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No. 41/2011
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
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The Senate met from 12.30 pm until 9.08 pm
Senators
Senators Urquhart and Waters gave their first speeches.
The President announced the resignation, on 22 August 2011, of Senator Coonan.
Legislation
Bills and related documents
Bills considered
The following bills were introduced
- Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Registration Charges Consequentials) Bill 2011 [passed by the House of Representatives on 22 August 2011]
- Education Services for Overseas Students (Registration Charges) Amendment Bill 2011 [passed by the House of Representatives on 22 August 2011]
- Horse Disease Response Levy Bill 2011 and 2 related bills [passed by the House of Representatives on 22 August 2011]
- Indigenous Affairs Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 [passed by the House of Representatives on 18 August 2011]
- Legislative Instruments Amendment (Sunsetting) Bill 2011 [passed by the House of Representatives on 22 August 2011]
The following bills were debated
- Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Budget Measures) Bill 2010–second reading agreed to [first speaker ] and committee of the whole commenced–4 Government amendments to be determined
- Income Tax Rates Amendment (Research and Development) Bill 2010–second reading agreed to [first speaker ] and committee of the whole completed–1 Government request for an amendment agreed to [The House of Representatives will now consider the request made by the Senate]
The following bill was passed
- Tax Laws Amendment (Research and Development) Bill 2010–2 further government amendments agreed to [see Journals of the Senate for 22 August for previous consideration in committee] [The House of Representatives will now consider the amendments made by the Senate]
Notice of motion to introduce a bill
- National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Amendment Bill 2011–notice given by the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations (Senator Evans)
See Committees for details of reports relating to legislation
Committees
Scheduled public committee hearings
Committee reports
Reports tabled
Reports on legislation
- Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011–Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee [report]
Other reports
- Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Joint Committee–Inquiry into Australia’s trade and investment relations with Asia, the Pacific and Latin America [report]
- Intelligence and Security Joint Committee–Review of the listing of AQAP and the re-listing of six terrorist organisations [report] [a motion was moved to take note of the report]
- Public Works Joint Committee–Referrals made May to June 2011 [report]
Documents tabled
- Corporations and Financial Services Joint Committee–Statement discharging the committee’s requirement to present a report on the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Early Release of Superannuation) Bill 2011
Meetings during the sitting of the Senate
The Senate authorised the following meetings to be held while the Senate is sitting:
- Community Affairs References Committee–25 August 2011 from 1.00 pm–private meeting otherwise than in accordance with standing order 33(1)
- Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee–23 August 2011 from 7.00 pm–Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Fair Protection for Firefighters) Bill 2011–public hearing
- Migration Joint Committee–14 September 2011 from 10.30 am to noon–public meeting
- National Broadband Network Joint Committee–23 August 2011 from 6.00 pm–private meeting otherwise than in accordance with standing order 33(1)
- Treaties Joint Committee–12 September 2011 from 10.30 am to noon–public meeting
Reporting dates extended
The Senate extended reporting dates for the following inquiries:
- Community Affairs References Committee–Professional Services Review Scheme–to report by 12 October 2011
- Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee–Patent Amendment (Human Genes and Biological Materials) Bill 2010–to report by 21 September 2011
- Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee–Agreement between Australia and Malaysia in relation to asylum seekers–to report by 11 October 2011
Notice of motion
A notice of motion was given to extend the reporting date for the inquiry of the Environment and Communications References Committee into the status, health and sustainability of the koala population to 20 September 2011.
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)
- Clerk’s documents were tabled [legislative instruments and other documents required by statute to be tabled]
Notice of motion to disallow given
Senator Hanson-Young gave a notice of motion to disallow the Migration Amendment Regulations 2011 (No. 4), made under the Migration Act 1958 and contained in Select Legislative Instrument 2011 No. 122 [homepage].
Orders for the production of documents
Documents tabled
The Parliamentary Secretary for the Prime Minister (Senator Lundy) tabled a statement relating to an order concerning act of grace payments [tabled in response to the order of the Senate agreed to on 22 August 2011] [a motion to take note of the statement was agreed to].
Orders with continuing effect
Departmental and agency contracts published on the Internet
Letters of advice 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]
Indexed lists of departmental and agency files published on the Internet
Statements of compliance for various agencies were tabled [Letters of advice about certain files created by departments and agencies are required to be tabled twice a year]
Documents tabled
Other business
Questions without notice and issues arising during question time–first question
Adjournment debate–first speaker
Motions agreed to
- Consumer rights–moved by the Leader of the Australian Greens (Senator Bob Brown)
- Past financial assistance to the Tasmanian logging industry–moved by the Leader of the Australian Greens (Senator Bob Brown)
Matter of public importance discussed
Death of Private Matthew Lambert
The Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator Evans) moved that the Senate records its deep sorrow at the death, on 22 August 2011, of Private Matthew Lambert, while on combat operations in Afghanistan. The motion was supported.
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