To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of concerned citizens of Queensland draws attention to the House:

Noting the following:

We, the undersigned petitioners, therefore ask that the Rudd Government continue providing funding for the National School Chaplaincy Program in its current form.

from 1 citizen

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of certain citizens of Australia draws to the attention of the House the urgent need in regional and rural Australia for more accessible services to diagnose, treat and manage the serious chronic medical condition of lymphoedema.

We, the petitioners, therefore ask the House to provide training for general medical practitioners throughout Australia in the detection, assessment and treatment of lymphoedema in accordance with the Lymphoedema Framework. Best Practice for the Management of Lymphoedema. International Consensus (IC) 2006.

We ask the House to urgently allocate funding for the appointment of trained lymphoedema therapists in medical centres and community nursing services throughout Australia.

In accordance with the IC best practice model we ask the House to provide funding for up to twenty (20) hours of manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) per annum, integral to the treatment of lymphoedema.

In accordance with the IC best practice model we, the petitioners, ask the House to provide funding for up to six (6) pairs of custom made compression garments per annum, essential to the management of lymphoedema.

We, the petitioners, ask the House of Representatives for financial assistance for transport where travel of more than 40 kms is necessary to access the services of a lymphoedema therapist qualified to assess, treat and manage lymphoedema.

from 1 citizen

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of certain citizens of Australia draws to the attention of the House:

We therefore ask the House to ensure that Australia takes a leading role in establishing a treaty to prevent the mining and export of asbestos worldwide and to promote the teaching of business ethics in our schools and universities.

from 1 citizen

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of undersigned citizens of Australia calls on the Australian government to end the export of live animals.

We the undersigned therefore call on the Australian government to end this trade and, in so doing, restore Australia's reputation as a compassionate and ethical nation.

from 30,791 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

The petition of farming families and certain citizens of Australia draw to the attention of the House:

We therefore ask the House:

from 21 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of certain citizens and residents of Australia draws to the attention of the House that Falun Gong is a peaceful meditation practice based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. Falun Gong practitioners in China have been subjected to the most brutal and relentless persecution by the Chinese Communist regime since July 1999, causing thousands to lose their lives from illegal detention and systematic torture. Such conduct stands in blatant violation to all international human rights charters that the Chinese government has itself ratified. According to investigative reports published by human rights lawyer David Matas and former Canadian Secretary of State for the Asia Pacific; David Kilgour, tens of thousands of imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners have been subjected to forced organ harvesting for China's transplant market and lost their lives ( www.organharvestinvestigation.net ).

We therefore ask the House to request the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister to openly and forthrightly call for an immediate end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

from 5,251 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of certain citizens of Australia draws to the attention of the House that:

We therefore ask the House to:

Amend the Fair Work Act 2009 so as to include, in the National Employment Standards, Easter Sunday in the list of recognised public holidays.

from 197 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This Petition of certain citizens of Australia, draws to the attention of the House:

Since early March of 2011, the citizens of Syria have been calling for their freedom of speech, basic rights, freeing of political prisoners and for democracy through peaceful demonstrations. In reaction to these protests, the Syrian government has put all their efforts into suppressing these calls by cutting off food supplies to cities and medical supplies to the injured, silencing protestors through barbaric killings by means of security agencies. Up till now, over a thousand people have been murdered, including innocent women and children, with thousands more citizens forced to flee their homeland.

The Syrian embassy in Canberra has also been adding to the suffering of the citizens in Syria. Syrian diplomats from the Syrian Embassy have been sent by the Syrian government to spy on Australian's of Syrian heritage. As a result, many Australian's of Syrian heritage have had their families in Syria threatened for taking part in protests against the Syrian government.

We therefore ask the House:

To urge the United Nations to take immediate action in protecting the citizens in Syria from these atrocities being committed by the Syrian government's tyrannical regime and to close down the Syrian Embassy.

from 14 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This Petition of Australian adults

Draws to the attention of the House that it is our belief Plain Packaging will not work. As tobacco consumers and Australian adults, we are increasingly frustrated with our freedoms being infringed. With the introduction of Plain Packaging, the government is now taking away our ability to distinguish between and choose brands. That is our decision to make, not the government ' s. Enough is enough!

We therefore ask the House to request that the government remove Plain Packaging from its agenda and that our voice be heard, in the light of the approx. $7 billion we contribute annually in tobacco excise.

from 1,502 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of concerned Australian citizens draws to the attention of the House the need for veterans receiving benefits from the Defence Forces Retirement Benefits Scheme (DFRB) and the Defence Force Retirement & Death Benefits Scheme (DFRDB) to have their benefits adequately indexed. We therefore call on the House to consider and pass the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefit Amendment (Fair Indexation) Bill 2010 to ensure that the ' unique nature of military service ' is recognised through military superannuation arrangements.

from 1,163 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of a concerned citizen of Australia draws to the attention of the house:

The Wage Earners, Small Business and Pensioners in Australia are suffering from the high costs of goods and services, this has been caused by the low top personal tax and failure to increase the level of income of the zero tax, the low level of the estimated value of our coal and iron ore exports and the consequent low price of the reciprocal goods being imported, they are destroying our own manufacturing industries. A successful relatively high personal top tax had been in operation from 1950 to 1970, 66.6% and was well received by the workers but apparently did not relate to the 30% of GDP. Too many of our wage earners can obtain employment for only two or three days a week, cannot earn enough capital to pay the mortgage and are losing their homes. The economy is being destroyed.

The Tax should be returned to approximately the 66.6% and the income level for zero tax raised to $30,000 or what it needs to come to 30% of GDP. The top tax on companies should be increased to 55%, and a much lower tax on the small businesses, this would also help prevent the large companies from undercutting their prices to drive the small businesses out of operation.

A concerned citizen of Australia

from 1 citizen

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of certain citizens of Australia draws to the attention of The House that we, the undersigned, object to the removal of all horses from the Malabar Headland.

That we object to the removal of all horses and cessation of horse riding activities from the Malabar Headland which has, for over 100 years, been a feature of the Malabar Headland, and plays an important role in the local community.

We therefore ask The House to grant a parcel of land to be used for the stabling, riding and maintenance of horses, and to provide horse riding bridle paths within designated open public space allotment on Malabar Headland, so that the equestrian community based in the south eastern suburbs, and the wider Sydney area, can continue equine pursuits.

We further ask The House to ensure that those activities that had been undertaken by the petitioners of equestrian pursuits on Malabar Headland be enabled to continue immediately and in the course of any interim arrangements that are agreed between the Commonwealth Government and the State Government.

Recognising that Malabar Headland is intended for use as National Park and public open space we urge The House to consider the ongoing, beneficial public use by horse riders on Malabar Headland.

from 1 citizen

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of certain citizens of Australia draws to the attention of the House the situation of Dr. Christoph Ahrens a German born orthopaedic surgeon who p rovides much needed care in an ' area of need position ' in rural New South Wales. Dr. Ahrens has practised as an orthopaedic surgeon in Bega for almost six years. The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons has requested for Dr. Ahrens to leave Bega, revert back to a trainee level and gain experience in spinal and paediatric surgery. These subspecialties are inappropriate to practise in a rural practice like Bega. He then would have to pass a full registrar exam, which again in many aspects is not relevant to his current practice. Dr. Ahrens ' orthopaedic practice has been highly appreciated by the medical profession and patients of this area. His desire to remain practising in Bega is strongly supported by the Bega Medical Staff Council and the local community.

If Dr Christoph Ahrens were to be deregistered it would affect up to one hundred thousand residents of the far South Coast. Waiting lists for the residents of the far South Coast are likely to increase from one to two years. Trauma related orthopaedic surgery would be immediately reduced and not available every third week. Dr. Ahrens last working day will be the 30th June, 2011.

We therefore ask the House to urgently act on this situation to retain Dr. Christoph Ahrens in our rural community.

from 36 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of certain citizens and residents of Australia brings to the attention of the House that two years ago, Sri Lanka freed itself from the separatist terrorism of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which is banned by the international community. The UNHRC commended Sri Lanka in May 2009 for ending the conflict and saving 300,000 Tamil civilians held as a human shield by the LTTE.

Tamils who faced the brunt of the war are now settling down to normalcy with democratic rights to elect their own representatives. Large scale economic development, de-mining, restoring war-damaged infrastructure, rehabilitation of LTTE cadres and resettlement of IDPs have been commended by international observers. More work is to be done and we gratefully acknowledge Australia's contribution towards these achievements.

Sri Lanka has initiated its own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) to investigate all aspects of the conflict with a view to ethnic reconciliation. But ignoring UNHRC's resolution and the LLRC, the UN Secretary-General has arbitrarily appointed a three-man panel of persons with known anti-Sri Lanka sentiments. Their report, based on hearsay of anonymous sources, is threatening to undermine the ongoing reconciliation process.

We therefore request the House to:

from 1,342 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of concerned citizens of Australia draws to the attention of the House: the extension of asset testing of the family home for aged care services. The Productivity Commission has recommended that the family home be used in wealth assessments to determine the level of care and accommodation fees applicable to the care recipient. The Productivity Commission have recommended that bonds be extended to high care places and that reverse mortgages be installed as a funding mechanism for residential aged care and home and community care.

We therefore ask the House to oppose these recommendations that will see older people selling or reverse mortgaging their home to access aged care services.

from 245 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of the undersigned citizens of Cof fs Harbour and its environs find the practice of confining hens to cages for egg production abhorrent, and request you take immediate action to phase-out use of the battery cage in Australia.

Being confined to a battery cage and mutilated prevents a hen from fulfilling all of her natural behaviours, including stretching her wings, nesting and scratching, dust bathing and roosting. This life of misery and suffering is needless and based purely on economics rather than animal welfare. Progressive countries such as Sweden, Switzerland and other European Union countries have phased out or are phasing out the use of battery cages.

from 52 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of the: Resident Citizens of the SUTHERLAND SHIRE and neighbouring suburbs, NEW SOUTH WALES.

Draws to the attention of the House: AIRCRAFT NOISE REGULATIONS under CIVIL AVIATION LEGISLATION

We therefore ask the House to:

Review and immediately remove the amount of aircraft noise recently and suddenly imposed on the Sutherland Shire since 2008, and in particular:

(a) Implement the LTOP (Long Term Operating Plan) for Sydney immediately,

(b) Remove the Boree4 Flight Path and the new navigation procedure completely,

(c) Implement the recommendations of the Senate Committee Report into The Effectiveness of Airservices Australia's management of Aircraft Noise,

(d) Remove the recent introduction of regular jet and smaller aircraft flight paths over the Sutherland Shire immediately, and

(e) Reinforce the Sydney Airport Curfew and remove aircraft traffic from 11.00pm to 06.00am.

from 254 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of the concerned citizens of Australia,

Draws the attention of the house: to the deplorable, sadistic torture of helpless animals, at the hands of Indonesian Abattoirs, as was exposed on the ABC "Four Corners" program, broadcast on 30 May 2011.

We understand that there has been over 10 years of training and funds put into these Abattoirs, to teach the people to humanely dispatch animals. It has obviously been to no avail. We are sickened and appalled by this cruelty.

We therefore ask the house to: put an immediate and permanent end to this abominable cruelty and ban all live animal exports destined for slaughter. Please, do not prolong the agony of these hapless creatures for one more moment.

from 82 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

The petition of certain citizens of Australia draws to the attention of the House that the current system of tax-payer-funded cared accommodation, respite & support services, for citizens with disabilities aged less than 65 years is grossly inadequate to meet even urgent accommodation and care needs. There are thousands of urgent cases of persons on 'years -long' waiting lists, and family caregivers are in despair. It will take strong political will to reform the disability sector. We the undersigned are aware that an accident of life, birth or illness can have enormous implications for our family and one in five families nation-wide.

Your petitioners therefore request the House to:

1. Take immediate action to implement a National Disability Insurance Scheme, funded through compulsory contributions, in order to protect present and future generations of Australians against the cost of disability care and support services.

2. We urge you, as our elected representatives, to take immediate bi-partisan action to create a properly planned and fully funded insurance scheme in order that all Australians who have, or who acquire disabilities, are provided with appropriate services to meet their current and future needs. For this urgent necessity we do humbly pray.

from 701 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

The petition of certain representatives of a 'minority ethnic Latin American community'

Draws to the attention of the House:

1. The Minister for Immigration discretional power under s499 of the Migration Act 1958 and the Ministerial guidelines for unique and exceptional circumstances created under this section of the Act.

2. The community expectation that the Minister for Immigration will comply with this provision of the Migration Act 1958 without breaches to the 'hearing rule'.

IT IS SUBMITTED that the Minister decision stating 'it would not be in the public interest to intervene', was derived from a 'flawed assessment' on the Applicant's case (CLF2011/85543). The Minister 'ignored' to consider the applicant's brother who is resident of Australia. Therefore, lack of 'procedural .fairness' is a clear breach to the 'hearing rule', The decision must be declared invalid due to an 'administrative error'.

IT IS SUBMITTED that the Judiciary system of Australia has not jurisdiction to review such decision. The Applicant's brother and family members resulted aggrieved. The Applicant previously applied for Protection visa, if returned to Colombia his life would be in high risk of danger which will bring psychological consequences to his brother.

from 150 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of the undersigned draws to the attention of the House that to be Queen, and Queen of Australia, and part of our Parliament, (Constitution Part 1), it was essential for Princess Elizabeth to take the Coronation Oath wherein she swore to uphold the doctrine, worship and discipline of the Church of England.

This oath was a required test and qualification of the Monarch, contrary to section 116 branch four of our Constitution.

" and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth " .

This petitioner contends the Commonwealth itself need not apply the test, but clearly stipulates no religious test shall be required. Therefore the Commonwealth is complicit in, and party to the test. It condones the test, accepts the results, and knows our Queen must be a member of a religious group contrary to our Constitution.

The High Court is the only arbiter on this matter. No other opinions count.

If this contention is taken to the High Court and it rules in the affirmative, this ruling would be catastrophic to the Commonwealth.

This petitioner therefore asks the House to take urgent steps to avoid a possible constitutional crisis by either calling a referendum to change the Constitution, or to proceed towards a Republic before any High Court action can be taken requesting an official adjudication.

from 1 citizen

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of the citizens of Broken Hill NSW Australia

Draws to the attention of the House; The immediate urgency to rectify the dire situation in our hospital and nursing homes. There is an acute shortage of beds in the hospital and our Aged Care Patients are being sent to Wilcannia 200 kms from home, family and friends, to free up desperately needed hospital beds.

The Broken Hill population is 25% higher than the figures used to calculate current Health and Aged Care funding for the city.

The old hospital had 380 beds and the replacement has 80.

Broken Hill has given much to this nation and will do so again for the next 70-100 years according to recent announcements by Mayor Wincen Cuy.

We therefore ask the House to;

1. Provide immediate extra Aged Care funding to enable our elderly citizens to remain in their home town.

2. Provide immediate funding to our Hospital – increase beds and services appropriate to our population.

from 9,182 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of year 12 students at Leeming Senior High School, Perth, WA, draws attention to the House, the shocking treatment of our live stock in Indonesia by certain abattoirs as was shown on the ABC's 4Corners expose (Monday 30th May 2011).

We therefore ask the House to: suspend all livestock being delivered to Indonesian abattoirs which do not up hold the highest standards (Australian Standards) of animal Welfare.

from 14 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of concerned citizens, in support of marriage as, currently defined in the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) draws to the attention of the House:

Marriage Act 1961

We therefore ask the House to maintain support for marriage as currently defined in the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) arid reject any proposal to amend its definition.

from 84 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

This petition of concerned citizens with Turkish ancestry draws to the attention of the House that:

There is a continued effort by sections of the Armenian, Assyrian and Pontic Greek communities to brush the Republic of Turkey and its predecessor the Ottoman Empire with the horrible crime of Genocide during World War 1. Many monuments taking advantage of the good name of Australian Soldiers have been constructed through local councils to help legitimise their baseless claims.

A legal definition of genocide is found in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG). Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group. Such allegations of genocide against Turkey or the Ottoman Empire and never been proven in any international court or by the United Nations.

Issues such as these are likely to spoil the good relationship which is enjoyed between Turkey and Australia. This is especially important in the lead up to the 100 year anniversary of the ANZAC ' s in Gallipoli.

We therefore ask the House to:

from 6 citizens

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives:

Gas Project 'Petition'

On the 16th June 2011, the Minister for Resources and Energy and Minister for Tourism responded to Petition Tabled in the House on Monday 23rd May 2011.

The Minister in his r esponse to the petition, stated —

"The control of workplace dangerous goods and hazardous substance is overseen by Safe Work Australia." (No Minister, it should be regulated.)

The Minister in his response failed to embrace the Petitioner ' s request.

"Where a certain hazard (as described in schedule 6 of OH&SR) product cannot be manufactured, sold or installed unless it has been authorised by the Regulator," no matter where it originates from.

We again " ask the House to embrace the legislative powers of the Parliament " and ask the Minister to embrace the Australian Regulations.

The Minister should not spend millions of Australian Government dollars to encourage better linkages, or on supplier advocates and/or positioning industry capabilities. The Minister should simply embrace the Australian Regulations.

from 1 citizen

Petitions received

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