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No. 07/2011
Monday, 28 February 2011
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The Senate met from 10.00 am until 10.22 pm
Legislation
For bills and related documents
Bills considered
The following bills were introduced
- Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Public Health and Safety) Amendment Bill 2010 [private member’s bill–passed by the House of Representatives on 10 February 2011]
- National Radioactive Waste Management Bill 2010 [passed by the House of Representatives on 22 February 2011]
- Screen Australia (Transfer of Assets) Bill 2010 [passed by the House of Representatives on 24 February 2011]
- Statute Law Revision Bill (No. 2) 2010 [passed by the House of Representatives on 24 February 2011]
- Tax Laws Amendment (Temporary Flood and Cyclone Reconstruction Levy) Bill 2011 and a related bill [passed by the House of Representatives on 24 February 2011] [These bills were also exempted from the cut-off order to enable consideration in this period of sittings]
The following bills were debated
- Tax Laws Amendment (Temporary Flood and Cyclone Reconstruction Levy) Bill 2011 and a related bill–second reading debate commenced [first speaker ]
- Telecommunications Interception and Intelligence Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2010–second reading debate commenced [first speaker ]
Message from the House of Representatives
Agreeing to the following bills without amendment
- Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill 2010 [2011]
- Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Amendment Bill 2010 [2011]
[These bills will now be assented to]
Committees
For scheduled public committee hearings
For committee reports
Reports tabled
- Economics References Committee–Decision of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on the proposed acquisition of Franklins by Metcash Trading Limited–Final report
- Public Accounts and Audit Joint Committee–420th Report–Annual report 2009‑10
- Public Works Joint Committee–1st report of 2011–Referrals made in October and November 2010
- Scrutiny of New Taxes Select Committee–The student amenities fee – Another tax by another name [report]
Government responses tabled
- Economics Legislation Committee–Tax Laws Amendment (Public Benefit Test) Bill 2010
- Environment Communications and the Arts Committee–The reporting of sports news and the emergence of digital media
- Finance and Public Administration Committee–Residential and community aged care in Australia
- Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee–The effectiveness of Airservices Australia’s management of aircraft noise
Public meetings
The Senate authorised the following committees to hold public meetings during the sitting of the Senate on 28 February 2011:
- Parliamentary Budget Office Joint Select Committee–from 8.00 pm till 9.45 pm
- Treaties Joint Committee–from 10.00 am till noon
Notices of motion given
To extend reporting deadlines
- Community Affairs References Committee–Planning options and services for people ageing with a disability–to report by 18 April 2011
- Rural Affairs and Transport References Committee–Pilot safety, including consideration of the Transport Safety Investigation Amendment (Incident Reports) Bill 2010–to report by 4 May 2011
To hold meetings when the Senate is sitting
- Corporations and Financial Services Joint Committee–
- 2 March 2011 from 5.00 pm–Public meeting
- 3 and 24 March 2011–Private meetings otherwise than in accordance with standing order 33(1)
- Cyber Safety Joint Committee–3 March 2011 from 9.30 am–Public meeting
- Electoral Matters Joint Committee–2 March 2011 from 9.30 till 11.00 am–Conduct of the 2010 Federal Election and matters related thereto
- Gambling Reform Joint Committee–1 March 2011 from 4.00 pm–Private meeting otherwise than in accordance with standing order 33(1)
- Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee–3 March 2011 from 4.45 pm–Australian Law Reform Commission
To refer matters to committees
- Superannuation claims of former and current Commonwealth Public Service employees–Finance and Public Administration References Committee–to report by 30 June 2011–notice given by Senator Xenophon
Membership
The Senate appointed Senator Siewert in place of Senator Ludlam on the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee for the committee’s inquiry into the Patent Amendment (Human Genes and Biological Materials) Bill 2010 and appointed Senator Ludlam as a participating member.
A message from the House of Representatives was reported advising of the appointment of members to the Parliamentary Budget Office Joint Select Committee.
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]
Notices of motion withdrawn
Notices of motion to disallow certain instruments were withdrawn.
Orders for the production of documents
Orders with continuing effect
Departmental and agency appointments and vacancies
Letters of advice for various portfolios [see Journals entries 29 and 41] 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 contracts published on the Internet
Letters of advice for various portfolios [see Journals entries 28 and 40] 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]
Departmental and agency grants
Letters of advice for various portfolios 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]
Health Insurance–Anti-competitive practices
A report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on anti-competitive and other practices by health funds and providers in relation to private health insurance was tabled [The report was tabled in response to the order of the Senate agreed to on 25 March 1999 on the motion of Senator Harradine and amended on 18 September 2002]
Indexed lists of departmental and agency files published on the Internet
A statement of compliance for the National Archives of Australia was tabled [Letters of advice about certain files created by departments and agencies are required to be tabled twice a year]
Documents tabled
- Auditor-General–Audit reports nos 28 to 31 of 2010-11 [see Journals entries nos 27 and 32]
- Australian parliamentary delegation–31st ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, Vietnam, 19 to 25 September 2010–Report
- Government document
- Message of condolence relating to the Queensland floods from the President of the Senate of the Philippines (Senator the Honourable Juan Ponce Enrile)
- 2 petitions
Ministerial statements tabled
The Parliamentary Secretary for Defence (Senator Feeney) tabled ministerial statements about:
- The Australian Government’s response to the Egypt crisis
- The situation in Libya
Other business
Questions without notice and issues arising during question time–first question
Adjournment debate–first speaker
Motion agreed to
Motion negatived
Censure motion
The Senate did not agree to a motion moved by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Senator Abetz) to censure the Government [first speaker].
Matter of public importance discussed
Death of former member
The President informed the Senate of the death on 21 February 2011 of Dr Richard (Dick) Emanuel Klugman, a member of the House of Representatives for the division of Prospect from 1969 to 1990.
Ministerial arrangements
The Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator Evans) informed the Senate of changes to the Gillard Ministry.
Address-in-reply
The Senate agreed to present the address-in-reply to the Governor-General on 1 March 2011.
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 . On sitting days it provides a summary of each day’s proceedings in the Senate.
Estimates at a Glance is issued this week by the Senate Table Office as a convenient guide and index for information relating to the consideration of estimates by Senate committees.
Further information
Senate Briefs, prepared by the Senate Procedure Office, provide general information about the estimates process:
No. 4: Senate Committees
No. 5: Consideration of Estimates by the Senate Committees
No. 13: Rights and Responsibilities of Witnesses before Senate Committees
Contact details
Inquiries, comments and suggestions:
phone 6277 3021
e-mail: sds@aph.gov.au