Senate debates
Tuesday, 6 October 2020
- Committees (0 speeches)
- Meeting (1 speech)
I remind senators that the question may be put on any proposal at the request of any senator. There being none, we shall move on.
- Motions (0 speeches)
- COVID-19: Parliamentary Procedure (1 speech)
by leave—I move: That the rules for remote participation of Senate proceedings recommended by the Procedure Committee in its first report of 2020 have effect during the sittings of the...
- Statement by the President (0 speeches)
- COVID-19: Parliamentary Procedure (1 speech)
I now welcome our senators attending remotely. My statement regarding COVID-19 and the operation of parliament is simply that the procedures announced in recent weeks remain in place until...
- Bills (0 speeches)
- Ministerial Arrangements (0 speeches)
- (1 speech)
I advise the Senate that Senator Cormann will be absent from question time today, Tuesday 6 October 2020, due to budget arrangements. In Senator Cormann's absence, I will represent the Prime...
- Questions without Notice (0 speeches)
- COVID-19: Aged Care (21 speeches)
My question is to the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Senator Colbeck: Last week, Professor Brendan Murphy said that, if the Australian government had acted sooner to protect...
- Budget: Employment (12 speeches)
My question is to the Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator Cash. As we rebuild the Australian economy from the impacts of COVID-19, how is the Morrison government's...
- Aged Care (8 speeches)
My question is to the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Senator Colbeck. It has been reported that taxpayers have paid more than half a million dollars, or the equivalent of $56,000...
- JobSeeker Payment (12 speeches)
My question is to the Minister for Families and Social Services, Senator Ruston. Minister, a constituent recently told me that surviving on JobSeeker was very difficult after the cut to the...
- Family and Domestic Violence (8 speeches)
My question is to the Minister for Families and Social Services, Senator Ruston. How is the Morrison government ensuring those escaping domestic and family violence situations have a safe place...
- Australian Bushfires (16 speeches)
My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management, Senator Ruston. Right now, in the lead-up to the next bushfire season, the Bega...
- Manufacturing (17 speeches)
My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, Senator Cash. Last Thursday, the Prime Minister addressed the National Press Club on the...
- National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention (8 speeches)
My question is for the Minister representing the Attorney-General. Last Wednesday night at approximately 8 o'clock, about eight hours after I announced I wouldn't be supporting the government's...
- COVID-19: Aged Care (8 speeches)
My question is to the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Senator Colbeck. Page 3 of the royal commission's special report into aged care and COVID-19 states: … the Australian...
- Northern Territory: Australian Defence Force (9 speeches)
My question is for the Minister for Defence, Senator Reynolds. Can the minister outline to the Senate the defence investments the coalition government is making in recognition of the strategic...
- Committees (0 speeches)
- Community Affairs References Committee; Report (14 speeches)
As the Minister representing the Minister for Government Services, I rise to respond to the three recommendations contained in the third interim report of the Community Affairs References...
- Questions without Notice: Take Note of Answers (0 speeches)
- Aged Care (9 speeches)
I move: That the Senate take note of answers given by Senator Colbeck in response to questions asked by myself, Senator Sheldon and Senator Gallagher about aged care. There might be some fans in...
- JobSeeker Payment (1 speech)
I move: That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Families and Social Services (Senator Ruston) to a question without noticed asked by Senator Siewert today relating to...
- Business (0 speeches)
- Leave of Absence (3 speeches)
by leave—I move: That leave of absence be granted to the following senators: (a) Senators Brockman, McGrath, Paterson and Van from 6 October to 8 October 2020, for personal reasons; and (b)...
- Committees (0 speeches)
- Bills (0 speeches)
- Motions (0 speeches)
- Australian Packaging Covenant (1 speech)
At the request of Senator Whish-Wilson, I move: That the Senate— (a) notes that: (i) in 1999, the first National Packaging Covenant was developed under the National Environment...
- Documents (0 speeches)
- Committees (0 speeches)
- Bills (0 speeches)
- Motions (0 speeches)
- Australia Post (4 speeches)
At the request of Senator Kitching, I move: That the Senate— (a) notes that: (i) Australia is in recession, (ii) 520,000 workers have lost their jobs, over a million...
- Toxic Waste Disposal (1 speech)
I seek leave to amend general business notice of motion No. 796 before asking that it be taken as formal. Leave granted. I move the motion as amended: That the Senate— (a) acknowledges:...
- Documents (0 speeches)
- Motions (0 speeches)
- COVID-19: Agriculture (10 speeches)
I seek leave to amend general business notice of motion 798. Leave granted. Senator Henderson will co-sponsor the motion. I, and also on behalf of Senators McKenzie, McDonald, Canavan, McMahon...
- Taxation (8 speeches)
I move: That the Senate— (a) acknowledges that Australia is in recession for the first time in 30 years; (b) notes that the Government is actively considering bringing forward $48 billion...
- Notices (0 speeches)
- Withdrawal (1 speech)
by leave—I withdraw business of the Senate notice of motion No. 2 standing in my name for today.
- Committees (0 speeches)
- Motions (0 speeches)
- Queensland State Election (17 speeches)
At the request of Senators Chisholm, Watt and Green, I move: That the Senate notes— (a) the decision by the Liberal National Party in Queensland to preference the Greens in the state seat...
- COVID-19: State and Territory Border Closures (1 speech)
I seek leave to amend general business notice of motion No. 788 before asking that it be taken as formal. Leave granted. I, and also on behalf of Senators Davey, Canavan, McDonald and McMahon,...
- COVID-19: Repatriation (11 speeches)
I, and also on behalf of Senator Wong, move: That the Senate— (a) notes that: (i) the Australian Government is responsible for borders, quarantine, and assisting Australians in...
- Matters of Public Importance (0 speeches)
- Budget: Inequality and Environment (10 speeches)
I inform the Senate that at 8.30 am today 15 proposals were received in accordance with standing order 75. The question of which proposal would be submitted to the Senate was determined by lot....
- Committees (0 speeches)
- Business (0 speeches)
- Leave of Absence (1 speech)
by leave—I move: That Senator McDonald be granted leave of absence for the period 6 October 2020 to 8 October 2020, for personal reasons. Question agreed to.
- Documents (0 speeches)
- Budget (0 speeches)
- Statement and Documents (1 speech)
I table the following documents: The Budget 2020-21—Statement by the Treasurer (Mr Frydenberg), dated 6 October 2020. Budget papers— No. 1—Budget strategy and outlook. No....
- Proposed Expenditure (1 speech)
I table the following documents: Particulars of proposed expenditure in respect of the year ending on 30 June 2021. Particulars of certain proposed expenditure in respect of the year ending on 30...
- Portfolio Budget Statements (2 speeches)
I table portfolio budget statements for 2020-21 for the Department of the Senate, the Parliamentary Budget Office and the Department of Parliamentary Services.
- Bills (0 speeches)
- Committees (0 speeches)
- Membership (2 speeches)
I have received letters requesting changes in the membership of committees.
- Adjournment (0 speeches)
- Stillborn Baby Payment, Purnell, Mrs Vicki (1 speech)
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan inaugurated 15 October as national Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. It has been observed ever since. Tasmania and some other states recognise it as...
- Jobseeker Payment (1 speech)
On 25 September the government cut the COVID supplement by $300 a fortnight, thereby dropping more than 1.8 million people on income support below the poverty line. This cut means that four in...
- Uighur people (1 speech)
I rise tonight to speak regarding the enduring plight of the Uighur people of East Turkestan, sometimes referred to as Xinjiang, at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. The Uighur people are...
- Workplace Relations (1 speech)
I rise to tell the stories of two food delivery workers who lost their lives in Sydney in the past fortnight. These two workers represent a group of workers forgotten by this government. On...
- Brandy Hill Quarry (1 speech)
Last week I visited Port Stephens to meet with community members who have been raising the plight of koalas in the area, in particular the destruction of 52 hectares of prime koala habitat for...
- Budget, Queensland State Election (3 speeches)
The budget we have received tonight is an important one for the Australian people, but it was made possible because of the excellent economic management of this government before the COVID virus...
- Queensland State Election, JobKeeper Payment, JobSeeker Payment (5 speeches)
What a speech from the senator opposite! She talked about the next Queensland election and the absolute hypocrisy of the fact that the LNP supposedly wants a majority government yet they've...
- Tasmania: Health Care (1 speech)
In late June this year I received an email from a constituent on the north-west coast of Tassie. What I want to do—it's quite bizarre—is read her email out. She wrote to me after an...
- National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention (1 speech)
Dr Bernadette Boss has been announced as the interim National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention. When the government announced they were going to go ahead with this interim...
- Tasmania: Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (1 speech)
'Women's sports, women's toilets and women's change rooms are designed for people of the female sex, and should remain that way.' These are the words that the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination...
- Queensland: Local Government (1 speech)
As a servant to the people of Queensland and Australia, on this budget day I will address corruption in Queensland local government—corruption that is ripping off millions of dollars of...
- Ipswich Region (1 speech)
It's perhaps timely that I should give this adjournment speech following Senator Roberts, because Senator Roberts has spoken about some of the bad history of previous councils in the Ipswich...
- China: Human Rights (1 speech)
In February 2022, just 15 months away, the People's Republic of China will host the 24th winter Olympic Games. This will be a big moment for China. The attention of the world will be focused on...
- Budget: Victoria (1 speech)
The 2020-21 federal budget, handed down tonight by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, is all about jobs. This is the most important federal budget since the Second World War. Whether it's tax cuts for...
