House debates

Monday, 17 June 2013

• Statement by the Speaker (0 speeches)
  • Matter of Privilege (3 speeches)
    Just before I call the first member, I do have a matter of privilege to clear up. On 6 June 2013, the Leader of the Opposition raised a matter of privilege in relation to a matter of public...
• Petitions (0 speeches)
  • Statements (1 speech)
    At this time of the year, I usually provide the House with some details about trends in petitioning and the operations of the committee in the previous six months. The last time I gave the House...
• Committees (0 speeches)
  • Gambling Reform Committee; Report (5 speeches)
    As the deputy chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Gambling Reform, it is a great pleasure to speak on the tabling of the committee's fifth report today. This report covered the area of...
  • Climate Change, Environment and the Arts Committee; Report (5 speeches)
    On behalf of the Standing Committee on Climate Change, Environment and the Arts, I present the committee's report incorporating a dissenting report entitled Managing Australia's biodiversity in a...
  • Climate Change, Environment and the Arts Committee; Report and Reference to Federation Chamber (1 speech)
    I move: That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate. Question agreed to.
  • Health and Ageing Committee; Report (5 speeches)
    On behalf of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing I present the committee's report entitled Bridging the dental gap: report on the inquiry into adult dental...
  • Health and Ageing Committee; Report and Reference to Federation Chamber (1 speech)
    by leave—I move: That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate. Question agreed to.
• Bills (0 speeches)
  • Competition and Consumer Amendment (Strengthening Rules About Misuse of Market Power) Bill 2013; First Reading (2 speeches)
    I present the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Strengthening Rules About Misuse of Market Power) Bill 2013 and the explanatory memorandum. This is the bill that puts to the House sensible...
  • Reserve Bank Amendment (Australian Reconstruction and Development Board) Bill 2013; First Reading (2 speeches)
    In presenting the Reserve Bank Amendment (Australian Reconstruction and Development Board) Bill 2013 I pay great tribute to the work of Rowell Walton and all his team, many of whom are down here...
  • Reducing Supermarket Dominance Bill 2013; First Reading (2 speeches)
    The Reducing Supermarket Dominance Bill 2013 will create a commissioner for food retailing and other purposes. The commission will not be limited to food retailing but its primary objectives will...
• Motions (0 speeches)
  • Peru and Australia (7 speeches)
    I move: That this House: (1) recognises the accomplishments of 50 years of fruitful diplomatic relations between Peru and Australia, the continuing friendship between our nations and the...
  • Dyslexia (3 speeches)
    I move: That this House: (1) recognises: (a) dyslexia as a learning disability which, according to the World Federation of Neurology, is ‘manifested by difficulty in learning to read...
• Delegation Reports (0 speeches)
  • Australian Parliamentary Delegation to South Africa and Zambia (1 speech)
    by leave—I present the report of the Australian parliamentary delegation to South Africa and Zambia in April 2013, and seek leave to make some very brief comments. Leave granted. This was a...
• Committees (0 speeches)
  • National Broadband Network Committee; Report (1 speech)
    On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network, I present the committee's final report, incorporating a dissenting report, entitled Review of the rollout of the...
  • National Broadband Network Committee; Report and Reference to Federation Chamber (1 speech)
    by leave—I move: That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate. Question agreed to.
• Parliamentary Representation (0 speeches)
  • Valedictory (3 speeches)
    How does one summarise 20 years in parliament while doing justice to all those who have been so pivotal to that service? I have been deeply touched by the extraordinary generosity at every turn...
• Bills (0 speeches)
  • Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Consumer Protection) Bill 2013; Report from Committee (1 speech)
    On behalf of the Joint Select Committee on Broadcasting Legislation, I seek leave to make a statement on the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Consumer Protection) Bill 2013 in discharge...
  • Competition and Consumer Amendment Bill 2013; 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.
  • Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Bill 2013; Second Reading (5 speeches)
    I rise to speak on the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Bill 2013. The bill proposes to replace the existing model for Commonwealth financial management established through the...
  • Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Bill 2013; Consideration in Detail (1 speech)
    I present a supplementary explanatory memorandum and a replacement explanatory memorandum to the bill. I ask leave of the House to move government amendments (1) to (14) as circulated together....
  • Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Bill 2013; 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.
  • Crimes Legislation Amendment (Law Enforcement Integrity, Vulnerable Witness Protection and Other Measures) Bill 2013; Reference to Federation Chamber (1 speech)
    by leave—I move: That the bill be referred to the Federation Chamber for further consideration. Question agreed to.
  • Higher Education Support Amendment (Asian Century) Bill 2013; Second Reading (1 speech)
    I move that: Standing order 43 be suspended until the finalisation of this bill. Question agreed to. Bill read a second time. Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.
  • Higher Education Support Amendment (Asian Century) Bill 2013; 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.
• Statements by Members (0 speeches)
  • Bennelong Electorate: Granny Smith Day Club (1 speech)
    Several weeks ago I joined the volunteers and attendees at the Epping RSL Granny Smith Day Club to help celebrate 30 years of operation. The Epping RSL day club has been open since April 1983...
  • Canberra Electorate: Marathon Netball Game (1 speech)
    On Saturday I had the pleasure of participating in the Tuggeranong Netball Association's 10-hour marathon charity netball game raising funds for two wonderful Canberra charities—Bosom...
  • Aston Electorate: War Memorial Honour Roll (1 speech)
    Just over 12 months ago, I launched in conjunction with the major veterans and services organisations a campaign to build an honour roll in the Knox municipality to honour those fallen servicemen...
  • Tolputt, Mr Nick (1 speech)
    I acknowledge illustrious members of the Launceston City Council. Today I would like to highlight Nick Tolputt, a young actor, musician and singer in my electorate of Bass. Nick attended St...
  • National Security (1 speech)
    When the government rose to introduce the budget last year they started with the line, 'Tonight we introduce four years of surpluses.' What has happened is that we have had the five biggest...
  • Economy (2 speeches)
    I rise today to talk about the wonderful economy that we have here in Australia, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world, and the lowest interest rates for a long time where...
• Ministerial Arrangements (0 speeches)
  • (1 speech)
    I inform the House that the Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Justice will be absent from question time today for personal reasons. The Attorney-General will answer questions on his...
• Questions without Notice (0 speeches)
  • Carbon Pricing (4 speeches)
    Madam Speaker, my question is to the Prime Minister. I remind her that in the past three years families' electricity costs have increased by 45 per cent. Is the Prime Minister aware that...
  • Education Funding (2 speeches)
    Speaker, my question is to the Prime Minister. How has the government made sure that parents and school communities have the information and the funding they need to make every school a great school?
  • Carbon Pricing (15 speeches, 1 comment)
    My question is to the Prime Minister. Why is the Prime Minister making the world's biggest carbon tax even bigger by imposing a carbon tax on heavy vehicles from 1 July next year?
  • Education (4 speeches)
    My question is to the Prime Minister. How will schools, particularly those in my home state of Victoria, benefit from the government's plan for better schools?
  • Employment (5 speeches)
    My question is to the Prime Minister. I remind the Prime Minister of the warning from the Business Council of Australia, and I quote: Our costs are too high, productivity is too low, we haven't...
  • Veterans (10 speeches, 2 comments)
    My question is addressed to the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. On the Sunshine Coast, we have many service veterans. I am advised that in early March at Rooty Hill, the Prime Minister promised...
  • Education Funding (2 speeches)
    My question is to the Prime Minister. What do schools and families in my electorate and across Queensland stand to lose by the state government's refusal to sign on to the national plan for...
  • Employment (7 speeches)
    My question is to the Treasurer. I remind the Treasurer of his promise from 18 May 2011 when he said, 'We are going to see the creation of 500,000 new jobs over the next two years'. Will the...
  • Economy (3 speeches)
    My question is to the Treasurer: why does Australia have one of the strongest economies in the world; and how will the government's plan for smarter and fairer schools make our economy even...
  • Clean Energy Finance Corporation (5 speeches)
    My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to reports that the government's $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation, which is funded with borrowed money, is set to lend $100 million for...
• Distinguished Visitors (0 speeches)
  • (1 speech)
    I welcome to the gallery young Indigenous students who are visiting for the Work Exposure in Government Program. I welcome them to the House this afternoon. Honourable members: Hear, hear!
• Questions without Notice (0 speeches)
  • Education Funding (6 speeches)
    My question is to the Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth. What will the National Plan for School Improvement mean for South Australian schools? What are the obstacles in...
  • Budget (13 speeches)
    My question is to the Prime Minister. I remind the Prime Minister that her budget confirms that Labor's waste and mismanagement will cause debt to climb to over $300 billion, leaving us with an...
  • Workplace Relations (2 speeches)
    My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, and Financial Services and Superannuation. Minister, how is the government helping to create good jobs and fairer...
  • Asylum Seekers (5 speeches)
    My question is to the Prime Minister. I remind the Prime Minister that illegal arrivals by boat are now 1,000 times higher than in 2008, when the Rudd government abolished the policies of...
  • Infrastructure (10 speeches)
    My question is to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport and Minister for Regional Development and Local Government. Minister, how is the government getting on with its plan for...
• Personal Explanations (0 speeches)
  • (16 speeches)
    Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.
• Auditor-General's Reports (0 speeches)
  • Reports Nos 43 to 45 of 2012-13 (1 speech)
    I present the Auditor-General’s Audit reports for 2012-2013 entitled No. 43, Establishment, implementation and administration of the general component of the Local Jobs stream of the Jobs...
• Committees (0 speeches)
  • Intelligence and Security Committee; Membership (2 speeches)
    I have received a letter from the honourable member for Melbourne Ports resigning his position on the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, and advice from the Honourable...
• Bills (0 speeches)
  • Crimes Legislation Amendment (Law Enforcement Integrity, Vulnerable Witness Protection and Other Measures) Bill 2013; Reference to Federation Chamber (1 speech)
    by leave—I move: That the bill be referred to the Federation Chamber for further consideration.
• Business (0 speeches)
  • Days and Hours of Meeting (1 speech)
    by leave—I move: That the resolution agreed to on Thursday, 6 June 2013, relating to the time for the sitting tomorrow, Tuesday, 18 June 2013, be varied to provide for the House to meet at...
• Ministerial Statements (0 speeches)
  • National Road Safety Strategy 2011-20 (3 speeches)
    by leave—Today I give my second annual statement to the House on progress in delivering a vital national initiative—the National Road Safety Strategy 2011-20. The strategy aims to cut...
• Committees (0 speeches)
  • Corporations and Financial Services Committee; Report (2 speeches)
    On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services I present the committee's report, incorporating a dissenting report, entitled Regulatory framework for tax...
• Bills (0 speeches)
  • Migration Amendment (Offshore Resources Activity) Bill 2013; Second Reading (6 speeches)
    I rise to speak on the Migration Amendment (Offshore Resources Activity) Bill 2013. At this stage the coalition will not be supporting this bill and will be seeking to refer it to the Senate...
  • Australian Capital Territory Water Management Legislation Amendment Bill 2013; Reference to Federation Chamber (1 speech)
    by leave—I move: That the bill be referred to the Federation Chamber for further consideration. Question agreed to.
  • Migration Amendment (Offshore Resources Activity) Bill 2013; Second Reading (5 speeches)
    I have listened to all of the opposition speakers who have spoken on the Migration Amendment (Offshore Resources Activity) Bill 2013 and all I heard from each and every one of them was an attack...
  • Migration Amendment (Offshore Resources Activity) Bill 2013; 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.
  • Customs Amendment (Anti-dumping Measures) Bill 2013; 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.
  • Customs Tariff (Anti-Dumping) Amendment Bill 2013; 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.
  • Crimes Legislation Amendment (Law Enforcement Integrity, Vulnerable Witness Protection and Other Measures) Bill 2013; 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 Legislation Amendment (Public Housing Tenants' Support) Bill 2013; 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)
  • Rearrangement (1 speech)
    I move: That business intervening before order of the day No. 15, government business, be postponed until a later hour this day. Question agreed to. (Quorum formed)
• Bills (0 speeches)
  • Australian Education (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013; Second Reading (15 speeches, 2 comments)
    It is good to see people turning up to hear this important speech. Obviously, education is something I am particularly passionate about and this educational transition bill is a part of the...
  • Australian Capital Territory Water Management Legislation Amendment Bill 2013; 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.
  • Charities Bill 2013, Charities (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013; Second Reading (3 speeches)
    I rise to speak on the Charities Bill 2013 and the Charities (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013. I will focus my remarks primarily on the Charities Bill. That bill...
• Private Members' Business (0 speeches)
  • Dyslexia (7 speeches)
    I rise to speak on this very important motion from the member for Dawson. According to the World Federation of Neurology, as this motion notes, dyslexia is 'manifested by difficulty in learning...
  • Renewable Energy Targets (11 speeches)
    I move: That this House recognises that: (1) wind energy is an important and safe source of renewable energy; (2) wind energy generation will play a crucial role in enabling Australia to meet its...
• Adjournment (0 speeches)
  • Avenue of Honour, Lake Tinaroo (1 speech)
    In the early hours of 21 June 2010 a US Black Hawk helicopter was flying low and fast to avoid enemy detection in the forbidding mountains of Kandahar Province in Afghanistan. In the pitch-black...
  • Griffith Electorate: Playing Fields (1 speech)
    I recently advised the parliament of the Queensland Liberal National Party government's plan to privatise school playing fields at both Balmoral State High School and Whites Hill College and to...
  • Asylum Seekers (1 speech)
    There are only two sitting weeks to go before the 14 September election. All Australians are sick to death of the division and chaos of this federal Labor government. The ongoing soap opera...
  • Electorate of Holt: Fountain Gate Headspace Campaign (1 speech)
    Last Friday I caught up with some of Casey's youth as part of our campaign for a headspace centre at the Fountain Gate shopping centre precinct in my electorate of Holt. The Australian...
  • Liberal-National Party Coalition (1 speech)
    This federal election is about the future, a future in which we as Liberals will carry forward our defining principles: the right of all Australians to be free to determine how they live their...
  • MELLS, Mr Patrick, OAM (1 speech)
    It is wonderful to follow Pitt the Younger! I always love to follow my friend Wyatt. I would like to talk to the House about the Gawler Show season launch which happened last Wednesday. Gawler is...
  • Boothby Electorate: Environment (1 speech)
    I rise to speak on some local environmental initiatives I am currently fighting for. I am lucky that the electorate of Boothby, which I represent, has both a beautiful coastline and an expansive...
  • Banks Electorate: Roller Derby Championship (1 speech)
    On Saturday 15 June, I attended the Hurstville Stadium for the Roller Derby Championship. The first game was between the Central Coast Roller Girls, who defeated the Inner West Roller Derby...
  • Herbert Electorate: Townsville Bridges (1 speech)
    I have driven the Bruce Highway a number of times since moving to Townsville in 1994. In my days as an auctioneer and as a finance company representative I would always do between 60,000 and...
  • Robertson Electorate: Five Lands Awakening Ceremony (1 speech)
    I rise with considerable delight, having found out from the member for Banks here in the House this evening about the Central Coast roller derby team. He gave a most eloquent explanation of how...
  • Farm Finance Package (1 speech)
    I rise tonight to ask the Treasurer and ask the minister for agriculture what is going on with the Farm Finance package. Farmers across Australia need some certainty. They need to know what is...
  • Renewable Energy (1 speech)
    We all know that the Leader of the Opposition's history of misleading statements about global warming and climate change does not have a significant component of scientific evidence. Those...
  • Cost of Living (1 speech)
    Last week the Victorian Liberal government wrote to all public housing tenants, including all of the people in Housing Commission accommodation in my electorate in East St Kilda and South...
  • GrainCorp (1 speech)
    More than 300 delegates at the New South Wales Nationals conference on Saturday at Bathurst outrightly said no to the foreign takeover of GrainCorp by American corporation Archer Daniels Midland...
• Constituency Statements (0 speeches)
  • Longman Electorate: Education (3 speeches)
    Last week an email from a mysterious, dare I say, faceless entity known as the Labor Party caucus communications team instructed every Labor MP to stand outside a school gate to spruik the...
  • Hughes, Ms Helen AO (1 speech)
    Economists have a tradition of paying tribute to colleagues of a different ideological view. Friedrich Hayek said of John Maynard Keynes, 'He was the one really great man I ever knew, and for...
  • Kooyong Electorate: Financial Services (1 speech)
    In my electorate of Kooyong, just as right across the nation, the financial services sector plays a major role in our economy. When one takes into account the banks, insurance companies,...
  • Schools (1 speech)
    I call on the Victorian Liberal government to sign up to Labor's National Plan for School Improvement. In this year's federal budget, Labor delivered necessary reform to our education funding...
  • Asylum Seekers (1 speech)
    Of all the federal policy issues that individuals raise with me, of most concern in Cowan is the arrival of the boats. I recently sent out a flyer to the electorate, highlighting the record of...
  • Melbourne Ports Electorate: Schools (1 speech)
    Last week we saw the release of school-by-school figures for the Victorian government schools under A National Plan for School Improvement. The figures show that every government school in my...
  • O'Connor Electorate: Australia Post (1 speech)
    Over the past 12 months, my Kalgoorlie and Albany electorate offices have been notified by Australia Post of the planned closure of postal services in small regional towns across my electorate....
  • Adelaide (1 speech)
    There is a transformation underway in Adelaide, which I would like to share with the House today, including the latest announcement which was made just over the weekend. I believe that one of the...
  • Forde Electorate (1 speech)
    I rise today to let the people of Forde know that the coalition has a plan for a better Australia. On 14 September voters will have two choices: they could re-elect this Labor government and get...
  • Calwell Electorate: Iraqi Christian Community (2 speeches)
    The thousands of Assyrian and Chaldean Iraqis who live in my electorate have come here under the refugee and humanitarian program over a period of 10 to 15 years. I have endeavored over time to...
• Private Members' Business (0 speeches)
  • Food Processing Industry (12 speeches)
    This is a motion about a crisis in an industry which should be leading the next manufacturing revolution. We are aware that, just as the mining booms in the 1800s faded into history, so too...
  • Human Rights: Vietnam (7 speeches)
    Almost 50 years ago, when speaking about freedom on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr changed the world when he declared: 'I have a dream.' I refer to Martin Luther King...
• Bills (0 speeches)
  • Customs Amendment (Anti-Dumping Commission) Bill 2013; Second Reading (3 speeches)
    I am pleased to have the opportunity to continue my remarks on this matter. The anti-dumping legislation before us is a significant improvement on what we had before. I recommend, though, to the...
  • Customs Amendment (Anti-Dumping Commission) Bill 2013; Consideration in Detail (2 speeches)
    I move Australian Greens amendment (1), as circulated in my name: (1) Schedule 1, page 4 (after line 14), after item 6, insert: 6A At the end of Division 1 of Part XVB   Add: 269TBAA...
  • Crimes Legislation Amendment (Law Enforcement Integrity, Vulnerable Witness Protection and Other Measures) Bill 2013; Second Reading (3 speeches)
    The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Law Enforcement Integrity, Vulnerable Witness Protection and Other Measures) Bill 2013 deals with a number of measures, all of which are unrelated. I think that...
• Statements on Indulgence (0 speeches)
  • Yunupingu, Dr M (7 speeches)
    I rise today to speak about a great Australian, a great role model and a great advocate for his people. Mr Yunupingu dedicated his life to building bridges, breaking down barriers and serving the...
• Bills (0 speeches)
  • Australian Capital Territory Water Management Legislation Amendment Bill 2013; Second Reading (3 speeches)
    Water management in the ACT is an issue that I am very passionate about. The ACT has some spectacular waterways. However, as is often the case in cities, sometimes these waterways have suffered...
  • Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2012; Second Reading (4 speeches)
    I rise to speak in support of the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2012 and I do so because I support the right of same-sex couples to marry. This bill amends the Marriage Act 1961 by amending...
• Private Members' Business (0 speeches)
  • National Business Names Register (14 speeches)
    I hope my motion spurs the government to greater activity in relation to the National Business Names Register. The motion urges the House to note that the National Business Names register has...
  • Bowel Cancer (11 speeches)
    Bowel cancer is a deadly and insidious disease. It is the kind of disease that sneaks up on you without you knowing that you have it. It is also a disease that if caught early enough can be...
• Grievance Debate (0 speeches)
  • Small Business (1 speech)
    Today I would like to praise the remarkable contribution that local businesses make to my electorate. Each and every day, the hard work of local business owners and their staff play a vital role...
  • Child Labour (1 speech)
    I rise in the House today to speak on manufacturing and Australian jobs. The big supermarkets in Australia should be more scrupulous about the products they put on Australian shelves and make...
  • Public Interest Disclosure (1 speech)
    I rise tonight to talk about the Public Interest Disclosure Bill 2013 and trying to progress it over these final two weeks as a matter of priority and urgency. I am increasingly worried that we...
  • Chifley Electorate: Services (1 speech)
    Tonight I want to raise and represent the grave concerns of constituents about the scale and breadth and impact of cuts to local government services and also other services provided by both the...
  • Local Government Grants, Consumer Confidence (12 speeches)
    I would like to raise two issues in tonight's grievance debate. The first is the announcement that we had from the local government minister today about the no case in the question in our...