The SPEAKER ( Hon. Tony Smith ) took the chair at 09:30, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.
That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the member for Dunkley from moving the following motion immediately:
That the House:
(1) notes that:
(a) the member for Bowman stated on 27 March that he would step down from all parliamentary roles, effective immediately, but has not relinquished his chairmanship of the Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training, which gives him extra salary;
(b) the Prime Minister has refused to respond appropriately to allegations made against the member for Bowman by forcing him to step down from his chairmanship;
(c) coalition members have now voted 12 times to keep the member for Bowman as chair of the committee, including coalition members of that committee;
(d) by voting to keep the member for Bowman as chair of this committee, the Prime Minister and everyone who sits behind him in this House is endorsing the member for Bowman's behaviour;
(2) and therefore calls on the Prime Minister to discharge the member for Bowman from the Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training immediately.
Report relating to the consideration of committee and delegation business and of private Members' business
1. The Committee met in private session on Tuesday, 25 May 2021.
2. The Committee deliberated on items of private Members' business items listed on the Notice Paper and notices lodged on Tuesday, 25 May 2021, and determined the order of precedence and times on Wednesday, 2 June 2021, as follows:
Items for Federation Chamber (10.30 am to 1 pm)
PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Notices
1 Ms Vamvakinou: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) recent violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories has resulted in the deaths of at least 222 Palestinians in Gaza, including 63 children, and 12 Israelis, including two children;
(b) a ceasefire was declared on 20 May 2021; and
(c) according to the United Nations, more than 74,000 Palestinians in Gaza were displaced from their homes during the conflict;
(2) recognises that the impact of this violence is far-reaching, and that many in the Australian community are hurting at this difficult time; and
(3) calls on the Government to ensure Australia is working constructively to support security and human rights in advance of a just and enduring two-state solution in the Middle East.
( Notice given 25 May 2021. )
Time allotted—35 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Ms Vamvakinou—5 minutes.
Other Members—5 minutes. each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 7 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
2 Mr Ramsey: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) 2021 marks 100 years since the discovery of insulin by Canadian surgeon Frederick Banting;
(b) Frederick Banting along with his colleagues Professor John McLeod, medical student Charles Best and researcher Dr James Collip, solved the problem of how extracted insulin could be used to treat a person with diabetes;
(c) insulin was first administered to a 14 year old boy, Leonard Thompson at the Toronto General Hospital—it was lifesaving for Leonard and for millions of others diagnosed with diabetes over the ensuing years; and
(d) for their discovery, Banting and McLeod won the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1923 and shared their prize money with Best and Collip;
(2) recognises that:
(a) diabetes is a serious and complex metabolic disease that affects the lives of many Australians;
(b) more than 1.4 million Australians currently have diabetes and are registered with the National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS); and
(c) Australians like Anna Moresby, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a child during World War 2, can live long and productive lives because of the discovery of insulin—Anna has just received a Kellion Victory Medal for living with diabetes for 80 years; and
(3) acknowledges that:
(a) the Government has a long-standing commitment to the NDSS, established in 1987, which assists people with diabetes to self-manage their diabetes through provision of subsidised insulin pen needles and pump consumables, glucose monitoring strips, continuous glucose monitors and flash monitors, and important information, resources, education and support programs and other services;
(b) there has been strong bi-partisan support for the NDSS; and
(c) since its inception the NDSS supports all people with diabetes all over Australia, including children with type 1 diabetes and families, young adults, women with diabetes in pregnancy and over 450,000 people who currently use insulin to help manage their diabetes.
( Notice given 2 4 May 2021. )
Time allotted—35 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Mr Ramsey—5 minutes.
Other Members—5 minutes. each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 7 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
3 Ms Owens : To move:
That this House:
(1) acknowledges the almost 6 million Australian volunteers who contribute 600 million hours each year to help others through secular and faith-based volunteering organisations;
(2) notes that:
(a) in early 2020, two out of every three volunteers cut back their hours, including many older volunteers who had to self-isolate, leaving charities short by an estimated 12.2 million hours per week; and
(b) only around one in four volunteer organisations managed to get volunteer participation back to pre-pandemic levels of activity by the start of 2021;
(3) recognises that while volunteering organisations have been supporting much greater numbers of people in need with fewer resources during the coronavirus pandemic, there was nothing in the Government's latest budget for volunteers; and
(4) Calls on the Government to get behind our volunteer organisations and make sure they have the resources they need to continue their important work.
( Notice given 2 5 May 2021. )
Time allotted—40 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Ms Owens—5 minutes.
Other Members—5 minutes. each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 8 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
4 Mr Pearce : To move:
That this House:
(1) acknowledges that Rotary Australia and New Zealand celebrates its centenary anniversary and first 100 years of service in 2021;
(2) recognises over 100 years, the strong trust, confidence and worldwide recognition developed through the actions of Rotarians in support of communities;
(3) notes:
(a) Rotary's important work partnering the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and its involvement in the End Trachoma project; and
(b) there are approximately 30,000 members who belong to one of the 1,052 charter Rotary clubs established throughout Australia; and
(4) congratulates Rotary on its participation in global initiatives that have fostered peace, changed the world, helped communities and families, and fundamentally made a measurable difference to the unique lives of millions.
( Notice given 2 4 May 2021. )
Time allotted—remaining private Members' business time prior to 1 pm.
Speech time limits—
Mr Pearce—5 minutes.
Other Members—5 minutes. each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 8 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
Items for Federation Chamber (4.45 pm to 7.30 pm)
PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Notices—continued
5 Ms Templeman : To move:
That this House:
(1) notes with dismay that suicide is the leading cause of death among Australians aged 15 to 24 years;
(2) recognises that young people's decision to access mental health care is fragile, and if they do not have a positive experience they may not make another attempt to seek help;
(3) further notes that youth-friendly mental health services are not available uniformly to young people; and
(4) calls on the Government to:
(a) increase access to effective mental health services and supports for young people across all stages of mental ill-health; and
(b) build a youth mental health workforce to meet the current and future needs.
( Notice given 2 5 May 2021. )
Time allotted—35 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Ms Templeman—5 minutes.
Other Members—5 minutes. each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 7 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
6 Mr K. J. Andrews : To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) the COVID-19 crisis has caused the cancellation or delay of flights and other travel for many Australians;
(b) many Australians have experienced considerable difficulty in obtaining the refund of monies paid for travel, accommodation and other tourist activities;
(c) while many travel agents have acted with integrity and fairness, some have not done so; and
(d) the COVID-19 crisis has exposed the absence of consumer protections for Australian travellers; and
(2) urges Australian governments to enact legislation that:
(a) provides consumers with a right to a refund if the service they paid for hasn't been fulfilled due to situations outside of human control;
(b) establishes mandatory trust accounts for all travel agents, including online travel agents;
(c) provides for transparent fee for service for all travel agents with no hidden costs; and
(d) ensures that supplier terms and conditions are provided to customers by travel agents.
( Notice given 1 2 May 2021. )
Time allotted—40 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Mr K. J. Andrews—5 minutes.
Other Members—5 minutes. each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 8 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
7 Ms Coker : To move:
That this House:
(1) recognise that under this Government, Australia has experienced near stagnant wage growth;
(2) notes that:
(a) low wages are a deliberate design feature of this Government's economic policy;
(b) the budget showed real wages for Australian workers are expected to fall under this Government;
(c) budget figures show that Australia is wealthier than we expected but there will be no meaningful benefit of that higher wealth to the wages and salaries of Australians; and
(d) while all Australians deserve a pay rise, women, especially suffer under this Government's wage-failure due to the enormous 13.4 per cent gender wage gap; and
(3) calls on the Government to put the Australian people at the centre of their economic decision making and get wages moving again, starting with an increase to the minimum wage.
( Notice given 2 5 May 2021. )
Time allotted—25 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Ms Coker—5 minutes.
Other Members—5 minutes. each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 5 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
Orders of the day
1 Defence industry : Resumption of debate (from 24 May 2021) on the motion of Mr Connelly—That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) the Government's $270 billion investment in Australia's defence capability is creating thousands of jobs and opportunities for small businesses across Australia, particularly in the state of Western Australia;
(b) it is only because of the Government's continued investment that we are able to guarantee that the men and women of the Australian Defence Force receive the defence capabilities they need to keep Australians safe; and
(c) a key pillar of our economic recovery plan to get Australians in jobs is getting more Australian businesses in our defence industry to deliver the essential capability our Defence Force relies on; and
(2) recognises that because of the support measures the Government has introduced to help Australian defence:
(a) businesses remain in business and are recovering from COVID-19; and
(b) our defence industry is not only recovering, but thriving as we come back from the COVID-19 recession.
Time allotted—40 minutes.
Speech time limits—
All Members—5 minutes. each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 8 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
Notices—continued
8 Ms Steggall: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes:
(a) Australia's borders have been closed for over a year to both inbound and outbound travel as an emergency measure;
(b) the Government has not disclosed or provided any credible timeline or roadmap to reopen the borders;
(c) many Australian citizens are struggling with disconnection from family members, partners and loved ones overseas and unable to see one another;
(d) there has been no extension of travel exemptions to family members or visa holders despite repeated calls;
(e) many Australian business sectors, like tourism, entertainment, agriculture, universities and industry are pleading for a roadmap to safely reopen the borders; and
(f) communities and businesses are continually exposed to quarantine leakages and pay the price with lockdowns;
(2) calls on the Government to:
(a) double the capacity of national quarantine facilities using best practice purpose-built facilities such as Howard Springs;
(b) prioritise expenditure to accelerate the rollout of the vaccine with a goal of achieving vaccination of at least 80 per cent of the population before the end of the year; and
(c) establish a clear roadmap for safely reopening Australian borders and clearly communicate goals and timeframes by reporting back to this Parliament and the Australian people without delay.
( Notice given 25 May 2021. )
Time allotted—remaining private Members' business time prior to 7.30 pm.
Speech time limits—
Ms Steggall—5 minutes.
Other Members—5 minutes. each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 5 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
THE HON A. D. H. SMITH MP
Speaker of the House of Representatives
26 May 2021
Fuel Security Bill 2021
That this bill be now read a second time.
There is no amount of cash the government could have offered to us, given our own economic situation and strategy, that would have made this viable.
We extend our thanks to the federal government for the significant support offered to Altona and other refineries. Our decision to convert our facility … is not a reflection of those efforts.
Fuel Security (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2021
That this bill be now read a second time.
Water Legislation Amendment (Inspector-General of Water Compliance and Other Measures) Bill 2021
That this bill be now read a second time.
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Titles Administration and Other Measures) Bill 2021
That this bill be now read a second time.
That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Dunkley from moving the following motion immediately—That this House:
(1) notes:
(a) the Member for Bowman has reneged on his commitment to resign from all parliamentary positions, and the Prime Minister has failed to force him to do so; and
(b) by refusing to act, the Prime Minister is tacitly endorsing the Member for Bowman's behaviour; and
(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to explain to the House why he has not discharged the Member for Bowman from the Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training.
That the member be no longer heard.
The House divided. [10:09]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)
That the member be no longer heard.
The House divided. [10:14]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)
The House divided. [10:16]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Amendment Bill 2021
That this bill be now read a second time.
Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 4) Bill 2021
That this bill be now read a second time.
Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 3) 2021.
Financial Regulator Assessment Authority Bill 2021
Financial Regulator Assessment Authority (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2021
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 that the Government has taken too long to address misconduct in the financial sector, particularly in response to the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation, and Financial Services Industry".
… the answer seems to be greed—the pursuit of short term profit at the expense of basic standards of honesty.
… … …
From the executive suite to the front line, staff were measured and rewarded by reference to profit and sales.
When misconduct was revealed, it either went unpunished or the consequences did not meet the seriousness of what had been done. The conduct regulator, ASIC, rarely went to court to seek public denunciation of and punishment for misconduct. The prudential regulator, APRA, never went to court. Much more often than not, when misconduct was revealed, little happened beyond apology from the entity, a drawn out remediation program and protracted negotiation with ASIC of a media release, an infringement notice, or an enforceable undertaking that acknowledged no more than that ASIC had reasonable 'concerns' about the entity's conduct. Infringement notices imposed penalties that were immaterial for the large banks. Enforceable undertakings might require a 'community benefit payment', but the amount was far less than the penalty that ASIC could properly have asked a court to impose.
Corporate watchdog puts climate change warnings into action
An internal briefing document to the corporate regulator has shown the regulator putting its climate change warnings into action, revealing deep-dive surveillance of five of the nation’s biggest listed companies.
The document, prepared for internal eyes in August last year, came only two months after ASIC temporarily suspended its investigations in June on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic.
These deep-dive surveillances of five companies in the energy, real estate, materials, consumer staples and industrials sectors have seen corporate regulators examine climate-related disclosures in public documents released by the companies. These include annual reports from those five companies, and any sustainability, environmental or climate change reports or policies.
The House divided. [12:50]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)
That this bill be now read a third time.
Financial Regulator Assessment Authority (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2021
That this bill be now read a third time.
Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 3) Bill 2021
Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are alienated from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future.
These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our problem. This is the torment of our powerlessness.
We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.
We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution.
Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle. It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination.
In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.
These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our problem. This is the torment of our powerlessness.
We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution.
… … …
We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.
The R&D tax incentive enables us to be able to employ very highly skilled individuals to develop our core technology which needs extensive R&D to prove itself out in a commercial environment.
The impact of the Government's failures.
Our opponents have been destructive critics. They have politically welcomed every difficulty. They have prophesied, and hoped for, disaster.
… bitterly frustrated by the failure of their past prophecies, they are struggling to raise false issues and new prejudices, and to make glittering promises to distract attention from real and solid achievements.
Australia’s economic recovery from the pandemic has been stronger than we expected, stronger than we have seen from any downturn in recent history and ahead of any major advanced economy …
Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 3) Bill 2021
The Family Home Guarantee aims to support eligible single parents with dependents to purchase a home, by guaranteeing a participating lender up to 18 per cent of a purchase price - giving the ability to purchase a property for a deposit as small as two per cent.
But, under the scheme capital cities and regional areas (places with a population of 250,000 or more) have a higher price threshold.
Parents in Hobart can access the scheme for a home up to $400,000 - but Launceston is classed as "rest of state", with a threshold of just $300,000. A property search on Monday—
showed just 25 homes in the greater Launceston region that met that criteria - with the majority not meeting basic bedroom requirements for families.
"Whilst the announcement looks great, once you delve into the nitty gritty of it all, it certainly needs some work—
"That's the problem with it - it comes out and it's presented like it's a fantastic opportunity … but in reality … anything under $300,000 you're not going to get anything that's suitable for a small family".
A property search undertaken by Mr Mahoney showed 25 properties available in the Launceston region with a listing under $300,000.
Twelve of those properties were asking for offers $275,000 or above - which Mr Mahoney said were "more likely" to go for over $300,000 due to the current market.
Two of the properties only had one bedroom, which he said would not realistically work for a single parent family.
That leaves 11 properties available, nine of which are two-bedroom properties.
"There's potentially two options for any single parent within Launceston that has more than one child under the $300,000 mark and that place, you're still going to need to do some work to it," Mr Mahoney said.
With Tasmania's smaller population, Mr Mahoney said … the scheme would be able to reach more people if the price threshold was increased across to the same amount as Hobart.
It's a more realistic figure to be able to buy a property for a small family to live in.
"It would get them into a property sooner, which is really what this scheme is all about."
That the Member be no further heard.
The House divided. [16:36]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)
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:
(1) notes:
(a) the housing availability crisis is reaching new heights across Australia, including North East Victoria where residential vacancy rates are at their lowest level since records began;
(b) the Family Home Guarantee will not address the underlying need for affordable and diverse housing supply, including social housing;
(c) that in some regions, a single parent earning the maximum allowable income under the Family Home Guarantee would have to commit close to half their monthly income to be able to service a loan based on median property prices; and
(d) the Family Home Guarantee will only support 10,000 single parents over four years, while there are currently one million single parent families across Australia; and
(2) calls on the Government to take a leadership role in urgently addressing the housing supply crisis by working proactively with local and state governments to unlock creative solutions, including incentives for private developers to build more affordable low-cost housing stock at scale".
They are conducting lotteries for deposit programs ensuring the great Ponzi scheme of housing continues where the benefits accrue to existing owners not hopeful ones.
We have called on the Commonwealth to show the leadership and establish the incentives, provide their part, instead they spruik the market while interfering in it and refuse to lift their share of investment in social and affordable housing so desperately needed.
Governments have a responsibility to play a role where markets fail, and housing markets have failed to produce housing for those in greatest need; another opportunity has now been ignored.
Such a fund will create a pipeline of investment that can be built on to secure a steady growth in social and affordable housing.
Instead of pumping up demand and pushing house prices out of reach, the reply speech builds supply, creates jobs, and makes homes to ease pressures on households and markets.
At least one major party recognises that social and affordable housing is critical economic infrastructure which enables tenants to participate, learn and address health and other issues, it's also critical for women's economic security.
If a Future Fund style model sustainably finances the gap for community housing providers without top up from the public purse, then that is a sensible thing and puts the sector in good stead …
The Institute particularly welcomes the focus on constructing new social and affordable housing for the most vulnerable and most in-need sectors of our community.
Last year when the country was in the grip of the pandemic and the economy was locked down, Master Builders in conjunction with the CFMEU, called for a $10 billion social housing stimulus fund …
The Opposition Leader and the Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness have listened. We applaud the Opposition's $10 billion social and affordable housing fund.
Investment at that scale will be the largest ongoing investment we've seen and will make a massive dent in social housing backlogs.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Llew O'Brien) took the chair at 10:00.
Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2021-2022
Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2021-2022
Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2021-2022
This new federal investment will underpin a new wave of Australian video game development, leading to even more amazing Australian-made games to take to the almost $250 billion global video games market—which is arguably the largest entertainment market in the world—and bring new Australian voices and stories to a truly global audience.
This is a win for reducing elder abuse, improving the aged care experience and keeping older Australians connected to their communities …
… payments relating to the Infrastructure Investment Program, which are expected to decrease by … ($3.3 billion over the four years to 2023-24) …
Last year when the country was in the grip of the pandemic and the economy was locked down, Master Builders in conjunction with the CFMEU, called for a $10 billion social housing stimulus fund …
The Opposition Leader and the Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness have listened. We applaud the Opposition's $10 billion social and affordable housing fund.
Labor takes an emergency footing in tackling climate change, adopting renewable energy at a rapid pace in order to address the existential threat of the climate emergency and to reach Australia's potential as a renewables superpower.
I am absolutely furious.
I've been sick for about eight weeks and because I have a cough, I’m not allowed to go into my GP's medical centre, even though I have had a negative Covid test.
I was forced by them into a telehealth appointment, the doctor even told me it was a waste of time because he couldn't examine me, and sent the pharmacy a script for some antibiotics, which he told me probably wouldn't work (and they didn't).
The medical centre advised me that there would be a $20 fee charged to my credit card as a "gap" and Medicare covered the rest.
Our family has been with the centre for several years, they only started charging a gap in April.
However, they charged me $50 … and when I contacted them I was told because I hadn't been into the actual centre for a year (yes, in a global pandemic and I was there in March 2020), that Medicare required them to charge $50 with no rebate …
Between the medical centre's charge and antibiotics, I'm $70 out of pocket and still sick.
Now I have another appointment as the doctor says I have to go into the centre and he will see me in person, ready to be charged another consultation fee for that privilege, bringing me up to $90 plus any additional medication.
By the time I see the doctor it will be four weeks since I tried to see a doctor.
Good job I'm not dying or unable to work.
We recently found ourselves seeking a rental after seven years and could not believe how competitive it was!
Two fulltime working incomes - rental mortgage history for over ten years and rejection after rejection.
I couldn't believe it.