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page | Senate Daily Summary
No. 17/2009
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The Senate met from 12.30pm until 11.29pm
Legislation
Bills and related documents available on BillsNet <www.aph.gov.au/bills/index.htm>
Bills considered
The following bills were introduced
- Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2008-2009
Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2008-2009
[passed by the House of Representatives on 25 February
2009]
- Customs Amendment (Enhanced Border Controls and Other Measures)
Bill 2008 [passed by the House of Representatives on
12 February 2009]
- Law and Justice Legislation Amendment (Identity Crimes and
Other Measures) Bill 2008 [passed by the House of Representatives
on 23 February 2009]
- Tax Laws Amendment (2008 Measures No. 6) Bill 2009 [passed by
the House of Representatives on 25 February 2009]
- Uranium Royalty (Northern Territory) Bill 2008 [passed by the
House of Representatives on 24 February 2009]
The following bill was debated
- Fair Work Bill 2008 second reading debate commenced [first
speaker]
The following bill was introduced, debated and passed
[passed by the House of Representatives on 26 February 2009]
- Telecommunications Amendment (Integrated Public Number
Database) Bill 2009
3 Government amendments agreed to [The House of Representatives
will now consider the amendments made by the Senate]
Messages from the House of Representatives
- Auditor-General Amendment Bill 2008 [2009]
- Corporations Amendment (No. 1) Bill 2008 [2009]
- Migration Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2008 [2009]
[Agreeing to the bills without amendment. These bills 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
Reports tabled
Reports on legislation
-
Defence Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2008
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee
-
Disability Discrimination and Other Human Rights Legislation
Amendment Bill 2008 Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee [a
motion was moved to take note of the report]
-
Fair Work Bill 2008 Education, Employment and Workplace
Relations Committee
- Federal Court of Australia Amendment (Criminal Jurisdiction)
Bill 2008 Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Interim report and
further interim report [reporting date for the final report
extended to 11 March 2009]
-
Federal Financial Relations Bill 2009 and a related bill
Economics Committee
- Federal Justice System Amendment (Efficiency Measures) Bill
(No. 1) 2008 Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Interim report and
report
- Foreign Evidence Amendment Bill 2008 Legal and Constitutional
Affairs Committee
Interim report [reporting date for the final report extended to
11 March 2009]
-
Freedom of Information (Removal of Conclusive Certificates and
Other Measures) Bill 2008 [2009] Finance and Public Administration
Committee
-
Higher Education Legislation Amendment (Student Services and
Amenities, and Other Measures) Bill 2009 Education, Employment and
Workplace Relations Committee
- Personal Property Securities Bill 2008 [Exposure draft] Legal
and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Interim report [reporting date for the final report extended to
11 March 2009]
-
Tax Laws Amendment (2009 Measures No. 1) Bill 2009 Economics
Committee
-
Tax Laws Amendment (Taxation of Financial Arrangements) Bill
2008 Economics Committee
-
Trade Practices Amendment (Cartel Conduct and Other Measures)
Bill 2008 Economics Committee
Other reports
- Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity Joint
Committee
Inquiry into law enforcement integrity models [a motion to take
note of the report was moved and agreed to]
- Corporations and Financial Services Joint Committee
Statutory oversight of the Australian Securities and
Investments Commission [a
motion to take note of the report was moved and agreed to]
- Public Works Joint Committee
[a
motion to take note of the reports was moved and agreed to]
Report considered
- Procedure Committee
First report of 2009 [A
motion that the proposed amendments to the standing orders be
adopted was agreed to]
Document tabled
- Standing Order 37(3) Access to committee documents Report to
the Senate
Interim government response
tabled
- Finance and Public Administration Committee Transparency and
accountability of Commonwealth public funding and expenditure
Meetings during Senate sittings
The Senate authorised the following meetings to be held while
the Senate is sitting:
- Community Affairs Committee 10 and 11 March 2009 Excise Tariff
Amendment (2009 Measures No. 1) Bill 2009 and a related bill
- Electoral Matters Joint Committee 10 March 2009 private meeting
otherwise than in accordance with standing order 33(1)
- Public Accounts and Audit Joint Committee 11 March 2009 from
11.00am to 1.00pm Auditor-General's role in scrutinising government
advertising campaigns
Notices of motion given
To establish a select committee
To extend reporting deadlines
- Community Affairs Committee Excise Tariff Amendment (2009
Measures No. 1) Bill 2009 and a related bill to report by 16
March 2009
- Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Committee
Australia's research and training capacity in the area of climate
change to report by 17 September 2009
- Environment, Communications and the Arts Committee
Effectiveness of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act 1999 and other programs in protecting
threatened species and ecological communities First report to
report by 18 March 2009
To hold meetings when the Senate is sitting
- Community Affairs Committee
- 12 March 2009 Petrol sniffing and substance abuse in central
Australia
- 19 March 2009 Impact of gene patents on the provision of
healthcare in Australia
- Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee 12 March 2009 from
4.30pm Economic and security challenges facing Papua New Guinea and
the island states of the southwest Pacific
- Public Accounts and Audit Joint Committee Review of
Auditor-General's reports
- 18 March 2009 from 11.00am to 1.00pm
- 19 March 2009 from 9.30am to 11.30am
To discontinue an inquiry
- Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee
Establishment of an Australian Football League team for Tasmania
notice given by Senators Abetz, Colbeck, Parry, Bushby and
Barnett
To refer a matter to a committee
- Exposure draft of the legislation to implement the Carbon
Pollution Reduction Scheme Economics Committee to report by 14
April 2009 notice given by the Minister for Climate Change and
Water (Senator Wong)
Membership
The Senate agreed to various changes to committee membership
[see Journals entries nos
51 and
61].
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 motion withdrawn
The Chair of the Standing Committee on Regulations and
Ordinances withdrew a
motion to disallow
Accounting Standard AASB 2008-10.
Orders for the production of documents
Notices of motion given
The following notices of motion were given requiring Ministers
to table documents:
- Minister representing the Minister for Health and Ageing (
Senator Ludwig ) to table
documents relating to private health insurance no later than
12.00pm on 16 March 2009 moved by Senator Cormann
-
Documents relating to the Department of the Treasury report,
Australia's Low Pollution Future: The economics of
climate change mitigation to be provided to the Fuel and
Energy Select Committee no later than noon on 13 March 2009
notice given by the Chair of the Select Committee on Fuel and
Energy (Senator Cormann)
Orders with continuing effect
Departmental and agency appointments
A statement of compliance for the Immigration and Citizenship
portfolio was tabled [Lists of appointments made and existing
vacancies are
required to be tabled 7 days before the commencement of budget,
supplementary budget and additional estimates hearings]
Departmental and agency contracts published on the
Internet
Statements of compliance for
various agencies were tabled [Letters of advice about certain
contracts valued at $100 000 or more entered into by departments
and agencies are required
to be tabled twice a year]
Departmental and agency grants
A statement of compliance for the Immigration and Citizenship
portfolio was tabled [Lists of all grants approved are
required to be tabled 7 days before the commencement of budget,
supplementary budget and additional estimates hearings]
Indexed lists of departmental and agency files published on
the Internet
Statements of compliance for various agencies were tabled [see
Journals entries nos
37 and
50] [Letters of advice about certain files created by
departments and agencies are required
to be tabled twice a year]
Documents tabled
- Auditor-General Audit reports nos 22 to 24 of 2008-09 [see
Journals entries nos
36 and
45]
- Government documents [see Journals entries nos
2 and
35]
- Messages of condolence from
overseas legislatures relating to the Victorian bushfires
- Responses to Senate resolutions about:
- Agricultural research from the Minister for Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry (Mr Burke) [resolution agreed to
26 November 2008]
- Japan's whaling program from the Ambassador of Japan (His
Excellency Mr Takaaki Kojima) [resolution agreed to
5 February 2009] [a
statement was made in relation to the response]
-
A petition
Ministerial statements tabled
The Minister for Human Services (Senator Ludwig) tabled
ministerial statements about :
- Additional employment services and training to respond to the
global financial crisis
- Australia-Korea Free Trade Agreement
- Closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage: The challenge for
Australia [and report]
- Discussions in Poland on progress in Afghanistan
- Enhanced Australian engagement with Pakistan
- International Women's Day
Other business
Questions without notice and issues arising during question time
first question
Adjournment debate
first speaker
Death of former member
The Deputy President informed the Senate of the death on 25
January 2009 of John Murray, MBE, a member of the House of
Representatives for the division of Herbert from 1958 to 1961.
Ministerial arrangements
The Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator Evans) and
the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Senator Minchin)
informed the Senate of changes to
ministerial and
shadow ministerial arrangements.
Manager of Opposition Business
The Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Senator Minchin)
informed the Senate of the appointment of Senator Parry as Manager
of Opposition Business.
Temporary chair of committees
A warrant was tabled nominating Senator McGauran as a temporary
chair of committees.
Notices of motion
Notices of motion given today are available in the Senate
Journals.
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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