Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present report No. 4 of the Selection Committee relating to the consideration of committee and delegation business and private members' business on Monday 7 November 2022. The report will be printed in the Hansard for today, and the committee's determination will appear in tomorrow's Notice Paper. Copies of the report have been placed on the table.

The report read as follows—

Report relating to the consideration of committee and delegation business and of private Members' business

1. The Committee met in private session on Tuesday, 25 October 2022.

2. The Committee deliberated on items of committee and delegation business that had been notified, private Members' business items listed on the Notice Paper and notices lodged on Tuesday, 25 October 2022, and determined the order of precedence and times on Monday, 7 November, as follows:

Items for House of Representatives Ch amber (10.10 am to 12 noon)

PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Notices

1 MRS ANDREWS: To move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the Optus and Medibank data-breaches highlight the threats faced by Australians and Australian businesses from cyber-criminals;

(b) the previous Government passed significant legislation to help protect Australians and our critical infrastructure from cyber-criminals; and

(c) the Government's lacklustre response to the data breaches does nothing to allay the concerns and fears of Australians who may have been impacted by these cyber-attacks; and

(2) calls on the Government to support the passage of the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Ransomware Action Plan) Bill 2022, which would help law enforcement disrupt and deter cyber-criminals who engage in ransomware and cyber-extortion activities targeting Australians and Australian businesses.

(Notice given 25 October 2022.)

Time allotted 40 minutes.

Speech time limits

Mrs Andrews 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 8 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this matter should continue on a future day.

2 MS J RYAN: To move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the Government's $2.57 billion in funding in the 2022 October Budget for the infrastructure Victoria, and Victorians need, including:

(a) $2.2 billion for the Suburban Rail Loop;

(b) $57 million for the Ison Road Rail Overpass in Wyndham;

(c) $150 million for the Camerons Lane Interchange in Beveridge;

(d) $125 million to upgrade Barwon Heads Road; and

(2) notes this funding will make journeys quicker, and making sure Victorians can get home to their families safely, and comes after a decade of neglect for Victorian Infrastructure from the former Government; and

(3) thanks the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government and the Prime Minister for working with the Victorian Government.

(Notice given 25 October 2022.)

Time allotted 40 minutes.

Speech time limits

Ms J Ryan 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 8 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this matter should continue on a future day.

3 MS WATSON-BROWN: To move:

That this House:

(1) notes the Government's Budget gives billionaires and politicians a $9,000 a year tax cut but delays cost of living relief for everyday people; and

(2) calls on the Government to scrap the Stage 3 tax cuts that cost the public over a quarter of a trillion dollars, and instead spend this money providing immediate cost of living relief, through measures such as getting dental and mental health into Medicare and making childcare free.

(Notice given 25 October 2022.)

Time allotted remaining private Members' business time prior to 12 no on.

Speech time limits

Ms Watson-Brown 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 6 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this matter should continue on a future day.

Items for Federation Cha mber (11 am to 1.30 pm)

PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Notices

1 MR HAMILTON: To move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the Government has signed Australia up to the Global Methane Pledge despite promising the Australian public that it would not sign the pledge during the 2022 election;

(b) this is a broken election promise;

(c) the Global Methane Pledge includes a target to reduce methane emissions by 30 per cent on 2020 levels by 2030;

(d) 48 per cent of Australia's annual methane emissions come from the agricultural sector, where no affordable, practical and large-scale way exists to reduce it other than culling herd sizes;

(e) in the previous Government, the Coalition invested over $18 million to monitor and reduce fugitive methane emissions in the energy and resources sector, and help farmers reduce emissions from livestock; and

(f) this pledge, in effect, creates a cap on the size of Australia's livestock industry;

(2) further notes that:

(a) international research shows the target cannot be realised without taking behavioural and technical measures in the livestock agriculture sector, and recommends people change their diets resulting in lower meat and dairy consumption, leading to a capping or reduction of the national livestock herd;

(b) this will increase the price of a steak at your favourite restaurant or butcher, or a white coffee at your favourite cafe, at a time when small businesses are already struggling with mounting cost-of-doing-business pressures; and

(c) this pledge equally calls to reduce methane emissions from the gas sector—a critical fuel source that complements the increasing share of renewables in our electricity grid—which adds pressure to production and generation and is an invitation for the type of chaos we are seeing in Europe at the moment; and

(3) calls on the Government to:

(a) install financial protections for Australia's agricultural sector which will be impacted by the Global Methane Pledge;

(b) provide assurances to Australia's agricultural sector that there will be no new taxes and regulation to deliver the Government's methane emissions reduction target;

(c) provide assurances the national livestock herd will not be capped or reduced as a consequence of the Government's methane emissions reduction target.

(Notice g iven 25 October 2022.)

Time allotted 20 minutes.

Speech time limits

Mr Hamilton 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 4 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this matter should continue at a later hour.

2 MR PERRETT: To move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the Government's $9.6 billion of funding in the 2022-23 October budget for the infrastructure that Australia needs, including but not limited to:

(a) upgrading the Bruce Highway in Queensland;

(b) building electric bus charging infrastructure for Perth's electric bus network;

(c) investing in Tasmania's Bass and Tasman highways;

(d) investing in South Australia's Dukes and Augusta highways;

(e) partnering with the Victorian Government to deliver Melbourne's Suburban Rail Loop;

(f) improving Canberra's cycle routes;

(g) sealing the Northern Territory's Tanami Road and upgrading the Central Arnhem Road; and

(h) investing in Western Sydney's Road Package; and

(2) notes this funding will make journeys quicker and ensure Australians return home to their families safely.

(Notice given 25 October 2022.)

Time allotted 50 minutes.

Speech time limits

Mr Perrett 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 10 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this matter should continue on a future day.

3 MR LEESER: To move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) Israel, as a sovereign state, is free to decide its own capital; and

(b) for the last 3,000 years Jerusalem has not been the capital of any state other than a Jewish state, and has been the seat of government of Israel since 1950;

(2) recognises that the territory of West Jerusalem:

(a) has been part of Israel's sovereign territory since the state was established in 1948, and is not part of the territory which Israel captured during the 1967 war;

(b) is therefore outside the scope of United Nations (UN) resolutions since 1967, which are limited expressly to territory occupied by Israel since 1967; and

(c) has never been the subject of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians;

(3) further notes that:

(a) Australia's recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2018 did not in any way pre-empt the outcome of peace negotiations, or undermine the prospects of achieving a peaceful settlement of the conflict based on the UN-endorsed principle of two states for two peoples; and

(b) since 2020 five Arab states have officially normalised relations with Israel, thereby disproving claims which were made in 2018 that recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel's capital would worsen the conflict; and

(4) calls on the Government to:

(a) reverse its recent decision to no longer recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel; and

(b) apologise to:

(i) the Australian people for the lack of consultation or opportunity for public debate in the lead-up to the decision, and for effecting an important change of government policy through an amendment to a government website, and then officially denying the change, before a decision was taken by the Cabinet;

(ii) Israel for this ill-considered decision, and the hasty and careless manner in which it was made; and

(iii) the Australian Jewish community for the failure to consult and for announcing its decision on the Jewish Holy Day of Simchat Torah, when Jewish community organisations were precluded from responding.

(Notice given 25 October 2022.)

Time allotted 40 minutes.

Speech time limits

Mr Leeser 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 8 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this matter should continue on a future day.

4 MS STANLEY: To move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) Australia's unemployment rate sits at the lowest level since 1974 at 3.4 per cent;

(b) large sectors of the economy are facing jobs and skills shortages due to the tight labour market;

(c) the record low unemployment rate is not translating to significant and strong wages growth in line with inflation and real wages have declined as a consequence; and

(d) the gender pay gap has remained high and has increased in the past 6 months to 14.1 per cent;

(2) acknowledges that:

(a) the gender pay gap is a major concern socially and economically;

(b) the Government's Jobs and Skills Summit worked collaboratively with all stakeholders—unions, business, and advocacy groups to find solutions to skill shortages and close the gender pay gap;

(c) the Jobs and Skills Summit has identified 36 initiatives that can be taken immediately to alleviate skills shortages;

(d) areas of reform in the industrial relations system have been identified to spur wages growth for workers; and

(e) the sectors that will benefit the most from industrial relations reform are undervalued areas such as childcare, aged care and disability support. These sectors are female-dominated and are less likely to collectively bargain;

(3) supports further consultation with all groups to solve Australia's economic issues and to set Australia up for further decades of economic and social growth; and

(4) expresses concern over the increase in the gender pay gap and the decline of real wages and supports any efforts to alleviate these issues.

(Notice given 26 September 2022.)

Time allotted remaining private Members' business time prior to 1.30 pm.

Speech time limits

Ms Stanley 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 8 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this matter should continue on a future day.

Items for Federation Chamber (4.45 pm to 7.30 pm)

PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Orders of the day

1 EUROPEAN UNION FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: Resumption of debate (from 26 September 2022) on the motion of Mr Hogan—That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the European Union (EU) is Australia's second largest two-way trading partner of goods and services worth over $74 billion; and

(b) with a high-income population of almost 450 million people, the EU represents an incredibly significant market opportunity for Australian exporters;

(2) acknowledges the significant work undertaken by the former Government to pursue an ambitious and comprehensive free trade agreement with the EU; and

(3) calls on the Government to:

(a) prioritise the negotiation and completion of the Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement; and

(b) deliver a commercially significant agreement with liberalised access that is in the national interest.

Time allotted 40 minutes.

Speech time limits

All Members 5 minutes each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 8 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this matter should continue on a future day.

Notices — continued

5 MS PAYNE: To move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the gender pay gap still sits at an unacceptable 14.1 per cent;

(b) men earn an extra $263.90 per week more than women;

(c) the gender pay gap has only narrowed by 5.1 per cent since 1983;

(d) work in female-dominated industries is disproportionately undervalued because of discriminatory assumptions about the value of the work; and

(2) commends the Government for amending the Fair Work Act 2009 and related legislation to improve job security and gender equity by:

(a) including in the Fair Work Act 2009: gender equity, secure work, an equal remuneration principle, and enhancing the enforcement and compliance framework;

(b) prohibiting pay secrecy clauses; and

(c) establishing new expert panels in the Fair Work Commission for pay equity and the care and community sector.

(Notice given 25 October 2022.)

Time allotted 50 minutes.

Speech time limits

Ms Payne 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 10 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this matter s hould continue on a future day.

6 MR PITT: To move:

That this House:

(1) notes that the previous Government:

(a) had the foresight to implement Australia's first ever Critical Minerals Strategy in 2019;

(b) provided billions in funding to support the development of Australia's critical minerals sector since 2019;

(c) provided a $1.25 billion loan in April 2022 through the Critical Minerals Facility to Australian company Iluka Resources to develop Australia's first integrated rare earths refinery in Western Australia;

(d) committed $200 million in the 2022-23 budget to develop early and mid-stage critical minerals projects as part of the Critical Minerals Accelerator Initiative funded under the Regional Accelerator Initiative; and

(e) committed $50.5 million in the 2022-23 budget to the Critical Minerals Research and Development Centre;

(2) further notes that the Government is cutting critical minerals funding:

(a) by $100 million under the Critical Minerals Development Program, formerly known as the Critical Minerals Accelerator Initiative; and

(b) to the $50.5 million Critical Minerals Research and Development Centre, now rebranded as a 'hub', by pushing funding out over four years instead of three years; and

(3) calls on the Government to:

(a) explain why it believes renaming an existing program and cutting its funding makes it a 'new initiative' as described by the Prime Minister;

(b) explain why it is undermining its own rush towards an 82 per cent renewable energy target by 2030 by cutting investment in Australia's critical minerals, which are vital to the creation of technologies like solar panels, wind turbines and batteries; and

(c) reverse their cuts to the Critical Minerals Accelerator Initiative and the Critical Minerals Research and Development Centre.

(Notice given 25 October 2022.)

Time allotted 40 minutes.

Speech time limits

Mr Pitt 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 8 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this matter sho uld continue on a future day.

7 DR M RYAN: To move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the devastation caused by ongoing native forest logging in this country;

(2) commits to protecting our native forests from logging;

(3) abolishes the effective exemption from environment laws that has been granted to native forest logging currently covered by regional forestry agreements between the federal and state governments; and

(4) further commits to implementing the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, as soon as possible, to arrest the decline of our iconic places and the extinction of our most threatened plants, animals, and ecosystems.

(Notice given 25 October 2022.)

Time allotted 20 minutes.

Speech time limits

Dr M Ryan 5 minutes.

Other Members 5 minutes each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 4 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this matter should continue on a future day.

Orders of the day — continued

METHANE: Resumption of debate on the motion of Mr Hamilton—That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the Government has signed Australia up to the Global Methane Pledge despite promising the Australian public that it would not sign the pledge during the 2022 election;

(b) this is a broken election promise;

(c) the Global Methane Pledge includes a target to reduce methane emissions by 30 per cent on 2020 levels by 2030;

(d) 48 per cent of Australia's annual methane emissions come from the agricultural sector, where no affordable, practical and large-scale way exists to reduce it other than culling herd sizes;

(e) in the previous Government, the Coalition invested over $18 million to monitor and reduce fugitive methane emissions in the energy and resources sector, and help farmers reduce emissions from livestock; and

(f) this pledge, in effect, creates a cap on the size of Australia's livestock industry;

(2) further notes that:

(a) international research shows the target cannot be realised without taking behavioural and technical measures in the livestock agriculture sector, and recommends people change their diets resulting in lower meat and dairy consumption, leading to a capping or reduction of the national livestock herd;

(b) this will increase the price of a steak at your favourite restaurant or butcher, or a white coffee at your favourite cafe, at a time when small businesses are already struggling with mounting cost-of-doing-business pressures; and

(c) this pledge equally calls to reduce methane emissions from the gas sector—a critical fuel source that complements the increasing share of renewables in our electricity grid—which adds pressure to production and generation and is an invitation for the type of chaos we are seeing in Europe at the moment; and

(3) calls on the Government to:

(a) install financial protections for Australia's agricultural sector which will be impacted by the Global Methane Pledge;

(b) provide assurances to Australia's agricultural sector that there will be no new taxes and regulation to deliver the Government's methane emissions reduction target;

(c) provide assurances the national livestock herd will not be capped or reduced as a consequence of the Government's methane emissions reduction target.

(Notice given 25 October 2 022.)

Time allotted remaining private Members' business time prior to 7.30 pm.

Speech time limits

All Members 5 minutes each.

[Minimum number of proposed Members speaking = 3 x 5 mins]

The Committee determined that consideration of this matter should continue on a future day.

THE HON D. M. DICK MP

Speaker of the House of Representatives

26 October 2022