The PRESIDENT (Senator the Hon. Sue Lines ) took the chair at 10:00, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.
Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Improvements for Families and Gender Equality) Bill 2022
At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:
(a) acknowledges:
(i) the persistent gender superannuation gap that sees women retire with significantly less in retirement funds than men, and
(ii) that superannuation is paid on leave entitlements other than parental leave; and
(b) calls on the Government to address this inequity and apply the superannuation guarantee to paid parental leave entitlements".
… employer and industry groups generally did not support the employer role, particularly in relation to small business. These stakeholders considered the employer role places an unnecessary administrative burden on business, and any benefits to employers in terms of employee retention were not commensurate with the administrative burden imposed.
These changes should deliver significant benefits to the economy by boosting women's workforce participation, improving flexibility in the use of paid parental leave, enhancing gender equity outcomes, and ensuring businesses continue to have access to a diverse, experienced productive labour force.
The Paid Parental Leave scheme is intended to support working parents who have demonstrated an attachment to the workforce.
Should a PhD student undertake paid work in addition to their studies, such as tutoring at a university, this could count towards the work test.
We know what happens when both parents are not supported to take time off paid work to care for their babies—usually Mum works much less, or leaves the workforce altogether to take on caring responsibilities, while Dad remains in full-time work …
This pattern persists for years after the child's birth and is a key driver of gender gaps in workforce participation and earnings.
These changes should deliver significant benefits to the economy by boosting women's workforce participation, improving flexibility in the use of paid parental leave, enhancing gender equity outcomes, and ensuring businesses continue to have access to a diverse, experienced productive labour force.
The Senate divided. [12:18]
(The Deputy President—Senator McLachlan)
(1) Schedule 1, item 2, page 4 (line 13), omit "100", substitute "130".
(2) Schedule 1, item 38, page 13 (line 6), omit "100", substitute "130".
(3) Schedule 1, item 66, page 25 (line 19), omit "90", substitute "120".
(4) Schedule 1, item 66, page 25 (line 31), omit "100", substitute "130".
(5) Schedule 1, item 66, page 26 (line 12), omit "100", substitute "130".
—————
St atement pursuant to the order of the Senate of 26 June 2000
Amendments (3), (4) and (5)
Amendments (3), (4) and (5) are framed as requests because they amend the bill to increase the maximum number of days for which paid parental leave can be paid in relation to a child from 100 days to 130 days.
As this will increase the total amount of paid parental leave that can be paid, the amendments will increase the amount of expenditure under the standing appropriation in section 307 of the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 .
Amendments (1) and (2)
Amendments (1) and (2) are consequential to amendments (3), (4) and (5).
Statement by the Clerk of the Senate pursuant to the order of the Senate of 26 June 2000
Amendments (3), (4) and (5)
If the effect of the amendments is to increase expenditure under the standing appropriation in section 307 of the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 then it is in accordance with the precedents of the Senate that the amendments be moved as requests.
Amendments (1) and (2)
These amendments are consequential on the requests. It is the practice of the Senate that an amendment that is consequential on an amendment framed as a request may also be framed as a request.
The committee divided. [12:46]
(The Chair—Senator McLachlan)
(1) Schedule 1, item 1, page 3 (line 10), after "paid workforce", insert "or from eligible postgraduate work".
(2) Schedule 1, page 9 (after line 1), after item 13, insert:
13A Section 6
Insert:
eligible postgraduate work : see section 35AA.
(3) Schedule 1, item 58, page 23 (line 23), omit "or taken enough paid leave", substitute ", taken enough paid leave or performed enough eligible postgraduate work".
(4) Schedule 1, page 24 (after line 19), after item 61, insert:
61A After paragraph 31AA(2)(c)
Insert:
(ca) on that day the person is performing no more than one hour of eligible postgraduate work; and
(5) Schedule 1, page 27 (after line 9), after item 75, insert:
75A Section 32 (at the end of paragraph (b) of note 1)
Add "or eligible postgraduate work".
(6) Schedule 1, item 86, page 28 (lines 19 to 21), omit the item, substitute:
86 Paragraphs 33(2A)(a) and (b)
Omit "primary claimant", substitute "PPL claimant or special PPL claimant".
86A Paragraph 33(2A)(b)
After "paid work", insert ", or eligible postgraduate work,".
86B Paragraph 33(2A)(c)
Omit "primary claimant", substitute "PPL claimant or special PPL claimant".
(7) Schedule 1, page 29 (after line 2), after item 90, insert:
90A After paragraph 34(1)(a)
Insert:
(aa) the person performs at least one hour of eligible postgraduate work;
(8) Schedule 1, page 29 (after line 4), after item 91, insert:
91A After section 35
Insert:
35AA When a person performs eligible postgraduate work
A person performs eligible postgraduate work on a day if, on that day:
(a) the person is enrolled in a course of study or research for a doctoral degree; and
(b) the person performs study or research for the purposes of that course;
whether the enrolment is with an institution, or the study or research is performed, within or outside Australia.
(9) Schedule 1, page 30 (after line 4), after item 100, insert:
100A Subparagraph 36A(b)(ii)
After "paid work", insert "or eligible postgraduate work".
(10) Schedule 3, item 3, page 59 (line 28), before "Sections", insert "(1)".
(11) Schedule 3, item 3, page 59 (after line 30), at the end of the item, add:
(2) However, paragraph 34(1)(aa) of the PPL Act, as inserted by Schedule 1 to this Act, applies in relation to a claim for parental leave pay for a child born on or after 1 July 2023.
1828-EM
Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Improvements for Families and Gender Equality) Bill 2022
(Requests for amendments to be moved by Senator Faruqi, on behalf of the Australian Greens, in committee of the whole)
Statement pursuant to the order of the Senate of 26 June 2000
Amendments (2) to (11)
Amendments (2) to (11) are framed as requests because they amend the bill to expand the class of people who can claim paid parental leave to include certain postgraduate doctoral students.
As this will increase the number of people eligible for paid parental leave, the amendments will increase the amount of expenditure under the standing appropriation in section 307 of the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 .
Amendment (1)
Amendment (1) is consequential to amendments (2) to (11).
Statement by the Clerk of the Senate pursuant to the order of the Senate of 26 June 2000
Amendments (2) to (11)
If the effect of the amendments is to increase expenditure under the standing appropriation in section 307 of the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 then it is in accordance with the precedents of the Senate that the amendments be moved as requests.
Amendment (1)
This amendment is consequential on the requests. It is the practice of the Senate that an amendment that is consequential on amendments framed as requests may also be framed as a request.
The committee divided. [13:00]
(The Chair—Senator McLachlan)
(1) Clause 2, page 2 (table item 1), omit the table item, substitute:
(2) Schedule 3, heading, page 57 (line 2), at the end of the heading, add "relating to Schedules 1 and 2".
(3) Schedule 3, item 2, page 57 (line 19), after "amendments made by", insert "Schedules 1 and 2 to".
(4) Schedule 3, item 2, page 57 (line 26), after "amendments made by", insert "Schedules 1 and 2 to".
(5) Schedule 3, item 2, page 58 (line 7), after "amendments made by", insert "Schedules 1 and 2 to".
(6) Schedule 3, item 2, page 58 (line 14), after "amendments made by", insert "Schedules 1 and 2 to".
(7) Schedule 3, item 2, page 59 (line 13), after "amendments made by", insert "Schedules 1 and 2 to".
(8) Schedule 3, item 7, page 61 (line 4), after "amendments or repeals made by", insert "Schedules 1 and 2 to".
(9) Schedule 3, item 7, page 61 (line 9), before "this Act", insert "Schedules 1, 2 and 3 to".
(10) Page 61 (after line 24), at the end of the Bill, add:
Schedule 4 — Payment of instalments
Pai d Parental Leave Act 2010
1 Section 4 (paragraph beginning "Part 3-5")
Repeal the paragraph, substitute:
Part 3-5 is about employer determinations. If an employer determination is in force for an employer and a person, the employer must pay instalments to the person, unless the employer employs less than 50 employees. In that case, the employer may elect to pay instalments to the person. The Secretary must be satisfied that certain conditions have been met before the Secretary can make an employer determination.
2 Section 6 (definition of acceptance notice )
Omit "section 103", substitute "paragraphs 103(1)(a) and (2)(a)".
3 Section 6 (definition of employer determination )
Omit "section 101", substitute "subsections 101(1) and (1A)".
4 Section 6
Insert:
non-acceptance notice : see paragraph 103(2)(b).
5 Section 100 (paragraph beginning "This Part")
Repeal the paragraph, substitute:
This Part is about employer determinations. If an employer determination is in force for an employer and a person, the employer must pay instalments to the person, unless the employer employs less than 50 employees. In that case, the employer may elect to pay instalments to the person.
6 Section 100 (paragraph beginning "If the Secretary makes")
Repeal the paragraph, substitute:
If the Secretary makes an employer determination for a person and the person's employer and the employer employs 50 employees or more, the employer must:
(a) give the Secretary certain information to enable the Secretary to pay the employer PPL funding amounts for the person; or
(b) apply for review of the employer determination under Part 5-1 or 5-2.
If the Secretary makes an employer determination for a person and the person's employer and the employer employs fewer than 50 employees, the employer may elect to pay instalments to the person. If the employer does not make an election, the Secretary must pay instalments to the person.
7 Subsection 101(1)
Omit "under this section", substitute "under this subsection".
8 After paragraph 101(1)(a)
Insert:
(aa) the employer employs 50 or more employees; and
9 After subsection 101(1)
Insert:
(1A) The Secretary must make a determination under this section (the employer determination ) that a person's employer is to pay the person instalments if the Secretary is satisfied, when making the determination, that:
(a) either:
(i) a payability determination under section 13 or 14 that parental leave pay is payable to the person for a child is in force; or
(ii) an initial eligibility determination under section 26A for the person in relation to a child is in force; and
(b) the employer employs fewer than 50 employees; and
(c) the employer has made an election under section 109 to pay instalments and that election applies to the person; and
(d) the person has consented in the claim to the employer paying instalments to the person; and
(e) the person has a continuous flexible period for the child and is likely to be an Australian-based employee of the employer during that period; and
(f) there are no other flexible PPL days prior to the person's continuous flexible period in respect of which:
(i) parental leave pay is payable to the person for the child; or
(ii) the person is initially eligible for parental leave pay for the child; and
(g) the employer has an ABN.
10 Paragraph 101(3)(a)
After "subsection (1)", insert "or (1A)".
11 Paragraph 101(3)(b)
After "paragraph (1)(a)", insert "or (1A)(a)".
12 Subsection 101(4)
Omit "subsection (1)", substitute "subsections (1) and (1A)".
13 At the end of section 101
Insert:
Calculating number of employees
(7) For the purpose of calculating the number of employees employed by an employer at a particular time for the purposes of this section:
(a) subject to paragraphs (b) and (c), all employees employed by the employer at that time are to be counted; and
(b) seasonal workers and other irregular casual employees are not to be counted.
14 Section 103
Repeal the section, substitute:
103 Employer response to notice of employer determination
(1) If an employer is given a notice under section 102 that an employer determination has been made under subsection 101(1), the employer must, within 14 days after the date of the notice, do one of the following:
(a) give the Secretary a written notice (the acceptance notice ) that complies with section 104;
(b) apply for a review of the employer determination under Part 5-1 or 5-2.
Note: This subsection is a civil penalty provision (see section 146).
(2) If an employer is given a notice under section 102 that an employer determination has been made under subsection 101(1A), the employer may, within the period referred to in subsection (3):
(a) give the Secretary a written notice (the acceptance notice ) that complies with section 104; or
(b) give the Secretary notice (the non-acceptance notice ), orally or in writing, declaring that the employer does not accept the employer's obligations to pay instalments to the person.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the period is 14 days, or such longer period allowed by the Secretary, after the date of the notice given under section 102.
15 Paragraph 106(c)
After "subsection 101(1)", insert "or (1A)".
16 Subsection 108(1) (after table item 1)
Insert:
17 Subsection 108(1) (table item 2, column 1)
Omit "section 103", substitute "subsection 103(1)".
18 Subsection 108(1) (after table item 2)
Insert:
19 Section 146 (cell at table item 10, column 1)
Repeal the cell, substitute:
Subsection 103(1)
20 Paragraphs 157(1)(b) and 159(1)(b)
Omit "section 103", substitute "subsection 103(1)".
21 Subsections 203(2) and 207(1)
Omit "section 101", substitute "subsection 101(1)".
22 Subsection 207(5)
Omit "section 103", substitute "subsection 103(1)".
23 Subsection 207(5) (note)
Omit "Section 103", substitute "Subsection 103(1)".
24 Application of amendments
The amendments made by this Schedule apply in relation to an employer determination that is made on or after the commencement of this Schedule in relation to a claim for parental leave pay that is made before, on or after that commencement.
The committee divided. [13:21]
(The Chair—Senator McLachlan)
That this bill be now read a third time.
Higher Education Support Amendment (Australia's Economic Accelerator) Bill 2022
This is the worst public health scandal in Australian history," he said. "People have died, children have died. This was not an accident at all.
Misinformation #1: Natural immunity offers little protection compared to vaccinated immunity
Misinformation #2: Masks prevent Covid transmission
Misinformation #3: School closures reduce Covid transmission
Misinformation #4: Myocarditis from the vaccine is less common than from the infection
Misinformation #5: Young people benefit from a vaccine booster
Misinformation #6: Vaccine mandates increased vaccination rates
Misinformation #7: Covid originating from the Wuhan Lab is a conspiracy theory
Misinformation #8: It was important to get the 2nd vaccine dose 3 or 4 weeks after the 1st dose
Misinformation #9: Data on the bivalent vaccine is "crystal clear"
Misinformation #10: One in five people get long Covid
… there is only one regulator in the world—the USFDA … —that actually looks at individual patient data. The rest of the regulators, like us … take statistically validated analyses of patient data. If there are issues with the individual patient data, the FDA … will raise those issues. …we … do not get individual patient data.
We did check the phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trial data from Pfizer …
That the Senate take note of the answers given to questions by all coalition senators today.
That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister representing the Treasurer (Senator Gallagher) to questions without notice asked by Senator Rice today relating to wages for aged-care workers.
That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Finance (Senator Gallagher) to a question without notice asked by Senator Roberts today relating to COVID-19 vaccinations.
That:
(1) the Senate rejects the Minister's claim of public interest immunity over documents and modelling that would demonstrate the forecast use of Australian Carbon Credit Units. This information would not in any way disclose the deliberations of Cabinet Ministers; and
(2) there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Senator Wong, by 4pm, Thursday 9 March, the documents and modelling relied on for the forecast usage of Australian Carbon Credit Units over the decade to 2030.
That leave of absence be granted to the following senators:
(a) Senator Brown from 6 to 9 March 2023, for personal reasons;
(b) Senator Dodson for 9 March 2023, on account of parliamentary business;
(c) Senator Farrell for 8 and 9 March 2023, on account of ministerial business; and (
(d) Senator McCarthy from 6 to 9 March 2023, on account of ministerial business.
That leave of absence be granted to the following senators:
(a) Senator Chandler for 9 March 2023, for personal reasons;
(b) Senator McLachlan for 8 and 9 March 2023, for a parliamentary delegation;
(c) Senator Dean Smith from 6 to 9 March 2023, for personal reasons; and
(d) Senator O'Sullivan for today, for personal reasons.
That leave of absence be granted to the following senators for personal reasons:
(a) Senator Cox for 6 and 7 March 2023; and
(b) Senator Faruqi for 8 March 2023.
That there be laid on the table by the Minister for Finance, by no later than 5 pm on 9 March 2023, the total cost in relation to the recalling of Parliament for the unscheduled sitting on 15 December 2022, including a breakdown of the costs in relation to the following categories:
(a) parliamentarian travel allowance;
(b) parliamentarian airfares;
(c) parliamentarian Commonwealth car, cabcharge and rideshare expenses;
(d) staff travel allowance;
(e) staff airfares;
(f) staff cabcharge and rideshare expenses;
(g) any additional staffing requirements (including, but not limited to, security services, attendants, restaurants and catering staff); and
(h) any other costs in relation to the recalling of Parliament.
The Senate divided. [15:49]
(The Deputy President—Senator McLachlan)
That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Treasurer, by no later than 5 pm on 9 February 2023, all modelling by the Department of the Treasury in relation to:
(a) the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022;
(b) the draft Competition and Consumer Amendment (Gas Market) Bill 2022; and
(c) the impact of the war in Ukraine on the price of coal and gas.
The Senate divided. [15:57]
(The Deputy President—Senator McLachlan)
Governor-General Amendment (Cessation of Allowances in the Public Interest) Bill 2023
That the following bill be introduced: A Bill for an Act to amend the Governor-General Act 1974, and for related purposes.
That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
If someone is struggling to get by on $282 a week in JobSeeker payments and they miss a job interview they get a warning, if they do it twice they can have their payments halted.
If a former Governor-General goes to jail, or is proven to engage in the most serious misconduct, they keep on receiving up to $600,000 a year in entitlements, that's about $11,500 a week, no questions asked.
It's one rule for the elite and another for the rest of the country.
How is that fair, how is that decent, how is that reasonable?
It is a usual principle in public law that where an allowance or honorarium is provided after service, that this can be withdrawn where it is no longer appropriate or in the public interest for it to be awarded.
This simple provision was not included in the Governor-General Act 1974 through what can only be assumed to be an unintentional omission.
This bill seeks to remedy this by creating a power to stop paying allowances to former Governors-General, or their spouses, where a former Governor-General has engaged in serious misconduct. That power can be exercised either through the Minister making a declaration, or through a House of Parliament, most likely the Senate, passing a resolution that a former Governor-General has engaged in serious misconduct, disentitling them or their spouse to the extremely generous post office entitlements of a Governor-General.
The bill mirrors the one proposed by former Greens Senator Rachel Siewert and I pay tribute to the work she did in bringing the original proposal to this place.
The proposed new section 4AGA defines a cessation event as occurring when either House of Parliament makes a declaration under the new section 4AGC, or when the Minister makes a declaration under section 4AGB.
In order for a declaration to be made, the Minister or a House of Parliament must be satisfied that a former Governor-General has engaged in serious misconduct which includes inappropriate, improper, wrong or unlawful conduct. Examples of serious misconduct could include serious corruption or fraud, covering up child sexual abuse, and other serious criminal offending. This is a high but appropriate bar to ensure the scheme accords with public expectations of when an allowance should no longer be provided.
The Governor-General has a unique role in the Australian political system, but that does not mean this office is above universally agreed checks and balances. It must have accountability.
The entitlement this bill relates to is the post-office retirement allowance after a Governor-General leaves office in which they are entitled to 60% of the salary of the Chief Justice of the High Court for life. At current rates, this is $364,890 per year that every former living Governor-General is entitled to. After a current or retired Governor-General passes away, their spouse is entitled to a lifelong allowance of five-eighths of the rate of a former Governor-General.
Benefits also include office facilities, transport and administrative support. All together this means former Governors-General can, and do, receive more than $600,000 a year.
Where those people have engaged in serious misconduct including covering up or failing to take action on child sexual abuse, the ongoing receipt of this payment looks to victims and survivors like the state is supporting the perpetrator and continuing to ignore their needs and interests. It feels like the worst of the history of institutional child abuse repeating.
This is about accountability. This is an extraordinarily generous pension and set of entitlements and that must come with some serious accountability.
When it is no longer in the public interest for it to be paid, there needs to be a capacity for the Minister or a House of Parliament to step in.
No one, whatever their current or former role, is entitled to a blank cheque payable each year by the public regardless of their conduct. This bill provides much needed accountability and transparency in the issuing of these pensions.
In 2018, survivors' advocates including Bravehearts, the Blue Knot Foundation, Care Leavers Australasia Network, End Rape on Campus, Beyond Abuse and the Queensland Child Sexual Abuse Legislative Reform Council, wrote to the then Prime Minister asking him to make this change.
Many victims and survivors of abuse have asked me to make this move, and I'm grateful to them for their continuing advocacy for justice, and their continuing belief that the political system will respond to their calls.
Supporting this bill will show survivors that this place listens and understands, and will no longer allow laws that shield abusers from consequences.
This is not an academic issue, this is a real life issue playing out right now. Former Governor-General Peter Hollingworth is currently facing an Anglican church inquiry into serious allegations of his mishandling of child sexual abuse claims.
While I deliver these words, former Governor-General Hollingworth continues to take and take from the public. In just the five years from 2016 to 2021, the former Governor-General took over $3 million in payments and entitlements—all for an 18-month-long job that he resigned from in disgrace.
That doesn't pass the pub test. So now it's time for this bill to pass the test of politics and become law.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse showed just how important it was for survivors for the law to reflect the harm done to them, and for laws that shielded those that failed them from accountability to be removed.
I ask for your support for this bill so that we can take this modest but meaningful step towards justice for survivors of sexual abuse.
Pursuant to standing order 75, I give notice that today the Australian Greens propose to move "That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:
Given the RBA's admission that between half and three-quarters of the increase in inflation is a result of supply shocks and that monetary policy can do very little to offset supply shocks, the RBA should not raise interest rates and the government must act to address inflation and the cost of living crisis, including by introducing a national freeze on rents".
The Senate divided. [16:36]
(The Acting Deputy President—Senator O'Neill)
Pursuant to standing order 75, I give notice that today I propose to move "That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:
The need for Prime Minister Albanese to not break his promise to Australians when he said on 2 May 2022, "we've said we have no intention on making any super changes", by committing to not hitting Australians with more taxes on their super, and to rule out any new taxes on the family home, negatively geared assets, trusts and retirees' incomes."
That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:
The need for Prime Minister Albanese to not break his promise to Australians when he said on 2 May 2022, "we've said we have no intention on making any super changes", by committing to not hitting Australians with more taxes on their super, and to rule out any new taxes on the family home, negatively geared assets, trusts and retirees' incomes.
We've said we have no intention to make any super changes.
The Senate divided. [17:16]
(The President—Senator Lines)
That the Senate take note of the document.
That the documents be listed on the Notice Paper for consideration and be taken together with theClosing the Gap report, which will be debated on Wednesday 8 March 2023.
That Senator Rice be discharged from and Senator Shoebridge be appointed to the Joint Standing Committee on Implementation of the National Redress Scheme and Senator Rice be appointed as a participating member.
Housing Australia Future Fund Bill 2023
National Housing Supply and Affordability Council Bill 2023
Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Measures No. 1) Bill 2023
That these bills may proceed without formalities, may be taken together and be now read a first time.
That these bills be now read a second time.
HOUSING AUSTRALIA FUTURE FUND BILL 2023
Today marks a turning point.
With the Bills I introduce today, this Government is turning the page on a wasted decade of national housing policy in Australia.
A decade of dithering;
A decade of delay;
A decade of failing to address Australia's housing affordability challenges.
The consequences of the previous Government's failure to act seriously on housing has led to significant challenges across the country.
We know this because we see and hear it every day—
Rising rents;
Increasing homelessness;
And home ownership out of reach for ordinary Australians.
Housing problems now widespread and visible for us all to see.
And across our country's cities and towns, the dream of a secure home has become so much harder .
Harder for the 116,000 Australians experiencing homelessness.
Harder for workers forced to move further and further away from their place of employment.
Harder for businesses that want to hire but are finding there just isn't somewhere affordable for new workers to live.
And harder for the hundreds of thousands of Australians on social housing waiting lists with no certainty and no place to call home.
Behind these housing statistics are the devastating stories of people — Australians who don't have a place to call home.
The growing number of older women who, through no fault of their own, can't afford to put a roof over their head.
Vulnerable women and children who are escaping family violence but are being turned away from emergency accommodation.
And some are our nation's veterans, who have bravely served our nation abroad, but can't find somewhere affordable to call home in Australia.
For too long these terrible stories have been ignored by the Australian Government.
But today is a turning point because instead of another wasted decade, this Government won't waste a day working to meet these challenges.
At the centre of our new Government's housing agenda, and enshrined in this Bill, is the creation of the Housing Australia Future Fund.
The structure of the Fund will protect it from the whims of future Governments. The Fund will generate returns over the long term, which will allow it to provide annual disbursements to deliver a secure pipeline of funding for social and affordable housing in Australia.
This will provide critical certainty to Australia's community housing providers and the scale of the investment will invite new contributions to social and affordable housing from institutional investors.
The Fund will be the end of the housing one-offs from the Australian Government.
It will be the end of Australian Government housing programs that make problems worse instead of better.
Instead, the Housing Australia Future Fund will be the start of an enduring promise from the Australian Government—that more Australians should have a safe and affordable place to call home.
Those of us on this side of the House came to Government with another promise, and one to the Australian people which we intend to keep : a better future.
The introduction of today's Bills keeps faith with this promise.
I will now outline the functions of this Bill. The Housing Australia Future Fund is one aspect of the Government's commitment to improving housing supply and affordability. Central to this is the aim of increasing the supply of social and affordable homes and investing more in acute housing needs.
As announced in the October 2022-23 Budget, disbursements from the Housing Australia Future Fund will be used to fund social and affordable homes and other acute housing needs. In the first five years of operation, the Government intends to use disbursements from the Housing Australia Future Fund to help build:
The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation, which will be renamed as Housing Australia, will be responsible for administering the majority of disbursements from the Housing Australia Future Fund to help build the 30,000 social and affordable homes in the Fund's first five years.
Over the same time period, the Fund will also provide:
The Bill establishes the Housing Australia Future Fund and provides an initial credit of $10 billion. Disbursements from the Fund will be made available for the purposes of funding social and affordable homes and other acute housing needs.
Under this Bill, annual disbursements will be capped at $500 million per year to protect the balance of the Fund and ensure a sustainable source of funding into the future. The legislation will require five-yearly reviews of the operation of the Act, which will assess the extent to which the Fund is meeting the social, affordable and acute housing needs of Australians.
The Housing Australia Future Fund will be managed by the Future Fund Board of Guardians, which has a proven track record of managing investment funds on behalf of the people of Australia and maximising returns over the long term.
The Bill requires the Treasurer and the Minister for Finance to issue directions setting out the Government's expectations as to how the Fund will be managed and invested by the Board, including setting a benchmark rate of return for the Fund.
Any disbursements from the Fund will require formal Government approval.
As part of the annual budget process the Housing Minister, in consultation with the Treasurer and the Finance Minister, will be responsible for bringing forward proposals for the Government's consideration of the allocation of disbursements to deliver on the Government's targets for social and affordable homes and acute housing needs.
The bulk of annual disbursements from the Fund will be allocated to Housing Australia to deliver on the Government's social and affordable housing commitments. Allocations to Housing Australia will recognise that a minimum annual amount over the long term is likely to be required to deliver on those commitments.
In relation to the acute housing needs, the Housing Minister will also consult the other designated Ministers—the Minister for Social Services, the Minister for Indigenous Australians and the Minister for Veterans' Affairs.
The Housing Minister will also consider advice from the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council before bringing forward spending proposals. The Government established the interim Council by administrative arrangements from 1 January 2023. The Council will be established in primary legislation as part of this housing package.
The Council will be an independent and expert advisory body to the Government, to inform spending from the Housing Australia Future Fund and provide policy advice on housing supply and affordability. It has already begun building a strong evidence base to support the Commonwealth in developing housing policy and position the Government to provide an important leadership role in increasing housing supply and improving housing affordability in close collaboration with the states and territories.
The Bill will also establish the Housing Australia Future Fund Payments Special Account to make grants in relation to acute housing needs. Following a decision of Government to allocate disbursements from the Fund, the designated Ministers will request that the agreed amounts be debited from the Housing Australia Future Fund Special Account and credited to the Housing Australia Future Fund Payments Special Account for the purpose of making grants. The designated Ministers and the Housing Minister will also be able to request that a grant to a state or territory be channelled through the COAG Reform Fund. Payments to Housing Australia will be transferred to the Housing Australia Special Account for the purposes of making grants and loans for social and affordable homes and acute housing needs.
All funding decisions will comply with the Commonwealth's established rules and guidelines for grants. Detailed information on grants under the Housing Australia Future Fund will be published online.
Too many Australians struggle to secure safe and affordable housing, which is why we are committed to establishing the Housing Australia Future Fund along with other significant housing reforms such as the new National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, a National Housing and Homelessness Plan, and the new Help to Buy scheme.
The introduction of this legislation builds on the work we have already begun to address Australia's housing challenges:
Our action to immediately unlock up to $575 million from the National Housing Infrastructure Facility for social and affordable housing;
Our decision to bring forward the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee by three months, which has already helped more than 1700 Australians into home ownership;
The formation of the interim National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, which has already begun its work to deliver independent advice to Government; and
National Cabinet's decision to re-establish the Housing and Homelessness Ministerial Council and the three meetings the Minister for Housing and Homelessness has already held with her state and territory colleagues.
Delivering on the establishment of the Housing Australia Future Fund along with the other housing reforms will mean more Australians will have a safe and affordable place to call home.
Full details of the Bill are contained in the Explanatory Memorandum.
Home is the foundation from which we build our lives.
Without a stable home, people—no matter their age—struggle to live in health, stay in training or education, or find and keep jobs.
That's not good for them, for their families, for their communities or for our country.
The Minister for Housing and Homelessness knows this, because she has lived it.
The Prime Minister knows this, because he has lived it.
It's why this Government is serious about making sure more Australians have a safe, affordable place to call home.
This is about working together.
It's about partnerships.
Yes, it is ambitious.
Because it has to be.
It's the only way we'll tackle the challenges we face as a nation.
The National Housing Supply and Affordability Council Bill 2023 (Bill) establishes the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council (Council) as an independent statutory advisory body. The Council will inform the Commonwealth's approach to housing policy by delivering independent advice to the Government on housing supply and affordability.
Establishment of the Council was announced as part of the Safer and More Affordable Housing measure in the October 2022-23 Budget. The Bill forms part of the Housing Legislative Package, which delivers on key components of the Government's ambitious election commitments on housing. Public consultation on the draft legislation attracted feedback from a broad range of stakeholders, including community housing providers, industry bodies, advocacy groups, research bodies, and state and territory organisations.
The Council will help the Commonwealth play a leadership role in improving housing supply and affordability. In addition to providing independent expert advice to Government, the Council will research and report on matters relating to housing supply and affordability. Both advice and reporting may be requested by the Minister and the Council will also have discretion to initiate its own research and reporting to the Minister.
As well as its reporting and general advisory role, the Council will provide advice to the Minister on the allocation of disbursements from the Housing Australia Future Fund. This advice will inform Government consideration of disbursements as part of the annual budget process.
To ensure the important work of the Council could commence quickly, the Government established an interim Council from 1 January 2023. The interim Council has 6 appointed members and 1 ex officio member, and operates as a non--statutory advisory body.
Following passage of this Bill and from 1 July 2023, the interim Council will cease, and the Council will commence operating as an independent statutory advisory body. The permanent Council will consist of a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 9 appointed members with skills and experience in a range of fields relating to housing supply and affordability. Increasing the potential number of appointed Council members (compared with the interim Council) responds to stakeholder feedback to ensure there is the right range of skills and experience on the Council. The Council will also include an ex officio member from the Commonwealth Treasury.
The Bill enshrines the independence of the Council, ensuring it can provide full and frank advice and reporting on issues Council members consider important across the housing spectrum. The requirements as to skills and expertise will support the production of high quality and targeted advice to the Commonwealth government.
An important function of the Council will be to work collaboratively with other Commonwealth bodies, state, territory and local governments, and other stakeholders, to support the collection and publication of nationally consistent data on housing supply and affordability.
And this collaborative role will enable the Council to provide important input into the development of the National Housing and Homelessness Plan, which will establish a clear national strategy to address the significant challenges we face to ensure that Australians have access to safer and more affordable housing.
Full details of the measure are contained in the Explanatory Memorandum.
NATIONAL HOUSING SUPPLY AND AFFORDABILITY COUNCIL BILL 2023
The National Housing Supply and Affordability Council Bill 2023 (Bill) establishes the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council (Council) as an independent statutory advisory body. The Council will inform the Commonwealth's approach to housing policy by delivering independent advice to the Government on housing supply and affordability.
Establishment of the Council was announced as part of the Safer and More Affordable Housing measure in the October 2022-23 Budget. The Bill forms part of the Housing Legislative Package, which delivers on key components of the Government's ambitious election commitments on housing. Public consultation on the draft legislation attracted feedback from a broad range of stakeholders, including community housing providers, industry bodies, advocacy groups, research bodies, and state and territory organisations.
The Council will help the Commonwealth play a leadership role in improving housing supply and affordability. In addition to providing independent expert advice to Government, the Council will research and report on matters relating to housing supply and affordability. Both advice and reporting may be requested by the Minister and the Council will also have discretion to initiate its own research and reporting to the Minister.
As well as its reporting and general advisory role, the Council will provide advice to the Minister on the allocation of disbursements from the Housing Australia Future Fund. This advice will inform Government consideration of disbursements as part of the annual budget process.
To ensure the important work of the Council could commence quickly, the Government established an interim Council from 1 January 2023. The interim Council has 6 appointed members and 1 ex officio member, and operates as a non--statutory advisory body.
Following passage of this Bill and from 1 July 2023, the interim Council will cease, and the Council will commence operating as an independent statutory advisory body. The permanent Council will consist of a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 9 appointed members with skills and experience in a range of fields relating to housing supply and affordability. Increasing the potential number of appointed Council members (compared with the interim Council) responds to stakeholder feedback to ensure there is the right range of skills and experience on the Council. The Council will also include an ex officio member from the Commonwealth Treasury.
The Bill enshrines the independence of the Council, ensuring it can provide full and frank advice and reporting on issues Council members consider important across the housing spectrum. The requirements as to skills and expertise will support the production of high quality and targeted advice to the Commonwealth government.
An important function of the Council will be to work collaboratively with other Commonwealth bodies, state, territory and local governments, and other stakeholders, to support the collection and publication of nationally consistent data on housing supply and affordability.
And this collaborative role will enable the Council to provide important input into the development of the National Housing and Homelessness Plan, which will establish a clear national strategy to address the significant challenges we face to ensure that Australians have access to safer and more affordable housing.
Full details of the measure are contained in the Explanatory Memorandum.
TREASURY LAWS AMENDMENT (HOUSING MEASURES NO. 1) BILL 2023
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Measures No. 1) Bill 2023 forms part of the Housing Legislative Package, which delivers on the Government's ambitious housing election commitments announced as part of the Safer and More Affordable Housing measure in the October 2022-23 Budget.
The Government publicly consulted on the Package from 19 December 2022 to 11 January 2023. 46 written submissions were received, and three consultation sessions held (two with state and territory officials, and one with Community Housing Providers).
This Bill amends the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation Act 2018 ('NHFIC Act') to rename NHFIC to 'Housing Australia'. The NHFIC Act established NHFIC to improve housing outcomes for Australians and commenced operation on 30 June 2018.
NHFIC's responsibilities include the operation of the Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator, capacity building for Community Housing Providers, administering the Government's Home Guarantee Schemes and the $1 billion National Housing Infrastructure Facility.
The National Housing Infrastructure Facility was expanded in November 2022 to allow financing in support of social or affordable housing projects in addition to financing for underlying critical infrastructure projects.
Housing Australia will continue to operate as a Corporate Commonwealth Entity governed by an independent board, reporting to the Minister for Housing. It will be directed in the performance of its functions by an Investment Mandate Direction, issued by the Minister for Housing.
In addition to the new responsibilities set out in the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill, Housing Australia will continue to administer the Affordable Housing Bond Aggregator, the National Housing Infrastructure Facility and the Home Guarantee Schemes. This will allow Housing Australia to build upon the NHFIC's successes whilst supporting the Government to deliver on new key housing commitments.
The Bill also makes consequential amendments to reflect the change of the NHFIC to Housing Australia and ensure consistency across Commonwealth legislation.
This Bill also streamlines the functions of Housing Australia and establishes an annual review mechanism for the National Housing Infrastructure Facility. This will allow the Government to regularly review the Facility's performance against the objective of increasing and accelerating the supply of new social and affordable housing.
The Bill also extends the legislated Commonwealth guarantee, which underpins the NHFIC bonds that enable low-cost finance for community housing providers, until 30 June 2028. Extending the guarantee provides certainty to the community housing sector and investors in debt securities issued by the Bond Aggregator.
Finally, the Bill makes a number of further consequential amendments to legislation in the Finance and Treasury portfolios to enable the effective operation of the Housing Australia Future Fund.
Full details of the measure are contained in the Explanatory Memorandum.
Public Interest Disclosure Amendment (Review) Bill 2022
That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
The Albanese Government is committed to restoring trust and integrity to government—and an effective public sector whistleblowing framework is essential to achieving this, including to support disclosures of corrupt conduct to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
The Public Interest Disclosure Amendment (Review) Bill will implement key recommendations of the 2016 Review of the Public Interest Disclosure Act by Mr Philip Moss AM (Moss Review) and parliamentary committee reports to deliver immediate improvements to our public sector whistleblowing scheme. These reforms are long overdue.
The Bill will implement:
Improving whistleblower protections
The Bill will strengthen whistleblower protections for both disclosers and witnesses in the Public Interest Disclosure Act.
It will expand reprisal protections to those who 'could make' a disclosure. This will protect people who may have reprisal action taken against them merely for becoming aware of information that would meet the definition of 'disclosable conduct'.
The Bill will also expand the definition of detriment in relation to reprisal action to align it with the definition used in the private sector whistleblowing scheme in the Corporatio ns Act 2001 (Cth).
The expanded definition will include, among other matters, harassment and intimidation, psychological harm, damage to a person's reputation and any other damage to a person.
The Bill will also provide witnesses with the same immunities under the Public Interest Disclosure Act as disclosers. This means immunity from civil, criminal and administrative liability will be available to any person who provides assistance in relation to a disclosure, including those who do so voluntarily.
Together, these amendments will ensure more people are protected against a broader range of detriment when bringing wrongdoing and corruption to light.
Providing a strong focus on significant integrity wrongdoing
The Bill will remove personal work-related conduct from the scope of the Public Interest Disclosure Act.
This implements a recommendation of the Moss Review to focus the Act on integrity wrongdoing, such as fraud and corruption. This approach is not to suggest that agencies should ignore other forms of wrongdoing or workplace conflict. It recognises that other existing frameworks such as performance management or disciplinary conduct procedures are better adapted to deal with complaints of personal work-related conduct.
However, there will be instances where it remains appropriate for disclosure of personal-work related conduct to be dealt with under the Public Interest Disclosure Act.
The Bill provides that such conduct can continue to be disclosed under the Public Interest Disclosure Act where it amounts to a reprisal action. Reprisal action often takes the form of personal work-related conduct such as bullying and harassment. It is important that whistleblowers continue to receive protections when they bring to light such conduct that is experienced as a consequence of their initial disclosure.
The Bill also provides that disclosures of personal work-related conduct will be protected and investigated under the Public Interest Disclosure Act where the conduct is of such a nature that it would undermine public confidence in an agency, or have other significant implications for an agency. This ensures that a whistleblower can disclose personal work-related conduct where it is symptomatic of a larger, systemic concern within an agency, and is appropriate to report under the PID Act as a framework that is designed to address serious public sector wrongdoing and corruption.
Making the Public Interest Disclosure Act easier for agencies to administer
The Bill will provide greater flexibility to agencies in how they handle disclosures, including to ensure the matter can be more easily referred for investigation under another law or power where appropriate.
Officers exercising functions under the Public Interest Disclosure Act will be provided with a discretion not to allocate or investigate a disclosure if it would be more appropriately investigated under another law or power. This could include an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
Public interest disclosure officers would be required to notify the discloser and the relevant oversight agency of their decision, and take reasonable steps to refer the disclosure for investigation under the other law or power where appropriate.
The Bill will also repeal the general secrecy offence in the .Public Interest Disclosure Act to support better information sharing between agencies in relation to a disclosure. The Moss Review noted that the secrecy offence unnecessarily limits agencies' ability to respond to alleged wrongdoing and disclosures, and has impeded the ability of senior management to access information about the performance of their agency. Repealing the general secrecy offence will ensure agencies can share information appropriately to effectively manage disclosures and carry out ordinary business actions.
Cl arifying the coverage of the legislation
The Bill will clarify who is a public official for the purposes of the Public Interest Disclosure Act.
Consistent with a recommendation of the Moss Review, the Bill will expressly exclude staff employed or engaged under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 (Cth) from the scope of the Public Interest Disclosure Act, reflecting the original intention of the legislation.
While the Government is implementing this recommendation to clarify the scope of the Act, it is important to note that the Government supports the provision of appropriate whistleblower protections for parliamentary staff and has taken the first step towards delivering this outcome through protections provided in the National Anti-Corruption Commission legislation for disclosures of corrupt conduct. Parliamentary staff who report a corruption issue to the National Anti-Corruption Commission will have robust protections against reprisal or detriment. This will go a long way to addressing a gap in the current Commonwealth integrity framework.
Further, the Government will also consider whether other protections are appropriate for parliamentary staff who report misconduct in the context of implementing relevant recommendations in the Set the Standard: Report on the Independent Review of Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces , in particular the establishment of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission.
Enhancing oversight of the scheme
Effective oversight by the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) is critical to ensuring confidence in the integrity of the public interest disclosure scheme.
Agency heads under the Act will be required to provide the Ombudsman or the IGIS, as appropriate, with a copy of all investigation reports into disclosures within a reasonable period of time.
To further strengthen scrutiny of scheme, the Ombudsman and the IGIS will be able to make recommendations to agencies following any review of an investigation report. Recommendations can be made in relation to any aspect of the handling of a disclosure and about any public official in an agency. An agency will be required to respond with details of any action taken in response to a recommendation, or if no action is being taken, the reasons for this.
The Bill will also implement recommendations 10 and 11 of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security report into press freedom to require:
Interaction with the National Anti-Corruption Commission
The Bill will amend the National Anti-Corruption Commission legislation to reflect amendments to whistleblower protections in the Public Interest Disclosure Act to ensure both regimes provide strong protections for whistleblowers. These improvements are intended to be in place before the National Anti-Corruption Commission commences in mid-2023.
Comprehensive reforms to the public sector whistleblowing scheme
The Bill is only first stage reform to restore the Public Interest Disclosure Act to a best practice whistleblowing framework.
Following passage of this Bill, the Government will commence a second stage of reform, which will include public consultation on:
Consultation on these further reforms will ensure they are shaped not only by users of the Public Interest Disclosure Act across government, but also informed by expert stakeholders and the general public to ensure Australia has a best practice scheme.
This staged approach will allow the Government to deliver immediate improvements to the scheme, including to whistleblower protections, ahead of the establishment of the NACC.
Conclusion
With this Bill, the Albanese Government is taking an important first step in improving Australia's whistleblowing framework for the public sector.
The legislation will strengthen protections for public sector whistleblowers, and in doing so, will support our broader efforts to restore integrity in government.
Treasury Laws Amendment (Consumer Data Right) Bill 2022
That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
This Bill will amend the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to expand the Consumer Data Right to enable action initiation, a functionality which will empower consumers to authorise, manage and facilitate actions securely in the digital economy.
The Consumer Data Right (or CDR) is a pioneering economic reform that gives consumers the ability to safely share the data Australian businesses hold about them for their own benefit.
Because Australia's CDR will be rolled out across the economy—with banking almost complete, energy being rolled out now and others to follow—it is the first and most ambitious of its kind in the world.
The CDR places consumers at the centre of a data-sharing framework that protects their privacy and gives them the ability to opt in and determine when and how they share their data with other businesses and professionals of their choosing.
Consumers can use their data for things like switching service providers, taking out a loan, applying for a new mortgage or using budgeting apps to help manage finances. Consumers can better manage cost-of-living pressures, saving time and effort in a safe, regulated environment.
Importantly, data security and privacy are at the very core of the CDR, with strict protocols, rules and other requirements to protect consumers and their data.
Privacy and security considerations are key to ensuring that information within the CDR framework is held, used and disclosed securely, allowing confidence in the framework to grow.
In time, as the CDR is introduced to other datasets and sectors across the economy, consumers will gain even more capacity to extract value from their data.
This Bill delivers the power of action initiation to the CDR. That means consumers and small businesses will be able to securely instruct third parties (accredited action initiators) to carry out everyday tasks on their behalf. When combined with data sharing, actions like opening and closing accounts, making payments and applying for services will be made easier and more personalised.
The Government anticipates that these changes will support a range of innovative business models, driving the development of new CDR-powered products and services. This will offer entirely new ways of doing things, boost competition and reduce the time pressures, cost and complexity experienced by consumers and small businesses when carrying out everyday tasks.
The Bill gives effect to the key recommendation of the 'Inquiry into the Future Directions for the Consumer Data Right' to move ahead to enable action initiation.
This Bill gives the Minister the ability to declare actions that could be initiated using the CDR, just as the Minister can already designate new sectors for data-sharing.
Before making such a declaration, public consultation and analysis would need to occur and the Minister would need to have regard to a range of matters including consumer interests, market efficiency, competition, innovation and the public interest.
This process would enable the Minister to require existing data holders (such as banks) to become action service providers in the CDR, meaning they would have to perform actions in accordance with valid instructions received from third party accredited action initiators as if they came directly from the consumer. There would also be flexibility for other organisations to apply so they can participate voluntarily in CDR action initiation with appropriate safeguards.
Accredited action initiators would need to meet strict accreditation requirements set by the rules. They would also be required to act efficiently, honestly and fairly when initiating actions.
Consumers will continue to be squarely in control. That is, an accredited action initiator could only initiate an action on the consumer's behalf with the consent of that consumer.
The Bill will also extend the existing privacy safeguards so that the privacy of CDR consumers continues to be appropriately protected.
The Bill will primarily regulate the 'instruction layer', that is, the communication channel between the accredited action initiator and the action service provider. It does not seek to regulate the performance of the action itself. Existing sectoral laws, like those in the banking sector, would continue to govern how an action, such as opening a bank account, must be performed.
While the Bill does not seek to reach into the 'action layer', or the performance of the action itself, it would prevent action service providers from discriminating against a valid action request that came through the CDR.
Importantly, it will not prevent an action service provider from applying security or other checks, or refusing to perform an action, provided this is consistent with existing practices.
Enabling action initiation in the CDR is part of the Government's commitment to expand the CDR across the economy and grow the opportunities for consumers to safely make use of their own data for their benefit.
Full details of the measure are contained in the Explanatory Memorandum.
Migration Amendment (Aggregate Sentences) Bill 2023
Higher Education Support Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Bill 2022
Migration Amendment (Aggregate Sentences) Bill 2023
Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 5) Bill 2022
Higher Education Support Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Bill 2022
Higher Education Support Amendment (Australia's Economic Accelerator) Bill 2022
The commercialisation of Australia's world class university research is key to the nation's growth and prosperity, meeting the challenges ahead and enhancing the lives of future generations.
The government's $2.2 billion package will significantly improve Australia's ability to commercialise our best ideas and innovations, scaling them up to create exciting new industries, new exports and new highly skilled jobs for Australians.
This short-term thinking fails to understand that the innovations we need actually come from the giant pool of ideas generated by curiosity …
At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:
(a) notes that this bill:
(i) provides a significant amount of funding for research translation and commercialisation, and
(ii) provides absolutely no funding for pure research; and
(b) calls on the Government to:
(i) recognise that pure research is a public good with immense value,
(ii) recognise that pure research is as important and worthy of funding,
(iii) commit to substantially increasing funding for pure research, which has fallen significantly over the past three decades, and
(iv) commit to a substantial increase in stipends, given PhD candidates are increasingly struggling to make ends meet with stipends falling well below the minimum wage".
… agreed that there is no 'silver bullet' solution to improving research commercialisation outcomes, and that new reforms need to be integrated across the whole research commercialisation ecosystem.
The Senate divided. [18:22]
(The Acting Deputy President—Senator Reynolds)
(1) Schedule 1, item 3, page 4 (after line 10), after subsection 42-1(1), insert:
(1A) The strategy must not be inconsistent with *Australia's greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.
(2) Schedule 1, item 11, page 15 (after line 15), after the definition of Australia's Economic Accelerator program information , insert:
Australia's greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets means:
(a) if:
(i) Australia's current nationally determined contribution was communicated in accordance with Article 4 of the Paris Agreement in June 2022; and
(ii) that nationally determined contribution has not been adjusted in accordance with paragraph 11 of Article 4 of the Paris Agreement;
the greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets set out in paragraphs 10(1)(a) and (b) of the Climate Change Act 2022 ; or
(b) in any other case—the greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets included in:
(i) Australia's current nationally determined contribution communicated in accordance with Article 4 of the Paris Agreement; or
(ii) if that nationally determined contribution has been adjusted in accordance with paragraph 11 of Article 4 of the Paris Agreement—that nationally determined contribution, as adjusted and in force from time to time.
Paris Agreement means the Paris Agreement, done at Paris on 12 December 2015, as amended and in force for Australia from time to time.
Note: The Agreement is in Australian Treaty Series 2016 No. 24 ([2016] ATS 24) and could in 2023 be viewed in the Australian Treaties Library on the AustLII website (http://www.austlii.edu.au).
The committee divided. [18:32]
(The Temporary Chair—Senator McGrath)
That this bill be now read a third time.
Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of their interests.
Woodside is filing application after application trying to discourage its workers and their union from seeking to enforce their right to bargain.
… … …
every one of the applications was "without merit" …
… … …
It's underhanded and entirely cynical.
We'll find you, we'll track you down and you will have to repay those debts and you may end up in prison.