Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

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

That the provisions of paragraphs (5) to (8) of standing order 111 not apply to the following bills, allowing them to be considered during this period of sittings:

Appropriation (Implementation of the Report of the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers) Bill (No. 1) 2012-2013

Appropriation (Implementation of the Report of the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers) Bill (No. 2) 2012-2013.

I also table a statement of reasons justifying the need for these bills to be considered during these sittings and seek leave to have the statement incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The statement read as follows—

Purpose of the Bills

These bills allow for payments for offshore asylum seeker management, to address increased costs of irregular maritime arrivals resulting from rates of arrivals and the implementation of the recommendations of the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers, including capital works and services for regional processing facilities on Nauru and Manus Island, Papua New Guinea.

Reasons for Urgency

Timely passage for the Bills will provide for estimated payment required in 2012-13.

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

That the provisions of paragraphs (5) to (8) of standing order 111 not apply to the following bills, allowing them to be considered during this period of sittings:

Clean Energy Amendment (International Emissions Trading and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Clean Energy (Charges—Excise) Amendment Bill 2012

Clean Energy (Charges—Customs) Amendment Bill 2012

Excise Tariff Amendment (Per-tonne Carbon Price Equivalent) Bill 2012

Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Amendment (Per-tonne Carbon Price Equivalent) Bill 2012

Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Manufacture Levy) Amendment (Per-tonne Carbon Price Equivalent) Bill 2012

Clean Energy (Unit Issue Charge—Auctions) Amendment Bill 2012.

I also table a statement of reasons justifying the need for these bills to be considered during these sittings and seek leave to have the statement incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The statement read as follows—

Purpose of the Bills

The Clean Energy Legislation Amendment (International Emissions Trading and Other Measures) Bill and related bills make technical amendments that allow for the effective implementation of linking the carbon pricing mechanism with overseas emissions trading schemes.

Reasons for Urgency

Liabilities under the Clean Energy Act 2011 commence on 1 July 2012. To enable liable entities and others to have certainty about the longer term operation of the carbon pricing mechanism, technical amendments that allow for the effective implementation of international linking should be made as soon as possible.

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

That the provisions of paragraphs (5) to (8) of standing order 111 not apply to the Dental Benefits Amendment Bill 2012, allowing it to be considered during this period of sittings.

I also table a statement of reasons justifying the need for this bill to be considered during these sittings and seek leave to have the statement incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The statement read as follows—

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2012 SPRING SITTINGS

DENTAL BENEFITS AMENDMENT BILL

Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of the bill is to amend the Dental Benefits Act 2008 to cease the Medicare Teen Dental Plan and replace it with an expanded Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS).

Reasons for Urgency

As parts of its agreement with the Australian Greens on dental reform, the Government has committed to pass legislation to create the CDBS by the end of 2012.

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

That the provisions of paragraphs (5) to (8) of standing order 111 not apply to the following bills, allowing them to be considered during this period of sittings:

Social and Community Services Pay Equity Special Account Bill 2012

Social and Community Services Pay Equity Special Account (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2012.

I also table a statement of reasons justifying the need for these bills to be considered during these sittings and seek leave to have the statement incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The statement read as follows—

Purpose of the Bills

The bills would establish a special account under section 21 of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 to assist employers who are covered by Fair Work Australia’s Social, Community and Disability Services Industry Equal Remuneration Order and who are funded by the Commonwealth for the purposes of a prescribed program.

The equal remuneration order will provide wage increases ranging from 23 per cent to 45 per cent, phased in over eight years, in nine equal instalments from 1 December 2012 to 1 December 2020. Commonwealth supplementation would be delivered through funding drawn from the special account and paid to providers that employ the workers affected by the order.

Reasons for Urgency

The legislation needs to be enacted by 1 October 2012 to allow Commonwealth agencies to draw down from the special account and release funding to eligible employers, allowing the employers to meet their legal obligation to pay employee wage increases from 1 December 2012.

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

That the provisions of paragraphs (5) to (8) of standing order 111 not apply to the following bills, allowing them to be considered during this period of sittings:

Aviation Legislation Amendment (Liability and Insurance) Bill 2012

Federal Circuit Court of Australia Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

Higher Education Support Amendment (Maximum Payment Amounts and Other Measures) Bill 2012

Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Further 2012 Budget and Other Measures) Bill 2012.

I also table statements of reasons justifying the need for these bills to be considered during these sittings and seek leave to have the statements incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The statements read as follows—

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2012 SPRING SITTINGS

AVIATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (LIABILITY AND INSURANCE) BILL 2012

Purpose of the Bill

The bill amends the framework for the liability of air carriers in the event of an aircraft accident. The framework is established by the Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Act 1959 and the Damage by Aircraft Act 1999. The amendments address some of the shortcomings in the current framework that were identified in the development of the 2009 National Aviation Policy White Paper.

The key amendments include:

The bill implements reforms agreed in the 2009 National Aviation Policy White Paper. The level of compensation payable to victims of air craft accidents has not been updated since 1994. From 1994 inflation has increased the cost of living by approximately 2.7 per cent per year. This represents a real imbalance between the compensation currently payable under the CACL Act and the increase in the cost of living since the bill’s inception. Delaying the progress of the bill will impact on the ability of air crash victims to obtain equitable compensation in the event of an aviation disaster.

This bill was passed unopposed in the House of Representatives.

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2012 SPRING SITTINGS

FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2012

Purpose of the Bill

This Bill will amend the Federal Magistrates Act 1999 and other legislation relating to Federal Magistrates’ entitlements to rename the Federal Magistrates Court as the ‘Federal Circuit Court of Australia’, and change the title of the Chief Federal Magistrate to ‘Chief Judge’ and the title of Federal Magistrates to ‘Judge’.

The Bill includes amendments to:

maintain current entitlements of Federal Magistrates under their new title

provide for styling of the Chief Federal Magistrate and Federal Magistrates under their new title

change statutory position titles, such as the Chief Executive Officer, consequential to the new name of the Court, and

provide for transitional and saving arrangements to ensure continuity of the Federal Magistrates Court and arrangements under which it operates.

This Bill will operate together with a separate, later Bill that will include consequential amendments for other Commonwealth legislation that references the Federal Magistrates Court and Federal Magistrates.

Reasons for Urgency

Since the Federal Magistrates Court commenced operation in 2000 its jurisdiction has expanded and the number and complexity of the cases coming before it have increased. It is the only federal court with a program of regular regional circuits. The current name of the Federal Magistrates Court and title of Federal Magistrates does not adequately capture the increasingly complex work undertaken by the court and its judicial officers.

The Attorney General proposes that legislation to implement the changes be passed so that the changes of title for the Court and Federal Magistrates can commence early in 2013.

This Bill provides a legislative basis for the changes to the name of the Federal Magistrates Court and title of Federal Magistrates, and is uncontroversial. Passage of the legislation in the Spring 2012 sittings will enable implementation in early 2013.

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2012 SPRING SITTINGS

HIGHER EDUCATION SUPPORT AMENDMENT (MAXIMUM PAYMENT AMOUNTS AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL

Purpose of the Bill

The bill amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA) to update maximum payment amounts for Other Grants and Commonwealth Scholarships to provide for indexation and to include the 2016 funding year.

The bill will also amend HESA to allow wider disclosure of certain information (including personal information) collected under HESA, specifically unit record data, which is information about student enrolments, student load, course completions and staff. The bill will allow disclosure of this information to higher education and vocational education and training providers under HESA, state and territory governments, the National VET Regulator, bodies or associations determined by the Minister by legislative instrument and the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) to assess the impact of the Government’s higher education and VET reforms and to a third party contracted by the government to conduct surveys of staff, students and former students.

Lastly, the bill will amend the Australian Research Council Act 2001 to update the special appropriation funding cap administered by the Australian Research Council to include indexation adjustments and to add an additional forward estimate for existing schemes within the National Competitive Grants Program.

Reasons for Urgency

In respect of the indexation measures, the maximum payment amounts for Other Grants and Commonwealth Scholarships under sections 41-45 and 46-40 of HESA and the Annual funding cap amounts under section 49 of the ARC Act are amended on an annual basis to reflect indexation and other variations.

In regards to the information disclosure measures, TEQSA has written to the Department requesting access to unit record data by 1 October 2012 to enable it to undertake risk assessments of higher education providers by the end of 2012. Universities require access to unit record data towards the end of 2012 to assist in planning student loads for 2013.

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2012 SPRING SITTINGS

SOCIAL SECURITY AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (FURTHER 2012 BUDGET AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL

Purpose of the Bill

The bill would introduce several measures from the 2012-13 Budget. The first of these would provide for a 12-month extension from 1 January 2013 of the welfare reform trial in the Cape York area. In a significant boost to Indigenous education, the bill would also amend the Indigenous Education (Targeted Assistance) Act 2000 to increase the Act’s legislative appropriation for several education initiatives.

The bill would also make some non-Budget amendments to clarify current Government policies and improve the operation of existing legislation. These amendments would include minor clarifications to the schoolkids bonus legislation, payments under which are due to start from 1 January 2013.

Reasons for Urgency

The Cape York welfare reform trial began in 2008, but is currently due to end on 31 December 2012. Passage of the bill in the 2012 Spring sittings would allow the trial to continue for 12 months, as announced in the Budget. To date, the trial has made a real and lasting difference in the lives of Indigenous people in Cape York, bringing improvements in school attendance, care and protection of children, and community safety. The 12-month extension would provide an opportunity to build on the success of the initiatives already underway, including the completion of an independent evaluation.

The minor clarifications relating to the schoolkids bonus also need to be passed in the 2012 Spring sittings, in time for the first payments of the new bonus to be made to families from 1 January 2013.