Senator Siewert to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes that:

(i)

on 25 November 2008, the Senate urged the Australian Government to set a timeline for legal proceedings in an international court to stop illegal Japanese whaling if Japan does not commit to stop whaling by 8 December 2008,

(ii)

Japanese whaling operations continued past this deadline, and

(iii)

no such legal action has been undertaken by the Government;

(b)

urges the Government to:

(i)

strongly oppose the proposal in the document, ‘The Future of the IWC’, currently before the International Whaling Commission, which seeks to legitimise Japanese whaling operations, and

(ii)

explain why it has not yet commenced international legal action to stop illegal Japanese whaling; and

(c)

condemns the violent actions of the Japanese whaling fleet, who have reportedly thrown metal balls at environmental activists, and used acoustic weapons to send out painful high frequency waves.

Senator Crossin to move on the next day of sitting:

That the time for the presentation of reports of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee be extended as follows:

(a)

exposure draft of the Personal Property Securities Bill 2008—to 5 March 2009;

(b)

provisions of the Disability Discrimination and Other Human Rights Legislation Amendment Bill 2008—to 26 February 2009; and

(c)

provisions of the Federal Court of Australia Amendment (Criminal Jurisdiction) Bill 2008—to 26 February 2009.

Senator Hurley to move on the next day of sitting:

That the report of the Economics Committee on bank mergers be presented by 17 September 2009.

Senator Marshall to move on the next day of sitting:

That the time for the presentation of the report of the Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Committee on the oversight of the child care industry be extended to 18 June 2009.

Senator Polley to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Finance and Public Administration Committee be authorised to hold a public meeting during the sitting of the Senate on Thursday, 12 February 2009, from 3.30 pm, to take evidence for the committee’s inquiry into the Freedom of Information (Removal of Conclusive Certificates and Other Measures) Bill 2008 [2009].

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

That the Senate—

(a)

notes the extensive and internationally-recognised work of the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre in Melbourne, Victoria; and

(b)

recommends the Government assess the value of upgrading the centre to be a global wildfire research facility.

Senator McEwen to move on the next day of sitting:

That the report of the Environment, Communications and the Arts Committee on the effectiveness of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and other programs in protecting threatened species and ecological communities be presented as follows:

(a)

first report—by 11 March 2009; and

(b)

final report—on 24 April 2009.