Senate debates
Monday, 4 December 2006
Notices
Presentation
Senator Fifield to move on the next day of sitting:
- That the time for the presentation of the report of the Finance and Public Administration Committee on the transparency and accountability of Commonwealth public funding and expenditure be extended to 8 February 2007.
Senators Siewert and Moore to move on the next day of sitting:
- That the Senate—
- (a)
- notes:
- (i)
- the important role that the non--sniffable fuel Opal plays in addressing the scourge of petrol sniffing in remote Aboriginal communities, and
- (ii)
- the announcement by the Government in September 2006 of the roll-out of Opal fuel in Alice Springs;
- (b)
- notes, with concern:
- (i)
- that misinformation about negative impacts of Opal fuel on car engines has caused a number of petrol stations to cease selling Opal fuel, and
- (ii)
- the delay in the promised promotional campaign to support Opal fuel in Alice Springs; and
- (c)
- calls on the Federal Government to start to actively promote Opal fuel in Alice Springs immediately.
Senator Milne to move on the next day of sitting:
- That the Senate—
- (a)
- notes that:
- (i)
- in regard to the promise by the Prime Minister (Mr Howard) in the 2004 election to protect 18,700 hectares of old-growth forest in the Styx and Florentine valleys, the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Minchin, stated in the Senate on 30 March 2006 that ‘It is absolutely outrageous to suggest that the Prime Minister has not honoured his promise. He is honouring his promises to the people of Tasmania in full. This was a major commitment to the people of Tasmania to achieve both the protection of vital forests and the protection of jobs...’,
- (ii)
- Senator Minchin’s claims are contradicted by the admission by the Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation (Senator Abetz), as reported in the Mercury on 30 November 2006, that ‘not all the Upper Florentine Valley was protected as pledged during the 2004 election campaign’,
- (iii)
- Senator Minchin’s statement is contradicted by the Government’s own literature about the outcome of the election promises, ‘The Tasmanian Community Forest Agreement: Fact sheet no. 3’ (May 2005), which admits the failure to meet the Prime Minister’s election promise because the protected areas in the Styx and Florentine contain ‘4,730 hectares of old-growth eucalypt against a target of 18,700 hectares’, and
- (iv)
- the Federal Government is funding logging operations in the Styx and Upper Florentine valleys and publicly-funded road construction is planned to continue in the Upper Florentine; and
- (b)
- calls on the Government to immediately protect in full all areas that the Prime Minister promised to protect during the 2004 election.
Senator Nettle to move on the next day of sitting:
- That the Senate—
- (a)
- notes that Australian citizen, Mr David Hicks has been detained for 1 822 days; and
- (b)
- calls on the Australian Government to ensure the release of Mr Hicks from Guantanamo Bay.
Senators Allison, Bob Brown, Bishop and Bartlett to move on the next day of sitting:
- That the following bill be introduced: A Bill for an Act to prohibit the use, possession and manufacture of cluster munitions, and for related purposes. Cluster Munitions (Prohibition) Bill 2006.
3:39 pm
Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I give notice that, on the next day of sitting, I shall move:
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:Defence Legislation Amendment Bill 2006 and the Royal Commissions Amendment (Records) Bill 2006.
I also 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—
Defence Legislation Amendment Bill 2006
Purpose of the bill
The bill amends the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982, the Defence Force Discipline Appeals Act 1955 and the Defence Act 1903 to:
- establish the Australian Military Court in accordance with the government response to agreed recommendations to the 2005 Senate Inquiry Report into the military justice system; and
- replace the Court martial and Defence Force Magistrate trial system with the Australian Military Court.
Reasons for Urgency
The creation of the Australian Military Court is one of the major outcomes of the Senate Inquiry into The effectiveness of the military justice system conducted in 2004, which was critical of the military justice system.
In tabling its response to the 2005 Senate report, the government directed a two year implementation period for the agreed recommendations. This implementation period expires at the end of 2007. Passage of the bill in the 2006 Spring sittings is therefore fundamental to allow for the establishment and commencement of the new system within the implementation period.
(Circulated by the authority of the Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence)
Royal Commissions Amendment (Records) Bill 2006
Purpose of the bill
The bill amends the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to enable regulations to facilitate provision of custody and use of, and access to, records of royal commissions, including those of the Inquiry into Certain Australian Companies in relation to the UN Oil-for-Food Programme (the Cole Inquiry).
The bill will remove any argument that there might be a requirement to provide procedural fairness to persons who could be adversely affected if documents obtained by the Cole Inquiry, or any other royal commission, for its purposes, were to be made available to other persons or agencies and used for other purposes. Providing procedural fairness in respect of use of documents could be very time-consuming, and is arguably unnecessary and unmeritorious, particularly in a law enforcement context. The government therefore considers it prudent to legislate to allow royal commission records to be used for defined purposes without having to provide procedural fairness, and is taking the opportunity to provide a framework which can be used for future royal commissions, without needing additional legislation.
The bill will insert a regulation-making power to enable regulations to be made to give custody or access to records to persons and bodies, which could then use and deal with those records, without any prior need to notify and consult those who might be adversely affected by the release and use of the records. The amendments broadly follow and generalise the model in the HIH Royal Commission (Transfer of Records) Act 2003.
Reasons for Urgency
The bill will enable the making of regulations concerning the provision of relevant records of the Cole Inquiry to appropriate authorities, including for law enforcement purposes. Such regulations will assist in expediting consideration of whether proceedings should be commenced in relation to the possible breaches of the law identified by the Cole Inquiry. The government therefore considers that the bill should be passed during the current sitting.
(Circulated by authority of the Prime Minister)