Senator Ludwig to move on the next day of sitting:

That the government business order of the day relating to the Social Security and Veterans’ Entitlements Amendment (Commonwealth Seniors Health Card) Bill 2009 be discharged from the Notice Paper.

Senator Ludwig to move on the next day of sitting:

That on Monday, 22 June 2009:

(a)

the hours of meeting shall be 10.30 am to 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm to 10.30 pm; and

(b)

the routine of business from 10.30 am to 2 pm shall be government business only.

Senator Nash to move on the next day of sitting:

That the time for the presentation of the report of the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee on public passenger transport in Australia be extended to 20 August 2009.

Senator Humphries to move on the next day of sitting:

That the time for the presentation of the report of the Education, Employment and Workplace Relations References Committee on the oversight of the child care industry be extended to 17 September 2009.

Senator Lundy to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit be authorised to hold a public meeting during the sitting of the Senate on Wednesday, 24 June 2009, from 11.30 am to 1.30 pm, to take evidence for the committee’s review of Auditor-General’s reports.

Senator Mason to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services be authorised to hold public meetings during the sittings of the Senate on Wednesday, 17 June and Wednesday, 24 June 2009, from 5.30 pm.

Senator Mason to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services be authorised to meet during the sitting of the Senate on Thursday, 18 June 2009, from 9.30 am to 11.30 am, to allow officers of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, to provide a private briefing to the committee.

Senator Cormann to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate notes with concern:

(a)

that the Select Committee on Fuel and Energy has been seeking unsuccessfully to gain information from the Government regarding the modelling undertaken by the Department of the Treasury titled, Australia’s Low Pollution Future: The Economics of Climate Change Mitigation, since December 2008;

(b)

the following history of the Government’s refusal to provide the information needed to properly scrutinise the Government’s proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme:

(i)

the committee wrote to the Treasurer on 9 December 2008 seeking additional information about the modelling,

(ii)

the committee eventually received a response from the Treasurer on 3 February 2009 refusing the committee’s request stating ‘The Treasury is obligated, under contractual agreements … to not disclose or make public any Confidential Information of the other party’,

(iii)

on 4 February 2009 the Senate made an order requiring the production of information by 5 February 2009,

(iv)

on 5 February 2009, Senator the Honourable Ursula Stephens, Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector, made a statement in the Senate on behalf of the Government that the ‘Treasury is obligated, under contractual agreements … to not disclose or make public any confidential information of the other party’,

(v)

the committee again wrote to the Treasurer on 6 February 2009 pointing out that the Senate in passing the order of 4 February 2009, had accepted the judgement of the committee that contractual obligations to consultants did not constitute a valid reason for declining to produce documents because parliamentary privilege overrides any contractual obligations,

(vi)

Senator Stephens made another statement in the Senate on behalf of the Government on 11 February 2009, attempting to make a new and different case of commercial harm,

(vii)

following the response from the Government, the committee wrote to Monash University and Purdue University on 11 February 2009 seeking to work with the universities to protect the intellectual property of the universities while allowing the committee to properly scrutinise the material,

(viii)

on 12 February 2009 the committee received correspondence from Purdue University stating that commercial harm to its Global Trade and Analysis Project, would be avoided by the simple purchase of a licence,

(ix)

on 19 February 2009 the committee received correspondence from Monash University which stated that ‘The University wishes to assist your Committee in every way possible’,

(x)

on 11 March 2009, the Senate made a further order requiring the production of information by 13 March 2009 and specifying that some of the requested information was to be treated as confidential, meaning that any disclosure or use of the information otherwise than in accordance with the order would be a contempt of the Senate and a criminal offence under the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987,

(xi)

on 12 March 2009 the committee again wrote to Monash University informing it of the Senate’s order of 11 March 2009 and seeking to establish whether the protections afforded by the Senate sufficiently protected the university’s intellectual property in relation to the Monash Multi Regional Forecasting model,

(xii)

on 17 March 2009 Senator Stephens made a further statement to the Senate in response to the Senate order of 11 March 2009, in which she stated ‘the government continues to believe that the provision of the proprietary model code and data related to the modelling conducted for Australia’s low pollution future: the economics of climate change mitigation would cause commercial harm to organisations that were contracted to assist Treasury’,

(xiii)

the committee received further correspondence from Monash University on 18 March 2009 attaching a letter the university had sent to the Treasurer which stated that ‘Monash University waives its requirements of confidentiality on the basis that confidentiality is protected under the provisions of Order SJ61-11 March 2009’,

(xiv)

following receipt of the 18 March 2009 correspondence from Monash University, the committee wrote to the Treasurer on 18 March 2009 once again requesting the relevant information and reiterating the committee’s judgement ‘that contractual obligations to consultants do not constitute a valid reason for declining to produce information’ and pointing out that ‘given the information is required under an order of the Senate, parliamentary privilege overrides any relevant contractual obligations of the government’,

(xv)

the committee heard evidence from the Department of the Treasury on 2 April 2009 stating that it was the Government’s position that ‘there is potential for commercial harm for aspects of the information to be provided’, and

(xvi)

following this evidence provided by the Department of the Treasury, and in the absence of a response to the Treasurer’s letter of 18 March 2009, the committee again wrote to the Treasurer on 3 April 2009 seeking the information as ordered by the Senate on 11 March 2009 and stating that the committee views the response from the Government and the Department of the Treasury ‘as unnecessarily bureaucratic, baseless and deliberately unhelpful to the Committee’;

(c)

that the committee has gone to considerable lengths and provided robust protections to accommodate any issues of potential commercial harm to Monash University and Purdue University;

(d)

that the Government has failed to respond to either the committee’s letters of 18 March 2009 and 3 April 2009;

(e)

that the Government has failed to provide any information to the committee despite the considerable efforts taken by the committee to avoid any commercial harm, and the Government’s claim of commercial harm only applying to some of the information sought; and

(f)

that the Government has failed to provide any explanation to the Senate or the committee as to why the remainder of the information was not provided or responded to the fact that Monash University has informed both the committee and the Treasurer that the university is prepared to waive its requirements of confidentiality in accordance with the order of the Senate of 11 March 2009.

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

That the Senate—

(a)

notes the decision by the New South Wales Mining Warden permitting BHP Billiton to proceed with exploration for coal near and under prime food-growing floodplain at Caroona, in the centre of the Liverpool Plains, near Gunnedah;

(b)

acknowledges the undiminished opposition to this exploration by local farmers and other members of the local communities and the independent Member for New England in the House of Representatives, Mr Tony Windsor; and

(c)

calls on the Government:

(i)

to exercise all legal and ethical options available to cease the exploration activities of BHP Billiton at Caroona until the completion of the independent expert evaluation of the hydrology of the region, and also

(ii)

to cease the granting of all exploration licences for the purpose of resource and mineral extraction and undertake further independent studies into impacts of mining on the surficial and underground aquifer systems which form part of the Murray-Darling system if significant risks are identified in the expert evaluation currently underway.

Senator Hanson-Young to move on the next day of sitting:

That the following matters be referred to the Education, Employment and Workplace Relations References Committee for inquiry and report by 16 November 2009:

(a)

the roles and responsibilities of education providers, migration agents, state and federal governments, and relevant departments, in ensuring the quality and adequacy in information, advice, service delivery and support, with particular reference to:

(i)

student safety,

(ii)

adequate and affordable accommodation,

(iii)

social inclusion,

(iv)

student visa requirements,

(v)

employment rights and protections from exploitation, and

(vi)

adequate international student supports and advocacy;

(b)

the identification of quality benchmarks and controls for service, advice and support for international students studying at an Australian education institution; and

(c)

any other related matters.

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

That the Senate—

(a)

notes the findings of Professor Brendan Mackey, Professor David Lindenmayer and Dr Heather Keith of the Australian National University that Victoria’s Eucalyptus regnans (mountain ash) forests are the most carbon dense on Earth; and

(b)

calls on the Government to inform the Senate by 24 June 2009:

(i)

whether the report has validity,

(ii)

what government measures are being taken or considered to protect Eucalyptus regnans forests in Australia that are currently targeted for logging,

(iii)

what area and volume of such forests are available for logging under current planning regimes, and

(iv)

whether ending native forest and woodland removal in Australia would reduce the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions by 10 to 20 per cent.

Senator Joyce to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes the decision by the New South Wales and Queensland governments to allow coal exploration near Caroona, in the centre of the Liverpool Plains, near Gunnedah, and other proposed mining ventures at the Haystack Plains on the Darling Downs, Queensland;

(b)

acknowledges the concern expressed by some local farmers and members of the local communities about this exploration; and

(c)

calls on the respective state governments to ensure that appropriate and thorough independent environmental assessments, including the impact on groundwater systems, are undertaken in advance of any approval to mine in these regions of high agricultural significance.