Wednesday, 11 February 2009

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No. 08/2009

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The Senate met from 9.30am until 7.27pm

Legislation

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

Bills considered

The following bills were introduced

• Defence Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2008
• Federal Court of Australia Amendment (Criminal Jurisdiction) Bill 2008
  [passed by the House of Representatives on 10 February 2009]
  

The following bills were debated

• Appropriation (Nation Building and Jobs) Bill (No. 1) 2008-2009;
  Appropriation (Nation Building and Jobs) Bill (No. 2) 2008-2009;
  Household Stimulus Package Bill 2009;
  Tax Bonus for Working Australians Bill 2009;
  Tax Bonus for Working Australians (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2009;
  Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Amendment Bill 2009
  –Second reading agreed to and committee of the whole commenced [see Senate Hansard for consideration in committee]

Committees

For scheduled public committee hearings
For committee reports

Meetings during Senate sittings

The Senate authorised the following meetings to be held while the Senate is sitting:

• Finance and Public Administration Committee–12 February 2009 from 3.30pm–Freedom of Information (Removal of Conclusive Certificates and Other Measures) Bill 2008 [2009]
• Fuel and Energy Select Committee–11 February 2009 from 11.00am–private meeting otherwise than in accordance with standing order 33(1)

Reporting dates extended

The Senate extended reporting dates for the following inquiries:

• Economics Committee–Bank mergers–to report by 17 September 2009
• Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Committee–Oversight of the child care industry–to report by 18 June 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–by 11 March 2009
  • Final report–on 24 April 2009
• Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee–
  • Disability Discrimination and Other Human Rights Legislation Amendment Bill 2008–to report by 26 February 2009
  • Exposure draft of the Personal Property Securities Bill 2008–to report by 5 March 2009
  • Federal Court of Australia Amendment (Criminal Jurisdiction) Bill 2008–to report by 26 February 2009

Notices of motion given

To extend reporting deadlines

• Regional and Remote Indigenous Communities Select Committee–2009 reports–to report by 15 June 2009 and 26 November 2009

To hold meetings when the Senate is sitting

• Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee–
  • 10 March 2009–Management of the Murray-Darling Basin system
  • 11 March 2009 and 12 March 2009–Import risk analysis for the importation of Cavendish bananas from the Philippines
  • 17 March 2009–Meat marketing
  • 19 March 2009–Public passenger transport in Australia
• Treaties Joint Committee–10 March 2009 from 7.00pm

To refer matters to committees

• Excise Tariff Amendment (2009 Measures No. 1) Bill 2009 and Customs Tariff Amendment (2009 Measures No. 1) Bill 2009 together with matters relating to the tax on ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages–Community Affairs Committee–to report by 13 March 2009–notice given by Senator Cormann
• Reporting of sports news and the emergence of digital media–Environment, Communications and the Arts Committee–to report by 14 May 2009–notice given by the Chair of the Environment, Communications and the Arts Committee (Senator McEwen)

Membership

The Senate agreed to various changes to committee membership.

Documents

Delegated legislation

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

Notice of motion to disallow given

The Chair of the Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances gave a notice of motion to disallow Accounting Standard AASB 2008-10.

Orders for the production of documents

Notice of motion given

The Chair of the Select Committee on Fuel and Energy (Senator Cormann) gave a notice of motion requiring 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 committee by noon on 13 February 2009.

Statement by Minister

The Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector (Senator Stephens) made a statement about the order of the Senate [agreed to on 4 February 2009] requiring the tabling of documents relating to the Department of the Treasury report, Australia’s low pollution future: The economics of climate change mitigation. The Minister indicated that the release of the documents would cause commercial harm.

Orders with continuing effect

Departmental and agency contracts published on the Internet

A statement of compliance for the Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy portfolio was 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 National Health and Medical Research Council 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]

Health Insurance–Anti-competitive practices

A report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on anti-competitive and other practices by health funds and providers in relation to private health insurance for the period 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008 was tabled [The report was tabled in response to the order of the Senate agreed to on 25 March 1999 on the motion of Senator Harradine and amended on 18 September 2002]

Documents discussed

Government documents were discussed.

Ministerial statement

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (Senator Evans) made a statement about the bushfires in Victoria. All other party leaders and Senator Xenophon made statements in response [first speaker].

Other business

Matters of public interest debate–first speaker
Adjournment debate–first speaker

Motions agreed to

• Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre–moved by the Leader of the Australian Greens (Senator Bob Brown)
• Japanese whaling–moved by Senator Siewert

A motion moved by the Leader of the Australian Greens (Senator Bob Brown) and agreed to on 10 February 2009 which related to civilian casualties in Sri Lanka, was moved again and agreed to in an amended form.

Notices of motion

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

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