Senator Cormann and Senator Birmingham to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes:

(i)

the persistent and continuing refusal of the Prime Minister and several other ministers to clarify when they were first told about inadequate training and safety issues for workers involved in the home insulation program,

(ii)

reports that direct advice was provided to the Prime Minister and other ministers involved in Labor’s home insulation fiasco about fraud, safety risks and training inadequacies in relation to the ill-fated program, and

(iii)

reports that the home insulation program implemented was redesigned from that initially recommended by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts so as to spend the funds allocated faster as part of the stimulus package;

(b)

considers that public release of all information about what the Government knew about inadequate training and safety issues for workers is in the public interest; and

(c)

orders that there be laid on the table by 12 pm on Thursday, 18 March 2010, any information, including, but not limited to, letters, emails, spreadsheets, minutes of meetings, reports, and briefing notes, held by the Prime Minister, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, the Minister for Climate Change, the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery, the Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change, and their respective offices and departments, concerning:

(i)

safety warnings in relation to the home insulation program,

(ii)

training issues in relation to the home insulation program,

(iii)

fraud in the home insulation program,

(iv)

the design of the home insulation program initially proposed by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, and

(v)

changes made to the design of the home insulation program initially proposed by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.

Senator Siewert to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate calls on the Government to investigate, through the processes of the International Whaling Commission, the recent claims by Greenpeace and the ‘Tokyo Two’ Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki of corruption and embezzlement within the whaling industry.

Senator Ludlam to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate notes that:

(a)

the 5 March 2010 report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar documents ‘a pattern of gross and systematic violation of human rights which has been in place for many years and still continues’;

(b)

the Special Rapporteur states these violations ‘may entail categories of crimes against humanity or war crimes under the terms of the Statute of the International Criminal Court’;

(c)

the Special Rapporteur recommends that ‘UN institutions may consider the possibility to establish a commission of inquiry with a specific fact finding mandate to address the question of international crimes’;

(d)

on 9 March 2010 Burma announced the election laws for the forthcoming election based on the 2008 constitution that:

(i)

excludes political activists who have been arrested, Buddhist monks and nuns and public servants from standing for election,

(ii)

prevents the National League for Democracy (NLD), headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, and winners of the country’s last election, from registering if Aung San Suu Kyi remains a party member, and

(iii)

annuls the results of the 1990 election, which saw the NLD win more than 80 per cent of the vote; and

(e)

on 10 March 2010 the United States of America (US) Assistant Secretary of State, Dr Philip Crowley, said that the US would not accept the results of the Burmese election ‘Given the tenor of the election laws that they’ve put forward, there’s no hope that this election will be credible’.

Senator Payne to move on the next day of sitting:

(1)

That a select committee, to be known as the Select Committee on the Reform of the Australian Federation, be appointed on 13 May 2010, to:

(a)

inquire into and report by 24 August 2010 on key issues and priorities for the reform of relations between the three levels of government within the Australian federation; and

(b)

explore a possible agenda for national reform and to consider ways it can best be implemented in relation to, but not exclusively, the following matters:

(i)

the distribution of constitutional powers and responsibilities between the Commonwealth and the states (including territories),

(ii)

financial relations between federal, state and local governments,

(iii)

possible constitutional amendment, including the recognition of local government,

(iv)

processes, including the Council of Australian Governments, and the referral of powers and procedures for enhancing cooperation between the various levels of Australian government, and

(v)

strategies for strengthening Australia’s regions and the delivery of services through regional development committees and regional grant programs.

(2)

That the committee consist of 6 senators, 2 nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate, 3 nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, and 1 nominated by any minority group or groups or independent senator or independent senators.

(3)

That:

(a)

participating members may be appointed to the committee on the nomination of the Leader of the Government in the Senate, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and minority groups and independent senators;

(b)

participating members may participate in hearings of evidence and deliberations of the committee, and have all the rights of members of the committee, but may not vote on any questions before the committee; and

(c)

a participating member shall be taken to be a member of the committee for the purpose of forming a quorum of the committee if a majority of members of the committee is not present.

(4)

That the committee may proceed to the dispatch of business notwithstanding that not all members have been duly nominated and appointed and notwithstanding any vacancy.

(5)

That the committee elect as chair one of the members nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.

(6)

That the committee elect a Government member as its deputy chair who shall act as chair of the committee at any time when the chair is not present at a meeting of the committee, and at anytime when the chair and deputy chair are not present at a meeting of the committee the members present shall elect another member to act as chair at that meeting.

(7)

That, in the event of an equally divided vote, the chair, or the deputy chair when acting as chair, has a casting vote.

(8)

That 3 members of the committee constitute a quorum of the committee.

(9)

That the committee have power to appoint subcommittees consisting of 3 or more of its members and to refer to any subcommittee any matter which the committee is empowered to examine.

(10)

That 2 members of a subcommittee include a quorum of that subcommittee.

(11)

That the committee and any subcommittee have power to send for and examine persons and documents, to move from place to place, to sit in public or in private, notwithstanding any prorogation of the Parliament or dissolution of the House of Representatives, and have leave to report from time to time its proceedings, the evidence taken and such interim recommendations as it may deem fit.

(12)

That the committee be provided with all necessary staff, facilities and resources and be empowered to appoint persons with specialist knowledge for the purposes of the committee with the approval of the President.

(13)

That the committee be empowered to print from day to day such documents and evidence as may be ordered by it, and a daily Hansard be published of such proceedings as take place in public.

Senator Xenophon to move on 18 March 2010:

That the following bill be introduced: A Bill for an Act to enable the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to manage the water resources of the Basin as a single system during periods of extreme crisis, and for related purposes. Water (Crisis Powers and Floodwater Diversion) Bill 2010.

Senator Minchin to move on the next day of sitting:

That there be laid on the table by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, no later than 9.30 am on Thursday, 18 March 2010, the interim report of the National Broadband Network Implementation Study provided to the department in August 2009.

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

That the Senate—

(a)

notes that:

(i)

the National Human Rights Consultation delivered its report to the Attorney-General (Mr McClelland) on 30 September 2009, more than 6 months ago, and

(ii)

the Attorney-General released a statement that the Government will provide a response in the coming months; and

(b)

orders that there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Attorney-General, no later than 4 pm on 11 May 2010, the Government’s response to the National Human Rights Consultation report which was delivered to the Attorney-General on 30 September 2009.

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

That the Senate—

(a)

notes:

(i)

the first same-sex marriages were celebrated in Mexico City in the week beginning 7 March 2010, following the recent passage of legislation removing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, under that city’s Marriage Act, and

(ii)

Mexico City joins Portugal, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, Spain, South Africa and many states in the United States of America that already recognise same-sex marriage as a reality;

(b)

recognises that all Australians deserve to be treated fairly and equally, regardless of their sexual orientation and that Australia is becoming increasingly isolated internationally, by refusing to remove discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation from the Marriage Act 1961 (the Act); and

(c)

calls on the Australian Government to remove all discrimination from the Act on the basis of sexuality and gender identity and extend the legal right to marry to all.

Senator Xenophon to move on 18 March 2010:

(1)

That the following matters be referred to the Economics References Committee for inquiry and report by 24 June 2010:

(a)

allegations of abuse, recently widely reported in the Australian media, against employees, volunteers and followers (including ex-employees, ex-volunteers and ex-followers) of the Church of Scientology and any associated entities, including:

(i)

coerced abortions,

(ii)

unsafe occupational health and safety practices,

(iii)

unconscionable, misleading and deceptive conduct in the context of goods and services provided and charged for by the Church of Scientology and any associated entities, and

(iv)

the harassment of followers and ex-followers of the Church of Scientology and any associated entities;

(b)

the adequacy of the Model Criminal Code and its application in respect of the offence of psychological harm;

(c)

the adequacy of current consumer protection laws in respect of goods and services provided by the Church of Scientology and any associated entities, and its fundraising practices generally;

(d)

the adequacy of current occupational health and safety laws and workplace relations laws in respect of the allegations of conduct occurring within the Church of Scientology and any associated entities; and

(e)

any related matters.

(2)

That in undertaking this inquiry, the committee will not inquire into the validity or otherwise of the belief systems of the Church of Scientology and any associated entities.

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

That the Senate—

(a)

notes Labor’s advertising attacking Liberal opponents in South Australia and the Greens in Tasmania using inferences of support for criminality; and

(b)

deplores this desperate tactic and calls on Labor to restore decency to its campaigning and to not mislead voters on the way to the elections on Saturday, 20 March 2010.