Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present report No. 16 of the Selection Committee, relating to the consideration of committee and delegation business and private members' business on Monday 4 September 2023. The report will be printed in the Hansard for today, and the committee's determinations will 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, 8 August 2023.

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, 8 August 2023, and determined the order of precedence and times on Monday, 4 September 2023, as follows:

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

PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Notices

1 MS SHARKIE: To present a Bill for an Act to amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, and for related purposes. (Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Real Time Disclosure of Political Donations) Bill 2023)

(Notice given 28 March 2023.)

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 MS SHARKIE: To present a Bill for an Act to amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, and for related purposes. (Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Lowering the Donation Disclosure Threshold) Bill 2023)

(Notice g iven 28 March 2023.)

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 MS SPENDER: To move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that Australia is facing a housing crisis, with rents and house prices surging, home ownership falling, and more than 640,000 households either homeless or under housing stress;

(2) notes that:

(a) this crisis is severely affecting young people, those on lower incomes and renters, with advertised rents rising over ten per cent across capital cities and many regions; and

(b) the crisis is the result of decades of failed government policy, which has left Australia with one of the lowest number of homes per person in the OECD;

(3) further acknowledges that:

(a) the Government has taken some positive steps but its commitment to building one million new homes by 2030 is insufficient relative to the scale of the crisis; and

(b) without substantial further action, the Australian dream will soon become a nightmare and a generation of young people will forever be locked out of home ownership; and

(4) calls on the Government to:

(a) significantly raise its ambition on increasing housing supply;

(b) work with state governments and local councils to accelerate actions that increase housing and land availability, which will lead to increased home ownership and improved housing affordability; and

(c) provide urgent support to help young people and renters deal with the cost of living pressures created by this crisis.

(Notice given 8 August 2023.)

Time allotted 20 minutes.

Speech time limits

Ms Spender 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 4 x 5 mins]

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

Orders of the day

1 ROBODEBT SCHEME: Resumption of debate (from 7 August 2023) on the motion of Ms Thwaites—That this House:

(1) acknowledges the release of the report of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme, a 990-page report that examined the establishment of the scheme and who was responsible for it, and made 57 recommendations;

(2) recognises that the Robodebt Scheme, which was put forward as a budget measure in 2015 and was found to be unlawful by the Federal Court in late 2019, caused great harm to vulnerable members of the Australian community;

(3) notes that despite the mounting warnings and criticism of the scheme, in the words of the report the Government of the time 'continued to illegally raise debts against some of society's most vulnerable';

(4) commends the courage, leadership and bravery of victims, families, advocates and whistle-blowers who continued to raise concerns about the Robodebt Scheme; and

(5) welcomes the Government's commitment to ensuring such a tragedy never happens again, and to carefully consider the recommendations from the report and provide a response to these recommendations in due course.

Time allotted 40 minutes.

Speech time limits

All Members 5 minutes.

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

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

Notices — continued

4 MR COLEMAN: To move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the Government is seeking to impose new misinformation laws in Australia which are deeply flawed;

(b) even before submissions closed on 20 August, the Government's exposure draft bill had already been the subject of an avalanche of criticism;

(c) some of the most vocal criticisms have come from leading lawyers who have clinically taken the Government's bill apart, piece by piece; and

(d) the Minister appears to have had few defenders of her plan;

(2) acknowledges that, under the Government's exposure draft bill:

(a) the definition of 'misinformation' is so broad that it could capture many statements made by Australians in the context of political debate;

(b) authorised content by the Government cannot be misinformation, but criticisms of the Government by ordinary Australians can be misinformation;

(c) nothing an academic says can be misinformation, but statements by somebody disagreeing with an academic can be misinformation;

(d) good faith statements made by entertainers cannot be misinformation, but good faith statements made by ordinary Australians on political matters can be misinformation;

(e) journalists commenting on their personal digital platforms could have their content removed as misinformation; and

(f) if the Minister has a favoured digital platform, then that platform could be entirely removed from the application of the misinformation laws;

(3) condemns the Government for delivering this appalling exposure draft of the Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2023; and

(4) calls on the Government to:

(a) admit that the Government's plan is deeply flawed; and

(b) bin the bill.

(Notice given 8 August 2023.)

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

Speech time limits

Mr Coleman 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

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

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

Items for Federation Chamber (11 am to 1.30 pm)

PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Notices

1 MR BIRRELL: To move:

That this House notes that:

(1) the Victorian Government's decision to cancel the 2026 Regional Commonwealth Games is not just a significant loss to regional communities in the state, but a body-blow to the reputation of Victoria as a centre for major sporting events;

(2) the stated reason for the cancellation, the cost blowout to between $6 and 7 billion, demonstrates that the Victorian Government either made a serious miscalculation in its decision to host the games years earlier than originally proposed, or is incapable of managing major projects; and

(3) given the mismanagement of this major event, the $2 billion announced to be spent in regional Victoria to compensate for the loss of the games should be determined by the impacted regional communities, not the Victorian Government.

(Notice given 8 August 2023.)

Time allotted 30 minutes.

Speech time limits

Mr Birrell 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

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

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

2 MR GEORGANAS: To move:

That this House:

(1) notes the mature approach which has been demonstrated by the Government in the ongoing negotiation of a trade agreement with the European Union;

(2) congratulates the Government for its unwavering support of Australia's interests, including those of Australian farmers, businesses, and exporters during these negotiations; and

(3) supports the Minister for Trade and Tourism in his ongoing fight for a deal that defends Australia's interests and delivers meaningful outcomes for Australia's workers, businesses, and consumers.

(Notice given 31 July 2023.)

Time allotted 40 minutes.

Speech time limits

Mr Georganas 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

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

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

3 MR GEE: To move:

That this House:

(1) notes that Australia has endured an unprecedented number of natural disasters in the past two years;

(2) recognises the immense hardships faced by people across Australia in the aftermath of natural disasters;

(3) acknowledges that the response to these natural disasters by governments and insurance companies has been, in some cases, grossly inadequate;

(4) further recognises the invaluable work of organisations that support communities through natural disasters such as our first responders including the Rural Fire Service, State Emergency Service, Lifeline, Rapid Relief Team, Rotary and Lions; and

(5) calls on:

(a) Commonwealth and state governments to activate the full suite of disaster assistance and make it available to devastated communities across Australia, including to Central Western New South Wales; and

(b) the Commonwealth Government to pursue equality in disaster relief that ensures no Australian, regardless of their postcode or economic status, is left behind when disaster strikes.

(Notice given 8 August 2023.)

Time allotted 20 minutes.

Speech time limits

Mr Gee 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 4 x 5 mins]

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

4 MR BURNS: To move:

That this House:

(1) notes:

(a) the field of genetics has great potential to improve medicine and public health through enabling diagnosis, prevention and early treatment of disease;

(b) that increasingly, genetic information is used in routine patient care to identify individuals at risk for medically actionable conditions, and early knowledge of this risk can allow at-risk individuals to take preventive steps to reduce their risk or, in some cases, avoid developing the associated disease altogether;

(c) the current ability of the life insurance industry to legally use genetic test results in underwriting can lead to discrimination;

(d) that insurance discrimination fears can also act as a barrier, by deterring people from having potentially life-saving genetic testing that could match them to tailored interventions and treatments, as well as from participation in genetic research; and

(e) that numerous other countries have prohibited the use of genetic test results to discriminate against individuals in insurance underwriting;

(2) acknowledges that:

(a) in 2018, the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Corporations and Financial Services' inquiry into the life insurance industry made recommendations relating to the use of genetic test results in life insurance underwriting, including consideration of a moratorium and potentially further legislative action or another form of regulation banning or limiting the use of predictive genetic information by the life insurance industry;

(b) in 2019, the Financial Services Council introduced a partial moratorium restricting member life insurance companies from requiring applicants to disclose or using applicants' genetic test results for policies below certain financial limits, which is self-regulation by industry with no government oversight; and

(c) the Australian Genetics and Life Insurance Moratorium: Monitoring the Effectiveness and Response (A-GLIMMER) Project was funded by the Government from 2020-2023 to investigate effectiveness of the moratorium as a regulatory solution to genetic discrimination in Australian life insurance, and found that discrimination fears continue to deter individuals from having genetic testing, and that the moratorium is inadequate to address and prevent genetic discrimination in life insurance;

(3) recognises the invaluable work of Dr Jane Tiller, Project lead, Monash University, and the investigator team in preparing the comprehensive A-GLIMMER Project report, as well as the project's collaborators, patient/consumer and supporter groups, and the many individuals who participated in the research studies completed as part of the project; and

(4) calls on the Government to consider policy changes to address and prevent genetic discrimination in life insurance and assist patients in receiving lifesaving medical care.

(Notice given 31 July 2023.)

Time allotted 30 minutes.

Speech time limits

Mr Burns 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

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

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

5 MR HOGAN: To move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the importance of Australia's visitor economy and tourism industry;

(2) notes that during the pandemic, international visitation fell by over 95 per cent;

(3) further acknowledges tourism industry concerns that in the first twelve months in office, the Government has:

(a) cut funding to Tourism Australia by $35 million;

(b) increased the cost of visitor and working holiday maker visas by 20 per cent;

(c) increased the passenger movement charge for international tourists; and

(d) refused Qatar Airways' request to double their flights to Australia;

(4) recognises the international market for the global traveller is fiercely competitive and many destinations have returned to pre-pandemic levels of international visitors;

(5) further notes that:

(a) international visitor numbers to Australia for the year ending May 2023 remain down 40 per cent on the corresponding May 2019 figure; and

(b) of the 5.6 million international visitors in the year ending May 2023, only 32 per cent nominated holidaying as the reason for travel, with the majority of visitors nominating visiting friends and relatives as the reason; and

(6) calls on the Government to back our tourism operators and regions reliant on international visitors by:

(a) reinstating funding cuts to Tourism Australia; and

(b) reversing its 'tourism tax' targeted at international visitors.

(Notice given 3 August 2023.)

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

Speech time limits

Mr Hogan 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

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

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

Items for Federation Chamber (4.45 pm to 7.30 pm)

PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Notices — continued

6 MR BURNELL: To move:

That this House:

(1) notes with great concern that:

(a) there has been a significant increase in far-right extremism and extremist activity in Australia and throughout many parts of the developed world;

(b) far-right extremism is often cultivated through its overlap with various conspiracy theories, which have become a common tool to radicalise individuals, especially through misinformation on social media platforms; and

(c) far-right extremism tears apart the social fabric of Australia's proud and diverse multicultural communities;

(2) acknowledges the vital work undertaken by agencies within Australia's national intelligence community, in cooperation with federal, state and territory law enforcement agencies, to identify and disrupt extremist activities and to intervene and assist those who are at risk of becoming radicalised or becoming further radicalised by hateful ideologies;

(3) condemns far-right extremist groups that presently operate within Australia that seek to promote fascism, ethnic and religious based hatred, and to recruit and radicalise others to ascribe to their malevolent systems of beliefs;

(4) affirms that the ideologies endorsed by right-wing extremist groups have no place in the Australian community; and

(5) commends the Government for taking the threat posed by right-wing extremism in Australia seriously.

(Notice given 1 August 2023.)

Time allotted 30 minutes.

Speech time limits

Mr Burnell 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

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

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

7 MR PASIN: To move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the importance of the Black Spot Road Safety Program, which has been delivering funding continuously since 1996 to reduce the risk of road crashes;

(2) notes that half of all road crashes are on local government roads, and these crashes account for 52 per cent of all casualties and 40 per cent of all road deaths;

(3) recognises that local government is responsible for around 77 per cent of the road network but only collects around 3.5 per cent of the total tax revenue raised by governments in Australia, and as such is heavily reliant on road funding from other levels of government;

(4) further notes that:

(a) two thirds of all road fatalities occur on regional roads; and

(b) the Black Spot Road Safety Program intention is to allocate funding on a half-half basis between urban and rural roads;

(5) acknowledges that not all councils, in particular rural and regional councils with lower rate bases, have the resources necessary to make applications that meet criteria for the Black Spot Road Safety Program; and

(6) calls on the Government to amend the Black Spot Road Safety Program guidelines to make it easier for the local Government sector to access that fund.

(Notice given 2 August 2023.)

Time allotted 50 minutes.

Speech time limits

Mr Pasin 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 10 x 5 mins]

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

8 MRS PHILLIPS: To move:

That this House:

(1) notes that caravan parks are a popular holiday accommodation choice for Australians, particularly for families, budget-conscious travellers, and travellers who want to get off the beaten track and explore everything our country has to offer;

(2) commends the Government and the Minister for Trade and Tourism for the successful roll out of the Caravan Parks Grant Program which is delivering much needed improvements to caravan parks in the regions all across Australia; and

(3) encourages Australians to consider holidaying at home, all across regional Australia, and to continue to support local business owners and workers.

(Notice given 31 July 2023.)

Time allotted 20 minutes.

Speech time limits

Mrs Phillips 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 4 x 5 mins]

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

Orders of the day

1 CHILD CARE: Resumption of debate (from 7 August 2023) on the motion of Ms Bell—That this House:

(1) recognises that:

(a) the Government's Cheaper Child Care policy has driven up the cost of early childhood education and care for families across Australia since it was implemented on 1 July 2023;

(b) families are reporting increases to the cost of their daily fees in excess of $20 per day;

(c) the Government's inability to manage the cost of living crisis in Australia is driving up the cost of rent, mortgages, groceries and everyday bills, like early childhood education and care bills, for Australian families;

(d) the Government's inaction to address workforce shortages is limiting access to early childhood education and care for families; and

(e) families continue to be unable to access early childhood education and care, particularly in regional and rural areas; and

(2) calls on the Government to deliver:

(a) more access to early childhood education and care places to support Australians to return to the workforce; and

(b) real cost of living relief to families.

Time allotted 55 minutes.

Speech time limits

All Members 5 minutes.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 11 x 5 mins]

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

Notices — continued

9 MR PERRETT: To move:

That this House:

(1) recognises that:

(a) prior to the passage of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987 the Houses of the Australian Parliament had the power to expel a Senator or Member of the House of Representatives;

(b) the expulsion of a Member of this House is the most drastic of sanctions;

(c) on 11 November 1920, the Honourable Member for Kalgoorlie Hugh Mahon was expelled from this House; and

(d) the Honourable Member for Kalgoorlie is the only Member to have ever been expelled from this House;

(2) acknowledges that the Honourable Member for Kalgoorlie Hugh Mahon was expelled:

(a) by a motion brought on hastily and with limited time for debate;

(b) by a vote of the House on party lines; and

(c) without the due process and procedural fairness that such an important issue deserves; and

(3) recognises that:

(a) it was unjust, on the limited evidence, for the institution to which Hugh Mahon had been democratically elected to reverse the decision of his constituents;

(b) the expulsion of the Honourable Member for Kalgoorlie Hugh Mahon was a misuse of the power then invested in the House;

(c) for over a century the Mahon family has endured this injustice and it is time that the Parliament revisit the matter of the Honourable Member for Kalgoorlie, Hugh Mahon's expulsion.

(Notice given 14 June 2023.)

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

Speech time limits

Mr Perrett 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 2 x 5 mins]

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

THE HON D. M. DICK MP

Speaker of the House of Representatives

9 August 2023