David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

DAVID POCOCK () (): I move:

(1) That a select committee, to be known as the Select Committee on Population and Its Impacts in Australia, be established to inquire into the effects of population growth and management in Australia, with particular reference to:

(a) the relationship between population growth and housing availability and affordability, including the effects on urban density, housing supply, rental markets and accessibility to affordable housing options;

(b) the adequacy and sustainability of infrastructure development to support a growing population, including transport, health services, education facilities and utilities, as well as strategies to improve public services and quality of life for everyone;

(c) the economic benefits and challenges of population growth, including the impact on labour markets, economic growth, productivity and innovation, as well as potential benefits and challenges for job availability and workforce distribution;

(d) the environmental impacts of population growth, with a focus on an Australian population safely within ecological limits, including effects on biodiversity, natural resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as opportunities for sustainable population management and environmental conservation;

(e) the implications of population growth for First Nations communities, including impacts on land, cultural heritage and access to health, education, housing and other services;

(f) the effects of population management policies on regional and rural communities and strategies to incentivise regional migration where needed, including ensuring the availability of support services for new migrants and emerging communities in regional and rural areas;

(g) international best practice for sustainable population growth management, including policies that balance economic, social, environmental and human rights priorities to ensure populations remain within safe ecological limits;

(h) the role of migration in population growth and its impact on diversity, multiculturalism and social cohesion, including the effectiveness of policies and programs to support positive settlement outcomes for new migrants;

(i) the effectiveness of past migration programs in delivering skills in areas that are most needed;

(j) current and proposed federal and state population management frameworks, including coordination among agencies;

(k) the role of local governments and alignment with international sustainability and human rights commitments and conventions;

(l) opportunities for policy reform, including housing policy, urban planning, environmental regulations and migration policies to better manage the impacts of population growth and maintain ecological balance; and

(m) any other related matters.

(2) That the committee present its final report by 30 November 2025.

(3) That the committee consist of 6 senators, as follows:

(a) two nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate;

(b) two nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate;

(c) one nominated by the Leader of the Australian Greens in the Senate; and

(d) Senator David Pocock.

(4) 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 or any minority party or independent senator;

(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 a committee for the purpose of forming a quorum of the committee if 3 members of the committee constituting a quorum are not present.

(5) That if a member of the committee is unable to attend a meeting of the committee, that member may in writing to the chair appoint a participating member to act as a substitute member of the committee at that meeting. If the member is incapacitated or unavailable, a letter to the chair appointing a participating member to act as a substitute member of the committee may be signed on behalf of the member by the leader of the party or group on whose nomination the member was appointed to the committee.

(6) That 3 members of the committee constitute quorum, where one member present is a minority party or independent senator, one member was appointed on the nomination of the Leader of the Government in the Senate and one member was appointed on the nomination of the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.

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

(8) That Senator David Pocock be appointed as chair of the committee, and the committee elect as its deputy chair a member nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

(9) That the deputy chair shall act as chair when the chair is absent from a meeting of the committee, or the position of chair is temporarily vacant.

(10) That the chair, or the deputy chair when acting as chair, may appoint another member of the committee to act as chair during the temporary absence of both the chair and deputy chair at a meeting of the committee.

(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 the committee have power to appoint subcommittees consisting of 3 or more of its members, and to refer to any such subcommittee any of the matters which the committee is empowered to consider.

(13) That 2 members of any subcommittee constitute quorum where one member present is a minority party or independent senator, and one member was appointed on the nomination of the Leader of the Government in the Senate or on the nomination of the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.

(14) That the committee and any subcommittee, notwithstanding any prorogation of the Parliament or dissolution of the House of Representatives, have:

(a) power to send for and examine persons and documents;

(b) power to move from place to place;

(c) power to sit in public or in private; and

(d) leave to report from time to time its proceedings and the evidence taken and such interim recommendations as it may deem fit.

(15) 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.

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

Mehreen Faruqi (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a one-minute statement.

Leave not granted.

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Leave not granted.

Question negatived.