Senator Siewert to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

recognises that 22 March is World Water Day, an initiative of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development to draw attention to the plight of the estimated 2.6 billion people lacking access to basic sanitation and the 884 million people who lack access to safe and clean drinking water;

(b)

notes:

(i)

that the theme for World Water Day 2010 is ‘Clean Water for a Healthy World’, and

(ii)

the United Nations Children’s Fund/World Health Organization report Progress on sanitation and drinking-water – 2010 Update, released in the week beginning 14 March 2010, and expresses concern that the sanitation Millennium Development Goal target is likely to be met 30 years and one billion people too late;

(c)

expresses concern that more than 1.4 million children die each year as a result of unclean water and poor sanitation, which is one child every 20 seconds dying from diarrhoea;

(d)

notes that for every dollar invested in sanitation, the United Nations development program estimates $8 is returned in increased productivity;

(e)

acknowledges the important role Australia is playing in delivering improved sanitation to communities in Asia and Africa under the Water and Sanitation Initiative;

(f)

encourages the Australian Government to take a proactive role and send a high level delegation to the Sanitation and Water for All meeting in Washington, DC in April 2010; and

(g)

calls on the Australian Government and AusAlD to report annually on its water and sanitation program, as it already does for its health and education programs, including reporting on the proportion of development aid spent on sanitation.

Senator Ian Macdonald to move on the next day of sitting:

That the resolution of the Senate of 25 June 2008, as amended, appointing the Select Committee on the National Broadband Network, be amended to omit “30 April 2010”, and substitute “12 May 2010”.

Senator Siewert to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes with concern the recent death of an 18-year-old Murri youth in Brisbane after his repeated requests for medical attention were allegedly denied by staff at the Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre;

(b)

expresses concern at the growing disproportionate and alarmingly high rates of incarceration of Indigenous Australians, with a national rate of 171 per 100 000 incarcerated and a staggering 646 per 100 000 incarcerated in the Northern Territory;

(c)

notes that new ‘tough on crime’ laws introduced by state and territory governments invariably lead to higher rates of Indigenous incarceration but produce little change in Australia’s comparatively low rates of serious crime; and

(d)

calls on the Federal Government and the Council of Australian Governments to act to implement the recommendations of the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

Senator Eggleston to move on the next day of sitting:

That the time for the presentation of the report of the Economics References Committee on the Australian dairy industry be extended to 13 May 2010.

Senators Pratt and Birmingham to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes:

(i)

nuclear weapons are one of the most serious threats faced by humankind,

(ii)

the unanimous finding of the International Court of Justice in its 1996 Advisory Opinion that, ‘There exists a clear obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control’,

(iii)

the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference to be held at the United Nations (UN) in New York from 3 May to 28 May 2010,

(iv)

the letter dated 24 February 2010 to parliamentarians from the UN Secretary-General (Mr Ban-Ki Moon) encouraging greater involvement of parliamentarians and highlighting his five-point proposal for nuclear disarmament founded on a fundamental principle that nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation are mutually reinforcing and inseparable, which was supported by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in April 2009, and

(v)

parliamentarians across the political spectrum and from around the world are concerned about the rising threats from the proliferation of nuclear weapons to new countries, the potential for terrorists to acquire or produce nuclear weapons, and the maintenance of nuclear weapons and policies to use them by states currently possessing such weapons;

(b)

recalls:

(i)

the report of the 1995 Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons,

(ii)

the unanimous recommendations of the 2009 Joint Standing Committee on Treaties inquiry into nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, and

(iii)

the report of the 2009 International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament;

(c)

affirms:

(i)

that all NPT parties have an obligation to fulfil their undertaking under Article VI of the NPT ‘to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective control’, and

(ii)

that all states have an enduring interest in the central role of the NPT in the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, and attaining at the NPT Review Conference meaningful progress on each of the NPTs three pillars, namely nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and the peaceful use of nuclear energy;

(d)

welcomes the intention of Australia and Japan to take forward a package of practical nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation measures for the NPT Review Conference; and

(e)

calls for:

(i)

an unequivocal commitment by all states to the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons,

(ii)

the nuclear weapons states to commit to reducing the role of nuclear weapons in their national security strategies, including strengthened negative security assurances not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapons states,

(iii)

all states that have not yet signed and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty to do so with a view to its early entry into force, and

(iv)

the immediate commencement and early conclusion of negotiation of a fissile material cut-off treaty.

Senators Fifield and Bernardi to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes with great sadness the passing of respected disability advocate Dr Paul Collier;

(b)

offers its sincere condolences to the friends and family of Dr Collier, particularly his mother Wendy, sister Joanne, brother-in-law David and his three nephews for their tragic loss; and

(c)

notes his tireless and passionate work in seeking to improve the lives of people with disabilities and the valuable contribution he made to the community.

Senator Bob Brown to move on 17 June 2010:

That the following bill be introduced: A Bill for an Act to establish the Office of the National Integrity Commissioner, and for related purposes. National Integrity Commissioner Bill 2010.

Senators Barnett and Crossin to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes that:

(i)

World Tuberculosis Day on 24 March 2010 represents an important opportunity to acknowledge the global impacts of tuberculosis (TB), which causes 2 million deaths annually,

(ii)

the Western Pacific region accounts for more than 20 per cent of the global burden of TB, with an estimated 1.4 million new cases each year,

(iii)

Australia is not exempt from the impacts of TB, in particular, due to the proximity of the Torres Strait Islands and Papua New Guinea where TB rates are very high, and

(iv)

that 2010 marks the halfway point for the Global Plan to Stop TB; and

(b)

calls on the Government to maintain its efforts to achieve the important targets laid out by the Global Plan to Stop TB.

Senator Farrell to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes that:

(i)

the over-allocation of water within the Murray-Darling Basin, combined with the emerging impacts of climate change, has lead to significant environmental problems, including those faced in the Lower Lakes and the Coorong,

(ii)

improving the health of Australia’s rivers requires us to take less water from them and that the fastest way to improve river health is by purchasing water entitlements from willing sellers,

(iii)

in the longer term, the historic over-allocation and emerging climate change must be addressed under the forthcoming Murray-Darling Basin Plan, with a new lower limit on water use that is based on science, and

(iv)

there have been recent calls by politicians that seek to undermine the need for scientific integrity in determining this limit by demanding that less additional water be provided to the environment; and

(b)

urges:

(i)

the Government to maintain its purchase program, and

(ii)

the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to set new diversion limits that are based on science to ensure the key environmental assets in the basin are protected as set out in the Water Act 2007.

Senator Bob Brown to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate calls on the Government to amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 before the next federal election to incorporate a Truth in Political Advertising Unit to monitor and regulate political advertising to ensure it is true and accurate.

Senator Ludlam to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate notes:

(a)

the ‘unequivocal undertaking by the nuclear-weapon States to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals leading to nuclear disarmament to which all States parties are committed under Article VI’, agreed by consensus at the 2000 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference;

(b)

the statement made by Australia on 30 April 2008 at the NPT Preparatory Committee meeting that, ‘at an appropriate time, the international community will likely need to consider complementary legal frameworks, including a possible nuclear weapons convention, for the eventual abolition of nuclear weapons’;

(c)

the statement made by the then Australian Labor Party foreign affairs spokesperson, Mr Robert McClelland, on 17 September 2007, that the proposal to establish a Nuclear Weapons Convention is ‘timely and responsible’ and that ‘[u]Itimately the question to be asked is not why there should be a nuclear weapons convention but why the international community has not yet agreed to start negotiating one’;

(d)

the recommendation contained in report 106 of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties that, ‘the Australian Government make clear in international fora its support for the adoptions of a Nuclear Weapons Convention’ and ‘allocate research and consultation resources to the development of a Nuclear Weapons Convention with a clear legal framework and enforceable verification’;

(e)

the Australian Government sponsored International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament report statement that, ‘An important project for the medium term will be to develop, refine and build international understanding and acceptance of the need for a Nuclear Weapons Convention – a comprehensive international legal regime to accompany the final move to elimination’;

(f)

the first proposal in the United Nations Secretary-General’s five-point proposal on nuclear disarmament urges, ‘all NPT parties, in particular the nuclear weapon-states, to fulfil their obligation under the treaty to undertake negotiations on effective measures leading to nuclear disarmament. They could pursue this goal by agreement on a framework of separate, mutually reinforcing instruments. Or they could consider negotiating a nuclear-weapons convention, backed by a strong system of verification, as has long been proposed at the United Nations’; and

(g)

the 10 March 2010 resolution of the European Parliament on Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons which noted:

‘a.   a distinct lack of progress in achieving concrete objectives in pursuit of the goals of the NPT Treaty ... coupled with greater demand for, and availability of, nuclear technology and the potential for such technology and radioactive material to fall into the hands of criminal organisations and terrorists,

b.   that nuclear weapons states that are signatories to the NPT are delaying action to reduce or eliminate their nuclear arsenals and decrease their adherence to a military doctrine of nuclear deterrence,

c.   called on Member States to make a coordinated, positive and visible contribution to the 2010 NPT Review Conference discussions, in particular by proposing an ambitious timetable for a nuclear-free world and concrete initiatives for revitalising the UN Conference on Disarmament and by promoting disarmament initiatives based on the “Statement of Principles and Objectives” agreed at the end of the 1995 NPT Review Conference and on the “13 Practical Steps” unanimously agreed at the 2000 Review Conference’.

Senator Ludwig to move on the next day of sitting:

That on the release by the Government of any exposure draft of legislation relating to the implementation of its announced paid parental leave scheme, the document or documents stand referred to the Community Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 3 June 2010.