House debates
Monday, 16 March 2009
- Main Committee (0 speeches)
- Private Members’ Motions (1 speech)
In accordance with standing order 41(h), and the recommendations of the whips adopted by the House on 11 March 2009, I present copies of the terms of motions for which notice has been given by...
- Tax Laws Amendment (2008 Measures No. 6) Bill 2009; Tax Agent Services Bill 2008; Federal Financial Relations Bill 2009; Federal Financial Relations (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2009 (0 speeches)
- Returned from the Senate (0 speeches)
Message received from the Senate returning the bills without amendment or request.
- Committees (0 speeches)
- Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Political Donations and Other Measures) Bill 2009 (0 speeches)
- Second Reading (28 speeches)
Debate resumed from 12 March, on motion by Mr Tanner: That this bill be now read a second time.
- Ministerial Arrangements (0 speeches)
- (1 speech)
I inform the House that the Treasurer will be absent from question time today as he is returning from the G20 finance ministers meeting in the United Kingdom. The Minister for Finance and...
- Questions without Notice (0 speeches)
- Emissions Trading Scheme (13 speeches)
My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to Xstrata, the world’s largest exporter of thermal coal and an employer of 6,000 Australians, which estimates the...
- Distinguished Visitors (0 speeches)
- (2 speeches)
I inform the House that we have present in the gallery this afternoon members of a parliamentary delegation from the Russian Federation led by the Chairman of the Federation Council of the...
- Questions without Notice (0 speeches)
- Climate Change (9 speeches)
My question is to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts. Will the minister outline the government’s consistent and comprehensive approach to tackling dangerous climate change?
- Emissions Trading Scheme (2 speeches)
My question is directed to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to his previous answer when he claimed Xtrata was treated as an emissions intensive trade exposed industry under his...
- Economy (2 speeches)
My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister outline the latest international action to fight the global recession?
- Distinguished Visitors (0 speeches)
- (2 speeches)
I inform the House that we have present in the gallery this afternoon the Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism of Colombia, His Excellency Mr Luis Plata. On behalf of the House I extend to him...
- Questions without Notice (0 speeches)
- Emissions Trading Scheme (18 speeches)
My question is directed to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to comments by Alcoa that the government’s emissions trading scheme could lead to 1,800 jobs in Portland and...
- Migration (2 speeches)
My question is to the Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion. Minister, what steps is the government taking with respect to...
- Employment (12 speeches)
I refer the Prime Minister to this letter from Tony Philbrick, who operates a newsagency in the Prime Minister’s electorate. Mr Philbrick says in his letter that he will have to retrench at...
- Workplace Relations (7 speeches)
My question is to the Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion. How did the government’s unfair dismissal laws get the...
- Small Business (13 speeches)
My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to comments made by his minister for small business this morning on ABC News, and I quote: ‘We reckon we have the balance...
- Economy (9 speeches)
My question is to the Minister for Finance and Deregulation. Will the minister outline for the House any recent endorsements of the government’s economic stimulus plans?
- Employment (2 speeches)
My question is to the Prime Minister. Does the Prime Minister agree with Heather Ridout of the Australian Industry Group when she said that the government has broken its word on the industrial...
- Education (6 speeches)
My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion. What is the government doing to ensure...
- Economy (13 speeches)
My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to the Prime Minister’s series of announcements in the past few months on job creation: the $15 billion COAG agreement, where 130,000 jobs were...
- Alcopops (2 speeches, 1 comment)
My question is to Minister for Health and Ageing. Will the minister outline to the House the government’s legislative action on alcopops and any new obstacles to its implementation?
- Queensland Oil Spill (7 speeches)
My question is addressed to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts. Has the minister personally inspected the damage from the Pacific Adventurer oil slick off the Moreton Bay...
- Economy (4 speeches)
My question is to the Minister for Finance and Deregulation. How will the government support jobs in the commercial property sector? What has the community reaction been to recent announcements?
- Employment (7 speeches)
My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. Given that your government is determined to saddle Australia with $42 million of debt in an attempt to protect jobs, why has the Australian Crime...
- Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (3 speeches)
My question is to the Attorney-General. Will the Attorney update the House on the significance of today for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and also on the important role which...
- Personal Explanations (0 speeches)
- (27 speeches)
Mr Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.
- 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 and I move: That the House take note of...
- Ministerial Statements (0 speeches)
- ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (5 speeches)
by leave—It gives me great pleasure today to table the Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) and accompanying national interest analysis. The...
- Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Political Donations and Other Measures) Bill 2009 (0 speeches)
- Second Reading (18 speeches)
Debate resumed.
- 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.
- Business (0 speeches)
- Days and Hours of Meeting (1 speech)
I move: That the House, at its rising, adjourn until 12 noon tomorrow, 17 March 2009, unless the Speaker or, in the event of the Speaker being unavailable, the Deputy Speaker, fixes an...
- Social Security Amendment (Liquid Assets Waiting Period) Bill 2009 (0 speeches)
- Referred to Main Committee (1 speech)
by leave—I move: That the bill be referred to the Main Committee for further consideration. I point out to honourable members that the Chief Opposition Whip, the honourable member for...
- Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2008-2009 (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.
- Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2008-2009 (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.
- Social Security and Veterans’ Entitlements Amendment (Commonwealth Seniors Health Card) Bill 2009 (0 speeches)
- Second Reading (12 speeches)
Debate resumed from 12 March, on motion by Mr Shorten: That this bill be now read a second time.
- Petitions (0 speeches)
- (1 speech)
On behalf of the Standing Committee on Petitions, and in accordance with standing order 207, I present the following petitions:
- Responses (1 speech)
Ministerial responses to petitions previously presented to the House have been received as follows:
- Responses; Water (0 speeches)
Mrs Irwin Thank you for your letter of 26 May 2008 concerning a water security petition for South Australia. I regret the delay in replying. The Australian Government is working with state and...
- Responses; Mr William Van Oostveen (0 speeches)
Mrs Irwin I refer to your letter dated 17 June 2008 referring a petition submitted to the Committee. I acknowledge that Mr van Oostveen is dissatisfied with the manner in which his grievances...
- Responses; Parliament: Lord’s Prayer (0 speeches)
Mrs Irwin I refer to your letter of 10 December 2008 with regard to a petition concerning the Lord’s Prayer. I can advise you that I am not aware that any proposal to change arrangements...
- Responses; Photovoltaic Rebate Scheme (0 speeches)
Mrs Irwin Thank you for your letter of 4 December 2008 concerning a petition on the means test under the Solar Homes and Communities Plan (SHCP). The Australian Government is strongly committed...
- Responses; Iraqi Christians (0 speeches)
Mrs Irwin Thank you for your letter of 26 November 2008 concerning a petition submitted to the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives in relation to Australian Government assistance...
- Responses; Australia Post: Wanneroo Post Office (0 speeches)
Mrs Irwin Australia Post - Wanneroo Post Office Thank you for your letter dated 26 November 2008 concerning a petition submitted for the Committee’s consideration regarding the relocation...
- Responses; Disability Services (0 speeches)
Mrs Irwin Thank you for your letter of 4 December 2008 about a petition on early intervention services for children with disability received by the Standing Committee on Petitions from the Member...
- Responses; Age Pension (0 speeches)
Mrs Irwin Thank you for your letter of 5 December 2008 enclosing a copy of the petition submitted by “certain citizens of Australia” that was presented to the Standing Committee on...
- Statements (1 speech)
In the time remaining to me this evening, I would like to notify the House of some of the upcoming activities of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Petitions. As I foreshadowed...
- Delegation Reports (0 speeches)
- Committees (0 speeches)
- Private Members’ Business (0 speeches)
- Rearrangement (1 speech)
At the request of the very good friend of this chamber the member for Kennedy, I fix the next sitting Monday as the day for presenting the Trade Practices Amendment Bill 2009 and the Quarantine...
- Housing (11 speeches)
I move: That the House:(1)welcomes the drop in home repossessions and the increase in housing sales in Western Sydney in the last few months;(2)recognises the importance of the Rudd...
- Adjournment (0 speeches)
- (1 speech)
Order! It being 9.30 pm, I propose the question: That the House do now adjourn.
- F3 to Branxton Link Road (1 speech)
I rise tonight to speak once again about one of the most important road issues in regional Australia: the future of the F3 to Branxton link road in the Hunter Valley. This road between Branxton...
- Queensland State Election (1 speech)
This Saturday, 21 March, Queenslanders will make one of their most important and biggest decisions in many years and, in fact, in many elections. Queenslanders will decide on whether our state...
- Petition: F3 to Branxton Link Road (1 speech)
I rise tonight to inform the House once again of the increasingly dire need for the Rudd Labor government to commit funding to the F3 to Branxton link road in the Hunter Valley. The $42 billion...
- Parliament Alive (1 speech)
I rise tonight to inform the House about a very exciting event that is taking place in my electorate next week involving nearly 800 primary school students. This event has received such an...
- Banking (1 speech)
I rise tonight to bring to the attention of the parliament a very important issue, a very serious issue, and that is the lack of government interest, the lack of government action, and the lack...
- Wakefield Electorate: Education (2 speeches)
The Rudd government are committed to the education revolution and we recognise that schools are central to the well-being of our community. As we navigate our way through the global economic...
- Notices (0 speeches)
- (2 speeches)
The following notices were given:
- Appropriation Bill (No. 5) 2008-2009; Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2008-2009 (0 speeches)
- Second Reading (8 speeches)
Debate resumed from 12 March, on motion by Mr Bowen: That this bill be now read a second time.
- Appropriation Bill (No. 6) 2008-2009 (0 speeches)
- Second Reading (0 speeches)
Debate resumed from 26 February, on motion by Mr Bowen: That this bill be now read a second time. Question agreed to. Bill read a second time. Ordered that this bill be reported to the House...
- Delegation Reports (0 speeches)
- Higher Education Legislation Amendment (Student Services and Amenities, and Other Measures) Bill 2009 (0 speeches)
- Second Reading (24 speeches)
Debate resumed from 12 March, on motion by Ms Kate Ellis: That this bill be now read a second time.
- Statements by Members (0 speeches)
- Swan Electorate: Fiesta 2009 (1 speech)
Western Australia is perhaps best known for the fantastic lifestyle it offers its residents. My seat of Swan, in Perth, is a great example of this lifestyle. On a typical summer evening along the...
- Coogee Surf Life Saving Club (1 speech)
The Coogee Surf Life Saving Club is a community organisation that is a true asset to the people of the Fremantle electorate. It was established in 2002 and is responsible for surf life saving and...
- The Simpson Prize (1 speech)
Today the parliament hosted the 2009 Simpson Prize presentation ceremony. This is a competition managed by history teachers in Australia on behalf of the government. The theme was Gallipoli and...
- Mavis Shelton (1 speech)
I wish to pay tribute to the late Mavis Shelton. Mavis, a wonderful woman and local identity in the Lindsay electorate, passed away on 25 January this year, aged 77. Not one for extravagance,...
- RAAF Base Richmond (1 speech)
I rise tonight to express my concern at proposals out in the community to see the RAAF Base Richmond opened to more commercial traffic. We know, of course, that the federal Minister for Transport...
- Ipswich Baptist Church (1 speech)
I rise tonight to congratulate Dr Les Sands, who has just written a book called The Continuing History of Ipswich Baptist. It builds on the work of Reverend John White, who wrote a history of...
- Albury Base Hospital: Breast Cancer Screening (1 speech)
Breast cancer screenings and X-rays for undergoing screenings have been cut because the Albury Base Hospital cannot pay its bills. The Greater Southern Area Health Service owes the company that...
- Low GI Sugar Cane (1 speech)
I rise tonight to talk about the Mossman Mill and low GI sugar cane. The launch today of a low GI cane was a world first. Low GI sugar that you can buy in a bag from Coles or Woolies across...
- Gippsland Electorate: Medical Services (1 speech)
I rise to highlight concerns within the health sector in Gippsland in relation to the difficulty in attracting new doctors if the federal government goes ahead with recommendations to change the...
- World's Greatest Shave (1 speech)
I rise tonight to congratulate one of my local constituents, a businesswoman, Teri Welsh from Forrestfield Photographics, for her brave and wonderful efforts at fundraising on Friday when she was...
- Multiple Sclerosis Society of Australia (1 speech)
I would like an opportunity to remind honourable members that tomorrow morning there is a breakfast for multiple sclerosis—another of those debilitating physical diseases that we are not on...
- Lindsay Electorate: Ulysses Club Annual General Meeting (1 speech)
I rise today to take note of a significant event that is occurring in my electorate over the coming week: the Ulysses Club 2009 annual general meeting. This event has brought some 4,000 bikes...
- Gippsland Electorate: Road Funding (2 speeches)
I rise to raise concerns in relation to road funding and in particular the Princes Highway east of Bairnsdale. A tragic accident occurred near Lakes Entrance on Thursday evening where a...
- Private Members’ Business (0 speeches)
- Akha People (5 speeches)
Debate resumed, on motion by Mr Forrest: That the House:(1)recognises the stateless circumstances of the Akha people of South East Asia occupying the remote mountain regions of Myanmar, Thailand,...
- Microbrewers (8 speeches)
Debate resumed, on motion by Mr Adams: That the House:(1)notes that:(a)micro-brewers in Australia have an excellent product that has provided a niche market and is complementing boutique wines as...
- Water Crisis (5 speeches)
Debate resumed, on motion by Mr Briggs: That the House:(1)condemns the Rudd Government for its handling of the water crisis;(2)demands the Government release a minimum of 30 gigalitres into the...
- Nation Building Infrastructure Policies (18 speeches)
Debate resumed, on motion by Mr Craig Thomson: That the House welcomes the Government’s national building infrastructure policies to deal with the global financial crisis and specifically...
- Grievance Debate (0 speeches)
- (1 speech)
Debate resumed from 23 February.
- Economy (3 speeches)
I am pleased to speak in the Australian parliament today as the member for Ryan. I want to grieve on behalf of the people of Ryan and the wider Australian community. Of deep concern to me, not...
- Ageing (3 speeches)
I thought I would use my time in this grievance debate to discuss an issue that I believe is of utmost importance to Australia and to our future as a nation. I suppose this issue is highlighted...
- Religious Persecution (1 speech)
I was recently handed the magazine of the Barnabas Fund, Barnabas Aid, which supports hope and aid for the persecuted church. I was fascinated to read of an issue of great importance to me and a...
- Economy (1 speech)
I would like to commence tonight by acknowledging that small- and medium-sized businesses are an important part of the lifeblood of the Australian economy and the generators of many jobs. They...
- Defence (1 speech)
I rise tonight to speak on two very serious issues within my shadow portfolio area of defence. These issues highlight the continual failings and mismanagement of this government and the Minister...
- Nation Building and Jobs Plan (2 speeches)
I am aggrieved at the failure of the previous Howard government in delivering education facilities to the people of Dawson. Many times the former member for Dawson promised that she would deliver...
