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No. 72/2011
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
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The Senate met from 9.30 am until 7.59 pm
Senators
Senators Sinodinos gave his first speech .
Legislation
Bills and related documents
Bills considered
The following private senator’s bill was introduced
- Crimes Amendment (Fairness for Minors) Bill 2011
The following bills were passed
- Defence Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 [The bill will now be assented to]
- Higher Education Support Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011 [The bill will now be assented to]
- Indigenous Affairs Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011 [The bill will now be assented to]
- National Residue Survey (Excise) Levy Amendment (Deer) Bill 2011 [The bill will now be assented to]
- Parliamentary Service Amendment (Parliamentary Budget Officer) Bill 2011 [The bill will now be assented to]
- Tax Laws Amendment (2011 Measures No. 8) Bill 2011 [The bill will now be assented to]
Notice of motion
To introduce bills
- Broadcasting Services Amendment (Regional Commercial Radio) Bill 2011–notice given by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (Senator Conroy)
- Fair Work Amendment (Textile, Clothing and Footwear Industry) Bill 2011–notice given by the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations (Senator Evans)
- Government Investment Funds Amendment (Ethical Investments) Bill 2011–notice given by the Senators Di Natale and Ludlam
- Higher Education Support Amendment (VET FEE-HELP and Other Measures) Bill 2011–notice given by the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations (Senator Evans)
- Special Broadcasting Service Amendment (Natural Program Breaks and Disruptive Advertising) Bill 2012–notice given by Senator Ludlam
See Committees for details of reports relating to legislation
Committees
Scheduled public committee hearings
Committee reports
Reports tabled
Report on legislation
- Animal welfare standards in Australia’s live export markets and the Live Animal Export (Slaughter) Prohibition Bill 2011 [No. 2] and Live Animal Export Restriction and Prohibition Bill 2011 [No. 2]–Rural Affairs and Transport References Committee [report] [a motion to take note of the report was debated – first speaker]
Other reports
- Environment and Communications References Committee–The capacity of communication networks and emergency warning systems to deal with emergencies and natural disasters [report] [a motion to take note of the report was debated – first speaker]
- Scrutiny of Bills Committee–
- Alert Digest No. 14 of 2011 and 14th report of 2011 [contains assessments of bills on civil liberties and related grounds]
- Future direction and role of committee–Interim report [an extension of the reporting date to 30 April 2012 was agreed to]
[a motion to take note of the reports was agreed to]
New inquiry
The Senate referred matters relating to palliative care in Australia to the Community Affairs References Committee to report by 12 September 2012.
Proposed reference
The Senate did not agree to refer matters relating to the retention of documents relating to criminal activities to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee [a motion to suspend standing orders to allow a statement to be made in relation to the proposed reference was debated but not agreed to – first speaker].
Meeting during the sitting of the Senate
The Senate authorised the Corporations and Financial Services Joint Committee to hold a private meeting otherwise than in accordance with standing order 33(1) during the sitting of the Senate on 24 November 2011 from 11.30 am.
Reporting dates extended
The Senate extended reporting dates for the following inquiries:
- Rural Affairs and Transport References Committee–
- Biosecurity and quarantine arrangements–to report by 21 March 2012
- Foreign Investment Review Board national interest test–to report by 14 March 2012
Notices of motion
To extend a reporting deadline
- Electoral Matters Joint Committee–Funding of political parties and election campaigns–to report by 12 December 2011
To hold a meeting when the Senate is sitting
- Rural Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee–24 November 2011 from 4.30 pm–Air Navigation and Civil Aviation Amendment (Aircraft Crew) Bill 2011 and the Qantas Sale Amendment (Still Call Australia Home) Bill 2011
To refer matters to committees
- Marriage visa classes–Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee–to report by 3 May 2012–notice given by Senators Kroger and Cash
- Possible relationship between the Leader of the Australian Greens (Senator Bob Brown) and Mr Graeme Wood–Privileges Committee–notice given by Senator Kroger [the President made a statement]
Documents
Delegated legislation
See Disallowance Alert for a complete list of notices of motion to disallow (and outcomes)
Notice of motion to disallow given
Senator Wright gave a notice of motion to disallow the Health Insurance (Allied Health Services) Amendment Determination 2011 (No. 2), made under subsection 3C(1) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 [homepage].
Orders for the production of documents
Motion defeated
The Senate did not agree to a motion requiring the Minister representing the Treasurer (Senator Wong) to table information relating to the modelling of the carbon tax–no later than noon on 2 December 2011.
Notice of motion
Senators Fierravanti-Wells and Di Natale gave a notice of motion to require the Minister representing the Minister for Health and Ageing and the Minister representing the Minister for Human Services to table a report from Medicare Australia on matters relating to the Medicare Chronic Disease Dental Scheme–no later than 5.00 pm on 7 February 2012.
Documents tabled
Other business
Questions without notice and issues arising during question time–first question
Matters of public interest debate–first speaker
Adjournment debate–first speaker
Motions agreed to
Motions negatived
Proposed suspension of standing orders
The Senate debated but did not agree to a motion moved by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Senator Abetz) to suspend standing orders to enable debate on a motion allowing the Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator Evans) to provide an explanation about the secret deal between the Prime Minister (Ms Gillard) and the Australian Greens relating to the mining tax [first speaker].
Question on notice–Failure to provide answer
Senator Ludlam asked the Minister representing the Treasurer (Senator Wong) why an answer had not been provided to question on notice no. 686 asked on 14 June 2011 relating to the Census 2011 and the homelessness count. Senator Wong provided an explanation. A motion moved by Senator Ludlam to take note of the explanation was agreed to.
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