House debates
Wednesday, 21 August 2024
Committees
Selection Committee; Report
9:21 am
Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I present report No. 30 of the Selection Committee relating to the consideration of committee and delegation business and private members' business on Monday 9 September 2024. The report will be printed in the Hansard for today and the committee's determination 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, 20 August 2024.
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, 20 August 2024, and determined the order of precedence and times on Monday, 9 September 2024, as follows:
Items for House of Representatives Chamber (10.10 am to 12 noon)
COMMITTEE AND DELEGATION BUSINESS
PRIVATE MEMBERS ' BUSINESS
Notices
That this House:
(1) acknowledges that the tenor of political debate undertaken within this place has deteriorated from the standards expected by the Australian people;
(2) recognises that this place has a responsibility to elevate the national political debate to enhance and encourage social cohesion within Australian communities;
(3) commits to the eradication of the exploitation of race and ethnicity as a political tool within this place; and
(4) agrees to eliminate the use of language corrosive of national unity and cohesion.
(Notice given 20 August 2024.)
Time allotted 20 minutes.
Speech time limits
Dr M Ryan 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.
2 MS J RYAN: To move:
That this House:
(1) acknowledges that:
(a) 26 September 2024 marks 30 years since the Australian Labor Party adopted affirmative action quotas for female candidates in held and winnable seats.
(b) the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party has met every quota and target set since its adoption ahead of schedule, including:
(i) 35 per cent by 2002 set in 1994;
(ii) 40 per cent by 2012 set in 2002; and
(iii) 50 per cent by 2025 set in 2015;
(2) notes the Government is the first Commonwealth Government to have a majority of female members, which amongst other accomplishments, has led to:
(a) expanded paid parental leave; and
(b) wage increases for feminised sectors;
(3) on this significant anniversary, pays tribute to the pioneering women who led the fight for this significant change that has placed women at the centre of decision making; and
(4) recommits to the fact that a woman's place is in the House and the Senate.
(Notice given 19 August 2024.)
Time allotted 45 minutes.
Speech time limits
Ms J Ryan 5 minutes.
Other Members 5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 9 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this matter should continue on a future day.
That this House:
(1) notes that productivity growth is a key contributor to increases in Australia's economic welfare and prosperity;
(2) acknowledges that:
(a) according to the June 2024 National Accounts, productivity has fallen 5.2 per cent since the Government came to office;
(b) the Government's continued failure on industrial relations legislation and poor economic management have caused businesses to rethink expansion and investment efforts;
(c) decline in business investment and dynamism has slowed the rate of innovation and technology adoption by firms, which in turn has slowed the nation's ability to increase productivity; and
(d) Reserve Bank Governor, Michele Bullock's recent comments that 'the only way interest rates can be reduced is an improvement in our appalling productivity' demonstrate that our current cost-of-living crisis is being impacted by our declining rate of productivity; and
(3) calls on the Government to support research and development efforts in the business sector and to remove burdensome red tape, which is slowing business growth and innovation, in an effort to increase Australia's productivity.
(Notice given 13 August 2024.)
Time allotted remaining private Members ' business time prior to 12 noon.
Speech time limits
Mr van Manen 5 minutes.
Other Members 5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 9 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 BATES: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) for decades, mining companies have been making excessive profits that should have been taxed in order to put dental and mental health into Medicare, build affordable homes and fund the rapid transition away from coal and gas; and
(b) in Queensland, big mining companies have exported $634 billion of our resources but only paid nine per cent of that in royalties over the past ten years; and
(2) calls on the Government to rein in the excessive profits of mining corporations.
(Notice given 20 August 2024.)
Time allotted 20 minutes.
Speech time limits
Mr Bates 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.
2 DR ANANDA-RAJAH: To move:
That this House congratulates the efforts of the athletes, coaches, and support staff of the Australian Paralympic Team at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.
(Notice given 19 August 2024.)
Time allotted 30 minutes.
Speech time limits
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.
3 MR L O'BRIEN: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) analysis of Australian Road Assessment Program data by the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) has found that motorists travelling on the national highway between Gympie and Cairns are five times more likely to be injured or killed in a crash than people driving on the national highway between Sydney and Melbourne;
(b) the RACQ has found that 1,398 kilometres of the national highway between Gympie and Cairns is undivided and much of this section is rated just two stars out of five for safety;
(c) the Government's funding cut to upgrades of the national highway from 80 per cent to 50 per cent of project costs will:
(i) delay or cease future upgrades to the national highway;
(ii) put motorists' lives at risk;
(iii) leave communities disconnected when the national highway floods; and
(iv) constrain economic growth and regional development by failing to properly fund upgrades to increase the capacity of the national highway and make it more efficient; and
(2) calls on the Government to:
(a) restore the former Government's 80 per cent funding share of projects to upgrade the national highway to expedite projects that will make it safer, increase capacity, and make it less prone to flooding; and
(b) work with the Queensland Government to prioritise and fast track projects to make the national highway from Gympie to Cairns as safe as it is between Sydney and Melbourne.
(Notice given 15 August 2024.)
Time allotted 25 minutes.
Speech time limits
Mr L O ' Brien 5 minutes.
Other Members 5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 5 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this matter should continue on a future day.
4 MS STANLEY: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) the Government's workplace relations policies are getting wages moving again, with annual real wages growing for the past three consecutive quarters;
(b) nominal real wages grew 4.1 per cent in the year to the June quarter 2024;
(c) annual real wages grew 0.3 per cent through the year to the June quarter 2024; and
(d) this result comes off the back of inheriting a real wage decline of 3.4 per cent at the time of the election; and
(2) recognises the Government is laying strong foundations for a better future for Australian workers, their families and communities, by:
(a) advocating for the wages of Australia's low paid in three consecutive submissions to the Annual Wage Review that the real wages of low paid workers not go backwards;
(b) supporting pay rises for aged care workers of up to 28 per cent through submissions to the Fair Work Commission's Aged Care Work Value Case;
(c) having a 15 per cent pay rise for early childhood education and care workers;
(d) getting almost half a million more workers covered by current enterprise agreements, boosting wages and conditions; and
(e) making gender equality an object of the Fair Work Act and narrowing the gender pay gap to 12 per cent, the lowest level on record.
(Notice given 19 August 2024.)
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 matter should continue on a future day.
5 MR COULTON: To move:
That this House:
(1) acknowledges that:
(a) Royal Far West (RFW) is a national charity dedicated to the health and wellbeing of Australia's country children across more than 200 schools and 364 communities; and
(b) RFW is celebrating its centenary of service to Australia in 2024;
(2) notes that:
(a) in 2019, RFW received funding from the Department of Health and Aged Care to provide services online to schools and preschools under the National Paediatric Telecare Service (NPTS), and that funding finishes in June next year;
(b) workforce shortages in regional areas, and a resulting lack of access to services, has seen high demand for NPTS;
(c) the NPTS overcomes the tyranny of distance and reduces expenses for families in the midst of a cost of living crisis; and
(d) operating across four states, the NPTS has provided support to 20,000 children, parents and educators; and
(3) urges the Government to provide ongoing funding to RFW to allow this vital allied health and mental health service to continue to support families in rural, regional and remote Australia.
(Notice given 20 August 2024.)
Time allotted remaining private Members ' business time prior to 1.30 pm.
Speech time limits
Mr Coulton 5 minutes.
Other Members 5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 7 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
Orders of the day
1 SMALL BUSINESSES: Resumption of debate (from 19 August 2024) on the motion of Mr Violi—That this House:
(1) acknowledges that Australian small businesses are at breaking point and are being failed by the Government; and
(2) notes that:
(a) under this Government, a record number of Australian businesses have become insolvent in the most recent financial year, including:
(i) 4,635 businesses in New South Wales;
(ii) 2,863 businesses in Victoria;
(iii) 2,036 businesses in Queensland;
(iv) 733 businesses in Western Australia;
(v) 194 businesses in the Australian Capital Territory;
(vi) 94 businesses in Tasmania; and
(vii) 43 businesses in the Northern Territory;
(b) this Government is now the worst government for Australian business on record, having surpassed the 10,757 businesses collapsing under the Government of 2011-12; and
(c) Australian small businesses could survive a once-in-a-century pandemic but cannot survive the disastrous policies of this Government.
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 matter should continue on a future day.
Notices — continued
6 MS MASCARENHAS: To move:
That this House:
(1) acknowledges the data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing the national gender pay gap is the lowest on record, falling to 11.5 per cent from 12 per cent in November 2023, and 14.1 per cent in May 2022;
(2) recognises the progress of the Government in advancing the economic empowerment of Australian women, noting the following initiatives:
(a) a $173.80 per week increase to women's average weekly earnings since May 2022;
(b) funding a 15 per cent wage increase for early childhood education and care workers;
(c) reaching a 63.2 per cent record high for women's workforce participation;
(d) a tax cut for every Australian woman taxpayer from July 1, and a bigger tax cut for 90 per cent of Australian women taxpayers;
(e) $1.1 billion over four years to pay superannuation on Government-funded paid parental leave from 1 July 2025;
(f) $427.4 million over four years to provide financial support to students on mandatory nursing (including midwifery), social work and teaching placements;
(g) expansion of paid parental leave, providing families with access to 26 weeks of leave by July 2026;
(h) $38.2 million over eight years to support a thriving, skilled and diverse science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce in response to the Pathway to Diversity in STEM Review; and
(i) $55.6 million over four years to establish the Building Women's Careers program;
(3) supports the Government as it continues to develop policies and invest in programs to improve women's economic empowerment, recognising the connection between the safety of women and women's financial autonomy and wellbeing; and
(4) commends the Government's commitment to putting women at the centre of Australia's economic plan to make the lives of Australian women safer, fairer and more equal.
(Notice given 20 August 2024.)
Time allotted 40 minutes.
Speech time limits
Ms Mascarenhas 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.
7 MR PASIN: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes:
(a) the death of the late Steele Hall on 10 June 2024, aged 95 years;
(b) that Steele Hall is the only Australian to have served as Premier of a state, as well as a Member of three houses of parliament; and
(c) that Steele Hall served as the 36th Premier of South Australia from 1968 to 1970, also served in the Commonwealth Parliament as a Senator for South Australia from 1974 to 1977, and was the federal Member for the electoral division of Boothby from 1981 to 1996; and
(2) acknowledges the service of Steele Hall across four decades and three houses of parliament to the Australian and South Australian people.
(Notice given 15 August 2024.)
Time allotted 30 minutes.
Speech time limits
Mr Pasin 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.
8 MR R MITCHELL: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) 1 to 7 September 2024 marks Men's Shed Week led by the Australian Men's Shed Association, with this year's theme, 'Send him down to the Shed'; and
(b) the theme acknowledges that most men are introduced to a Men's Shed by someone else, and reconnects men with community;
(2) recognises:
(a) the essential service the Men's Sheds provide nationally as one of Australia's largest community development organisations with around 1,300 Men's Sheds across Australia and over 50,000 Australians participating in Men's Sheds; and
(b) that participation in Men's Sheds leads to improved mental health outcomes, with participants reporting increased self-esteem, awareness and destigmatisation of mental health, and fosters community spirit and mateship which are key to the foundations of our nation; and
(3) reiterates:
(a) the Government's ongoing support for the Australian Men's Shed Association and commitment in the 2024-25 budget to provide $6 million over two years to support Men's Sheds; and
(b) that this provides funding for health and wellbeing events, shed improvements, tools and equipment and automated external defibrillators.
(Notice given 20 August 2024.)
Time allotted 45 minutes.
Speech time limits
Mr R Mitchell 5 minutes.
Other Members 5 minutes each.
[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 9 x 5 mins]
The Committee determined that consideration of this matter should continue on a future day.
9 MR WALLACE: To move:
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) on 6 February 2023, United Nations independent experts identified that approximately one million Tibetan children were being affected by Chinese government policies aimed at assimilating Tibetan people culturally, religiously and linguistically through a residential school system;
(b) on 14 December 2023, the European Union Parliament adopted a resolution on the abduction of Tibetan children and forced assimilation practices through Chinese boarding schools in Tibet;
(c) on 10 June 2024, the Canadian House of Commons unanimously passed a resolution in support of Tibet and the Tibetan people; and
(d) on 12 June 2024, the United States Congress passed the 'Promoting a Resolution to Tibet-China Act';
(2) stands in solidarity with the people of Tibet;
(3) recognises Australia is deeply concerned about reports detailing China's assimilationist policies, including:
(a) forced labour transfer programs and the coerced separation of Tibetan children from their families through state-run boarding schools;
(b) the detention of Tibetans for peaceful expression of political views;
(c) the suppression of Tibetan religious expression; and
(d) the use of excessive security measures against Tibetans;
(4) reiterates that the Tibetan people are entitled to their fundamental human rights and freedoms, including their right to self-determination;
(5) further recognises that:
(a) Tibetans should be empowered to freely choose their economic, social, cultural, and religious policies without interference; and
(b) religious and spiritual communities should be empowered to choose their own religious and spiritual leaders without government interference, and this should include the eventual successor of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama;
(6) calls on:
(a) the Chinese Government to reengage with the representatives of the 14th Dalai Lama to establish genuine autonomy for Tibetans within China, and urges the Chinese authorities to release the Panchen Lama; and
(b) China to:
(i) repeal legislation and cease practices which discriminate against Tibetans on the basis of race or religion;
(ii) cease arbitrary detention, coercive labour transfer, and family separation programs;
(iii) end restrictions on movement and on the rights of Tibetans to enjoy their own culture and language; and
(iv) allow meaningful and unfettered access to Tibet for independent human rights observers; and
(7) further notes successive Australian Governments have and should continue to raise the issue of human rights violations in China, through political dialogues with the Chinese authorities at the highest levels.
(Notice given 2 July 2024.)
Time allotted remaining private Members ' business time prior to 7.30 pm.
Speech time limits
Mr Wallace 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.
Speaker of the House of Representatives
21 August 2024