<< Return to previous
page | Senate Daily Summary
No. 43/2008
Download this document (PDF 386KB)
The Senate met from 9.30am until 7.44pm
The Senate has now completed the Winter
sittings and will commence the Spring sittings on 26
August 2008 with the swearing in of senators elected on 24
November 2007 and the election of a new President.
Legislation
Bills and related documents available on BillsNet <www.aph.gov.au/bills/index.htm>
Bills considered
The following bills were introduced
- Governance Review Implementation (AASB and AUASB) Bill 2008
[passed by the House of Representatives on 24 June 2008]
- Protection of the Sea Legislation Amendment Bill 2008 [passed
by the House of Representatives on 25 June 2008]
The following bill was defeated by a majority vote
- Tax Laws Amendment (2008 Measures No. 1) Bill 2008 defeated at
the third reading
The following bills were passed
- Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1)
2008-2009
Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2008-2009
Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2008-2009
- Australian Energy Market Amendment (Minor Amendments) Bill
2008
- Civil Aviation Legislation Amendment (1999 Montreal Convention
and Other Measures) Bill 2008
- Customs Amendment (Strengthening Border Controls) Bill
2008
- Customs Legislation Amendment (Modernising) Bill 2008
- Governance Review Implementation (AASB and AUASB) Bill
2008
- Governor-General Amendment (Salary and Superannuation) Bill
2008
- Lands Acquisition Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
- Military Memorials of National Significance Bill 2008
- Protection of the Sea (Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution
Damage) Bill 2008 and a related bill
- Sydney Airport Demand Management Amendment Bill 2008
- Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (International
Agreements and Other Measures) Bill 2008
[These bills will now be assented to]
Messages from the House of Representatives
Reported
Agreeing to the following bills without amendments:
- Communications Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures)
Bill 2008
- Statute Law Revision Bill 2008
[These bills will now be assented to]
Considered
- Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
and Other Legislation Amendment (2008 Budget and Other Measures)
Bill 2008 The House agreed to 5 amendments and
disagreed to 2 amendments made by the Senate. The Senate did
not insist on the amendments disagreed to by the House [The bill
will now be assented to]
Bills assented to
Assent to a number of laws was reported in the Senate
See Committees for details of reports
relating to legislation
Committees
For scheduled public
committee hearings
For committee
reports
Estimates
Additional information arising from estimates hearings was
tabled.
Reports tabled
Reports on legislation
Other reports
- Community Affairs Committee
A matter relating to the Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
Review of 2000 [A
motion to take note of the report was debated]
- Environment, Communications and the Arts Committee
Sexualisation of children in the contemporary media [A
motion to take note of the report was debated]
- Public Accounts and Audit Joint Committee 410th
Report Tax administration [A
motion to take note of the report was debated and agreed
to]
- Publications Committee
3rd Report [report adopted]
- Treaties Joint Committee
91st report Treaties tabled on 12 March 2008
Documents tabled
- Privileges Committee 133rd report Possible false or misleading
evidence before the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Additional information
Government responses tabled
Government responses to the following reports were tabled:
- Intelligence and Security Joint Committee
- Review of the re-listing of Hizballah's External Security
Organisation (ESO) as a terrorist organisation
- Review of the re-listing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad
(PIJ), Lashkar-e-Tayibba (LeT) and the Hamas' Izz al-Din al-Qassam
Brigades as a terrorist organisation
- Review of the re-listing of Tanzim Qa'idat al-Jihad fi Bilad
al-Rafidayn (the al-Zarqawi network) as a terrorist
organisation
- Scrutiny of Bills Committee 12th report of 2006 Entry, search
and seizure provisions in Commonwealth legislation
President's report on government responses
tabled
The President tabled a
report on government responses outstanding to parliamentary
committee reports as at 26 June 2008.
New inquiries
Selection of Bills Committee report
The Senate adopted
report no. 7 of the Selection of Bills Committee, and made the
following references for inquiry and report by 27 August 2008:
- Family Law Amendment (De Facto Financial Matters and Other
Measures) Bill 2008 Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee
- Tax Laws Amendment (2008 Measures No. 4) Bill 2008 Economics
Committee
- Trade Practices (Creeping Acquisitions) Amendment Bill 2007
[2008] Economics Committee
- Trade Practices Legislation Amendment Bill 2008 Economics
Committee
Other references
-
Carbon sink forests Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport
Committee to report by 22 August 2008 [see also Journals entry no.
46]
-
Developing Australia's capacity in the area of climate change
Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Committee to report
by 20 March 2009
-
Effectiveness of the Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act
1984 Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee
-
Resource management Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport
Committee to report by 27 November 2008
Reporting date extended
The Senate agreed to extend the reporting date for the inquiry
of the Community Affairs Committee into the Poker Machine Harm
Reduction Tax (Administration) Bill 2008 to 10 November 2008, in
tandem with its new inquiry into the Poker Machine Harm
Minimisation Bill 2008.
Access to committee records
A message from the House of Representatives was reported,
informing the Senate that the House had
resolved to allow access to records of the Joint Committee on
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade inquiry into the loss of
HMAS Sydney . The Senate concurred with the resolution of
the House.
Notices of motion given
To refer matters to a committee:
-
Matters relating to Australian Rules football Rural and
Regional Affairs and Transport Committee to report by 30 March
2009
To endorse a recommendation:
- Community Affairs Committee to endorse a
recommendation in the report on the 2008-09 Budget
estimates
Membership
The Senate agreed to various changes to committee membership,
including the appointment of new senators to committees from 1 July
2008 [ see Journals entries
7 and
70]
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]
Notice of intention to withdraw notices
Notice of intention was given to withdraw notices to disallow
4 instruments.
Orders for the production of documents
Documents tabled
The Special Minister of State (Senator Faulkner) made
a statement relating to the order of the Senate [agreed to on
25 June 2008] requiring the tabling of documents concerning
defence procurement projects, and tabled a letter from the Minister
for Defence to the President of the Senate.
Consideration
Senator Bernardi
moved to take note of a document tabled by the Special Minister
of State (Senator Faulkner) on
23 June 2008 relating to an order for production of documents
agreed to on
17 June 2008 concerning grants for sports and recreation
facilities. The motion was debated and agreed to.
Documents tabled
- Auditor-General
Audit report no. 45 of 2007-08
- Australian Parliamentary Delegation Report European Parliaments
and Institutions in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Austria 4
to 20 April 2008
- Department of Defence Special purpose flights 1 July to 31
December 2007, plus an election 2007 supplement
- Department of Finance and Deregulation Former parliamentarians'
travel 1 July to 31 December 2007
- Department of Finance and Deregulation Parliamentarians' travel
1 July to 31 December 2007
- Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Expenditure on travel
by former Governors-General 1 July to 31 December 2007
- Parliamentarians' overseas study travel reports 1 July to 31
December 2007
- President of the Senate Report Official visit to the United
Kingdom and Portugal April 2008
-
3 petitions and 1 petitioning document
Ministerial statement tabled
The Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law (Senator
Sherry) tabled a ministerial statement about the report of the
equine influenza inquiry and the government response.
Other business
Questions without notice and issues arising during question time
first question
Adjournment debate
first speaker
Motions agreed to
Motion negatived
-
GT Leste Biotech moved by the Leader of the Australian Greens
(Senator Bob Brown)
Statement by President
The President made a
statement relating to his term in the office of President of
the Senate. Various senators made statements in response. [first
speaker]
Valedictory speeches
Senator Webber gave her valedictory speech, and a series of
speeches were given recognising the contribution of those senators
whose terms expire on 30 June. [
first speaker ]
Appointment to statutory authority
Senator Ferguson was appointed as a trustee to serve on the
Parliamentary Retiring Allowances Trust on and from 1 July
2008.
Temporary chairs of committees
A
warrant was tabled nominating senators to act as additional
temporary chairs of committees.
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.
* * * * * * * * * * *
*
Online
The Senate Daily Summary is available on the Internet
at www.aph.gov.au/senate
It is issued by the Senate Table 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, on the
Internet at http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/pubs/index.htm
Related resources
The Order of Business (or Senate Red') and the
Dynamic Red (which updates the Order of Business
throughout the sitting day) are also available on the Internet at
www.aph.gov.au/senate
Contact details
Inquiries, comments and suggestions:
phone 6277 3021
e-mail: sds@aph.gov.au