The PRESIDENT (Senator the Hon. Stephen Parry) took the chair at 10:00, read prayers and made an acknowledgement of country.
… the usual Senate public inquiry would do—to hear from the experts and examine the properties of the voting system one side of politics has come up with and wants to ram through.
Speech and action in Parliament may thus be said to be unquestioned and free. But this freedom from external influence or interference does not involve any unrestrained licence of speech within the walls of the House.
It is undeniable that the most basic freedoms attaching to any parliament and to its members is the freedom of speech, but it is equally undeniable that every parliamentary chamber has its rules of order, including those directed against the use of objectionable, offensive or 'unparliamentary' words and expressions.
The fact that certain language is used outside the Senate with impunity does not mean that such language should be acceptable in the Senate. The Committee therefore considers that no change should be made to the existing practice and that the President should continue to apply the rule with discretion and with a due regard for the right of Senators to refer in debate to matters of public interest.
Tax Laws Amendment (Small Business Restructure Roll-over) Bill 2016
The question is do you want to avoid the problem now or do you want to wait until the thing just bursts?
The tax treatment of investor housing, in particular, tends to encourage leveraged and speculative investment in housing.
Ultimately, the Prime Minister has not been capable of providing the economic leadership our nation needs … We need a different style of leadership.
The IPA is generally supportive of measures that reduce complexity and the compliance burden in the administration of taxation law, especially when it relates to small business. The proposed changes are intended to allow the business to develop and grow by allowing the business to change legal entity without incurring significant income tax liabilities.
Allowing small business to select the most relevant structure to take account of the stage in the life of the business without being inhibited by certain tax costs provides more flexibility. State based taxes such as stamp duty may still be relevant for restructuring from one entity to another.
Currently, CGT roll-over relief is available for individual sole traders, partnerships and trusts that convert to a company structure. The proposed legislation extends the rollover relief to transfers of assets from a company to a sole trader, partnership or trust, occurring on or after 1 July 2016.
That this bill be now read a third time.
Parliamentary Entitlements Amendment (Injury Compensation Scheme) Bill 2016
That this bill be now read a third time.
Dairy Produce Amendment (Dairy Service Levy Poll) Bill 2016
At the end of the motion, add:
and the bill be referred to the Rural and Regional Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 12 May 2016.
… one of the strongest endorsements of the Abbott government's economic policy has been Malcolm Turnbull's pledge to maintain it …
… words to the effect of 'it will be 50 grand for this job, and if you don't pay someone else will, and they will get the job'.
Basically, if we don't do … whatever—
they usually go to the site, harass everyone … just giving us a hard time …
Do those examples—
include the use of threatening conduct or language? What was that conduct or language?
…they’re wanting us to step up and have a fight. We’re not here to fight them.
… all other significant milestones of FTTN—
continue to remain behind target
You have gone too far this time you—
fat—
You’re dead!! I’m going to kill you!!
You understand?! I don’t care how many police you’ve got with you, [I'm coming over there tomorrow and] I am going to kill you!!
You’re dead!!
… the failure on the part of senior [CFMEU] officials to undertake any proper and considered investigation into the incident, and the subsequent victimisation of the complainant by those same officials …
They behaved in a manner which was abusive and misleading. Their conduct can only be described as contemptuous of the limits to their power and the people on site with whom they were dealing.
… just remember one thing, when this is all over, and they don't exist any more … we'll remember them because we know every—
one of them. We will never forget them.
To all the dogs out there, remember when you pick up the phone to the ABCC rats, we will know about it, and who will protect you when the rats can't even protect themselves?
… bespeak a deplorable attitude, on the part of the CFMEU, to its legal obligations …
The element of deterrence is particularly important in the present case because of the CFMEU's long record of non-compliance with industrial legislation…It is apparent that the penalties imposed in the past have not caused the CFMEU and its officials to comply with the … FW Act…
… deplorable particularly so for someone acting in his official capacity … The language used as well as being repeatedly obscene, had a particularly nasty racist overtone.
The CFMEU has a significant record of non-compliance with the provisions of industrial legislation.
There is a history over a number of years of contraventions of industrial laws by CFMEU officials for whom the CFMEU is responsible and which have involved those officials, variously, in using obscene and threatening language, making threats of assaults and in some cases involving scuffles and physical altercation.
Mr McDonald is a very experienced industrial relations operative. He has a significant history of failing to comply with industrial laws. There can be no suggestion that he was unaware of the unlawful nature of his actions.
… was neither unique to that site or to those times. Rather, it displayed a paradigm example of behaviour described by the Honourable Terence Cole … in the Final Report of the Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry.
That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Communications (Senator Fifield) to a question without notice asked by Senator McLucas today relating to the National Broadband Network.
Importantly, all forecasts in the Strategic Review have been arrived at independently by NBN Co and, in the view of the company and its expert advisors, are both conservative and achievable.
That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Education and Training (Senator Birmingham) to a question without notice asked by Senator Whish-Wilson today relating to the monitoring of whaling activities in the Southern Ocean.
That the provisions of paragraph 5 to 8 of standing order 111 not apply to the following bills, allowing them to be considered during this period of sittings. Aged Care Legislation Amendment (Increasing Consumer Choice) Bill 2016, Corporations Amendment (Life Insurance Remuneration Arrangements) Bill 2016, Migration Amendment (Character Cancellation Consquential Provisions) Bill 2016, Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2016 Measures No. 1) Bill 2016 and Tax Laws Amendment (Norfolk Island CGT Exemption) Bill 2016.
STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2016 AUTUMN SITTINGS
COMMONWEALTH ELECTORAL AMENDMENT BILL 2016
Purpose of the Bill
The Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Bill 2016 (the Bill) amends the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (the Electoral Act) to improve the Senate voting system by giving electors control over their own voting preferences, require that there be unique registered officers for federally registered parties, and allow for political party logos to be printed on ballot papers.
Reasons for Urgency
Passage is necessary in the 2016 Autumn sitting period to enable the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) to accommodate the amendments in this Bill, including changes to their electronic counting software, EasyCount. The AEC has advised the Government it will require up to three months incorporating these changes. The AEC will also be required to develop material for the purposes of educating the public about the changes well in advance of the 2016 election.
STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2016 AUTUMN SITTINGS
AGED CARE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (INCREASING CONSUMER CHOICE) BILL
Purpose of the Bill
The bill will give effect to the first stage of the aged care reforms announced by the Government in the 2015 16 Budget, to provide more choice and flexibility for consumers receiving home care.
Reasons for Urgency
Passage of the bill in the 2016 Autumn sittings will allow the legislative framework, including the required amendments to the Aged Care Principles, to be in place by mid-2016. This is necessary to provide certainty to businesses and allow sufficient time for communication, change management and transition activities with the aged care sector, including consumers and carers, prior to the changes commencing in February 2017.
STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2016 AUTUMN SITTINGS
CORPORATIONS AMENDMENT (LIFE INSURANCE REMUNERATION ARRANGEMENTS) BILL
Purpose of the Bill
The bill seeks to make amendments to the Corporations Act 2001 to support reforms to the regulatory framework for life insurance as proposed by industry and announced by the Assistant Treasurer on 25 June 2015.
These reforms would facilitate industry's proposed solutions to conflicts of interest identified in the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Report 413: Review of retail life insurance advice.
Reasons for Urgency
Passage is necessary in the 2016 Autumn sittings to ensure that the life insurance advice industry's proposed steps to reduce conflicts of interest in relation to life insurance remuneration can be operational by 1 July 2016.
STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2016 AUTUMN SITTINGS
MIGRATION AMENDMENT (CHARACTER AND CANCELLATION CONSEQUENTIAL PROVISIONS) BILL
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of this bill is to improve coherency and consistency in the character related provisions of the Migration Act 1958 (the Migration Act), following the amendments made by the Migration Amendment (Character and General Visa Cancellation) Act 2014 (the Character Act).
Reasons for Urgency
The measures in the bill are necessary to ensure that the substantive amendments to the Migration Act made in 2014 by the Character Act are given their full effect and that the character provisions operate consistently throughout the Migration Act.
The measures in the bill reflect the Government's clear and continuing commitment to ensuring that non citizens who pose a character risk to the Australian community are dealt with effectively and efficiently.
STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2016 AUTUMN SITTINGS
TAX AND SUPERANNUATION LAWS AMENDMENT (2016 MEASURES NO. 1) BILL
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of the Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2016 Measures No. 1) Bill is to:
- transferring liability to GST registered entities carrying on an enterprise in Australia; and
- changes to GST-free rules and registration requirements for non-residents.
- increase the cap on farm management deposits from $400,000 to $800,000;
- reintroduce early access provisions for farmers experiencing severe financial difficulty; and
- allow the use of farm management deposits to offset business loans.
Reasons for Urgency
Introduction and passage of the bill during the 2016 Autumn sittings is required to give taxpayers and the Australian Taxation Office sufficient time to put in place systems and processes to allow for the efficient administration of the tax system and a smooth roll-out of Tax Time 2016.
STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2016 AUTUMN SITTINGS
TAX LAWS AMENDMENT (NORFOLK ISLAND CGT EXEMPTION) BILL
Purpose of the Bill
This bill will exempt assets acquired by Norfolk Island residents before 24 October 2015 from capital gains tax.
Reasons for Urgency
As this measure is to commence on 1 July 2016, introduction and passage of the bill during the 2016 Autumn sittings is required to provide certainty to Norfolk Island residents and in relation to their need to make a valuation of CGT assets as at 1 July 2016.
That the time for the presentation of the report of the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee on the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Community Development Program) Bill 2015 be extended to 2 March 2016.
That the following general business orders of the day be considered on Thursday 3 March 2016 under consideration of private senators' bills: No. 80 Restoring Territory Rights (Assisted Suicide Legislation) Bill 2015; and No. 68 Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2015.
That leave of absence be granted to the following senators on 3 March 2016:
(a) Senator Birmingham for personal reasons; and
(b) Senator Ruston on account of parliamentary business.
(1) That the following matter be referred to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee for inquiry and report by 10 May 2016:
The operation of the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) resistance to interrogation (RTI) training, with particular reference to:
(a) what training methods are used;
(b) whether these training methods are in accordance with Australia’s international obligations and Australian domestic laws;
(c) the effectiveness of existing ADF supervisory control measures;
(d) the ongoing mental health and wellbeing of personnel who have participated in RTI training; and
(e) the matters raised in questions to Lieutenant General Campbell during the 2015-16 additional estimates.
(2) That the Senate:
(a) notes that Lieutenant General Campbell acknowledged during estimates questioning that video and other electronic records were made by the ADF of RTI training; and
(b) calls on the Minister for Defence (Senator Payne) to provide the committee, under special circumstances which protect serving and former ADF personnel identities and operational security, with all recordings made by the ADF of RTI training by 15 March 2016 to assist the committee with the inquiry.
The Senate divided. [15:47]
(The Deputy President—Senator Marshall)
That there be laid on the table, no later than 9.30 am on 3 March 2016, the following documents held by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), or the Minister representing the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, relating to the restructuring of the CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere division:
(a) the written briefing prepared in December 2015 by Dr Ken Lee, Director of the CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere division for submission to the CSIRO executive for the 'Deep Dive' meeting;
(b) documents from November to December 2015 demonstrating the consultation that was undertaken with the Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship Research Program Leaders in preparing the above briefing;
(c) any written communication from Dr Alex Wonhas or Dr Larry Marshall to the CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere division subsequent to the briefing mentioned in paragraph (a) requesting a proposal for more extensive restructuring;
(d) documents from January 2016 demonstrating any consultation that was undertaken by Dr Lee with the Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship Research Program Leaders in developing the proposal for more extensive restructuring;
(e) all written communication from December 2015 until the present between the CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship and either Dr Wonhas or Dr Marshall in relation to any proposed more extensive restructuring including:
(i) communications detailing the scope, rationale and implications of the restructuring,
(ii) guidelines or criteria to be used in choosing specific areas to be restructured, and
(iii) the rationale for a reduction of 100 equivalent full-time staff;
(f) documents from December 2015 until the present demonstrating the consultation process that is being undertaken with the Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship Research Program Leaders, including guidelines or criteria being used, to determine the specific research groups and teams to be restructured;
(g) any written briefings for Dr Wonhas or Dr Marshall for the CSIRO executive meeting on or around 27 January 2016 concerning proposed restructuring in the CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship;
(h) the minutes or other records of any CSIRO board meeting which considered the restructuring of the Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship;
(i) all project description and project budget documents for projects concerning the Cape Grim observing station and the associated Gas Lab analysis, for the past 5 years, up to and including 2015-16; and
(j) any written communication between Dr Marshall and CSIRO staff concerning clean coal technology from November 2015 until the present.
That the Senate—
(a) acknowledges Australia's National Breastfeeding Hotline which:
(i) provides invaluable advice to 80,000 mums every year, and is run at an extremely modest cost to taxpayers due to the fantastic work of hundreds of volunteer counsellors who answer up to 6,000 calls every month, and
(ii) requires long-term funding to provide certainty for this vital service for Australian mums; and
(b) notes that:
(i) the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding requires strategies to share maternal lactation costs more widely, such as additional help with caring for children, enhanced leave and workplace lactation breaks, and suitable child care, and
(ii) although the World Health Organization recommends babies are exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of their life, by 3 months of age, 60 per cent of Australian babies are getting some formula milk.
That the Senate notes that:
(a) the 162 members of the World Trade Organization have agreed to end agricultural export subsidies;
(b) over time, these countries will no longer have the right to subsidise their agricultural exports, which will make Australian farmers more competitive in markets such as meat, dairy, sugar and wine;
(c) Australia has a reputation for producing clean green produce and is developing strong markets amongst Asia's growing middle-class, following trade deals with three of our four largest export markets;
(d) Australia's exporters have been benefiting from the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement since its entry into force in January 2015 – in the 2015 calendar year, when compared to 2014, fresh/chilled beef export values increased by 22 per cent as tariffs fell from 38.5 per cent to 31.5 per cent; tariff falls from 12.8 per cent to 7.6 per cent saw Valencia orange exports up by 35 per cent; and export sales of fresh table grapes and shelled almonds increased more than ten-fold as their tariffs dropped from 7.8 per cent to 5.9 per cent (in season), and 2.4 per cent to zero, respectively, and over the same period, large bulk wine exports doubled as the tariff was completely removed, and export sales of rolled oats were up more than 50 per cent;
(e) Australia's exporters are also making the most of the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement, also in force for more than a year – in the 2015 calendar year, when compared to 2014, exports of shelled macadamias more than doubled as the tariff was reduced twice from 30 per cent to 18 per cent; export values for chipping potatoes jumped 64 per cent when a seasonal tariff dropped from 30 per cent to zero for the December-to-April Australian growing season, fresh beef export values to Korea increased by 37 per cent, frozen beef was up 30 per cent, and bottled wine jumped by 54 per cent, as tariffs on those products fell, and other export products to see significant growth included navel oranges, and fresh asparagus;
(f) to complete the trifecta, exporters to China are capitalising on the two tariff cuts that have already taken place under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement since 20 December 2015, which the National Farmers Federation previously estimated may save Australian farmers up to $300 million in 2016 alone; and
(g) the Australian Government is ensuring access to premium overseas markets is maintained and enhanced with the appointment of a further five agricultural counsellors in Vietnam, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, China and Thailand which are worth close to $14 billion to our exporters.
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) after in-depth discussions with over a thousand young people and a national survey of 5,400 young people, the final report of the Australian Child Wellbeing Project found that of young people in years 4, 6 and 8:
(A) between 20 and 25 per cent worry that someone close to them will not have enough to eat,
(B) 10 to 20 per cent sometimes go to bed hungry because there is not enough food at home, and
(C) more than 2 per cent often or always go to bed hungry, and
(ii) the Australian Council of Social Service estimates that 17.7 per cent of children live below the poverty line; and
(b) calls on the Australian Government to adopt a comprehensive anti-poverty strategy, including measures to combat child poverty.
The Senate divided. [16:01]
(The Deputy President—Senator Marshall)
That the Senate notes that:
(a) in the past 20 years, Australia has an excellent record of achievement in the prevention of disease through immunisation;
(b) in the most recent annual data records (2012), there were 1,897 adverse events following immunisation;
(c) a no-fault vaccine injury compensation system would provide critical cover for those exceptionally unfortunate instances where a patient experiences an adverse event with a vaccination;
(d) nineteen other countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States of America and New Zealand, have a no-fault vaccine injury compensation system, and such a scheme would enable Australia to compensate the families where there is this extremely rare instance of long-term vaccine injury; and
(e) high rates of immunisation reflect public trust in its benefits, and such trust would only be strengthened by the knowledge that the community will look after the few unfortunate casualties of a highly successful immunisation program.
That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, no later than 3.30 pm on Tuesday, 15 March 2016, the following documents in respect of the $18 million ‘communications campaign’ funded from within the Infrastructure Investment program, as referred to in the 2015-16 Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) released in December 2015:
(a) all correspondence, including emails and attachments, between officials of the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development and any of the following ministers and/or staff in their offices:
(i) the Prime Minister,
(ii) the former Prime Minister (Mr Abbott),
(iii) the Minister for Regional Development,
(iv) the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport,
(v) the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development (Mr Truss),
(vi) the Treasurer,
(vii) the former Treasurer (Mr Hockey),
(viii) the Minister for Finance,
(ix) the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science and Leader of the House, and
(x) the former Minister for Education and Training and Leader of the House (Mr Pyne);
(b) all correspondence, including emails and attachments, addressed to or from the Service Delivery and Coordination Committee;
(c) documents showing how the campaign will be funded;
(d) all documents held by the General Manager, Communications and Parliamentary, Corporate Services Division in the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development or her direct reports;
(e) all correspondence, including emails and attachments, between officials of the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development and external parties, including but not limited to Mitchell & Partners Australia Pty Ltd and the Wallis Consulting Group, dated 1 January 2015 or after; and
(f) any other documents held by officials of the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development which refer to the infrastructure ‘communications campaign’ mentioned in the MYEFO.
The Senate divided. [16:11]
(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:
Prime Minister Turnbull's failure to be upfront about his tax plans.
Ultimately, the Prime Minister has not been capable of providing the economic leadership our nation needs.
… … …
… we need a different style of leadership.
We need a style of leadership … that respects the people's intelligence, that explains these complex issues and then sets out the course of action we believe we should take …
We need to respect the intelligence of the Australian people.
… … …
We need to restore traditional Cabinet government. There must be an end to policy on the run and captain's calls.
… increasing capital gains tax is no part of our thinking …
… budget experts have challenged Labor's policy, saying it makes the mistake of using what will ultimately be a diminishing revenue source to fund—
That the Senate take note of the document.
That the Senate take note of the document.
That the Senate take note of the document.
Communications Legislation Amendment (Deregulation and Other Measures) Bill 2015
The impact of rebuilding from a low base for the current Air Warfare Destroyer and Landing Helicopter Dock ship projects was substantial and expensive.
With the cost of all planned naval projects being somewhere above $75 billion, a proficient and productive shipbuilding industry would produce overall savings to the Defence budget in the tens of billions of dollars.
The premium to build in Australia could be lower than the 30 to 40 percent range if Australia adopts a continuous build strategy to avoid rebuilding an industrial and management capability with each new ship program, starts with mature designs at the onset of production, and minimizes changes during production. With such measures (and a cultural shift in industry toward continuous improvement), we can envision this premium being cut in half.
The frigate build will certainly start in Adelaide. That doesn't mean that other yards can't have a role, but certainly the Corvette—
build is likely to start in Adelaide. It will stay in Adelaide until the frigate build starts in 2020 and then it's quite possible that the Corvette build could shift.
That senators be discharged from and appointed to committees as follows:
Electoral Matters—Joint Standing Committee—
Appointed—Participating members [for the purposes the committee's inquiry into the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Bill 2016]: Senators Abetz, Back, Bernardi, Bushby, Day, Edwards, Fawcett, Heffernan, Johnston, Lindgren, Macdonald, McKenzie, Seselja, Smith, Wang and Williams
Environment and Communications References Committee—
Appointed—
Substitute member: Senator Edwards to replace Senator Reynolds for the committee's inquiry into oil or gas production in the Great Australian Bight
Participating member: Senator Reynolds
Scrutiny of Government Budget Measures—Select Committee—
Appointed—
Substitute members:
Senator Brown to replace Senator Urquhart on 8 March 2016
Senators Carr and Marshall to replace Senators Urquhart and Lines on 11 March 2016
Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Bill 2016
That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time.
I'd rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.
The JSCEM identified that the current Senate voting system, as provided for in the Electoral Act, lacks transparency, is overly complex, and needs simplification. The current ballot paper encourages above the line voting, with voter preferences distributed through a complex and opaque system of individual and group voting tickets. The JSCEM concluded that most voters are unlikely to understand, where their preferences flow when they vote above the line.
The current system—
at least makes sense, in that it prima facie requires full preferential voting both above the line and below, with allowance only for mistakes. The Committee’s proposal of optional preferential voting both above and below the line also makes eminent sense. The Bill’s proposal, for optional preferential voting above the line but full preferential voting below the line (again with some allowance for mistakes), makes no sense, and has not been supported by any stated justification.
…that the Committee seek from the AEC data, broken down by State and Territory, on how many below the line Senate votes in 2013 would have been saved from informality under the amendment proposed in the Bill—
in comparison with the number which would have been so saved under the partial optional preferential voting scheme recommended by the Committee, supplemented by appropriate savings provisions.
A better solution – one that ended gaming by micro parties without stymieing all democratic change – would be to retain the present preference system but simply add the rule that candidates getting a primary vote of less than, say, 2 per cent, would be excluded from election and their preferences redistributed.
While the government boasts about engaging the community on the tax issue, it has avoided public debate as it seeks to muster the numbers for voting changes that would have sweeping implications for the Senate’s future composition. … This would be an extraordinarily fast passage for such an important measure. But then speed is always possible if interests coincide.
… improve the Senate voting system, require that there be unique registered officers for federally registered parties, and allow for political party logos to be printed on ballot papers.
… … …
providing for partial optional preferential voting above the line, including the introduction of advice on the Senate ballot paper that voters number, in order of preference, at least six squares;
A full inquiry into the intended, and unintended, consequences of the Bill negotiated between the Greens and the government would help the media and public think through where we now look headed. In short the new system will help the Liberals and Nationals fend off the rising threat from the likes of Ricky Muir, Glenn Lazarus, David Leyonhjelm and Jacqui Lambie. In the medium term it also helps protect the Greens from the emergence of any "left wing micros".
WA Labor leader and Member for Rockingham Mark McGowan has backed comments made by his colleague last week, despite backlash from industry and Liberal representatives.
Mr McGowan said there would be a transition to a GM moratorium should a Labor government eventuate.
"We are not satisfied at this stage that the science demonstrates that GM food and crops are safe," he said.
Shadow agriculture minister Mick Murray said yesterday that Labor would revoke the exemption for GM canola if elected …
My view is that the time for banning GM is long since past. We need to have appropriate regulation to make sure that crops that are planted meet all the food safety guidelines. That's important. But I just don't think there is an argument anymore that says you can turn a blind eye to an area of technology that's going to play a particular role in the future in reducing chemical use, reducing pesticide use and helping feed people.
We do support the use of GM within the federal OGTR—
framework, requirements, and I'd encourage everyone to look at that research and the work that's being done.
I do not have a blanket objection to the use of genetically modified crops—I absolutely don't—and it would be hypocritical for me to say that because I support the use of genetic modification in medicine…
… … …
It would be silly to say that all genetic modification will lead to serious human health impacts.
… you can vote Liberal or Labor and you'll get … the same amount of funding for your school …
… the quality of schooling in a country is a powerful predictor of the wealth that countries will produce in the long run.
What the Education Minister Simon Birmingham is saying is that he doesn't intend to provide extra funding for education because he doesn't trust the states to manage education budgets.
But these are the same people who removed the clause that would have prevented states likes ours from ripping funding out of education …
Going into Centrelink tomorrow with the husband. I can't get online. Phone's no good as I'm deaf. But I get told to make an appointment and come back another day. We live over 80 kilometres away round trip.
The automated system can never get me to a simple customer service representative. I go around in circles with the automated system and I try many different phrases ... It's difficult if you are sick and have to cancel an appointment or need to find out information quickly.
I used up all my call value on my phone because I spent several hours on hold to Centrelink. So I couldn't AFFORD to call them.
I waited over an hour on the phone, only to be disconnected when they answered the phone. I have called at 8am (not a minute later) and still have to wait 25 minutes to speak to someone.
Whenever I ring Centrelink it takes 1-2 hours to get onto them, and often someone accidentally hangs up on me … and I have to ring back and do it all again. It's quicker to drive the two hours it takes to get to my local Centrelink.
I am trying to get through to them now and it keeps returning an engaged signal. 2 weeks ago I sat on hold for 50 minutes (to the correct department) only to be told that my call had to be directed to a colleague who had proper security access to process my request. I then sat on hold for a further 50 minutes until I hung up in complete frustration.
It took 220 phone calls to even get in the queue that was over an hour long wait for something I 'should' have been able to do online but it would not allow me to update my son's school status.
I was on Voluntary Income Management until recently. I got tired of Centrelink's website not working when I needed to access my Income Management account, to either transfer credit to my BasicsCard, or to check the balance. If a bank was as unreliable as their website was, it wouldn't take me long to change banks.
My mother needed to change her address. She visited the Centrelink/Medicare office and had a 45 minute wait to change her address with Medicare. Rather than let her take a number to start waiting for Centrelink, she wasn't allowed to take a number for Centrelink until she had finished with Medicare. Then had to wait another 45 minutes. All to do the same task.
Centrelink recently made an error on my account. I waited in line for 1.5 hours to have it corrected.
68 minutes on hold—to be told that they couldn't do anything on the phone and I had to go into a branch to lodge paperwork for sickness benefit.
The app … consistently tells me I am to report my income 6 days prior to when I am actually required to. Not to mention the fact that it frequently does not work. Being assigned an employment network provider not in my city even though the same provider has an office in my city, and when I went to fix this had to wait to see someone …
Just before Christmas I was required to attend an in-person meeting to discuss my job requirements for receiving parenting payment now that my youngest child is six. I took the day off work to attend the appointment. Waited an hour and a half past my scheduled appointment.
It took three attempts before I was awarded the DSP. (The whole process took 18 months and was extremely stressful.) My pension will be reviewed after just two years, and I am honestly terrified I might be stuck in limbo without financial security while they decide my fate.