Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the request of Senator Wong, I give notice that, on the next sitting day, she will move:

(1) That the Senate notes that:

(a) under the guidelines for the use of special purpose aircraft, the Minister for Defence is responsible for tabling the schedule of special purpose flights " ...in June (for the six months ending the previous 31 December) and December (for the six months ending the previous 30 June)";

(b) regrettably, under the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government, the schedule has routinely been tabled late, in one case over eight months late;

(c) the most recent schedule published at https://www.defence.gov.au/Publications/Parliament/ is for the six months ending 30 June 2017;

(d) consistent with the guidelines, previous governments tabled schedules on the last sitting day of June and December each year; and

(e) the most recently tabled schedule for the six months ending 31 December 2018 was not tabled until 28 August 2019.

(2) That there be laid on the table by the Minister for Defence, by no later than 9.30 am on 13 February 2020, the schedule of special purpose flights for the period 1 January to 30 June 2019. (general business notice of motion no. 432)

Senator Dean Smith to move on the next day of sitting—

That the Senate—

(a) notes that 27 January 2020 marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day where we remember the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime and its collaborators, and reaffirm our promise to 'never forget' the 6 million Jews and 11 million others who were exterminated during the Holocaust;

(b) acknowledges the importance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day in honouring the memory of all Holocaust victims, and the ongoing efforts of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance to advance and promote Holocaust education to ensure the history and stories of its victims are passed on to successive generations;

(c) notes that Australia officially became the 33rd member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance at the Mondorf-les-Bains Plenary meeting on 4 June 2019;

(d) notes this year's annual observance also marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the largest and most notorious concentration camp operated by the Nazi regime, located approximately 60 km west of Krakow, Poland;

(e) further acknowledges that more than 1.1 million people were killed at the Auschwitz complex alone, including nearly 1 million Jews, and that on the day of liberation only 7,000 people were saved; and

(f) further notes that during the 1940s, tens of thousands of European Jews emigrated to Australia, and that Australia has the largest per-capita Holocaust survivor population outside Israel. (general business notice of motion no. 413)

Senator Sheldon to move on the next day of sitting—

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) Aged Care Assessment Teams ('ACATs') are teams of medical professionals which run clinical and psychological checks on older Australians who have applied for home or residential aged care,

  (ii) based in hospitals across the country, ACATs are ultimately responsible for assessing which older Australians should receive government-funded care,

  (iii) an ACAT team usually includes a nurse, plus another healthcare worker such as a physiotherapist, occupational therapist or social worker,

  (iv) the Morrison Government has announced that it will privatise the ACAT workforce from April 2021, when a tender will be put out for organisations to deliver this vital assessment,

  (v) on 14 January 2020, the chair of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, the Honourable Gaetano Pagone QC, issued a statement saying the commission's interim report "did not endorse the government's stated position" on privatising the ACATs;

(b) supports the retention of ACATs as a publicly provided service; and

(c) commends the Health Services Union and other unions for their continued advocacy on behalf of working people in healthcare across Australia, in particular in the aged care sector. (general business notice of motion no. 414)

Senator Kitching to move on 12 February 2020—

That the Senate—

(a) notes that members of the Naval Shipbuilding Advisory Board are officers for the purposes of standing order 26(5); and

(b) requires members of the Naval Shipbuilding Advisory Board including, but not limited to, the Chair of the Board to appear before the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee when it meets to consider the 2019-20 additional estimates, at 9 am on 4 March 2020. (general business notice of motion no. 415)

Senator Waters to move on the next day of sitting—

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) the Morrison Government told the United Nations in Madrid that technology improvements are central to their plan to reduce Australia's emissions, and praised the work of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA),

  (ii) ARENA has driven the acceleration and uptake of home-grown emissions reductions technologies with $1.4 billion funding 478 projects, leveraging $2.83 of private investment for each dollar committed to generate a total $5.5 billion in projects, and

  (iii) the evidence provided by ARENA during Senate estimates hearings indicate that they expect to run out of money by the middle of this year; ARENA has 60 expressions of interest and 94 full applications still before them; and

(b) calls on the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, Mr Taylor, who has issued 32 media releases promoting the work of ARENA, to ensure that the Agency will receive more legislated funding in the 2020-21 budget and continue their important work in the fields of hydrogen, bioenergy and clean technologies that are central to our future prosperity and driving new employment in Australia's regions. (general business notice of motion no. 418)

Senator Hanson to move on the next day of sitting—

That the Senate—

(a) notes that building new high-efficiency low-emission coal fired power stations will create jobs, lower power prices, increase competition and increase reliability in the energy system; and

(b) supports projects, like the Collinsville clean coal-fired power project, which will provide stable reliable baseload power and help lower power prices. (general business notice of motion no. 419)

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

That the Senate—

(a) affirms its commitment to a complete moratorium on nuclear energy, as expressed in the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999;

(b) notes the devastating and lasting impacts of the nuclear disasters in Fukushima, Chernobyl and Three Mile Island; and

(c) call on all Ministers to commit to Australia being a nuclear-free zone. (general business notice of motion no. 420)

Senator Di Natale to move on the next day of sitting—

The Senate—

(a) notes with deep concern United States President Donald Trump's so-called "peace" proposal for Israel and Palestine, which:

  (i) further entrenches injustice and conflict in the Middle East,

  (ii) rewards breaches of international law like the Israeli Government's flagrant settlement building,

  (iii) enables and encourages illegal annexation in the West Bank, and

  (iv) forces Palestinians to live on scraps of territory without a genuine state of their own;

(b) further notes that Palestinians were not involved in the process of developing the proposal; and

(c) calls on the Federal Government to publicly reject this biased, unfair and dangerous proposal. (general business notice of motion no. 421)

Senator McAllister to move on the next day of sitting—

That the Senate endorses Senator Cormann's statement to the Senate on 10 February 2020, that climate change is human induced, and welcomes his confirmation that the Morrison Government accepts this fact. (general business notice of motion no. 422)

Senator Siewert to move on the next day of sitting—

That the Senate—

(a) notes that the Government is in discussions with the big four banks, major retailers and EFTPOS around a possible national rollout of the cashless debit card (CDC);

(b) recognises that compulsory income management disadvantages people on low incomes by limiting their ability to shop around and make savings where purchases can be made through cash;

(c) acknowledges that rolling out compulsory income management to people on income support payments would remove the choice and control they have over the financial products and services they use;

(d) further notes that the Australian National Audit Office found that there was no evidence that there has been a reduction in social harm following the introduction of the CDC;

(e) urges the big four banks, EFTPOS and major retailers not to facilitate any national rollout of compulsory income management, including the CDC; and

(f) calls on the Federal Government to be honest and transparent about its plans to rollout compulsory income management to income support recipients across Australia. (general business notice of motion no. 423)

Senator Watt to move on the next day of sitting—

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

  (i) that the Morrison Government committed to implement a Commonwealth Integrity Commission (CIC) on 13 December 2018,

  (ii) that it has been 424 days since that commitment and the Morrison Government has still failed to introduce legislation to establish the body, and

  (iii) reports that the Member for Wide Bay, Mr Llew O'Brien, has called for the proposed federal anti-corruption body to be given "more strenuous, stronger" powers;

(b) calls on the Attorney-General, Mr Porter, to revise his proposed anti-corruption commission to give it the powers, independence and transparency it needs to effectively combat corruption in the federal sphere; and

(c) calls on the Federal Government to introduce legislation on the CIC as a matter of priority. (general business notice of motion no. 424)

Senator Faruqi to move on the next day of sitting—

The Senate—

(a) notes with deep concern:

  (i) the ongoing lockdown in Kashmir since the revocation of Kashmir's special status by the Indian Government in August 2019,

  (ii) the ongoing internet and communications blockade, with all communications in and out of the valley still tightly controlled and journalists being intimidated,

  (iii) the ongoing denial of freedom of movement and freedom to protest to the people of Kashmir, who face ongoing curfews in large parts of the valley, and

  (iv) the militarisation of Kashmir;

(b) expresses solidarity with the many Australian Kashmiris who remain deeply concerned about their loved ones in Kashmir;

(c) further notes that Kashmiris have an unequivocal right to self-determination, as recognised by the United Nations; and

(d) calls on the Australian Government to urge the Indian Government to respect the human rights of the people in Kashmir and their right to self-determination, withdraw military forces, and end the mass lockdown. (general business notice of motion no. 425)

Senators Watt and Griff to move on the next day of sitting—

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

  (i) reports that, in December 2017, the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) submitted a business case to the Government requesting a permanent increase in funding of $11 million to its annual budget,

  (ii) evidence from the Department of Home Affairs that, as at 6 December 2019, the Government was still considering the business case, and

  (iii) that when asked about the business case on 4 January 2020, the Commissioner of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Mr Shane Fitzsimmons, said that "We haven't seen a positive response to that business case"; and

(b) recognises that, given the Government's failure to respond to the NAFC business case for at least 2 years, more could have been done to ensure adequate aerial firefighting capability during the 2019 bushfire season. (general business notice of motion no. 426)

Senator Marielle Smith to move on the next day of sitting—

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) global estimates indicate more than 600 children have died from ingesting button batteries,

  (ii) up to 20 children each week present to emergency departments after swallowing button batteries, and

  (iii) two and a half years after the introduction of a voluntary industry code in Australia, a high level of unsafe button battery products remain available in the Australian market, and a meaningful decrease in the rate of button battery exposures or injuries is not yet apparent; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to implement a mandatory code to protect children from being exposed to button batteries in Australia and to prevent the sale of dangerous products. (general business notice of motion no. 427)

Senator Griff to move on the next day of sitting—

That the Senate—

(a) notes that 11 February 2019 is Safer Internet Day, a worldwide event that raises awareness about online safety and encourages everyone to help create a better internet;

(b) expresses concern that online dating sites provide a 'fertile landscape' for predators including cases where:

  (i) paedophiles are using dating sites to find single women with children,

  (ii) adolescent girls and boys are using dating sites and being targeted by paedophiles, and

  (iii) women are being sexually assaulted by known sex offenders;

(c) acknowledges that sexual assault victims and their advocates are calling for better coordination between law enforcement and tech companies to stop sexual predators repeatedly using dating sites to lure victims;

(d) further notes that, in the United States, a congressional investigation is underway by the subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy of the Committee on Oversight and Reform into how the major dating site companies have allegedly allowed sex offenders to use their services; and

(e) calls on the Federal Government to engage with online dating sites, as a matter of urgency, to develop memorandums of understanding to facilitate easier access and information sharing between law enforcement agencies and dating sites. (general business notice of motion no. 428)

Senator Griff to move on the next day of sitting—

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) Australia's aged care system receives over $21 billion of taxpayer money each year,

  (ii) despite receiving large government subsidies, there is a significant lack of transparency in aged care, and

  (iii) aged care providers are not required to publish details on how government subsidies are spent including on food, medical products, accommodation, staffing and staff training;

(b) recognises that the aged care sector requires robust financial transparency in order to make clear how much facilities actually spend on delivering care;

(c) acknowledges that families relying on the aged care sector to care for loved ones deserve access to information to assist them in making informed decisions about aged care for family members; and

(d) calls on the Federal Government to legislate for financial transparency in aged care, as a matter of urgency. (general business notice of motion no. 429)

Senators Waters and 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 midday on Thursday,13 February 2020:

(a) all communications between the Department of Health (the Department) and the Minister for Youth and Sport (the Minister) or the Minister's office in relation to the Community Sport Infrastructure – Female Facilities and Water Safety program (FFWSP);

(b) all communications between the Minister or the Minister's office and the Prime Minister or the office of the Prime Minister in relation to the FFWSP;

(c) all communications between the Minister and the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development in relation to the FFWSP;

(d) any incoming Ministerial brief prepared for the Minister in relation to the FFWSP;

(e) any guidelines or program arrangements applying to the FFWSP;

(f) any advice on the content of guidelines or program arrangements, or drafts of same, prepared by the Department for the Minister in relation to the FFWSP;

(g) any advice prepared by or for the Department for the Minister regarding the need for guidelines for the FFWSP;

(h) any advice prepared for the Minister regarding eligibility for the FFWSP or the process for determining the list of organisations invited to apply for funding;

(i) a list of all projects invited to seek funding under the FFWSP, and any documents pertaining to the basis on which they were selected; and

(j) a list of all projects funded under the FFWSP.

(2) In the event the Minister fails to table the documents requested in paragraph (1), the Senate requires the Minister to attend the Senate at 3:30 pm on 13 February 2020 to provide an explanation, of no more than 10 minutes, of the Government's failure to table the documents requested in paragraph (1).

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

(4) Any motion under paragraph (3) shall have precedence over all business until determined, and senators may speak to the motion for not more than 10 minutes each. (general business notice of motion no. 430)

Senators Waters and Rice to move on the next day of sitting—

(1) That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development by no later than midday on 13 February 2020:

(a) all communications between the Department of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development (the Department) and the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development (the Minister) or the Minister's office in relation to the Community Sport Infrastructure – Female Facilities and Water Safety program (FFWSP);

(b) all communications between the Minister or Minister's office and the Prime Minister or the office of the Prime Minister in relation to the FFWSP;

(c) all communications between the Minister and the incoming Minister for Youth and Sports in relation to the FFWSP following the federal election;

(d) any advice prepared for the Department, the Minister or the Prime Minister regarding the need for guidelines for the FFWSP;

(e) any advice on the content of guidelines or program arrangements, or drafts of same, prepared by the Department for the Minister or Prime Minister in relation to the FFWSP;

(f) any advice prepared by or for the Department for the Minister or Prime Minister regarding eligibility for the FFWSP or the process for determining the list of organisations invited to apply for funding;

(g) a list of all projects invited to seek funding under the FFWSP, and documents pertaining to the basis on which they were selected; and

(h) a list of all projects funded under the FFWS Program.

(2) In the event the Minister fails to table the documents requested in paragraph (1), the Senate requires the Minister representing the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development in the Senate to attend the Senate at 3:30 pm on 13 February 2020 to provide an explanation, of no more than 10 minutes, of the Government's failure to table the documents requested in paragraph (1).

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

(4) Any motion under paragraph (3) shall have precedence over all business until determined, and senators may speak to the motion for not more than 10 minutes each. (general business notice of motion no. 431)