Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to present a Bill for an Act to amend the National Health Act 1953 and the Private Health Insurance Act 2007, and for related purposes.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to present a Bill for an Act to amend the Interstate Road Transport Charge Act 1985, and for related purposes.

to present a Bill for an Act to provide certainty about the validity of certain airport matters, and for related purposes.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to present a Bill for an Act to provide for the payment of parental leave pay, and for related purposes.

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to present a Bill for an Act to amend the Higher Education Support Act 2003, and for related purposes.

Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to present a Bill for an Act to amend the law relating to health, and for related purposes.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to move:

That standing order 31 (automatic adjournment of the House) be suspended for the sitting on Thursday, 13 May 2010 and at that sitting, after the Leader of the Opposition completes his reply to the Budget speech, the House automatically stand adjourned until 12 noon on Monday 24 May 2010 unless the Speaker or, in the event of the Speaker being unavailable, the Deputy Speaker, fixes an alternative day or hour of meeting.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to move:

That the House:

(1)

notes the recent announcement by the Prime Minister in relation to public hospitals;

(2)

recognises that:

(a)

the Australian Healthcare Agreements finalised under the Howard Government delivered a $10.3 billion funding increase in Commonwealth funding to public hospitals; and

(b)

successive Labor state governments have not delivered the reforms necessary to cut the waste, bureaucracy and lack of funding that is crippling so many public hospitals across Australia, but in particular, in NSW and Queensland; and

(3)

expresses concern that the:

(a)

Government’s plan for public hospitals does not provide sufficient detail or the immediate funding and outcomes needed to help patients now; and

(b)

Prime Minister’s announcement looks more like a new election pitch rather than a policy to honour his last election promise to fix public hospitals, or take them over.

to move:

That the House:

(1)

notes the Prime Minister’s claim to have saved Australia from a recession by forcing Australians to borrow and spend money;

(2)

realises that as a result of this reckless and wasteful spending the budget is expected to be in deficit this year to the level of 4.7 per cent of national income, which will be the biggest deficit for more than 50 years;

(3)

notes that despite such excessive borrowing and spending (the third highest in the OECD), Australia’s unemployment rate rose by more than 18 other OECD countries, many of which engaged in little or no ‘stimulus’ at all;

(4)

realises that Reserve Bank board member, Professor Warwick McKibbin, believes the Government’s spending and borrowing would ‘detract form GDP’ in 2010;

(5)

recognises that the president emeritus of the National Bureau of Economic Research, Professor Martin Feldstein, said in 2002 that ‘there is now widespread agreement in the economics profession that deliberate ‘countercyclical’ discretionary policy has not contributed to economic stability and may have actually been destabilizing’;

(6)

understands that the United States of America’s ‘stimulus’ spending has been far less successful than its proponents anticipated;

(7)

notes that the Howard Government faced potential economic downturns in 1997 and 2000 and did not engage in this type of borrowing and spending;

(8)

appreciates that the Howard Government had a much better understanding of economics, knowing that a fall in interest rates, the oil price, and the value of Australian’s currency together give a boost to Australia’s economy that obviates the need to engage in rampant borrowing;

(9)

acknowledges that the Howard Government inherited $96 billion of Labor debt in 1996, ran budget surpluses every year but one between then and 2007, and paid down Labor’s debt; and

(10)

remembers that economic growth surged and unemployment fell from 8.4 per cent to 4.3 per cent during the term of the former Government.

Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to move:

That the House:

(1)

acknowledges the important contributions of Australian, New Zealand, British and Greek soldiers and Greek civilians in the defence of Crete against the 20 May 1941 German invasion;

(2)

calls for the annual commemoration of the Battle for Crete within Australia as an event of national significance; and

(3)

encourages reflection on the shared experiences of Australian and Greek nationals through the Battle for Crete, the bond forged between our two nations in a time of war, and the evolution of Australian-Greek relations within the post-war period.

Robert Oakeshott (Lyne, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to move:

That the House:

(1)

should consider increasing the Military Superannuation Pension twice annually by the greatest of either the Consumer Price Index, the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index or the Male Total Average Weekly Earnings; and

(2)

should do this in recognition of the unique circumstances of military service compared to all others within the public service.

Damian Hale (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to move:

That the House:

(1)

congratulates the Rudd Government on reaching its historic COAG agreement on health and hospital reform;

(2)

acknowledges the massive investment by the Government in training more doctors and health professionals, cutting waiting list, improving services in emergency departments and providing cancer care and services throughout Australia; and

(3)

notes that the Leader of the Opposition, when Health Minister, reduced funding for public hospitals by $1 billion.

Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to move:

That the House:

(1)

is made aware that Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) affects as many as 1 in 250 Australian children, and that its associated eye disease is the leading cause of childhood blindness in Australia today;

(2)

recognises the physical, emotional, and financial burden that this chronic disease places upon the family unit;

(3)

calls for the establishment of:

(a)

a national database for JIA, so that early diagnosis and professional support can be given to these families through the Australian Paediatric Rheumatology Group; and

(b)

the implementation of specialised clinics with Visiting Medical Officers at major regional hospitals throughout Australia.

Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to present a Bill for an Act to provide that government acquisition of any property rights, or restrictions on the exercise of property rights can only be undertaken after the provision of compensation on just terms.

Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

to move:

That the House:

(1)

acknowledges:

(a)

that the safety of our children should be of paramount concern for all governments;

(b)

the irrefutable evidence from studies conducted both in Australia and overseas, that the use of lap/sash seatbelts on buses will save lives and reduce injuries in the case of accidents or sudden braking incidents;

(c)

that currently, hundreds of thousands of Australian school children in non-urban areas, travel daily to school on buses that are not fitted with seatbelts; and

(d)

the urgent need to provide increased safety for bus passengers travelling on non-urban roads in Australia;

(2)

seeks the amendment of Australian Design Rule (ADR) 68/00:

(a)

so that the only exemption is for route service buses operating on urban roads;

(b)

to remove the current exemption for any bus with a seat height of less than one metre; and

(c)

to read: ‘all buses operating on non-urban roads and highways must meet the requirements in this rule’ ensuring lap/sash seatbelt protection and all safety features within ADR 68/00, presently afforded to coach passengers, apply to any bus travelling on any high speed road, highway or dirt road;

(3)

calls on the State and Territory Governments to support mandating the use of seatbelts on buses;

(4)

directs the Government to legislate the above amendments to ADR 68/00 by January 2011 and ensure compliance on all affected routes by January 2020, beginning with all new and replacement buses; and

(5)

directs the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government to place lap/sash seatbelts for non-urban bus travel on the agenda at each and every Australian Transport Council meeting until certification of all buses used on non-urban roads in Australia meet the safety standards of ADR 68/00.