Senator IAN CAMPBELL (Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (9:40 PM) —I move:

Education, Training and Youth Affairs Legislation Amendment (Application of Criminal Code) Bill 2001

Excise Tariff Amendment (Crude Oil) Bill 2001

Health and Other Services (Compens-ation) Legislation Amendment Bill 2001

Social Security and Veterans' Entitle-ments Legislation Amendment (Retir-ement Assistance for Farmers) Bill 2001

Trade Practices Amendment (Tele-communications) Bill 2001

Superannuation Legislation Amend-ment (Indexation) Bill 2001.

I seek leave to incorporate in Hansard a short statement which covers the reasons for the exemption of the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Indexation) Bill 2001.

Leave granted.

The statement read as follows—

SUPERANNUATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (INDEXATION) BILL 2001

Purpose of the bill

The Bill contains amendments to legislation which provides superannuation arrangements for the military and for Commonwealth civilian employees to change the timing of the indexation of pensions paid under that legislation from annual indexation to twice-yearly indexation.

Reasons for Urgency

This proposed legislation, which gives effect to a 2000-01 Budget measure, was introduced into the Parliament during the Budget (Winter) Sittings 2001. The Bill provides for the new timing for pension indexation for civilian and military pensions to commence on the first pension payday in January 2002. Passage in the current Sittings is necessary for the new arrangements to commence in that timeframe.

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Finance and Administration, the Hon. John Fahey, MP)

Question resolved in the affirmative.