The following notices were given:

Mr Anderson to present a bill for an act to amend the Australian Animal Health Council (Live-stock Industries) Funding Act 1996.

Mr Laurie Ferguson to move—

That this House:

(1)   strongly condemns the death sentences for apostasy imposed by the Iranian courts on Mr Musa Talibi and Mr Dhabihu'llah Mahrami, two members of the Baha'i Faith, particularly noting the gross violation of freedom of religion these sentences involve in contravention of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party;

(2)   strongly condemns the imposition of death sentences against two other Baha'is, Mr Kayvan Khalajabadi and Mr Bihnam Mithaqi, held by the Iranian authorities, again for reasons arising from their religious beliefs;

(3)   calls for the immediate revocation of all such death sentences and the immediate release of the individuals involved;

(4)   deplores the continuing practice in Iran of short and long term detention of Baha'is for their religious beliefs and other grave breaches of human rights against the Baha'is in Iran, including the banning of the sacred institutions of the Baha'i community and the criminalisation of membership of these institutions, denial of education and employment of individual Baha'is, the continuing failure to remedy the confiscation and destruction of holy places and community and personal property of Baha'is, continuing restrictions on freedom of movement and the right of assembly, and discrimination by the judiciary;

(5)   calls on the Government of Iran to ensure that no more Baha'is are subjected to sentences of death or imprisoned for their religious beliefs and that all current sentences of this nature against Baha'is are revoked and the individuals involved immediately released;

(6)   notes with concern Iran's failure to respond to the recommendations of Mr Abdelfattah Amor, UN Special Rapporteur for Religious Intolerance, regarding the violation of religious freedom in Iran, and urges the Government of Iran to take immediate steps to implement all those recommendations, particularly as they relate to Baha'is and protestant religious minorities;

(7)   notes also with concern the continuation generally of violations of human rights in Iran, including the high number of executions in the absence of internationally recognised safeguards, cases of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the failure to meet international standards with regard to the administration of justice and the absence of due process of law, violations of the right to peaceful assembly and restrictions on the freedom of expression, thought, opinion and the press and calls on the Government of Iran to ensure full respect for human rights within its borders; and

(8)   commends successive Australian governments for Australia's long standing and          continuing support of religious freedom of the Baha'is in Iran, particularly in UN forums, and urges that further bilateral and multilateral diplomatic measures be taken in support of religious freedoms of the Baha'is and religious freedom generally.

Mr Beazley to move—

That this House:

(1)   takes note of the Government's decision in the 1996 Budget to cut $1.8 billion from labour market programs funded under the Labor Government's Working Nation program;

(2)   notes that the Labor Government's Working Nation labour market programs were an unprecedented commitment by an Australian Government to assisting the unemployed to find work;

(3)   notes that Working Nation labour market programs were very successful in offering work and training opportunities to the most disadvantaged in our community—young unemployed people and long-term unemployed people; and

(4)   notes that Working Nation labour market programs resulted in many thousands of unemployed Australians successfully finding work.