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Thursday, 22 March 2012
Page: 4025

The SPEAKER (15:30): I present report No. 49 of the Selection Committee relating to the consideration of bills. The report will be printed in today’s Hansard. Copies of the report have been placed on the table.

The report read as follows—

Report relating to private Members' business and the consideration of bills introduced 19 to 22 March 2012

1. The committee met in private session on 21 and 22 March 2012.

2. The committee determined that the following referrals of bills to committees be made—

Standing Committee on Agriculture, Resources, Fisheries and Forestry:

Wheat Export Marketing Amendment Bill 2012.

REASONS FOR REFERRAL/PRINCIPAL ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION: Concern that Australia will lose its place as the premium supplier of wheat to our two biggest competitor countries Canada and the USA, both of which have quality assurance processors with exports.

Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade:

Illegal Logging Prohibition Bill 2011.

REASONS FOR REFERRAL/PRINCIPAL ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION: Concern over the international implications of the bill which have been expressed by Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea in their submissions to the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee inquiry.

Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications:

Shipping Reform (Tax Incentives) Bill 2012;

Shipping Registration Amendment (Australian International Shipping Register) Bill 2012;

Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) Bill 2012;

Coastal Trading (Revitalising Australian Shipping) (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2012; and

Tax Laws Amendment (Shipping Reform) Bill 2012.

REASONS FOR REFERRAL/PRINCIPAL ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION: An initial draft of the Coastal Trading Bill was available for comment just prior to Christmas. Serious deficiencies were found with the original bill so a second draft was released for comment, together with the other bills in the package, in March. An extremely short consultation period was proposed. Two weeks later the bill has been introduced so it is unlikely that any of the concerns raised in the consultation process would have been incorporated into the bill. As such, the committee should consider the impact of the bills on the Australian shipping industry to determine whether they will have their desired effect, that is, to revitalise the Australian shipping industry and increase the number of Australian flagged vessels. Additionally, if the package is deficient the Coalition may look to formulating amendments.

3. The committee recommends that the following items of private Members' business listed on the Notice Paper be voted on:

Orders of the Day—

Delay of the consideration of the Wild Rivers (Environmental Management) Bill 2011 (Mr Abbott)

Wind turbine planning policies (Mrs Moylan)

World Plumbing Day (Mr Hunt)

Careers in agriculture (Dr Stone)

ANZAC story and Albany WA (Mr Crook)

Sovereign wealth fund (Mr Bandt).