Senate debates

Thursday, 12 November 2020

Notices

Presentation

11:45 am

Photo of Sarah Hanson-YoungSarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

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

That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, by 3 pm on 1 December 2020, the final report of the Samuel Review into the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Senator Wong to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that, during a hearing of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee's inquiry into issues affecting diaspora communities in Australia on 14 October 2020, Senator Abetz demanded that witnesses of Chinese heritage 'unconditionally condemn the Chinese Communist Party dictatorship' in what those targeted have described as 'a jarring experience';

(b) affirms that:

(i) social cohesion in Australian society is the basis of our sovereignty,

(ii) statements and conduct that target Australians based on their cultural background or ethnicity risk driving division and undermining our social cohesion and sovereignty, and

(iii) all Australians have a right to enjoy equal rights and be treated with equal respect regardless of race, colour, creed or origin; and

(c) calls on all senators to ensure their conduct recognises these principles

Senator Hanson-Young to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that the biggest threat to endangered koala populations is habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation; and

(b) calls on the Government to implement a moratorium on the clearing and destruction of koala habitat

Senator Ruston to move on the next day of sitting:

That consideration of the business before the Senate on Wednesday, 2 December 2020 be interrupted at approximately 5 pm, but not so as to interrupt a senator speaking, to enable Senator Thorpe to make her first speech without any question before the chair.

Senator Rice to move on the next day of sitting:

(1) That there be laid on the table by the Minister for Youth and Sport, by no later than 2 pm on 8 December 2020:

(a) a copy of the talking points prepared by the former Minister for Sport's office concerning funding for the Community Sports Infrastructure Grants program, ahead of her meeting with the Prime Minister on 28 November 2018;

(b) any records of that 28 November 2018 meeting; and

(c) the exchange of letters referring to that meeting as a basis for expanding funding for the Community Sport Infrastructure Grants program.

(2) In the event the Minister fails to table all the documents requested in paragraph (1), the Senate requires the Minister for Youth and Sport to attend the Senate by no later than 9.30 am on 9 December 2020 to provide an explanation, of no more than 10 minutes, of the Government's failure to table the documents.

(3) Any senator may move to take note of the explanation required by paragraph (2).

(4) Any motion under paragraph (3) may be debated for no longer than 30 minutes, shall have precedence over all business until determined, and senators may speak to the motion for not more than 10 minutes each

Senators Wong and Keneally to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Australian Government is responsible for borders, quarantine, and assisting Australians in jeopardy and stranded overseas,

(ii) since the Prime Minister capped international passenger arrivals on 13 July 2020, the number of stranded Australians overseas has risen dramatically to more than 35,700,

(iii) Amnesty International Australia has reported that the 'arbitrary cap needs to be significantly increased or removed' and quarantine 'needs to be significantly expanded', 

(iv) on 10 November 2020, the Senate called on the Government to take urgent steps to help every stranded Australian return home by:

(A) increasing the number of permitted arrivals under international flight caps through using Commonwealth resources to increase quarantine capacity,

(B) stopping price gouging by airlines flying into Australia, and

(C) putting all options on the table to return stranded Australians, especially from places like the United Kingdom, India, the Philippines and Lebanon—including charter flights, and

(v) the Morrison Government did not announce any funding or initiative as part of the 2020-21 Federal Budget to respond to the Senate's motion, and has no plan to help every stranded Australian return home; and

(b) calls on the Morrison Government to bring our stranded Australians home by Christmas as the Prime Minister promised he would do.

Senator Waters to move on the next day of sitting:

(1) That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) recent media discussion has again drawn attention to poor standards of integrity and general behaviour in Parliament and the lack of enforcement action in response to complaints, and

(ii) ACTU President Michele O'Neil has described Parliament House as a 'high-risk workplace' for employees

(b) calls on the Government to introduce a Code of Conduct requiring all parliamentarians to:

(i) put the public interest ahead of their personal interests,

(ii) exercise reasonable care and diligence in performing their duties,

(iii) treat everyone with respect,

(iv) not engage in bullying or harassment,

(v) avoid conflicts of interest,

(vi) manage confidential information appropriately,

(vii) follow all rules regarding use of public funds,

(viii) act ethically, reasonably and in good faith in their public duties,

(ix) not take improper advantage of their office, and

(x) not bring discredit upon the Parliament; and

(c) Further calls on the Government to implement a robust, independent complaints process that gives employees the confidence that complaints regarding parliamentarians will be treated seriously, they do not need to fear reprisal, and MPs found to have breached the Code can face a range of consequences.

(2) That this resolution be sent to the House of Representatives for concurrence

Senator Faruqi to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) evidence provided by the Bureau of Meteorology at Senate Estimates that the global temperature is on track to rise by 3.4 degrees celsius by the end of the century,

(ii) the enormous risks and challenges nations in the Global South, particularly in the Pacific region, face as a result of the climate catastrophe, including rising sea levels, severe storms, and loss of arable land and drinking water, and

(iii) that the Global North, including Australia, is responsible for the overwhelming majority of excess carbon emissions causing the climate crisis, and has a greater responsibility for addressing it;

(b) acknowledges the urgent need for climate change mitigation and adaptation to prevent the worst of the climate catastrophe that our neighbours face; and

(c) calls on the Government to:

(i) significantly increase the Official Development Assistance budget and commit to providing funding to support action on climate change and climate resilience for our neighbours in the Pacific, and

(ii) seriously commit to reducing Australia's carbon emissions to avoid the worst of the climate catastrophe

Senator Steele-John to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) 145 of the 512 participants who participated in the first independent assessments trial completed the opt-in survey about their experiences in the trial, representing only 28% of the cohort,

(ii) no baseline data was collected about the experiences of the 512 trial participants of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) prior to their participation in the trial, meaning there is no specific data available for comparison,

(iii) no data about the number of NDIS participants who declined to be a part of any independent assessment trial has been made publicly available,

(iv) Australia's peak disability organisations, including People With Disability Australia, Women With Disability Australia, Every Australian Counts and Children and Young People with Disability, are opposed to independent assessments and have spoken out against them on behalf of the people they represent, and

(v) disabled people, their families and their advocates are the most qualified people to be making decisions about the kinds of supports they need, and the medical practitioners they work with; and

(b) calls on the Government to:

(i) immediately halt the second independent assessments trial until,

(A) data from the first trial is made public in full, and

(B) genuine consultation is undertaken with disabled people, their advocates and peak organisations to ensure that this process is one that is supported by disabled people, not just bureaucrats,

(ii) ensure that comprehensive data from all participants is collected and made public in any further independent assessment trials, and

(iii) commit to abandoning independent assessments if further trials do not garner widespread support from disabled people, their advocates and peak organisations.

Senator Whish-Wilson to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that the:

(i) Tasmanian smooth handfish (Sympterichthys unipennis) is the world's first marine bony fish to be declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature,

(ii) remaining Tasmanian handfish are now the most threatened marine fish in the world,

(iii) recent hatching, raising and release of 42 juvenile red handfish into the wild likely doubles the number of red handfish in remaining populations near Hobart,

(iv) invasive long-spined sea urchin (Centrostephanus rogersii) is a key factor in the decline of handfish populations,

(v) spread of the invasive long-spined sea urchin is threatening the biodiversity of Tasmanian reefs, and 

(vi) barrens that the long-spined sea urchin create are directly linked to warming waters along the east coast of Tasmania; and

(b) acknowledges and thanks:

(i) researchers at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, 

(ii) researchers at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, and 

(iii) all scientists and researchers at the Handfish Conservation Project for their work on this critical conservation project.

Senator Hanson-Young to move on the next day of sitting:

That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, by 3 pm on 1 December 2020, the final report of the Samuel Review into the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

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