Senator Cormann to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes that:

(i)

on 15 November 2008, state and territory Labor Treasurers held a pre-Council of Australian Governments (COAG) strategy meeting in preparation of the COAG meeting on 29 November 2008,

(ii)

the Western Australian Treasurer (Mr Buswell) was explicitly told not to attend that meeting by the Treasurer for Victoria (Mr Lenders),

(iii)

the Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator Evans) has sought to justify the exclusion of the Western Australian Treasurer from the pre-COAG strategy meeting held by all Labor state and territory Treasurers,

(iv)

when asked whether the Government had received any representations or had any discussions on issues relating to the upcoming COAG meeting as a result of that pre-COAG strategy meeting, the Leader of the Government in the Senate responded that ‘certainly there would have been preparations done’,

(v)

the exclusion of the Western Australian Treasurer from COAG preparations and the attitude of the Leader of the Government in the Senate in relation to that are not in the spirit of ‘cooperative federalism’ promoted by the Government before the 2007 federal election, and

(vi)

even the Western Australian Labor Shadow Treasurer (Mr Wyatt) was ‘surprised and disappointed’ that his Labor colleagues from the other states had excluded Western Australia; and

(b)

calls on the Prime Minister (Mr Rudd) to reprimand state and territory Labor Governments and the Leader of the Government in the Senate, or at least remind them, in the spirit of cooperative federalism, of the need to work cooperatively, including with the State of Western Australia.

Senator Ludwig to move on the next day of sitting:

That—

(1)

On Monday, 1 December 2008:

(a)

the hours of meeting shall be 12.30 pm to 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm to 11.40 pm;

(b)

the routine of business from 7.30 pm shall be government business only; and

(c)

the question for the adjournment of the Senate shall be proposed at 11 pm.

(2)

On Tuesday, 2 December 2008:

(a)

the hours of meeting shall be 12.30 pm to 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm to 11.40 pm;

(b)

the routine of business from 7.30 pm shall be government business only; and

(c)

the question for the adjournment of the Senate shall be proposed at 11 pm.

(3)

On Wednesday, 3 December 2008, the routine of business from 5.30 pm to not later than 7.20 pm shall be valedictory statements relating to Senator Ellison.

(4)

On Thursday, 4 December 2008:

(a)

the hours of meeting shall be 9.30 am to 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm to adjournment;

(b)

consideration of general business and consideration of committee reports, government responses and Auditor-General’s reports under standing order 62(1) and (2) shall not be proceeded with;

(c)

the routine of business from 12.45 pm till not later than 2 pm, and from not later than 3.45 pm shall be government business only;

(d)

divisions may take place after 4.30 pm; and

(e)

if the Senate is sitting at 11 pm, the sitting of the Senate shall be suspended till 9 am on Friday, 5 December 2008.

(5)

In making valedictory statements in accordance with paragraph (3) above, a senator shall not speak for more than 20 minutes.

Senator Siewert to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes that:

(i)

Monday, 1 December 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day,

(ii)

World AIDS Day was instituted by the World Health Organization to raise public awareness about AIDS and to promote support and understanding for people living with HIV/AIDS,

(iii)

globally, there are an estimated 33.2 million people living with HIV,

(iv)

in Australia, between 1981 and 2007, there were 27 331 diagnoses of HIV infection, 10 230 diagnoses of AIDS and 6 767 deaths from AIDS,

(v)

in 2007, 1 051 people in Australia were diagnosed with HIV,

(vi)

currently, approximately 16 692 people in Australia are living with HIV, and

(vii)

from 2003 to 2007 the overall rate of new HIV diagnoses in Australia has increased from 4 to 4.4 per 100 000; and

(b)

calls on the Government to review current levels of Commonwealth funding towards research, education and prevention programs in order to reverse the current upward trend in the rate of HIV infections.

Senator Bob Brown to move on 2 December 2008:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes local government and community opposition to a road, proposed by Forestry Tasmania, through a section of the Tarkine forest; and

(b)

calls on the Government to ensure no federal funding is used, directly or indirectly, for this road unless or until local government concerns are addressed.

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

That the Senate—

(a)

notes that the Foreign Press Association has grave concerns about the actions of the Israeli Government that have made access to the Gaza Strip inaccessible to foreign media; and

(b)

calls on the Australian Government to make representations to the Israeli Government to allow proper access for the media into Gaza.