Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I give notice that, on the next day of sitting, I shall move:

That the provision of standing order 111(6) which prevents the continuation or resumption of the second reading debate on a bill within 14 days of its first introduction in either House not apply to the following bills:Aged Care Amendment (2008 Measures No. 1) Bill 2008Appropriation (Drought and Equine Influenza Assistance) Bill (No. 1) 2007-2008Appropriation (Drought and Equine Influenza Assistance) Bill (No. 2) 2007-2008Cross-Border Insolvency Bill 2008Financial Sector Legislation Amendment (Review of Prudential Decisions) Bill 2008

I table statements of reasons justifying the need for these bills to be considered during these sittings and seek leave to have the statements incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The statements read as follows—

AGED CARE AMENDMENT (2008 MEASURES No. 1) BILL

Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of the bill is to amend the aged care legislation to:

implement a range of measures for financing aged care including:

changing the arrangements for residential care subsidies, accommodation charges and residential fees;

limiting the retrospective adjustment of subsidies;

changing the criteria and value of certain grants relating to residential aged care services and community care, and introducing grants for flexible care;

extend the provisions of the Aged Care Act 1997, the Aged Care (Bond Security) Act 2006 and the Aged Care (Bond Security) Levy Act 2006 to the Territory of Christmas Island and the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands; and

make minor technical amendments to improve consistency and clarity and address unintended consequences of the operation of the legislation.

Reasons for Urgency

These measures dovetail with reforms to subsidies and supplements contained in the Aged Care Amendment (Residential Care) Act 2007, which take effect on 20 March 2008.  It is critical that the bill be passed early in the 2008 Autumn sittings to enable all delegated legislation to be finalised and to ensure sufficient advance notice of the changes for approved providers and care recipients.

If the reforms do not take effect as soon as possible, this will have significant cost implications (noting that the bill will be giving effect to increased government funding of $575.87 million as well as increasing revenue for approved providers from new residents) and will cause significant disruption to care recipients and approved providers (all of whom will be implementing significant systems changes based on the proposed changes to subsidies, fees and charges).

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Ageing)

APPROPRIATION (DROUGHT AND EQUINE INFLUENZA ASSISTANCE) BILL (No. 1) 2007-2008

APPROPRIATION (DROUGHT AND EQUINE INFLUENZA ASSISTANCE) BILL (No. 2) 2007-2008

Purpose of the Bill

These are supplementary appropriation Bills which request legislative authority for further expenses to be incurred in 2007-2008 in relation to drought relief and equine influenza assistance.  Passage of the Bills by 14 February 2008 will allow funds to be made available to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), thereby ensuring the continuity of government programs relating to drought relief and equine influenza assistance.

Reasons for Urgency

Additional funding is required to fund further drought relief and equine influenza assistance measures announced since the last Budget.  The additional funding required exceeds what is currently available to DAFF and from the Advance to the Finance Minister.  At the current rate of expenditure all of the relevant appropriations and the Advance to the Finance Minister are expected to be exhausted before end of February 2008.  The Additional Estimates Bills are not expected to be agreed to by Parliament until the end of the Autumn Sittings.  Consequently, a set of supplementary Bills are required to ensure continuity of drought and equine influenza assistance as well as other DAFF programs.

If timely passage is not granted to the supplementary Bills, all DAFF programs will be delayed for some period until mid-April 2008.

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Finance and Deregulation)

CROSS-BORDER INSOLVENCY BILL

Purpose of the Bill

The Cross-Border Insolvency Bill 2008 (the Bill) gives effect to the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (the Model Law) adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). The purpose of the Model Law is to provide effective and efficient mechanisms for dealing with cases of cross-border insolvency, The Model Law:

sets out the conditions under which persons administering a foreign insolvency proceeding have access to Australian courts;

sets out the conditions for recognition of a foreign insolvency proceeding and for granting relief to the representatives of such a proceeding;

permits foreign creditors to participate in Australian insolvency proceedings;

permits courts and insolvency practitioners from different countries to cooperate more effectively; and

makes provision for coordination of insolvency proceedings that are taking place concurrently in different states.

Reasons for Urgency

Introduction and passage of this bill in the Autumn sittings would provide for streamlining of cross-border insolvency proceedings in relation to companies with international operations that become insolvent before the winter sittings of Parliament. Passage in the Autumn sittings would benefit creditors and employees of such insolvent entities by providing for more efficient administration of such proceedings.

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law)

FINANCIAL SECTOR LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (REVIEW OF PRUDENTIAL DECISIONS) BILL 2008

Purpose of the Bill

The Bill introduces measures to improve the accountability, transparency and consistency of decisions made by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and streamline prudential legislation. The Bill includes measures to:

• introduce a court based process for the disqualification of an individual under prudential legislation administered by APRA, similar to the process followed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) under the Corporation Act 2001;
• streamline APRA’s directions powers;
• remove the need for ministerial consent from APRA administrative decisions not involving broader policy considerations; and
• expand the availability of merits review for certain APRA decisions.

Reasons for Urgency

The measures generally commence on Royal Assent. Passage in the Autumn sittings would ensure that industry stakeholders and APRA would derive benefits from the measures, including improving APRA’s decision making processes and removing

unnecessary complexity in the prudential Acts, as soon as possible.

The measures in the Bill implement various recommendations from the Taskforce on Reducing Regulatory Burdens on Business and the HIH Royal Commission.

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law)

Senator Siewert to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes the evidence provided to the Government by its ship, the Oceanic Viking, of whales being slaughtered in Australia’s Antarctic Territorial waters;

(b)

expresses deep concern at the continued killing of these whales in Australian waters; and

(c)

urges the Government to take immediate action to ensure an end to the slaughter of the whale population, including through the commencement of legal action.

Senator Nettle to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes the comments of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East on 29 January 2008 that the blockade of Gaza has incarcerated 1.5 million Palestinians, reduced to barely subsistence levels their supplies of food, medicine, fuel and other necessities and has generated fear, fury and distress amongst the Palestinians, through air strikes, incursions, assassinations and other military action that regularly takes civilian lives; and

(b)

calls on the Australian Government to make representations to the Israeli Government to immediately lift the blockade of Gaza.