Senator Ludlam to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes that:

(i)

9 March is an international day of action to raise awareness about the new military offensive against Karen civilians by the Burmese Army in Karen State, eastern Burma,

(ii)

since mid January 2010 more than 2 000 civilians have been forced to flee new attacks in eastern Burma with villagers being shot on sight, more than 70 homes have been destroyed, schools and health clinics burnt down and the blocking of aid to people hiding in the jungle,

(iii)

human rights abuses in Burma are widespread and systematic with the main perpetrator being the Burmese military,

(iv)

gender-based violence, including rape against women and girls, is used as a weapon by the Burmese military,

(v)

in the week beginning 28 February 2010, in New York, an International Tribunal on Crimes against Women in Burma, presided over by two Nobel Peace Prize winners and human rights experts, recommended that the United Nations Security Council refer Burma to the International Criminal Court and that countries in the Asia-Pacific not invest in Burma’s oil and gas industry, and

(vi)

Burma’s oil and gas industry is the regime’s largest source of income and directly contributes to the financial stability of the military regime; and

(b)

calls on the Australian Government to:

(i)

work with other governments to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes being committed in Burma, and

(ii)

ensure that Australian companies with links to Burma’s oil and gas industry are not contributing to the financial stability of the military regime.

Senators Barnett and Williams to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes:

(i)

the Australian War Memorial is organising an important and unique nationwide tour of nine Victoria Cross medals to coincide with the 95th anniversary of Gallipoli,

(ii)

the tour commences in Perth, Western Australia, in March 2010 and is scheduled to visit South Australia, the Northern Territory, Victoria, and to conclude in Brisbane, Queensland, in November 2010, and

(iii)

the exclusion of Tasmania and New South Wales is very disappointing and in many ways demeans the fine military service and contribution from both these states;

(b)

calls on the Australian War Memorial to extend the tour to both Tasmania and New South Wales; and

(c)

requests the Government to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure this objective is achieved.

Senator Ludlam to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes:

(i)

that 10 March 2010 is the 51st anniversary of the Tibetan uprising and the Dalai Lama’s exile to India and the 2nd anniversary of the beginning of widespread unrest across Tibetan areas in 2008,

(ii)

the continuing human rights concems in Tibet, noted publicly in Beijing by our Prime Minister (Mr Rudd) on 9 April 2008,

(iii)

the resumption of direct contact between Chinese officials and representatives of the Dalai Lama on 26 January 2010 after a gap of 15 months,

(iv)

the meeting, on 18 February 2010, between the Dalai Lama and the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, in the White House, and later that day, between the Dalai Lama and the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and the Under Secretary of State and Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, Maria Otero,

(v)

that the Dalai Lama’s Middle-Way policy for the peaceful resolution of the Tibetan situation respects the territorial integrity of the People’s Republic of China and seeks to resolve the Tibetan issue within the framework of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, and

(vi)

the right of the Tibetan people to maintain their unique language, religion and culture under international law; and

(b)

calls on the Australian Government to:

(i)

continue to monitor the progress of talks between the Chinese Government and representatives of the Dalai Lama,

(ii)

follow President Barack Obama in explicitly supporting the Dalai Lama’s Middle-Way policy for a peaceful resolution of the Tibetan situation, and

(iii)

renew and strengthen its support for a peaceful, lasting and mutually-agreeable resolution of the Tibetan situation, including entering into substantive multilateral initiatives with other concerned governments to encourage meaningful negotiations on the points raised in the Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People.

Senator Siewert to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

congratulates the Western Australian Government on its commitment to negotiate an agreement with the Northern Territory Government so that renal patients living east of Warburton can, once again, access dialysis services in the Northern Territory;

(b)

notes that the Northern Territory Government has expressed a willingness to establish a similar agreement with the South Australian Government so that people from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands with end-stage renal disease can access ongoing dialysis treatment in Alice Springs;

(c)

expresses concern that, to date, the South Australian Government has been unable or unwilling to negotiate such an agreement;

(d)

asks the South Australian Minister for Health, John Hill, to advise what impediments, if any, are preventing his Government from entering into such an agreement;

(e)

calls on the Commonwealth Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon, to urge the South Australian Government to commit to the establishment of such an agreement as a matter of priority; and

(f)

highlights the need for the Commonwealth Government to play a more active role in the development of a properly-funded, long-term response to renal disease across Central Australia.

Senator Hurley to move on the next day of sitting:

That the time for the presentation of the report of the Economics Legislation Committee on the Safe Climate (Energy Efficient Non-Residential Buildings Scheme) Bill 2009 be extended to 17 March 2010.

Senator Siewert to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

recognises that there were more than 150 work-related fatalities in Australia in 2008-09, an increase of 14 per cent over the previous year;

(b)

acknowledges the right of all workers to a safe and healthy workplace;

(c)

notes that the Government is planning to harmonise occupational health and safety laws across the nation; and

(d)

calls on the Government to ensure that the harmonised occupational health and safety laws will not reduce standards of occupational health and safety in any workplaces or weaken the rights of employees and their representatives with respect to occupational health and safety regulation.

Senator Polley to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee be authorised to hold a public meeting during the sitting of the Senate on Thursday, 11 March 2010, from 3.30 pm, to take evidence for the committee’s inquiry into the provisions of the Governance of Australian Government Superannuation Schemes Bill 2010 and two related bills.

Senator Siewert to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

recognises the Australian community’s strong interest in the issue of illegal whaling;

(b)

acknowledges the Government’s stated interest in pursuing legal action on this issue; and

(c)

requests that the Australian Government send an embassy observer to the trial of Greenpeace activists Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, who are on trial in Japan for their role in exposing corruption in the government-funded whaling industry.

Senators Moore, Humphries and Siewert to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

welcomes the British Government’s apology made on 24 February 2010 to the thousands of children who were sent to Australia between 1937 and 1967 under child migration schemes; and

(b)

congratulates the British Government on this initiative and the announcement of their commitment to providing support to both the child migrants and their families.

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

That the Senate—

(a)

notes:

(i)

the tragic events of 13 February 2009, when Australian Defence Forces conducted an operation in Afghanistan in which six civilians were killed including, an adult man, a teenage girl, two boys aged 10 and 11 and two babies, aged 1 and 2, and

(ii)

the Special Broadcasting Service Corporation’s Dateline program of 7 March 2010 which revealed that it took 6 months for the investigation of this incident to be referred to the Australian Defence Force Investigative Service and that the Afghani individuals involved in the incident have not been interviewed; and

(b)

calls for an independent inquiry into this tragic episode.

Senator Siewert to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes the International Labour Organisation’s ‘Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations’ from the 99th Session of the International Labour Council;

(b)

acknowledges that the Committee of Experts has consistently found that the powers and actions of the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) are contrary to the ‘Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948’ (No. 87) and the ‘Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949’ (No. 98) and in its most recent report found the actions of the ABCC inconsistent with the ‘Labour Inspection Convention, 1947’ (No. 81);

(c)

further acknowledges that the Committee of Experts raises concerns about the compliance of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) with the conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), notably in respect of the right to strike and collective bargaining; and

(d)

calls on the Government to:

(i)

implement its election promise and abolish the ABCC, and

(ii)

review the Act to ensure its compliance with ILO conventions.

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

That the Senate—

(a)

notes that:

(i)

in 2000, the Payments System Board of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) conducted a study into one aspect of the Australian payments system, the networks for automated teller machines (ATMs), credit cards and debit cards to determine the economic efficiency of these networks and whether they were delivering the best possible service at the lowest cost to end-users,

(ii)

the study found that the actual cost of ATM transactions was around 50 cents, and

(iii)

the current average cost of an ATM transaction from a ‘foreign’ ATM directly charged to consumers is up to $2;

(b)

recommends that, given that the actual operation costs of processing ATM transactions is likely to have decreased in the past decade, the RBA and the ACCC undertake another review of the cost of ATM transactions to update the information of transaction costs to customers; and

(c)

calls on the Government to ban the $2 ATM fee and instead cap ATM fees at a level that reflects the actual cost of processing the ATM transactions.

Senator Birmingham to move on the next day of sitting:

That the following matters be referred to the Environment, Communications and the Arts References Committee for inquiry and report by 21 June 2010:

(a)

the Government’s Green Loans Program (the program), with particular reference to:

(i)

the administration of the program from a pricing, probity and efficiency perspective, including:

(a)

the basis on which the Government determined the amounts of the loan to be made available and Government subsidy thereof,

(b)

regulation of Home Sustainability Assessment practices, including the promotion of assessments,

(c)

accreditation of Home Sustainability Assessors,

(d)

ensuring value for money for taxpayers,

(e)

waste, inefficiency and mismanagement within the program,

(f)

ensuring the program achieves its stated aims of improving water and energy efficiency, and

(g)

the consultation and advice received from financial institutions regarding their participation,

(ii)

an examination of:

(a)

employment and investment in Home Sustainability Assessments resulting from the program, including that resulting from Government statements regarding the number of accredited assessors,

(b)

the effectiveness of the booking system,

(c)

the effectiveness and timeliness of Home Sustainability Assessment reports being provided,

(d)

the early reduction by the Government in the number of Green Loans to be offered, and subsequent discontinuation of the loans, including by financial institutions in advance of the Government’s announced date of discontinuation,

(e)

homeowner actions for which Green Loans have been sought and approved,

(f)

the level of evaluation of homeowner action following any Home Sustainability Assessment, and

(g)

what advice was provided to the Government on the feasibility and effectiveness of the program, including to what degree the Government acted on this advice, and

(iii)

an analysis of the effectiveness of the program as a means to improve the water and energy efficiency of homes, including comparison with alternative policy measures;

(b)

consideration of measures to reduce or eliminate waste and mismanagement, and to ensure value for money for the remainder of the program, noting the commitment of funding for an additional 600 000 free Home Sustainability Assessments despite the discontinuation of the loans; and

(c)

other related matters.

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

That the Senate calls on the Government to work with the Government of Indonesia to allow West Papua to participate in the act of self-determination to be carried out in accordance with international practice as determined by the United Nations.

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

That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Prime Minister, the Minister representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister representing the Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts and the Minister representing the Minister for Home Affairs, no later than 15 March 2010, any documents relating to the Australian Federal Police’s search of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ships Bob Barker and Steve Irwin in Hobart on Saturday, 6 March 2010, including, but not limited to, correspondence, whether written or in email form, briefing papers and/or memoranda.