The SPEAKER ( Hon. Bronwyn Bishop ) took the chair at 09:00, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.
Australian Citizenship Amendment (Intercountry Adoption) Bill 2014
That this bill be now read a second time.
Textile, Clothing and Footwear Investment and Innovation Programs Amendment Bill 2014
That this bill be now read a second time.
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Regulatory Powers and Other Measures) Bill 2014
That this bill be now read a second time.
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Amendment Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
Tax Laws Amendment (Implementation of the FATCA Agreement) Bill 2014
That this bill be now read a second time.
Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2014 Measures No. 2) Bill 2014
That this bill be now read a second time.
Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2014 Measures No. 3) Bill 2014
That this bill be now read a second time.
Excise Tariff Amendment (Product Stewardship for Oil) Bill 2014
That this bill be now read a second time.
This b ill amends the Excise Tariff Act 1921 and is part of a package of b ills that will give effect to the g overnment’s commitment to restore the Product Stewardship for Oil Scheme to being budget neutral over the forward estimates.
The Product Stewardship for Oil Scheme aims to ensure the environmentally sustainable management, re - refining and reuse of used oil and to support economic recycling options for used oil. The s cheme offers a subsidy for the proper recycling of old oils, funded by a levy on new oils and greases.
The s cheme was intended to be self-funding, with the levy covering the anticipated cost of stewardship rebates. However, in 2013-14 the s cheme is estimated to run a deficit of approximately $10 million , which is expected to grow.
This b ill increases the rate of the s cheme’s levy payable by oil producers for petroleum based oils and their synthetic equivalents from 5.449 cents per litre of oil or kilogram of grease to 8.5 cents.
The g overnment intends to separately make corresponding amendments to the Product Stewardship (Oil) Regulations 2000 which will ensure that c ategory 8 oils, being those which are a low risk to the environment, continue to not be affected by the rate of the levy.
Further details of this b ill are contained in the explanatory memorandum.
Customs Tariff Amendment (Product Stewardship for Oil) Bill 2014
That this bill be now read a second time.
Asset Recycling Fund Bill 2014
That this bill be now read a second time.
Asset Recycling Fund (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2014
That this bill be now read a second time.
Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Amendment Bill 2014
That this bill be now read a second time.
Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Mental Health and Other Measures) Bill 2014
The Coalition is committed to ensuring fairness for our retired military personnel and easing the pressure on their cost of living.
The Government will continue to respond to the changing needs of veterans and their families.
The passing of this legislation today confirms this Government’s recognition of the unique nature of military service and the sacrifices military personnel and their families make on behalf of all Australians.
… the centre has opened at the right time. Now that our Defence men and women are home from Afghanistan, many need our support more than ever.
We don't want them suffering in silence with problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder which can be treated and overcome.
That this bill be now read a third time.
Paid Parental Leave Amendment Bill 2014
The design of the Commission's proposed scheme (particularly the setting of the payment rate at the adult federal minimum wage) will provide proportionately greater financial relief for women on lower incomes (especially those working part time) and should elicit the greatest extension of leave duration from that cohort.
They talk about the end of the age of entitlement and we can't see how that entitlement stacks up. We don't believe this is the way to go. It doesn't make sense on any real policy level that we can see.
There's questions about its equity. There's questions about its value to the economy as a whole and there are other ways that you can bring women into the workforce.
The question is, is this good economic policy at this time, and my answer is no.
It is obviously bad policy.
I have been on the record many, many times as saying that I'm not a supporter of the paid parental leave scheme.
… international experience suggests that government support for childcare has about double the impact of spending on parental leave.
Full replacement wages for highly educated, well paid women would be very costly for taxpayers and, given their high level of attachment to the labour force and a high level of private provision of paid parental leave, would have few incremental labour supply benefits.
Women I have spoken to on high salaries understand that this is a stretch. Their attitude is a quintessentially Australian response: 'If you are offering, I'll gladly take it-but do I think it's right, no. Do I need it, not really.'
I have significant concerns about introducing this scheme without a significant policy that would assist stay at home mothers.
The designs of both the current and Coalition … [scheme] contain elements that make them as much like an Australian Government welfare payment as they are workplace entitlements. For example, rather than being funded and run privately by employers or funded (as occurs in most OECD countries) through a social insurance scheme, they are:
The road back to fiscal sustainability will not be easy. It will involve reducing the provision of so called "free" government services to those who feel they are entitled to them.
As a community we need to redefine the responsibility of government and its citizens to provide for themselves, both during their working lives and into retirement.
Small business people should not be forced to be the unpaid 'pay-clerks' for government schemes. This responsibility should be funded and administered by government.
Full replacement wages for highly educated, well paid women would be very costly for taxpayers and, given their high level of attachment to the labour force and a high level of private provision of paid parental leave, would have few incremental labour supply benefits.
... the more that parental leave arrangements mimic those that exist as part of routine employment contracts, the more they will be seen by employers and employees as standard employment arrangements.
To the Honourable The Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives
I want to be able to tell him that everything will be OK and that he need not worry about how people like him will access university, but I honestly cannot do that because I am also scared for his future and for the future of his older brother, who may never be able to progress his studies in such a climate of uncertainty and fear.
It saddens and scares me to think of the untapped potential that may never be realised.
To the Honourable The Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives
This petition of certain Citizens of Australia draws the attention of the House to need for the Australian Road Rules to require drivers to provide a minimum overtaking distance when passing bicycle riders.
In 2013, 48 bicycle riders were killed, the highest number of bicycle rider deaths since 1997. Every year over 9,500 bicycle riders are seriously injured. While the overall road toll is decreasing, this is not the case for bicycle riders.
The human trauma costs of cycling in Australia are unacceptable.
Request:
We therefore ask the House to use all tools at its disposal to ensure the Australian Road Rules are amended to require that:
This amendment, together with a public information and enforcement program, would significantly improve the safety of bicycle riders on our roads and maintain effectiveness and efficiency of the road transport system. The amendment will also contribute to the Government's current Cycling and Road Safety Strategies, helping more Australians enjoy a safe cycling environment.
It was to enact a number of changes designed to ensure that Medicare remains a sustainable, equitable and efficient universal health insurance system.
The measures being introduced in this budget related to the preliminary findings of the National Health Strategy.
Prior to entering parliament, Jenny was the director of two major strategic reviews reporting to Brian Howe, including the National Health Strategy.
You have committed and you still will commit to the next election for those years five and six?
We budgeted for this when we were in Government and furthermore, what does it cost Australia if we short change our kids?
We will reveal all our policies in good time before the next election …
In terms of what we would do in office, well, we would look at the proposals, we would look at the state of funding of schools and hospitals that we inherit.
… otherwise the longer you leave it the more exposed you become and the harder it is to wind it back …
The budget goes a long way to restoring all important business confidence that will drive investment and job creation, particularly for Australia's two million small businesses …
The pain that the Prime Minister's Budget is inflicting on rural and regional areas.
If you are in metropolitan Sydney, or if you are in New South Wales, the further you are from the Harbour Bridge, the greater the impact of the shortage of trained doctors, nurses and allied health staff brought about by the restriction on places in universities and other colleges.
This just makes things a lot worse for pensioners, in lots of different ways … power bills, phone bills, council rates, vehicle registration, all these will go up along with … the GP tax and the petrol tax which are just going to drive up the cost of living.
I'm too frightened to work out how much it's all going to cost and terrified to think about what will happen to pensioners.
Paid Parental Leave Amendment Bill 2014
… understands the logic behind the Government-funded parental leave payments being channelled through employers, for employees who are not short-term and who remain attached to the enterprise. Such an approach should reinforce the employee's link with the workplace, and achieve better return to work outcomes.
Today, more than 116,000 UN personnel from more than 120 countries serve in 16 peacekeeping operations. At great personal risk, these military, police and civilian personnel help stabilize communities, protect civilians, promote the rule of law and advance human rights.
… … …
Over the past year, the Security Council has established two peacekeeping operations—in Mali and the Central African Republic—again highlighting its trust in UN peacekeepers to take on tough challenges. The UN … Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo helped the Government defeat the 23 March Movement rebels that had preyed upon civilians in the country’s east. In South Sudan, for the first time in UN peacekeeping history, our peacekeepers systematically opened the gates of their bases to tens of thousands of civilians, saving their lives and protecting them from either Government or opposition forces. In a historic breakthrough, a woman was named the first female Force Commander of a UN peacekeeping operation.
Earlier this month, the Security Council established the “Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal”, named after an unarmed Senegalese peacekeeper who lost his own life after saving as many as 1,000 people during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. This medal will honour UN personnel who demonstrate exceptional courage.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Hon. BC Scott ) took the chair at 09:00.
If my design gets built I think it will change the way people think and see the school. Everyday people just walk past and not take any notice of the flag pole, but with my design the pole will stand out with pride. It will make everyone look and even think. You will be able to sit on the benches to relax/talk and think. My design will honour those soldiers who died and or survived the war for us. If you are struggling the flag pole memorial will motivate you to keep going because they did too, for us.'
Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2014-2015
Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2014-2015
Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2014-2015
Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2013-2014
Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2013-2014
I think it is a cruel and callous cut. It is one which needs to be reversed.
… the $7 tax … will cause 'death, disfigurement and disability'.
… … …
'Some people will end up dead,' Dr du Plessis said.
… … …
'Many people who come here don't have the money to pay. Often single mums come in with three children all sick.'
His practice saw people in their 90s, who did not have enough money for food.
'GPs are not supposed to be tax collectors,' he said.
I don't support this budget package because it is a badly designed model of deregulation plus the biggest funding cuts in history to higher education.
… it is starting to look as if the student debt burden for many under the proposed reforms might well be worse than in the US. Deregulation would become mis-regulation.
I also think it is unethical for a generation of leaders who by and large benefited from free higher education to burden the generations behind them in this way.
The Coalition supports and is committed to the Millennium Development Goals and the target of 0.5 per cent of gross national income in overseas development aid. However, the Coalition is unable to commit to a date because of the uncertain budgetary position that any incoming Coalition government is likely to inherit. There have been massive blowouts in debt and deficit under Labor and the Coalition will review the budgetary position if elected to Government.
It is an absolute principle of democracy that governments should not and must not say one thing before an election and do the opposite afterwards.
I want to give people this absolute assurance: no cuts to education, no cuts to health, no changes to pensions and no changes to the GST.
When I last night saw and confirmed this morning on the internet that the seniors supplement of $60-plus per fortnight ie. $1,560 per annum is going to be abolished as of 1 July 2014, I decided I will never ever vote Liberal again. A government never takes anything away from age pensioners. It will give but never take away.
You will remember me from before the last federal election. Over the past 48 years, I have voted without fail for the Liberal Party both federal and state.
One packet of cigarettes—
One packet of cigarettes cost $22. That gives you three visits to the doctor. You can spend just over $3 on a middy of beer, so that's two middies of beer to go to the doctor.
It potentially provides them with a good opportunity to get active and do something positive and then to be able to say to a potential employer at an interview, ‘I haven’t been doing little over the last few months, I’ve been participating and volunteering in a work for the dole program.’
The idea that young people should be in training or working is one with which we would all agree.
Our aim is to get young people and everybody to reach their full potential. You don't reach your full potential from sitting at home.
This is unfortunate. I sincerely hope that in the period between now and 2017 the Federal Government will change the presently budgeted position.
To say that many of the schools in the state systems needed further assistance, both in money and tender loving care, is to me an understatement.
… … …
There needs to be a commitment to a properly funded needs-based aspirational system and a failure to do so will be to our detriment.
To the Honourable The Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives