Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present report No. 8 of the Selection Committee relating to the consideration of committee and delegation reports and private members' business on Monday 25 November 2019. The report will be printed in today's Hansard and the committee's determinations will be appear on tomorrow's Notice Paper. Copies of the report have been placed on the table.

The report read as follows—

Report relating to the consideration of committee and delegation business and of private Members' business

1. The committee met in private session on Tuesday, 22 October 2019.

2. The Committee deliberated on items of committee and delegation business that had been notified, private Members' business items listed on the Notice Paper and notices lodged on Tuesday, 22 October 2019, and determined the order of precedence and times on Monday, 25 November 2019, as follows:

Items for House of Representatives Chamber (10.10 am to 12 noon)

PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Notices

  (Notice given 22 October 2019.)

Presenter may speak to the second reading for a period not exceeding 10 minutes—pursuant to standing order 41. Debate must be adjourned pursuant to standing order 142.

2   Mr Katter: To present a Bill for an Act to provide for the auditing of Australian banks by the Commonwealth Auditor-General, to reinforce the Constitutional obligation of the Commonwealth to regulate Australia's banking system and resultant currency and credit within the Australian economy and to better protect deposits within Australia's banking system, and for related purposes. (Australian Banks (Government Audit) Bill 2019)

  (Notice given 22 October 2019.)

Presenter may speak to the second reading for a period not exceeding 10 minutes—pursuant to standing order 41. Debate must be adjourned pursuant to standing order 142.

3   Mr Burns: To move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) access to adequate housing is a fundamental right under Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which Australia has ratified;

(b) adequate housing requires safe, secure and affordable accommodation be accessible to all;

(c) 116,427 Australians were homeless on the last census night;

(d) homelessness affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders disproportionately;

(e) homelessness includes those in crisis accommodation, improvised dwellings, temporary accommodation, boarding houses and other insecure forms of housing;

(f) inadequate provision of public housing is a major cause of homelessness;

(g) public housing is a central tenant of an equitable Australia where a fair go requires access to secure accommodation;

(h) public housing is a determinative factor in education, employment, and health outcomes; and

(i) public housing is a means of social mobility and opportunity; and

(2) calls on the Government to help build more affordable homes and ensure every Australian has their own safe place to live.

  (Notice given 17 September 2019.)

Time allotted—45 minutes.

Speech time limits—

Mr Burns—5 minutes.

Other Members—5 minutes. each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 9 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.

4   Mr Falinski: To move:

That this House:

(1) recognises that 12 August 2019 marked the 70th anniversary of the opening for signature of the four Geneva Conventions in 1949;

(2) notes that the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the foundation of modern international humanitarian law, remain as fundamental and relevant to armed conflict today as when they were opened for signature 70 years ago;

(3) acknowledges that the Geneva Conventions, while universally accepted, are not being uniformly respected in times of war, underscoring the need for ongoing advocacy;

(4) recalls that the Conventions and their Additional Protocols protect those who are not fighting, such as civilians, medical personnel, chaplains and humanitarians as well as non-military places such as hospitals;

(5) honours the continuing role of Australian Red Cross in:

(a) disseminating international humanitarian law;

(b) assisting successive Australian Governments to ensure respect for and disseminate international humanitarian law; and

(c) educating the general public about the correct use of the red cross emblem;

(6) pays respect to the continuing global leadership role of the International Committee of the Red Cross in assisting the victims of armed conflict and working for the greater understanding and advancement of international humanitarian law;

(7) determines that Australia should remain, now as always, a global leader in advocacy for, and implementation of, the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and all that they stand for; and

(8) resolves that this resolution has effect and continues in force unless and until amended or rescinded by the houses in this or a subsequent parliament.

  (Notice given 14 October 2019.)

Time allotted—remaining private Members' business time prior to 12 noon

Speech time limits—

Mr Falinski—5 minutes.

Other Members—5 minutes. each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 9 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.

Items for Federation Chamber (11 am to 1.30 pm)

PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Notices

1   Ms Stanley: To move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges:

(a) that 14 November 2019 is the 12th United Nations World Diabetes Day; and

(b) UN Resolution 61/225 and the need to improve human health and provide access to treatment and health-care education;

(2) recognises:

(a) the success of the National Diabetes Services Scheme and the support the scheme provides to people with diabetes;

(b) the role of families and healthcare workers in caring and supporting people, particularly children, with diabetes;

(c) the significant cost to healthcare systems as a result of complications associated with diabetes;

(d) new technology, including flash and constant glucose monitoring, has shown significant improvement in overall control for people with diabetes who have access to this technology;

(e) the need for supporting people with diabetes to access new technologies to assist in the management of diabetes; and

(f) that access to these technologies is likely to prevent complications in people with diabetes and reduce the significant social, human and financial burden of this disease on government, health systems, and people and families of people with diabetes;

(3) encourages all people with diabetes and their advocates, carers and families to continue their important work; and

(4) calls on the Government to ensure that all people with diabetes have earlier access to new technology, such as flash glucose monitoring and constant glucose monitoring under the National Diabetes Services Scheme.

  (Notice given 10 September 2019.)

Time allotted—40 minutes.

Speech time limits—

Ms Stanley—5 minutes.

Other Members—5 minutes. each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 8 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.

Orders of the day

1 Recycling: Resumption of debate (from 16 September 2019) on the motion of Dr Allen—That this House:

(1) recognises the imperative of improving waste management, reducing unnecessary packaging and boosting recycling in Australia;

(2) acknowledges that:

(a) Australians generate about 67 million tonnes of waste each year, of which 37 million tonnes is recycled;

(b) only 12 per cent of the 103 kilograms of plastic waste generated per person in Australia each year is recycled, mostly overseas;

(c) for every 10,000 tonnes of waste recycled, more than 9 jobs are created; and

(d) waste related activities add $6.9 billion to the economy annually;

(3) welcomes the Government's recent $20 million commitment for innovative projects under round 8 of the Cooperative Research Centres Projects grants to grow our domestic plastics recycling industry; and

(4) notes that this is part of the Government's Australian Recycling Investment Plan, a package of initiatives totalling $167 million designed to grow and strengthen Australia's domestic recycling industry, and to support industry and community initiatives to lift recycling rates in Australia.

Time allotted—30 minutes.

Speech time limits—

All Members—5 minutes. each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 6 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.

2   Dr Leigh: To move:

That this House:

(1) recognises that:

(a) Australia's incarceration rate has now risen to 0.22 percent, the highest level since Federation;

(b) rates of homicide, robbery, car theft and assaults have fallen considerably since the mid-1980s, while the imprisonment rate has more than doubled;

(c) the direct cost of prisons is almost $5 billion per year; and

(d) there is a significant indirect cost of prisons, including the impact on the 77,000 children who have an incarcerated parent, adverse effects on the physical and mental wellbeing of inmates, and high rates of homelessness and joblessness among ex-prisoners;

(2) acknowledges that:

(a) the Indigenous incarceration rate is now 2.5 percent, the highest level on record;

(b) the Indigenous incarceration rate is now over twice as high as when the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody report was delivered;

(c) among Indigenous men born in the 1970s, 23 percent have spent time in prison;

(d) the Indigenous incarceration rate exceeds the incarceration rate among African-Americans; and

(e) Noel Pearson has described Indigenous Australians as 'the most incarcerated people on earth';

(3) notes that in:

(a) the United States (US), a bipartisan reform coalition at the state level has led to a substantial reduction in that nation's imprisonment rate over the past decade, with conservative groups such as Right on Crime joining with centrist reformers such as the Pew Charitable Trust's Public Safety and Performance Project to reduce incarceration in states such as Alabama, Texas and South Carolina; and

(b) 2018, President Trump signed the 'First Step Act', which reduces the US federal prison population by expanding compassionate release and increasing credits for good behaviour; and

(4) calls on the Government to:

(a) work with the states and territories to adopt justice targets under the Closing the Gap framework, so that the inequality in justice outcomes can be properly highlighted and to address unacceptable levels of incarceration among First Nations peoples;

(b) require the Australian Institute of Criminology to project levels of incarceration (and fiscal costs) in 10 years' time in the absence of meaningful policy reform; and

(c) engage states and territories in an data-driven conversation—drawing together victims' rights groups, prosecutors, and criminal justice experts—to identify the policies that are most effective to reduce crime and imprisonment.

  (Notice given 16 September 2019.)

Time allotted—40 minutes.

Speech time limits—

Dr Leigh—5 minutes.

Other Members—5 minutes. each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 8 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.

3   Mr Simmonds: To move:

That this House:

(1) recognises that precision medicine, enabled by advances in genomics, data analysis and artificial intelligence represents an exciting leap in healthcare that will improve the outcomes of preventative and targeted medicine for countless Australians and their families;

(2) acknowledges that:

(a) our world class healthcare system ensures Australia is well placed to lead the world in precision medicine innovations;

(b) Australian researchers, including those at the University of Queensland, are world leaders in their field and their work is at the forefront of precision medicine; and

(c) research in precision medicine stimulates the economy, leads to growth in highly skilled jobs and supports Australia's $185 billion healthcare industry;

(3) welcomes the Government's significant investment in precision medicine research including as part of the recently announced $440 million in National Health and Medical Research Council grants; and

(4) encourages the Government and private enterprise to continue to invest in the genomics, data analysis and artificial intelligence research required to grow the precision medicine sector in Australia in order to create jobs, keep Australia at the forefront of medical advances and improve the healthcare outcomes for everyday Australians.

  (Notice given 22 October 2019.)

Time allotted—remaining private Members' business time prior to 1.30 pm

Speech time limits—

Mr Simmonds—5 minutes.

Other Members—5 minutes. each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 8 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.

Items for Federation Chamber (4.45 pm to 7.30 pm)

PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Notices—continued

4   Mr Watts: To move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) according to a report released last month, Australia's Digital Opportunity, Australia is lagging behind global peers and failing to capture the economic opportunities of the rapidly growing global digital economy;

(b) Australia ranks second last among OECD countries for relative size of our technology sector and its contribution to the economy; and

(c) the Australian tech sector could create an additional $50 billion per year were Australia successful in catching up and matching the tech sector growth rates of our global peers;

(2) recognises that the Government released 'Australia's Tech Future' which read more like a promotional brochure than serious strategy—it described initiatives already in train, was vague on targets and outcomes—and, importantly, offers no bold vision to drive growth in our digital economy;

(3) further notes that under this Government Australia is suffering from record low wages growth, more than a million Australians underemployed and a per capita recession; and

(4) calls on the Government to urgently take a coordinated approach to the digital economy.

  (Notice given 18 September 2019.)

Time allotted—30 minutes.

Speech time limits—

Mr Watts—5 minutes.

Other Members—5 minutes. each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 6 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.

Orders of the day—continued

2 Medicare: Resumption of debate (from 16 September 2019) on the motion of Dr Gillespie—That this House:

(1) notes the Government's commitment to Medicare;

(2) further notes:

(a) the record level of funding to Medicare in 2018-19 of $24.1 billion, which is an increase of 3.5 per cent in benefits paid in the 2017-18 financial year;

(b) that the national GP bulk billing rate of 86.2 per cent is a four percentage point increase on the 2012-13 figure of 82.2 per cent when Labor were last in office; and

(c) that patients made 136.5 million bulk billed GP visits in 2018-19, up 3.3 million visits on the previous financial year;

(3) acknowledges that on 1 July 2019, the Government increased the patient rebate for further GP items on the Medicare Benefits Schedule, and that specialist procedures, allied health services and other GP services such as mental health and after hours services, were indexed; and

(4) congratulates the Government for ensuring the Medicare Benefits Schedule Review will continue to ensure that Medicare services are effective and appropriate for patients now and into the future.

Time allotted—40 minutes.

Speech time limits—

All Members—5 minutes. each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 8 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.

Notices—continued

5   Mr R. G. Mitchell: To move:

That this House:

(1) recognises that 2019 marks the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, with his birth being celebrated worldwide as Guru Nanak Gurpurab on Kartik Pooranmashi, the full-moon day in the month of Katak, October-November;

(2) joins with all Sikhs in Australia to acknowledge this significant anniversary; and

(3) notes:

(a) that the Sikh community forms an important and growing segment of our community, with the Sikh faith being one of the emerging religions in Australia; and

(b) the contribution that the growing Sikh community makes to our multicultural nation through its commitment to Guru Nanak's teachings of selfless service and social justice.

  (Notice given 21 October 2019.)

Time allotted—30 minutes.

Speech time limits—

Mr R. G. Mitchell—5 minutes.

Other Members—5 minutes. each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 6 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.

Orders of the day—continued

3 Vilification of minority groups: Resumption of debate (from 21 October 2019) on the motion of Mr Perrett—That this House:

(1) recognises that:

(a) social harmony is vital to the continuation of a successful Australian democracy;

(b) all Australians should be able to go about their lives free from discrimination; and

(c) there is no legislative protection against vilification and incitement to hatred and/or violence based on a person's religion or religious belief;

(2) notes that:

(a) incitement of hatred and violence is a threat to religious minorities;

(b) vilification of minority groups through online social media is prolific;

(c) fifty-three per cent of Australian youth have witnessed anti-Muslim harmful content online;

(d) online vilification normalises negative attitudes against minority groups;

(e) vilification or inciting hatred is often the initial stage of a hate crime;

(f) personal attacks are also occurring against religious minorities, including verbal insults, graffiti, targeting religious dress and physical attacks on buildings and individuals;

(g) women are the main targets of personal attacks based on their religion; and

(h) almost half of all personal attacks occur in crowded community spaces where women should feel safe; and

(3) calls on the Government to protect:

(a) religious communities at risk of endangerment; and

(b) all Australians from incitement of hatred and violence.

Time allotted—25 minutes.

Speech time limits—

All Members—5 minutes. each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 5 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.

Notices—continued

6   Dr Webster: To move:

That this House:

(1) recognises the importance of reliable communications services for rural and regional Australia;

(2) notes the launch of the Sky Muster satellites in 2015 and 2016 as a way of connecting rural and regional Australia to the National Broadband Network; and

(3) congratulates NBN Co on the introduction of the Sky Muster Plus service, providing unmetered data for activities including some web browsing, select emailing and PC and Smartphone operating system software updates.

  (Notice given 14 October 2019.)

Time allotted—remaining private Members' business time prior to 7.30 pm

Speech time limits—

Dr Webster—5 minutes.

Other Members—5 minutes. each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 8 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this should continue on a future day.

THE HON A. D. H. SMITH MP

Speaker of the House of Representatives

23 October 2019