.
(b) Not applicable.