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Senate Daily Summary
No. 24/2011
Thursday, 16 June 2011
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The Senate met from 9.30 am until 7.01 pm
Legislation
For bills and related documents
Bills considered
The following bills were introduced
- Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Other Legislation Amendment (Further Election Commitments and Other Measures) Bill 2011 [passed by the House of Representatives on 31 May 2011]
- Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Financial Viability) Bill 2011 [passed by the House of Representatives on 15 June 2011]
- Governance of Australian Government Superannuation Schemes Bill 2011
ComSuper Bill 2011
Superannuation Legislation (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2011
[passed by the House of Representatives on 15 June 2011]
- Migration Amendment (Declared Countries) Bill 2011 [private senator’s bill]
- Taxation of Alternative Fuels Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 and 3 related bills [passed by the House of Representatives on 14 June 2011]
The following bills were debated
- Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Bioregional Plans) Bill 2011–second reading debate commenced [first speaker ]
- National Radioactive Waste Management Bill 2010–second reading agreed to [first speaker ] and committee of the whole commenced
The following private senator’s bill was defeated by a majority vote
- Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Amendment (Fair Indexation) Bill 2010–defeated at third reading [first speaker ]
The following bills were passed
- Combating the Financing of People Smuggling and Other Measures Bill 2011–1 Government amendment was agreed to [The House of Representatives will now consider the amendment made by the Senate]
- Midwife Professional Indemnity Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 [The bill will now be assented to]
- Social Security Amendment (Parenting Payment Transitional Arrangement) Bill 2011 [The bill will now be assented to]
- Social Security Legislation Amendment (Job Seeker Compliance) Bill 2011 [The bill will now be assented to]
- Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Bill 2011–20 Government amendments were agreed to
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2011–9 Government amendments were agreed to
[The House of Representatives will now consider these bills]
Notices of motion to introduce private senator’s bills
- Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Fees) Bill 2011–notice given by Senator Xenophon
- Interactive Gambling and Broadcasting Amendment (Online Transactions and Other Measures) Bill 2011–notice given by Senator Xenophon
Message from the House of Representatives
- Sex and Age Discrimination Legislation Amendment Bill 2010–agreeing to the amendments made by the Senate [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 received by the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee relating to the 2010-11 additional estimates hearings was tabled.
Reports tabled
Reports on legislation
- Food Standards Amendment (Truth in Labelling—Palm Oil) Bill 2010–Community Affairs Legislation Committee [report]
- Foreign Acquisitions Amendment (Agricultural Land) Bill 2010–Economics Legislation Committee [report]
- Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (National Regulator) Bill 2011 and related bills–Economics Legislation Committee [report]
Other reports
- Corporations and Financial Services Joint Committee–
- Access for small and medium business to finance [report]
- Statutory oversight of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission [report]
[a motion was moved to take note of the reports]
- Law Enforcement Joint Committee–Inquiry into the adequacy of aviation and maritime security measures to combat serious and organised crime [report] [a motion to take note of the report was debated – first speaker]
Documents tabled
- Privileges Committee–Correspondence relating to the application of parliamentary privilege to working papers and reports from the Australian National Audit Office
New inquiries
- Live export trade–Rural Affairs and Transport References Committee–to report by 25 August 2011 [terms of reference]
- Regulatory standards for the approval of medical devices in Australia–Community Affairs References Committee–to report by 12 October 2011 [terms of reference]
New committee
The Senate concurred with a resolution of the House of Representatives establishing a Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Immigration Detention Network.
Meetings during the sitting of the Senate
The Senate authorised the following meetings to be held while the Senate is sitting:
- Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee–16 June 2011 from 1.00 pm–private meeting otherwise than in accordance with standing order 33(1)
- National Capital and External Territories Joint Committee–22 June 2011 from 12.30 pm to 2.00 pm–Committee’s biannual review of the National Capital Authority–public hearing
- Rural Affairs and Transport References Committee–16 June 2011 from 3.30 pm–private meeting otherwise than in accordance with standing order 33(1)
- Scrutiny of New Taxes Select Committee–16 June 2011 from 1.50 pm–private meeting otherwise than in accordance with standing order 33(1)
Reporting date extended
The Senate extended the reporting date for the inquiry of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee into the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre Supervisory Cost Recovery Levy Bill 2011 and 2 related bills to 20 June 2011.
Reporting date established
The Senate established a reporting date of 30 September 2011 for the final report of the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee on its inquiry into exposure drafts of Australian privacy amendment legislation.
Notice of motion
A notice of motion was given to extend the reporting date of the Community Affairs References Committee for its inquiry into planning options and services for people ageing with a disability to 6 July 2011.
Membership
The Senate agreed to various changes to committee membership.
Messages from the House of Representatives were reported advising of various appointments to joint committees.
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 to disallow given
Senators Cormann, Xenophon and Williams gave a notice of motion to disallow the following instruments made under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009–
- National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment Regulations 2011 (No. 2), as contained in Select Legislative Instrument 2011 No. 40 [homepage]
- National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment Regulations 2011 (No. 3), as contained in Select Legislative Instrument 2011 No. 67 [homepage]
Orders for the production of documents
Notice of motion
Senators Cormann, Xenophon and Williams gave a notice of motion to require a report by the Reserve Bank of Australia into bank fees and charges levied by authorised deposit-taking institutions to be tabled by no later than 31 December 2011.
Documents tabled
Other business
Questions without notice and issues arising during question time–first question
Adjournment debate–first speaker
Motion agreed to
- Centenary of the choice of a design for the national capital–moved by Senators Humphries and Lundy
Motions negatived
Matter of public importance discussed
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