Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate:

(a)

Notes that:

1)   the Health Insurance Amendment (Revival of Table Items) Bill 2009 passed the Senate on 28 October 2009;

2)   the Clerk of the Senate provided advice that there was no constitutional barrier to the Senate introducing (and passing) this bill;

3)   the Minister for Health and Ageing told the House of Representatives on 29 October 2009, that the Government had legal advice that this bill was unconstitutional, that it should not have been introduced in the Senate and had not been appropriately passed;

4)   the Minister also told the House of Representatives that the Government, was “happy to provide that legal advice” (9.59am, 29/10/2009);

5)   subsequent and repeated requests to obtain a copy of the legal advice the Minister relied upon to make her claims on 29 October 2009 that the bill passed by the Senate was unconstitutional have been unsuccessful;

6)   eventually a copy of departmental advice dated 4 November 2009 was provided, advice which clearly had been drafted well after the Minister made her claims based on ‘legal advice’ on 29 October 2009, and after requests for a copy of that legal advice had been put to the Minister.

(b)

Orders that there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Health and Ageing in the Senate, by no later than 5pm on 17 November 2009, a copy of the legal advice referred to by the Minister on 29 October 2009, indicating that the Health Insurance Amendment (Revival of Table Items) Bill 2009 was unconstitutional.

Question agreed to.

Kerry O'Brien (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—The government opposed general business notices of motion Nos 611 and 612, moved by Senator Cormann, and No. 613, moved on behalf of Senator Minchin. We recognise that the Senate voted in majority for the motions and we did not call a division on any of the motions for that reason.

Alan Ferguson (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have not dealt with No. 613 yet, but we have done the others.