House debates
Thursday, 30 March 2006
- Australian Trade Commission Legislation Amendment Bill 2006 (0 speeches)
- First Reading (0 speeches)
Bill presented by Mr Vaile, and read a first time.
- Second Reading (1 speech)
I move: That this bill be now read a second time. This bill amends the Australian Trade Commission Act 1985 by making changes to the governance arrangements of Austrade which will establish an...
- Export Market Development Grants Legislation Amendment Bill 2006 (0 speeches)
- First Reading (0 speeches)
Bill presented by Mr Vaile, and read a first time.
- Second Reading (1 speech)
I move: That this bill be now read a second time. With the introduction of the Export Market Development Grants Legislation Amendment Bill 2006 the government is delivering on its commitment to...
- Petroleum Retail Legislation Repeal Bill 2006 (0 speeches)
- First Reading (0 speeches)
Bill presented by Mr Ian Macfarlane, and read a first time.
- Second Reading (1 speech)
I move: That this bill be now read a second time. At a time when high fuel prices are impacting on all Australians, I am pleased to introduce the Petroleum Retail Legislation Repeal Bill 2006...
- Social Security and Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2006 (0 speeches)
- First Reading (0 speeches)
Bill presented by Mr Brough, and read a first time.
- Second Reading (1 speech)
I move: That this bill be now read a second time. This bill will make numerous minor amendments to social security, family assistance and related legislation to improve the operational...
- Australian Technical Colleges (Flexibility in Achieving Australia’S Skills Needs) Amendment Bill 2006 (0 speeches)
- First Reading (0 speeches)
Bill presented by Mr Hardgrave, and read a first time.
- Second Reading (1 speech)
I move: That this bill be now read a second time. This bill is a measure of the great successes which have been achieved to date in implementing the Australian technical colleges initiative. It...
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Amendment Bill 2006 (0 speeches)
- First Reading (0 speeches)
Bill presented by Ms Julie Bishop, and read a first time.
- Second Reading (1 speech)
I move: That this bill be now read a second time. The purpose of this bill is to amend the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Act 1987 to allow Australia’s pre-eminent...
- Australian Research Council Amendment Bill 2006 (0 speeches)
- First Reading (0 speeches)
Bill presented by Ms Julie Bishop, and read a first time.
- Second Reading (1 speech)
I move: That this bill be now read a second time. The Australian Research Council Amendment Bill 2006 amends the Australian Research Council Act to implement changes to the governance...
- Defence Housing Authority Amendment Bill 2006 (0 speeches)
- First Reading (0 speeches)
Bill presented by Mr Billson, and read a first time.
- Second Reading (1 speech)
I move: That this bill be now read a second time. The Defence Housing Authority Amendment Bill 2006 makes various amendments to the Defence Housing Authority Act 1987, including the creation of a...
- Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill 2006 (0 speeches)
- First Reading (0 speeches)
Bill presented by Mr Baldwin, and read a first time.
- Second Reading (1 speech)
I move: That this bill be now read a second time. This bill is an omnibus bill that amends several pieces of intellectual property legislation. The bill amends the Patents Act 1990 to implement...
- Snowy Hydro Corporatisation (0 speeches)
- (18 speeches)
I move: That , for the purposes of section 7(3) of the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997 , the House approve the transfer or disposal of the Commonwealth shares in the Snowy Hydro Company...
- Committees (0 speeches)
- Members’ Interests Committee; Report (1 speech)
As required by resolutions of the House I table copies of notifications of alterations of interests received during the period 8 December 2005 to 29 March 2006.
- Privileges Committee; Report (1 speech)
I present the report from the Committee of Privileges concerning an application from Ms Frances Teirney for the publication of a response to a reference made in the House of Representatives.
- Publications Committee; Report (1 speech)
I present the report from the Publications Committee sitting in conference with the Publications Committee of the Senate. The report includes a list of agencies that have not complied with the...
- Health Legislation Amendment (Pharmacy Location Arrangements) Bill 2006; Therapeutic Goods Amendment Bill 2005; Bankruptcy Legislation Amendment (Fees and Charges) Bill 2006; Bankruptcy Legislation Amendment (Anti-Avoidance) Bill 2006; Ministers of State Amendment Bill 2005 (0 speeches)
- Returned from the Senate (0 speeches)
Message received from the Senate returning the bills without amendment or request.
- Postal Industry Ombudsman Bill 2005 (0 speeches)
- Consideration of Senate Message (0 speeches)
Message received from the Senate informing the House that the Senate has agreed to the amendment made by the House.
- Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Electoral Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2005 (0 speeches)
- Second Reading (50 speeches)
Debate resumed from 29 March, on motion by Dr Stone: That this bill be now read a second time. upon which Mr Griffin moved by way of amendment: That all words after “That” be omitted...
- Questions without Notice (0 speeches)
- Workplace Relations (4 speeches)
My question is to the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Revenue, but I am not sure he is in the chamber yet.
- Oil for Food Program (2 speeches)
My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to his statement last night: ... if Cole finds that Downer or Howard were told by AWB that it was paying kickbacks and we did...
- Cyclone Larry (2 speeches)
My question is addressed to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister inform the House of any further decisions taken by the government to provide additional assistance to residents of Far North...
- Workplace Relations (2 speeches)
Now that he has bothered to turn up, my question is to the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Revenue. I refer the minister to his speech to the Pine Rivers industrial relations business...
- Exports (2 speeches)
My question is addressed to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade. Would the Deputy Prime Minister outline to the House how Australia’s exports have benefited from the...
- Workplace Relations (9 speeches)
My question is to the Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer. Is it not the case that the current certified agreement the Australian Valuation Office has with its employees expires...
- Taxation (6 speeches)
My question is addressed to the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer outline to the House how hardworking Australians are better off from tax cuts over the last 10 years? Can he inform the House of the...
- Workplace Relations (15 speeches)
My question is addressed to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. Would the minister remind the House how the government’s workplace relations legislation will boost...
- Nias Island Commemoration (3 speeches)
My question is addressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Would the minister inform the House of the significance of the commemoration being held on the Indonesian island of Nias this Sunday?
- Oil for Food Program (5 speeches)
My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to the Prime Minister’s interview with Kerry O’Brien on the 7.30 Report last night when he was asked: ... don’t you want to know...
- Medicare (5 speeches)
My question is addressed to the Minister for Health and Ageing. Would the minister update the House on the government’s investment in the Medicare system, particularly for older...
- Oil for Food Program (7 speeches)
My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to his statement of 21 February 2006: I have given him— that is, Mr Cole— my documents. He’s got my file. Prime Minister, why was...
- Foreign Affairs: China (2 speeches)
My question is directed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. What are the latest developments in the Australia-China relationship?
- Oil for Food Program (7 speeches)
My question is also to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. I refer to the foreign minister’s statement of 7 November 2005 on the $300 million ‘wheat for weapons’ scandal, when he...
- Defence (2 speeches)
My question is addressed to the Minister for Defence. Would the minister update the House on government investments in defence, including any changes to the Royal Australian Air Force’s...
- National Security (2 speeches)
My question is again to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. I refer to the Australian Federal Police investigation into the leak of the top-secret national security document entitled Iraq:...
- Transport (7 speeches)
My question is addressed to the Minister for Transport and Regional Services. Would the minister advise the House of recent initiatives to strengthen the very valuable Australian transport sector?
- Oil for Food Program (5 speeches)
My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to the Prime Minister’s refusal yesterday to expand the Cole commission’s terms of reference. Will the Prime Minister now confirm that,...
- Australian Defence Medal (2 speeches)
My question is addressed to the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence. Would the minister advise the House what action the government is taking to...
- Prime Minister (0 speeches)
- Censure Motion (41 speeches)
I seek leave to move the following motion: That this House censure the Prime Minister for: (1)deliberately restricting the terms of reference of the Cole Inquiry to ensure the actions of the...
- MR Mick Farrelley (0 speeches)
- (1 speech)
I would like to take this opportunity to mark the resignation from the parliamentary service of Mr Mick Farrelley, after long and distinguished service. Mick joined the Department of the...
- Questions to the Speaker (0 speeches)
- Parliament House: Security (1 speech)
Yesterday the Manager of Opposition Business asked me a question regarding security screening of members when entering the building. I am advised that this year there have been a small number of...
- Personal Explanations (0 speeches)
- (6 speeches)
Mr Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.
- Special Adjournment (0 speeches)
- (1 speech)
I move: That the House, at its rising, adjourn until Tuesday, 9 May 2006, at 2.00 pm, unless the Speaker or, in the event of the Speaker being unavailable, the Deputy Speaker fixes an alternative...
- Leave of Absence (0 speeches)
- (1 speech)
I move: That leave of absence be given to every Member of the House of Representatives from the determination of this sitting of the House to the date of its next sitting. Question agreed to.
- Documents (0 speeches)
- (1 speech)
Documents are presented as listed in the schedule circulated to honourable members. Details of the documents will be recorded in the Votes and Proceedings. I also present documents on the...
- Matters of Public Importance (0 speeches)
- Government Standards (2 speeches)
I have received a letter from the honourable member for Brand proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely: The Government’s double...
- Telecommunications (Interception) Amendment Bill 2006 (0 speeches)
- Consideration of Senate Message (20 speeches)
Bill returned from the Senate with amendments. Ordered that the amendments be considered immediately. Senate’s amendments— (1) Clause 2, page 2 (table...
- General Insurance Supervisory Levy Imposition Amendment Bill 2006 (0 speeches)
- Report from Main Committee (0 speeches)
Bill returned from Main Committee without amendment; certified copy of the bill presented. Ordered that this bill be considered immediately. Bill agreed to.
- Third Reading (1 speech)
by leave—I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time.
- Health and Other Services (Compensation) Amendment Bill 2006 (0 speeches)
- Report from Main Committee (0 speeches)
Bill returned from Main Committee without amendment; certified copy of the bill presented. Ordered that this bill be considered immediately. Bill agreed to.
- Third Reading (1 speech)
by leave—I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time.
- Jurisdiction of the Federal Magistrates Court Legislation Amendment Bill 2005 (0 speeches)
- Consideration in Detail (2 speeches)
Consideration resumed from 29 March. Bill—by leave—taken as a whole.
- Third Reading (1 speech)
by leave—I move: That this bill be now read a third time. Question agreed to. Bill read a third time.
- Adjournment (0 speeches)
- (1 speech)
I move: That the House do now adjourn.
- Oil for Food Program (4 speeches)
Today we saw in the House why this government is increasingly being described by members of the public across this country as the most arrogant and out-of-touch administration in recent memory....
- Hunter and Gosford-Wyong Regional Water Sharing Project; Tuggerah Lakes District Band; Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council (3 speeches)
I would like to inform the House of some important announcements and events that took place in my electorate of Dobell last week. Last Wednesday the Hon. Malcom Turnbull, Parliamentary Secretary...
- Aged Care (1 speech)
I join with the member for Dobell in commending all those organisations on the Central Coast. I know they are fine organisations and provide a valuable service in the community we both represent....
- Workplace Relations (1 speech)
I rise tonight to speak on the Australian government’s Work Choices reforms. With the commencement of these important and necessary reforms, we are witnessing an increasingly personal and...
- Oil for Food Program (1 speech)
I want to raise today the overwhelming amount of evidence that points to a systemic failing on the part of the foreign minister and trade minister to discharge their obligations under Australian...
- Melbourne Commonwealth Games (1 speech)
I rise to congratulate all those involved in the highly successful staging of the 18th Commonwealth Games, which took place recently and ended last weekend in Melbourne. It was fantastic to see...
- Statements by Members (0 speeches)
- Juvenile Diabetes (1 speech)
I will do something very unusual today: I will start by congratulating the federal government and the Minister for Health and Ageing for contributing $4.2 million today to research into juvenile...
- Taxation (2 speeches)
I rise to address once again in this place the issue of taxation zone rebates for remote and moderately remote Australia. It is over 10 years since anything was done to revisit this situation, to...
- Mr Tony Blair (1 speech)
Although I was not in total agreement with the content of the speech given by Tony Blair in the House on Monday, it was nevertheless a very impressive speech indeed. The coverage of the speech in...
- Mrs Lisbeth Ann Neill (1 speech)
I rise to share with the House some observations about a remarkable woman named Lisbeth Ann Montgomerie, or Lisbeth Ann Neill after she was married. Mrs Neill was born on 3 August 1924. As a...
- House of Representatives Class of ’93; Tasmanian Election (1 speech)
Seventeen days ago was a milestone in the lives of the class of ’93. Twenty-seven of us entered this place on 13 March 1993. Sadly, only 15 of us are left. As members may or may not know,...
- Fisher Electorate: Community Water Grants (1 speech)
I am pleased to have been able to present certificates to 10 organisations recently under the Australian government’s excellent Community Water Grants program. This program was designed to...
- Herceptin (1 speech)
I rise today to give this chamber an update on the struggle of Maree Bissels. Maree is a very brave woman who is suffering from HER2-positive breast cancer. She came to this place in February...
- C17 Aircraft (1 speech)
I rise today to speak about the decision by the government to purchase four C17 aircraft and the announcement that, following the complete delivery of the anticipated aircraft, they will be based...
- National Security (1 speech)
Our society is on a heightened alert when it comes to threats of terror, and it certainly impacts on our national security. In my own electorate last year there was a series of raids that led to...
- Hinkler Electorate: Kyoto Protocol (2 speeches)
The release of Labor’s Climate Change Blueprint was hardly an earth-shattering event, but it did resonate in Gladstone, which stands to lose thousands of jobs if the opposition follows...
- General Insurance Supervisory Levy Imposition Amendment Bill 2006 (0 speeches)
- Second Reading (3 speeches)
Debate resumed from 2 March, on motion by Mr Dutton: That this bill be now read a second time.
- Health and Other Services (Compensation) Amendment Bill 2006 (0 speeches)
- Second Reading (3 speeches)
Debate resumed from 2 March, on motion by Mr Abbott: That this bill be now read a second time.
- Cyclone Larry (0 speeches)
- (11 speeches)
Debate resumed from 28 March, on motion by Mr Ruddock: That this House acknowledge the terrible impact that Cyclone Larry has had on the residents of far north Queensland and recognise the...
- Adjournment (0 speeches)
- (1 speech)
I move: That the Main Committee do now adjourn.
- Civil Unions (2 speeches)
It was my intention to speak today in the adjournment debate on the issue of discrimination against same-sex couples, based on the experience of a couple in my electorate who also happen to be...
- Ms Nell Dolphin (1 speech)
I had the pleasure recently to be at Wonthaggi for Nell Dolphin’s 100th birthday. Why is Nell Dolphin so important? A 100th birthday is a treasured time for a family. I was there not only...
- Casey Electorate: Lead On Mount Evelyn Youth Enterprise Shed (1 speech)
Last Friday I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at the official opening of the refurbished Youth Enterprise Shed in Mount Evelyn in the Casey electorate. The Lead On Mount Evelyn Youth...
- Workplace Relations (1 speech)
Monday marked a dark day in Australian history. I am of course not referring to the visit by Tony Blair to our parliament but to the beginning of a new industrial relations regime that will see...
- Wandin North Primary School (1 speech)
All members of the House of Representatives will know how important local school communities are, particularly local primary schools. They very much become the hub of a local community area. The...
- Ms Marta Edmonds (1 speech)
I rise today to put to members an example of a tremendous Australian who has suffered and survived cancer of the jaw. This person’s experience also demonstrates what treatment people can...
- Fisher Electorate: Sixth Annual Seniors Forum (4 speeches)
I call the honourable member for Fisher.
- Homelessness (1 speech)
People in my electorate who work with the homeless have been telling me for some time anecdotally that the number of people, particularly women and children, using their services is increasing. A...
- Health Legislation Amendment (Pharmacy Location Arrangements) Bill 2006 (1 speech)
The recently passed Health Legislation Amendment (Pharmacy Location Arrangements) Bill 2006 ensures that all Australians, particularly those located in rural and remote areas, have reasonable...
- Captain Alfred Dreyfus: Exhibition (1 speech)
Later this year the centenary of the final acquittal and exoneration of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, the central figure in the notorious Dreyfus affair in France, will take place. In 1894 Alfred...
- Investment in Pharmaceutical Research (1 speech)
It has often been said in this country that we should be the food bowl, or the supermarket, of Asia. I strongly commend that sentiment but I also want to put forward today the proposition that we...
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1 speech)
I rise today to express my absolute outrage at the government’s attitude to and actions towards what is a significant and valuable Australian institution, an institution that for me...
- Cook Electorate; Surf-lifesaving (1 speech)
On Saturday, 11 March 2006 I represented my colleague the Hon. Andrew Robb, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, to officially launch the Living...
- Illegal Fishing (1 speech)
As you know, yesterday I spoke about the issue of maritime security on our northern borders. In 2005, through the Senate estimates process, it was revealed that there were 13,000 sightings of...
- Queensland: Health (1 speech)
I rise today to highlight some good news for the people of Moncrieff and the people of the Gold Coast, but particularly for the people who are in the Gaven electorate. The good news is the...
- Child-Care Centres (1 speech)
Yesterday I made some remarks about the issue of child care, particularly private child care, and the necessity for private child-care operators to abide by state government regulations, just as...
- Health and Fitness (1 speech)
I think many members would agree with the member just finished that child care is an essential issue for the future health and welfare of Australian communities—not to mention busy...
