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

I move government business notice of motion No. 2:

That any order of the day relating to the Auditor-General Amendment Bill 2011 be listed on the Notice Paper as a government business order of the day.

Question agreed to.

I move government business notice of motion No. 3:

That the provisions of paragraphs (5) to (8) of standing order 111 not apply to the following bills, allowing them to be considered during this period of sittings:

Business Names Registration (Application of Consequential Amendments) Bill 2011

Corporations (Fees) Amendment Bill 2011

Deterring People Smuggling Bill 2011

Extradition and Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation Amendment Bill 2011

Higher Education Support Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2011

National Health Reform Amendment (Independent Hospital Pricing Authority) Bill 2011

Parliamentary Service Amendment (Parliamentary Budget Officer) Bill 2011

Personal Property Securities Amendment (Registration Commencement) Bill 2011

Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Fair Protection for Firefighters) Bill 2011

Social Security Amendment (Student Income Support Reforms) Bill 2011

Social Security Legislation Amendment (Family Participation Measures) Bill 2011.

I also table a statement of reasons relating to the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Fair Protection for Firefighters) Bill 2011 and seek leave to have the statement incorporated into Hansard.

Leave granted.

The statement read as follows—

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2011 SPRING SITTINGS

SAFETY, REHABILITATION AND COMPENSATION AMENDMENT (FAIR PROTECTION FOR FIREFIGHTERS) BILL 2011

Purpose of the Bill

This bill seeks to amend the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRC Act) to simplify workers' compensation claims by firefighters who have contracted a range of specified cancers, and who have been employed for a certain period, by establishing a rebuttable presumption that the cancers are work-related.

Reasons for Urgency

It is important that this Bill be passed in these sittings to enable firefighters to access the improved compensation arrangements without delay. If the Bill is not passed in the Spring sittings, any eligible firefighters who have contracted a prescribed cancer will be required to comply with more onerous conditions to access compensation payments under the SRC Act.