The PRESIDENT (Senator the Hon. Stephen Parry) took the chair at 10:00, read prayers and made an acknowledgement of country.
Tax Laws Amendment (Small Business Measures No. 1) Bill 2015
Tax Laws Amendment (Small Business Measures No. 2) Bill 2015
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.
TAX LAWS AMENDMENT (SMALL BUSINESS MEASURES NO.1) BILL 2015
This Bill amends the tax law to lower the company tax rate by 1.5 percentage points to 28.5 per cent for incorporated small business.
Many would agree that small businesses make an important contribution to the Australian economy.
Around 96 per cent of all Australia's businesses are small businesses. Small businesses produce over $330 billion of Australia's economic output and there is no doubt small business is at the forefront of Australia's jobs and growth. They employ over 4.5 million people, which accounts to around 43 per cent of non‑financial private sector jobs in Australia. But this would have been more, if it were not for 6 years of Labor where 519,000 jobs were lost in small business.
While small businesses have a significant role in the Australian economy, they face a unique set of operational challenges, and as a consequence typically have higher failure rates than larger companies. These unique characteristics make small businesses more vulnerable to shocks and changes in economic conditions than larger businesses.
We know from the Intergenerational Report that there will be a significant challenge to maintain Australia's current rate of income growth. Future growth in living standards must be driven by higher levels of Australian productivity.
It will require productivity growth to increase to around 3 per cent a year. This is well in excess of what Australia achieved in the past 50 years, and more than doubles that of the past decade. Put simply, growth in productivity will require more or better quality goods and services to be generated from the resources available.
Australians are well known for their enterprising spirit and their willingness to have a go. The hard working women and men of Australian small businesses are the engine room of our economy. In 2013-14 Australians started over 280,000 small businesses.
Small businesses are often the entities that test and pioneer innovative ideas and business practices, which are critical to future economic growth, job prospects and improved living standards.
This makes it particularly important that the policy settings support small business growth and innovation.
As elected members of this Parliament, we need to understand and recognise where the impediments and headwinds are in every square of the economy and do our best to address them, so that those enterprising people with an idea, an aspiration, a sparkle in their eye and a fire in their belly can turn their ambition into economic activity to benefit themselves and the nation.
For a long period, we have been blessed by nature with resources that give us a competitive advantage and we see that we have benefited from that. However, as we look at the over the economic horizon we cannot bank on that to sustain our living standards and our quality of life.
The Australian economy is in the midst of a major economic transformation, moving from growth led by investment in resources projects to broader-based drivers of activity in non‑resources sectors.
We need entrepreneurial spirit, innovation, drive and risk taking to find new markets, develop new products, and establish new businesses. To achieve that, we need the ambition of enterprising women and men.
This Government sees energising Australian enterprises as its priority. The Government's $5.5 billion Jobs and Small Business package in the 2015-16 Budget will create the right conditions for Australian small businesses to thrive and grow. It will help employers create new jobs and assist Australia's unemployed to access these jobs.
The Budget delivers the biggest small business package in Australia's history. It is about putting in place improved incentives for entrepreneurial behaviour.
Since the 2015-16 Budget announcement, I have had much positive feedback on the Jobs and Small Business package.
Comsec has said "The measures in the federal Budget to support small business would have been a key driver of the lift in confidence."
COSBOA Chief Executive Peter Strong has said "This is a fundamental and positive change that sends the right message to people looking to start a business."
Australian Newsagents Federation has said "This will definitely create further impetus and incentive for our members to invest in their businesses."
This Bill reduces the corporate tax rate from 30 per cent to 28.5 per cent for small businesses with annual turnover under $2 million. This change is the centrepiece of the small business package. Because on this side of the House we are the best friends of small business.
Small business companies will pay less tax for income years that commence on or after 1 July 2015. This change delivers on our election commitment to small business.
Providing incorporated small businesses with a reduced rate of company tax will enable them to retain more earnings and improve their cash flow; a critical issue for small businesses. It is estimated that up to 780,000 companies could potentially benefit from this measure.
New company registrations in the last financial year were the highest on record. This measure will help all new and existing small companies grow, thrive and compete.
Helping more small businesses become more profitable will give them greater capacity to invest and innovate by adopting new and improved ways of doing business, improving our nation's productivity and resulting in more jobs and higher wages for Australian workers. That means better living standards for all.
We understand that not all small businesses are incorporated so we will bring forward legislation to provide tax relief for unincorporated small businesses. In addition, later today I will introduce legislation to deliver assistance for all small businesses, including accelerated depreciation arrangements.
This Bill will also ensure that the maximum amount of franking credits a small incorporated business can attach to its dividends in a year will not be reduced along with the tax rate. This additional benefit will allow small companies to distribute surplus franking credits accumulated in previous years; reducing the tax their owners pay when they receive dividends.
This will benefit owners of small business and effectively reduce the shareholders' overall tax paid regardless of their marginal tax rate.
Full details of the measure are contained in the explanatory memorandum.
This Government is the friend of small business, and the 2015‑16 Budget is where we demonstrate our bona fides for that claim. This Bill is the first of several that will implement the small business measures announced in the Budget. This measure is appropriate and it is affordable, and I call on all to give it their full support.
TAX LAWS AMENDMENT (SMALL BUSINESS MEASURE NO. 2) BILL 2015
This Bill amends the tax law to help small businesses and primary producers to invest, grow and innovate.
It provides accelerated depreciation arrangements as outlined in the Growing Jobs and Small Business package and the New Framework for Drought Preparedness, both of which were announced in the 2015-16 Budget.
A budget which has been widely welcomed. ACCI CEO Kate Carnell said "Small business is the engine room of the Australian economy, so support for these businesses will boost overall jobs and investment. The government's measures will help to restore confidence among small businesses." NSW Business Chamber CEO Stephen Cartwright said "These measures will be particularly well received in regional Australia where unemployment is at its highest and job opportunities are limited."
Small businesses play a significant role in the Australian economy, particularly as a major employer and contributor to the economy.
Small businesses make an important contribution to the Australian economy. 96 per cent of all Australia's businesses are small businesses. They employ over 4.5 million people. They are adaptable and able to respond profitably to changing circumstances.
Small businesses are often the entities that test and pioneer innovative ideas and business practices which are critical to future economic growth, job prospects and improved living standards.
Small businesses produce over $330 billion of Australia's economic output. While this is a significant role in the Australian economy, small businesses face a unique set of operational challenges, and as a consequence typically have higher failure rates than larger companies. This makes it particularly important that the policy settings support small business growth and innovation.
This is why the Government announced the biggest jobs and small business package in the nation's history as a centrepiece of the 2015-16 Budget. The package included a tax cut for incorporated small businesses, tax relief for unincorporated small businesses and accelerated depreciation arrangements. These measures were designed to help small businesses grow, compete and employ more Australians.
Farmers too play a pivotal role in the Australian economy, and are at the heart of the Australian identity. 115,000 businesses report -agriculture as their main business activity. A further 13,900 report it as a secondary activity.
Farmers are a significant employer, particularly in regional areas. These businesses make up 52 per cent of Australia's land mass. 99 per cent of agriculture businesses are Australian owned.
The value of agriculture production was worth over $50 billion in 2013-14, contributing to around two per cent of Australia's gross domestic product and 15 per cent of total Australian merchandise exports.
In 2013-14, agriculture exports were worth around $40 billion, with over 60 per cent of production exported to more than 100 countries.
The agriculture industry plays an important role in the social fabric of Australia, being recognised by the Government as one of the five pillars of the Australian economy; the industry has prime place in our nation's future.
Agriculture is one of the sectors on which the prosperity of our nation is increasingly reliant. The Government has laid the foundations for a stronger agricultural sector. We have reduced regulation, removed the carbon tax, increased export market access, invested in infrastructure, refined the settings for foreign investment and secured FTAs with China, Korea and Japan.
Stronger farmers mean a stronger economy and we are focused on strengthening the competitiveness of the sector.
Boosting the competitiveness of the agriculture sector will contribute to Australia's broader economic growth, jobs, trade, innovation and productivity.
However, farmers have to cope with significant challenges, including severe weather events. Currently, some parts of the country are subject to unprecedented drought and large parts of the north have experienced a third failed wet season. This affects the financial position and wellbeing of farmers, their families and the surrounding rural communities. Helping farmers through times of drought is in our national interest.
Considering the significant role farmers play in our economy, it is important they are provided with support and encouragement to better manage their risks and prepare for extreme weather events.
The Government is committed to providing the necessary support to Australia's farmers to help them prepare for drought, and to provide them with a better tax system.
In addition to providing farmers with a simplified accelerated depreciation regime, the Government is providing more money to:
Schedule 1 to this Bill amends the small business simplified depreciation rules in the tax law, to increase the threshold for immediately deductibility for capital assets.
The schedule will significantly increase this threshold from the current level of $1,000 to $20,000. This will mean that any small business buying an asset costing less than $20,000 will be able to immediately deduct the full cost of the asset. This measure is available for any business asset purchased and installed, ready for use, between 7:30pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time) on 12 May 2015 and 30 June 2017.
This is a massive increase in the threshold and a massive gain to cash flow for small businesses. CPA Australia CEO Alex Malley said "By allowing small businesses to immediately deduct assets costing less than $20,000 is a positive move which will support vital and much needed business investment."
Currently, small businesses purchasing assets above $1,000 have to depreciate these assets over multiple income years. –In some cases this imposes complex record keeping requirements on small business, but it reduces their cash flow.
This Government is returning small business's profits to its owners and allowing them to make the decisions which best suit them; the decisions that allow them to grow their business and employ more Australians.
As part of the threshold increase, any assets that individually cost $20,000 or more can be pooled together in the general small business pool and depreciated at 15 per cent in the first year, and 30 per cent each year thereafter. Once an asset is placed in the pool, there is no requirement to track the item. This reduces paperwork and frees small business to get on with doing what they do best.
The pool itself may also be deducted entirely if its value is below the $20,000 threshold at the end of any financial year between 7:30 pm 12 May 2015 and 30 June 2017.
The law currently includes 'lock-out rules' that stop businesses that elect out of the simplified depreciation scheme from re entering for five years. To ensure fairness and the broadest availability of this measure, this schedule relaxes those rules so that the higher threshold is available. This will allow all small business entities to access this measure.
Consider an electrical business that purchases tools and other equipment for their small business. These tools can be expensive and the rules around depreciating them can be time consuming to understand. Under the expanded accelerated depreciation measure, this business can write-off each and every item under $20,000 that is purchased before 30 June 2017.
Schedule 2 to this Bill amends the tax law to provide a more simplified accelerated depreciation regime for all farmers, in three ways.
Firstly, the schedule will allow all primary producers to immediately deduct capital expenditure on fencing.
The current depreciation treatment for fencing is complex, and can vary depending upon the type of fencing asset. For example, currently, a general farm fence may be depreciated over 30 years. An electric fence, on the other hand, may be depreciated over 20 years. An energiser for this electric fence is depreciated over a different period again.
If the fence is used in landcare operations, for example, to segregate a section of land which may be affected by land degradation, its cost is immediately deductible.
If a farmer makes a repair to an existing fence, the repair costs are immediately deductible.
From 7:30 pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time) 12 May 2015, rather than repairing an existing fence which can be costly and time consuming, farmers can instead immediately deduct the cost of installing a new fence. This will reduce red tape and complexity.
Farmers will no longer need to keep track of expenditure over extended periods of time. Farmers will have more cash in their pockets to spend, invest or pay off debt. New investment may also boost farm productivity.
Consider Jake who installs 25 kilometres of new fencing, at a cost of $25,000 on his cattle farm. Under the current system, Jake is able to depreciate his fencing costs over a period of 30 years. Jake claims a depreciation deduction of $833 each year.
Now, Jake will be able to deduct the full cost of $25,000 immediately.
These additional deductions mean that Jake will pay less tax if he makes a profit. Assuming Jake's marginal tax rate is 39 per cent, including the Medicare Levy, his tax liability would be reduced by $14,742. This means Jake will have more to spend, invest or pay off debt.
The second and third amendments under this schedule will encourage primary producers to better prepare for and manage drought risks.
Extreme weather events, such as drought, are an unavoidable reality for many farmers. Farm preparedness, such as having available sufficient feed and water, is vital to surviving extended periods of drought.
Under this schedule, capital expenditure on water facilities, such as dams, tanks, bores, irrigation channels, pumps, water towers and windmills will now be immediately deductible.
Currently, water facilities are depreciated in three equal amounts, over three years.
Farmers will now be able to invest in a new irrigation system, build a new dam or install a new pump and be able to immediately deduct for tax purposes the cost.
The schedule will also allow for capital expenditure on fodder storage assets, such as silos to store animal feed, tanks to store liquid feed supplements and hay and grain storage sheds, to be depreciated over three years.
Having fodder on hand is important for farmers during drought periods. Currently, a farmer wishing to prepare for drought who invests in a steel silo would need to depreciate and track the expenditure of the asset over a period of up to 30 years. Under the amendments, this is reduced to three years.
Consider Rob, a farmer who purchases a steel silo, at a cost of $21,000, for storing animal feed on his farm. Currently, Rob is able to depreciate the steel silo over 30 years and claims a depreciation deduction of $700 each year.
Now, Rob will be able to depreciate the silo cost of $21,000 over three years giving him $6,300 more in deductions in each of the first three years.
These additional deductions mean that Rob will pay less tax if he makes a profit.
Assuming Rob marginal tax rate is 34.5 per cent, including the Medicare Levy, his tax liability would be reduced by $4,127 in each of the first three years, meaning that he will have additional funds to invest, pay off debt or spend.
Accelerating the depreciation on water facilities and fodder storage assets will mean more money in farmers' pockets for investment in drought preparedness; a simplified depreciation system and an increase in farm productivity.
Full details of the measures are contained in the explanatory memoranda.
This Government is the best friend of small businesses and farmers, and the 2015-16 Budget is where we demonstrate our bona fides for that claim. This bill is one of several that will implement the small business and primary producers measures announced in the Budget, thereby putting in place further significant acknowledgment and recognition in the tax law of the importance of small business, and of farmers, to our economy.
The measures are appropriate and they are affordable, and I call on all members to give it their full support.
That these bills be now read a third time.
Governance of Australian Government Superannuation Schemes Legislation Amendment Bill 2015
That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
The Governance of Australian Government Superannuation Schemes Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 merges ComSuper, the current administrator of the Australian Government's civilian and military defined benefit superannuation schemes, with Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC), the trustee of the Australian Government schemes.
The merger forms part of the Smaller Government agenda which aims to reduce the total number of government entities by eliminating duplication and overlap and by simplifying inefficient and complex agency structures. Ultimately this agenda is about ensuring that the Australian Government is structured and operates in a way that delivers efficient services, robust advice and value for money for taxpayers.
Consistent with our Smaller Government agenda, the merger of ComSuper with CSC will improve the efficiency of the management of Australian Government superannuation by removing duplication and overlap. It will also provide CSC with control over the administration of the Australian Government's defined benefit superannuation schemes, consistent with CSC's regulatory responsibility for this function as trustee of these schemes.
The Government's decision to merge ComSuper with CSC reflects that CSC is ComSuper's sole client for administration services.
The merger is the next step in streamlining the governance of the Australian Government's civilian and military superannuation schemes, a process commenced in 2011 when the then three trustees of the schemes were merged to form CSC.
The merger provides for continuity of the management of the Australian Government superannuation arrangements under one Commonwealth entity. CSC will continue in existence, assuming responsibility for the delivery of administration services in relation to the Australian Government's civilian and military defined benefit schemes. CSC is a corporate Commonwealth entity for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and will remain so after the merger.
The overall effect is that CSC will be responsible for the provision of administration services in relation to the Australian Government's civilian and military superannuation schemes for which it acts as trustee.
CSC will also be responsible for the provision of administration services in relation to the proposed new Australian Defence Force superannuation arrangements when they commence in 2016.
The reform will not change the design of benefits provided by the civilian and military superannuation schemes. Additionally, the bill does not affect the delivery of services, including benefit payments, to members of the schemes.
As a result of the merger, the bill transfers the assets and most of the liabilities of ComSuper to CSC.
The administration services that CSC will perform in relation to the Australian Government's civilian and military defined benefit schemes will include:
CSC's costs of administering the Australian Government's defined benefit superannuation schemes will continue to be largely covered by administration fees collected from employer agencies. In order to maintain the current tax treatment of these fees and any monies that may be appropriated by Parliament for administration purposes, the bill amends CSC's enabling act to make CSC exempt from income tax in relation to relevant payments.
As ComSuper will cease to exist on merger, the bill repeals ComSuper's establishing act, the ComSuper Act 2011 .
The bill also makes consequential amendments to Commonwealth Acts of Parliament governing the Australian Government's civilian and military superannuation schemes, to take account of the merger.
A range of transitional arrangements are included in the bill to support the implementation of the merger. Importantly, they include provisions dealing with the transfer of ComSuper staff from Australian Public Service employment to CSC employment. This transfer will be achieved through a determination of the Australian Public Service Commissioner under the Public Service Act 1999 . Under these provisions, ComSuper staff will maintain their accrued entitlements to benefits on transfer to CSC employment. They will also continue to be covered by the ComSuper Enterprise Agreement at CSC, which will help to ensure that their remuneration and conditions of employment are no less favourable than those which applied to them immediately before the merger.
The bill also amends the Superannuation Act 2005 so that the cost of administering the Public Sector Superannuation Accumulation Plan (PSSAP), established by that act, will be deducted from the accounts of PSSAP members. These new arrangements will bring PSSAP into line with private sector accumulation superannuation funds where members pay for the administration of their accounts. The PSSAP administration fees will be determined by CSC.
This bill reflects the Government's commitment to eliminating duplication and overlap by simplifying inefficient and complex agency structures. It provides continuity in the management of Australian Government superannuation, including both trustee and provision of administration services, under one Commonwealth body, namely CSC. This streamlining of the governance of Australian Government superannuation will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the arrangements.
Compulsory superannuation is one of the biggest con jobs ever foisted by government on the Australian people.
We have always as a Coalition been against compulsory superannuation increases.
(1) Schedule 2, item 11, page 29 (after line 30), after subitem (3), insert:
(3A) Sections 26 and 27 of the Public Service Act 1999 apply in relation to the person as if:
(a) the person were an APS employee in an Agency (within the meanings of that Act); and
(b) CSC were the Agency referred to in paragraph (a); and
(c) the chief executive officer (however described) of CSC were the Agency Head of the Agency referred to in paragraph (a).
(3B) For the purpose of filling a vacancy that exists in an Agency (within the meaning of the Public Service Act 1999 ):
(a) the person is taken to be an APS employee in an Agency (within the meanings of that Act); and
(b) CSC is taken to be the Agency referred to in paragraph (a).
(3C) Subitems (3A) and (3B) have effect in relation to the person:
(a) for the relevant period; and
(b) while the person remains employed by CSC (whether or not the person has been identified by CSC as excess or potentially excess); and
(c) as if the person continued to have the classification and category of APS employment that the person had immediately before commencement.
(3D) If a person moves to an Agency under section 26 or 27 of the Public Service Act 1999 (as those sections apply under subitem (3A)), the person is taken to be engaged under section 22 of that Act by the Agency Head of that Agency, on behalf of the Commonwealth, as an APS employee in that Agency (within the meanings of thePublic Service Act 1999 ).
(3E) In this item:
relevant period , means:
(a) in relation to the application of subitem (3A)—the period of 3 years from commencement; and
(b) in relation to the application of subitem (3B)—whichever of the following periods ends earlier:
(i) the period of 3 years from commencement;
(ii) the period beginning on commencement and ending on the day on which clause 2.9A of the Australian Public Service Commissioner ' s Directions 2013 (as in force at commencement) is modified or revoked so as to remove the restriction on notification of vacancies as being open only to persons who are APS employees.
That this bill be now read a third time.
Business Services Wage Assessment Tool Payment Scheme Bill 2014
Business Services Wage Assessment Tool Payment Scheme (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2014
(1) Amendment (1), omit "1 July 2015", substitute "1 May 2016".
(2) Amendment (6), omit "1 July 2015", substitute "1 May 2016".
(3) Amendment (7), omit "1 July 2015", substitute "1 May 2016".
(4) Amendment (8), omit "1 July 2015", substitute "1 May 2016".
(5) Amendment (9), omit "1 July 2015", substitute "1 May 2016".
(6) Amendment (10), omit "1 July 2015", substitute "1 May 2016".
(1) Clause 3, page 2 (line 8), omit "1 December 2015", substitute "1 December 2016".
(2) Clause 3, page 3 (line 1), omit "1 September 2016", substitute "1 September 2017".
(3) Clause 3, page 3 (line 3), omit "31 December 2016", substitute "31 December 2017".
(4) Page 3 (before line 7), before clause 4, insert:
3B Principles for nominees
This Act and the rules are intended to reflect, in relation to nominees, the following principles:
(a) all adults have an equal right to make decisions that affect their lives and to have those decisions respected;
(b) persons who require support in decision‑making must be provided with access to the support necessary for them to make, communicate and participate in decisions that affect their lives;
(c) the will, preferences and rights of persons who may require decision‑making support must direct decisions that affect their lives;
(d) laws and legal frameworks must contain appropriate and effective safeguards in relation to interventions for persons who may require decision‑making support, including to prevent abuse and undue influence.
Note: The safeguards referred to in paragraph (d) are provided in this Act (see for example section 54) and the rules.
(5) Clause 12, page 11 (line 6), omit "1 December 2015", substitute "1 December 2016".
(6) Clause 12, page 11 (line 9), omit "1 December 2015", substitute "1 December 2016".
(7) Clause 12, page 12 (line 3), omit "2016", substitute "2017".
(8) Clause 12, page 12 (line 4), omit "1 September 2016", substitute "1 September 2017".
(9) Clause 12, page 12 (line 6), omit "1 December 2016", substitute "1 December 2017".
(10) Clause 12, page 12 (lines 7 and 8), omit "31 December 2016", substitute "31 December 2017".
(11) Clause 15, page 13 (line 26), omit "1 July 2014", substitute "1 July 2015".
(12) Clause 15, page 13 (line 27), omit "30 November 2015", substitute "30 November 2016".
(13) Clause 15, page 14 (line 4), omit "1 December 2015", substitute "1 December 2016".
(14) Clause 16, page 14 (line 12), omit "1 December 2015", substitute "1 December 2016".
(15) Clause 18, page 15 (line 27), omit "1 December 2015", substitute "1 December 2016".
(16) Clause 21, page 18 (line 27), omit "1 September 2016", substitute "1 September 2017".
(17) Clause 21, page 18 (line 30), omit "1 December 2016", substitute "1 December 2017".
(18) Clause 22, page 19 (line 13), omit "31 December 2016", substitute "31 December 2017".
(19) Clause 22, page 19 (line 15), omit "30 November 2016", substitute "30 November 2017".
(20) Clause 38, page 30 (line 11), omit "1 January 2017", substitute "1 January 2018".
(21) Clause 102, page 65 (line 14), before "The", insert "(1)".
(22) Clause 102, page 65 (after line 19), at the end of the clause, add:
(2) To avoid doubt, the rules may not do the following:
(a) create an offence or civil penalty;
(b) provide powers of:
(i) arrest or detention; or
(ii) entry, search or seizure;
(c) impose a tax;
(d) set an amount to be appropriated from the Consolidated Revenue Fund under an appropriation in this Act;
(e) amend this Act.
(3) However, to avoid doubt, rules that make provision in relation to:
(a) the payment amount for a person; or
(b) amounts of remuneration or allowances for the purposes of subsection 27(4); or
(c) amounts of costs, expenses or other obligations for the purposes of paragraph 98A(1)(e);
are not to be taken to set an amount to be appropriated from the Consolidated Revenue Fund under an appropriation in this Act for the purposes of paragraph (2)(d) of this section.
(1) Clause 3, page 2 (lines 21 to 27), omit all the words from and including "accepts the offer" to and including "continue unchanged", substitute "accepts the offer, the Secretary will make the payment to the person".
(2) Clause 4, page 3 (line 14), omit "matter referred to in subsection 10(2)", substitute "possible ground for compensation".
(3) Clause 4, page 3 (line 17), omit "matter referred to in subsection 10(2)", substitute "possible ground for compensation".
(4) Clause 4, page 4 (lines 14 and 15), omit the definition of group member .
(5) Clause 4, page 5 (after line 1), after the definition of payment amount , insert:
possible ground for compensation has the meaning given by section 10.
(6) Clause 4, page 5 (lines 9 and 10), omit the definition of relevant representative proceeding.
(7) Clause 4, page 5 (lines 11 and 12), omit the definition of representative party .
(8) Clause 4, page 5 (lines 13 and 14), omit the definition of representative proceeding .
(10) Clause 5, page 6 (line 7), omit "person;", substitute "person.".
(11) Clause 5, page 6 (line 8), omit paragraph (c).
(12) Clause 9, page 8 (line 23) to page 9 (line 23), omit the clause.
(13) Heading to clause 10, page 9 (line 24), omit the heading, substitute:
10 Possible ground for compensation
(14) Clause 10, page 9 (lines 25 to 34), omit subclause (1).
(15) Clause 10, page 10 (lines 1 to 3), omit "(2) The matters are the following, to the extent to which they relate to the use of a BSWAT assessment to work out a minimum wage payable to a person", substitute "Each of the following matters is a possible ground for compensation for a person, to the extent to which it relates to the use of a BSWAT assessment to work out a minimum wage payable to the person".
(16) Clause 19, page 17 (line 8), omit "involve;", substitute "involve.".
(17) Clause 19, page 17 (line 9), omit paragraph (2)(j).
(18) Clause 38, page 30 (line 16), omit "person; and", substitute "person.".
(19) Clause 38, page 30 (lines 17 and 18), omit subparagraph (c)(iii).
(20) Clause 38, page 30 (lines 19 to 21), omit the note.
(21) Clause 39, page 30 (line 22) to page 31 (line 3), to be opposed.
(22) Clause 67, page 47 (line 12), omit "where an amount is wrongly paid to a person, the amount", substitute "an amount".
(23) Clause 67, page 47 (line 15), omit "the person", substitute "a person".
(24) Clause 98, page 64 (lines 19 and 20), omit "matter referred to in subsection 10(2)", substitute "possible ground for compensation".
The committee divided. [13:08]
(The Chairman—Senator Marshall)
The committee divided. [13:13]
(The Chairman—Senator Marshall)
Business Services Wage Assessment Tool Payment Scheme (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2014
That this bill be now read a third time.
The Senate divided [13:23]
(The President—Senator Parry
Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Bill 2015
That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Bill 2015 will implement changes to the Renewable Energy Target to better reflect market conditions and allow sustainable growth in both small and large scale renewable energy.
The bill will lead to more than 23.5 per cent of Australia's electricity being sourced from renewable energy by 2020.
It also addresses problems which emerged more than three years ago with the Renewable Energy Target. Despite the presence of the 41,000 GWh target, it was unlikely that it would be met.
First, there was a significant drop in electricity demand which occurred following the Global Financial Crisis and coinciding with the closure of energy intensive manufacturing plants played havoc with wholesale electricity prices.
This was compounded by rising retail electricity costs associated with the carbon tax, network charges and feed-in tariffs resulting in households and industry changing their consumption patterns.
Second, the changes to the Renewable Energy Target introduced by the Rudd Government and the subsequent creation of the phantom credit bank of 23 million certificates is still being felt today. This overhang continues to suppress demand for Renewable Energy Certificates and stymie the signing of power purchase agreements.
These combined to make it increasingly difficult for renewable energy projects to attract finance.
Add to this, the increasing realisation that new subsidised capacity was being forced into an oversupplied electricity market made it likely that financial institution would be approaching the new investments in the renewable energy space with some caution.
It is in this context that we have sought to place the Renewable Energy Target on a sustainable footing.
The revised Renewable Energy Target scheme
The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Bill 2015 amends the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 to:
These changes will ensure that there is continued support for sustainable growth in the large scale renewable sector. And, the 33,000 GWh target is higher than the originally conceived objective of 20 per cent.
There will be no changes to the Small Scale Renewable Energy Scheme. The scheme will continue in line with household and small business demand.
The removal of Labor's phantom credit scheme federally and the rationalization of feed-in-tariffs at the state level have reduced many of the distortions outlined in this week's Grattan Institute report.
Key features of the revised Renewable Energy Target
The Large Scale Renewable Energy Target
This bill will reduce the LRET from 41,000 GWh in 2020 to 33,000 GWh in 2020. It will adjust the profile of annual renewable generation targets from 2016 to 2030 so that the target reaches 33,000 GWh in 2020 and is maintained at 33,000 GWh from 2021 to 2030. This target is separate to the 850 GWh that is to come from waste coalmine gas generation each year until 2020 under pre-existing transitional arrangements.
As highlighted in our Energy White Paper, Australia has an over-supply of generation capacity and some of that is aged. From 2009-10 to 2013-14, electricity demand has fallen by about 1.7 per cent per year on average.
This is due to many factors: declining activity in the industrial sector, increasing energy efficiency, and strong growth in rooftop solar PV systems which reduce demand for electricity sourced from the grid.
While the Government welcomes a diverse energy mix in Australia, it also recognises that circumstances have changed since the 41,000 GWh target was set.
This new target of 33,000 GWh directly addresses these issues. It represents a sound balance between the need to continue to diversify Australia's portfolio of electricity generation assets, the need to encourage investment in renewables while also responding to market conditions, the need to reduce emissions in the electricity sector in a cost-effective way, and the need to keep electricity prices down for consumers.
Most importantly, this new target of 33,000 GWh by 2020 is achievable. It will require in the order of 6 GW of new renewable electricity generation capacity to be installed between now and 2020.
Even at the reduced level of 33,000 GWh, the renewable sector will have to build as much new capacity in the next five years as it has built in the previous fifteen. This will not be an easy task, but it is at least achievable.
This new target will be good for jobs in the renewable energy sector and lift the proportion of Australia's electricity generation to approximately 23.5 per cent by 2020.
Assistance to emissions-intensive trade-exposed industries
When the RET scheme was expanded in 2010, partial exemptions were introduced for electricity used in emissions-intensive trade-exposed activities. The exemptions only apply to the additional RET costs that were incurred as a result of the expansion of the scheme.
The RET scheme regulations currently prescribe that electricity used in activities defined as highly emissions-intensive and trade-exposed is exempted at a 90 per cent rate and electricity used in activities defined as moderately emissions-intensive and trade-exposed is exempted at a 60 per cent rate.
This bill will increase support for all emissions-intensive trade-exposed activities to full exemption from all RET costs, that is, from the costs of the original target as well as the costs of the expanded target. A full exemption will protect jobs in these industries and ensure they remain competitive.
The reduction in the direct costs of the RET, resulting from the lower Large Scale Renewable Energy Target, will more than offset the impact on other electricity users of the increase in assistance for emissions-intensive trade-exposed activities.
Reinstating biomass from native forest wood wane as an eligible source of renewable energy
Native forest wood waste was in place as an eligible source of renewable energy under Labor's own legislation until November 2011.
The use of native forest wood waste for the sole or primary purpose of generating renewable electricity has never been eligible to create certificates under the scheme. Eligibility was subject to several conditions including that it must be harvested primarily for a purpose other than energy production. This is about the use of wood waste—not about cutting down forests to burn.
Consistent with our election commitment, this bill reinstates native forest wood waste as an eligible source of renewable energy under the RET, basing eligibility on exactly the same conditions that were previously in place under the ALP.
One of the objectives of the RET is to support additional renewable generation that is ecologically sustainable. We are reinstating native forest wood waste as an eligible renewable energy source because there is no evidence that its eligibility leads to unsustainable logging or has a negative impact on Australia's biodiversity.
We believe that the safeguards that were in place previously were and still are sufficient assurance that native forest wood waste is harvested in a sustainable way. The regulations were underpinned by ecologically sustainable forest management principles which provide a means for balancing the economic, social and environmental outcomes from publicly-owned forests.
In all cases, the supply of native forest wood waste is subject to Commonwealth, and state or territory planning and environmental approval processes, either within, or separate to, the Regional Forest Agreement frameworks.
Burning wood waste for electricity generation is more beneficial to the environment than burning the waste alone or simply allowing it to decompose. Its inclusion as an eligible energy source is another contribution to the target.
Removing the requirement for biennial reviews of the RET
We understand that regular reviews of policy settings create uncertainty for investors, business and consumers. That is why this bill removes the requirement for two-yearly reviews of the RET. Providing policy certainty is crucial to attracting investment, protecting jobs and encouraging economic growth.
Protecting electricity consumers, particularly households, from any extra costs related to the RET, has been a priority from the start and the Government understands that the 33,000 GWh target remains a challenging one for the industry.
For these reasons, instead of the reviews, the Clean Energy Regulator will prepare an annual statement on the progress of the RET scheme towards meeting the new targets and the impact it is having on household electricity bills.
Again, this bill is about appropriately balancing different priorities; replacing the biennial reviews with regular status updates better meets the needs of industry and the needs of consumers.
Importantly, both the Government and the Opposition have agreed to work cooperatively on a bipartisan basis to resolve any issues which may arise with the operation of the Renewable Energy Target through to 2020.
Conclusion
This bill is consistent with the Government's conviction that policy decisions must be based on sound economic principles. It also represents the Government's commitment to maintain stable and predictable policy settings that encourage growth, competitiveness and efficiency.
The RET had to be reformed in response to changing circumstances. This bill achieves balanced reform. It will provide certainty to industry, encourage further investment in renewable energy, and better reflect market conditions. It will also help Australia reach its emissions targets, and it will protect jobs and consumer interests.
As the Energy White Paper points out, Australia has world-class solar, wind and geothermal resources and good potential across a range of other renewable energy sources. In addition to the support for small and large scale renewables which this bill provides, the Government is providing over $1 billion towards the research, development and demonstration of renewable energy projects.
This bill recognises that renewable energy is an important part of Australia's future, while also recognising that its deployment must be supported in a responsible way with minimal disruption to our energy markets.
I commend the bill to the House.
I would frankly have liked to have reduced the number a lot more.
But we got the best deal with could out of the Senate and if we hadn't had a deal Alan, we would have been stuck with even more of these things.
We welcome the initiative from the federal government to gauge consumer attitudes on country of origin labelling reforms, as consumers have repeatedly called for meaningful changes …
… the Federal Government’s call for consumer and community feedback is a great step towards creating a meaningful and clear country of origin labelling system.
… Brent Finlay has welcomed the Government’s commitment to improve the Country of Origin Labelling arrangements.
We're working actively with the government on ways of simplifying the system ...
… will destroy investments in high quality training infrastructure that Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) linked to community based organisations have built up over the last decade.
…this decision overturns many years of competition in the training market at a time that our industry can't afford to have less skilled labour supply.
Professor Triggs does not have a relationship with the government. The Human Rights Commission does; the president does not.
That the Senate take note of the answers given by the Attorney-General (Senator Brandis) to questions without notice asked by Opposition senators today.
And then as Mulga Bill let out one last despairing shriek
It made a leap of twenty feet into the Dean Man's Creek.
The robust principle of all prime ministers and foreign ministers, past and present, is that we don't comment on intelligence matters.
I won't comment on matters of intelligence and security for the obvious reason—we don't want to share with the world and potential aggressors what we know about what they might be doing and how they might be doing it.
That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Attorney-General (Senator Brandis) to a question without notice asked by Senator Di Natale today relating to recent media reports concerning people smugglers.
That the Senate records its deep regret at the death, on 26 May 2015, of the Honourable Leslie Royston Johnson, AM, former minister and Member for Hughes, places on record its appreciation of his long and highly distinguished service to the nation and tenders its profound sympathy to his family in their bereavement.
That leave of absence be granted to Senator Abetz from 15 June to 18 June 2015 for personal reasons.
That general business order of the day No. 63, Freedom of Information Amendment (Requests and Reasons) Bill 2015, be considered on Thursday, 18 June 2015 under the temporary order relating to the consideration of private senators’ bills.
That leave of absence be granted to Senator Peris for today, 15 June 2015, for personal reasons.
That the time for the presentation of the report of the Select Committee on the Recent Allegations Relating to Conditions and Circumstances at the Regional Processing Centre at Nauru be extended to 31 July 2015.
That consideration of the business before the Senate on Wednesday, 24 June 2015, be interrupted at approximately 5 pm, but not so as to interrupt a senator speaking, to enable Senator McAllister to make her first speech without any question before the chair.
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) 15 June 2015 is the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta by King John of England, and
(ii) the enduring legacy of the Magna Carta has been its statement of basic rights and liberties of people under law; and
(b) affirms the Magna Carta's place as a foundation stone of the rule of law in Australia and its constitutional legacy for democratic societies around the world.
That the Senate—
(a) acknowledges the valuable contribution of the sustainable forest industry to Australia's economy as the industry generates over $20 billion of economic turnover each year and employs over 70 000 people;
(b) recognises the important work conducted by the Forest and Forest Industry Market Development Mission to Japan and China to promote Australia's sustainable forest industry as the sustainable building material of the 21st century; and
(c) condemns the misinformation spread by radical environmental non governmental organisations that has resulted in sustainable Australian product being replaced by timber from less sustainable forests damaging our economy, employment and the environment.
The Senate divided. [16:02]
(The Deputy President—Senator Marshall)
Pursuant to standing order 75, I propose that the following matter of public importance be submitted to the Senate for discussion:
The fortieth anniversary of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975.
The main sufferers in Australian society—the main victims of social deprivation and restricted opportunity—have been the oldest Australians on the one hand and the newest Australians on the other. We stand in their debt. By this Act we shall be doing our best to redress past injustice and build a more just and tolerant future.
…the Meriam people are entitled as against the whole world to possession, occupation, use and enjoyment of the lands of the Murray Islands.
A man of Sri Lankan background works at a warehouse but finds other employees of Anglo-Celtic background receiving better hours and pay rises; his co-workers frequently subject him to derogatory racial comments and harassment.
An aboriginal man makes arrangements to rent a room in a boarding house but is told by the caretaker when he arrives: 'We don't take anyone who is aboriginal because there have been problems in the past. This is management policy.
A woman of Asian background comes across an anti-immigration website on the internet: using inflammatory language involving racial epithets, it encourages people to abuse and attack Asians they encounter on the street.
Legislation like this does not spring from any utopian vision of society or human nature. It springs from recognition of the less than perfect reality. And it doesn't spring from a wish to punish the perpetrators of racism, but from a desire to protect its victims.
I think that this is the essential point: we come to understand the necessity for this kind of legislation when we put ourselves in the position of the victims of racial discrimination or vilification or worse.
Its authors, advocates and early administrators foresaw its critical role in guiding a maturing nation. They were among the pioneers of Australian human rights law for whom we can be forever grateful for their unapologetic insistence on the formal recognition of dignity, respect, equality and freedom as fundamental human liberties.
… it may be true that morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated … the law may not change the heart, but it can restrain the heartless.
…is a collective expression of our Australian values, a collective expression that Australian's ought not be discriminated against on the basis of their race, and it is our collective agreement that we will, together, stand against bigotry and prejudice.
I want to suggest that Magna Carta has a significance which is not dependent on its content. This is its contribution to the history of constitutionalism, and, in particular, to the development of the concept of a constitution.
In order to appreciate this significance, it is necessary to realise that many concepts and institutions of government which we now take for granted and which we regard as obvious developed extremely slowly over a long period and in very small accretions. Even the most simple ideas and institutions have been a long time in developing. It is also necessary to appreciate that there are very few really new ideas or institutions. The modern epoch has made very few original contributions to government.
So perhaps after all we may gaze upon our copy of Magna Carta with some awe and reverence, not because of its content or for its legal significance but for the contribution it made to the development of the written constitution and the concept of rights of the citizen. In a sense, all written constitutions, including our own, and all declarations of rights, are its descendants. Remembering that, and other aspects to which I have referred, may help us a little on our way into another century.
The lower registers of the preceding definitions [in 18C] and in particular those of 'offend' and 'insult' seem a long way removed from the mischief to which Art 4 of CERD is directed. They also seem a long way from some of the evils to which Part IIA [of the RDA] is directed as described in the Second Reading Speech.
… the mere fact that you insult or offend someone probably should not, of itself, give rise to legal liability. My personal view is that 18C probably reached a bit far so a bit of fine-tuning would probably be OK.
There is nothing in the Constitution, or any other document, to entrench or even give expression to the rights of citizens and the democratic ideals on which our society is based. Unlike the United States, we have no bill of rights; unlike the US, our Constitution says nothing about civil liberties. There is a need to spell out in an enduring form the founding principles of our civilisation, and in particular the principle that all Australians, whatever their colour, race or creed, are equal before the law and have the same basic rights and opportunities.
That the Senate take note of Minister for Health's response to the resolution of the Senate of 18 March 2015 concerning mental health services.
That the Senate take note of the Minister for the Environment's response to the resolution of the Senate of 14 May 2015 concerning the protection of cetaceans.
1 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORFOLK ISLAND—SELF GOVERNMENT
The Speaker informed the House that she had received the following Remonstrance passed by the Legislative Assembly of Norfolk Island on 20 May 2015 relating to self government—
The Legislative Assembly for Norfolk Island respectfully addresses itself to—
The Honourable the President of the Senate and the Members of the Senate,
The Honourable the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Members of the House of Representatives in Parliament assembled.
PREAMBLE
The passage in the Commonwealth Parliament of the Norfolk Island Act 1979 conferred on Norfolk Island a limited grant of self governing powers with its own legislature (the Legislative Assembly of Norfolk Island) with a plenary grant of legislative powers to legislate for the peace, order and good government of the Territory established, with its own body politic under the Crown with a wide grant of executive powers and with its own judicial system.
The Legislative Assembly for Norfolk Island is constituted of 9 representatives of the people of Norfolk Island; duly and democratically elected pursuant to the Legislative Assembly Act 1979.
The Norfolk Island Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 passed by the Commonwealth Parliament in May 2015 removes the self government powers of Norfolk Island. It has been passed without genuine consultation and negotiation with the Norfolk Island Government, the Legislative Assembly of Norfolk Island or the people of Norfolk Island.
The Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights contained within the Explanatory Memorandum for the Norfolk Island Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 asserted that the proposal to remove self-government powers from Norfolk Island was the result of an extensive consultation process that found significant support for change within the Norfolk Island community.
Norfolk Island voters in a referendum conducted on 8 May 2015 under the Referendum Act 1964 voted by a 68% majority that the people of Norfolk Island should have the right to freely determine their political status, their economic, social and cultural development and be consulted at referendum or plebiscite on the future model of governance for Norfolk Island before such changes are acted on by the Australian Parliament.
GRIEVANCES
The Legislative Assembly of Norfolk Island presents its grievances to the Commonwealth Parliament.
These are that:
(1) The people of Norfolk Island having been granted self governing powers, the duly elected representatives of the people of Norfolk Island are aggrieved that self government should be removed without genuine consultation and negotiation.
(2) The removal of self government in Norfolk Island breaches one of the conventions of self- government in the Westminster tradition that once self government is granted to a political entity, it should not thereafter be taken away except in the most extreme circumstances, for example, war or civil disturbance. See submission of the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Northern Territory, page 8 of Parliamentary Paper No. 281 of 1974 where it also states that it would be politically unthinkable to take away such powers after they had been granted.
PETITION
The Legislative Assembly of Norfolk Island and its democratically elected Members respectfully request that the Commonwealth Parliament affirm the rights of the people of Norfolk Island to self-government by re-examining those aspects of the Norfolk Island Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 that result in the removal of the Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly and call on the Prime Minister to confer on the people of Norfolk Island the right to freely determine their political status, their economic, social and cultural development and be consulted at referendum or plebiscite on the future model of governance for Norfolk Island before such changes are acted on by the Australian Parliament.
On 20 May 2015 the above Remonstrance was introduced by the Hon Robin E Adams MLA into the Fourteenth Legislative Assembly of Norfolk Island and was passed on the same day. The Legislative Assembly requested the Remonstrance be delivered by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and to the President of the Senate.
David E Buffett AM MLA
Speaker
That senators be discharged from and appointed to committees as follows:
Abbott Government’s Budget Cuts—Select Committee—
Discharged—Senator Di Natale
Appointed—Senator Whish-Wilson
Community Affairs Legislation and References Committees—
Discharged—Senator Reynolds
Appointed—Senator Lindgren
Education and Employment Legislation Committee—
Appointed—
Senator Johnston
Substitute member: Senator Rice to replace Senator Rhiannon for the committee’s inquiry into the provisions of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment Bill 2014 [No. 2]
Participating member: Senator Rhiannon
National Disability Insurance Scheme—Joint Standing Committee—
Discharged—Senator Canavan
Appointed—Senator Lindgren
Publications—Standing Committee—
Discharged—Senator Bernardi
Appointed—Senator Lindgren.
Law Enforcement Legislation Amendment (Powers) Bill 2015
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 contains measures to clarify the questioning powers of the Australian Crime Commission and the Integrity Commissioner.
This bill will help to ensure that the Crime Commission, Integrity Commissioner and Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity have access to necessary and appropriate powers so that they can play their part in the fight against serious and organised crime, foreign fighters and law enforcement corruption.
At the same time, this bill will strengthen checks and safeguards on examinations and hearings, to strike an appropriate balance between giving law enforcement and integrity agencies the powers they need to keep our community safe, and the need to preserve the fundamental right to a fair trial.
Background to examination and hearing powers
Examinations and hearings are crucial to the operations of the Crime Commission and Integrity Commissioner. A person questioned in an examination or hearing cannot hide behind the privilege against self-incrimination. They must answer all questions put to them. This enables the Crime Commission and the Integrity Commissioner to obtain information that would not otherwise be available through traditional policing and investigative methods.
Access to these powers is particularly important in the fight against serious and organised crime and systemic corruption. Groups and individuals involved in these activities are well funded, actively attempt to frustrate investigations, and are skilled at countering law enforcement methods to avoid detection.
The Crime Commission, the Integrity Commissioner and ACLEI use the information obtained through these questioning powers for a range of important law enforcement purposes, including to progress investigations, to develop, analyse and disseminate intelligence to partner agencies, to address systemic vulnerabilities in organisations and to disrupt the operations of organised criminal groups, like outlaw motor cycle gangs.
These are significant powers that override the right to silence. However, they are vital to law enforcement's ability to investigate, prevent and disrupt some of the most serious criminal activity.
Examinations and hearings are already subject to a number of checks and safeguards to balance these interests. This bill will strengthen these, and strike an appropriate balance between giving law enforcement agencies the powers they need to keep us safe, and the need to preserve the fundamental right to a fair trial.
Impact of recent cases
A number of recent court cases have affected the way these agencies can use their existing questioning powers. These cases include X7 and the Australian Crime Commission ,Lee and the NSW Crime Commission ,Lee against the Queen andThe Queen against Seller and McCarthy .
These decisions have had a significant negative impact on the operations of the Crime Commission and the Integrity Commissioner.
For example, following the decision in X7, the Crime Commission has stopped examining anyone who had been charged with an offence where the questioning might touch on the subject matter of the charges. This has already prevented the Crime Commission from obtaining valuable intelligence about the methodologies and activities of those involved in serious criminal activity, including recruiters and facilitators of foreign fighters and their links with other individuals.
Measures in the bill
The bill I am introducing today will respond to X7 and other relevant cases, by amending the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 and theLaw Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006 to place the Crime Commission and Integrity Commissioner's powers on a stronger footing.
The bill will make a number of changes to these Acts to clarify the nature and use of these powers, which I will go through in turn.
The bill will expressly authorise the Crime Commission and Integrity Commissioner to question a person who has been charged with an offence, which was the original intention behind those Acts.
This has been a very important power in the past. It has been used to question arrested paedophiles and child pornographers about the identities and locations of their victims. It has allowed law enforcement agencies to obtain a detailed understanding of contemporary drug trafficking techniques and to identify the individuals involved in those illicit activities. It has been used to weed out the insidious influence of corruption in our law enforcement agencies and make them more resilient.
The bill will also expressly authorise the use of derivative material obtained from an examination or hearing, and set out the circumstances in which examination, hearing and derivative material may be provided to a prosecutor.
These amendments are necessary to ensure that the Crime Commission, the Integrity Commissioner and their partners have clear authority to continue to take action based on material obtained from examinations and hearings. The bill will also expressly allow this material to be disclosed to investigators and others, so that it can be used to gather additional evidence (that is, derivative material) to support the prosecution of the person.
This bill will also more clearly authorise the Crime Commission to conduct examinations in the context of ongoing confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 , and set out when that material may be used in those proceedings. These changes respond to Recommendations 3 and 4 of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement's 2012 inquiry into unexplained wealth. This delivers on the Government's election commitment to implement the outstanding recommendations of the Committee's report.
The bill will make the same changes to the Integrity Commissioner's powers, and bolster the ability of Australia's law enforcement and integrity agencies to target criminals where it hurts most – their illicit wealth.
While these amendments will more clearly set out the ways in which examination, hearing and derivative material may be disclosed and used, these measures contain a number of important safeguards.
They will ensure that any use or disclosure of examination, hearing and derivative material will not prejudice a person's safety or their fair trial – one of the fundamental tenets of our criminal justice system.
The amendments to both the Crime Commission Act and the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act will more clearly set out the circumstances in which examination and hearing material can and cannot be disclosed.
The bill will place specific limits on the circumstances when examination material, hearing material and derivative material can be provided to the prosecution. In some cases, an investigator will have to seek a court's permission to disclose this material to the prosecution. The court will decide whether disclosure would be in the interests of justice.
The bill also makes it clear that courts retain their powers to ensure that the accused receives a fair trial.
The amendments will protect the right to a fair trial of a person questioned by the Crime Commission or Integrity Commissioner. They will ensure that law enforcement agencies can carry on their important role of fighting organised crime and corrupt elements within our law enforcement agencies without unfairly impacting upon the fundamental rights of the accused.
The amendments will also confirm that the Crime Commission's and Integrity Commissioner's coercive questioning powers can only be used for the specific purposes set out in legislation. That is, for the purposes of a Crime Commission special intelligence operation or special investigation, or for an investigation into a law enforcement corruption issue. For example, the amendments to the Crime Commission Act will more clearly identify that an examination always occurs in support of a special operation or special investigation. In some instances, material from an examination may assist in a prosecution or confiscation proceeding. However, the primary purpose of an examination is not to bolster the case against the examinee, but rather to gather information for the purpose of understanding, disrupting or preventing serious and organised crime.
Finally, the bill will also increase the penalties for breaching non-disclosure obligations relating to examinations and hearings so that they are consistent with similar Commonwealth offences.
Conclusion
The powers of the Crime Commission and Integrity Commissioner are significant. But so too are the challenges posed by serious and organised crime and its enabler, corruption. Serious and organised criminals exploit every advantage they can. The questioning powers of the Crime Commission and Integrity Commissioner go some way to levelling the playing field.
This bill will ensure that those agencies have the questioning powers they need, and that the information they gather can be put to maximum use to protect the community. It will do so in a way that upholds fundamental principles of our criminal justice system about the right to a fair trial.
Without these amendments, the Crime Commission and the Integrity Commission will struggle to fulfil their mandates and protect the community. They are vital to law enforcement's ability to understand, disrupt and prevent some of the most serious criminal activity.
Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Improving the Comcare Scheme) Bill 2015
Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (Employee Share Schemes) Bill 2015
That these bills be now read a second time.
THE SAFETY, REHABILITATION AND COMPENSATION AMENDMENT (IMPROVING THE COMCARE SCHEME) BILL 2015
The Government is committed to ensuring that Australian workplaces are safe, flexible and productive and to reducing the risk and impact of workplace injury and disease.
It is vital that people injured in the course of their employment are given every opportunity to get better and return to work.
This requires a modern workers' compensation scheme that meets the needs of today's workforce and is sustainable into the future.
Early and effective rehabilitation, as well as appropriate financial compensation, are essential to helping people recover and get back to doing the things that are important to them, including their jobs.
The Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 —also known as the SRC Act—covers Australian and ACT Government employees and the employees of 33 corporations licensed under the Comcare scheme.
In 2012, the now Leader of the Opposition, as Workplace Relations Minister commissioned the first comprehensive review of the scheme since its introduction in 1988. When the then Hawke Government Minister, Brian Howe, introduced the SRC Bill into Parliament, he stated that the aim of the changes was to provide assistance to those employees most in need—the long-term incapacitated.
Unfortunately, since 1988 the scheme has had piecemeal amendments that have made it out-of-step with community standards and evidence-based practices.
The 2012 review commissioned by the Gillard Government found that the scheme does not give injured employees enough support and incentive to return to the workplace. In addition, the scheme allows injured employees to make claims for conditions that are unrelated to work and to undertake treatments that are not evidence-based. People are not getting back to work as quickly as they should and this is causing costs to spiral and creating negative perceptions of the scheme within the community.
Indeed, even the left-wing ACT Green-Labor Government have criticised the Comcare scheme, saying:
" The Comcare system is quite burdensome, not only for claimants but for their employers as well. The focus we want to see is recovery and rehabilitation for our staff and getting them back to the workplace. The studies show that if you get people back to work earlier, their lives are better in the long run. " 1
Using the recommendations from the review as a starting point, building on feedback from stakeholders and also adopting some reforms that have been advanced by state Labor Governments, this Government is proposing a package of reforms that will rehabilitate people and get them back to work; target support; and improve the scheme's integrity and viability. The reforms will also ensure that loopholes in the legislation that allow people to take advantage of the scheme are closed.
Importantly, and unlike most of the state and territory schemes, the proposed measures will ensure that the Comcare scheme continues to provide eligible injured employees with income payments until pension age and lifetime medical and rehabilitation expenses.
Ensuring a stronger focus on rehabilitation and return-to-work
The Bill includes a number of changes to assist employers to meet their rehabilitation obligations and engage more effectively with injured employees in the return-to-work process.
The amendments facilitate this cooperation by better enabling employees and employers work together and are prepared to accept responsibility for managing injuries, ensuring support where injuries occur and enabling people to get back to work as soon as possible.
Employers will have a stronger responsibility and greater incentives to provide alternate work or reduced hours to injured employees.
Injured employees will be encouraged to participate actively in their injury management and rehabilitation. Where they are able to do so, they will be required to seek, engage and remain in suitable employment.
The Bill also strengthens an employee's access to rehabilitation and, in specific circumstances, Comcare will have the power to commence or take over rehabilitation.
A large body of evidence-based research has established that many health problems can benefit from work-based rehabilitation and an earlier return to work. Using this evidence as a basis for improvement, the compensation payment system has been re-structured to provide targeted financial incentives to return to some form of work as soon as safely possible.
Systemic incentives to remain on workers' compensation for extended periods will be removed by providing for more graduated reductions in income replacement payments and reducing compensation payable where an injured employee refuses employment while having a capacity to earn in suitable employment.
Targeted support for injured employees
Many employees, when they are injured, need to take time off work to recover and will often draw on their own savings or leave entitlements while their workers' compensation claim is being considered. If claims are not processed quickly, leave entitlements and savings can be quickly exhausted, access to medical treatment can be delayed and this, in turn, can impede recovery and eventual return-to-work.
To reduce the financial stress of illness and injury, the scheme will now provide for provisional medical payments up to $5000 before a claim is determined. The employer will have immediate rehabilitation responsibilities.
The amendments will also ensure that the money spent on medical treatment and post-injury care and support services is better targeted and that services are provided by trained professionals.
Professional, monitored post-injury care will be provided to employees for the first three years of their injury, with uncapped, long-term or life-long care available to the catastrophically injured after this time.
Employees who have been seriously injured will still have access to lump sum payments to help them achieve a better quality of life. Under the proposed changes, the maximum lump sum payment amount will be increased from $242,000 to $350,000.
For those with less serious injuries, these payments will be more accurately scaled to allow for higher payments for those who need more support.
More timely access to compensation payments will be achieved with the introduction of timeframes for determining claims and resolving disputed claims, as well as improved information-gathering powers. Employers will also be required to lodge claims more quickly, and within specified timeframes, once they are notified of a claim.
To provide assistance to employers in meeting their obligations under the new timeframes, the amendments will enable more accurate calculation of income replacement. This will better take into account today's labour market conditions and the changing industrial profile of employers in the scheme.
To ensure that there are no gaps or inequities in the payment of entitlements to workers nearing pension age, eligibility for income replacement will be linked to the national age pension age and the five per cent reduction in compensation payments for employees accessing superannuation benefits will be removed.
Scheme integrity and viability
This Bill also seeks to ensure that the workers' compensation system deals with employment-related injury and disease.
When the Government of the day introduced the SRC Act 27 years ago, it recognised the need to ensure that employers were not paying for non-work related conditions and introduced changes that required employees to show a close connection between their condition and the employment in which they were engaged.
Despite this intention, this distinction has been blurred over time through judicial interpretation of the legislative provisions and unreasonable constraints have been placed on employers ' management of the workplace. This has resulted in increased premiums and pressures on scheme sustainability.
The amendments will distinguish more clearly between work and non-work related injuries and limit the payment of compensation to employees who have sustained injuries due to work or the workplace. Existing provisions will be strengthened to require a clear causal connection with work before compensation is payable.
The amendments will also clarify the matters to be taken into consideration for psychological claims and introduce new thresholds for specified pre-existing conditions such as heart, brain and spinal injuries to ensure that that scheme is accepting liability for conditions that are work-related.
As the workers' compensation system was never designed to prevent employers taking reasonable action to manage their employees, the proposed amendments will clarify the range of reasonable management actions that, when reasonably undertaken, should not give rise to compensation claims.
In order to address rapidly escalating scheme costs and ensure the long-term viability of the scheme, Comcare will be permitted to establish schedules that specify the amounts payable for medical treatment and medical reports, and legal services obtained by claimants. Currently, there are no limits on the amounts that Comcare pays for these items.
Schedules will not only reduce lengthy dispute timeframes but provide greater certainty and transparency for service providers and claimants.
Scheme costs will also be reduced by excluding overtime and allowances in the calculation of compensation payments after the first two years.
The integrity of the scheme will be underpinned by a 3-stage sanctions regime in which employees who don't meet their medical treatment and rehabilitation obligations will have their compensation rights suspended or cancelled.
Most people are willing and eager participants in the injury management and rehabilitation process and welcome every assistance to recover and resume their normal lives. Those who refuse to utilise the scheme ' s resources to get better and return to work will no longer be able to do so with impunity.
Australian Defence Force members
In recognition of the Government's commitment to the unique nature of military service, Australian Defence Force (ADF) members with coverage under Part XI of the SRC Act will be exempted from all but two of the proposals being introduced in the Bill.
These proposals relate to the calculation of permanent impairment compensation and will ensure that a member or former member of the ADF will not receive less compensation than an employee covered by the Comcare scheme with the same level of impairment. The Government's agreement to these changes is a reflection of our commitment to recognising the unique nature of ADF service.
The Government will also create a new Act to separate ADF members and former members from the existing SRC Act.
Conclusion
The Comcare scheme is one of the few remaining Australian workers' compensation schemes that provides, and will continue to provide, income payments until pension age and lifetime medical and rehabilitation payments. This Bill will ensure that we have a fair and sustainable long-tail scheme into the future—one of the only remaining in Australia.
A majority of these reforms have been inspired by the Review commissioned by the now Leader of the Opposition or from reforms made by State Labor Governments, including from the Bracks Government in Victoria.
These reforms ensure that the scheme will remain one of the most generous in Australia but the focus will shift towards getting people back to work rather than just providing compensation.
The Government's reforms will be better for workers by promoting injury prevention, but supporting those who are injured to recover and, most importantly, assisting them to get back to work.
I urge all members to support the changes in this Bill and commend the Bill to the House.
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1 ACT Minister Mick Gentleman, ACT dumps Comcare, Canberra Times, 26 February 2015
TAX AND SUPERANNUATION LAWS AMENDMENT (EMPLOYEE SHARE SCHEMES) BILL 2015
Today, I introduce a Bill that energises enterprise and makes life easier for the hard working women and men of small business.
This Bill introduces important improvements to the taxation of employee share schemes, removing key impediments introduced by the former Government and creating a new 'start up' incentive to restore and rebuild employee share schemes as a key tool to support enterprise formulation.
Employee share schemes support and encourage innovation. They energise enterprise and entrepreneurs.
An effective employee share scheme can support those hardworking women and men out there having a go.
Employee share schemes can drive growth in jobs and growth in productivity—important ingredients in a healthy economy.
Employee share schemes offer employees a financial interest in the company they work for—aligning the interests of employees with the interest of their employers. This synchronicity of interests and objectives can drive innovation, entrepreneurship and enterprise success.
Both shares and options provide employees with a direct interest in the performance of the firm. They can turn out to be very lucrative for employees of successful companies.
These schemes encourage positive working relationships and reduce staff turnover.
Employee share schemes benefit employers, too.
They are a very valuable tool for employers to attract and retain talented employees.
We know small firms sometimes lack the cash flow to pay salaries that can allow them to compete internationally. Employee share schemes allow firms to be globally competitive by supplementing employees' salaries with equity in the company they work for.
Unfortunately, the potential of employee share schemes has not yet been realised in Australia. This means we are missing opportunities every single day.
Our Government knows that our country's tax system should not be an impediment for innovative companies hoping to form, successfully start up and grow their business and in turn employ people and grow our economy.
In 2009, the Rudd Labor government introduced integrity measures and changed the tax treatment of employee share schemes. Labor's 2009 amendments mean that the discount component of shares or options is taxed when the employee receives those shares or options. This often forces employees to pay tax on their options before they can take any action to realise a financial benefit from those options.
We have seen the current tax arrangements effectively halt the provision of options through employee share schemes.
These taxation arrangements, introduced by Labor, are not competitive by international standards as they generally bring forward the taxing point well in advance of any prospect for a realisable gain.
The 2009 amendments also introduced integrity measures to limit opportunities for tax avoidance by requiring the reporting of schemes and participants. These sensible measurers will remain, while the Government deals with the harm caused by the ill-conceived tax treatment changes.
Because we are serious about getting this measure right, our Government has consulted extensively on this issue, and has listened to the concerns of a range of stakeholders. In the most recent round of consultations earlier this year, our Government hosted a number of face-to-face and teleconference meetings and received over 50 written submissions.
These revealed strong support for the Government's announced commitment to remedy a number of problems with the current taxation of employee share schemes. There were two significant areas of concern.
Firstly, the current rules mean employees often pay tax on their options before they can even get any financial benefit from the options by converting them into shares and selling the shares. This means employees have been taxed on something that is difficult to value and may not even result in a benefit to the employee.
The 2009 changes effectively ended the provision of options under employee share schemes, particularly by start-ups. This limited start-ups' capacity to remunerate employees. It put Australian firms at a disadvantage compared to those in many other countries.
In a world where employees can easily cross international borders, the 2009 changes affected the ability of Australian firms to compete globally for the best and brightest workers.
The second issue that many stakeholders were affected by was around the red tape and compliance costs currently associated with setting up and maintaining an employee share scheme in Australia.
Let me share one example with you today—companies offering an employee share scheme in Australia are required to have a company valuation completed.
Stakeholders revealed that this sort of valuation and preparation of required documents can cost up to $50,000 in Australia. This is compared with a cost of around $2,000 to $5,000 in the United States.
It is a pronounced problem for start-up firms, which are poorly placed to bear the impact of these regulatory costs.
This significant red tape problem must be addressed if we are to improve the competitiveness of Australia. This needs to be addressed if we want to make Australia the best place to start and grow a business—if we want to secure Australia's future as a destination for innovative start-up companies.
Our Government has listened to the concerns of stakeholders. We are committed to making it easier to do business in Australia. This Bill will address the problems arising since the 2009 amendments and will make Australia's taxation of employee share schemes more competitive internationally.
Today's Bill makes two main changes to the tax arrangements for employee share schemes.
First, employees issued with options under an employee share scheme will generally be able to defer tax until they exercise the options. This is rather than them having to pay tax when they receive the options.
This will benefit employees by deferring their tax liability until they can actually realise a financial benefit from their options.
Our Government will also extend the maximum time for tax deferral from seven years to 15 years, which will give companies more time to build their business and succeed.
The maximum individual ownership limit currently restricts employee ownership for those accessing the employee share scheme tax concessions. This Bill doubles this limit from five per cent to 10 per cent, which could help some founders and provide a boost for critical workplace team members.
These improvements will be available to all companies, from large biotech and mining companies listed on the stock exchange to small, unlisted businesses looking to take on their very first employee.
The amendments encourage more Australian companies to realise the potential of employee share schemes.
And those companies establishing such schemes will become more competitive in attracting talented employees in an international labour market. We are ensuring these businesses can be nimble in the global economy.
Secondly, we will provide an additional concession to start-up companies. This new incentive is unashamedly targeted at young enterprises to reactivate and energise employee share scheme arrangements for the productivity-enhancing, entrepreneurial and innovative start up sector.
Employees of eligible start‑ups can receive options or shares at a small discount, and if they hold the shares or options for at least three years, they will not be subject to up-front taxation.
For options, the discount component will be taxed when the employee is in a better position to fund the tax liability. For shares, the discount component will be exempt from tax.
To qualify for this concession, companies must have been incorporated for less than ten years, be unlisted and have turnover of no more than $50 million per year.
These eligibility criteria mean that the concession is targeted towards small and start-up firms. The innovators we are committed to encouraging are those who often face additional liquidity and valuation obstacles that larger firms do not. The eligibility criteria will also limit the cost to revenue at a time of fiscal repair.
This concession will provide a significant benefit to many companies in the start-up phase. It will give them a better chance at achieving success in Australia, instead of being forced to look overseas for more favourable business conditions and a potentially more supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem.
These measures are about more than just providing a benefit to companies and employees engaged in employee share schemes. It adds to and supports our economy as a whole as we retain Australian talent and better support Australian innovation and entrepreneurship.
To address the excessive red tape burden, our Government has asked the Australian Taxation Office to work with industry to develop and approve 'safe harbour' valuation methods and standard documents. This will help streamline the process of establishing and maintaining an employee share scheme, reducing costs and compliance burdens that may discourage employee share scheme engagement.
A number of integrity measures designed to limit tax avoidance opportunities, such as reporting schemes and participants and limiting the $1,000 up-front tax concession to employees who earn less than $180,000 per year, will be retained.
All of these amendments will help align the interests of employers and their employees, as everyone involved in the business will have the financial and emotional motivation to grow their company.
The amendments will help stimulate the growth of high technology start-ups in Australia. The changes make Australia a more attractive destination for innovative companies seeking to commercialise their ideas domestically.
These changes boost the competitiveness of Australian firms who are committed to attracting and retaining talented employees in the international labour market.
Our Government has worked with industry to make sure that the draft legislation delivers the intended outcomes. We have listened to stakeholders and made amendments to the draft legislation.
In particular, we acted on stakeholder concerns regarding access to the capital gains tax concession, and eligibility for the start-up concession where certain venture capital funds are involved.
Stakeholders told us that most people convert their options into shares around the time they sell the shares. Under usual capital gains tax rules, this would mean that most employees of a start-up would not benefit from the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount because they haven't held the share for more than 12 months. This is despite a requirement to hold the option for at least three years in order to get the additional concession for start-ups.
Today's legislation addresses this issue and has been enhanced by collaborative and constructive consultation with stakeholders.
It makes it clear that the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount will be available for options issued to beneficiaries of the start-up concession, even where the underlying shares are held for less than 12 months. This will provide a significant concession to employees who are issued with options under the start-up concession. It is a further incentive for employers hoping to offer employee share schemes to their workers.
Our Government has also provided a carve-out for certain venture capital funds from the aggregated turnover and 10-year incorporation rules for the start-up concession. This will allow contributing Venture Capital Limited Partnerships, Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnerships and others to be excluded from the assessment of aggregate turnover and period of incorporation. This will expand the number of employees eligible for the start‑up concession and, according to the Australian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association Limited, make sure the additional concession gets to 'the very kind of start-ups that Australia needs to nurture.'
As a result of our extensive consultations, we've also picked up many suggested technical amendments to make sure the legislation has the desired effect. Examples include allowing the Australian Taxation Office discretion in regard to the three-year holding rule; clarifying that the refund provision applies to cancellations; and clarifying that the definition of broad availability of the scheme applies only to shares.
We understand that some think the changes don't go far enough.
We have heard that having a taxing point when someone leaves their job isn't appropriate. The refund rules contained in this legislation should help to address some of this concern. The refund rules mean that income tax paid on options when employment ceases will be refundable if the option is subsequently not exercised and lapses, or is cancelled.
Even in the constrained fiscal environment we currently face, our Government knows the benefits that can be achieved by stimulating entrepreneurship and innovation in the economy.
These amendments will come at a cost to revenue of around $200 million over the forward estimates, but this cost will be far outweighed by the many benefits that the new arrangements will bring.
During consultations, some suggested that the start-up concession should be applicable for older, listed technology and mining start-ups. But all policy needs to be weighed against other priorities and the cost to taxpayers. So keeping this at the forefront of our mind, and on balance, we've decided to keep the additional concession focussed on genuinely early stage firms that are more likely to have cash flow issues.
Another strong message we heard in consultations was that stakeholders want this legislation to be in effect as soon as possible. In response, our Government intends to bring the amendments into effect for new shares and options issued from 1 July 2015.
These amendments go to our commitment to ensure Australia is the very best place to start and build a small business—we are committed to bolstering entrepreneurship and innovation in Australia. They provide a valuable tool that will benefit employers and employees—but importantly, they will ultimately benefit the health of our Australian economy.
These changes make Australia a more attractive destination for investment, particularly for innovative start-up firms.
They will increase the international competitiveness of Australian firms who we know need to compete with companies all over the world for talented employees.
Our Government is committed to ensuring the settings are right for Australian start-ups and small businesses to grow and prosper.
Full details of the measure are contained in the explanatory memorandum.
Communications Legislation Amendment (SBS Advertising Flexibility and Other Measures) Bill 2015
Defence Legislation (Enhancement of Military Justice) Bill 2015
Social Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2015
Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (Medicare Levy and Medicare Levy Surcharge) Bill 2015
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.
COMMUNICATIONS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (SBS ADVERTISING FLEXIBILITY AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL 2015
Introduction
The Communications Legislation Amendment (SBS Advertising Flexibility and Other Measures) Bill 2015 provides the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) with increased flexibility in the scheduling of advertising and clarifies SBS's ability to earn revenue through having product placement during programming.
The Bill also makes minor technical amendments to the legislation governing SBS and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), and repeals various redundant acts and provisions from Communications portfolio legislation.
SBS advertising
SBS is Australia's multicultural broadcaster which operates under a mixed funding model. While the majority of SBS's operating budget is funded by the Australian Government, the remainder is drawn from SBS's commercial activities including advertising and sponsorship.
In 2014 the Department of Communications completed an Efficiency Study to identify savings that could be made in the back of house operations of the ABC and SBS – in other words, savings that could be made without reducing the resources available for programming.
The Study identified an opportunity for SBS to earn additional advertising revenue without increasing the maximum amount of advertising it was permitted to show over a 24 hour period.
SBS has a strict limit of five minutes of advertising per hour, which equates to a maximum of 120 minutes of advertising shown per day. However SBS earns the majority of its advertising revenue during peak viewing times – between 6pm and midnight – or when it broadcasts special events such as the FIFA World Cup.
This Bill will amend the Special Broadcasting Service Act 1991 to allow for a more flexible approach enabling SBS to show up to 10 minutes of advertising per hour but within a daily limit of 120 minutes.
This will allow SBS to schedule up to 10 minutes of advertising during higher rating programmes to increase its advertising revenue, while scheduling less advertising during other hours so that the 120 minute daily cap is not exceeded.
The 120 minute daily cap on advertising is still well below the 350 minutes per day the commercial broadcasters can devote to advertising.
It is also important to note that not all content broadcast on SBS is attractive to advertisers, as such, SBS does not currently fill 100 per cent of the time it has available for advertising across all channels and markets.
This is particularly the case in regional markets where SBS is regularly unable to fill five minutes of advertising per hour per channel, even during peak evening viewing times when its higher rating programmes are generally shown. In markets with insufficient demand, the additional flexibility afforded by the proposed measures is unlikely to result in a significant change to the amount of advertising SBS is able to attract.
Product placement
The ABC and SBS Efficiency Study also identified an opportunity for SBS to earn additional revenue through the use of product placement within particular types of programming, such as food or sports.
Product placement is widely used by broadcasters to earn additional revenue and subsidise the cost of content production.
SBS currently broadcasts acquired programming which already contains product placement from agreements made to the benefit of third parties, prior to SBS's consideration of the programme.
However, SBS does not use product placement in its own commissioned programmes due to a lack of clarity in the SBS Act regarding its use.
The Bill amends the SBS Act to specifically allow SBS to earn revenue through having product placement in its programming. It also requires the SBS Board to develop and publicise guidelines regarding the use of product placement and report on its use and earnings in the annual report. The same requirement exists in the SBS Act for the use of advertising and sponsorship announcements.
Financial impact of advertising changes
In the short term, additional advertising revenue will be directed towards meeting the government's efficiency savings applied to SBS from 2015-16. If the SBS advertising measures in the Bill are not passed before the end of this financial year, SBS will need to find other ways to achieve the necessary savings, which it has indicated may involve reductions in programming and/or services.
In the longer term, the government's intention from these changes is that SBS becomes a stronger and more sustainable broadcaster. Advertising flexibility strengthens SBS by making it less dependent on Government and helps secure its future and independence.
It is anticipated that the SBS advertising measures will result in an increase in SBS's advertising revenue of $28.5 million over four years from 2015 16. In later years, if they exceed that run rate, the additional revenues can be directed towards delivering more distinctive and innovative content and services in line with its Charter responsibilities.
Additional revenue earned by SBS is highly unlikely to have a material impact on the advertising revenue of the commercial broadcasting industry, which totalled $3.9 billion in 2013-14.
Since the introduction of in programming advertising on SBS in 2006-07, SBS's advertising revenue has steadily increased, peaking at $72.3 million in 2009 10 and $73.4 million in 2013-14, due to advertising associated with the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups.
It is important to note that these two highest revenue results for SBS constituted less than 2 per cent of the commercial television industry revenue for the respective financial years.
The steady growth of SBS advertising revenue over this period has not historically led to a reduction in overall commercial advertising revenues for free-to-air television.
This is likely because of the continued growth of the entire television advertising spend over this period, which has significantly outstripped the growth in SBS's own advertising revenues. However, this total growth seems to have stagnated after the post-GFC recovery in the advertising market.
I acknowledge the opposition to this Bill from the commercial television networks; they are under pressure from new over the top entrants and the changing nature of viewing habits but I think the members here and in the other place need to recognise that any economic impact from changes proposed in this Bill is not material to their earnings.
Miscellaneous legislative changes to the ABC and SBS Acts
The Bill also makes minor technical amendments to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 and the SBS Act to provide consistency with other broadcasting legislation and to remove redundant provisions.
The amendments involve the insertion of some broadcasting definitions and terms in the SBS Act to make it consistent with the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (BSA) and the ABC Act, and to reflect SBS activities that are provided in the current converging digital environment. The Bill also removes redundant definitions in the ABC and SBS Acts about election periods.
Repealing spent provisions from Communications portfolio legislation
In addition, the Bill repeals a range of provisions from Communications portfolio legislation which are spent or otherwise unnecessary. Repealing unnecessary legislation within the Communications portfolio will ensure regulation only remains in force for as long as it is needed and that remaining legislation is easily accessible.
Conclusion
The Government is introducing the Bill at this time to allow for any inquiry into the proposed legislation, which would involve a call for submissions and potentially a public hearing, to be completed prior to the Winter Sittings. As stated previously, it is important that the SBS advertising measures are passed before the end of this financial year to allow SBS to generate additional revenue to meet the required savings from 2015-16, without affecting programming and services.
The Government is committed to repairing the Federal Budget and ensuring the public broadcasters are as efficient as possible. The Government has recently reformed the procurement of and funding arrangements for transmission services for the ABC and SBS to encourage the broadcasters to adopt more efficient practices and realise savings that can be directed towards producing new content and services.
Similarly, the SBS advertising measures in this Bill will allow SBS to earn additional advertising revenue which could in the future be used to fund new programming.
Government funding currently comprises around 75 per cent of SBS's operational budget. Measures in this Bill will also lessen SBS's dependence on government funding in the future.
DEFENCE LEGISLATION (ENHANCEMENT OF MILITARY JUSTICE) BILL 2015
The Defence Legislation (Enhancement of Military Justice) Bill 2015 will amend legislation relating to the military justice system. The Bill contains a number of modest but important amendments and reforms to the Defence Act 1903 , theDefence Force Discipline Act 1982 , and theMilitary Justice (Interim Measures) Act (No. 1) 2009 .
Schedule 1 of this Bill clarifies the legal character and status of service convictions, by providing that a service offence is an offence against the law of the Commonwealth. It also provides for the situations in which convictions may be disclosed under the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 .
The Bill creates two new service offences, namely that of 'assault occasioning actual bodily harm' and 'unauthorised use of a Commonwealth credit card'. These two offences did exist previously, however it is necessary to convert the offences into service offences to ensure they can be appropriately prosecuted. The Bill clarifies the elements of the existing service offence of 'commanding or ordering a service offence to be committed', thereby ensuring that an abuse of military authority can be appropriately dealt with by commanders.
Additionally, the Bill replaces the system of recognisance release orders with a system of fixing non-parole periods. This will overcome the problems associated with the ad hoc nature of service tribunals, allowing discipline to be tempered in the imposition of punishments. The Bill also replaces the system of fines for persons who are not a member of the Defence Force with a penalty units system, which aligns this form of punishment with contemporary practice in the criminal justice system.
Furthermore, the Bill corrects several technical errors which limit the ability of commanding officers to refer charges to the Director of Military Prosecutions. This will also assist warrant officers and senior non-commissioned officers in properly dealing with minor breaches of discipline.
Schedule 2 of the Bill provides for the statutory recognition of the Director of Defence Counsel Services. The position is a senior military legal officer who is appointed by the Chief of the Defence Force, and is responsible, among other things, for managing the provision of legal representation to accused persons.
The Bill also contains several machinery provisions that will assist the Director of Defence Counsel Services in the discharge of their statutory duties, as well as some minor technical changes.
In relation to Schedule 3, the Bill provides for the extension for another two years of the appointment of the current Chief Judge Advocate and the full-time Judge Advocate. The Judge Advocates are senior military legal officers appointed by the Judge Advocate General to either assist court martial members with the application of military law or to sit as Defence Force magistrates in the trial of accused persons. Judge Advocates are, therefore, central to the proper operation of the superior tribunals.
The extension of these appointments will allow the superior tribunals to continue operating while consideration is given to further reforms to the military discipline system.
The Bill contains a number of modest but important changes to the military discipline system and the overarching military justice system. The amendments and reforms demonstrate, once again, this Government's commitment to the security and defence of Australia and its interests. Moreover, these amendments signal this Government's commitment to modernising the military discipline system.
I commend the Bill.
SOCIAL SERVICES LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2015
This Bill will implement a measure announced in the 2014-15 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, ceasing social security payments to certain people who are in psychiatric confinement because they have been charged with a serious offence.
The people involved are primarily those who have been charged with a serious offence and who, due to a mental impairment, are in psychiatric confinement, including those who have been not convicted or considered not fit to stand trial.
This essentially represents a return to the original policy intention for people in these circumstances—that a person cannot access social security payments while in psychiatric confinement as a result of criminal charges. The current arrangements flow from a 2002 Federal Court decision, meaning that most people confined in a psychiatric institution may be considered to be participating in a course of rehabilitation and therefore attract social security payments.
In fact, it is the relevant state or territory government that is responsible for taking care of a person's needs while in psychiatric confinement, including funding their treatment and rehabilitation.
People will be subject to this measure if the serious offence with which they have been charged is a violent one such as murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, rape or attempted rape.
Similarly, the measure will apply in relation to offences under Commonwealth, state or territory law that are punishable by imprisonment for life or a period of seven years or more, where a loss of or serious risk to life, wellbeing or safety is involved.
Payments will resume in certain circumstances to people who are integrating back into the community.
A social security payment will continue to be payable to a person who is undergoing psychiatric confinement because the person has been charged with an offence that is not a serious offence, if a person is undertaking a course of rehabilitation.
Similarly, a social security payment will also continue to be payable if the person's psychiatric confinement is for reasons unrelated to the commission of an offence.
The measure is due to be implemented from 1 July 2015.
TAX AND SUPERANNUATION LAWS AMENDMENT (MEDICARE LEVY AND MEDICARE LEVY SURCHARGE) BILL 2015
This Bill amends the Medicare Levy Act 1986 toincrease the Medicare levy low‑income thresholds for singles, families and single seniors and pensioners in line with increases in the consumer price index. These changes will ensure that low‑income households who did not pay the Medicare levy in the 2013‑14 income year will generally continue to be exempt in the 2014-15 income year if their incomes have risen in line with, or by less than, the consumer price index.
In addition to providing a concession to low-income households, the Medicare levy low-income thresholds ensure that people who pay no personal income tax due to their eligibility for structural offsets — such as the low-income tax offset or the seniors and pensioners tax offset — do not incur the Medicare levy.
The changes to the thresholds mean that, for individual taxpayers with income under $20,896 in 2014-15, no Medicare levy will be payable. Single seniors and pensioners with no dependants who are eligible for the seniors and pensioners tax offset will not incur a Medicare levy liability if their income is less than $33,044, and couples and families (who are not eligible for the seniors and pensioners tax offset) will not be liable to pay the Medicare levy if their combined income is less than $35,261.
It is not proposed that the threshold for couples seniors and pensioners will be increased at this time. Couples who are eligible for the seniors and pensioners tax offset do not incur a Medicare levy liability when their combined income is less than $46,000. This threshold will remain sufficient to ensure that those eligible will not be liable for Medicare levy when they are not otherwise liable to pay income tax.
The increase in thresholds will apply to the 2014‑15 year and future income years.
Full details of the measure in this Bill are contained in the explanatory memorandum.
National Water Commission (Abolition) Bill 2015
Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015
Australian Border Force Bill 2015
Customs and Other Legislation Amendment (Australian Border Force) Bill 2015
Customs Amendment (Anti-dumping Measures) Bill (No. 1) 2015
Customs Tariff (Anti-Dumping) Amendment Bill 2015
Construction Industry Amendment (Protecting Witnesses) Bill 2015
Defence Legislation Amendment (Military Justice Enhancements—Inspector-General ADF) Bill 2014
Quarantine Charges (Imposition—Customs) Amendment Bill 2014
Quarantine Charges (Imposition—Excise) Amendment Bill 2014
Quarantine Charges (Imposition—General) Amendment Bill 2014
Health Insurance (Approved Pathology Specimen Collection Centres) Tax Amendment (Norfolk Island) Bill 2015
Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015
A New Tax System (Medicare Levy Surcharge—Fringe Benefits) Amendment Bill 2015
Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (Norfolk Island Reforms) Bill 2015
Health and Other Services (Compensation) Care Charges Amendment (Norfolk Island) Bill 2015
Aged Care (Accommodation Payment Security) Levy Amendment (Norfolk Island) Bill 2015
Private Health Insurance (Risk Equalisation Levy) Amendment (Norfolk Island) Bill 2015
Private Health Insurance Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2014
Health Insurance (Pathology) (Fees) Amendment (Norfolk Island) Bill 2015
Norfolk Island Legislation Amendment Bill 2015
Tribunals Amalgamation Bill 2015
Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Bill 2015
The Commission has assumed that the LRMC—
of wind power is A$110/MWh. This is based on data from Frontier Economics (unpublished data) that suggested that the LRMC of wind power projects in Australia was mostly in the range A$100–A$120/MWh.
The average wholesale price of electricity was assumed to be A$50/MWh (section D.1). This implies that for wind power projects to meet their LRMC, the REC—
price would need to be around A$60.
"Well Alan look, I do take your point about the potential health impact of these things," Mr Abbott said.
"When I've been up close to these wind farms, there's no doubt, not only are they visually awful, they make a lot of noise.
"What we did recently in the Senate was reduce, Alan, reduce, capital R-E-D-U-C-E, the number of these things that we are going to get in the future," he said.
"Now I would frankly have liked to have reduced the number a lot more."
… reduce the growth rate of this particular sector as much as the current Senate would allow us to do.
There is no direct evidence that exposure to wind farm noise affects physical or mental health.
The available Australian and international evidence does not support the view that the infrasound or low frequency sound generated by wind farms, as they are currently regulated in Australia, causes adverse health effects on populations residing in their vicinity. The infrasound and low frequency sound generated by modern wind farms in Australia is well below the level where known health effects occur, and there is no accepted physiological mechanism where sub-audible infrasound could cause health effects.
This is not about facts or logic. It's about a new world order under the control of the UN.
What we did recently in the Senate was reduce, Alan, reduce, capital R-E-D-U-C-E—
we reduced the number of these things that we're going to get in the future. Now, I would frankly have liked to have reduced the number a lot more—
Good—well, you're the boss.
But we got the best deal we could out of the Senate. And if we hadn't had a deal, Alan, we would have been stuck with even more of these things.
We know that burning trees for power production is far from renewable and that in many cases emissions from burning trees are more intensive than burning coal … Biomass power will also produce a toxic cocktail of emissions that are harmful to the health of nearby communities.
… big old trees that would provide habitat for many native species are already scarce. Species of trees that are currently not logged will now be permitted for burning, including trees supporting koalas, black cockatoos and a multitude of threatened and endangered wildlife species.
This government has no interest in preserving the precious little left of our intact native forests for wildlife, water, tourism and future generations … Will they wake up, like the Easter Islanders, only when the last tree falls? We need to leave NSW native forests in the ground to regrow and recover, switch to plantations for our timber needs, and formulate an energy plan for NSW that does not include 'Dead Koala Power’.
Coal is good for humanity …
Well, they say get rid of the Clean Energy Regulator, and we are.
Well, if I can be a little indulgent, I drive to Canberra to go to Parliament and so on, I drive myself, and I must say I find those wind turbines around Lake George to be utterly offensive and I think they are just a blight on the landscape.
… visually awful … they make a lot of noise.
What we did recently in the Senate was reduce, Alan, reduce, capital R-E-D-U-C-E, we reduced the number of these things that we're going to get in the future. … I would frankly have liked to reduce the number a lot more but we got the best deal we could out of the Senate. … And if we hadn't had a deal, Alan, we would have been stuck with even more of these things.
In the long term, a sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield of timber, fibre or energy from the forest, will generate the largest sustained mitigation benefit.
… post Regional Forest Agreements decade was a period of almost boom conditions for the woodchipping industry. Both prices and export volumes increased to record levels and profits were high. It would have been impossible for the energy industry, with or without Renewable Energy Certificates to compete with the prices the industry was getting for woodchips for fibre.
The RET does not generate an increase in wealth in the economy, but leads to a transfer of wealth among participants in the electricity market.
No bailiff shall in future put anyone to trial upon his own bare word, without reliable witnesses produced for this purpose.
No free man shall be arrested or imprisoned or disseised or outlawed or exiled or in any way victimised, neither will we attack him or send anyone to attack him except by the lawful judgement of his peers or by the law of the land.
To no one will we sell, to no one will we refuse or delay, right or justice.
For a generation of Labor women, including me, she was an inspiration and a mentor. We admired her stoicism. We celebrated her policy achievements. We were guided by her wisdom.
It was an act of unfairness she never forgot and a marker of the inequality she dedicated her life to overturning. Joan looked at politics and refused to accept the status quo.
It is the symbolic power of Magna Carta that informs my concern that supremacy of the law over the sovereign (or in today’s parlance, executive government), is under threat in Australia’s contemporary democracy.
A possible reconciliation of this pattern—
…may be the unusual concentration of Australia’s population in two large cities. Average housing prices tend to be higher in larger cities than smaller ones. Therefore, the expensive cities in Australia drag up the average level of dwelling prices more than in other countries…