John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I give notice of my intention, at the giving of notices on the next sitting day, to withdraw business of the Senate notice of motion No. 2 standing in my name for 1 December 2015 for the disallowance of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 PAYG Withholding Variation: Allowances—Legislative Instrument.

Senators Abetz, Day, Leyonhjelm, Madigan and Wang to move:

That the Senate, while not expressing a view on the contents of the booklet issued by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference entitled Don’t mess with Marriage, fully supports the rights of members of the Catholic Church, including Archbishop Julian Porteous, to distribute it.

Senator Bilyk to move:

That the following matters be referred to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report by 25 February 2016:

(a) the phenomenon colloquially referred to as ‘revenge porn’, which involves sharing private sexual images and recordings of a person without their consent, with the intention to cause that person harm;

(b) the impact this has on the targets of revenge porn, and in the Australian community more broadly;

(c) potential policy responses to this emerging problem, including civil and criminal remedies;

(d) the response to revenge porn taken by Parliaments in other Australian jurisdictions and comparable overseas jurisdictions; and

(e) any other related matters.

Senator Carr to move:

That the time for the presentation of the report of the Education and Employment Legislation Committee on the provisions of the Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Streamlining Regulation) Bill 2015 and a related bill be extended to 2 February 2016.

Senators Seselja, Lindgren, Abetz, Edwards, Bernardi, McKenzie, Bushby, Heffernan, Johnston, Reynolds, Fawcett, Macdonald, Canavan, Williams, Back, Day, Lambie, Lazarus, Leyonhjelm, Madigan, Xenophon, Wang and Bullock to move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the week, 8 November to 14 November 2015, is National Adoption Awareness Week,

(ii) the number of children adopted in Australia is at an all-time low, declining 76 per cent over 25 years,

(iii) the number of children in the out of home care system continues to increase,

(iv) in 2013-14 there were over 50 000 children in out of home care arrangements, including kinship care, foster care and guardianship,

(v) there are 15 000 children in Australia who have been in out of home care for over 2 years and are not living with relatives or kin,

(vi) only 203 Australian children were adopted in this country in 2014, and

(vii) long-tem out of home care arrangements lack stability with an average child experiencing 6 different placements during their time in out of home care; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to use its leadership of the Council of Australian Governments to work with the states and territories on a national strategy to significantly increase the number of local adoptions in Australia.

Senator Brandis to move:

That the following bill be introduced: A Bill for an Act to amend the law relating to counter-terrorism, and for related purposes. Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2015.

Senator Xenophon to move:

That the following bill be introduced: A Bill for an Act to amend the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, and for related purposes. Interactive Gambling Amendment (Sports Betting Reform) Bill 2015.

Senator Ludlam to move:

That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, no later than 5 pm on Monday, 23 November 2015, the following documents that underpin the Perth Freight Link project but are not publicly available:

(a) any figures, modelling and forecasts on freight movements to and from the Fremantle Port, including current and projected figures, provided by the Western Australian Government for the Perth Freight Link project;

(b) any evaluation of freight figures or modelling to underpin the Perth Freight Link by the Minister’s department or Infrastructure Australia;

(c) any peer review undertaken of freight figures provided for the Perth Freight Link;

(d) any modelling of air quality, diesel particulates and truck congestion on roads and communities in the vicinity of the Perth Freight Link; and

(e) the modelling for future traffic congestion on Perth metropolitan roads for 2011, 2016 and 2021 that was completed as part of the Western Australian Auditor General’s report of March 2015 using the new version of the Regional Operations Model [ROM].

Senator Waters to move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) the fact that coal-fired power stations exacerbate global warming and pollute local air and water,

(ii) the fact that subsidies from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) export credit agencies to coal-fired power stations in developing nations constitute an obstacle to the transition to clean energy in those nations, and

(iii) reports that the Turnbull Government is set to block a proposal from the United States of America (US) and Japan to remove OECD export credit subsidies for the dirtiest coal-fired power stations in developing nations; and

(b) calls on the Turnbull Government to support the proposal from the US and Japan to exclude the dirtiest coal-fired power stations from receiving OECD export credit subsidies.

Senator Siewert to move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) 85 per cent of all eye and vision conditions are preventable with regular eye checks, and

(ii) the Medicare rebate for optometry consultations was reduced by 5 per cent from 1 January 2015;

(b) acknowledges:

(i) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are disproportionately affected by the cuts due to the combination of geographical and social disadvantages, and

(ii) small investments in preventative, first line eye health will reduce the cost of vision loss to the Australian economy and improve the quality of life of Australia’s most vulnerable; and

(c) urges the Government to:

(i) review the impacts of cuts on services to eye health in Aboriginal communities, and

(ii) take measures to address the effect of the cuts on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Senator Lazarus to move:

(1) That a select committee, to be known as the Select Committee on Unconventional Gas Mining, be established to inquire into and report on or before 30 June 2016, on the following matter:

The adequacy of Australia’s legislative, regulatory and policy framework for unconventional gas mining including coal seam gas (CSG) and shale gas mining, with reference to:

(a) a national approach to the conduct of unconventional gas mining in Australia;

(b) the health, social, business, agricultural, environmental, landholder and economic impacts of unconventional gas mining;

(c) government and non-Government services and assistance for those affected;

(d) compensation and insurance arrangements;

(e) compliance and penalty arrangements;

(f) harmonisation of federal and state/territory government legislation, regulations and policies;

(g) legislative and regulatory frameworks for unconventional gas mining in comparable overseas jurisdictions;

(h) the unconventional gas industry in Australia as an energy provider; and

(i) any related matter.

(2) That the committee consist of 5 senators, 1 nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate, 2 nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, 1 nominated by the Leader of the Australian Greens, and Senator Lazarus.

(3) That:

(a) participating members may be appointed to the committee on the nomination of the Leader of the Government in the Senate, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate or any minority groups or independent senators;

(b) participating members may participate in hearings of evidence and deliberations of the committee, and have all the rights of members of the committee, but may not vote on any questions before the committee; and

(c) a participating member shall be taken to be a member of the committee for the purpose of forming a quorum of the committee if a majority of members of the committee is not present.

(4) That every nomination of a member of the committee be notified in writing to the President of the Senate.

(5) That the committee may proceed to the dispatch of business notwithstanding that not all members have been duly nominated and appointed and notwithstanding any vacancy.

(6) That Senator Lazarus is appointed chair.

(7) That the committee elect a member as its deputy chair, who shall act as chair when the chair is absent from a meeting of the committee or the position of chair is temporarily vacant.

(8) That the chair, or the deputy chair when acting as chair, may appoint another member of the committee to act as chair during the temporary absence of both the chair and deputy chair at a meeting of the committee.

(9) That, in the event of an equally divided vote, the chair, or the deputy chair when acting as chair, have a casting vote.

(10) That 3 members of the committee constitute a quorum of the committee.

(11) That the committee have power to appoint subcommittees consisting of 2 or more of its members, and to refer to any such subcommittee any of the matters which the committee is empowered to examine.

(12) That 2 members of a subcommittee constitute a quorum of that subcommittee.

(13) That members of the committee who are not members of a subcommittee may participate in the proceedings of that subcommittee but shall not vote, move any motion or be counted for the purpose of a quorum.

(14) That the committee and any subcommittee have power to send for and examine persons and documents, to move from place to place, to sit in public or in private, notwithstanding any prorogation of the Parliament or dissolution of the House of Representatives, and have leave to report from time to time its proceedings, the evidence taken and such interim recommendations as it may deem fit.

(15) That the committee be provided with all necessary staff, facilities and resources and be empowered to appoint persons with specialist knowledge for the purposes of the committee with the approval of the President.

(16) That the committee be empowered to print from day to day such papers and evidence as may be ordered by it, and a daily Hansard be published of such proceedings as take place in public.

Senator Lines to move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes, with grave concern, the Western Australian Corruption and Crime Commission report entitled Report on Operation Aviemore: Major Crime Squad investigation into the unlawful killing of MrJoshua Warneke;

(b) urges the relevant agencies to implement, as a matter of urgency, the recommendations made in the report by the Honourable John McKechnie QC; and

(c) calls on the Government to address the high rates of engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with the criminal justice system by supporting justice reinvestment and the development of a justice target under the ‘Closing the Gap’ framework to ensure coordinated action, accountability and progress to reduce the disproportionate incarceration rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Senators Madigan, Wang, Leyonhjelm and Day to move:

That the following matter be referred to the Community Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report by 20 June 2016:

The growing evidence of an emerging tick-borne disease that causes a Lyme-like illness for many Australian patients, with particular reference to:

(a) the prevalence and geographic distribution of Lyme-like illness in Australia;

(b) methods to reduce the stigma associated with Lyme-like illness for patients, doctors and researchers;

(c) the process for diagnosis of patients with a Lyme-like illness, with a specific focus on the laboratory testing procedures and associated quality assurance processes, including recognition of accredited international laboratory testing;

(d) evidence of investments in contemporary research into Australian pathogens specifically acquired through the bite of a tick and including other potential vectors;

(e) potential investment into research to discover unique local causative agents causing a growing number of Australians debilitating illness;

(f) the signs and symptoms Australians with Lyme-like illness are enduring, and the treatment they receive from medical professionals; and

(g) any other related matters.

Senator Rice to move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) the Federal Government committed $38 million of Commonwealth funds to the Port Rail Shuttle project in Victoria,

(ii) the Port Rail Shuttle project would create a rail connection between the Port of Melbourne and three inland ports, reducing diesel use and pollution from Victorian containerised freight movements and removing up to 3 500 trucks from residential streets in Melbourne’s west every day,

(iii) the Victorian Government has put this project on indefinite hold citing delays due to potential privatisation of the port, and

(iv) that the Port of Melbourne Authority, together with the Victorian Government, are well placed, and have the relevant expertise and independent advice, to progress the Port Rail Shuttle project without delay; and

(b) calls on the Government to urgently seek action from the Victorian Government to proceed with implementing the Port Rail Shuttle project, regardless of the status of the Port of Melbourne ownership or lease arrangements.