Glenn Lazarus (Queensland, Palmer United Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy President, before I ask for the motion to be taken as formal, I wish to inform the chamber that Senator O'Sullivan's name has been added to the motion. I, and also on behalf of Senator O'Sullivan, move:

(1) That a joint select committee, to be known as the Joint Select Committee on the Australia Fund Establishment, be established to inquire into and report on:

The establishment of a fund to support rural and manufacturing industries, with particular reference to:

(a) the need for a fund to assist rural and manufacturing industries in crisis and support communities affected by natural disasters, including the following assistance:

  (i) emergency or ongoing financial relief,

  (ii) a loan to such a business,

  (iii) act as a guarantor for all or part of a loan or proposed loan to such a business,

  (iv) purchase all or part of an existing loan to such a business,

  (v) capitalise or waive interest owed by such a business,

  (vi) assume control of such a business for a particular period,

  (vii) grant funds to an appropriate industry body, and

  (viii) grant funds to such a business for the purpose of purchasing new technology to make it more economically viable and competitive or restructuring it; and

(b) whether:

  (i) existing bankruptcy and insolvency laws should be modified or temporarily relaxed for businesses in times of crisis, and

  (ii) any foreign bankruptcy or insolvency laws should be adopted as laws of the Commonwealth.

(2) That the committee deliver its final report on or before 30 June 2015.

(3) That the committee consist of 10 members, 3 members of the House of Representatives to be nominated by the Government Whip or Whips, 2 members of the House of Representatives to be nominated by the Opposition Whip or Whips, 1 member of the House of Representatives to be nominated by any minority group or independent member, 2 senators to be nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate, 1 senator to be nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, and 1 senator to be nominated by any minority group or independent Senator.

(4) That:

(a) participating members may be appointed to the committee on the nomination of the Leader of the Government, the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, or any minority group or independent senator;

(b) participating members shall be taken to be a member of the committee for the purposes of forming a quorum if a majority of members of the committee are not present; and

(c) participating members may participate in hearings of evidence and deliberations of the committee and have all rights of a committee member, but may not vote on any questions before the committee.

(5) That every nomination of a member of the committee be notified in writing to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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

(7) That the members of the committee hold office as a joint select committee until presentation of the committee's final report or until the House of Representatives is dissolved or expires by effluxion of time, whichever is the earlier.

(8) That the committee elect a Government member as its chair.

(9) That the committee elect a non-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.

(10) That at any time when the chair and deputy chair are not present at a meeting of the committee the members shall elect another member to act as chair at that meeting.

(11) That, in the event of an equally divided vote, the chair, or the deputy chair when acting as chair, have a casting vote.

(12) That 5 members of the committee constitute a quorum of the committee provided that in a deliberative meeting the quorum shall include 1 Government member of either House and 1 non-Government member of either House.

(13) That the committee have power to appoint subcommittees consisting of 3 or more of its members, and that each subcommittee shall have at least 1 Government member of either House and one non-Government member of either House.

(14) That the committee have power to refer to any subcommittee any matter which the committee is empowered to examine.

(15) That the committee appoint the chair of each subcommittee who shall have a casting vote only, and at any time when the chair of a subcommittee is not present at a meeting of the subcommittee, the members of the subcommittee present shall elect another member of that subcommittee to act as chair at that meeting.

(16) That 2 members of a subcommittee constitute a quorum of that subcommittee, provided that in a deliberative meeting the quorum shall include 1 Government member of either House and 1 non Government member of either House.

(17) That members of the committee who are not members of a subcommittee may participate in the proceedings of that subcommittee but shall not vote, move any motion or be counted for the purpose of a quorum.

(18) That the committee or any subcommittee have power to call for witnesses to attend and for documents to be produced.

(19) That the committee or any subcommittee may conduct proceedings at any place it sees fit and sit in public or in private.

(20) That the committee or any subcommittee have power to adjourn from time to time and to sit during any adjournment of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

(21) That the committee may report from time to time.

(22) 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 of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(23) That the committee be empowered to publish 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.

(24) That the provisions of this resolution, so far as they are inconsistent with the standing orders, have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the standing orders.

(25) That a message be sent to the House of Representatives seeking its concurrence in this resolution.

Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy President, I seek leave to make a short statement.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I note that this motion is part of the deal that the Palmer United Party have made with the government to set up a joint select committee to establish an Australia fund, but what we have never been told is whether the backroom deal also includes a sum of money. I think it is important for the parliament to know how much money has been promised behind the scenes for this particular fund.

I also make the point that the Greens will not stand in the way of the establishment of this fund. We do not stand in the way of the establishment of committees, but in this case it is hypocrisy in the extreme that the Palmer United Party wants to have a fund set up for communities affected by natural disasters when extreme weather events fuelled by climate change are driving the natural disasters and it is the Palmer United Party that does not want to address the polluters and wants to now take the money out of the public purse.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy President, I seek leave to make a brief statement.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the chamber. I can indeed confirm that the government supports this motion and supports the establishment of this joint parliamentary select committee. It is indeed part of the historic agreement that was reached between the government and crossbenchers to get rid of Labor's failed mining tax.

Having said that, we absolutely never predetermine the outcomes of such inquiries. We think it is quite appropriate for parliamentary committees to investigate issues of public concern and issues that are relevant to public policy considerations into the future. But, on any suggestions by the Greens or others that somehow the government has predetermined any outcomes from that inquiry by making pre-emptive allocations of funding, no, we have not. What we have said is that we are very happy for the parliament to set up a committee to investigate these matters, which are clearly matters of public concern, and we will await the recommendations of that inquiry before we make further decisions.

Question agreed to.