The SPEAKER ( Hon. Tony Smith ) took the chair at 09:30, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.
National Emergency Declaration Bill 2020
That this bill be now read a second time.
National Emergency Declaration (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2020
That this bill be now read a second time.
Regulatory Powers (Standardisation Reform) Bill 2020
That this bill be now read a second time.
Australian Immunisation Register Amendment (Reporting) Bill 2020
That this bill be now read a second time.
Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020
That this bill be now read a second time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
Telecommunications Amendment (Infrastructure in New Developments) Bill 2020
That this bill be now read a second time.
Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Bill 2020
That this bill be now read a second time.
Industrial Chemicals Legislation Amendment Bill 2020
That this bill be now read a second time.
Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Charge (General) Bill 2020
That this bill be now read a second time.
Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Charge (Customs) Bill 2020
That this bill be now read a second time.
Industrial Chemicals Environmental Management (Register) Charge (Excise) Bill 2020
That this bill be now read a second time.
Customs Tariff Amendment (Incorporation of Proposals and Other Measures) Bill 2020
That this bill be now read a second time.
Foreign Investment Reform (Protecting Australia's National Security) Bill 2020
Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Amendment Bill 2020
While the Australian Government has recently announced that Treasury's compliance and enforcement powers will be expanded, it remains to be seen how these will work in practice.
That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:
"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House notes the concerns and uncertainty around the implementation of this bill and the Coalition Government's broader failures on foreign investment."
That all words after "whilst" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:
"not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House calls on the Government to immediately stop all foreign takeovers of agricultural lands and place a ban on the acquisition of assets of strategic economic importance or strategic defensive importance to Australia".
This ambiguity gives Treasurers broad discretion to define the 'national interest' as they see fit …
Australia's Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Bill 2020
That the amendment be agreed to.
Many people know the history of the Kurds - an indigenous people of the Middle East dating back as far as historical records go. Borders were drawn in the 20th century, divided Kurds, and have been disputed ever since. Kurdistan has suffered countless tragedies. The independence of Kurdistan is, hence, not only crucial for economic and cultural aspirations of the Kurds, but also a way to preserve and protect her people, language, art, and music.
We therefore ask the House to, as leaders of a pro-democratic country, take responsibility and embrace Kurdistan's right to self-determination, which is a right guaranteed by the charter of the United Nations, by declaring support for the Kurdish Independence and their right to self determination.
So we're trying to organise events to bring people together to basically put a smile on their face, to get them talking and if these people need help, we can get them in touch with the right organisation to help them.
We've seen a vast improvement in trading conditions over the past month as many more people are finally able to travel domestically again.
There's been a rush of bookings as each—
There's been a rush of bookings as each border restriction lifted, showing that there's plenty of latent travel demand across both leisure and business sectors.
Between Qantas and Jetstar, there were over 200,000 fares sold for flights—
… there were over 200,000 fares sold for flights to Queensland in 72 hours after the border openings with Sydney and Victoria were announced.
The Government's failure to take responsibility for its illegal robodebt scheme.
We expect that by matching data it will be possible to detect where a person has provided inconsistent information to one or more agencies and is thereby receiving incorrect payments … The advantages of matching data on income, family structure and tax file numbers are enormous.
The Federal Government tonight announced further measures to detect incorrect payments in the income support system.
It is planned that the changes will involve:
"The Government has stopped hundreds of millions of dollars in incorrect payments. The level of voluntary compliance has also … improved," the Minister said.
The Government now plans to use newly developed technology to close … significant loopholes …
I am writing to you about your Newstart Allowance.
The Department of Social Security … compares its records with those of other government agencies under a program called the Data-matching Program.
If you do not reply we will use the Tax Office's information about your income and we will write to you about how much money you need to pay back.
… seeks to make the data-matching program a permanent feature of the social security system, and the opposition welcomes this.
The Data-matching Program (Assistance and Tax) Act of 1990 gave effect to measures announced in the 1990-91 budget. Now, of course, the government does not seek to highlight that fact. This Labor initiative introduced a method for detecting inconsistent payments—
This Labor initiative—
The Government will increase the number of compliance reviews that Centrelink undertakes, using information obtained from existing data matching programs …
A new data matching initiative between Centrelink and the Australian Taxation Office is expected to claw back millions of dollars from welfare recipients who have debts with the Australian Government.
The measure will provide Centrelink and the Department of Veterans' Affairs with the capability to match customer data with Annual Income Investment Report data—
… providing $41.3 million over three years to increase the number of data-matching reviews—
If you do not reply we will use the Tax Office's information about your income and we will write to you about how much money you need to pay back.
The automation of this process will free up resources and result in more people being referred to the tax garnishee process, retrieving more outstanding debt on behalf of taxpayers.
And I would apologise for any hurt or harm in the way that the government has dealt with that issue and to anyone else who has found themselves in those situations—
The automation of this process will free up resources and result in more people being referred to the tax garnishee process, retrieving more outstanding debt on behalf of taxpayers.
In my view each death would, and should, not have occurred had the HIP—
been properly designed and implemented.
The business of raising and recovering debts on behalf of taxpayers is a difficult job, and it deals with Australians in many very sensitive circumstances, and of course I would deeply regret—deeply regret—any hardship that has been caused to people in the conduct of that activity. The government has many difficult jobs that it has to do, dealing with Australians in very sensitive circumstances, and that is true particularly at this time. It is our instruction that we would hope that all agents of the government, when pursuing the debt recovery option, would be sensitive to people's circumstances.
In relation to the particular gentleman that you referred to, that is a very distressing situation that you've raised. And I would apologise for any hurt or harm in the way that the government has dealt with that issue and to anyone else who has found themselves in those situations.
But the issue is the one of ensuring how the government can best do this, and, where there are lessons to be learnt here, they will be learnt, and that is what the Minister for Government Services is employing now. I'll ask the Minister for Government Services to add to the answer.
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill 2020
Australia's Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2020
That the amendment be disagreed to.
The House divided. [16:29]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)
That the reasons be adopted.
The enduring responsibility of Government, though, is timeless—to protect Australia's national interest, our sovereignty, our values and the security of the Australian people … we need to also prepare for a post-COVID world that is poorer, that is more dangerous, and that is more disorderly …
… … …
Coercive activities are rife.
Disinformation and foreign interference have been enabled and accelerated by new and emerging technologies.
The Australian New Zealand Food Standards Code (Code) section 3.2.2 prohibits venues that serve food and beverages from allowing companion animals in areas (other than outdoor dining areas) where food is handled. Handled in this context includes not only the preparation of food, but also its service to customers. The ban applies despite research of Food Standards Australia New Zealand finding little evidence of any risk posed by their presence if away from the areas where food is being prepared (See: Risk assessment – Proposal P1018). We the undersigned request that the Government amend the Food Standards Code so as to permit States and Territories to allow their venues to choose whether or not to allow companion animals in their premises in non-food preparation areas. Venues should not be compelled to allow animals into their premises, but similarly venues that wish to allow for the social benefits of animal companionship should not be prohibited from doing so when the risk to public health is negligible.
We therefore ask the House to pass appropriate legislation or legislative instrument to amend the Code so as to allow venues to permit (if they choose) companion animals in any non-food handling area of their premises.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Zimmerman ) took the chair at 10:00.
Consultation feedback suggests the NDIA is not making consistent decisions during planning. Some participants with similar disability support needs reported they received very different types and values of supports in their plans, where the differences did not appear to be linked to their goals and aspirations or their informal supports. This was particularly evident in cases of young siblings with the same disability and similar levels of functional capacity.
Planning determines so many things about my life and NDIS has absolutely control. This can never not be terrifying for anybody who is severely disabled.
Consultation feedback suggests the NDIA is not making consistent decisions during planning. Some participants with similar disability support needs reported they received very different types and values of supports in their plans, where the differences did not appear to be linked to their goals and aspirations or their informal supports. This was particularly evident in cases of young siblings with the same disability and similar levels of functional capacity.
Planning determines so many things about my life and the NDIS has absolute control. This can never not be terrifying for anybody who is severely disabled
The committee also holds concerns about the compulsory nature of independent assessments, especially where an expert who has worked with a participant over a longer period of time may be better placed to make recommendations to benefit a participant. The committee will address broader concerns related to the independent functional assessments further in its forthcoming report into general issues around the implementation and performance of the NDIS.
That the debate be adjourned.
… a majority of respondents were of the opinion that early impacts were starting to be observed. These impacts primarily centred on alcohol and drug use and misuse, child welfare and well-being, spending and financial management …
The introduction of the CDC was predominantly found to be having a positive effect on the prevalence and severity of crime, family violence and anti-social behaviour within the Goldfields.