Thursday, 4 December 2008

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No. 88/2008

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The Senate met from 9.30am until 1.41am

The Senate has now completed its sittings for 2008 and will commence the autumn sittings on 3 February 2009

Legislation

Bills and related documents available on BillsNet <www.aph.gov.au/bills/index.htm>

Bills considered

The following bill was introduced

• Fair Work Bill 2008 [passed by the House of Representatives on 4 December 2008]

The following bill was defeated by a majority vote

• Social Security Legislation Amendment (Employment Services Reform) Bill 2008–defeated at second reading [first speaker]

The following bills were passed

• Aged Care Amendment (2008 Measures No. 2) Bill 2008 [This bill will now be assented to]
• Corporations Amendment (Short Selling) Bill 2008 [This bill will now be assented to]
• Interstate Road Transport Charge Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2008 [This bill will now be assented to]
  Road Charges Legislation Repeal and Amendment Bill 2008 [see also Messages from the House of Representatives]
• Nation-building Funds Bill 2008–67 Opposition amendments and 9 Opposition/Australian Greens amendments agreed to and 2 clauses negatived
  Nation-building Funds (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2008–1 Opposition amendment agreed to and 6 items negatived
  [see Journals entries nos 34 and 54]
  [see also Messages from the House of Representatives]
  COAG Reform Fund Bill 2008 [This bill will now be assented to]
• Social Security and Veterans’ Entitlements Legislation Amendment (Schooling Requirements) Bill 2008 [This bill will now be assented to]
• Tax Laws Amendment (Luxury Car Tax—Minor Amendments) Bill 2008 [This bill will now be assented to]
• Temporary Residents’ Superannuation Legislation Amendment Bill 2008–4 Government amendments agreed to [see also Messages from the House of Representatives]
  Superannuation (Departing Australia Superannuation Payments Tax) Amendment Bill 2008 [This bill will now be assented to]

Messages from the House of Representatives

Reported

• Migration Legislation Amendment (Worker Protection) Bill 2008–agreeing to the bill without amendment [This bill will now be assented to]
• Road Charges Legislation Repeal and Amendment Bill 2008–informing the Senate that the House has made the amendments requested by the Senate [8 Government, 2 Opposition and 1 Family First requests for amendments]
• Temporary Residents’ Superannuation Legislation Amendment Bill–informing the Senate that the House has made the amendments requested by the Senate [3 Government requests for amendments] [The House agreed to the amendments made by the Senate. This bill will now be assented to]

Considered

• Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Television Switch-over) Bill 2008–agreeing to the bill with amendments. The Senate agreed to 2 amendments, disagreed to 5 amendments and agreed to a consequential Opposition amendment [The House of Representatives did not insist on its amendments and agreed to the consequential amendment. This bill will now be assented to]
• Nation-building Funds Bill 2008–informing the Senate that the House has disagreed to the amendments made by the Senate [first speaker]
  Nation-building Funds (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2008–informing the Senate that the House has disagreed to the amendments made by the Senate–
  The Senate did not insist on its amendments to the bills [These bills will now be assented to]
• Safe Work Australia Bill 2008–the Senate further insisted on its amendments [see Journals entry no. 5, 14 October 2008] to which the House had insisted on disagreeing [first speaker] [The House of Representatives laid the bill aside]
• Schools Assistance Bill 2008–the Senate did not insist on its amendment to which the House had disagreed [This bill will now be assented to]
• Water Amendment Bill 2008–the amended motion that the report of the committee be adopted was agreed to [see Journals entry no. 32, 2 December 2008] [This bill will now be assented to]

Committees

For scheduled public committee hearings
For committee reports

Estimates

• Additional information arising from estimates hearings was tabled.
• The Special Minister of State (Senator Faulkner) tabled particulars of proposed expenditure, and the Senate referred the particulars to committees for examination and report.

Reports tabled

• Community Affairs Committee–Government expenditure on Indigenous affairs and social services in the Northern Territory [a motion was moved to take note of the report]
• Economics Committee–Disclosure regimes for charities and not-for-profit organisations [a motion was moved to take note of the report]
• Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Committee–Allegations of academic bias in universities and schools [a motion to take note of the report was debated]
• Public Accounts and Audit Joint Committee–Report No. 413–The efficiency dividend and small agencies: Size does matter [a motion to take note of the report was agreed to]
• Publications Committee–8th Report [report adopted]
• Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee–Climate change and the Australian agricultural sector [a motion was moved to take note of the report]
• Treaties Joint Committee–Report No. 97–Treaties tabled on 16 September 2008 [a motion was moved to take note of the report]

Government response tabled

The Special Minister of State (Senator Faulkner) tabled a government response to the report of the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee on its inquiry into options for additional water supplies for South East Queensland.

President’s report on government response tabled

The Deputy President (Senator Ferguson) tabled a report on government responses outstanding to parliamentary committee reports as at 4 December 2008.

New inquiries

Selection of Bills Committee report

The Senate adopted report no. 17 of the Selection of Bills Committee, and made the following references:

• Defence Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2008–Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee–to report by 20 February 2009
• Disability Discrimination and Other Human Rights Legislation Amendment Bill 2008–Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee–to report by 24 February 2009
• Federal Court of Australia Amendment (Criminal Jurisdiction) Bill 2008–Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee–to report by 20 February 2009
• Federal Justice System Amendment (Efficiency Measures) Bill (No. 1) 2008–Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee–to report by 17 February 2009
• Tax Laws Amendment (Taxation of Financial Arrangements) Bill 2008–Economics Committee–to report by 20 February 2009
• Trade Practices Amendment (Cartel Conduct and Other Measures) Bill 2008–Economics Committee–to report by 20 February 2009
• Uranium Royalty (Northern Territory) Bill 2008–Economics Committee–to report by 30 April 2009
• Water Amendment (Saving the Goulburn and Murray Rivers) Bill 2008–Environment, Communications and the Arts Committee–to report by 27 March 2009

Other references

• Forestry and mining operations on the Tiwi Islands–Environment, Communications and the Arts Committee–to report by 25 June 2009
• Proposed amendments to standing order 25–Procedure Committee–to report by 25 February 2009
• Public passenger transport in Australia–Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee–to report by 18 June 2009

Private meeting

The Senate authorised the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee to hold a private meeting otherwise than in accordance with standing order 33(1) during the sitting of the Senate from 1.30pm on 4 December 2008.

Membership

The Senate agreed to various changes to committee membership [see Journals entries nos 53 and 74].

A message from the House of Representatives was reported advising that Mrs Hull has been appointed as a member of the Intelligence and Security Joint Committee.

Documents

Delegated legislation

See Disallowance Alert for a complete list of notices of motion to disallow (and outcomes)

• Clerk’s documents were tabled [legislative instruments and other documents required by statute to be tabled, including Governor-General’s Proclamations]

Notices of motion withdrawn

The Chair of the Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances withdrew notices to disallow various instruments made under the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 [F2008L02712  F2008L02713  F2008L02734  F2008L03001]

Order for the production of documents–Notice given

Senator Abetz gave a notice of motion to require the Chair of the Economics Committee (Senator Hurley) to table by 3 February 2009 answers to questions which were placed on notice on 2 September 2008.

Documents tabled

• Auditor-General–Audit report no. 11 of 2008-09
• Australian Parliamentary Delegation–Report–Papua New Guinea and East Timor–26 October to 5 November 2008 [a motion was moved to take note of the document]
• Department of Defence–Special purpose flights–Schedule for the period 1 January to 30 June 2008
• Department of Finance and Deregulation–Former parliamentarians’ travel–1 January to 30 June 2008
• Department of Finance and Deregulation–Parliamentarians’ travel–1 January to 30 June 2008
• Government response to a Senate resolution about executive salaries [resolution agreed to on 25 November 2008]
• Parliamentarians’ overseas study travel reports–1 January to 30 June 2008

Ministerial statements tabled

The Special Minister of State (Senator Faulkner) tabled ministerial statements about:

• Restoring integrity to government [a motion to take note of the statement was debated and agreed to]
• The first national security statement to the Australian Parliament [a motion was moved to take note of the statement]

Other business

Questions without notice–first question

Motions agreed to

• Commitment to human rights–moved by Senator Hanson-Young
• Green Cooling Council Greenhouse Gas Abatement Program–moved by Senator Milne
• Shortage of air traffic controllers–moved by the Leader of the Australian Greens (Senator Bob Brown)

Motions negatived

• Ban on duck shooting–moved by Senator Siewert
• Delay of Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme–moved by Senator Cash
• Koala habitats–moved by the Leader of the Australian Greens (Senator Bob Brown)
• Renaming of electoral division in Tasmania–moved by the Leader of the Australian Greens (Senator Bob Brown)

Statement by President

The President made a statement relating to the retirement of Ms Andrea Griffiths, Usher of the Black Rod. Senators made statements by leave in relation to the statement [first speaker].

Valedictory speeches

Valedictory speeches were made relating to the end of the 2008 sittings.

Notices of motion

Notices of motion given today are available in the Senate Journals.

Statistics

Statistics on the work of the Senate this week will be available in the Statistical Summary, which forms part of StatsNet–the Department of the Senate’s online statistical collection.

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