Senator MINCHIN (Industry, Science and Resources) (4:33 PM) —I present the government's response to the President's report of 30 June 1999 on outstanding government responses to parliamentary committee reports. I seek leave to incorporate the document in Hansard .

Leave granted.

The document read as follows—

GOVERNMENT RESPONSES TO PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE REPORTS

RESPONSE TO THE SCHEDULE TABLED BY THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE ON 30 JUNE 1999

Circulated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate

Senator the Hon Robert Hill

8 December 1999

A NEW TAX SYSTEM (Senate Select)

First Report—February 1999

The Government has considered the recommendations of the report when drafting the A New Tax System legislation.

Main Report—April 1999

The Government has considered the recommendations of the report when drafting the A New Tax System legislation.

Report on Commonwealth-State Financial Arrangements Bills, Luxury Car Tax Bills and Wine Equalisation Bills

The Government has considered the recommendations of the report when drafting the A New Tax System legislation.

COMMUNITY AFFAIRS REFERENCES

Access to medical records

The Government response is being finalised and will be tabled as soon as possible.

Child care funding

The Government response is being finalised and is expected to be tabled shortly.

The Lucky Country Goes Begging—Report on the GST and the New Tax System

The Government has considered the recommendations of the report when drafting the A New Tax System legislation.

CORPORATIONS AND SECURITIES (Joint Statutory)

Provisions of the Corporate Law Economic Reform Program Bill 1998

The Government response to the recommendations of the report is, in effect, constituted in amendments to the Corporate Law Economic Reform Program Bill 1998 (CLERP Bill) which were proposed in the Senate on 12 October 1999.

The amendments to the CLERP Bill will implement almost all of the recommendations of the majority report and a number of the recommendations contained in the supplementary reports. In particular, the Government will seek to implement:

. the Committee's recommendation that the new compulsory acquisition power be subject to a time limit to provide additional certainty for minority shareholders (recommendation 3);

. the recommendations to adopt proposals made by the Companies and Securities Advisory Committee in relation to the takeover provisions of the Bill;

. the Committee's recommendations to clarify some of the procedural aspects of the takeover and compulsory acquisition provisions (recommendations 2, 4, 5 and 6);

. the Committee's recommendations in relation to the fundraising provisions of the Bill (recommendations 8, 9 and 10); and

. the recommendation by the minority reports that the ability to enforce orders of the Corporations and Securities Panel be extended to persons other than the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

The Committee's recommendation that rollover relief from capital gains tax be provided in relation to takeovers and compulsory acquisition (recommendation 7) was considered in the context of the Review of Business Taxation. Recommendation 7 has been overtaken by the Review's recommendation that capital gains tax rollover relief be allowed for scrip-for-scrip takeovers provided certain conditions are met.

EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION AND TRAINING REFERENCES

A class act: inquiry into the status of teachers and development of the teaching profession

The Government response was tabled on 30 November 1999.

EMPLOYMENT, WORKPLACE RELATIONS, SMALL BUSINESS AND REFERENCES

Report of the Inquiry into the GST and A New Tax System

The Government has considered the recommendations of the report when drafting the A New Tax System legislation.

ENVIRONMENT, RECREATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS REFERENCES

Access to heritage: user charges in museums, art galleries and national parks

The Government response is expected to be tabled in the 2000 autumn sittings.

ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNICATIONS, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND THE ARTS REFERENCES

Inquiry into the GST and A New Tax System

The Government has considered the recommendations of the report when drafting the A New Tax System legislation.

Report on the powers of the Commonwealth in environment protection and ecologically-sustainable development in Australia

Since the report was tabled, the Parliament has passed the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, which effects a major reform in the Commonwealth's environmental legislation. The Government response has been delayed by the need to consider the report in light of the new legislation. The Government response is expected to be tabled in the 2000 autumn sittings.

Report on the Jabiluka uranium mine proposal

The Government response is expected to be tabled in the 2000 autumn sittings.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE AND TRADE (Joint Standing)

Defence Sub-committee: Visit to Sydney Harbour foreshores defence properties, 14 November 1997

The Government response is expected to be tabled shortly.

Australia and ASEAN: Managing change

The Government response is in preparation.

Funding of Australia's Defence

The Government response is expected to be tabled shortly.

Australia's trade relationship with India

The Government response is in preparation.

Report on the loss of HMAS Sydney

The Government response is expected to be tabled shortly.

Military justice procedures in the Australian Defence Force

The Government response is expected to be tabled shortly.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE AND TRADE REFERENCES

Report on nuclear weapon and ballistic missile proliferation in south Asia

The Government response is in the final stage of preparation.

LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENCES

Inquiry into the Commonwealth's actions in relation to Ryker (Faulkner) v The Commonwealth and Flint

The Government response is close to being finalised.

Inquiry into the Australian legal aid system (3rd report)

The Government response is expected to be tabled in the 2000 autumn sittings.

Inquiry into sexuality discrimination

The Government response is being prepared and will be tabled as soon as possible.

Privacy and the Private Sector: Inquiry into privacy issues, including the Privacy Amendment Bill 1998

The Government response is being prepared and will be tabled as soon as possible

MIGRATION (Joint Standing)

Australia's visa system for visitors

The Government response was tabled on 23 November 1999.

Working holiday makers: More than tourists

The Government response was tabled on 2 September 1999.

Deportation of non-citizen criminals

The Government response is close to being finalised.

Immigration detention centres inspection report

The Government response was tabled on 2 September 1999.

Review of Migration Regulation 4.31B

The Government response is close to being finalised.

NATIONAL CAPITAL AND EXTERNAL TERRITORIES (Joint Standing)

Island to islands: Communications with Australia's external territories

The Government response is being prepared and will be tabled as soon as possible.

NATIONAL CRIME AUTHORITY (Joint Statutory)

Third evaluation of the National Crime Authority

Further consultation on the proposed Government response is expected to be held at the November meeting of the Inter Governmental Committee (IGC) on the National Crime Authority. Subject to the IGC it will then be possible to table the Government response in the 2000 autumn sittings.

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT (Joint Statutory)

JCPAA Reports

As a matter of general practice this explanatory schedule does not include reports from the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit unless such reports contain policy recommendations. Reports that address administrative or operational matters are usually responded to in the form of Finance/Executive Minutes. These are normally provided to the Committee within six months of the tabling of the report and are then tabled by the Committee.

Asset management by Commonwealth agencies (Report No. 363)

The Finance Minute for this report was tabled on 11 March 1999 (Final).

Advisory Report on the delayed provisions of the Tax Law Improvement Bill (No. 2) 1997 (Report No. 364)

The Committee made five recommendations in Report No. 364. Most of the recommendations related to the technical content of the provisions (recommendations 3, 4 and 5). Amendments in the Taxation Laws Amendment Act (No. 4) 1999 , which received Royal Assent on 16 July 1999, gave effect to all these `technical content' recommendations.

Recommendation 2 of the report was beyond the Tax Law Improvement Projects terms of reference. As part of the response to the Review of Business Taxation's report, the Government has announced the New Business Tax System which contains measures that will significantly improve the way in which capital gains tax relief is delivered to small business. This recommendation will be considered in settling the detail of these measures.

Recommendation 1 is procedural in nature. The Review of Business Taxation has recommended the adoption of an ongoing tax simplification strategy. This recommendation will be considered in the context of the Review's recommendation.

Annual Report 1997-98 (Report No. 365)

No Finance Minute/Government response required.

Review of Auditor-General's report 1997-98, Second quarter (Report No. 366)

The Government response to recommendation 3 was tabled on 21 October 1999.

Review of Auditor-General's report 1997-98, Third quarter (Report No. 367)

The Government response is being prepared and will be tabled as soon as possible.

Review of Audit Report No. 34, 1997-98: New Submarine Project, Department of Defence (Report No. 368)

The Government response to policy recommendations is being prepared and will be tabled as soon as possible.

Australian Government Procurement (Report No. 369)

The Government response was tabled on 23 November 1999.

RURAL AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS AND TRANSPORT REFERENCES

Commercial utilisation of Australian native wildlife

The Government response was tabled on 8 December 1999.

The Effect of Pricing and Slot Management Arrangements at Kingsford Smith Airport on Regional Airlines Communities

The Government response is being prepared and will be tabled as soon as possible.

SUPERANNUATION (Senate Select)

Resolving superannuation complaints (31st report)

Before considering a response to the report, the Government was awaiting the outcome of a High Court appeal to the Federal Court decision of Wilkinson v Clerical Administrative and Related Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd . The High Court decision of Attorney General of the Commonwealth v Breckler & Ors was handed down on 17 June 1999 in favour of the Commonwealth. As a result, the Government's response to the report is:

Recommendation 1

The Government accepted this recommendation. In response the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Resolution of Complaints) Act 1998 was enacted in December 1998 to enable the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal to arbitrate complaints with the consent of the parties. In light of the High Court decision, the arbitration powers ceased to have effect on 13 September 1999.

Recommendation 2

This recommendation is no longer relevant in light of the High Court decision. As a result the Government considers that a response is not necessary.

TREATIES (Joint)

Treaties tabled on 18 March 1997 and 13 May 1997 (8th report)

The Government response is subject to continuing consultations.

Agreement with Kasakstan, Treaties tabled on 30 September 1997 and 21 December 1997 (11th report)

The Government response is in the final stages of preparation.

Australia-Indonesia Maritime Delimitation Treaty (12th report)

The Government response is subject to continuing consultations.

Treaties tabled 1 April and 12, 13 and 26 May 1998 (15th report)

The Government response is in the final stages of preparation.

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (17th report)

The Government response is being considered and will be tabled shortly.

Multilateral Agreement on Investment: Final Report (18th report)

The Government response was tabled on 30 November 1999.

The Fifth Protocol to the General Agreement on Trade in Services and Five Treaties tabled on 30 June 1998 (19th Report)

The Government response is in preparation.

Two Treaties tabled on 26 May 1998, the Bougainville Peace Monitoring Group Protocol and Treaties tabled on 11 November 1998 (20th Report)

The Government response is in preparation.

Five Treaties tabled on 16 February 1999 (21st Report)

The Government response is in preparation.

Five Treaties tabled on 11 May 1999 (22nd Report)

The Government response is in preparation.