Thursday, 12 February 2009 and Friday, 13 February 2009

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No. 09/2009

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The Senate met from 9.30am and suspended at 4.29pm on Thursday, 12 February 2009, and met from 9.00am until 12.22pm on Friday, 13 February 2009.

The Senate will meet again on 10 March 2009. Senate committees will meet from 23 to 26 February 2009 to consider additional estimates.

Legislation

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

Bills considered

The following bills were introduced

• Aviation Legislation Amendment (2008 Measures No. 2) Bill 2008 [passed by the House of Representatives on 12 February 2009]
• Disability Discrimination and Other Human Rights Legislation Amendment Bill 2008 [passed by the House of Representatives on 12 February 2009]
• Employment and Workplace Relations Amendment Bill 2008 [passed by the House of Representatives on 12 February 2009]
• Tax Agent Services Bill 2008 [passed by the House of Representatives on 12 February 2009]
• Tax Laws Amendment (Taxation of Financial Arrangements) Bill 2008 [passed by the House of Representatives on 11 February 2009]
• Trade Practices Amendment (Cartel Conduct and Other Measures) Bill 2008 [passed by the House of Representatives on 11 February 2009]

The following bills were defeated by a majority vote

• 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
  –defeated at the third reading
  [For details of consideration of the bills in committee of the whole see Journals entries nos 20 and 27]

The following bills were introduced, debated and passed

• Appropriation (Nation Building and Jobs) Bill (No. 1) 2008-2009 [No. 2];
  Appropriation (Nation Building and Jobs) Bill (No. 2) 2008-2009 [No. 2];
  Household Stimulus Package Bill (No. 2) 2009;
  Tax Bonus for Working Australians Bill (No. 2) 2009;
  Tax Bonus for Working Australians (Consequential Amendments) Bill (No. 2) 2009;
  Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Amendment Bill 2009 [No. 2]
  [a motion to exempt the bills from the cut-off order to enable them to be considered today was debated and agreed to]
  [see Senate Hansard for the debate on the bills]

See Committees for details of reports relating to legislation

Committees

For scheduled public committee hearings
For committee reports

Estimates

The Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee tabled additional information arising from the supplementary budget estimates 2008-09.

Reports tabled

Report on legislation

• Tax Agent Services Bill 2008–Economics Committee

Other reports

• Intelligence and Security Joint Committee–Review of the re-listing of Abu Sayyaf Group, Jamiat ul-Ansar, and Al-Qa’ida in Iraq as terrorist organisations [a motion to take note of the report was agreed to]
• Procedure Committee–First report of 2009–Restructuring question time; Legislative and general purpose standing committees; Temporary orders

New inquiries

Selection of Bills Committee report

The Senate adopted report no. 2 of 2009 of the Selection of Bills Committee, and made the following references:

• Federal Financial Relations Bill 2009 and a related bill–Economics Committee–to report by 3 March 2009
• Foreign Evidence Amendment Bill 2008–Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee–to report by 3 March 2009
• Higher Education Legislation Amendment (Student Services and Amenities, and Other Measures) Bill 2009–Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Committee–to report by 10 March 2009
• Tax Laws Amendment (2009 Measures No. 1) Bill 2009–Economics Committee–to report by 10 March 2009

Other references

• 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
• Reporting of sports news and the emergence of digital media–Environment, Communications and the Arts Committee–to report by 14 May 2009

Public meetings

The Senate authorised the following public meetings to be held while 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

Reporting dates extended

The Senate extended reporting dates for the following inquiries:

• Regional and Remote Indigenous Communities Select Committee–2009 reports–to report by 15 June 2009 and 26 November 2009
• Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee–Foreign Evidence Amendment Bill 2008–to report by 6 March 2009

Notice of motion given

A notice of motion was given by Senator Williams to establish the Banking and Financial Practices Joint Select Committee.

Membership

The Senate agreed to various changes to committee membership. [see Journals entries nos 26 and 32]

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]

Notice of intention to withdraw a notice

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

Orders for the production of documents

Motion defeated

A motion moved by the Chair of the Select Committee on Fuel and Energy (Senator Cormann) 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 was defeated [see Journals entries nos 12 and 14].

Order with continuing effect

Departmental and agency grants

A statement of compliance for the Education, Employment and Workplace Relations 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]

Documents tabled

• President of the Senate–Report–Official visit to the Republic of Singapore and the Republic of Korea–December 2008
• Messages of condolence from overseas legislatures relating to the Victorian bushfires [see Journals entries nos 21 and 30]
• 3 petitions

Other business

Death of former member

The President informed the Senate of the death on 8 February 2009 of Neil McNeill, a member of the House of Representatives for the division of Canning from 1961 to 1963.

Personal explanation

Senator Humphries made a personal explanation about an article in the Canberra Times of 9 February 2009 concerning the nation building and jobs plan and comments made by Senator Polley on 11 February 2009.

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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