Tuesday 8 February 2005

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No. 2/2005

The Senate met from 12.30pm until 8.32pm

Legislation

For full text of bills and other associated documents click here

The following bills were introduced in the Senate

• Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
• Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Bill 2004

The following bill was considered

• Disability Discrimination Amendment (Education Standards) Bill 2004 [2005]–second reading debate continued

The following bills were passed

Without amendments or requests [These bills will now be assented to]

• A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition (Recipients)—Customs) Bill 2004
• A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition (Recipients)—Excise) Bill 2004
• A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax Imposition (Recipients)—General) Bill 2004
• Australian Passports (Application Fees) Bill 2004
• Australian Passports Bill 2004
• Australian Passports (Transitionals and Consequentials) Bill 2004
• Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Bill 2004

With an amendment

• Tax Laws Amendment (Long-term Non-reviewable Contracts) Bill 2004 (1 Opposition amendment agreed to) [The House of Representatives will now consider the amendment made by the Senate]

Messages from the House of Representatives were reported agreeing to the following bills without amendments [The bills will now be assented to]

• Copyright Legislation Amendment Bill 2004
• Customs Amendment Bill 2004
• Family Law Amendment (Annuities) Bill 2004
• Fisheries (Validation of Plans of Management) Bill 2004
• Workplace Relations Amendment (Agreement Validation) Bill 2004

Notices of motion given

To exempt bills from the cut-off order [to enable consideration this period of sittings]

• Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Adjustment of Certain FTB Child Rates) Bill 2004
• Private Health Insurance Incentives Amendment Bill 2004
• Superannuation Supervisory Levy Imposition Amendment Bill 2004 and six related bills

Assent to laws

Assent to a number of laws was reported in the Senate

See the Committees section for details of reports relating to legislation

Delegated legislation

For a complete list of notices of motion to disallow (and outcomes) click here

Regulation not disallowed

The Senate debated a motion to disallow the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 1), as contained in Statutory Rules 2004 No. 176 and made under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984. The Senate agreed not to disallow the regulations.

Notice of motion withdrawn

A notice of motion to disallow the following instruments was withdrawn:

• National Health Amendment Regulations 2004 (No. 2), as contained in Statutory Rules 2004 No. 186 and made under the National Health Act 1953
• National Health (Private Health Insurance Levies) Regulations 2004, as contained in Statutory Rules 2004 No. 187 and made under the National Health Act 1953

See the Documents section for details of instruments [Clerk’s documents] tabled

Committees

For scheduled public committee hearings click here

For committee reports click here

Estimates

Additional information tabled

• Budget estimates 2004-05–Community Affairs Legislation Committee

Report tabled

• Private Health Insurance Incentives Amendment Bill 2004–Community Affairs Legislation Committee

Documents tabled

• Department of Health and Ageing–Hansard and documents–Community Affairs Legislation Committee

Membership

The Senate agreed to various changes to committee membership

Message from the House of Representatives reported

A message from the House of Representatives was reported advising various appointments to joint committees

Notices of motion given

To hold public meetings when the Senate is sitting

• Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts References Committee–10 February 2005 from 9.30am to 1.30pm–to take evidence relating to the Australian Communications and Media Authority Bill 2004 and nine related bills
• Finance and Public Administration References Committee–10 February 2005 from 3.30pm to 8.30pm–to take evidence relating to the Regional Partnerships program

To extend a reporting deadline

• Budgetary and environmental implications of the Government’s Energy White Paper–Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts References Committee–to report by 18 April 2005

To refer a matter to a committee

• Private health insurance rebate–Community Affairs References Committee–to report by 16 June 2005

To schedule estimates hearings

• Schedule of estimates hearings by legislation committees and reporting dates for 2004-05 additional estimates and 2005-06 Budget estimates

Motions agreed to

The Senate agreed to motions about:

• Ms Cornelia Rau–Detention–moved by Senator Ludwig [moved as an urgency motion and debated]
• Tsunami disaster–moved by the Leader of the Government in the Senate

Notices of motion

For other notices of motion not mentioned elsewhere click here

Documents

The following documents were tabled:

• Auditor-General–Reports Nos 16 to 25 of 2004-05–Presented since the last sitting of the Senate
• Business of the Senate–1 January to 31 December 2004 [a digest of all business considered by the Senate in the calendar year 2004]
• Clerk’s documents [disallowable instruments and other documents required by statute to be tabled]
• Government documents
• Government documents presented since the last sitting of the Senate
• Odgers’ Australian Senate Practice, 11^th edition, 2004
• Questions on notice–Summary for the period 16 November to 31 December 2004
• Responses to Senate resolutions about:
• Cigarette vending machines–from the Premier of South Australia [resolution agreed to 10 August 2004]
• Indigenous protocols and the opening of Parliament–from the Minister for Vocational and Technical Education [resolution agreed to 17 November 2004]
• Murray River–from the Acting Premier and Minister for Trade (Queensland) [resolution agreed to 6 December 2004]
• Palm Island–Indigenous affairs–from the Acting Premier and Minister for Trade (Queensland) [resolution agreed to 1 December 2004]
• Ukraine presidential election–from the Ambassador of Ukraine [resolution agreed to 2 December 2004]
• A petition was received

Also in the Senate yesterday

• Questions without notice and debate on issues arising in Question Time
• The President informed the Senate of the death, on 18 December 2004, of Noel Lawrence Beaton, a member of the House of Representatives for the division of Bendigo from 1960 to 1969
• The Leader of the Australian Democrats advised the Senate of various party appointments
• Government documents were discussed
• Adjournment debate

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The Senate Daily Summary is available on the Internet at www.aph.gov.au/senate

Enquiries, comments and suggestions: phone 6277 3209

e-mail: sue.blunden@aph.gov.au

This publication is issued by the Senate Procedure Office as a convenient summary of each day’s proceedings in the Senate. For a complete account see the official record, the Journals of the Senate, copies of which may be obtained from the Senate Table Office (phone: 6277 3010) or on the Internet at http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/pubs/index.htm.