Senator Marshall to move on the next day of sitting:

That the time for the presentation of the report of the Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Committee on Australia’s research and training capacity in the area of climate change be extended to 17 September 2009.

Senator McEwen to move on the next day of sitting:

That the time for the presentation of the first report of the Environment, Communications and the Arts Committee on the effectiveness of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and other programs in protecting threatened species and ecological communities be extended to 18 March 2009.

Senator Lundy to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit be authorised to hold public meetings during the sittings of the Senate on Wednesday, 18 March 2009, from 11 am to 1 pm, and Thursday, 19 March 2009, from 9.30 am to 11.30 am, to take evidence for the committee’s review of Auditor-General’s reports.

Senator Moore to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Community Affairs Committee be authorised to hold public meetings during the sittings of the Senate, from 3.30 pm:

(a)

on Thursday, 12 March 2009, to take evidence for the committee’s inquiry into petrol sniffing and substance abuse in central Australia; and

(b)

on Thursday, 19 March 2009, to take evidence for the committee’s inquiry into the impact of gene patents on the provision of healthcare in Australia.

Senator Moore to move on the next day of sitting:

That the time for the presentation of the report of the Community Affairs Committee on the provisions of the Excise Tariff Amendment (2009 Measures No. 1) Bill 2009 and a related bill be extended to 16 March 2009.

Senator Mark Bishop to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee be authorised to hold a public meeting during the sitting of the Senate on Thursday, 12 March 2009, from 4.30 pm, to take evidence for the committee’s inquiry into the economic and security challenges facing Papua New Guinea and the island states of the southwest Pacific.

Senators Milne and Abetz to move on the next day of sitting:

(1)

That a select committee, to be known as the Select Committee on Climate Policy, be established to inquire into and report by 14 May 2009 on:

(a)

the choice of emissions trading as the central policy to reduce Australia’s carbon pollution, taking into account the need to:

(i)

reduce carbon pollution at the lowest economic cost,

(ii)

put in place long-term incentives for investment in clean energy and low-emission technology, and

(iii)

contribute to a global solution to climate change;

(b)

the relative contributions to overall emission reduction targets from complementary measures such as renewable energy feed-in laws, energy efficiency and the protection or development of terrestrial carbon stores such as native forests and soils;

(c)

whether the Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme is environmentally effective, in particular, with regard to the adequacy or otherwise of the Government’s 2020 and 2050 greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in avoiding dangerous climate change;

(d)

an appropriate mechanism for determining what a fair and equitable contribution to the global emission reduction effort would be;

(e)

whether the design of the proposed scheme will send appropriate investment signals for green collar jobs, research and development, and the manufacturing and service industries, taking into account permit allocation, leakage, compensation mechanisms and additionality issues; and

(f)

any related matter.

(2)

That the committee consist of 10 senators, 4 nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, 4 nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate, 1 nominated by the Leader of the Australian Greens and 1 nominated by the independent senators.

(3)

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 the committee for the purpose of forming a quorum of the committee if a majority of members of the committee is not present.

(4)

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.

(5)

That the committee elect as chair one of the members nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and, as deputy chair, a member nominated by the Australian Greens.

(6)

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.

(7)

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 the deputy chair at a meeting of the committee.

(8)

That, in the event of an equally divided vote, the chair, or the deputy chair when acting as chair, have a casting vote.

(9)

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 examine.

(10)

That the committee and any subcommittee have power to send for and examine persons and documents, to move from place to place, to sit in public or in private, notwithstanding any prorogation of the Parliament or dissolution of the House of Representatives, and have leave to report from time to time its proceedings, the evidence taken and such interim recommendations as it may deem fit.

(11)

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.

(12)

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

Senators Abetz, Colbeck, Parry, Bushby and Barnett to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes:

(i)

that the inquiry into the establishment of an Australian Football League (AFL) team for Tasmania being undertaken by the Rural and Regional Affairs Committee has only received 2 submissions since the reference was referred on 28 August 2008 and is yet to hold hearings,

(ii)

that discussions are ongoing between the Tasmanian Government and the AFL regarding a future Tasmanian AFL team, and

(iii)

the comments of the Tasmanian Government that they do not intend to make a submission to the inquiry;

(b)

further notes the comments of the Tasmanian Government that a submission to this inquiry could jeopardise negotiations with the AFL regarding a future Tasmanian AFL team; and

(c)

directs the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee to discontinue its inquiry into the establishment of an AFL team for Tasmania immediately.

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

That the Senate meet from Monday, 6 April, to Thursday, 9 April 2009.

Senator Abetz to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes with concern recent developments in the Tasmanian red meat industry; and

(b)

calls on Swift Australia Pty Ltd to deal fairly with the Australian hide and skin company Cuthbertson Brothers Pty Ltd, and others, in its operation of its Tasmanian abattoirs.

Senator Wong to move on the next day of sitting:

That the following matter be referred to the Economics Committee for inquiry and report by 14 April 2009:

The exposure draft of the legislation to implement the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.

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

That the Senate—

(a)

notes that:

(i)

8 March was International Women’s Day (IWD),

(ii)

this global day of action was established to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future, and

(iii)

IWD is now an official holiday in China, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam;

(b)

recognises that:

(i)

for more than 30 years, Australian women have been campaigning for the introduction of paid parental leave, and

(ii)

Australia and the United States of America are now the only two Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries yet to formally legislate on a paid parental leave scheme; and

(c)

calls on the Rudd Government, as part of their commitment to Australian families, to support the introduction of a paid parental leave scheme in the upcoming 2009 Budget.

Senator Cormann to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes:

(i)

the Prime Minister’s stated commitment before the 2007 Federal election that Federal Labor would retain the ‘existing private health insurance rebates, including the 30 per cent general rebate and the 35 and 40 per cent rebates for older Australians’ as well as the commitment to ‘maintain Lifetime Health Cover and the Medicare Levy Surcharge’,

(ii)

the government’s reaffirmation of those commitments during its first Senate Estimates as the new government in February 2008, and on other occasions,

(iii)

revelations that since the election of the Rudd Government work has been done by both Treasury and the Department of Health and Ageing on options and/or recommendations for scrapping the private health insurance rebate and other options for change to the rebate and Lifetime Health Cover, and

(iv)

the departmental records listing for the Department of Health and Ageing for the period 1 July 2008 until 31 December 2008 listing six specific ideas and policy development papers on changes to private health insurance in general and Lifetime Health Cover in particular;

(b)

considers publication of those policy development ideas to be in the public interest; and

(c)

orders that there be laid on the table by the Minister Representing the Minister for Health and Ageing by no later than 12 pm on 16 March, the following documents:

(i)

2008/039344 CARE & ACCESS – POLICY – Development – Private Health Insurance Reforms 2008 – Ideas Paper – ACPHI,

(ii)

2008/043077 CARE & ACCESS – POLICY – Development – Private Health Insurance Reforms 2008 – Ideas Paper – Pt2 – ACPHI,

(iii)

2008/048024 CARE & ACCESS – POLICY – Development – Private Health Insurance Reforms 2008 – Ideas Paper – Pt3 – ACPHI,

(iv)

2008/058144 CARE & ACCESS – POLICY – Development – Private Health Insurance Reforms 2008 – Ideas Paper – Pt4 – ACPHI,

(v)

2008/066297 CARE & ACCESS – POLICY – Development – Private Health Insurance Reforms 2008 – Policy Development & Implementation (PD&I) Section – ACPHI, and

(vi)

2008/021657 CARE & ACCESS – POLICY – Development – Lifetime Health Cover (LHC) – Loading Waiver Provision – Private Health Insurance Act 2007 – ACPHI.

Senator Cormann to move on the next day of sitting:

That the Senate—

(1)

Notes:

(a)

that the government has not complied with the order of the Senate made on 4 February 2009, ordering the production of certain unpublished information relating to the Department of the Treasury modelling, Australia’s Low Pollution Future: The economics of climate change mitigation;

(b)

the government’s statement to the Senate on 11 February 2009 expressing the ‘belief’ that the provision of some of the documents requested would cause substantial commercial harm to organisations that were contracted to assist Treasury;

(c)

that the claim of commercial harm cited by the government in its refusal to release the required information relates to only part of the information requested and that no explanation was provided as to why all of the other information not covered by the claim of commercial harm should not be provided for scrutiny by the Senate;

(d)

the evidence to the committee in this regard by Professor McKibbin, one of the consultants contracted by Treasury for its modelling, that in his view models developed with public funding should be publicly available;

(e)

that the committee has received correspondence from Monash University, one of the two organisations the government indicated in its statement would be exposed to substantial commercial harm were the requested information to be released, which states that “the University wishes to assist (the Fuel and Energy Committee) in every way possible”, and that the University Solicitors would work with the creators of the Monash Multi-Regional Forecasting model “to identify the manner and nature of disclosure that will meet the Committee’s needs as far as possible while protecting the University’s interests”;

(f)

the correspondence received from Purdue University, the other organisation mentioned in the government’s statement, which explains that the simple purchase of a licence would avoid any commercial harm;

(g)

the evidence of the WA Department of Treasury and Finance indicating that they had also been unsuccessful in obtaining access to relevant modelling information, which was preventing them from providing proper and informed advice on the economic impact of the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme in Western Australia to the government in that state; and

(h)

the ongoing concerns expressed by a wide variety of stakeholders about the inadequacy of the Treasury modelling of the impact of the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme;

(2)

Considers that:

(a)

irrespective of the government’s statement in the Senate on 11 February 2009 it is in the public interest that all the underlying information used by Treasury in its modelling be available to help facilitate proper scrutiny by the Senate of the impact of the government’s proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme;

(b)

models used in the modelling exercise developed using public funding ought to be publicly available; and

(c)

where the public release of information is likely to cause significant commercial harm to an external organisation every effort ought to be made to prevent that harm while not preventing the Senate from fulfilling its proper role to scrutinise the activities and proposals of government;

(3)

Orders that the following information be produced to the Senate Select Committee on Fuel and Energy by noon on Friday 13 March 2009:

(a)

the information referred to in paragraph (b) of the Senate’s order for documents of 4 February 2009 relating to the Department of the Treasury modelling, Australia’s Low Pollution Future: The economics of climate change mitigation;

(b)

any other information not published and not covered by (a) relating to the Department of the Treasury modelling, including but not limited to:

(i)

any information and documents generated by the government for the purpose of the composition of the information covered by (a),

(ii)

for the two scenarios modelled for the CPRS (CPRS -5 per cent and the CPRS -15 per cent) and the reference scenario, the time series data per annum to 2050 for all states and territories of the following:

a)   Industry growth output in millions of dollars,

b)   Employment numbers,

c)   Gross State Product,

d)   Emissions, and

e)   Household CPI changes,

(iii)

the data from (ii), a), b) and c) broken down by region where applicable, and

(iv)

any substrate data of gross industry output by the above regions.

(4)

That the committee may make the information described in paragraph (3) available to the person contracted by the committee and referred to in paragraph (a) of the Senate’s order of 4 February 2009, and any person appointed by the leader of a party in the Senate or an independent senator, duly notified to the committee, to examine that information and report to that senator.

(5)

That the committee, any senator and any other person referred to in paragraph (4) treat the information produced in accordance with paragraph (3)(a) of this order as confidential, and not publish the information to any other person except as authorised by this order.

(6)

That the committee may refer to the information produced to it in accordance with this order and any conclusions reached from it in a report to the Senate, but shall not disclose the information in such a report.