The SPEAKER ( Hon. Tony Smith ) took the chair at 09:30, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.
Report relating to the consideration of committee and delegation business and of private Members' business
1. The committee met in private session on Tuesday, 3 February 2021.
2. The Committee deliberated on items of private Members' business items listed on the Notice Paper and notices lodged on Tuesday, 3 February 2021, and determined the order of precedence and times on Monday, 15 February 2021, as follows:
Items for House of Representatives Chamber (10.10 am to 12 noon)
PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Notices
1 Mr Hill: To present a Bill for an Act to amend the Migration Act 1958 , and for related purposes. (Migration Amendment (Common Sense for All Visas) Bill 2021 )
( Notice given 8 December 2020. )
Presenter may speak to the second reading for a period not exceeding 10 minutes—pursuant to standing order 41. Debate must be adjourned pursuant to standing order 142.
2 Mr Bandt: To present a Bill for an Act to amend the Defence Act 1903 to provide for parliamentary approval of overseas service by members of the Defence Force, and for related purposes. (Defence Amendment (Parliamentary Approval of Overseas Service) Bill 2021 )
( Notice given 1 December 2020. )
Presenter may speak to the second reading for a period not exceeding 10 minutes—pursuant to standing order 41. Debate must be adjourned pursuant to standing order 142.
3 Mr Wilkie: To present a Bill for an Act to amend the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 , and for related purposes. (National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment (Transparency in Carbon Emissions Accounting) Bill 2021 )
( Notice given 2 February 2021. )
Presenter may speak to the second reading for a period not exceeding 10 minutes—pursuant to standing order 41. Debate must be adjourned pursuant to standing order 142.
4 Dr Webster: To move:
That this House:
(1) is alarmed by the undue pain and distress experienced by Australians who are defamed, bullied or otherwise harassed on social media platforms;
(2) notes that:
(a) global technology companies which provide social media platforms inadequately monitor platforms for defamation, bullying or harassment of individuals; and
(b) global technology companies are slow to respond when complaints are made, increasing the damage to individuals;
(3) recognises that social media is a global sphere of communication in which vulnerable citizens can be unfairly targeted by individuals, with little consequence to the platform that hosts damaging content;
(4) expresses concern that current regulations do not adequately address global technology companies which control social media platforms; and
(5) calls on the Government to develop:
(a) a public regulatory framework within which decisions about removing content are made by social media platforms, to ensure community expectations around safety and free speech on social media platforms can be met; and
(b) legislation which holds social media platforms to account as publishers of the content hosted on their sites, impressing the legal responsibilities that designation entails on those platforms.
( Notice given 2 February 2021. )
Time allotted—40 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Dr Webster—10 minutes.
Next Member speaking—10 minutes.
Other Members—5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 2 x 10 mins + 4 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
5 Mr Albanese: To move:
That this House:
(1) acknowledges:
(a) that on 13 February 2008 the then Prime Minister made a national apology to the Stolen Generation on behalf of the Parliament and the nation; and
(b) the importance of Closing the Gap; and
(2) reaffirms its commitment to Closing the Gap.
( Notice given 2 February 2021. )
Time allotted—remaining private Members' business time prior to 12 noon
Speech time limits—
Mr Albanese—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 (11 am to 1.30 pm)
PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Notices
1 Mr Georganas: To move:
That this House:
(1) acknowledges the dire financial situation facing travel agents and the tourism industry in general as a result of Australia's current health and economic crisis;
(2) notes that:
(a) travel agents play a significant role in our tourism industry, sustaining businesses and employing thousands of people across Australia;
(b) tourism was one of the first industries to be hit and will likely be one of the last to recover;
(c) for many of our approximately 40,000 travel agents, the cost of staying open in order to reimburse customers who were forced to cancel holidays is contributing to significant losses; and
(d) with international travel restrictions likely to remain in place for the foreseeable future, travel agents need urgent assistance; and
(3) calls on the Government to:
(a) develop a comprehensive industry-specific support package for the tourism industry, which acknowledges the important contribution this sector makes to the economy; and
(b) provide an urgent lifeline for travel agents on the brink of collapse, instead of the inadequate loss carry-back scheme, for which the vast majority of travel agents appear to be ineligible.
( Notice given 30 November 2020. )
Time allotted—40 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Mr Georganas—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.
2 Mr Simmonds: To move:
That this House:
(1) recognises that the Government has established the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) as the frontline defence in the Government's fight to protect children from predators online, in Australia and across the world;
(2) acknowledges that:
(a) ACCCE brings together the specialist expertise and skills from government agencies, law enforcement and advocacy groups, in a central hub, to investigate cases of child exploitation and to implement prevention strategies;
(b) in the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020, the ACCCE received more than 21,000 incoming reports of child exploitation, compared with 14,000 in 2018-2019—from this, 134 children were removed from harm; and
(c) recent operations by the ACCCE removed 16 children in Australia from harm and arrested 44 offenders with 350 charges collectively;
(3) welcomes the Government's significant investment in establishing the ACCCE, with $68.6 million committed over four years to further the crucial work they do to protect children;
(4) notes the recent opening of the new purpose-built facility and thanks all the Australian Federal Police and state police officers for their selfless work in tracking and apprehending predators; and
(5) commits to the ongoing safety of all Australian children, both online and in our communities, by continuing the Government's recent investment in anti-exploitation measures.
( Notice given 10 November 2020. )
Time allotted—40 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Mr Simmonds—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.
3 Ms Murphy: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that in July 2020, the UN Sustainable Development Goals index ranked Australia third globally for our management of the COVID-19 crisis, but 37th for our long-term direction;
(2) acknowledges that prior to 2020, Australia experienced 28 years of economic growth, where annual GDP growth peaked at 5 per cent and troughed at 2 per cent; but notwithstanding that GDP growth, inequality has increased, wages have stagnated, more people more people on low and precarious incomes are being left behind and the natural environment is in a fragile state;
(3) recognises that COVID-19 has illustrated that it's impossible to separate the wellbeing of our people from the health of our economy, society and environment; and
(4) calls on the Government to consider developing a national account of wellbeing in order to judge the success of recovery from the global pandemic not just by how swiftly the economy rebounds, but also by whether our country is meeting measures of what Australians value as contributing to a 'good society'.
( Notice given 2 February 2021. )
Time allotted—35 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Ms Murphy—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.
4 Mr Wallace: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) Australian Institute for Family Studies research shows that more than half a million Australian adults regularly bet on sports;
(b) 41 per cent of these gamblers, or 234,000 Australians, experience serious gambling related problems;
(c) in total, Australians spend more than $24.8 billion a year on gambling;
(d) research from the Australian Institute for Family Studies shows that Australians who gamble have on average increased the frequency of their gambling and their amount spent during the COVID-19 pandemic;
(e) the same research identifies that half of gamblers have experienced a deterioration in their mental and physical health during the pandemic; and
(f) professional players in the NRL and AFL are increasingly experiencing online harassment and threats from gamblers who have lost money through betting on matches in which they participated;
(2) commends the Government on its action to date to restrict the level of gambling advertising broadcast during live sports; and
(3) encourages the Government to continue to explore options to further reduce the harm caused by problem gambling.
( Notice given 2 February 2021. )
Time allotted—remaining private Members' business time prior to 1.30 pm
Speech time limits—
Mr Wallace—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.
Items for Federation Chamber (4.45 pm to 7.30 pm)
PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Notices—continued
5 Dr Leigh: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that the Jobkeeper program is the most expensive one-off program ever implemented by an Australian Government, estimated to cost around $100 billion—it has been effective in supporting jobs, but the unprecedented spending requires close scrutiny;
(2) acknowledges that millions of Australians were excluded from Jobkeeper, including short-term casuals, arts sector workers, and the entire university sector.
(3) recognises that:
(a) the Jobkeeper program is scheduled to be terminated at the end of March 2021, despite severe problems in many sectors and regions across Australia, and the warnings from economists that support should not be withdrawn prematurely;
(b) while many were left out of Jobkeeper, the program provided support to firms that:
(i) recorded record profits in 2020; and
(ii) paid executive bonuses; and
(c) the practice of paying executive bonuses by firms receiving Jobkeeper has been criticised by the Australian Taxation Office, the Business Council of Australia, former Liberal Premier of Victoria Jeff Kennett and the Australian Labor Party, but not the Government; and
(4) calls on the Treasurer to make a statement to the Parliament no later than 25 February 2021 revealing how much JobKeeper support was paid to firms that:
(a) saw their profits increase from 2019 to 2020; and
(b) paid executive bonuses.
( Notice given 2 February 2021. )
Time allotted—45 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Dr Leigh—5 minutes.
Other Members—5 minutes. each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 9 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.
6 Mr Drum: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) horticulture is essential to the Australian economy and is critical for the nation's food security;
(b) the gross value of horticultural production in Australia was forecast by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARES) to be $12.6 billion in 2020-21, of which the value of fruit and tree nut production was forecast to be $5.3 billion; and
(c) the Victorian Goulburn Valley region produces almost 50 per cent of the value of Victoria's fruits, excluding grapes, worth $337 million;
(2) recognises that:
(a) ABARES estimated in the 2019 peak harvest months from February onwards that there were 63,300 overseas workers in Australia; and
(b) international travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic has left a massive shortfall in available labour for fruit growers;
(3) acknowledges that:
(a) the Government developed a pathway for 20,000 Pacific Islanders to be available for seasonal work; and
(b) the Queensland and Northern Territory Governments acted to support producers by bringing in Pacific Islanders for harvest; and
(4) condemns the Victorian Government for its delay in delivering a means for Victorian producers to access Pacific Island workers while fruit goes unpicked and vegetables are ploughed into the ground.
( Notice given 2 February 2021. )
Time allotted—40 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Mr Drum—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 Steggall: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) there are around 2.6 million families with dependent children aged under 15 in Australia;
(b) Australia has one of the least generous paid parental leave schemes in the OECD;
(c) the McKinsey Global Institute found that in Australia, participation in early childhood education is lower than the OECD average and costs over 40 per cent more than the OECD average; and
(d) perinatal discrimination is the top discrimination complaint in Australian workplaces;
(2) acknowledges that:
(a) Australia lags behind other developed countries in the provision of best practice, evidence‑based policies that support families and children; and
(b) there is significant economic benefit to Australia from increasing female workforce participation, gender equity and outcomes for children; and
(3) calls on the Government to:
(a) increase health and wellbeing support for parents and children by amending parental leave legislation and providing for a year of paid parental leave to be shared by both parents;
(b) lower the cost of early childhood education for all families; and
(c) improve access to paid carers' leave for parents of sick children.
( Notice given 8 December 2020. )
Time allotted—40 minutes.
Speech time limits—
Ms Steggall—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.
8 Mr Leeser: To move:
That this House:
(1) places on record its support for recipients of the Order of Australia;
(2) acknowledges the Order of Australia is the highest national honour awarded to Australian citizens for outstanding contributions to our communities and country, and to non-citizens who have given extraordinary service to Australia;
(3) notes that since being established by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1975, there have been more than 600 recipients of the Companion of the Order of Australia, over 3,300 awarded Officers of the Order of Australia, more than 11,600 inducted as Members of the Order of Australia and more than 26,800 honoured as recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia;
(4) recognises the recipients in the General Division of the Order of Australia on Australia Day in 2021 come from an array of fields including science, education, governance and sport; and
(5) encourages all Members to congratulate recipients from their electorates on this immense achievement.
( Notice given 2 February 2021. )
Time allotted—remaining private Members' business time prior to 7.30 pm
Speech time limits—
Mr Leeser—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.
THE HON A. D. H. SMITH MP
Speaker of the House of Representatives
3 February 2021
Education Legislation Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill 2021
That this bill be now read a second time.
Narcotic Drugs Amendment (Medicinal Cannabis) Bill 2021
That this bill be now read a second time.
Therapeutic Goods Amendment (2020 Measures No. 2) Bill 2020
You could be forgiven for thinking that three or four vaccines would be sufficient. But amid a pandemic that has claimed millions of lives and trillions of dollars of global economic output, you'd be wrong. By a lot.
We recently failed to reach an agreement with Moderna. It's hard to conceive of any terms they might demand that we shouldn't be willing to accept—
… we seemingly haven't tried to secure any agreement with Johnson and Johnson.
Meanwhile, the US government recently secured an additional 100 million Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
Several decades ago, when treating substance abuse problems, psychologists developed a technique called motivational interviewing. The central premise: Instead of trying to force other people to change, you're better off helping them find their own intrinsic motivation to change. You do that by interviewing them—asking open-ended questions and listening carefully—and holding up a mirror so they can see their own thoughts more clearly. If they express a desire to change, you guide them toward a plan.
In controlled trials, motivational interviewing has helped people to stop smoking, abusing drugs and alcohol, and gambling; to improve their diets and exercise; to overcome eating disorders; and to lose weight. The approach has also motivated students to get a good night's sleep; voters to reconsider their prejudices; and divorcing parents to reach settlements.
Recently, thanks to a vaccine whisperer, it has been applied to immunization. Arnaud Gagneur is a pediatrician in Quebec who encourages reluctant parents to immunize their children. In his experiments, a motivational interview in the maternity ward after birth increased the number of mothers willing to vaccinate their children from 72 percent to 87 percent; the number of children who were fully vaccinated two years later rose by 9 percent. A single conversation was enough to change behavior over the next 24 months.
The Panel supports the Australian NRA in pursuing the adoption of the UDI, in alignment with international practice …
… what I haven't seen too much of is the detail that we need to do that logistics planning. … we need the logistics because we've got to provide for our staff, for our existing patients and for the huge undertaking we're about to go through.
… doesn't sound like the GPs are involved, which is a bit challenging because GPs know these patients and could probably do it quickly—
… there wasn't any clarity around who it would be.
… our Strategy puts Australia at the front of the queue, if our medical experts give the vaccines the green light.
Freedom of speech does not equal freedom of responsibility. In a political environment shaped by COVID, the responsibility of every MP is to safeguard democracy by rejecting disinformation and fake news. We have a duty to our nation to follow the evidence and facts.
It's really disappointing to see people who should know better getting out there and putting out just crackpot ideas on health issues.
The House divided. [12:20]
(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)
That this bill be read a third time.
National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Amendment (Technical Amendments) Bill 2020
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 the deficiencies in the bill as drafted; and
(2) urges the Government to respond to calls from survivors to improve the National Redress Scheme and deliver quicker, fairer and better outcomes for recipients, as recommended by the Royal Commission".
All survivors of child sexual abuse, this is for us. I lost my virginity to a paedophile. I was 15, anorexic; he was 58. He was my teacher. For months he groomed me and then abused me almost every day. Before school, after school, in my uniform, on the floor. I didn't know who I was. Publicly he described his crimes as 'awesome' and 'enviable'. Publicly I was silenced by law. Not anymore.
Australia, we've come a long way, but there's still more work to do in a lot of areas. Child sexual abuse and cultures that enable it still exist. Grooming and its lasting impacts are not widely understood. Predators manipulate all of us: family, friends, colleagues, strangers; in every class, culture and community. They thrive when we fight amongst ourselves and weaponise all of our vulnerabilities. Trauma does not discriminate, nor does it end when the abuse itself does. First Nations people, people with disabilities, the LGBTQI community and other marginalised groups face even greater barriers to justice. Every voice matters.
Just as the impacts of evil are borne by all of us, so too are solutions borne of all of us.
That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.
… while we may have slightly cooler temperatures, we will be dealing with stronger winds so there are some difficult times ahead …
These outcomes have been underpinned by Australia's success on the health front and the very significant fiscal and monetary support.
A question to a committee chair asking when a report would be tabled has been permitted.
A question asking if a committee had been requested to inquire into a certain matter has not been permitted.
The Speaker has ruled out of order a question to a chair which asked that the committee examine certain matters. Questions concerning statements by a committee chair are not permitted—
The Government's industrial relations changes that will cut wages.
NRA CEO … said it was very disappointing to see numerous federal Labor frontbenchers, including Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, blatantly misrepresent retailers in a bid to land a political blow against the government.
"Our exemption rate proposal is entirely opt-in and allows employers and workers to mutually agree on a wage 25 per cent higher than the weekly minimum wage. In exchange for the higher wage—
would see exemptions to complex rostering rules with accompanying safeguards. Rather than a paycut, this arrangement would see most managers receive a pay rise of $13,000 per annum.
"Should the FWC grant the proposal, it will be because it views it in accordance with the industrial standards set down by the Rudd-Gillard Government of which Mr Albanese was a senior Cabinet Minister."
It is less clear how such a change would increase productivity.
That the House take note of the report.
That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.
Native Title Legislation Amendment Bill 2020
Crimes Legislation Amendment (Economic Disruption) Bill 2020
National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Mandatory Credit Reporting and Other Measures) Bill 2019
That the amendments be agreed to.
That order of the day No. 3, government business, be postponed until a later hour this day.
Australian Immunisation Register Amendment (Reporting) Bill 2020
That this bill be now read a third time.
That, in accordance with the provisions of the Intelligence Services Act 2001, Ms Hammond be appointed a member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.
National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Amendment (Technical Amendments) Bill 2020
DSS advised that as at 7 February 2020, 449 payments had been adjusted due to prior payments, with the average value of the adjustment being $34 574.02. DSS also confirmed that the maximum adjustment made was $150 000 which reduced the redress award to zero.
Of grave concern was the decision to limit the payment of exceptional circumstance to penetrative abuse. This approach fails to acknowledge the harm caused by other types of sexual abuse.
Many survivors will need counselling and psychological care from time to time throughout their lives.
Counselling is not necessarily needed continuously throughout a survivor's life.
Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world … at peace with itself.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Llew O'Brien) took the chair at 10:00.
I firmly believe that all Australians, young and old, those born here and those who have come from other lands, should have a broad understanding of the system of government that has made our country one of the most successful democracies in the world. I hope that you will consider either participating in, or supporting this cause. By doing so you will be helping to give all Australians—especially our leaders of tomorrow—a greater appreciation of a system of government and a Constitution that has played a vital part in making Australia a country of which we can all be rightly proud.
Despite his capacity to walk with kings, the humbleness of the boy from Wiluna never really left him.
We have worked hard to share regenerative principles and practices. We have supported change to farming practices to include carbon in our precious national asset the soil. Soil carbon benefits include resilience and food security, plant nutritional quality, improved water filtration and reduced erosion and nutrient run-off.
That further proceedings be conducted in the House.