Senate debates

Thursday, 13 September 2007

Notices

Presentation

Senator Siewert to move on the next day of sitting:

That the following matter be referred to the Community Affairs Committee for inquiry and report by 30 June 2008:Evaluation of the effectiveness of the national emergency intervention in the Northern Territory in addressing the issues of child sexual abuse and child health and well-being, with particular reference to:

(a)
improvements in child protection outcomes and child security, through improved infrastructure and support services;
(b)
improvements in child health and well-being, with particular attention to the successful treatment of preventable diseases identified by the health teams, and public health outcomes in relation to healthier environments and improved nutrition;
(c)
the efficacy of interventions to reduce alcohol and substance abuse, including measures to restrict supply, education and demand-reduction strategies, and rehabilitation and counselling services;
(d)
improvements in educational outcomes with particular attention to rates of school attendance, the delivery of programs to meet the educational needs of Indigenous students, the number of new teachers and classrooms and reductions in student/teacher ratios;
(e)
the impact of the quarantining of welfare payments, with particular attention to its efficacy in improving child health and nutrition and school attendance, the number of people being breached and dropping off income support, the cost of administering the system and the challenges faced by both retail outlets and recipients;
(f)
the effects of changes to land tenure and the permit system on child welfare, including the number of people moving out of prescribed communities and the number of people moving into regional centres and living in makeshift camps; and
(g)
the unintended consequences of the intervention.

Senator Milne to move on the next day of sitting:

That the following matter be referred to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee for inquiry and report by 3 December 2007:The Australia-Russia Nuclear Cooperation Agreement signed on 7 September 2007, with particular reference to:

(a)
the ramifications of the agreement with respect to global and regional security;
(b)
the risk that Australian uranium would be exported from the Russian Federation (Russia) to third states, contrary to agreements;
(c)
the 2005 Russian deal to sell uranium to Iran to fuel the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear plant, in spite of widespread fears about Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program;
(d)
the implications of the agreement for the sale of nuclear fuel to India;
(e)
the extent to which the supply of Australian uranium would enable Russia to increase its export of nuclear material;
(f)
the weakness of the rule of law, including corporate law, in Russia;
(g)
the ability to verify Russia’s compliance with any agreed safeguards noting, in particular, the European Parliament’s resolution of 10 May 2007 on the European Union-Russia Summit which expressed concern about, inter alia:
(i)
Russia’s lack of respect for human rights, democracy, freedom of expression, and the rights of civil society and individuals to challenge authorities and hold them accountable for their actions,
(ii)
the use of force by Russian authorities against peaceful anti-government demonstration and reports of the use of torture in prisons, and
(iii)
the restriction of democratic freedoms in the run-up to Duma elections in December 2007 and presidential elections in March 2008; and
(h)
any related matters.

Senator Bob Brown to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate calls for approval of the pulp mill proposed by Gunns Limited to be subject to all environmental considerations being fully satisfied.