The SPEAKER (Mr Harry Jenkins) took the chair at 14:38, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.
He aha te mea nui o te ao?
He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!
That the House take note of the following documents:
Indigenous Land Corporation—National Indigenous land strategy for 2007-2012 (Revised February 2011).
Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992—Report under section 34A for 2010.
Torres Strait Protected Zone Joint Authority—Report for 2008-09.
That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Kennedy from moving the following motion—That this House:
(1) note the impact of the live animal export suspension on Northern Australia, the whole cattle industry and all those associated with it and directs the Government within two weeks to:
(a) deploy 10 Australian officials to Indonesia;
(b) direct these officials, along with Indonesia Government appointees, to immediately implement an upgrading of Indonesian abattoirs to meet humane standards currently met in Australia; and
(c) instruct Indonesian meatworkers on how to process to humane standards currently met in Australia;
(2) directs the Government to ship to Indonesia 60 stun guns with knocking boxes and video cameras within seven days, and to provide appropriate training;
(3) directs the Government as a matter of urgency to:
(a) immediately accredit Indonesia abattoirs that already meet Australian standards;
(b) begin accrediting Indonesian abattoirs that have been newly upgraded to meet humane standards currently met in Australia;
(c) implement supply chain traceability and auditing systems; and
(d) implement independent monitoring of conditions in Indonesian abattoirs;
(4) once the conditions in clause 3 are satisfied, calls on the Government to immediately ensure the resumption of trade with accredited Indonesian abattoirs that meet humane standards currently met in Australia; and
(5) directs the Federal Government to immediately commence an inquiry into the circumstances leading up to the Minister for Agriculture’s decision to suspend the live cattle export trade to Indonesia and that this inquiry include Meat and Livestock Australia and all other related instrumentalities and departmental division.
What we have seen from members opposite consistently in the course of this year but particularly over the last few weeks is consistent, deliberate, planned and premeditated conduct to disrupt this House.
A Member in the Chamber must:
(a) take his or her seat promptly;
That the motion (Mr Katter's) be agreed to.
Product Stewardship Bill 2011
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Bill 2011
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2011
Social Security Amendment (Parenting Payment Transitional Arrangement) Bill 2011
Social Security Legislation Amendment (Job Seeker Compliance) Bill 2011
Midwife Professional Indemnity Legislation Amendment Bill 2011
Combating the Financing of People Smuggling and Other Measures Bill 2011
Higher Education Support Amendment (No. 1) Bill 2011
Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Amendment Bill 2011
Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2011
Product Stewardship Bill 2011
That the bills be referred to the Main Committee for further consideration.
Question agreed to.
Veterans' Entitlements Amendment Bill 2011
Recently I wrote to you about the matter of social justice for veterans.
On 2 June, the House of Representatives agreed, evidently without dissent, to support the Coalition's policy of fair indexation for military superannuation pensions.
On 16 June, the Senate voted down the Bill to provide for implementation of that policy.
This despicable act of bastardry—
and political opportunism, directly and with the utmost disdain, ignored the will of the people of Australia as expressed in the House two weeks prior.
This act of what some call 'betrayal' was aided and abetted by the Greens, who abandoned their own policy to support fair indexation, through the complicity of its 'contribution' that had nothing more to offer but pompous statements on issues irrelevant to the case.
Thus are ex-service people condemned to continued unfair and unjust superannuation pension indexation, ever-depreciating purchasing power and reducing standards of living. Where are Labor's core value of fairness and its principle of a fair go for all Australians reflected in all of this?
Any government and its hangers-on that ignores the will of the people and turns its back on Australian service men and women in this reprehensible manner does so at its peril.
I now ask you, again, to examine your conscience, and ask: what are you going to do about this unjust treatment of Australia's ex-service people, in direct contravention of the express will of the House?
It is high time to fairly index the pensions of all of our superannuated veterans (under the now-closed DFRB and DFRDB Schemeand the current MSBS scheme)—
and to put a stop to discrimination against them.
That is the fair deal which was a condition of their employment and to which they contributed financially during their service. Just and fair: nothing more, nothing less. Simple. Easily do-able. Long overdue.
I survived on rice sludge: always the same—breakfast, dinner and tea.
It was always full of weevils and rat dung.
The evidence is still overwhelming that atrocities were perpetrated by members of the Japanese armed forces against the civilian populations of some of the territories occupied by them, as also against prisoners of war.
That this bill be now read a third time.
Tax Laws Amendment (2011 Measures No. 5) Bill 2011
A 21st century tax and transfer system should meet its purposes efficiently, equitably, transparently and effectively. Critically, it would support per capita income growth rates at the upper end of developed country experience by encouraging high workforce participation, a more efficient pattern of saving, and stronger investment in education and physical capital.
Traditionally, the use of trust arrangements was seen as a vehicle largely used by wealthy families and businesses for asset protection purposes and legitimate tax minimisation. In recent times, the use of trusts has become more widespread.
Any options will seek to ensure that net taxable income of a trust is assessed primarily to beneficiaries. Trustees will continue to be assessed only to the extent that amounts of net taxable income are not otherwise assessable to beneficiaries. The options will not include the taxation of trusts as companies, which would be a major departure from the current law.
That this bill be now read a third time.
National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Home Loans and Credit Cards) Bill 2011
That the House take note of the report.
That the order of the day be referred to the Main Committee for debate.
That the House take note of the report.
That the order of the day be referred to the Main Committee for debate.
The committee recommends that it be made a legal requirement to provide photo identification confirming passenger identity immediately prior to boarding an aircraft.
That the House take note of the report.
That the order of the day be referred to the Main Committee for debate.
Live Animal Export Restriction and Prohibition Bill 2011
Live Animal Export (Slaughter) Prohibition Bill 2011
That this House:
(1) notes the:
(a) Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) created under the Howard Government' s industrial relations legislation unfairly targets workers in the construction industry; and
(b) Government believes the current ABCC should be abolished and replaced with a new inspectorate that is part of the Fair Work Australia system; and
(2) calls on all m embers to support the abolition of the ABCC to restore fairness in the construction industry for workers and employers.
Like me, I am sure you were appalled to read of dangerous car chases across Melbourne city involving carloads of balaclava-wearing people, criminal damage to vehicles resulting in arrests, threats of physical violence and intimidation …
Balaclavas, violence and intimidation must be unreservedly condemned … and the Rudd Labor government will do everything necessary to ensure that we do not see this appalling conduct again.
… will ensure that participants comply with industrial, civil and criminal laws applicable to all Australians … as well as industry specific laws applicable to this industry only.
… to ensure that building work is carried out fairly, efficiently and productively for the benefit of all building industry participants and for the benefit of the Australian economy as a whole.
… can be applied to anyone. Workers can be brought in, not because they are suspected of wrongdoing, but to report on the activities of their co-workers. Family members, including young children, can be told to reveal information about a parent in the building industry.
… One person who just happened to be passing a building site was reported in this paper—
to have been ''hauled in for several hours of secret questioning'' after seeing a confrontation between a union official and a building manager.
There are benefits for all of us of further industrial relations reform.
This is a debate we must have. This is a reform road that must be travelled.
… using credit to gamble differentiates well between recreational and problem gambling.
Jamie Mackie epitomized the best in the reformist enthusiasm of post-war Australia to open out to its region. For him as for many of that generation, Indonesia pre-eminently represented the Australian 'other', the Asia with which Australia had to come to terms. Because he was himself very much an Australian of that era—warm, open, maverick, visionary, irreverent, unpretentious—he understood better than most how exciting and challenging, but painfully difficult, a prospect it was to get that relationship right. He played his part like no other, and it will be impossible to think of the development of that relationship without him.
The Northern Rivers is fast becoming a significant food bowl for the nation, producing such diverse crops as macadamias, soy beans, coffee and blueberries.
… our primary industries are once again expanding into new areas to support the region's next stage of economic growth.
I am thrilled that your marvellous volunteer work at the Alumny Creek Public School Museum and on other significant community projects has been nationally recognised.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mrs D'Ath) took the chair at 16:00.
Mr Rodda has given exemplary service to the Country Fire Authority … after joining the Korumburra Fire Brigade in 1974. His outstanding dedication and commitment are exemplified by his contribution to the safety and welfare of the community, by his leadership and support of the volunteer culture in general through his involvement as the leader of the Korumburra Brigade over a considerable period of time, and by his active representation of volunteers at the state level as a member of the governing body of the (then) Victorian Urban Fire Brigades Association, now known as the Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria.
Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2011-2012
I've taken a 100mbit speed offer, that's actually very close to the cost of my previous ADSL2+ connection. The NBN will provide huge potential, for lots of new applications, especially in health which is of interest to me being a pharmacist.
That orders of the day Nos 2 and 3, government business, be postponed until the next sitting.
Equally importantly Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) needs to start explaining why its name was all over one of these atrocious practices.
I am particularly pleased to donate about $4000 in a year in levies to a mob that has just decimated our export trade by their sheer bloody ineptitude.
If stopping animal cruelty was the goal what the hell are the knocking boxes MLA has supplied to Indonesia abattoirs meant to do?
Any reasonable observer could see they would never fix the problem.
Some heads need to roll for what is clearly a monumental stuff up.
We support the live cattle trade ban on facilities that fail to comply with acceptable animal welfare practices …
There is a better way to handle the issue.
We know from experience that when live exports are halted—such as the ban on cattle to Egypt or sheep to Saudi Arabia—demand for boxed meat does not rise.
In Egypt, the one scenario where live export was stopped, there was a remarkable growth in the exportation of meat processed in Australia. Egyptian imports of Australian processed sheep meat rose by 300 per cent between 2002-03 and 2005-06, when Australian live sheep imports were stopped.
In 1997, when John Anderson announced the new meat structure, I wrote a scathing Counterpoint on its impracticality.
Now, 14 years on, with $1.7 billion of our money gone, the lowest cattle prices in the developed world and a drop of more than 20 per cent in domestic consumption the hopelessness of the structure has been painfully illustrated.
Australia's beef industry has its worst crisis in 25 years.
The Red Meat Advisory Council (RMAC) is meant to advise the minister.
… the suspension of the live cattle trade to Indonesia will neither result in a rush of cattle into Australian processors, nor a surge of beef in coming weeks and months. Cattle placed on ships to Indonesia are typically Brahmans of light weight (less than 350kg lwt). These cattle will require much longer periods on feed to reach suitable slaughter weights for either the Australian, or more particularly, export markets.
Therefore, the most impact for the entire beef industry will be felt in the medium term if the situation is not resolved quickly, as heavier cattle move through to slaughter in 6-18 months time.
We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.
No one leaves their home willingly or gladly. When people leave en masse the place of their birth, the place where they live it means there is something very deeply wrong with the circumstances in that country and we should never take lightly these flights of refugees fleeing across borders. They are a sign, they are a symptom, they are proof that something is very wrong somewhere on the international scene. When the moment comes to leave your home, it is a painful moment.
… … …
It can be a costly choice. Three weeks and three days after my family left the shores of Latvia, my little sister died. We buried her by the roadside, we were never able to return or put a flower on her grave.
And I like to think that I stand here today as a survivor who speaks for all those who died by the roadside, some buried by their families and others not and for all those millions across the world today who do not have a voice who cannot be heard but they are also human beings, they also suffer, they also have their hopes, their dreams and their aspirations. Most of all they dream of a normal life.
… … …
I entreat you ladies and gentlemen when you think about the problems of refugees, think of them not in the abstract think of them no t in the bureaucratic language of decisions and declarations, and priorities in a sense that you normally think of things. I entreat you think of the human beings who are touched by your decisions, think of the lives who wait on your help.
I am a refugee. I arrived in 1981 at the age of three with my parents, having escaped Vietnam on a boat. We spent three days and three nights on an overcrowded vessel before landing in Malaysia. We then spent approximately nine months there before being granted a place in Adelaide. We had only the clothes on our backs and could not speak a word of English when we arrived. My father was a highly qualified teacher in Vietnam. He spent years going to university at night to regain his degrees and spent the days working as a postie to put myself and my brothers and sisters through school. I can still remember him leaving at five in the morning and not returning until late at night for several years.
I recall fondly the Australian battler friends we would have over to share in our family's milestones and being told by my parents not to copy their colourful language. 'Bloody hell' was something I learnt very early on! We were and are grateful to the Australian government and people for their support in those early years. We did need your support. We stayed at the Pennington hostel before living in housing trust homes until the mid-1980s. My father worked hard, and we bought our first Australian dream in the mid-1980s. He finally gained work with hard work—a full-time teaching position in the early nineties—and helped establish the Vietnamese curriculum in South Australia at that time.
And where am I now? I am a qualified thoracic medicine physician. I am in the final year of completing a PhD studying lung, head and neck cancer. And, yes, I could not speak a word of English when I started school at the age of five. I was 'one of them' on those boats, but luckily one of those who was given an opportunity to make a future here in Australia.
That this House:
(1) acknowledges the Government's failure to deliver on its promise to provide a computer for every secondary school student between years 9 to12 within the original budget commitment of $1 billion;
(2) condemns the Government for promising to families that they would not have to pay for charges associated with using the laptop computers, and then for breaking that promise by authorising schools to charge fees and levies to parents to use the laptops; and
(3) calls on the Government to explain to families why it has broken its promise and why parents should be the ones to pay up to hundreds of dollars to make up the funding shortfall associated with the program, at a time when cost of living pressures are increasing.
Well, the most recent advice to me from some of the other jurisdictions is that they [ha d] serious reservation as well.
When we are providing that level of support—
to schools for computers in schools I don't see any basis for any school then subsequently charging parents for its use.
… the Commonwealth position was that, as is reflected in the COAG agreement, the Commonwealth is providing for the total cost of ownership of those devices for four years and that there is no justification for additional charges to be levied so that computers can be taken home; that any issues that might arise in terms of costs flowing from that, such as lost computers or damaged computers, can be handled by way of specific policies and agreements with parents on those issues; and to repeat that, in the Commonwealth’s point of view, there is no justification for parents’ levies to cover the cost of taking a computer home.
The fibre project is based in industry estimates. The figure of $100 million is based on lengthy discussions with a range of providers and industry suppliers, the people who actually do it.
That this House:
(1) expresses:
(a) its condolences to:
(i) the family of Senior Constable Damian Leeding who was shot in the line of duty on Sunday evening, 29 May 2011; and
(ii) the colleagues of Senior Constable Leeding at Coomera CIB, Queensland Police Service; and
(b) our gratitude to men and women who serve in our police forces across Australia for the burden placed upon them and the sacrifices they make to protect others; and
(2) acknowledges:
(a) the risks associated with the work performed by our men and women in the police forces across Australia and the bravery that they display in the performance of their duty; and
(b) the husbands, wives and partners of serving police officers for their support of those who serve in our police forces.
We were so pleased to see the advertisement on TV last night asking us to say yes to a carbon tax as finally the government is asking us to decide. Can you please keep us informed as to the date set for either the referendum or the election? We cannot wait to cast our vote on this incompetent and lying government.
Please let Julia Gillard know we do not believe in a carbon tax. As far as I am concerned this will just be another tax, and as a self-funded retiree we certainly cannot afford any more taxes as the standard of living for older Australians is being eroded every day.
We contribute 1.4 per cent of the world's carbon emissions. The aim of the carbon tax is to reduce our emissions by five per cent. So that means we are going to disrupt and damage our economy, put many people out of work and increase our inflation by five to 10 per cent just to save seven parts in 10,000 of the world's emissions. What a great idea.
If the Prime Minister believes she has a mandate to introduce a carbon tax, she should be prepared to do the following: to every enrolled voter in Australia she sends a simple question to the voters with a reply paid envelope: do you support the introduction of a carbon tax, yes or no. The result then would be to support or dismiss her policy. On a personal note, she lied and misled the public on this matter.
The differences between Labor and the Greens take many forms but at the bottom of it are two vital ones.
The Greens wrongly reject the moral imperative to a strong economy.
The Greens have some worthy ideas and many of their supporters sincerely want a better politics in our country. They have good intentions but fail to understand the centrepiece of our big picture—the people Labor strives to represent need work.
You know we can all sit under the tree and weave baskets with no jobs if that's what some people in the NGOs and the Greens want…
On the question of taxation, they want less from the GST counterbalanced by higher income taxes, raising the top income tax rate to 50 per cent … based on a Green’s central planning model, something which world governments … have abandoned.
On immigration, the Greens want to restrict the numbers of skilled and educated migrants … The Greens see no votes from the business sector, which is desperate for skilled and educated migrants.
This would be simply history if Rhiannon had admitted her youthful errors and moved on. But, in a lengthy blog posted last August, she defended her parents’ and her own political records …
… argued that a broad-based left movement is being built already, and argued that the Greens is closest to the best of the CPA’s politics and methods.
NEIL MITCHELL This must have given you an almighty fright, did it?
GEZA HORVATH Yeah, I thought it's an earthquake because it happened at one o'clock in the morning. We were in bed.
NEIL MITCHELL Did it come down on you?
GEZA HORVATH Not exactly on us. It's about a metre from us. It came down on the wardrobe, top of the wardrobe, and it probably slipped over to the bed or hung down right on the end of the bed.
NEIL MITCHELL Well, you're very lucky.
GEZA HORVATH We were lucky because it could have come down, the whole lot, because the weight of the concrete, this is the slab, the concrete … into the timber and then plaster closed up on the front, so it's really heavy. When we cleaned it up, it was four wheelbarrows topped up of rubbish.
NEIL MITCHELL And you're quite sure this was caused by the insulation work?
GEZA HORVATH Definitely, because the timber … where it's squeezed into the plaster, it's broken.
NEIL MITCHELL And you still haven't had a government inspector out to look at it?
GEZA HORVATH No, I couldn't cope with it because I'm on chemo, and the second chemo now, and I couldn't cope with it. But I was expecting, I got a call from Sydney about the first time I reported it, and these people they rang me up and they asked me if I have any spotlights, and I tell them I haven't got. But the crack was already there, and what he was saying is, 'Look,' he said, 'you'll be alright', and boom, he dropped the phone.
Today I was contacted by one of my constituents, Mr Geza Horvath of Carnegie, regarding the collapse of his plaster ceiling as a result of faulty installation of insulation under your government's Home Insulation Program.
I am further advised that during the installation the contractor damaged Mr Horvath's plaster ceiling, resulting in its recent collapse in the early morning. The ceiling collapsed in the bedroom in which Mr Horvath was sleeping. Thankfully Mr Horvath was not injured despite the ceiling collapsing around him.
Minister I request you immediately send an inspector to Mr Horvath's house to assess the safety of the installation and rectify any faults or issues that are a result of the installation.
I would appreciate it if your office would keep me personally updated. My concern is that Mr Horvath's home is made safe and that he is compensated for any damage as a result of the insulation installation.
… hip insulation is safe with quality issues … old insulation batts not removed. Installer has stepped on ceiling causing a massive crack which later collapsed. Half the ceiling has fallen and broke at 1 am one morning in the hh bedroom. Hh is old and has cancer. He has been in and out of hospital the last year. The house is about 80 years old and is in immaculate condition. Hh has tried to contact installer but no one speaks to him.
Senator BIRMINGHAM: Yes. Has the department looked as to whether there are structural issues related to the insulation in that regard?
Mr Bowles : As I said, a safety inspection was done on 29 April. It has been declared safe from that electrical perspective. But we have actually noted some quality issues in relation to the inspection. That is why we are helping him to talk to the insurers.
Senator BIRMINGHAM: The electrical perspective is at least one part of a peace of mind for Mr Horvath. But I think when the ceiling collapsed on him, he was probably worried about some other broader issues.
Mr Bowles : Again, Senator, that is why we sent the inspector out there on 29 April.
… with a strong and fair Industrial Relations Commission public hospital nurses have won some valuable conditions that have improved their working lives, including:
The O'Farrell Government's … laws would reduce the NSW Industrial Relations Commission to a rubber stamp on government wage policy.
"This is an unprecedented assault on the rights of public-sector workers to have their day in court to determine their wages and conditions".
… the O'Farrell workplace laws would be a clear breach of international law and Australia's obligation to respect human rights, which include labour rights and the right to collectively bargain …
There is no doubt the laws would be considered repugnant to the judicial process.
The way that the legislation is set up is that the default position is that the investment is allowed to proceed.
You could acquire an entire district, just farm by farm by farm, with a foreign entity and it would never come on your radar?
It is quite possible, yes
In respect of the report commissioned by the Government titled National Broadband Network Implementation Study, that claims that Australia’s broadband services are the third slowest among OECD countries (McKinsey & Co and KPMG, 6 May 2010, Exhibit 430, page 234), is this a fact; if so, what data exists to support this claim; if not, how does Australia rate internationally, and on what data is this based.
According to McKinsey & Co and KPMG, the data supporting the claim that ‘Australia’s broadband services are the third slowest among OECD countries’ is based on the information provided to Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) Broadband rankings 2008, which may be found at: www.itif.org/files/2008BBRankings.pdf
The ITIF data indicates that in 2008 Australia’s average advertised download speed was 1.7 Mbps, ranking Australia’s broadband services the third slowest out of the 30 countries surveyed.
By way of comparison, Japan recorded the fastest average advertised download speed of 63.6Mbps and Greece recorded the slowest average download speed of 1.0 Mbps.
The primary source for the ITIF speed ranking is a 2006 OECD report, Multiple Play: Pricing and Policy Trends.
More recent data published on 21 April 2010 suggests that in the fourth quarter 2009, Australia ranked 28 out of 33 OECD member countries in terms of actual average broadband speeds (www.akamai.com/stateoftheinternet).
(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), the 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 the DoFD.
I am advised that the costs incurred by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy since 3 December 2007 are as follows:
What was the total value of depreciation expenses in the accommodation and food services industry for (a) 2009-10, (b) 2008-09, (c) 2007-08, (d) 2006-07, and (e) 2005-06.
The total value of depreciation expenses is as follows:
Table 1: Consumption of Fixed Capital by the Accommodation and Food Services Industry (chain volume measure, $ millions)
Source: ABS Cat. No. 5204.0
The table shows the consumption of fixed capital, or economic depreciation. The ABS defines economic depreciation as the difference between the real economic value of the asset at the beginning of the period and at the end of the period (Australian System of National Accounts, Concepts Sources and Methods, ABS, 2000). Therefore the data may not reflect actual depreciation 'expenses' (book value).