Senate debates
Thursday, 8 February 2024
- Bills (0 speeches)
- Committees (0 speeches)
- Selection of Bills Committee; Report (7 speeches)
I present the first report of 2024 of the Selection of Bills Committee. I seek leave to have the report incorporated in Hansard. Leave granted. The report read as follows— SELECTION OF...
- Business (0 speeches)
- Rearrangement (1 speech)
I move: That general business notice of motion No. 462 be considered during general business today. Question agreed to.
- Notices (0 speeches)
- Postponement (1 speech)
I remind senators that the question may be put on any proposal at the request of any senator.
- Business (0 speeches)
- Leave of Absence (3 speeches)
by leave—I move: That Senator Hanson be granted leave of absence for 8 February 2024, for personal reasons. Question agreed to.
- Documents (0 speeches)
- Bills (0 speeches)
- Statements by Senators (0 speeches)
- Reconciliation, First Nations Australians (1 speech)
The definition of 'reconciliation' is 'a situation in which two people or groups of people reconcile'. The leftist activist class have used this term for years when discussing Indigenous and...
- Recreational Hunting (1 speech)
I rise today to welcome the decision of the Victorian Labor government's commitment to retain recreational duck and quail hunting. It's a decision that is both sensible and common sense. I know...
- Poverty (1 speech)
On Monday, the Guardian reported that Australians experiencing homelessness are dying at an average age of 44, which is 30 to 40 years younger than the average Australian. This is tragic and...
- Dixon, Ms Ella (1 speech)
When Ella Dixon's parents decided they would emigrate from the Philippines to regional Australia when Ella was a small child, I'm sure they had no idea just how much that decision would shape her...
- Workplace Relations (1 speech)
In a few hours, we will vote on the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Bill 2023. That bill gives gig workers and truck drivers life-saving minimum standards. I want to...
- Aged Care (1 speech)
If you were asked by your boss to rate your work performance out of five, you'd probably give yourself a decent score. If you were asked to pick a few colleagues to rate your performance, you'd...
- Aviation Industry (1 speech)
I rise to speak on an issue which is having a direct impact on my home state of Western Australia, but it's one that hasn't been widely remarked upon. Last week, a number of exemptions for...
- Closing the Gap (1 speech)
The first review by the Productivity Commission into the progress of the Closing the Gap agreement was released this week. The review outlined the path forward for us in this place. That pathway...
- First Nations Australians (1 speech)
January is a tough month for many First Nations people around the country, and this one, in some ways, was especially tough, as the aftermath of the referendum is still hanging over us, despite...
- Tradespeople (1 speech)
With Labor's last tranche of industrial relations legislation moving through the Senate, with amendments to protect the right of independent contractors to remain independent and for tradies to...
- Lobby Groups (1 speech)
We often hear from the Greens and teals about how big corporate interests are driving policy outcomes through donations. And they are right. Recent Australian Electoral Commission donor...
- Currency (1 speech)
A popular quote reads: 'Who controls the food supply controls the people. Who controls the energy can control a whole continent. Who controls money can control the whole world.' Only the ignorant...
- Schools (1 speech)
This morning, during the debate on the bill that I introduced for full funding for public schools, Labor spent a lot of time talking up the deal that it has made with the WA government. Labor...
- Energy (1 speech)
In 2022, I stood in this place and said of Labor's 43 per cent Paris target that I didn't think it was ambitious enough and I also couldn't see how they'd get there. One of the key platforms for...
- Parliamentary Friends of Lithuania (2 speeches)
As the chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Lithuania, I was fortunate earlier this week to host a visiting delegation of MPs from across the Lithuanian political spectrum who all share a common...
- Questions without Notice (0 speeches)
- Taxation (60 speeches)
My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Minister Gallagher. On 26 July 2021, in a media release, the Prime Minister, along with the Treasurer, said: An Albanese Labor...
- Middle East (17 speeches)
My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Defence. Minister, Australian exports that end up in Israel, whether they are parts of F35 fighter planes, engines for drones used by...
- Taxation (14 speeches)
My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Health and Aged Care, Senator Gallagher. How will health workers and their patients benefit from Labor's tax cuts? How is this...
- Aged Care (8 speeches)
My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Aged Care, Senator Gallagher. In December 2022 the government introduced a star rating system for aged-care facilities. The idea was...
- Environmental Defenders Office (11 speeches)
My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, Senator Wong. Last month, in one of the most scathing Federal Court judgements in memory, Justice Natalie...
- Fuel Excise (9 speeches)
My question is for the Minister representing the Treasurer, Minister Gallagher. Minister, around a third of the price of our fuel is tax. There is a fuel excise of 49.6c per litre and, on top of...
- Tourism Industry, Taxation (10 speeches)
My question is to the Minister for Trade and Tourism, Senator Farrell. Tourism is vital to communities across Australia, particularly in regional economies, where hundreds of thousands across the...
- United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (8 speeches)
My question is to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Wong. In Senate estimates last June, the coalition raised questions about education materials promoting antisemitism, glorification of...
- Questions without Notice: Take Note of Answers (0 speeches)
- Answers to Questions (14 speeches)
I move: That the Senate take note of answers to all questions from coalition senators. 'My word is my bond.'
- Bills (0 speeches)
- Committees (0 speeches)
- Human Rights Joint Committee; Report (1 speech)
On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, I present Human rights scrutiny report: report 1 of2024.
- Community Affairs References Committee; Report (3 speeches)
I present the report of the Community Affairs References Committee on the review of legislative instruments made under the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999, together with accompanying...
- Australia's Disaster Resilience Select Committee, Community Affairs Legislation Committee, Community Affairs References Committee, Cost of Living Select Committee, Economics Legislation Committee, Economics References Committee, Education and Employment Legislation Committee, Education and Employment References Committee, Environment and Communications Legislation Committee, Environment and Communications References Committee, Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee, Finance and Public Administration References Committee, Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee, Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee, Implementation of the National Redress Scheme — Joint Committee, Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, Perth Mint and Commonwealth Regulatory Compliance Select Committee, National Anti-Corruption Commission Joint Committee, Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee, Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee, Supermarket Prices Select Committee; Membership (2 speeches)
The President has received letters requesting changes in the membership of committees.
- Bills (0 speeches)
- Attorney-General's Portfolio Miscellaneous Measures Bill 2023, Australian Research Council Amendment (Review Response) Bill 2023, COAG Legislation Amendment Bill 2023, Customs Tariff Amendment (Incorporation of Proposals) Bill (No. 2) 2023, National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Amendment Bill 2023, Paid Parental Leave Amendment (More Support for Working Families) Bill 2023; First Reading (1 speech)
I move: That these bills may proceed without formalities, may be taken together and be now read a first time. Question agreed to. Bills read a first time.
- Attorney-General's Portfolio Miscellaneous Measures Bill 2023, Australian Research Council Amendment (Review Response) Bill 2023, COAG Legislation Amendment Bill 2023, Customs Tariff Amendment (Incorporation of Proposals) Bill (No. 2) 2023, National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Amendment Bill 2023, Paid Parental Leave Amendment (More Support for Working Families) Bill 2023; Second Reading (1 speech)
I move: That these bills be now read a second time. I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard. Leave granted. The speeches read as follows—...
- Modern Slavery Amendment (Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner) Bill 2023; First Reading (1 speech)
I move: That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time. Question agreed to. Bill read a first time.
- Modern Slavery Amendment (Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner) Bill 2023; Second Reading (2 speeches)
I move: That this bill be now read a second time. I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard. Leave granted. The speech read as follows— Introduction Modern...
- Documents (0 speeches)
- Motions (0 speeches)
- Excess Deaths (11 speeches)
I move: That the Senate acknowledges that: (a) the concerning number of excess deaths observed in Australia in 2021 and 2022 has continued into 2023 as evidenced by all-cause provisional...
- Adjournment (0 speeches)
- Murray-Darling Basin Plan (1 speech)
After a very busy day in this chamber, achieving what I think are some pretty excellent industrial relations reforms, I'd like to change the tone, talk a little bit about the importance of the...
- Energy (1 speech)
Late last year I had the privilege to join many of my state and federal parliamentary colleagues on a delegation to Dubai for COP28 with Environmental Leadership Australia. The trip was a...
- Health (1 speech)
The greatest victim of COVID-19 was not the many Australians who, sadly, lost their lives to this man-made virus that Australia helped develop. It was not the many thousands of Australians who,...
- Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month (1 speech)
Yesterday morning I attended the International Women's Day parliamentary breakfast, organised by the United Nations Women Australia, here in this place. We were reminded of the importance of...
- Prime Minister, Taxation (8 speeches)
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese obviously thought he was being funny this week when he compared Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton to Jack Nicholson in The Shining. It was a revealing moment...
