The SPEAKER ( Ms Anna Burke ) took the chair at 09:00, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.
Higher Education Support Amendment (Asian Century) Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Higher Education Support Amendment (Further Streamlining and Other Measures) Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 1) 2013
Report concerning an application from Mr Ian Munro for the publication of a response to a reference made in the House of Representatives, and
Report concerning an application from Mr Brian McCarty for the publication of a response to a reference made in the House of Representatives,
That the reports be agreed to.
Response by Mr Brian McCarty to remarks made by the Member for Leichhardt
On 17 September 2012 the Member for Leichhardt, Mr Warren Entsch MP, made a speech in the House of Representatives which identified me by name, and included false statements about me. This is my submission under the 'Right of Reply' process.
Mr Entsch referred to a satirical political blog website in Cairns called hillbillywatch.com that has criticised politicians and other public figures in Cairns, and he erroneously and inappropriately linked it to me.
Mr Entsch also stated that I had attempted two web ventures, 'coralseastudios.com and webjazz.com', both of which he said he had been told turned out badly.
In relation to Coral Sea Studios this is untrue. Coral Sea Studios Pty Ltd is a registered Australian company that was never a 'web' venture. It was an attempt to develop a world-class recording studio complex in Cairns in 2000-2001, and again at Mr Entsch's encouragement in 2005 as demonstrated by a letter of support signed by Mr Entsch in 2005. The 2001 effort foundered when the 9/11 tragedy occurred in the USA.
In 2005, Mr Entsch attempted to encourage us to proceed again with the Coral Sea Studios venture, promising support that never materialised. These professionals would never have invested money and reputation in this venture if they were concerned about the ethics of the managing director.
There is no such venture anywhere listed as 'webjazz.com'.
Contrary to Mr Entsch's remarks, I have no 'former associates' that have issued any advice to Mr Entsch about 'attempted investment fraud using fake website content and stolen identities'. This is false and I object to any suggestion that I have ever done anything illegal or immoral.
I do not work at the Baskin-Robbins ice cream franchise on the Cairns Esplanade as guest relations manager as claimed by Mr Entsch.
Suggestions made by Mr Entsch that I have a 'severe personality disorder' are also untrue. I am active in various technical and standards committees in the film and TV industry, to the delight of my colleagues. My 20+ years as a sound engineer at the highest levels of filmmaking in Hollywood, including as part of the sound team on three pictures nominated for 'Best Sound' at the Oscars, is legendary. And I continue to make contributions to the entertainment industry on behalf of Australia, as a proud Australian.
Response by Ian Munro to remarks of the Member for Hume
On the 30th October 2012, the Member for Hume, Mr Alby Schultz MP, falsely claimed that I entered the Parliament (on an unspecified date) with intent to intimidate people and that I had gone to the Member for Farrer's Office. At no time have I entered Federal Parliament with the intention to intimidate people nor have I ever visited the office of the Member for Farrer.
That the report be agreed to.
That Federation Chamber orders of the day, private members' business, as listed on the document circulated to honourable members in the chamber, be returned to the House for further consideration.
That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the items of private members' business being called on and considered immediately in the order listed on the document circulated to honourable members in the chamber.
Customs Amendment (Anti-Dumping Commission) Bill 2013
1. Transfer anti-dumping responsibilities from Customs to the Department of Industry
We—
will make the Department of Industry responsible for Australia’s anti-dumping regime.
That this bill be now read a third time.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012
The Coalition is so committed to the National Disability Insurance Scheme, for instance, that we’ve offered to co-chair a bi-partisan parliamentary committee so that support for it doesn’t flag across the three terms of parliament and among the nine different governments needed to make it work.
The current disability support system is underfunded, unfair, fragmented, and inefficient, and gives people with a disability little choice and no certainty of access to appropriate supports.
The stresses on the system are growing, with rising costs for all governments.
The Australian Government currently provides funding to the disability sector of around $2.3 billion, while state and territory governments provide funding of around $4.7 billion - a total of over $7 billion.
Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 6) Bill 2012
… we are concerned that the proposed native title payment tax treatment may have a range of unintended consequences. Specifically, we consider that those amendments disincentivise investment in intergenerational wealth creation, as tax will be payable on any transfer of monies to future generations or on income earned. It disincentivises the provision of benefits under agreements to Aboriginal people who are resident in an area but who are unrelated to native title determination and it limits the main tax treatment to the defined beneficiaries.
TFA allows select individuals to complete roughly one-third of their degree, and then to combine theory and practice by doing the rest of the degree over the course of the next two years as they are teaching.
I congratulate these graduates for completing their initial training of the Teach For Australian program and for their commitment to teaching kids in some of our most disadvantaged communities over the next two years. Through Teach For Australia we are giving some of Australia's brightest and keenest graduates the chance to make a real difference in the lives of students who may be struggling because of their social circumstances.
You were the only teacher that believed in me... I was doubted, labelled dumb/stupid and put down constantly in every class, except in Writer's Workshop. You created an environment that made each student special, like they belonged in the class ... I know I never spoke about personal things but you and Writer's Workshop changed my life just before I had given up. Things at home have even gotten better since I joined your class. ... Never forget that by treating young adults/teenagers like equals or as a friend and just simply believing in them you'll give them faith, hope, dreams and inspiration.
Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2012-2013
That this bill be now read a third time.
Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2012-2013
That this bill be now read a third time.
National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012
The solution is in the government's hands. It the government's responsibility to remove feelings of desperation, desolation and desertion so that many families and carers who experience this can have a better lifestyle. It is time that the government ends the nightmare process, which so many families endure, processes which result in families having to give up their children because they can no longer care for them—
and others who are doomed to endless family struggle for the basics of a reasonable lifestyle.
It is hard to believe that in a democratic country as wealthy as Australia that people with a disability and their families are still left to struggle alone every day. Most Australians assume that if people are born with a disability or acquire one later in life, that some system, somewhere, will take care of them.
The DSE firefighters are the SAS of our firefighters. They work in the most horrific conditions imaginable away from the big centres, out in the bush, with very little recognition of their heroic contribution to the state. They have died heroes, which will be no small comfort to those that grieve them.
The overall national outcome represents steady progress over the past year, resulting in a significant increase in organ donation and transplantation since the Australian Government's reform program began a few years ago.
… I've obviously stamped my authority on these negotiations …
I'll give Labor a pat on the back and say they have spent more in their four or five years on the Bruce Highway than we did before.
The simple fact is . . . the vast majority of the tax will be paid by three companies, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata.
My understanding is the $7 billion or so that will be spent does include a bypass.
I was talking to a local resident the other day who asked, 'Wayne, at a time when we are in the middle of a massive mining boom, why aren't people like me sharing more in its benefits?'
I urge this Congress to get together to pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change—
like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few years ago. But if Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will.
… there is no sign, no sign whatsoever, that the rest of the world is going to do things like introduce carbon taxes or emissions trading schemes.
That the House take note of the following documents:
Australian Customs and Border Protection Service—Report for 2011-12—Correction.
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade—Joint Standing Committee—Review of the Defence annual report 2010-11—Government response.
That Mr Bandt be appointed a supplementary member of the Standing Committee on Economics for the purpose of the committee s inquiry into the Minerals Resource Rent Tax Amendment (Protecting Revenue) Bill 2013.
Report relating to the consideration of bills introduced 11 to 14 February 2013.
1. The committee met in private session on 13 and 14 February 2013.
2. The committee determined that the following referrals of bills to committees be made—
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services:
REASONS FOR REFERRAL/PRINCIPAL ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION:
Costs to the self-managed superannuation funds; and ensuring only cost recovery.
REASONS FOR REFERRAL/PRINCIPAL ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION:
Income tax loss carry-back-measure linked to mining tax.
Standing Committee on Economics:
REASONS FOR REFERRAL/PRINCIPAL ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION:
To inquire into: the extent of the erosion of Commonwealth revenue due to the minerals resource rent tax's requirement that increases in State royalties be rebated; the adequacy of the bill to remove this requirement; and whether related issues arise in the application of the minerals resource rent tax that also erode Commonwealth revenue.
Large fiscal implications for the Budget; existing government agreements in place with commercial entities in relation to existing taxation arrangements, this bill will jeopardise any such agreements; controversial issue which requires detailed scrutiny.
REASONS FOR REFERRAL/PRINCIPAL ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION:
Significant economic impact; and ensure drafting is correct
Standing Committee on Education and Employment:
REASONS FOR REFERRAL/PRINCIPAL ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION:
The bill contains a number of provisions relating to OS-HELP and the implementation of the Asian Century policy in relation to study overseas that need to be explored in greater depth.
3. The committee recommends that the following items of private Members' business listed on the notice paper be voted on:
Orders of the Day
Skin cancer (Mr Billson)
Primary language disorder (Mrs Prentice)
Attack on Ms Malala Yousafzai (Mr A. D. H. Smith)
Iran (Mr Simpkins)
Centenary of the Murrumbidgee irrigation area (Mr McCormack).
The ongoing negative impact of the Government's superannuation tax rises.
… let us be clear. Labor's problem is not superannuation. It is spending.
When you look at trying to get the budget into a better position, there are many savings and waste Labor could target to address that problem without redesigning super taxes.
Compulsory superannuation is possibly the greatest confidence trick of the last decade.
It is absolutely critical that we have a long-term position and certainty in superannuation.
… we think certainty is absolutely paramount when it comes to the retirement income system, and we want people to have confidence that they can save in the way in which they have in the past.
Compulsory superannuation is possibly the greatest confidence trick of the last decade.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Windsor ) took the chair at 09:02.
Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2012-2013
Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2012-2013
Revenue from the MRRT does go to investment in infrastructure projects like the Gateway project in Western Australia around the airport. That is what it's all about, making the investments, particularly in these mining communities. If we don't have the revenue from the tax then we can't make the investments.
Dear Steve Irons, I'd like to express my dislike of the NBN doing work down Teague Street right outside our home for weeks now with no progress seemingly to have been made. If it is taking that long down one street with no progress I think it is going to take years to do all of Victoria Park. I walk regularly each morning around Victoria Park and it looks like nothing is happening in any other street. They dug up and cemented outside our home and now the replacement cement has tyre marks in it so I have to look at that now forever. They did not finish it off you see and no one seems to want to do anything about it.
This is with reference to the concrete with tyre marks in on Teague Street. We have a letter from Syntheo, prompted by Mr Irons, confirming they would, at the end of January, when they finish work on our small area of Teague Street, replace the defaced concrete which was not originally in that condition. After weeks of serious digging, two weeks ago, the work stopped and they left the street without honouring their original timeline.
Before the Christmas break they concreted certain areas only to dig at least three of them up again in the New Year. The piece we are asking to be replaced is only half the size of one of the sections they decided to dig up again.
The householders on the odd number side of our small section of the street would like to know if they are returning. Our neighbours have written asking the same questions. We would like to be able to ask questions of Syntheo as it is the tax payers who are funding this project.
Syntheo is circumspect in acknowledging our emails… We are saddened we have to pursue this but we feel that the NBN is being rolled out without adequate community consultation and blatant disregard for the anaesthetics to the surroundings.
Many nature strips once lovingly manicured are now piles of sand. This will look shocking if it is going to be undertaken in every suburb in Western Australia.
So the extent to which the Clean Energy Finance Corporation is undertaking investments, and that's the Government's policy, then the majority of its activities will not impact upon the budget bottom line.
We support extending the heavy rail line to Elanora and building new rail stations at Yatala, Ormeau North, Pimpama, Hope Island, Parkwood and Merrimac. This would allow for the introduction of an all-stops suburban rail service between Beenleigh and Elanora to support the Brisbane to Gold Coast regional rail service. It is also important to preserve the heavy rail corridor to the Gold Coast Airport for construction beyond 2031.
There is no escape from the core conundrum: Labor boasts the NBN as the nation's greatest infrastructure project, yet denies the inquiry to test whether it is financially viable.
Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2012-2013
After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths due to an advanced age are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.
Keep praying for me, for the Church and for the future pope.
The atmosphere was festive and warm, if somewhat bittersweet, as if the faithful were trying to persuade Benedict to stay with them for just a bit longer. A chorus of Italian schoolchildren serenaded him with one of his favorite hymns in German — a gesture that won over the pope, who thanked them for singing a piece “particularly dear to me.”
…
Looking tired but serene, Pope Benedict XVI told the thousands who gathered for his weekly audience that he was resigning for “the good of the church” — an extraordinary scene that unfolded in his first appearance since dropping the bombshell announcement.
The 85-year-old Benedict basked in more than a minute-long standing ovation when he entered the packed hall for his traditional Wednesday catechism lesson. He was interrupted repeatedly by applause, and many in the audience of thousands had tears in their eyes.
…an age where life expectancy is longer than ever, many people will understand that even the pope has to come to terms with the burdens of ageing.
I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.
However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the barque of Saint Peter and proclaim the gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me.
For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of bishop of Rome, successor of Saint Peter,
At a certain point, I prayed to God, 'please don't do this to me'. Evidently, this time He didn't listen to me.
He is a man who has written widely on ecumenism and renewing the impetus towards unity. He has opened inter-religious dialogue, and this is noteworthy. His Papacy, while relatively short, has been marked by his willingness to travel overseas to reach out to the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.
He has re-established that in future Popes can follow suit, doing their best in the role until such a time as their health prevents them from continuing, and then allowing another Pope to be elected in their place. In future it will not be such an extraordinary measure to do this.
I believe it is an enlightened decision. We all need to recognise when the time is right to hand over our responsibilities.
… one can only be a Christian in the Church, not beside the Church.
In today's world subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to steer the boat of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have to recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me.
… the worst of Mother Nature tends to bring out the best of human nature right around our country, as tens of thousands of Australians rise to the challenges of the natural environment they face.
I am absolutely stunned by the co-operation and generous spirit of country folk and the RFS in actively working together against bushfires.
This community, as all rural communities have, have fought fires for many years and have a wealth of on-the-ground experience—especially the fire captain of the Adjungbilly brigade, Bill Kingwell, whose quiet resolve during this fire was very reassuring to my wife and I.
The need for strong mobile phone reception in rural communities was driven home after bushfires tore through the region last week.
While the need for towers has been discussed in recent months, some farmers yesterday said the lack of communication could become life threatening.
"We had no mobile phone coverage and no landline, which caused a lot of stress."
Mr Billing said landholders kept watch for fires while remaining out of phone contact with the rest of the world.
Winchendon Vale farmer Bob McCormack—
resorted to climbing on a cattle ramp on his property in a vain attempt to get just one bar of reception.
NSW emergency services can send voice messages to landlines based on location, and mobiles based on billing address, to warn of impending disasters.
At this stage only Telstra provides location-based services and even its coverage in Mr Billing and Mr McCormack's areas is limited or non-existent.
"The issues are that Telstra has to put a business plan together and when they do that … then we'll work from there," Mr McCormack said.
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!