The SPEAKER (Mr Harry Jenkins) took the chair at 9 am, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.
Navigation Amendment Bill 2011
That this bill be now read a second time.
Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Amendment (Oil Transfers) Bill 2011
That this bill be now read a second time.
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (National Regulator) Bill 2011
That this bill be now read a second time.
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Registration Fees) Amendment Bill 2011
That this bill be now read a second time.
Offshore Petroleum (Royalty) Amendment Bill 2011
That this bill be now read a second time.
Offshore Resources Legislation Amendment (Personal Property Securities) Bill 2011
That this bill be now read a second time.
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Regulatory Levies Legislation Amendment (2011 Measures No. 2) Bill 2011
That this bill be now read a second time.
Customs Amendment (Anti-dumping Measures) Bill 2011
That this bill be now read a third time.
Tax Laws Amendment (2011 Measures No. 3) Bill 2011
That this bill be now read a third time.
Tax Laws Amendment (Medicare Levy and Medicare Levy Surcharge) Bill 2011
That this bill be now read a third time.
Acts Interpretation Amendment Bill 2011
That this bill be now read a third time.
Migration Amendment (Complementary Protection) Bill 2011
That this bill be now read a third time.
Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Bill 2011
Carbon Credits (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2011
Australian National Registry of Emissions Units Bill 2011
That all words after “That” be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:
“the House decline to give the bill a second reading until the terms of the regulations giving effect to the provisions of the bill are laid before the House”.
The NFF has always stated its broad support of the concept and intent of the CFI.
Despite the uncertainties that abound in the area of carbon mitigation, the progress of the CFI demonstrates the positive role agriculture can play in mitigating against carbon emissions through on-farm management.
The Government deserves credit for listening to the farm sector and modifying its proposal to ensure that genuine abatement opportunities under the CFI are not unnecessarily overlooked.
ALOA supports the introduction of the Carbon Farming Initiative Bills. Over the last four months the landfill industry has worked co-operatively with the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency to develop methodologies for the landfill component of the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI). The industry is keen for the scheme to start as soon as practicable, and the proposed date of July 1st is firmly supported.
ALOA therefore encourages the early implementation of the Carbon Farming Initiative to provide the certainty required for landfill operators to invest in new or additional landfill gas capturing equipment. The extent and simplicity of the available abatement will make this scheme an outstanding success and was the reason for our early press release on the 9th of February which was followed up on March 25th …
Greenfleet’s approach to carbon forest projects was approved under the former Greenhouse Friendly™ standard and Greenfleet brings significant expertise as one of the few organisations in Australia with direct experience in establishing and managing biodiverse forests for carbon offsets.
Greenfleet supports the CFI as it will allow accreditation and recognition of additional Australian biodiverse forest sink abatement. Furthermore it will overcome the current situation whereby overseas abatement is recognised in Australia but local abatement is not.
"It's awesome. I like planting the trees. We do that cos it helps nature. I love digging the holes. The other people in our Bushcare Group help me when I ask. It is good teamwork. When I grow up, I want to be a gardener."
… Regional NRM bodies (eg CMAs in Victoria) should be provided with sufficient resources to develop the appropriate “natural resource management plan” that would involve regional decision making on land use planning and priorities. This plan would take into account environmental, water and biodiversity impacts in determining the applicability of eligible activities to appropriate subregions.
… industry and community individuals and groups as well as the private sector have much to offer in terms of innovative ideas on greenhouse gas abatement.
This initiative has the potential to drive funding into rural communities, increase green collar jobs and improve the natural environment whilst simultaneously contributing to domestic climate change adaptation and mitigation measures.
We believe that carbon forestry projects are unlikely to displace high-value agricultural production on the nation's most productive soils. We believe that carbon forestry projects are and will remain peripheral to prime agricultural production and in fact may improve, but not replace, sophisticated farming systems.
I had a call from a local business organization asking if I would talk at a breakfast about the carbon tax to be held in a few weeks. The date was fine, so I said yes, then came the kicker—they wanted an economist on each side of the issue. The organizer said they had plenty of economists willing to speak for the tax, but they couldn't find any willing to speak against it. I gamely offered to present the case for an emissions trading scheme as opposed to a tax (even though, at the moment, I lean to a tax). But they wanted an actual opponent of any kind of carbon price, who was also an economist. This has proved to be impossible, which is pretty impressive testimony to the quality of the Queensland economics profession, and to the underappreciated fact that economists are among the strongest supporters of good environmental policy.
Sadly, there are plenty of people who aren't climate change scientists who are comfortable disbelieving the general consensus from climate change scientists.
But perhaps it is more disturbing when people—especially politicians—ignore or deny the evidence on how to actually achieve lower emissions. Why is that more disturbing? Because it could be that politicians want to actually reduce emissions but instead advocate policies that are likely to do the opposite.
Of course, when I am talking of advocating opposite policies I am talking mainly, but not exclusively, of the Federal Opposition. What they want to do is take direct action. It's not big on specifics but it will cost a lot of money ($10 billion plus) and will award that money to people who claim they are going to do good things in reducing emissions.
It is ironic that on climate change policy, politics are in the bizarro-world where the supposedly anti-market Greens side with Hayek while the supposedly pro-market Coalition sides with Lenin. The economic evidence strongly suggests that the Greens policies match their goals while the reverse is true for the Coalition. I can't parse the dual hypotheses that either the Coalition just deny economic evidence or that they actually want more emissions and handouts to business. Perhaps one of their number can enlighten us.
The legislation addresses NFF concerns around potential perverse outcomes in relation to food production, water, local communities, environment and biodiversity as well as reduces some of the uncertainty and administrative costs surrounding crediting periods, reporting timeframes and offsets compliance.
the government deserves credit for listening to the farm sector and modifying its proposals to ensure that genuine abatement opportunities under the CFI are not unnecessarily overlooked.
We think permanence is a major barrier ... I personally don't know of any farmer who would be willing to sign up for a hundred years.
Forestry and forest-related options are well placed for inclusion in the CFI, according to Dr Michael Battaglia, a scientist with CSIRO Sustainable Agriculture Flagship. Modelling done by Dr Battaglia and his team for the Queensland government found that forest carbon sinks make up about 75 per cent of the total figure attainable for agricultural carbon abatement in Queensland from 2010-2050.
Andrew Macintosh of the ANU’s Centre for Climate Law and Policy says ‘Most rural land managers are concentrating on soil carbon and reforestation projects, but personally I think that credits for preserved regrowth on deforested land units … and forest management credits will dominate the Australian scheme.
Based on experience with managed investment schemes, we’re urging particular caution around new forestry impacts on food provision, biodiversity, water supply, employment and other community effects.
... measures alone cannot do the job without imposing significant economic and budget costs. Moreover, many of the direct action measures cannot be scaled up to achieve significant levels of abatement, and for those that can be scaled up, the cost per tonne of abatement would rise rapidly.
The coalition's policy, as laid out by Tony Abbott and Greg Hunt, involves spending taxpayers' money—taking out of the budget so many billions of dollars to pay farmers in particular ... it is a multi-billion-dollar exercise.
But the way it works is that the taxpayer— the taxpayers' money—would be used to buy carbon offsets from farmers, so that as industry pollutes, the government would then spend taxpayers' dollars to buy carbon offsets to offset that pollution.
To achieve the full benefits of carbon storage, carbon forests need to be managed according to natural cycles of death and decay, including the periodic impact of fire. The long term aim might be to manage forests of a range of ages.
… in the three years to 2005/06 – through the first phase of the current commodity boom – real government expenditure averaged four per cent per year …
No other parliament has the right to interfere with the raising or lowering of royalty rates. The federal government has no right to interfere—
… one cigarette, I am told, does you damage. But it does you so little damage.
I just don't have the evidence one way or the other. ... I've asked the Government to produce the evidence. We've said we've got an open mind.
I think anyone who reads the review and understands how public health science works will see that the evidence is compelling and very difficult to refute.
This is very convincing science, based on the most rigorous study models available.
This Assembly
1. calls on the Australian Government to exempt the Northern Territory from proposed carbon emissions taxes for at least fifty years or until such time as global consensus has been reached on a worldwide carbon emissions reduction plan; and
2. through the Speaker forward the terms of this motion to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President of the Senate.
Report relating to the consideration of committee and delegation business
and of private Members’ business
1. The committee met in private session on Tuesday, 24 May 2011.
2. The committee determined the order of precedence and times to be allotted for consideration of private Members’ business on Monday 30 May 2011, as follows:
Items for House of Representatives Chamber (10.10 am to 12 noon)
PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BUSINESS
Notices
1 MR BANDT: To move:
That this House:
(1) condemns the Gillard Government’s deal with Malaysia that would see 800 asylum seekers intercepted in Australian waters and sent to Malaysia; and
(2) calls on the Government to immediately abandon this proposal. (Notice given 12 May 2011)
Time allotted—30 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Mr Bandt—5 minutes.
Other Members—5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 6 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
2 MR MORRISON: To move:
That:
(1) a Select Committee on The Crisis in Australia's Immigration Detention Network be appointed to inquire into and report on:
(a) the riots and disturbances in detention facilities on Christmas Island commencing 12 March 2011, and Villawood from 19 April, 2011, in particular:
(i) the nature and circumstances of these events;
(ii) the nature and adequacy of the response of Commonwealth agencies to the events;
(iii) any warning, briefings or advice that had been provided to the Government by agencies and individuals in the lead up to, during and after the events and the nature and adequacy of the response to such information;
(iv) the adequacy of security protocols, procedures and resources to mitigate the escalation of tension and conflict in the detention network;
(v) the extent and cost of the damage to facilities as a result of the events; and
(vi) any other matter deemed relevant by the Committee to understand why these events occurred; and
(b) the performance and management of Commonwealth agencies and/or their agents or contractors in discharging their responsibilities associated with the interception, detention and processing of irregular maritime arrivals or other persons;
(c) the health, safety and wellbeing of employees of Commonwealth agencies and/or their agents or contractors in performing their duties relating to the interception, detention and processing of irregular maritime arrivals or other persons;
(d) the health, safety and wellbeing of persons detained within the detention network;
(e) the level, adequacy and effectiveness of reporting incidents and the response to incidents within the immigration detention network, including relevant policies, procedures, authorities and protocols;
(f) compliance with the Government's immigration detention values within the detention network;
(g) any issues relating to interaction with States and Territories regarding the interception, detention and processing of irregular maritime arrivals or other persons;
(h) the management of good order and public order with respect to the immigration detention network;
(i) the standards and adequacy of facilities and services and access to these facilities and services provided to detainees within the detention network;
(j) the total costs of managing and maintaining the immigration detention network and processing irregular maritime arrivals and other detainees;
(k) the expansion of the immigration detention network, including the cost and process adopted to establish new facilities;
(l) the length of time detainees have been held in the detention network, the reasons for their length of stay and the impact on the detention network;
(m) processes for assessment of protection claims made by irregular maritime arrivals and other persons and the impact on the detention network;
(n) the management of minors within the detention network, in particular children aged under 13;
(o) impact of existing and prospective Government policies with respect to irregular maritime arrivals and other persons detained within the detention network; and
(p) the implications of the matters considered by the Committee for the management of Australia's immigration detention network;
(2) the Committee consist of 10 members, 4 Members to be nominated by the Government Whip or Whips, 4 Members to be nominated by the Opposition Whip or Whips, and two non-aligned Members;
(3) every nomination of a member of the Committee be notified in writing to the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
(4) the members of the Committee hold office as a select committee until presentation of the Committee's report or the House of Representatives is dissolved or expires by effluxion of time, whichever is the earlier;
(5) the Committee elect a Government or a non Government member as chair at its first meeting;
(6) the Committee elect a member as its deputy chair who shall act as chair of the Committee at any time when the chair is not present at a meeting of the Committee, and at any time when the chair and deputy chair are not present at a meeting of the Committee the members present shall elect another member to act as chair at that meeting;
(7) in the event of an equally divided vote, the chair, or the deputy chair when acting as chair, have a casting vote;
(8) 3 members of the Committee constitute a quorum of the Committee provided that in a deliberative meeting the quorum shall include 1 Government member and 1 non-Government member;
(9) the Committee have power to appoint subcommittees consisting of 3 or more of its members and to refer to any subcommittee any matter which the committee is empowered to examine;
(10) the Committee appoint the chair of each subcommittee who shall have a casting vote only and at any time when the chair of a subcommittee is not present at a meeting of the subcommittee the members of the subcommittee present shall elect another member of that subcommittee to act as chair at that meeting;
(11) 2 members of a subcommittee constitute the quorum of that subcommittee;
(12) members of the Committee who are not members of a subcommittee may participate in the proceedings of that subcommittee but shall not vote, move any motion or be counted for the purpose of a quorum;
(13) the Committee or any subcommittee have power to call for witnesses to attend and for documents to be produced;
(14) the Committee or any subcommittee may conduct proceedings at any place it sees fit;
(15) the Committee or any subcommittee have power to adjourn from time to time and to sit during any adjournment of the House of Representatives;
(16) the Committee may report from time to time but that it present its final report no later than 7 October 2011; and
(17) the provisions of this resolution, so far as they are inconsistent with the standing orders, have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the standing orders. (Notice given 24 May 2011.)
Time allotted—40 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Mr Morrison—10 minutes.
Next Member—10 minutes.
Other Member—5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 2 x 10 mins + 4 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
3 MR NEUMANN: To move:
That this House:
(1) recognises that:
(a) there are about three million Australians who still smoke; and
(b) tobacco is a lethal product, killing around 15 000 Australians every year; and
(2) calls on all Members and political parties to immediately stop accepting political donations from tobacco companies. (Notice given 23 May 2011.)
Time allotted—remaining private Members’ business time prior to 12 noon.
Speech time limits—
Mr Neumann—5 minutes.
Other Member—5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 8 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
Items for House of Representatives Chamber (8 to 9.30 pm)
PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BUSINESS
Notices
4 MR PYNE: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that the Government has:
(a) admitted there is a problem with the criteria for independent youth allowance for inner regional students;
(b) committed to bringing forward its review of the matter with the broad purpose of finding a permanent solution to address the disadvantages that currently exist for rural and regional students in qualifying for financial assistance; and
(c) indicated it will remove the difference between the inner regional areas and the other regional zones for the eligibility criteria for independent youth allowance; and
(2) calls on the Government to bring forward its timetable for resolving the matter, and in particular ensure that:
(a) the review is completed and funds to pay for the measure are secured by l July 2011;
(b) the current eligibility criteria for independent youth allowance for persons whose homes are located in Outer Regional Australia, Remote Australia, and Very Remote Australia according to the Remoteness Structure defined in subsection 1067A(10F) of the Social Security Act 1991 also apply to those with homes in Inner Regional Australia from 1 July 2011; and
(c) all students who had a gap year in 2010 (ie, 2009 Year 12 school leavers) and who meet the relevant criteria qualify for the payment. (Notice given 22 March 2011.
Time allotted—50 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Mr Pyne—10 minutes.
Next Member—10 minutes.
Other Member—5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 2 x 10 mins + 6 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
5 MR MELHAM: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes the release on 28 March 2011 of an Amnesty International report entitled Death Sentences and Executions 2010 and that:
(a) over the last 10 years, 31 countries have abolished the death sentence in practice or in law; and
(b) in December 2010:
(i) the United Nations General Assembly adopted its third resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty; and
(ii) 23 countries had carried out executions in 2010 compared to 19 countries in 2009; and
(2) recommits to its bi-partisan condemnation of the death penalty across the world. (Notice given 23 May 2011.)
Time allotted—remaining private Members’ business time prior to 9.30 pm.
Speech time limits—
Mr Melham—5 minutes.
Other Member—5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 8 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
Items for Main Committee (approx 11 am to approx 1.30 pm)
PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BUSINESS
Notices
1 MR HAYES: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) for more than 2000 years religious groups such as Assyrians, Mandaeans, Chaldeans, Syriacs and other Aramaic speakers have called Iraq home;
(b) in 2003, Australia was part of the ‘coalition of the willing’ that invaded Iraq in the belief that Iraq harboured weapons of mass destruction;
(c) since 2003 there have been horrendous acts of persecution against these religious minorities in Iraq, including murders, bombings and extortion; and
(d) the Catholic Church reports that one million Christians have fled Iraq since the 2003 invasion; and
(2) recognises that:
(a) thousands of people are sheltering in Syria, Egypt, Jordan and the northern regions of Iraq because they feel they cannot return to their homes for fear of death and persecution;
(b) due to our part in the ‘coalition of the willing’, Australia has a moral responsibility to deal compassionately with these displaced people; and
(c) it will be a damning critique on humanity and the Coalition forces, who have vowed to protect the people of Iraq, if religious groups with such a significant historical link to the region are forced out at the hands of terrorists. (Notice given 8 February 2011.
Time allotted—40 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Mr Hayes—10 minutes.
Other Member—10 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 4 x 10 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
2 MRS GRIGGS: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes:
(a) that Darwin is currently experiencing the worst housing crisis since Cyclone Tracy, and the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, the Member for Lingiari, supports the plans to demolish or remove the houses in Eaton; and
(b) the significant adverse impact the demolition or removal of 396 defence houses at Eaton will have on the local community, local school and local businesses; and
(2) calls on the Government to:
(a) excise the Darwin suburb of Eaton from RAAF Base Darwin;
(b) hand over the 396 houses managed by the Department of Defence in the Darwin suburb of Eaton, to the Defence Housing Authority (DHA); and
(c) direct DHA as a matter of priority, to develop and implement a business plan that would determine the percentage of the 396 houses in Eaton that could be made available for lease or sale to the local community in order to help address the critical housing shortage. (Notice given 10 May 2011.)
Time allotted—20 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Mrs Griggs—5 minutes.
Other Member—5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 4 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
3 MRS MARKUS: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that in the 2010 Federal Election, the Coalition, Australian Labor Party and Australian Greens committed to establishing the Greater Western Sydney Corridor but the Australian Government has failed to act to protect Cumberland Plain Woodland and endangered flora and fauna species; and
(2) calls on the Australian Government to implement the Coalition’s policy to protect Western Sydney's Cumberland Plain Woodland and endangered flora and fauna species, and:
(a) establish the Greater Western Sydney Conservation Corridor linking nature reserves and identified priority lands within the Greater Western Sydney Region, as an environmental legacy for future generations;
(b) establish a joint State Federal Consultative Committee to consider information with regard to the establishment of the Greater Western Sydney Conservation Corridor;
(c) consult and work with the NSW Government on strategies to acquire identified 'priority conservation sites' for the Conservation Corridor, utilising funds held within the NSW Growth Centres Conservation Fund for that purpose;
(d) identify private land that links areas of the proposed Corridor and work towards a mutually beneficial outcome with private land holders; and
(e) consult with the NSW Government on the feasibility of a comprehensive audit of the Greater Western Sydney bushland region to identify conservation values that will include listings of threatened and or endangered species. (Notice given 22 March 2011.)
Time allotted—20 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Mrs Markus—5 minutes.
Other Member—5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 4 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
4 MS PARKE: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) Australia's oceans are the most diverse on earth but less than 1 per cent of the South-West, North-West, North, Coral Sea and East marine regions are currently protected;
(b) the Australian coastal lifestyles and our coastal economies are dependent on the good health of our oceans;
(c) evidence from marine sanctuaries around the world, including in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States, has shown that fish populations and fish size dramatically increase inside sanctuaries and in the nearby fished areas;
(d) the marine and environmental science is clear, and in 2008, 900 scientists from the Australian Marine Scientists Association reached a consensus that the creation of networks of large marine sanctuaries will:
(i) protect ocean life, including threatened species and critical habitats;
(ii) recover the abundance of ocean life within and beyond sanctuary boundaries, fostering more and bigger fish;
(iii) increase the resilience of ocean life to climate change; and
(iv) underpin the future of commercial and recreational fisheries and the sustainability of coastal economies; and
(e) through international agreement under the Convention on Biological Diversity, Australia has committed to establishing networks of marine reserves in its oceans by the end of 2012;
(2) welcomes the fact that:
(a) during 2011 the Australian Government will be finalising marine bioregional marine plans for the South-West, North-West, North and East marine regions (including the Coral Sea) in keeping with the commitment to a national marine conservation scheme first agreed to at the Council of Australian Governments in 1998;
(b) each marine bioregional plan will include a proposed network of Commonwealth marine reserves that will include sanctuary zones; and
(c) 2011 is the year of delivery for the world-class protection of the world's richest marine environments; and
(3) calls upon the Australian Government to further consider:
(a) establishing networks of large marine sanctuaries in each of the marine regions currently under investigation in the marine bioregional planning process; and
(b) providing sufficient funding for the transition of commercial fishing activities displaced by the establishment of marine sanctuaries. (Notice given 22 March 2011.)
Time allotted—40 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Ms Parke—10 minutes.
Next Member—10 minutes.
Other Member—5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 2 x 10 mins + 4 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
5 MRS MOYLAN: To move:
That this House:
(1) recognises the provision of affordable medicines through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is central to Australia's health system;
(2) acknowledges that since its inception, the PBS is an uncapped program;
(3) agrees that evaluations of pharmaceuticals for listing under the PBS should be transparent, evidence based, and not subject to capricious political interference;
(4) notes that:
(a) before recommending medicines for listing on the PBS, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) conducts a rigorous evaluation to determine the comparative clinical and cost effectiveness of the proposed medicine;
(b) the three tiers of major applications for PBS listings are designed to promote an efficient Government approval process; and
(c) positive recommendations by the PBAC have nearly always been approved by the Minister for Health;
(5) deplores the Government's new policy that:
(a) despite positive recommendations by the PBAC, all applications for listing will be further scrutinised by Cabinet;
(b) listing of medicines can be deferred indefinitely;
(c) no new PBS listings will occur unless offset savings are found; and
(d) until the budget returns to surplus, these measures will remain in place;
(6) recognises that:
(a) in scrutinising applications, the PBAC already determines value for money; and
(b) under the Government's new policy, access to medicines will be limited and medications which could improve the treatment of chronic or common conditions will remain financially unaffordable for many Australians; and
(7) condemns the Government for prioritising a return to surplus above the wellbeing of Australians. (Notice given 10 May 2011.)
Time allotted—remaining private Members’ business time prior to 1.30 pm
Speech time limits—
Mrs Moylan—10 minutes.
Next Member—10 minutes.
Other Member—5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 2 x 10 mins + 2 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
Items for Main Committee (approx 6.30 to 9 pm)
PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BUSINESS
6 MR CHRISTENSEN: To move:
That this House:
(1) recognises the one-hundredth anniversary of the sinking of SS Yongala;
(2) notes that:
(a) the SS Yongala sank in a cyclone on 23 March 1911 on a voyage from Mackay to Townsville;
(b) the SS Yongala was lost 12 nautical miles off Alva in the Burdekin; and
(c) 122 passengers lost their lives as a result of the ship’s sinking; and
(3) extends its thoughts and sympathies, at this time of memorial, to the living descendants of those who perished with the sinking of the SS Yongala. (Notice given 21 March 2011.)
Time allotted—20 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Mr Christensen—5 minutes.
Other Member—5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 4 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
7 MS A. E. BURKE: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) Thursday 26 May marks World Multiple Sclerosis Day; and
(b) around the world, World Multiple Sclerosis Day in 2011 is being given the theme of employment to acknowledge that staying at work is a key concern for people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis;
(2) recognises that:
(a) multiple sclerosis is most frequently diagnosed in people aged between 20 and 40 years, at a stage in life when these people are building their careers and their families;
(b) the Australian Multiple Sclerosis Longitudinal Study reported that 80 per cent of people with multiple sclerosis lose their employment within 10 years of diagnosis;
(c) like many chronic diseases, multiple sclerosis is costly, and enabling people with multiple sclerosis to stay in work not only builds their confidence and self-esteem but helps to meet the costs that come with managing a lifelong disease; and
(d) with the ageing of the population, people with chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis will increasingly feature in Australian workplaces, requiring enhanced management and support of these employees; and
(3) commits itself to:
(a) ensuring that the labour market and welfare system continue to provide assistance to people with multiple sclerosis in supporting them to both obtain and retain employment; and
(b) encouraging employers to incorporate greater flexibility in workplaces to enable people with multiple sclerosis and their carers to fulfil their productive capacity. (Notice given 23 May 2011.)
Time allotted—30 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Ms A. E. Burke—5 minutes.
Other Member—5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 6 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
8 MR CHESTER: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) 2011 marks the fortieth anniversary of the Ramsar Convention and the establishment of a list of wetlands of international importance; and
(b) the existence of 64 Ramsar-listed sites in Australia covering 8.1 million hectares; and
(2) highlights the:
(a) social, economic, environmental and cultural importance of conserving wetlands through wise use and management; and
(b) need for ongoing Commonwealth funding to other agencies, including volunteer organisations, which play an important role in educational initiatives and practical environmental projects to protect and enhance Australia's wetlands. (Notice given 24 May 2011.)
Time allotted—30 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Mr Chester—5 minutes.
Other Member—5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 6 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
9 MR L. D. T. FERGUSON: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes:
(a) there has been a long running armed conflict in the Philippines;
(b) both the new President Benigno Aquino III and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines have expressed the desire to resume the peace negotiations between the two parties which began in 1992 and were suspended in 2005; and
(c) the Royal Norwegian Government is the third party facilitator of these peace negotiations and it is actively supporting the resumption of the peace negotiations; and
(2) welcomes the re-commencement of the formal peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines from February 15 21 this year; and
(3) encourages both parties in their efforts to resolve the conflict, and expresses a sincere wish for their success. (Notice given 22 March 2011.)
Time allotted—20 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Mr L. D. T. Ferguson—5 minutes.
Other Member—5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 4 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
10 MR HUNT: To move:
That this House:
(1) expresses:
(a) its condolences to the family of Australian citizen Mr Greg McNicol who was shot while helping to transform a run-down apartment block into a family building in Detroit;
(b) its gratitude to the City and Police Department of Detroit for the speed with which they have apprehended the alleged killer, and urge that the investigation is continued until such time as police are certain that no other parties were complicit; and
(c) our great respect for the people of America and in particular those engaged in the great renaissance of Detroit; and
(2) respectfully call on the Mayor and City of Detroit to create a public park in the vacant land adjacent to where Mr McNicol was both working and lost his life, with an appropriate recognition of Mr McNicol's vision for a better local community. (Notice given 24 May 2011.)
Time allotted—20 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Mr Hunt—10 minutes.
Other Member—10 minutes.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 2 x 10 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
11 DR LEIGH: To move:
That this House:
(1) recognises:
(a) Australians are keen to have better access to information about government performance;
(b) more transparent public services have been shown to perform at higher levels; and
(c) greater access to information helps Australians make the best choices; and
(2) commends the Australian Government on the creation of the MySchool, MyHospitals and MyChild websites. (Notice given 23 February 2011.)
Time allotted—remaining private Members’ business time prior to 9 pm
Speech time limits—
Dr Leigh—5 minutes.
Other Member—5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 6 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
3. The committee recommends that the following items of private Members’ business listed on the notice paper be voted on:
Orders of the Day—
Centenary of the choice of the Griffin design for the national capital (Mr K J Andrews)
Home Insulation Program (Commission of Inquiry) Bill 2011 (Mr Hunt)
Indexation of Military Pensions (Mr Robert)
Israel (Ms J Bishop)
Science Curriculum (Mr Pyne)
The failure of the government to address cost-of-living pressures on Australians.
What I would like to say is we are a government—
that's tried to understand and provide that little bit of help with cost-of-living pressures.
What the Xstrata decision does demonstrate is that even very energy-efficient operations such as those operated by them—
in Queensland cannot compete against cheaper alternatives. My fear is that these closures are a foretaste of what will follow if the federal parliament agrees to impose an uncompetitive carbon price regime on our trade-exposed resource sector industries. It is not too late for the federal government to embrace a better way–one that safeguards our global competitiveness.
Let's look at the Great Barrier Reef, where there's 63,000 people's livelihood dependent on that - more than the number of people employed in the coal mining industry …
So what does it look like? Well it looks like an economy with a healthy tourist sector, a healthy services sector and a renewable energy sector that's the envy of the world.
That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent Mr Macfarlane speaking for a period not exceeding six and a half minutes.
That Ms Marino be discharged from the Selection Committee and that, in her place, Mr Entsch be appointed a member of the committee.
That Mr Windsor be appointed a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters for the purpose of the committee's inquiry into the funding of political parties and election campaigns.
Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Bill 2011
That this bill be now read a second time.
That all words after “That” be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: “the House decline to give the bill a second reading until the terms of the regulations giving effect to the provisions of the bill are laid before the House.”
The legislation has also addressed the NFF concerns around potential perverse outcomes in relation to food production, water, local communities, employment and biodiversity, as well as reducing some of the uncertainty and administration costs surrounding crediting periods, reporting timeframes and offsets compliance.
… … …
The government deserves credit for listening to the farm sector and modifying its proposal to ensure that genuine abatement opportunities under the CFI are not unnecessarily overlooked.
There is no doubt that the climate is changing, the evidence is overwhelming and clear. The atmosphere is warming, the ocean is warming, ice is being lost from glaciers and ice caps and sea levels are rising. Global surface temperature is rising fast; the last decade was the hottest on record. In the last 50 years the number of record hot days in Australia has more than doubled.
A very large body of observations, experiments, analyses, and physical theory points to increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere—with carbon dioxide being the most important—as the primary cause of the observed warming.
The Government deserves credit for listening to the farm sector and modifying its proposal to ensure that genuine abatement opportunities under the CFI are not unnecessarily overlooked.
There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead.
If the world as a whole cut all emissions tomorrow, the average temperature of the planet is not going to drop for several hundred years, perhaps over 1000 years.
An epic battle is now under way in the Middle East between tyranny and freedom. A great convulsion is shaking the earth, from the Khyber Pass to the Straits of Gibraltar.
There are millions of young people out there who are determined to change their future. We all look at them. They muster courage. They risk their lives. They demand dignity. They desire liberty.
These extraordinary scenes in Tunis and Cairo evoke those of Berlin and Prague in 1989.
I take it as a badge of honour, and so should you, that in our free societies you can protest. You can't have protests in the farcical parliaments in Tehran or in Tripoli. This is real democracy.
We stand together to defend democracy. We stand together to advance peace. We stand together to fight terrorism.
The scientific links that we make with colleagues in other countries are the glue that maintains Australia's connections and prestige in the rest of the world. Without a linkage program ... our scientists will not be as respected, will not be able to collaborate and will not win a place at research forums internationally.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Hon. Yvette D'Ath) took the chair at 9:30.
Child care is essential in enabling parents who are primary carers ..., often women, to enter and remain in the workforce.
... essential in enabling parents who are the primary carers ..., often women, to enter and remain in the workforce.
The panel found credible allegations which, if proven, indicate that a wide range of serious breaches of international humanitarian law and international human rights law were committed both by the government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, some of which would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Government shelled on a large scale in three consecutive No Fire Zones, where it had encouraged the civilian population to concentrate, even after indicating that it would cease the use of heavy weapons.
... the conduct of the war represented a grave assault on the entire regime of international law designed to protect individual dignity both during war and peace.
Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2011-2012
If printing money is a good solution to the unemployment problem why not print more of the stuff and get rid of unemployment problem altogether?
We might do precisely that.
The Australian economy has been one of the most resilient in the OECD ...
It's not working, Jerry. It's just not working ... Why did it all turn out like this for me? I had so much promise ... every decision I've ever made, in my entire life, has been wrong. My life is the opposite of everything I want it to be. Every instinct I have—
It's all been wrong.
If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.
... it's all happening because I am completely ignoring every urge towards commonsense and good judgment I've ever had. This is no longer just some crazy notion. Jerry, this is my new religion.
This project—
has opened the door for the community to strengthen ties and provide role-models to our community, showing that we understand and trust each other.
… our two daughters have paid their HECS through sheer hard work and determination, not because we are a rich family. Now we can expect an even harder financial road for our son when he finishes year 12.
…the only time he—
has wielded a knife is when he helped to bring down Kevin Rudd.
Sound like a weak effort to you? It's a turnaround equivalent to 3.8 percentage points of gross domestic product - 2.1 points in the coming year and 1.7 points in 2012-13.
This means that, in the simple way most economists (including those at the Reserve Bank) measure it these days, the "stance of policy" is highly contractionary.
The budget's net contribution to demand is negative - contracting rather than expanding - thus leaving more room for private sector demand to expand without generating as much inflation pressure.
It could have been more excruciating—economists are hard to please when it comes to inflicting pain—but it's tougher and more courageous than all but the first of the 12 budgets the now-sainted Peter Costello delivered.
The responsible increase of aid and development spending, announced tonight, will see Australia increase the delivery of life-saving development initiatives in some of the world’s least developed countries. When the Government is in belt-tightening mode, Caritas Australia welcomes AusAID’s commitment to prioritise the poorest of the poor.
In respect of the statement by the Minister: 'Let me be really clear about this; you cannot monitor somebody 24/7, every second, on an existing fixed wireless network or on some of the copper that we have in the ground.' (Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee, Supplementary Budget Estimates , 19 October 2010, page 116): (a) what implications does this have for those Australians in areas where the National Broadband Network will operate over wireless; and (b) is this statement consistent with the claims made in Product Overview, Wireless Access Services (NBN Co Limited, August 2010, page 6), that (i) wireless services will '…provide speeds of 12 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream to mass market customers and 4 Mbps upstream for business customers at launch.', and (ii) the wireless product features '…draw on the capabilities of the latest wireless technology to deliver maximum performance and a consistent and predictable service experience.'
(a) In areas where the National Broadband Network will operate over wireless, NBN Co will deploy next generation wireless technologies that are capable of providing reliable broadband services enabling the delivery of high quality services, such as e-health services and in-home tele-monitoring.
While fibre optic is the most future-proof technology available, with the capacity to deliver broadband speeds far beyond the government's stated 100 megabits per second objective, next generation wireless technologies will still play an important role in Australia's broadband landscape and are well suited to providing services to areas with low population density.
In lower population density areas, where the NBN will operate via next generation wireless or satellite technologies, NBN users will still be able to access broadband services with peak speeds of at least 12 megabits per second downstream and 1 megabit per second upstream, which is faster than the average fixed broadband service experienced by most Australians today.
(b) (i) Yes
(ii) Yes
For the eight operational GP Super Clinics, collectively, how many (a) services have been provided, (b) services have been provided by a general practitioner, and (c) services have been billed to (i) Medicare, (ii) Medicare by a general practitioner, (iii) Medicare by a specialist medical practitioner, and (iv) Medicare by an allied health professional.
(a) As at end of March 2011, 10 GP Super Clinics were operational. These 10 clinics reported over 354,000 presentations. This includes those clinics which have offered early services prior to opening.
(b) Over 256,000 presentations were reported to have been with a general practitioner.
(c) Under the GP Super Clinics Program, self reported data is collected on patient presentations to GPs and allied health professionals. This data is not collected on the basis of Medicare/non-Medicare services. This reflects more completely the multidisciplinary nature of the services being provided in GP Super Clinics, some of which are not Medicare eligible services.
In respect of Round Three (Regional Priority Round) of the Health and Hospitals Fund:
(1) What total sum of funding is currently available.
(2) What total sum of funding has been allocated to (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14, and (e) financial years beyond 2013-14.
(3) In respect of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification—Remoteness Areas (RA), will there be a limit by (a) number, (b) dollar value, or (c) share of available funding, to the projects funded in this round in: (i) non-capital city RA1, (ii) capital city RA1, (iii) RA2, (iv) RA3, (v) RA4, and (vi) RA5.
(1) The Government has committed $1.8 billion to regional health infrastructure through the Health and Hospitals Fund (HHF). Funding of $1.33 billion was announced in the 2011-12 Budget for 63 projects arising from the Regional Priority Round. A further $475 million has been committed to a further regional round to commence before the end of 2011.
(2) An initial allocation of $315 million was made at the 2010-11 Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook for the Royal Hobart and Port Macquarie Hospitals, subject to the HHF Advisory Board assessing these projects as eligible under the HHF evaluation criteria and Regional Priority Round additional guidance. This comprised $240 million for the Royal Hobart Hospital and $75 million for the Port Macquarie Hospital as follows:
The Government announced on 11 March 2011 that it would fund the Port Macquarie Hospital project at the $96 million assessed by the Board as eligible. This includes $75 million appropriated in the 2010-11 Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook and $21 million approved by the Acting Prime Minister on 10 March 2011, with this latter amount to be appropriated in the 2011-12 Budget.
The Government has announced the other projects to be funded under the Regional Priority Round and the funding profile is at page 218 of Budget Paper number 2.
(3) No. However, the grant guidelines provided for funding of RA1 proposals only where they would exclusively or predominantly service the health needs of regional patients.
What financial assistance is the Government providing to the honeybee industry to help eradicate the threat posed to food security and biodiversity by the Asian honeybee, found in North Queensland.
The Commonwealth has contributed $1.2 million to the national Asian honeybee eradication program, which is 50 per cent of the government costs of the nationally cost shared program. The Commonwealth also provided funding to the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, which produced a report on "Estimating the Potential Public Cost of the Asian Honeybee Incursion", at a cost of $5,000.
(1) What total sum of funding was provided to the Hunter Urban Division of General Practice (GP Access) in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09, (c) 2009-10, and (d) 2010-11.
(2) What proportion of funding in each year in part (1) was for the operation of the (a) GP Access After Hours service, and (b) Patient Streaming Service (call centre).
(3) What funding streams exist for any other (a) services provided by, or (b) operational costs incurred by, GP Access.
(1) (a) and (d) Total Commonwealth funding provided to Hunter Urban Division of General Practice (GP Access) by the Department of Health and Ageing is outlined below:
(2) (a) and (b)
* Calculated on the basis of direct costs and a proportion of management and corporate costs
(3) (a) and (b)
Funding outlined at question 1 includes all direct funding from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing.
The Department is unable to provide details of other sources of funding provided to GP Access.
(1) How many personal staff are employed by the Minister.
(2) What is the (a) total cost; and (b) breakdown of costs, of all capital works and acquisitions in the Minister's private office since 3 December 2007.
(1) The employment of staff under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 is administered by the Department of Finance and Deregulation. On 22 February 2011, the Department tabled with the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee a list of Government Personal Staff Positions as at 1 February 2011.
(2) (a) and (b) The cost of capital works and acquisitions for ministers' offices is shared by the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS), Department of Finance and Deregulation (DoFD) and the home department in line with Appendix 2 of Supporting Ministers, Upholding the Values. The Special Minister of State will accordingly respond on behalf of all ministers in respect of costs incurred by the DPS and DoFD.
I am advised that the costs incurred by the Department of Defence are as follows:
Note:
a. The Minister for Defence, the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel and the Minister for Defence Materiel were appointed on 14 September 2010. The reported figures are for the period 14 September 2010 to 3 March 2011.
b. Reported figures cover acquisitions and capital works costs based on the following definitions:
' Acquisitions ' are understood to include, but not necessarily be limited to, standalone objects and equipment hired and/or purchased for the office, but exclude portable communication devices, office consumables and operating costs.
c. Reported expenditure is for the ministers' offices in the ministerial wing of Parliament House only and is understood to mean the entire ministerial suite that has been assigned for use by the minister and staff.
d. Reported expenditure for the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel are for information only. Veteran Affairs as the lead department in the provision of ministerial office support for Mr Snowdon will separately respond on behalf of the Minister in respect of the total cost incurred on capital works and acquisitions which will include the $522.26 expenditure reported above.
(1) How many personal staff are employed by the Minister.
(2) What is the (a) total cost, and (b) breakdown of costs, of all capital works and acquisitions in the Minister's private office since 3 December 2007.
(1) The employment of staff under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 is administered by the Department of Finance and Deregulation. On 22 February 2011, the Department tabled with the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee a list of Government Personal Staff Positions as at 1 February 2011.
(2) The cost of capital works and acquisitions for Ministers' offices is shared by the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS), Department of Finance and Deregulation (DoFD) and home departments in line with Appendix 2 of Supporting Ministers, Upholding the Values. The Special Minister of State will accordingly respond on behalf of all ministers in respect of costs incurred by the DPS and DoFD.
The costs incurred by the Department of Health and Ageing are as follows:
Total cost—$15,393.80
(b) The costs include acquisitions for standalone objects and equipment hired and/or purchased for the office. This may include items such as printers, audio visual equipment, polycoms and safes. The department's financial system does not capture data to differentiate between a specific item or office. The data includes the Minister's private office at Australian Parliament House as well as any Commonwealth Parliamentary Office or Commonwealth Parliamentary Office and Electorate Office combined.
How many personal staff are employed by the Minister.
What is the (a) total cost, and (b) breakdown of costs, of all capital works and acquisitions in the Minister's private office since 3 December 2007.
The employment of staff under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 is administered by the Department of Finance and Deregulation. On 22 February 2011, the Department tabled with the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee a list of Government Personal Staff Positions as at 1 February 2011.
The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry was appointed on 14 September 2010. As such, no data is provided for the period prior to this date.
The cost of capital works and acquisitions for ministers' offices is shared by the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS), Department of Finance and Deregulation (DoFD) and home departments in line with Appendix 2 of Supporting Ministers, Upholding the Values. The Special Minister of State will accordingly respond on behalf of all ministers in respect of costs incurred by the DPS and DoFD.
I am advised that the costs incurred by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for the period 14 September 2010 to 3 March 2011 is as follows:
*Note: Owing to reporting limitations costs are not able to be further disaggregated and may also include information technology costs for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
(1) How many personal staff are employed by the Minister.
(2) What is the (a) total cost, and (b) breakdown of costs, of all capital works and acquisitions in the Minister's private office since 3 December 2007.
(1).The employment of staff under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 is administered by the Department of Finance and Deregulation. On 22 February 2011, the Department tabled with the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee a list of Government Personal Staff Positions as at 1 February 2011.
(2) (a) The cost of capital works and acquisitions for Ministers' Offices is shared by the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS), Department of Finance and Deregulation (DoFD) and home departments in line with Appendix 2 of Supporting Ministers, Upholding the Values. The Special Minister of State will accordingly respond on behalf of all ministers in respect of costs incurred by the DPS and DoFD.
The Minister for Small Business was appointed on 14 September 2010. As such, no data is provided for the period prior to this date. Since 14 September 2010, the acquisition costs incurred by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research are $11,852.90 (GST exclusive).
(b) A breakdown of these costs are as follows:
(1) How many personal staff are employed by the Minister.
(2) What is the (a) total cost, and (b) breakdown of costs, of all capital works and acquisitions in the Minister's private office since 3 December 2007.
(1) The employment of staff under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 is administered by the Department of Finance and Deregulation. On 22 February 2011, the Department tabled with the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee a list of Government Personal Staff Positions as at 1 February 2011.
(2) The Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation was appointed on 14 September 2010. As such, no data is provided for the period prior to this date.
(a) $2,065
(b)
In respect of the medicines Duodart, Invega Sustenna, Targin, Symbicort, Botox, Fragmin and Synarel that were recommended for listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC), but deferred by the Australian Government:
(a) why was the listing of these medicines deferred;
(b) what advice was the decision to defer the listing of these medicines based upon;
(c) what is the projected cost per annum to the Commonwealth of listing each medicine;
(d) what is the saving to the Government over the forward estimates of deferring the listing of these medicines;
(e) can she indicate
(i) which medicines were considered by Cabinet: and
(ii) the estimated length of time of the deferral of the listing of these medicines; and
(f) how many people are projected to be prescribed each medicine in the first year of them being listing.
(a) The Australian Government is committed to a sustainable Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) as a key to keeping medicines affordable and accessible, and delivering better health services for all Australians.
The cost of the PBS has continued to grow over the past ten years, averaging growth of about nine percent a year, and it is estimated it will cost about $9 billion this financial year. This growth rate is higher than the six percent annual increase for general hospital and medical services, and of course much higher than the Consumer Price Index.
A fiscally responsible Government cannot continue to increase funding for one program at the expense of other pressing health needs, in the hope of a reduction in costs at some point in the future. The Government must deal with the fiscal circumstances and health priorities now, as well as assessing future growth patterns.
Consequently, the Government is concentrating on listing medicines on the PBS that treat serious and life threatening conditions where there are no alternative treatments on the PBS.
(b) The Government relies upon information provided by the PBAC in relation to clinical need for each medicine or vaccine, including whether alternative treatment options exist, and whether there were comparable listings in the past three years. Additional information taken into account is whether the listing provides expenditure savings and other technical information that the PBAC considered. The Government also relies on the expert advice from the Department of Health and Ageing and the Chief Medical Officer.
(c) and (d) The costs of measures considered by the Cabinet, including potential PBS listings are Cabinet in Confidence.
(e) (i) Any PBS listings with a financial impact are considered by the Cabinet.
(ii) When circumstances permit, the Government will reconsider those applications.
(f) The number of patients who may have been prescribed the deferred PBS listings in the first full year of listing is commercial-in-confidence.
(1) How many think tanks or policy institutes are funded by the Minister's department, and: (a) what are (i) their names; and (ii) key areas of research. (b) in what office/agency within the department do they fall.
(2) What sum of funding was provided to each of the think tanks or policy institutes in part (1) in:
(a) 2007-08;
(b) 2008-09;
(c) 2009-10; and
(d) 2010-11.
(3) For each think tank or policy institute in part (1), on what date:
(a) was an announcement made that it would be formed; and
(b) did it commence operating.
(1) (a) (i) and (ii) and (b)
Think tank institutes funded in part or wholly:
(2) (a) to (d)
Funding provided by financial year to each Think Tank institute:
(3) (a) and (b)
Announcement and commencement dates of Think Tank institutions:
(1) How many think tanks or policy institutes are funded by the Minister's department, and (a) what are (i) their names, and (ii) key areas of research, and (b) in what office/agency within the department do they fall.
(2) What sum of funding was provided to each of the think tanks or policy institutes in part (1) in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09, (c) 2009-10, and (d) 2010-11.
(3) For each think tank or policy institute in part (1), on what date (a) was an announcement made that it would be formed, and (b) did it commence operating.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(1) How many think tanks or policy institutes are funded by the Minister's department, and (a) what are (i) their names, and (ii) key areas of research, and (b) in what office/agency within the department do they fall.
(2) What sum of funding was provided to each of the think tanks or policy institutes in part (1) in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09, (c) 2009-10, and (d) 2010-11.
(3) For each think tank or policy institute in part (1), on what date (a) was an announcement made that it would be formed, and (b) did it commence operating.
The Attorney General's Department has provided funding to the Indigenous Justice Clearinghouse website during the relevant financial years. The Clearinghouse aims to promote the discussion and dissemination of relevant Indigenous justice information to government policy makers and those working in the Indigenous justice field. The Clearinghouse is a collaborative partnership between the Australian Institute of Criminology, a portfolio agency of the Department, and the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General.
The Department provided $9,782.52 in funding to the Indigenous Justice Clearinghouse during the financial year 2010-11, and $10,179.04 in 2009-10. The Department did not provide any funding during the two financial years 2007-08 and 2008-09.
The Indigenous Justice Clearinghouse was launched by Commonwealth, State and Territory justice Ministers at the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General meeting in Fremantle on 9-10 November 2006. It commenced operating at the same time.
(1) By calendar year, in the last 15 years, what number of Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel have committed suicide:
(a) while in the ADF, and
(b) during post separation.
(2) Of those identified in part (1), how many were in the:
(a) Royal Australian Navy,
(b) Australian Army, and
(c) Royal Australian Air Force.
(3) By calendar year, in the last 15 years, what number of Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder while in: (a) the ADF, and
(b) post separation.
(4) Of those identified in part (3), how many were in:
(a) Royal Australian Navy,
(b) Australian Army, and
(c) Royal Australian Air Force.
(1) (a) and (2) (a) and (c) The following table summarises the numbers of suicides of Australian Defence Force (ADF) members by Service, from 1996 to 2011.
Table 1: Australian Defence Force Suicides From 1997-2011.
(i) It should be noted that a number of cases from recent years are suspected suicides that require coronial confirmation of cause of death, and as such, these figures are subject to change.
(ii) This information does not include Reserve personnel, unless on full-time service at time of death.
(b) Management and reporting on ex-service personnel falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA).
DVA only records a reason for death where the cause of death is relevant to a claim for compensation. DVA’s data is based on accepted claims under the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986, the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 and the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988.
There are circumstances in which the cause of death is not relevant for provision of compensation (eg an automatic grant of war widows pension), and other circumstances where no claim is received relating to a death (eg where a deceased veteran has no dependants). In such circumstances DVA does not record the cause of death.
Within the caveats listed above, to date DVA has recorded a total of 88 deaths by suicide occurred during the period 1 January 1996 and to 30 April 2011. As these statistics are based on death claims determined, should further claims for compensation for death by suicide be lodged in respect of any death that occurred during the period in question, the numbers may change in the future. In respect of each calendar year, the number of recorded deaths by suicide are as follows:
Some of these deaths would have occurred whilst the deceased was still serving in the ADF, which means that they would also be included in Table 1. However, to determine which of these deaths occurred whilst the deceased was serving in the ADF would require interrogation of individual files.
(3) (a) and (b) As the ADF does not currently have a centralised electronic health record, it is not possible to identify how many individuals have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) over the past 15 years. The following data is however provided:
(i) Data are collected centrally regarding the medical conditions for which individuals are referred to the Medical Employment Classification Review Board (MECRB) of their Service. When ADF members are considered to be no longer medically fit for deployment, they are referred to the MECRB for consideration of their continued service.
(ii) Data collection within Joint Health Command commenced in 2002 with the primary aim of workflow monitoring. The data collected under that system have limited utility in analysing trends in particular medical conditions, so are indicative only.
(iii) The following table summarises the numbers of Medical Employment Classification Review Board (MECRB) Determinations for individuals with a diagnosis of PTSD by year (2002 to 2007) and Service.
Table 2: Number of MECRB Determinations for individuals with a diagnosis of PTSD by year and Service.
(iv) Throughout 2007, data collection was transitioned to a more robust system which was better designed to monitor medical conditions being presented to MECRB as well as workflow.
(v) The following table summarises the numbers of members presented to MECRB with PTSD between 2007 and 2010.
Table 3: Number of members presented to MECRB with PTSD between 2007 and 2010.
(vi) Fluctuations or variations in figures over specific time periods need to be interpreted with caution. A spike in any one period does not necessarily mean that there has been an increase in cases of illness in any given period of time. It means that there has been an increase in the number of individuals receiving determinations from their MECRB in that time period and nothing more. From time to time, MECRB clear back logs of cases, resulting in increased determinations over the following time period.
(vii) It must be noted that these data represent the cases determined by MECRB in each year, and may contain some duplicates i.e. an individual may have been presented to MECRB more than once. Approximately 85 per cent of these cases involved multiple medical conditions, of which PTSD was one.
Do the Government's plans for the introduction of a carbon price scheme contain provisions for compensating (a) local councils, to prevent rises in rates, and (b) public and private schools, to prevent rises in fees; if not, would she consider such provisions.
As previously stated by the Government on several occasions, further details of the carbon pricing scheme, including any assistance arrangements, are still being developed and will be announced by the Government in due course once final decisions have been made.
The Government invited the Opposition to join the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee; however, the Leader of the Opposition did not accept this invitation.
In respect of the establishment of Medicare Locals, in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, and (d) 2013-14, what sum of funding is (i) allocated for the establishment and operation of Medicare Locals, and (ii) being redirected from the Divisions of General Practice.
(i) The sum of funding allocated for the establishment and operation of Medicare Locals is:
(a) $8.96 million in 2010-11;
(b) $78.52 million in 2011-12;
(c) $169.76 million in 2012-13; and
(d) $172.97 million in 2013-14.
(ii) The sum of funding being redirected from the Divisions of General Practice Program to Medicare Locals is:
(a) $22.5 million in 2011-12;
(b) $85.08 million in 2012-13; and
(c) $86.44 million in 2013-14.
How many
(a) fulltime GPs are practising in a GP Super Clinic,
(b) part-time GPs are practising in a GP Super Clinic,
(c) locums are practising in a GP Super Clinic,
(d) GP Services have been delivered at the location of a GP Super Clinic,
(e) GP registrars are undergoing training in a GP Super Clinic, and
(f) how many GP registrar training places are available.
As at the end of March 2011, across the 10 GP Super Clinics which were operational:
(a) There were 40 full-time GPs practising in the Clinics;
(b) There were 29 part-time GPs practising in the Clinics;
(c) There were 4 locum GPs practising in the Clinics;
(d) Over 256,000 GP services had been delivered;
(e) 7 GP registrars are/have been on placements in a GP Super Clinic; and
(f) A total of 9 GP registrar placements were available in the GP Super Clinics.
How many GP Super Clinics are offering early services, and in what locations, and were these health services being delivered at these locations before the execution of the funding agreement.
Ten GP Super Clinics are currently delivering early services prior to construction or while construction is underway. These are: Blue Mountains, North Central Coast (Warnervale), Riverina (NSW), Bendigo, Wodonga (VIC), Gladstone, Townsville and Cairns (QLD), Modbury – Stage 1, Noarlunga – Stage 1 (SA). These health services were not being delivered at these locations before the execution of the funding agreement.
(1) Was his department consulted prior to the change in Australia's foreign investment rules; if so, when.
(2) Was Chinese investment in Australia mentioned during any discussion concerning the proposed change to Australia's foreign investment rules prior to the announcement in August 2009; if so, when.
(3) Was his department advised by Treasury officials that the change in Australia's foreign investment rules were intended to pose new disincentives for Chinese investment in Australia, or any words to that effect; if so, when.
(4) Has the Chinese Government made representations to either his department or office concerning these changes; if so, when and can he indicate what was said.
(1) No.
(2) No.
(3) No.
(4) No.
(1) How many overseas business class flights were taken by his Canberra-based departmental staff in each calendar year from 2005 to 2010.
(2) What was the total cost to the Government of overseas business class flights taken by his Canberra-based departmental staff in each calendar year from 2005 to 2010.
(3) What were the top 10 countries visited by his Canberra-based departmental staff in each calendar year from 2005 to 2010.
The information requested is unavailable. The department's overseas business class flight data does not distinguish between flights taken by Canberra-based departmental staff and those taken by non-staff members, such as staff dependants and contractors.
(1) How many delegations used the Government's Special Purpose Aircraft in each calendar year from 2005 to 2010, and what were the delegations.
(2) In each calendar year from 2005 to 2010, what was the:
(a) cost to the Government of each flight; and
(b) total cost to the Government for the flights.
(1) and (2) The information sought over the period from 2005 to 2010 can be found in Defence's biannual publication ' Schedule of Special Purpose Flights'. While the schedule does not detail the number of or which delegations use Special Purpose Aircraft, it does provide the full manifest of passengers and also details the total costs of flying each flight without specifying individual passenger costs. Defence seeks cost recovery for passenger costs from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The schedule is publicly available from the National Library of Australia.
(1) Have any departmental officials been appointed to work on the Government's proposed East Timor Regional Processing Centre; if so, how many.
(2) How many hours have been spent by departmental officials working on this proposal.
(3) What is the total cost to date (including staffing, travel and accommodation expenses, etc) for his department in contributing to the development and promotion of this proposal.
(4) How many representations have departmental officials made to regional governments on this proposal, and what were the dates of each representation.
(5) How many written briefings on the processing centre has he received from his department, and did any of these briefings raise a concern that the proposal was having a negative effect on Australia's relations with other governments in the region.
(1) The issue is one of a number of issues handled by the Ambassador for People Smuggling and the People Smuggling, Refugees and Immigration section in DFAT.
(2) Departmental officials do not record the time spent working on individual projects.
(3) The department does not separately record the cost of contributing to the development and promotion of the East Timor regional assessment centre proposal.
(4) Departmental officials in Canberra and overseas have made a large number of representations to regional governments on this proposal, including in the course of discussions on other issues. No log is kept of the number and dates of representations.
(5) Three, and no.
(1) How many cases of alleged corruption in the Government's aid program (a) are currently being investigated, and (b) were investigated in each calendar year from 2005 to 2010.
(2) In each calendar year from 2005 to 2010, how many of the cases in part (1)(b) resulted in (a) dismissal, (b) fine, (c) demotion, or (d) other penalty being handed down.
(3) What sum of money was lost to corruption in each calendar year from 2005 to 2010.
(1) (a) As of 24 March 2011 there were a total of 191 cases of alleged corruption in the Government's aid program currently being investigated.
(b) In the calendar year 2005 a total of 25 cases of alleged, suspected or detected fraud were reported to AusAID and subsequently investigated.
Of these, 4 cases are still currently under investigation with 21 cases requiring no further action.
In the calendar year 2006 a total of 56 cases of alleged, suspected or detected fraud were reported to AusAID and subsequently investigated.
Of these, 8 cases are still currently under investigation, 43 cases require no further action and 5 cases were found not to have involved fraud against AusAID.
In the calendar year 2007 a total of 43 cases of alleged, suspected or detected fraud were reported to AusAID and subsequently investigated.
Of these, 7 cases are still currently under investigation, 29 cases require no further action and 7 cases were found not to have involved fraud against AusAID.
In the calendar year 2008 a total of 66 cases of alleged, suspected or detected fraud were reported to AusAID and subsequently investigated.
Of these, 24 cases are still currently under investigation, 23 cases require no further action and 19 cases were found not to have involved fraud against AusAID.
In the calendar year 2009 a total of 74 cases of alleged, suspected or detected fraud were reported to AusAID and subsequently investigated.
Of these, 31 cases are still currently under investigation, 22 cases require no further action and 21 cases were found to be not fraud against AusAID.
In the calendar year 2010 a total of 125 cases of alleged, suspected or detected fraud were reported to AusAID and subsequently investigated.
Of these, 90 cases are still currently under investigation, 11 cases require no further action and 24 cases were found not to have involved fraud against AusAID.
Please note that the year in which a case was reported to AusAID may not in all cases be the year that alleged, suspected or detected fraud occurred.
(2) The following table represents the number of cases reported to AusAID in the calendar years 2005 – 2010 which include penalties being handed down.
(3) For cases reported to AusAID in the calendar year 2005 AUD $216,975 has been lost to suspected or detected fraud/corruption.
For cases reported to AusAID in the calendar year 2006 AUD $105,100 has been lost to suspected or detected fraud/corruption.
For cases reported to AusAID in the calendar year 2007 AUD $63,154 has been lost to suspected or detected fraud/corruption.
For cases reported to AusAID in the calendar year 2008 AUD $31,156 has been lost to suspected or detected fraud/corruption.
For cases reported to AusAID in the calendar year 2009 AUD $151,528 has been lost to suspected or detected fraud/corruption.
For cases reported to AusAID in the calendar year 2010 AUD $2,115 has been lost to suspected or detected fraud/corruption.
A number of cases remain under investigation as indicated in the response to question 1(a) and are therefore not included in the losses reported above.
In respect of the reception for United Nations' representatives from African Union countries that the Prime Minister held during her March 2010 visit to the United States, (a) which countries (i) were represented, (ii) declined to attend, (b) what was the total cost, (c) what was the average cost per attendee, (d) where was this event held, (e) what was the cost of hiring the venue, (f) was entertainment provided; if so, at what cost, (g) what food and beverages were served, and what are the names of any alcoholic beverages served, (h) were any gifts provided to guests; if so, what were they, to whom were they provided, and at what cost, (i) how many people from the Prime Minister's entourage attended, (j) how many consular staff were responsible for organising the event, and how many hours did they spend on this, and (k) what was the cost of advertising and printing.
(a) (i) Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
(ii) The meeting was organised by the Office of the Permanent Observer of the African Union to the United Nations. We are not aware of any countries declining to attend. However, Malawi and Sao Tome and Principe were not present.
(b) USD825.96 for interpretation services, paper and postage of letters.
(c) The average cost to Australia per Africa Group participant was USD16.20 (825.96 divided by 51 African representatives).
(d) The Office of the Permanent Observer of the African Union to the United Nations, 305 East 47th Street, 5th Floor, 3 Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10017.
(e) None.
(f) No.
(g) None.
(h) No.
(i) Seven.
(j) The meeting was organised by the Office of the Permanent Observer of the African Union to the United Nations. Three staff from the Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations were involved at different times in liaising with the Office of the Permanent Observer of the African Union on various aspects.
Approximately 10 hours of staff time was spent on liaison with the African Union ahead of this meeting.
(k) USD25.96 for postage stamps and paper for letters.
(1) Did any representative from an African Union country express support for Australia's bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council; if so, which ones.
(2) Did any representative from an African Union country indicate that their country was unlikely to support Australia's bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council; if so, which ones, and what reason(s) were given.
United Nations Security Council elections are decided by secret ballot. Accordingly, as is usual practice, we do not reveal the voting intentions of individual countries.