The SPEAKER ( Ms Anna Burke ) took the chair at 09:00, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.
Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2013
That the Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2013 be referred to the Federation Chamber for further consideration.
Australia Council Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
… the Australian people as a whole will have new and wider opportunities to participate in the arts and enjoy the emotional, spiritual and intellectual rewards which the arts alone can provide.1
1 Second Reading Speech, Australia Council Bill 1974, 23 July 1974.
2 Ibid.
3 Review of the Australia Council, May 2012, p. 14.
Australia Council (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Court Security Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Court Security (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Marriage Amendment (Celebrant Administration and Fees) Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Marriage (Celebrant Registration Charge) Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time
Social Security Legislation Amendment (Disaster Recovery Allowance) Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Statute Law Revision Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (Registration Fees) Bill 2013
Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Amendment (Registration Fees) Bill 2013
That the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (Registration Fees) Bill 2013 and the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Amendment (Registration Fees) Bill 2013 be referred to the Federation Chamber for further consideration.
Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Amendment Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Compliance Measures No. 2) Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Amendment (New Mandate and Other Measures) Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
National Measurement Amendment Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Corporations Amendment (Simple Corporate Bonds and Other Measures) Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Military Compensation Review and Other Measures) Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No. 2) Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Customs and AusCheck Legislation Amendment (Organised Crime and Other Measures) Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Customs Tariff Amendment (Incorporation of Proposals) Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Therapeutic Goods Amendment (2013 Measures No. 1) Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Corporations and Financial Sector Legislation Amendment Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Student Identifiers Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
The effect of the bills are, as a practical matter, to require a news media source to become a member of a self-regulation body whose constitution, powers and operations satisfy a number of criteria. The PIMA is the arbiter of whether the self-regulation organisation satisfies those standards …
Removing the exemption of news media organisations from the Privacy Act 1988 appears to effectively limit the right to freedom of speech of the journalists who may no longer have the benefit of the exemption and limits the rights of readers and viewers to receive information unfettered by these confidentiality requirements.
It adds that this:
… limit the rights of these organisations to freedom of speech, and the rights of people to receive information from such news organisations. In order to justify an important change of this sort, the Minister must be able to point to a legitimate objective for such regulation, show that the proposed scheme bears a rational connection to this objective, and demonstrate that it is a necessary and proportionate measure for achieving that objective.
The committee considers that the material presented to the Parliament in support of the bill does not provide sufficient information about supposed inadequacies or ineffectiveness of current systems for the regulation of media to allow an informed assessment of the need for, and proportionality of, the proposed scheme of regulation.
to request further information as to why changes to the regulation of the news media is considered necessary and will ask whether other less intrusive alternatives to the proposed scheme were considered and, if so, why this scheme was chosen over any less intrusive measures.
… screening, surveillance and control practices for infectious diseases, with a particular focus on:
(a) screening, surveillance and control processes that are applied to:
(i) Australians travelling to and returning from overseas;
(ii) international visitors entering Australia, including asylum seekers;
(b) Australia's preparedness to respond to a national global health crisis involving the spread of infectious disease, including:
(i) how Australia's planning process compares with the World Health Organisation standards and recommendations;
(ii) how Australia plant and manages drug and vaccine stockpiles to respond epidemic or pandemic infectious disease outbreaks;
(iii) Australia's role and responsibility for coordinating with regional neighbours and other countries to prepare for and respond to the threat of epidemic or pandemic infectious disease outbreaks.
The Australian Department of Health and Ageing work with the states and territories to provide a uniform notifiable diseases list across Australia, with consistent reporting requirements across each state and territory and consistent public health information on infectious diseases disseminated to the public. This work should be a priority of Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council (AHMAC).
The Australian Government work with the state and territory governments to assess the viability of providing a centralised refugee and migrant health service in each state and territory, which would automatically refer people who move from immigration detention into the wider Australian community.
The Australian Government, coordinated by the Department of Health and Ageing and in consultation with the wider Australian community, develop a national public awareness campaign to better inform and engage the travelling public about infectious disease issues.
… cover the risks associated with travelling overseas, preventative measures that can be undertaken to minimise these risks, and screening measures used at the border to prevent the importation of infectious disease.
Having regard to the terms of the Torres Strait Treaty, the Department of Health and Ageing, Queensland Health, AusAID and the Papua New Guinea Government:
The Australian Government, in consultation with consumers and other relevant federal, state and territory agencies, develop a national communication strategy for consumers to be used in the event of an infectious disease outbreak.
The Australian Government, in consultation with state and federal governments, commission an independent review to assess the case for establishing a national centre for communicable disease control in Australia.
The review should outline the role of a national centre and how it might be structured to build on and enhance existing systems. It should examine different models, considering a range of options for location, governance and staffing. The review should incorporate a cost-benefit analysis for each of the models presented.
The outcomes of the review should be made publicly available.
That the House take note of the report.
That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.
Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2013 Measures No. 1) Bill 2013
Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Reform of Self Managed Superannuation Funds Supervisory Levy Arrangements) Bill 2013
The current SMSF supervisory levy does not fully recover the ATO’s costs of regulating the sector.
I would like to ask you about the statement you made before … that apart from the timing difference, broadly, for 2011-12 what will be collected under the levy will cover the costs.
Mr Peterson: Yes, we expect it to be in that order.
Life in the Antarctic is one of hardship, privation, monotony and isolation, but it has a subtle charm which is indefinable, and you look back with a vivid and lingering recollection to those days spent in geographical and scientific research near the South Pole.
Native Title Amendment Bill 2012
Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Amendment (Registration Fees) Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a third time.
Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (Registration Fees) Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a third time.
Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2013
That this bill be now read a third time.
Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (News Media Diversity) Bill 2013
The consequence of this decline in journalism is that too many important matters of public interest are either not covered at all or covered superficially. At the local level, there is less attention paid to local councils and even state parliaments.
Consider the shrinking Canberra Press Gallery—the vast bulk of its coverage of federal politics is now about personalities and the game of politics.
Readers seeking a better understanding of how the carbon tax or the mining tax, for example, will operate will often struggle to find much assistance in the output of the gallery—with some very honourable exceptions—compared to the millions of words written about Kevin Rudd vs Julia Gillard let alone Tony Abbott’s budgie smugglers.
The consequence of all of this has been that what we used to call the 24 hour news cycle has become instead an opinion cycle.
Over the last few decades we have seen a proliferation of mediums through which news and information can be viewed. In my youth as a reporter we were limited to the newspapers (more then than now), a few television stations, a few more radio stations and a handful of magazines.
… the whole edifice of our fifth estate, of our journalism, has been built on a foundation of newspaper journalism and … that foundation is crumbling.
All newspaper and journalistic activity is an intellectual brothel from which there is no retreat.
We are one thousand motivated Australians, who each have a story, and who are passionate about ending global poverty in our lifetime.
We are not lawyers, or corporate executives. We don't own mines or the media. We are school students, university students, workers, and social media users. But we have a voice. And we will use our voices to empower our global brothers and sisters who, of no fault of their own, are born in other nations, of extreme poverty.
Our arbitrary birth into a nation of wealth and resources means that our good fortune, future and chances are decided pre-emptively. We must use this fortune, and the knowledge of circumstance to spread our fair share.
We are global citizens, we are humanists, we are realists. Extreme poverty can and will be eradicated in the next 20 years under a 0.7% foreign aid contribution of our GNI. Seventy cents per one hundred dollars ends 99% of the 500,000 maternal deaths each year in developing countries. Seventy cents per one hundred dollars provides 137 million women with access to family planning. Seventy cents per one hundred dollars facilitates aid effective programs to save millions of lives from preventable diseases. Seventy cents per one hundred dollars sends millions of children to school instead of the fields.
0.7% brings 1.4 billion people out of extreme poverty.
I was misrepresented in a number of media outlets, including AAP, the Telegraph , theAustralian and theFinancial Review . It was attributed to me that I had said that petrol was not an issue in my electorate or that people were not complaining about petrol in my electorate.
… cutting their electricity bill in half.
That the House take note of the following documents:
Migration Act 1958—Section 486O—Assessment of detention arrangements—2012-2013 Personal identifiers 796/12, 799/12, 810/12, 816/12, 817/12, 828/12, 830-832/12, 838/12, 842/12, 843/12, 849/12, 859/12, 861/12, 867/12, 870/12, 875/12, 876/12, 947/12, 960/12, 968/12, 969/12, 973/12, 983/12, 1012/12, 1020/12, 1041/12, 1045/12, 1053/12, 1055/12, 1057-1059/12, 1062/12, 1064/12, 1073-1100/12, 1106/12, 1118/12, 1128/13, 1149/13—
Commonwealth and Immigration Ombudsman’s reports.
Government response to Ombudsman’s reports.
The urgent need for stable government focused on the needs of all Australians.
The last week has seen us, the men and women of the Labor Party, focussed inwards… At times it's been ugly. I understand that. But as a result, Australians have had a gut-full of seeing us focus on ourselves.
And the problem for the Prime Minister and this government is that it is ultimately not them who pay the price of this instability; it is Australian families. They cease to govern, they cease to deliver, they cease to develop plans for the future—and it is Australian working families who pay that price.
Fair Work Amendment (Tackling Job Insecurity) Bill 2012
That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the following occurring immediately:
(1) the Fair Work Amendment (Tackling Job Insecurity) Bill 2012, as listed on the Notice Paper for 18 March 2013 as private members’ business order of the day No. 2 before the Federation Chamber, being treated as having been presented to the House and read a first time;
(2) the bill being called on again;
(3) the Member for Melbourne moving the second reading of the bill without speaking to the motion;
(4) the Chair seeking a seconder for the motion for the second reading without the seconder speaking to the motion; and
(5) if the motion is moved and seconded, the resumption of debate on the second reading being set down on the Notice Paper as a private members’ business order of the day.
That this bill be now read a second time.
Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Reform of Self Managed Superannuation Funds Supervisory Levy Arrangements) Bill 2013
That the bill be referred to the Federation Chamber for further consideration.
That business intervening before order of the day No.5, government business, be postponed until a later hour this day.
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment Bill 2013
shows that the Federal Government is more focused on increasing the bureaucratic constraints on the coal sector rather than creating the right regulatory environment to expand the industry; creating more jobs and national income.
The proposed changes will do nothing to enhance Australia's reputation as an investment destination. Project approval times in Australia are already well in excess of the international average and the plan put forward today will simply add to those delays for no environmental gain.
It is extremely disappointing that in an election year the Federal Government and Tony Windsor are seeking to create the impression that the State based assessment process isn't good enough. This is completely wrong. Water is already a fundamental aspect of the assessment process for mining projects in New South Wales.
Water is a critical factor for our farmers, and our strong concern is that this bill could actually have perverse negative outcomes for our agricultural sector. What may, on first glance, look like a win for farmers in the short-term could actually have long-term unintended consequences for our current, and future, farmers.
It flies in the face of what makes sense for jobs and the economy, while offering no tangible benefit to the environment.
Knee jerk policies continue to undermine the development of energy projects within this country. This comes at a real cost - and this cost is borne by the Australian community, in jobs, in economic growth and ultimately higher energy bills.
At a time when we should be sharpening Australia’s competitive edge by improving the efficiency of our regulatory system, the Government has offered a knee-jerk reaction to campaigning by environment groups which adds another layer of green tape without delivering any environmental benefit.
The DNRM is fully committed to sustainable use of Queensland's natural resources. The Queensland Government demands an already high level of compliance obligations which they always evaluate and improve upon. The Federal Labor Government through these missions is making it difficult for the Queensland Government to boost the state's economy and keep strong. The Federal Government are overriding the state's sovereign rights for their own political agenda.
what we want to work towards here is a streamlined system, so that projects don’t go through two layers of assessment for no real gain. And so the classic examples that are brought by business is where people have gone through sequential assessments, so it’s double the time, things that have been required for the first assessment are required in a slightly modified form for the second assessment, so they don’t even get the benefits of just uplifting the work and re-presenting it, it’s got to be redone.
This is about lifting the States up to the level of environmental protection provided by the Commonwealth, not letting Commonwealth standards drop. We can keep stringent environmental standards while simplifying an overly complex process - and we are.
These will be subject to increased regulatory assessment additional to assessment activities already in place. This includes referral of all water related impacts of new projects to the independent expert scientific committee for advice. This duplicates existing state assessment processes and further complicates and extends the assessment of major projects.
Nationals Candidate supports harmful Coal Seam Gas Mining … Matthew Fraser just doesn't get it … We can't risk Matthew Fraser and his Pro-CSG fracking, drilling and blasting agenda.
While we certainly agree with the intent of the bill—
which is to see greater scrutiny and scientific rigour around coal seam gas and mining developments where they may impact on our water resources, we have significant concerns about the potential for this bill to be extended to agriculture in the future …
Fiona Simson, President NSW Farmers, said: "We have consistently stated strong regulatory frameworks are required to place sensible limits on mining and coal seam gas activities."
"Farmers right across New South Wales have been calling on the NSW Government to deliver a more rigorous assessment process for mining and coal seam gas proposals.
"It is not surprising the federal environment minister has seen a need to step in ...
Come back and check four or five years from now—I think one of the greatest things I will have achieved is not taking my company into coalbed methane.
Don showed wonderful insight.
That the business intervening before order of the day No.15, government business, be postponed until a later hour this day.
Royal Commissions Amendment Bill 2013
That the amendments be agreed to.
… is not unexpected given the fallout of this killer, incurable disease … Despite all the first-world medical treatment, it shows how difficult it is to control … doctors may soon face the ethical dilemma where it might be 'more humane not to treat them and let them die'.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr BC Scott ) took the chair at 9:30.
Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2013
Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (Registration Fees) Bill 2013
Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Amendment (Registration Fees) Bill 2013