The SPEAKER ( Hon. Milton Dick ) took the chair at 10:00, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.
Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment (Making Gambling Businesses Accountable) Bill 2022
That this bill be now read a second time.
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Climate Trigger) Bill 2022
That this bill be now read a second time.
It is time to act. It is time for procrastination to end. The tragic events in New Orleans and in other southern states in the United States of America highlight exactly what can be expected from the impact of climate change. We cannot any longer afford to be complacent on this issue. We need action and one of the actions that we need, which has been acknowledged for many years, is this amendment to the EPBC Act. We urge the government to support this private member's bill.
With further impacts on the cultural environment and Indigenous economies, Indigenous people's knowledge and knowledge systems are at further risk of destruction.
Flora species are disappearing and are at risk of extinction … Fauna species are forced to leave their habitats, which in turn places stresses on the ecosystems they migrate to.
… … …
… human wellbeing … air quality, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter …
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) cost of living and inflationary pressures are having a significant impact on Australian households and small businesses;
(b) current and predicted interest rate rises will have severe implications for working families and the housing market, and will create immense uncertainty in the lives of many hardworking Australians; and
(c) whilst global pressures are having an impact, the Government can implement measures to ease these burdens on everyday Australians;
(2) acknowledges that the previous Government's economic plan carried the Australian economy through the COVID-19 pandemic and was inextricably linked to the subsequent successful recovery, which was the envy of the world; and
(3) calls on the Government to adopt a plan to ease pressures on cost of living for Australian families and small businesses now, and not wait for the budget in October.
cost of living and inflationary pressures are having a significant impact on Australian households and small businesses—
current and predicted interest rate rises will have severe implications for working families and the housing market—
… whilst global pressures are having an impact, the Government can implement measures—
That this House:
(1) acknowledges Australia's important role as a member of the Pacific family;
(2) recognises the renewed engagement of the Government in the Pacific, and the importance of Government ministers demonstrating this through recent visits across the region to reaffirm shared priorities;
(3) commends the many Pacific island countries that continue to be world-leading in their commitment to addressing climate change;
(4) notes that climate change poses an existential threat in the Pacific, including the likelihood of:
(a) more frequent and extreme weather events;
(b) impacts on access to fresh water;
(c) changes to industries such as agriculture, fisheries, forestry and tourism;
(d) coastal erosion and inundation; and
(e) impacts to biodiversity; and
(5) welcomes the Government prioritising the need to take action on climate change for the sake of future generations in Australia, elsewhere in the Pacific, and around the world.
… we are living the reality of climate change and sea-level rise, as you stand watching me today at COP26. We cannot wait for speeches, when the sea is rising around us all the time.
Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response) Bill 2022
Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Bill 2022
Public Sector Superannuation Salary Legislation Amendment Bill 2022
That:
(1) Mr Broadbent, Ms Sharkie and Mr Violi be appointed members of the Select Committee on Workforce Australia Employment Services; and
(2) Mr Entsch, Mr Gosling, Mr Neumann, Ms Scrymgour and Mr Willcox be appointed members of the Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia.
That in accordance with the provisions of the Intelligence Services Act 2001 , Mrs Andrews, Mr Hastie, Mr Hill, Mr Khalil, Mr Wallace and Mr J Wilson be appointed members of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.
The basis of election to a seat in Parliament is service to people. We are really public servants. The people made our election possible. They made it possible for us to take our seats in this House. That should be remembered, but it is all too often forgotten.
That further statements in relation to the death of Mikhail Gorbachev be permitted in the Federation Chamber.
I think the summit has been a great opportunity to reset and to really seize the future.
There's nothing unusual or inappropriate about the minister writing to the Fair Work Commission to indicate that there are going to be some changes to the law which will potentially affect the way in which the commission does its work. It's something that actually happens quite routinely.
That all words in paragraph (a) of sessional order 65A be omitted and the following words substituted:
"(a) During Question Time, priority shall be given to a crossbench Member seeking the call on the fifth, thirteenth and seventeenth questions."
That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Goldstein from moving the following motion immediately—
That all words in paragraph (a) of sessional order 65A be omitted and the following words substituted:
"(a) During Question Time, priority shall be given to a crossbench Member seeking the call on the fifth, thirteenth and seventeenth questions."
The House divided. [15:38]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)
That all words in paragraph (a) of sessional order 65A be omitted and the following words substituted:
"(a) During Question Time, priority shall be given to a crossbench Member seeking the call on the fifth, thirteenth and seventeenth questions."
The House divided. [15:59]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)
That standing order 97 be amended by the addition of a new paragraph, standing order 97(c), to read as follows:
Question time must not be concluded before 3.30 pm each day.
That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Manager of Opposition Business from moving the following motion forthwith:
That standing order 97 be amended by the addition of a new paragraph, standing order 97(c), to read as follows:
Question time must not be concluded before 3.30 pm each day.
Since 2011, the first complete year of the 43rd Parliament, following the introduction of restrictions on duration of questions and answers, it has been about 70 minutes.
The House divided. [16:27]
(The Speaker—Hon. Milton Dick)
This is a moment to seize. The Kaleidoscope has been shaken. The pieces are in flux. Soon they will settle again. Before they do, let us re-order this world around us.
I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave.
Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2022
1. Full time employees and, on a pro-rata basis part-time employees, should be entitled to 10 days paid FDV leave per year.
2. The entitlement to 10 days paid FDV leave per year should accrue progressively across the year in the same way as for personal/carer's leave accrues under the NES … The entitlement should accumulate from year to year, but subject to a 'cap' whereby the total accrual does not exceed 10 days at any given time.
3. The FDV leave entitlement should be accessible in advance of an entitlement to such leave accruing, by agreement between an employer and employee.
4. The FDV leave entitlement should operate on the basis that it is paid at the employee's 'base rate of pay' as defined in s.16 of the FW Act.
5. The definition of 'family and domestic violence' should be in the same terms as the definition in s.106B(2) of the FW Act (and not extend to FDV perpetrated by a member of the employee's household who is not related to the employee).
6. In all other relevant respects the model FDV leave term should reflect the terms of s.106B.
Compared to the ACTU claim, the provisional model term provides better alignment with existing NES entitlements and will have less impact on business in terms of employment costs and the regulatory burden.
… the entitlement to 10 days' paid FDV leave per year should accrue progressively during a year of service - in the same way as for personal/carer's leave under the NES … The entitlement should accumulate from year to year, but subject to a 'cap' whereby the total accrual available does not exceed 10 days at any given time. This will have the effect of operating as a phasing-in mechanism for the entitlement for the first 12 months after the entitlement takes effect.
… the FW Act provides no precedent, nor a model for a workable scheme, for the provision of paid leave to casual employees.
The ACTU accepts that there are some operational challenges associated with extending paid FDV leave to casuals, including in relation to those casual employees whose hours of work are genuinely uncertain …
The proposed legislation departs from the carefully considered approach proposed by the Commission in various ways that undermine its workability and reasonableness. It instead adopts elements similar to the ACTU proposal that the Commission had rejected.
The Bill should be amended to reflect the sensible and considered views of the Commission.
Unlike the approach adopted in the proposed legislation, the Commission envisaged that the new 10-day entitlement should apply to permanent employees rather than casuals; be calculated on a pro-rata basis for part-time workers; and should accrue progressively during an employee's first year of employment unless an employer agreed to grant it in advance.
The Commission also proposed that employees should be paid their base rate of pay when accessing the leave. This is the approach taken when an employee accesses personal/carer's leave. The Bill would instead require employers to pay employees amounts including penalty rates, overtime rates and various allowances when they access the leave.
This Bill will be much more costly for employers than the approach proposed by the Commission and there are significant questions about how the rate of pay that must be provided to an employee could even be calculated in practice.
We are persuaded by the submissions of ACCI and Ai Group that the paid FDV leave entitlement should not accrue 'upfront' in the way proposed by the ACTU because of the potential cost consequences this will produce upon the commencement of the entitlement and in respect of new employees. In particular, we accept, as ACCI contends, that the provision of paid FDV leave 'upfront' will adversely affect small and medium-sized businesses with limited cashflow or cash reserves.
However, we consider that it would be overly disruptive to the integrity of the safety net to establish, on an across-the-board basis, a new paid leave entitlement which operates on a radically different basis to the paid leave entitlements for which the NES currently provides.
There are over 700,000 sole proprietors in Australia. If they themselves are a victim of domestic violence, under the current bill before parliament they have been forgotten. We need to fix that.
…
This is a crucial consideration for government; how do we support women who are sole traders or managing a small business? How do they access support, particularly in sensitive situations where an abuser may have control or access to the business?
Given the Government's legislation departs significantly from the decision of the FWC in relation to FDVL, the Government needs to urgently clarify how the additional requirements will affect businesses, particularly small and family business.
… this ambiguity only creates further uncertainty and guess work for small business operators, who are already experiencing a challenging economic and labour shortage environment. In this regard, sole traders and small business owners may be in a family-owned small business or partnership, where one partner is the FDV perpetrator, and the other is the victim. According to COSBOA … 35 per cent of business owners were female and accessing paid FDVL will not assist them if sole-trader or micro businessperson is the primary income maker.
During the committee hearings, department officials indicated that the provision for the entitlement was for those ‘experiencing’ FDV, nevertheless, deliberately vague, or not, the government must clarify its intent within the actual legislation regarding perpetrators of FDV.
… to continue to build on the work of the former Coalition government in implementing strategies to prevent FDV and support victim survivors of FDV—
… to do more to limit the impacts this legislation will have on sole traders and small businesses.
Military Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment (Incapacity Payments) Bill 2022
My honest opinion is there needs to be some form of tertiary education or proper employment program so soldiers within combat corps have a chance to find meaningful employment and not just become labor hire for the rest of their lives …
Meaningful employment and genuine gratitude for veterans is i believe the key to solving the veteran suicide issue in this country.
That this bill be now read a third time.
Jobs and Skills Australia Bill 2022
Jobs and Skills Australia (National Skills Commissioner Repeal) Bill 2022
The DEPUTY SPEAKER Ms Claydon ) took the chair at 10:30.
We cannot have a safety net in this country which is just for blue sky days. We need a safety net which is there, which can respond in depth and in quality when people are doing it hard.
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) the Fair Work Commission has delivered a 5.2 per cent rise in the minimum wage, slightly above headline inflation;
(b) its decision means an extra $40 a week for full-time workers on the minimum wage or low-paid awards; and
(c) many low-paid workers are young, female, in casual employment, and are far more likely to find themselves experiencing financial hardship, and many of them are on the frontline delivering essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic;
(2) acknowledges that:
(a) the Government put forward its own submission to the Fair Work Commission advocating for an immediate wage increase for Australia's low-paid workers;
(b) for nearly a decade, low wages were a deliberate design feature of the former Government; and
(c) high and rising inflation, and weak wages growth are reducing real wages across the economy and creating cost-of-living pressures for Australia's low-paid workers; and
(3) congratulates the:
(a) Government's action as Australia's low-paid workers will be better off because the Government fought to get them a pay rise; and
(b) Government on its position that it does not want to see Australian workers go backwards.
(1) notes that:
(a) the Fair Work Commission has delivered a 5.2 per cent rise in the minimum wage, slightly above headline inflation …
(3) congratulates the:
… … …
(b) Government on its position that it does not want to see Australian workers go backwards …
That this House calls on the Government to:
(1) act urgently to address housing affordability and availability in regional Australia; and
(2) establish a dedicated fund to build critical infrastructure to unlock more housing supply in regional Australia.
That this House:
(1) recognises that Sri Lanka is undergoing a significant economic crisis and unrest;
(2) acknowledges the anxiety and mental distress that the Sri Lankan Australian community is experiencing as a result of these events; and
(3) reaffirms the strong bond of friendship between Sri Lanka and Australia.
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) under the previous Government, Australia finalised 11 trade agreements; and
(b) the previous Government's ambitious trade agenda lifted the share of Australia's trade covered by free trade agreements from 27 per cent under Labor in 2013 to almost 80 per cent by 2022;
(2) acknowledges that expanding and diversifying market access has delivered significant benefits to our nation's economy, particularly businesses, industries and communities in regional and rural Australia; and
(3) calls on the Government to:
(a) ensure that the benefits from trade can continue by immediately acting to ensure that the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement and the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement are entered into force this year; and
(b) prioritise the negotiation, and economically successful delivery of, the Australia-European Free Trade Agreement.
That this House:
(1) notes:
(a) the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's July 2022 gas inquiry interim report, which forecasts that demand for gas for electricity generation will grow by 70 per cent next year and that gas supplies will remain tight;
(b) the implication of this forecast is that gas prices will remain elevated for at least another 12 to 18 months and, by extension, electricity wholesale prices will remain two to three hundred per cent higher than their average under the previous Government for the foreseeable future;
(c) that there is now no prospect of the Government delivering on its promise, made in December 2021 and repeated throughout the 2022 federal election campaign, that it would reduce household power bills by $275 by 2025; and
(d) the silence from the Prime Minister and the Minister for Climate Change and Energy on these issues, and the Minister for Resources' refusal to call on southern state governments to develop new gas resources; and
(2) condemns the Government's abandonment of its election commitment to cut power prices and its failure to come up with any concrete actions or plan to respond to the east coast energy crisis after nine weeks of dithering and delay.
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) the State of the Environment Report 2021 is an alarming story of environmental neglect and decline in Australia;
(b) the report found that:
(i) since 2016, more than 200 species of flora and fauna have been listed as threatened matters of national environmental significance;
(ii) Australia has seen the extinction of more species of mammal than any other continent, and has one of the highest rates of species decline in the developed world;
(iii) marine heatwaves have caused mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in 2016, 2017, and 2020;
(iv) the 2019-2020 summer bush fires burnt 80 per cent of the Greater Blue Mountains area, almost 60 per cent of our Gondwana rainforests, and more than 40 per cent of the Stirling Range National Park;
(v) at least 19 Australian ecosystems are showing signs of collapse or near collapse; and
(vi) waterways, beaches, and shorelines are in generally poor condition in areas near urban centres; and
(c) over the last decade, the former governments of Prime Minsters Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison presided over Australia's escalating environmental crisis by:
(i) failing to respond to Professor Graeme Samuel's independent review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act);
(ii) refusing to acknowledge and respond to the failure of their own threatened species strategy to meet its targets with respect to the most at-risk species;
(iii) delivering 95 per cent of environmental approval decisions late and outside statutory timeframes in 2018-2019;
(iv) issuing environmental decisions that contained errors or were non-compliant in 79 per cent of approvals; and
(v) refusing to release the State of the Environment report prior to the 2022 federal election despite formally receiving the report six months prior; and
(2) welcomes the Government's commitment to:
(a) making the nation's environment laws work better for everyone by providing a full response to Professor Samuel's review of the EPBC Act by the end of 2022; and
(b) establishing an environment protection agency to ensure compliance with environmental laws, improve processes for proponents, and centralise data collection and analysis—so there is consistent and reliable information on the state of the environment across the country.
But while it's a confronting read, Australians deserve the truth. We deserve to know that Australia has lost more mammal species to extinction than any other continent. We deserve to know that threatened communities have grown by 20 per cent in the past five years, with places literally burned into endangerment by catastrophic fires.
Overall, the state and trend of the environment of Australia are poor and deteriorating as a result of increasing pressures from climate change, habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and resource extraction.
Immediate action with innovative management and collaboration can turn things around.
Respectful use of Indigenous knowledge, recognition of Indigenous knowledge rights, and Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge systems working together will lead to positive change.
… what our environment really needs is a changed system.
That's the message from the Samuel review.
That's the message from the State of the Environment Report.
Overall, the state and trend of the environment of Australia are poor and deteriorating as a result of increasing pressures from climate change, habitat loss, invasive species, pollution and resource extraction.
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) the 2020 Defence Strategic Update makes clear that Australia's strategic environment has deteriorated rapidly;
(b) as a result of decisions taken by the former Government, substantial progress has been made in transforming the Australian Defence Force into a more capable, agile, and potent force able to shape, deter, and respond; and
(c) the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) security pact:
(i) is the biggest development to our national security since the signing of the Australia-New Zealand-United States (ANZUS) treaty 70 years ago;
(ii) will maintain stability across the region and keep Australians secure through the acquisition of capabilities, including nuclear submarines, which will be crucial to Australian naval and defence power in the 21st century; and
(iii) goes beyond submarines and critical defence capabilities, it is about nation-building; and
(2) calls on the Government to:
(a) ensure that spending on defence remains at two per cent of gross domestic product, or higher;
(b) guarantee that there will be no cuts to spending on defence, or defence projects as a result of the Government's promised 'Force Posture review'; and
(c) commit to implementing AUKUS rapidly at all levels to ensure Australia's security and regional peace are strengthened.
It is incumbent on us … To take stock of the billions of dollars in defence investment programs, many of which are over-budget and delayed.
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) 27 January 2022 marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 77 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, a day where we remember the atrocities committed by Hitler's Nazi regime, their six million Jewish victims and millions of other victims including LGBTIQ, Roma, Sinti, people with disabilities, political dissidents and more;
(b) Australia has been enriched by the presence of one of the world's largest populations of Holocaust survivors per capita, and their descendants, in contributing to our vibrant multicultural society; and
(c) a landmark study released this year by the Gandel Foundation and Deakin University showed that nearly one quarter of Australians have little or no knowledge of the Holocaust;
(2) acknowledges the importance of Holocaust remembrance in honouring the memory of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, and promoting tolerance, inclusivity and combating antisemitism and other forms of bigotry and prejudice;
(3) endorses the work of:
(a) the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in its work promoting Holocaust remembrance, combating antisemitism and combating Holocaust denial and distortion, and endorses their definitions; and
(b) federal and state governments in helping to fund and support Holocaust remembrance and education;
(4) calls on all states and territories to follow the lead of Victoria and New South Wales and make Holocaust education a mandatory aspect of their school curriculum; and
(5) condemns:
(a) antisemitism in all its forms, in line with the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, and resolves to combat it; and
(b) Holocaust denial and distortion, including those who appallingly and inaccurately seek to compare the Holocaust to modem-day pandemic health restrictions and measures.
If people survived, it was a miracle. When I want to convince people to give a testimony, I just tell them 'You had the privilege to survive the Holocaust, you should talk for those that can't do it anymore'.
That this House:
(1) recognises that climate change is a health emergency as it will impact the core determinants of health, such as food, housing, employment, and water security;
(2) notes further impacts of climate change on human health including, increasing:
(a) transmission of infectious diseases;
(b) mental health disorders; and
(c) mortality and morbidity due to heat stress;
(3) commends the Government's commitment to developing a 'national climate change, health, and wellbeing strategy'; and
(4) calls on the Government to outline, the:
(a) timeline for the development of the strategy;
(b) scope, contents and objectives of the strategy;
(c) funding arrangements for the strategy; and
(d) consultation process for the strategy.