Alex Gallacher (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I present documents listed on today’s Order of Business at item 14, presented to the President, Deputy President and temporary chairs of committees since the Senate adjourned on 12 December 2013.

The list read as follows—

Documents presented out of sitting

COMMITTEE REPORTS (pursuant to Senate standing order 38 (7))

1. Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee—Review of the citrus industry in Australia—Report, Hansard record of proceedings, documents presented to the committee, additional information and submissions. [Received 16 December 2013]

2. Community Affairs Legislation Committee—Report—Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2013—Additional information. [Received 23 December 2013]

GOVERNMENT RESPONSES TO PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE REPORTS (pursuant to Senate standing order 166)

1. Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee—Progress report no. 1—Implementation of the Defence Trade Controls Act 2012. [Received 8 January 2014]

2. Environment and Communications References Committee—Report—The feasibility of a prohibition on charging fees for an unlisted number service, dated February 2014. [Received 6 February 2014]

GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS (pursuant to Senate standing order 166)

1. Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC)—Report for 2012-13. [Received 17 December 2013]

2. Australian Crime Commission (ACC) Board—Report for 2012-13. [Received 17 December 2013]

3. Australian Fisheries Management Authority—Report for 2012-13. [Received 18 December 2013]

4. National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)—NHMRC Licensing Committee—Report on the operation of the Research Involving Human Embryos Act 2002 for the period 1 March to 31 August 2013. [Received 18 December 2013]

5. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999—National and Commonwealth Heritage Lists—Report for the period 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2013. [Received 20 December 2013]

6. Productivity Commission—

Report No. 67—Safeguards inquiry into the import of processed fruit products, dated 12 December 2013.[Received 20 December 2013]

Report No. 68—Safeguards inquiry into the import of processed tomato products, dated 12 December 2013. [Received 20 December 2013]

7. Treaties—Bilateral—

Exchange of Notes, done at Canberra on 21 November 2013, constituting an Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Australia to amend the Agreement concerning Space Vehicle Tracking and Communication Facilities of 29 May 1980, as amended—Text, together with national interest analysis. [Received 20 January 2014]

Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam—Text, together with national interest analysis and annexure. [Received 20 January 2014]

8. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)—Report for 2012-13—Erratum.[Received 21 January 2014]

9. Aboriginal Land Commissioner—Report for 2012-13. [Received 24 January 2014]

10. Local Government (Financial Assistance) Act 1995—Report for 2010-11 on the operation of the Act,

including maps of state and territory local government areas. [Received 29 January 2014]

11. Executive Director of Township Leasing—Report for 2012-13. [Received 29 January 2014]

12. Tax expenditures statement 2013, dated January 2014. [Received 30 January 2014]

13. Department of Finance—Certificate of compliance—Report for 2012-13. [Received 31 January 2014]

14. Gene Technology Regulator—Quarterly report for the period 1 July to 30 September 2013. [Received 4 February 2014]

15. Australian Customs and Border Protection Service—Report for 2012-13—Correction. [Received 5 February 2014]

REPORTS OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL (pursuant to Senate standing order 166)

1. Report no. 12 of 2013-14—Assurance report—Major Projects Report: Defence Materiel Organisation.[Received 17 December 2013]

2. Report no. 13 of 2013-14—Financial statement audit—Audits of the financial statements of Australian Government entities for the period ended 30 June 2013: Across Agencies. [Received 18 December 2013]

3. Report no. 14 of 2013-14—Performance audit—Explosive Ordnance and Weapons Security Incident

Reporting: Department of Defence. [Received 18 December 2013]

4. Report no. 15 of 2013-14—Performance audit—The Indigenous Land Corporation's administration of

the Land Acquisition Program: Indigenous Land Corporation. [Received 19 December 2013]

5. Report no. 16 of 2013-14—Performance audit—Administration of the Smart Grid, Smart City

Program: Department of the Environment; Department of Industry. [Received 29 January 2014]

6. Report no. 17 of 2013-14—Performance audit—Administration of the Strengthening Basin

Communities Program: Department of the Environment. [Received 30 January 2014]

7. Report no. 18 of 2013-14—Performance audit—Administration of the Improving Water Information Program: Bureau of Meteorology. [Received 5 February 2014]

RETURN TO ORDER (pursuant to Senate standing order 166)

Transport—WestConnex motorway project—Documents relating to the WestConnex motorway project provided to Infrastructure Australia by the New South Wales Government—Order for production of documents—Document (motion of Senator Rhiannon agreed to 12 December 2013). [Received 23 December 2013]

STATEMENTS OF COMPLIANCE WITH SENATE ORDERS (pursuant to Senate standing order 166)

Indexed lists of departmental and agency files (continuing order of the Senate of 30 May 1996, as amended on 3 December 1998):

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. [Received 23 December 2013]

Treasury portfolio. [Received 30 January 2014]

In accordance with the usual practice and with the concurrence of the Senate government responses will be incorporated in Hansard.

The responses read as follows—

Australian Government

Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee

Progress Report No.1 into the Implementation ofthe Defence Trade Controls Act 2012

Government Response

December 2013

Recommendation 1

The committee recommends that DECO examine the timeliness of processing applications and provide a report to the committee prior to the committees next six-monthly report. The committee is particularly interested in instances in which there have been delays in processing applications, and what mechanisms are in place to ensure the implementation of the Act does not cause problems in processing applications.

Government Response

Agree

Australia takes seriously its international counter proliferation obligations, using Australian export control laws to ensure Australia exports responsibly. The Defence Export Control Office (DECO) conducts a robust case-by-case assessment process on all applications to export:

Customs (Prohibited Exports)Regulations 1958;

Weapons ofMass Destruction (Prevention of Proliferation) Act 1995;

Customs Act 1901.

Every effort is made to assess applications within the Government's time frames, and the progress of individual cases is closely monitored.

Weapons of MassDestruction (Prevention of Proliferation) Act 1995

DECO provides a fortnightly report to the Minister for Defence and Defence senior management, showing the status of all applications referred for interagency consideration. These are complex and sensitive cases that are pending advice from several agencies, and/or additional information from the applicant. The complexity of these cases is generally due to the sensitivity of the items, the end-user and/or the end-use destination.

Applicants are consulted early and throughout the process and are provided the opportunity to present all relevant information. Where it is determined that an application requires inter ­agency consultation, applicants are provided written advice explaining the process and that time frames may extend beyond 35 days. Applicants are provided with regular updates throughout the process.

Regarding the Committee's question about mechanisms that are in place to ensure the implementation of the Act does not cause problems in processing applications, the reporting and monitoring referred to above is key to ensuring timeliness, as is the applicants' constructive and responsive participation. Ministerial and senior official oversight of processing times and sensitive cases provides visibility and the ability to intervene if performance reduces. Defence will continue to ensure that appropriate resources are allocated to deliver both existing regulatory responsibilities and to implement the new strengthened export controls under the Defence Trade Controls Act 2012.

Defence is working closely with the Strengthened Export Controls Steering Group to ensure that strengthened export controls are implemented in a way that minimises burden for regulated parties, and that is manageable and sustainable from a regulatory perspective. In May 2013 DECO introduced an online application processing system that will support the requirements of both the existing and new regulation.

Defence acknowledges the Committee's comments about the importance of open and effective communication at paragraphs 2.13-2.18, 2.24 and 3.2, and in Senator Ludlum's additional comments. Steering Group members, the Defence Export Control Office, and representatives from the Department of Innovation are communicating with stakeholder groups, including sectoral peak bodies. The assertion at paragraph 2.16 that Steering Group members have been required by Defence to sign confidentiality undertakings is not correct. The Steering Group has itself agreed without any requirement being proposed by Defence that official comment should be limited to the Minister for Defence and the Chair of the Steering Group, and also agreed that other Steering Group members are able to (and do) communicate with their stakeholder constituencies. Information about the Steering Group's progress is regularly added to its website following every meeting. At its 20 June 2013 meeting, the Steering Group considered a stakeholder engagement plan, which outlines regular communication activities over the two year transition period. This plan is publicly available at https://exportcontols.govsnace.gov.aukommunication. Defence will work with stakeholders to progressively refine and implement this plan.

Detailed information on the implementation of strengthened export controls to date is contained in the Steering Group's first report on progress to the Minister for Defence and Minister for Research, which was provided to the Committee on 19 August 2013, and is publicly available at https://exportcontrols.govspace.gov.au/steering-group/secsg-reports.

Defence would welcome the opportunity to brief the Committee on the progress of strengthened export control implementation to date, and next steps. Defence will also work with the Committee secretariat to ensure that the timing of future six monthly reports are aligned, so that in future the Committee can consider the Strengthened Export Controls Steering Group's six-monthly report before releasing its own report.

Senate Environment and Communications References Committee Inquiry into the feasibility of a prohibition on charging fees for an unlisted number service

Australian Government Response to the Committee's Report

February 2014

Introduction

On 28 February 2013 the Senate referred an inquiry into the feasibility of prohibiting the charging of a fee for an unlisted number to the Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications for inquiry and report by 15 May 2013.

The terms of reference for the inquiry covered the feasibility of a prohibition on the charging of fees for an unlisted number service, with particular reference to:

(a) recommendation no. 72.17 contained in report no. 108 of the Australian Law Reform Commission on Australian privacy law and practice;

(b) whether the payment of a fee unduly inhibits the privacy of telephone subscribers;

(c) the likely economic, social and public interest impact for consumers and businesses, carriage service providers and the White Pages directory producer, if the charging of fees for unlisted (silent) number services was prohibited;

(d) the implications of such prohibition for the efficacy of the national public number directory; and

(e) any other relevant matters.

The committee received 18 submissions and one supplementary submission from a range of consumer and privacy advocacy groups, the telecommunications industry, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ALMA).

On 15 May 2013, the committee tabled its report to the President of the Senate. The report contains:

Australian Government Response to the Committee's Recommendations

The Australian Government has considered the committee's report and is pleased to provide the following response. The Senate committee's recommendations are addressed in order.

Recommendation 1

2.50 The committee recommends that the Telecommunications Act 1997 not be amended to prohibit the charging of a fee for an unlisted (silent) number on a public number directory.

Australian Government Response

The Government accepts this recommendation.

Developments within the telecommunications industry have largely negated the need for regulatory intervention to abolish fees being charged for silent lines.

Key developments include:

ACMA Communications Report 2011-12 Integrated Public Number Database ('IPND) Industry Code (ACIF C555:2008).

Recommendation 2

2.54 The committee recommends that the Australian Communications and Media Authority produce relevant material for telecommunications users that explains where their personal information is published and how it may be made private.

Australian Government Response

The Australian Government accepts this recommendation and considers it will complement ALRC's recommendations 73-10 and 73-11, which call on the ACMA to develop and publish guidance and educational material on:

______________

lACMA Communications report 2011-12, pages 27, 29.

Ordered that the documents be printed.