Notice given 5 October 2005

1282  Senator Ludwig: To ask the Minister for Justice and Customs—With reference to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre Privacy Consultative Committee:

(1) (a) Can the dates of committee meetings held in the financial years 2001-02 to 2004-05 be provided, together with a list of the organisations that attended each meeting; (b) what was the duration of each meeting; (c) what are the functions, powers and duties of the committee; (d) can minutes for each meeting be provided; if not, why not; and (e) can any outcomes or recommendations arising from the meetings be provided.

(2) If there were any recommendations arising out of the meetings: (a) what has been done to implement those recommendations; (b) what is the cost of implementation; and (c) what is the status of the implementation of the recommendations.

1283  Senator Ludwig: To ask the Minister for Finance and Administration—

(1) Does the department issue best-practice guidelines relating to the development of software.

(2) Are guidelines changed if: (a) the system is developed entirely for the use of the department or agency; and (b) the system is developed for the public to access a service provided by a department or agency.

(3) For both instances in (2) above, what is best practice in terms of the development of software and platform and operating system dependency.

(4) Can a copy of the guidelines be provided.

 1284  Senator Ludwig: To ask the Minister for Justice and Customs—With reference to anti-money laundering (AML) laws:

(1) Are there plans for the proposed AML regime to apply retrospectively.

(2) Can the Minister confirm whether retrospective application was considered; if so, why; if not, why not.

(3) Can the Minister confirm that there will be two tranche of legislation - the first to cover financial institutions and the second to cover real estate agents, jewellers and lawyers; if so, when will each tranche be released; if not, why not.

(4) (a) Will financial institutions, jewellers, real estate agents and lawyers covered by the proposed regime have to perform identity checks for existing customers; if not, why not; if so, how far back will the checks have to be undertaken; (b) what will be the penalties for failure to comply with the retrospective changes; and (c) will these penalties be different to penalties for breaches after implementation.

(5) Can details be provided of the responsibilities of each government agency outlined in the new regime.

(6) What input into the laws have government agencies and departments had including: (a) which agencies and departments were consulted; (b) the nature of the consultation; (c) whether: (i) any meetings were held, (ii) the date of those meetings, and (iii) invitees and attendees at those meetings; and (d) what feedback was sought from agencies and departments regarding their new duties and responsibilities under the new regime.

(7) (a) As at 1 September 2005, which recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 40+9 recommendations have been implemented; and (b) how and when were they implemented.

(8) As at 1 September 2005, which of the FATF 40+9 recommendations have not been implemented and for each of the recommendations that have not been fully implemented: (a) what is the status of the recommendation; (b) what progress is being made on implementing the recommendation; (c) is there a time frame for implementing the recommendation; and (d) why has the recommendation not been fully implemented.

(9) Does the bill include a timetable for the implementation of the legislative regime; if yes, can a copy of the timetable be provided; if not, why not.

1287  Senator Allison: To ask the Minister representing the Minister for Health and Ageing—

(1) (a) How many complaints have been made against the Blue Cross Nursing Homes & Hostels Group; and (b) can this information be provided by calendar year and individual facility; if not, why not.

(2) (a) Overall, what is the average number of complaints per aged care facility; and (b) how does this figure compare with the average number for facilities within the Blue Cross Nursing Homes & Hostels Group.

(3) Have any facilities within the Blue Cross Nursing Homes & Hostels Group been visited by the Accreditation and Standards Agency; if so, when and why.

(4) What additional services or lifestyle extras do facilities within the Blue Cross Nursing Homes & Hostels Group offer in order to gain approval to provide extra service places.

 (5) (a) Overall, what is the average additional fee for an extra service place; and (b) how does this figure compare with the additional fee charged by the Blue Cross Nursing Homes & Hostels Group.

1289  Senator Milne: To ask the Minister representing the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources—

(1) Did officers from Invest Australia hold talks with officials from the Government of China in September 2005; if so: (a) what was the nature of the talks; and (b) who attended the talks.

(2) What undertakings were sought and/or given by: (a) Australian representatives; and (b) representatives from China.

(3) Did representatives from China raise the matter of investing in Australian coal and uranium mining operations; if so, can details be provided.

(4) Did representatives from China question whether they could circumvent export control measures on the use of Australian-supplied uranium if China owned some Australian uranium assets; if so, what response did officers from Invest Australia provide.