Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To move:

That the Senate—

  (a)   notes that:

     (i)   the New York State Congress has legislated for marriage equality, and

     (ii)   in doing so, New York has joined the following states of the United States of America, Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Washington DC and New Hampshire, along with more than 10 other nations;

  (b)   recognises that Australia is one of only a few democratic nations that does not provide same-sex couples with equal marriage rights; and

  (c)   calls on the Government to support marriage equality for all Australian citizens.

Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To move:

That the provisions of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Fair Protection for Firefighters) Bill 2011 be referred to the Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 9 September 2011.

Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To move:

That the Joint Standing Committee on Migration be authorised to hold a public meeting during the sitting of the Senate on Wednesday, 17 August 2011, from 10.30 am to noon.

Mark Bishop (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To move:

That the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit be authorised to hold a public meeting during the sitting of the Senate on Wednesday, 6 July 2011, from noon to 1 pm, to take evidence for the committee's inquiry into national funding agreements.

Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To move:

That the time for the presentation of reports of the Community Affairs References Committee be extended as follows:

  (a)   the funding and administration of mental health services in Australia––to 20 September 2011; and

  (b)   supply of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme medicines to remote area Aboriginal Health Services––to 11 October 2011.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To move:

That the provisions of the Safety, Rehabili­tation and Compensation Amendment (Fair Protection for Firefighters) Bill 2011 be referred to the Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 15 September 2011.

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To move:

That the time for the presentation of the report of the Community Affairs Legislation Committee on the 2011-12 Budget estimates be extended to 7 July 2011.

Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To move:

That the Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network be authorised to:

  (a)   hold a private meeting otherwise than in accordance with standing order 33(1) during the sitting of the Senate on Tuesday, 5 July 2011, from 6 pm; and

  (b)   hold a public meeting during the sitting of the Senate on Tuesday, 5 July 2011, from 6.15 pm.

Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To move:

That the Senate—

  (a)   acknowledges the importance of the role that non-government schools play in reflecting the diversity of Australian society and serving a broad range of students, including those from a variety of religions, social backgrounds, regions and socio-economic circumstances;

  (b)   supports the continuation of a funding model into the future that distributes funds according to socio-economic need and which recognises that every non-government school student is entitled to a basic level of government funding;

  (c)   calls on the Government to continue to support parents in their right to choose a school which they believe best reflects their values and beliefs, by not penalising parents who wish to make private contributions towards their child's education, nor discouraging schools in their efforts to fundraise or encourage private invest­ment;

  (d)   notes the many submissions made to the Review of Funding for Schooling panel by non-government sector authorities requesting that changes to school funding arrangements not leave schools or students worse off in real terms;

  (e)   acknowledges that any reduction in government funding for non-government schools would need to be addressed by increasing the level of private income required to be raised by the school community, such as school fees, or through a reduction in the quality of the educational provision in affected schools; and

  (f)   calls on the Government to make a clear commitment to the continuation of current funding levels to all non-government schools, plus indexation, and for this to be the basic starting point of any new funding model resulting from the review of funding for schooling process.

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To move:

That the following bill be introduced: A Bill for an Act to amend the Migration Act 1958 in relation to the declaration of third countries for removal of offshore entry persons, and for related purposes. Migration Amendment (Declared Countries) Bill (No. 2) 2011.

To move:

That general business order of the day relating to private senators' bills no. 57, relating to the Migration Amendment (Declared Countries) Bill 2011, be discharged from the Notice Paper.

Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To move:

That the resolution of the Senate of 9 February 2011, relating to the terms of reference of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee on the procurement procedures for defence capital projects, be amended as follows:

At the end of the motion, add:

  (e)   assess the effectiveness of the Defence Materiel Organisation, including:

     (i)   its role and functions,

     (ii)   its processes, management structure and staffing, in particular as compared to similar organisations in the United Kingdom, Canada and other comparable jurisdictions and large Australian commercial enterprises,

     (iii)   its full costs, assessed against the timeliness and quality of its output and the service it provides to the Australian Defence Force, and

     (iv)   the extent to which it value-adds to national defence and to the long-term viability of Australian defence industries.

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

I give notice that, on the next day of sitting, I shall move:

That the provisions of paragraphs 5 to 8 of standing order 111 not apply to the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures Bill) 2011, allowing it to be considered during this period of sitting.

I table a statement of reasons justifying the need for this bill being considered during these sittings and seek leave to have the statement incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The statement read as follows—

Statement of Reasons for Introduction and Passage in the 2011 Winter Sittings

Social Security and O ther Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill

Purpose of the Bill

The primary purpose of the bill is to provide certainty in relation to prosecutions and previous criminal convictions for social security fraud.

Reasons for Urgency

Introduction and passage of the bill during the 2011 Winter sittings is urgently required to:

(a) mitigate the risk that up to 12,000 previous convictions for social security fraud could be overturned if the High Court decision in relation to the matter of CDPP v Poniatowska (Poniatowska), which is overdue and imminent, is adverse to the Commonwealth, as advised by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions; and

(b) ensure the certainty of social security fraud prosecutions currently on hold pending the High Court's decision in Poniatowska.