Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

(1)

That standing order 25(1) be amended as follows:

Omit: ‘Environment, Communications and the Arts’

Substitute: ‘Environment and Communications’.

Omit: ‘Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport’

Substitute: ‘Rural Affairs and Transport’.

(2)

That departments and agencies be allocated to legislative and general purpose standing committees as follows:

Community Affairs

Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs

Health and Ageing

Human Services

Economics

Innovation, Industry, Science and Research

Resources and Energy

Tourism

Treasury

Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations, including School Education, Early Childhood and Youth

Environment and Communications

Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy

Climate Change and Energy Efficiency

Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities

Finance and Public Administration

Finance and Deregulation

Parliament

Prime Minister and Cabinet, including Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade

Defence, including Veterans’ Affairs

Foreign Affairs and Trade

Legal and Constitutional Affairs

Attorney-General

Immigration and Citizenship

Rural Affairs and Transport

Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Infrastructure and Transport.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—Firstly, I thank the Manager of Government Business in the Senate for deferring consideration of this motion to give the opposition and other parties more time to consider the implications of this. I want to flag a concern with some of the portfolio allocations. Some of them are fine. Moving Arts from Environment and Communications to Finance and Public Administration does not particularly concern us. It may worry some in the sector. There is certainly some logic in moving Human Services to Community Affairs.

The misgiving we have relates to moving Regional Affairs and Local Government to Finance and Public Administration from the rural and regional affairs committee. I certainly appreciate the government’s rationale for that move—it follows the administrative orders—but I think it needs to be acknowledged that rural and regional issues will be split between two committees. The concern relates to the experience that there has been in the past where the Department of Climate Change was in Finance and Public Administration and, on occasion, senators would find that both that committee and the environment committee would refer them to the other committee on the same matter. We have had similar experiences in the past with Human Services being in Finance and Public Administration and a ping-pong effect occurring between that committee and Community Affairs.

I seek the assurance of the minister that common sense will prevail with the new committee arrangements—that chairs would seek to respect the estimates process and its objective to elicit information and to be as cooperative with senators asking questions as possible, in particular with some of those committees which are swapping between group (a) and group (b) and the other way. There may well be some clashes of interest where senators previously were able to ask questions at different committees on different days. I seek assurance that some flexibility and consideration be given as to how things are ordered within those individual committees and that, certainly for this first incarnation of these new committee arrangements, courtesy and discretion be exercised.

Question agreed to.

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I thank the opposition for their forbearance in relation to the changes that have been contained within the motion I will shortly move. Senator Fifield is correct when he identifies issues that have arisen. I noticed those issues myself, particularly around Human Services when I had portfolio responsibility for it. It was there because of the administrative orders, and they do tend to follow. I think you correctly identify an issue which chairs should and, I am confident, will take cognisance of where regional issues might straddle two committees—that they do not become a ping-pong event, that the committee can rightfully and clearly articulate the areas in which they can usefully assist the senators who have questions in relation to that area and refer them appropriately to another committee where those questions can be put and properly answered and not referred back, as I have heard of on very rare occasions. I will seek to ensure committee chairs are at least aware of the short address we have had today in respect of this issue.

In conclusion I thank Senator Fifield for his assistance in being able to ensure that Senate estimates proceed in an orderly way which allows senators to ask questions and get appropriate early-response answers and not take it on notice because they may have missed the particular committee because of the way the scheduling sometimes occurs. I move:

(1)

That the 2010-11 supplementary Budget estimates hearings be scheduled as follows:

Monday, 18 October and Tuesday, 19 October 2010 (supplementary hearings—Group A)

Wednesday, 20 October and Thursday, 21 October 2010 (supplementary hearings—Group B).

Environment and Communications

Finance and Public Administration

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade

Legal and Constitutional Affairs.

Community Affairs

Economics

Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Rural Affairs and Transport.

Question agreed to.