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No. 60/2011
Monday, 31 October 2011
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The Senate met from 10.00 am until 10.29 pm
New Senator
Senator Arthur Sinodinos was sworn in as a senator for New South Wales to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation, on 22 August 2011, of Senator Coonan.
Legislation
Bills and related documents
Bills considered
The following bills were introduced
- Steel Transformation Plan Bill 2011 [passed by the House of Representatives on 12 October 2011] [procedural motions relating to the consideration of the bill were debated and agreed to – first speaker]
- Tax Laws Amendment (2011 Measures No. 7) Bill 2011 [passed by the House of Representatives on 13 October 2011]
- Work Health and Safety Bill 2011 and a related bill [passed by the House of Representatives on 13 October 2011]
The following bills were debated
- Clean Energy Bill 2011 and 17 related bills–second reading debate commenced [first speaker]
Notices of motion
To introduce private senators’ bills
- Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Protecting Australia’s Water Resources) Bill 2011–notice given by Senator Waters
- Public Accounts and Audit Committee Amendment (Ombudsman) Bill 2011–notice given by the Leader of the Australian Greens (Senator Bob Brown)
Consideration of private senators’ bills
A notice was given by the Minister for Sport (Senator Arbib) to dispense with the consideration of private senators’ bills on 3 November 2011 to enable the Government’s legislative program to be considered.
Bills assented to
Assent to a number of laws was reported in the Senate.
Committees
Scheduled public committee hearings
Committee reports
Reports tabled
- Community Affairs References Committee–
- Funding and administration of mental health services [interim and second interim reports] [a motion to extend the reporting date to 1 November 2011 was agreed to]
- Review of the Professional Services Review (PSR) Scheme [report]
- Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee–International parental child abduction to and from Australia [report]
- Public Works Joint Committee–Public works on Christmas Island [report]
Meetings during the sitting of the Senate
The Senate authorised the following meetings to be held while the Senate is sitting:
- Economics References Committee–31 October 2011 from 1.30 pm–private meeting otherwise than in accordance with standing order 33(1)
- Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Joint Committee–1 November 2011 from 11.30 am to 12.30 pm–public meeting
- Public Accounts and Audit Joint Committee–
- 2 November 2011 from 11.00 am to noon–private meeting otherwise than in accordance with standing order 33(1), followed by a private briefing, and from noon to 1.00 pm–public meeting
- 23 November 2011 from 11 am to 1.00 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 Economics References Committee into the capital market for social economy organisations to 22 November 2011.
Notices of motion
To determine the chair of a committee
- Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee–Chair of the committee to be a minor party or independent senator–notice given by the Minister for Sport (Senator Arbib)
To extend a reporting deadline
- Rural Affairs and Transport References Committee–Operational issues in export grain networks–to report by the last sitting day in March 2012
To hold meetings when the Senate is sitting
- Cyber Safety Joint Select Committee–2 November 2011 from 4.00 pm to 6.00 pm–private briefing
- Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Joint Committee–
- 2 November 2011 from 11.00 am to noon–public meeting
- 22 November 2011 from 1.00 pm to 2.00 pm–public meeting
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]
Orders for the production of documents
Documents tabled
The following documents were tabled in response to orders of the Senate:
Departmental and agency appointments and vacancies
Letters of advice for various agencies were tabled [Lists of appointments made and existing vacancies are required to be tabled 7 days before the commencement of budget, supplementary budget and additional estimates hearings]
Departmental and agency grants
Letters of advice for various agencies were tabled [Lists of all grants approved are required to be tabled 7 days before the commencement of budget, supplementary budget and additional estimates hearings]
Notices of motion
The following notices of motion were given requiring Ministers to table the following documents:
- Budget expenditure and revenue projections of certain measures linked to the Mineral Resource Rent Tax–no later than 5.00 pm on 3 November 2011–notice given by Senator Cormann
- Correspondence between the Minister for Health and Ageing (Ms Roxon) and the Future Fund–no later than noon on 2 November 2011–notice given by Senator Cormann
Documents tabled
- Auditor-General–Audit report no. 9 of 2011-12
- Australian parliamentary delegation–Denmark, Sweden and Greece–2 to 16 April 2011–Report
- Australian Parliamentary Service Commissioner–Report for 2010-11
- Government documents
- Responses to Senate resolutions about–
- National Police Remembrance Day–from the Office of the Commissioner of Police of New South Wales [resolution agreed to on 22 September 2011]
- Recent oil spill in New Zealand–from the New Zealand High Commissioner (Major General (Rtd) Martyn Dunne, CNZM) [resolution agreed to on 13 October 2011]
Ministerial statement tabled
The Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers (Senator McLucas) tabled a ministerial statement about Afghanistan.
Other business
Questions without notice and issues arising during question time–first question
Adjournment debate–first speaker
Motions negatived
Death of Australian Defence Force Personnel
The Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator Evans) moved that the Senate records its deep sorrow at the death of Captain Bryce Duffy, Corporal Ashley Birt and Lance Corporal Luke Gavin while on combat operations in Afghanistan. The motions were carried.
Proposed suspension of standing orders
The Senate 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 relating to the consideration of the Clean Energy Bill 2011 and related bills [first speaker].
Days of meeting
A notice of motion was given to establish the days of meeting for 2012.
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