Senator Barnett to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Joint Standing Committee on Publications be authorised to hold a public meeting during the sitting of the Senate on Monday, 18 June 2007, from 12.30 pm to 1.30 pm, to take evidence for the committee’s inquiry into printing standards for documents presented to Parliament.

Senators Siewert and Nettle to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes:

(i)

the impact of reduced rainfall on inflows into river systems in northern New South Wales due to the combined effects of climate change and drought,

(ii)

that serious water management issues already exist in these systems, including problems with the over-allocation of water resources, and

(iii)

the economic value of the range of industries that depend on these systems, from dairy farms on the floodplains through to commercial fisheries; and

(b)

calls on the Federal Government to:

(i)

abandon the further assessment of damming and extracting water from these northern rivers for additional water supplies for southeast Queensland, and

(ii)

focus its efforts on non-runoff dependent alternative sources to meet increasing demand, such as setting water efficiency standards and water conservation measures.

Senator Bartlett to move on 14 June 2007:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes that the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee report, Unfinished business: Indigenous stolen wages was tabled in the Senate on 7 December 2006;

(b)

notes that the report contained six unanimous recommendations, as follows:

Recommendation 1

The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government and state governments facilitate unhindered access to their archives for Indigenous people and their representatives for the purposes of researching the Indigenous stolen wages issue as a matter of urgency.

Recommendation 2

The committee recommends that the Ministerial Council on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs agree on joint funding arrangements for:

(a)

an education and awareness campaign in Indigenous communities in relation to stolen wages issues; and

(b)

preliminary legal research on Indigenous stolen wages matters.

Recommendation 3

The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government provide funding in the next budget to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies to conduct a national oral history and archival project in relation to Indigenous stolen wages.

Recommendation 4

The committee recommends that:

(a)

the Western Australian Government:

(i)

urgently consult with Indigenous people in relation to the stolen wages issue; and

(ii)

establish a compensation scheme in relation to withholding, underpayment and non-payment of Indigenous wages and welfare entitlements using the New South Wales scheme as a model, and

(b)

the Commonwealth Government conduct preliminary research of its archival material in relation to the stolen wages issues in Western Australia.

Recommendation 5

The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government in relation to the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, and the state governments of South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria:

(a)

urgently consult with Indigenous people in relation to the stolen wages issue;

(b)

conduct preliminary research of their archival material; and

(c)

if this consultation and research reveals that similar practices operated in relation to the withholding, underpayment or non-payment of Indigenous wages and welfare entitlements in these states, then establish compensation schemes using the New South Wales scheme as a model.

Recommendation 6

The committee recommends that the Queensland Government revise the terms of its reparations offer so that:

(a)

Indigenous claimants are fully compensated for monies withheld from them;

Senator Allison to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

recognises that, according to a survey of parents commissioned by the Coalition on Food Advertising to Children:

(i)

86.2 per cent support a ban on advertising of unhealthy foods at times when children watch television, and

(ii)

88.7 per cent agree that the Government should introduce stronger restrictions on food advertising at times when children are watching television; and

(b)

calls on the Government to support a ban on food advertising during peak viewing times of children.

Senators Carol Brown, O’Brien, Polley and Sherry to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes:

(i)

the comments by the Member for Bass, Mr Michael Ferguson, on 17 August 2005 that the ‘sale of Telstra will not disadvantage Northern Tasmania’,

(ii)

the announcement by Telstra on 5 June 2007 that it plans to close its Launceston Service Advantage centre, which will result in the loss of 257 jobs,

(iii)

that, on top of this, a further 20 Telstra technician’s jobs were axed on 6 June 2007, and

(iv)

the dramatic effect these redundancies will have on the lives of workers and their families; and

(b)

calls on the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (Senator Coonan) to join Tasmanian members and senators and the Tasmanian State Government to lobby Telstra to reverse the decision.

Senators Ronaldson, Conroy, Allison, Fielding, Fifield, Kemp, McGauran, Patterson, Troeth, Carr, Marshall and Robert Ray to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate sends:

(a)

its sympathies to the families of the 11 people who were tragically killed in the Kerang train disaster;

(b)

a message of support to those who were injured and wish them a full and speedy recovery;

(c)

its gratitude to the emergency personnel, many of whom were volunteers, who performed with great skill and dedication during the rescue operation; and

(d)

its thanks to the members of the public who offered assistance at the crash site, many of whom had been passengers aboard the train.