Orders of the Senate

Contents

 

Amendments to standing orders

1  Prayer and acknowledgement of country—Amendment to standing order 50

That standing order 50 (Prayer) be amended as follows:

Omit the standing order, and substitute the following:

50  Prayer and acknowledgement of country

The President, on taking the chair each day, shall read the following prayer:

Almighty God, we humbly beseech Thee to vouchsafe Thy special blessing upon this Parliament, and that Thou wouldst be pleased to direct and prosper the work of Thy servants to the advancement of Thy glory, and to the true welfare of the people of Australia.

Our Father, which art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

The President shall then make an acknowledgement of country in the following terms:

I acknowledge the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples who are the traditional custodians of the Canberra area and pay respect to the elders, past and present, of all Australia’s Indigenous peoples.

( Agreed to 26 October 2010 .)

 

Committees

2  Amendment of committee names; Allocation of departments

That the resolution of the Senate of 29 September 2010 be amended as follows:

(1) Paragraph (1):

Omit: “Rural Affairs and Transport”

Substitute: “Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport”.

[Standing order 25(1) was amended in previous resolution to omit: “Environment, Communications and the Arts”, and substitute: “Environment and Communications”.]

(2) Omit paragraph (2), substitute:

That departments and agencies be allocated to legislative and general purpose standing committees as follows:

Community Affairs

Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs

Health and Ageing

Human Services

Economics

Industry and Innovation

Resources, Ener gy and Tourism

Tertiary Education , Skills, Science and Research

Treasury

Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Education

Employment and Workplace Relations

Environment and Communications

Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy

Climate Change and Energy Efficiency

Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities

Finance and Public Administration

Finance and Deregulation

Parliament

Prime Minister and Cabinet

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade

Defence, including Veterans ’ Affairs

Foreign Affairs and Trade

Legal and Constitutional Affairs

Attorney-General

Immigration and Citizenship

Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport

Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Infrastructure and Transport

Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport.

( Agreed to 29 September 2010; amended 8 February 2012 .)

 

 3  Community Affairs Legislation Committee—Authorisation to meet

That the Community Affairs Legislation Committee be authorised to hold a public meeting during the sitting of the Senate on Thursday, 22 March 2012, from 1 pm, to take evidence for the committee’s inquiry into the 2011-12 additional estimates.

( Agreed to 14 March 2012 .)

4  Corporations and Financial Services—Joint Statutory Committee—Authorisation to meet

That the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services be authorised to hold a private meeting otherwise than in accordance with standing order 33(1) during the sittings of the Senate, from 11.30 am to 12.30 pm, on Thursday, 9 February, Thursday, 1 March, Thursday, 15 March and Thursday, 22 March 2012.

( Agreed to 8 February 2012 .)

5  Cyber Safety—Joint Select Committee—Authorisation to meet

That the Joint Select Committee on Cyber Safety be authorised to hold a public meeting during the sitting of the Senate on Wednesday, 21 March 2012, from 4.15 pm.

( Agreed to 14 March 2012 .)

*6  Cyber Safety—Joint Select Committee—Authorisation to meet

That the Joint Select Committee on Cyber Safety be authorised to hold a public meeting during the sitting of the Senate on Wednesday, 9 May 2012, from 4.15 pm.

( Agreed to 20 March 2012 .)

*7  Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade—Joint Standing Committee—Authorisation to meet

That the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade be authorised to hold a public meeting during the sitting of the Senate on Thursday, 22 March 2012, from 10.30 am, to take evidence for the committee’s inquiry into Australia’s trade and investment relationship with Japan and the Republic of Korea.

( Agreed to 20 March 2012 .)

8  Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee—Authorisation to meet

That the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee be authorised to hold a public meeting during the sitting of the Senate on Wednesday, 21 March 2012, from 5.30 pm, to take evidence for the committee’s inquiry into the provisions of the Defence Trade Controls Bill 2011.

( Agreed to 19 March 2012 .)

9  Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee—Standing order 25(9)—Determination of chair

That, pursuant to standing order 25(9), the Senate determines:

(a) that the chair of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee shall be elected by that committee from members nominated by minor parties or independent senators; and

 

 (b) that this order remain in effect until the President is duly notified of an agreement that meets the terms of standing order 25(9)(c).

( Agreed to 2 November 2011 .)

10  Migration—Joint Standing Committee—Authorisation to meet

That the Joint Standing Committee on Migration be authorised to hold a public meeting during the sitting of the Senate on Wednesday, 21 March 2012, from 10.30 am.

( Agreed to 14 March 2012 .)

*11  Migration—Joint Standing Committee—Authorisation to meet

That the Joint Standing Committee on Migration be authorised to hold a public meeting during the sitting of the Senate on Wednesday, 9 May 2012, from 10.30 am.

( Agreed to 20 March 2012 .)

12  Privileges—Standing Committee—Adoption of 94th report recommendation

That the Senate authorise the President, if required, to engage counsel as amicus curiae if either the action for defamation against Mr David Armstrong or a similar action against Mr William O’Chee is set down for trial.

( Agreed to 4 September 2000 .)

13  Privileges—Standing Committees—Temporary order

That the following operate as a temporary order with immediate effect until the conclusion of the 43rd Parliament:

Standing order 18 establishing the Committee of Privileges be amended as follows:

(a) in paragraph (1), omit “7”, substitute “8”; and

(b) omit paragraph (3), substitute:

(3) The committee shall consist of 8 senators, 4 nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate, 3 nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and 1 nominated by a minority party and independent senators.

( Agreed to 11 October 2011 .)

14  Privileges—Senators’ Interests—Standing Committees—Conferral on reference

That the Committee of Privileges and the Committee of Senators’ Interests may confer on the latter committee’s reference into a draft code of conduct for senators.

( Agreed to 12 September 2011 .)

15  Public Accounts and Audit—Joint Statutory Committee—Authorisation to meet

That the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit be authorised to hold public meetings during the sittings of the Senate, from 11 am to 1 pm, on Wednesday, 29 February, Wednesday, 14 March and Wednesday, 21 March 2012.

( Agreed to 8 February 2012 .)

 

Estimates

16  2011-12 additional estimates—2012-13 Budget estimates—Hearings

(1) That estimates hearings by legislation committees for 2012 be scheduled as follows:

2011-12 additional estimates:

Monday, 13 February and Tuesday, 14 February ( Group A )

Wednesday, 15 February and Thursday, 16 February ( Group B ).

2012-13 Budget estimates:

Monday, 21 May to Thursday, 24 May, and, if required, Friday, 25 May ( Group A )

Monday, 28 May to Thursday, 31 May, and, if required, Fri day, 1 June ( Group B )

Monday, 15 October and Tuesday, 16 October ( supplementary hearings—Group A )

Wednesday, 17 October and Thursday, 18 October ( supplementary hearings—Group B ).

(2) That the committees consider the proposed expenditure in accordance with the allocation of departments and agencies to committees agreed to by the Senate.

(3) That committees meet in the following groups:

Group A:

Environment and Communications

Finance and Public Administration

Legal and Constitutional Affairs

Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport

Group B:

Community Affairs

Economics

Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.

(4) That the committees report to the Senate on the following dates:

(a) Tuesday, 20 March 2012 in respect of the 2011-12 additional estimates; and

(b) Tuesday, 26 June 2012 in respect of the 2012-13 Budget estimates.

( Agreed to 2 November 2011; amended 8 February 2012 as a consequence of the order relating to the allocation of departments .)

17  Community Affairs—Standing Committee—Estimates hearings—Consideration of Indigenous matters

That the Senate endorse the recommendation contained in paragraph 1.10 of the Community Affairs Committee report on the 2008-09 Budget estimates that:

Future estimates hearing programs include a separate time to conduct an estimates hearing on Indigenous matters that would include all the portfolios with budget expenditure or responsibility for Indigenous issues.

( Agreed to 26 August 2008 .)

 

 18  Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee—Estimates hearings—Consideration of Fair Work Australia

That—

(a) when the Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee meets to consider additional estimates in 2010:

(i) the committee further examine Fair Work Australia, and

(ii) the President of Fair Work Australia appear before the committee to answer questions; and

(b) on each subsequent occasion on which the Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee meets to consider estimates in relation to Fair Work Australia, the President of Fair Work Australia appear before the committee to answer questions.

( Agreed to 28 October 2009 .)

Legislation

19  Consideration of private senators’ bills—Temporary order

(1) That:

(a) standing orders 55(1), 57(1)(d) and 59 be modified as follows to provide for the consideration of general business orders of the day relating to bills on Thursdays from 9.30 am for not more than 2 hours and 20 minutes; and

(b) this order operate as a temporary order from the first sitting day in 2011 until 30 June 2012.

55 Times of meetings

(1) The days and times of meeting of the Senate in each sitting week shall be:

Monday 10 am - 6.30 pm, 7.30 pm - 10.30 pm

Tuesday 12.30 pm - adjournment

Wednesday 9.30 am - 8 pm

Thursday 9.30 am - 8.40 pm

57 Routine of business

(1) The routine of business shall be:

(d) On Thursday:

(ia) General business orders of the day for consideration of bills only for up to 2 hours 20 minutes

(i) Petitions

(ii) Notices of motion

(iii) Postponement and rearrangement of business

(iv) Formal motions - discovery of formal business

(v) Consideration of committee reports under standing order 62(4)

(vi) Government business

(vii) At 2 pm, questions

(viii) Motions to take note of answers

(ix) Any proposal to debate a matter of public importance or urgency

 

 (x) Not later than 4.30 pm, general business

(xi) Not later than 6 pm, consideration of government documents under general business

(xii) Not later than 7 pm, consideration of committee reports and government responses under standing order 62(1)

(xiii) At 8 pm, adjournment proposed

(xiv) At 8.40 pm, adjournment.

(2A) If a division is called for on Monday before 12.30 pm, the matter before the Senate shall be adjourned till after that time.

59 Government and general business

Government business shall take precedence over general business, except that general business shall take precedence over government business on Thursday as follows:

(a) from 9.30 am, for a period not exceeding 2 hours and 20 minutes, general business orders of the day for the consideration of bills shall be considered; and

(b) from not later than 4.30 pm, for a period not exceeding 2½ hours, and general business orders of the day shall take precedence over general business notices of motion on alternate Thursdays.

( Agreed to 22 November 2010 upon adoption of recommendation in the Procedure Committee’s fourth report of 2010; continuation of temporary order agreed to 12 May and 24 November 2011 .)

20  Senate consideration—Private senators’ bills

That the following general business orders of the day be considered under the temporary order relating to the consideration of private senators’ bills on Thursday, 22  March 2011:

No. 85 Solar Hot Water Rebate Bill 2012

No. 84 Assisting Victims of Overseas Terrorism Bill 2012

No. 51 Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Bioregional Plans) Bill 2011.

( Agreed to 15 March 2012 .)

Meeting of Senate

21  Meeting of Senate

That the days of meeting of the Senate for 2012 be as follows:

Autumn sittings:

Tuesday, 7 February to Thursday, 9 February

Monday, 27 February to Thursday, 1 March

Tuesday, 13 March to Friday, 16 March

Monday, 19 March to Thursday, 22 March

Budget sittings:

Tuesday, 8 May to Thursday, 10 May

Winter sittings:

Monday, 18 June to Thursday, 21 June

Monday, 25 June to Thursday, 28 June

 

  Spring sittings:

Tuesday, 14 August to Thursday, 16 August

Monday, 20 August to Thursday, 23 August

Monday, 10 September to Thursday, 13 September

Monday, 17 September to Thursday, 20 September

Tuesday, 9 October to Thursday, 11 October

Monday, 29 October to Thursday, 1 November

Monday, 19 November to Thursday, 22 November

Monday, 26 November to Thursday, 29 November.

( Agreed to 1 November 2011; amended 14 March 2012 .)

22  Days and hours of meeting and routine of business—Variation

That—

(1) On Wednesday, 14 March, Monday, 19 March, Tuesday, 20 March and Wednesday, 21 March 2012, any proposal pursuant to standing order 75 shall not be proceeded with.

(2) On Wednesday, 14 March and 21 March 2012, consideration of government documents shall not be proceeded with, and instead the routine of business shall be government business only.

(3) Divisions may take place on:

(a) Thursday, 15 March 2012, after 4.30 pm; and

(b) Monday, 19 March 2012, before 12.30 pm.

(4) On Thursday, 15 March 2012:

(a) the hours of meeting shall be 9.30 am to 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm to 11.10 pm;

(b) consideration of general business and consideration of committee reports, government responses and Auditor-General’s reports under standing order 62(1) and (2) shall not be proceeded with;

(c) the routine of business from not later than 3.45 pm shall be government business only; and

(d) the question for the adjournment of the Senate shall be proposed at 10.30 pm.

(4A) The Senate meet on Friday, 16 March 2012, and that:

(a)  the hours of meeting shall be 9 am to 2.40 pm;

(b)  the routine of business shall be government business only, and

(c)  the question for the adjournment of the Senate shall be proposed at 2 pm.

(5) On Tuesday, 20 March 2012:

(a) the hours of meeting shall be 11 am to 6.30 pm and 7.30 pm to 11.10 pm;

(b) the routine of business from 11 am till not later than 2 pm, and from not later than 7.30 pm shall be government business only; and

(c) the question for the adjournment of the Senate shall be proposed at 10.30 pm.

 

 (6) The following government business orders of the day shall have precedence over all government business, be called on in the following order and be considered under a limitation of time, and that the time allotted for all remaining stages be as follows:

 

(7) Paragraph (6) of this order operate as an allocation of time under standing order 142.

( Agreed to 14 March 2012 .)

Orders for production of documents

23  Taxation—Henry Tax Review—Superannuation—Order for production of documents

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Henry Tax Review made a number of recommendations in relation to superannuation,

(ii) those recommendations were not adopted by either the Rudd or Gillard Governments which pursued proposals criticised in the context of the Henry Tax Review,

(iii) the Government so far has not released any of the Treasury modelling or other relevant information and advice about the impact of those Henry Tax Review recommendations, and

(iv) release of that information is in the public interest to enable a fully informed community discussion about the best way forward for superannuation;

(b) calls on the Government to honour its stated commitment to openness and transparency and release all the information it holds about the Henry Tax Review recommendations on superannuation forthwith; and

(c) orders that there be laid on the table by noon on Thursday, 30 September 2010:

(i) any modelling, assessments or advice generated on superannuation-related issues for the purposes of the Henry Tax Review before it finalised its report and recommendations,

(ii) any Treasury modelling, assessments and advice to the Government about the impact of the Henry Tax Review’s recommendations on superannuation, and

(iii) any other information held by the Government about the superannuation-related recommendations in the Henry Tax Review.

( Motion of Senator Cormann agreed to 29 September 2010; document tabled 30 September 2010 .)

 

 24  Taxation—Mining tax—Revenue estimates—Order for production of documents

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Government continues to hide key assumptions it has used to estimate revenue from its original as well as its revised mining tax proposals,

(ii) since the last sitting of the Senate, the Select Committee on Fuel and Energy repeatedly sought information from the Government about changes it made to those assumptions between the 2010-11 Budget and the announcement of the new proposed mining tax arrangements on 2 July 2010,

(iii) the committee specifically sought information about changes to commodity price, production volume, exchange rate assumptions and any other variables relevant to its mining tax revenue estimates,

(iv) the information sought by the committee is published by the Western Australian State Government in its budget papers as a matter of course,

(v) the Government did not allow the Secretary of the Department of the Treasury (Dr Henry) to provide that information even when he appeared before the committee for a second time on 13 July 2010,

(vi) the Prime Minister (Ms Gillard) to this day has not responded to Senator Cormann’s letter, dated 12 July 2010, asking for this information to be released,

(vii) the Treasurer (Mr Swan) has since conceded that:

( a ) under the revised assumptions, the original Resource Super Profits Tax (RSPT) proposal would have raised approximately $24 billion over the forward estimates rather than the $12 billion revenue estimate contained in the Budget,

( b ) a massive $6 billion out of the $10.5 billion revised mining tax revenue estimate was based on changes to government assumptions, and

( c ) under the original assumptions, the Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) or expanded Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT) would only have raised $4 billion over the forward estimates, and

(viii) the release of all relevant government assumptions is necessary to enable proper scrutiny of the Government’s mining tax proposal and that, as such, release of that information is in the public interest;

(b) calls on the Government to honour its stated commitment to openness and transparency and release all the information it holds about mining tax revenue estimates forthwith; and

(c) orders that there be laid on the table by 5 pm on Thursday, 30 September 2010 all the Government’s assumptions used to estimate:

(i) the revenue from the RSPT as contained in the 2010-11 Budget, including but not limited to, the assumptions on commodity prices, production volumes and exchange rates, and

 

 (ii) the revenue from and overall fiscal impact of the MRRT/expanded PRRT arrangement announced on 2 July 2010, including all changes to assumptions used for the 2010-11 Budget.

( Motion of Senator Cormann agreed to 30 September 2010; document tabled 30 September 2010 .)

25  Taxation—Mining tax—Order for production of documents

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Government conducted negotiations about its revised mining tax with BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata in secret before entering into an agreement about this new mining tax proposal with those three companies only,

(ii) approximately 99 per cent of the mining industry was excluded from those secret mining tax negotiations, and

(iii) in its haste to reach a new deal quickly, the Government gave those three companies an unfair competitive advantage, including by:

( a ) allowing them to directly influence the ultimate design of the new tax while excluding their competitors,

( b ) using data provided by those three companies on commodity prices, production volumes and other key assumptions, and

( c ) giving them preferential access to inside information about Government assumptions and thought processes around the new tax;

(b) considers that:

(i) information made available by the Government to those three companies should be made available to everyone,

(ii) any data provided by those three companies for use in any Treasury modelling of the revised mining tax proposals should be publicly released, and

(iii) all parts of any agreement between the Government and those three companies about the revised mining tax arrangements, including any schedules and other attachments, should be publicly available; and

(c) orders that there be laid on the table by 5 pm on Thursday, 30 September 2010:

(i) any information held by the Government related to the negotiations and agreement about the new mining tax proposal announced on 2 July 2010, including but not limited to, briefing notes, e-mails, data provided to the Government by BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata and any other information generated in the context of the negotiations about the new mining tax proposal, and

(ii) a copy of the signed heads-of-agreement on the new mining tax proposal between the Government and BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata.

( Motion of Senator Cormann agreed to 30 September 2010; document tabled 30 September 2010 .)

 

 26  Taxation—Mining tax—Government estimates—Order for production of documents

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the executive director of the Revenue Group in the Department of the Treasury (Mr David Parker) told the Select Committee on Fuel and Energy on 5 July 2010 that the department:

( a ) had assessed where the $10.5 billion estimated revenue from the revised mining tax was expected to come from ‘by commodity’, and

( b ) had not assessed where that revenue would come from on a state-by-state basis, but that ‘it would not be a difficult piece of analysis to do’,

(ii) despite repeated requests since, the Government has refused to provide that information,

(iii) this information is required to properly assess and scrutinise the impact of the proposed mining tax on the economy, jobs and on individual states and territories and individual sectors of the resources industry,

(iv) furthermore, the Rudd and Gillard Governments made a commitment that funding from the mining tax related ‘infrastructure fund’ would be allocated to individual states and territories based on the level of mining tax revenue raised in those jurisdictions, and

(v) as such, information about where the revenue is expected to come from on a state-by-state and territory basis is necessary to properly scrutinise whether, and ensure that, individual jurisdictions would receive a fair share of funding from that fund; and

(b) orders that there be laid on the table by 5 pm on Thursday, 30 September 2010:

(i) government estimates of where the $12 billion in revenue from the Resource Super Profits Tax was expected to come from by commodity and by state and territory, and

(ii) government estimates of where the $10.5 billion in revenue from the Minerals Resource Rent Tax/expanded Petroleum Resource Rent Tax is expected to come from by commodity and by state and territory.

( Motion of Senator Cormann agreed to 30 September 2010; document tabled 30 September 2010 .)

27  Taxation—Mining tax—Revenue estimates—Order for production of documents

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Government has refused to provide information requested by the Senate about key assumptions it has used to estimate revenue from its original as well as its revised mining tax proposals,

 

 (ii) specifically, the Government has refused to provide information about changes to commodity price, production volume and exchange rate assumptions and any other variables relevant to its mining tax revenue estimates,

(iii) in its response to the relevant order of the Senate, the Government justified its refusal to provide the information on the basis that, ‘commodity price forecasts underpinning the terms of trade forecasts are based in part on information provided by companies that is commercial in confidence. Disclosure of these individual commodity price forecasts may therefore prejudice negotiations between private companies’,

(iv) the information sought by the Senate is published by the Western Australian State Government in its budget papers as a matter of course, and

(v) information published by the Western Australian Government includes its commodity price assumptions developed after relevant information about commodity price expectations is obtained from relevant mining companies, which includes at least some of the companies involved in the mining tax negotiations with the Federal Government;

(b) based on the Government’s response does not accept that there are any legitimate public interest grounds for the Government to refuse to provide the requested information;

(c) orders that there be laid on the table by noon on Thursday, 28 October 2010:

(i) all the Government assumptions used to estimate the revenue from the Resource Super Profits Tax as contained in the 2010-11 budget, including, but not limited to, the assumptions on commodity prices, production volumes and exchange rates, and

(ii) all the Government assumptions used to estimate the revenue from and overall fiscal impact of the Minerals Resource Rent Tax/expanded Petroleum Resource Rent Tax arrangement announced on 2 July 2010, including all changes to assumptions used for the 2010-11 budget;

(d) notes the agreements between the Government and other parties and independents to refer disputes about public interest disclosures to the Information Commissioner, who will arbitrate on the release of documents; and

(e) orders that, if the Government does not produce the information required by this order within the specified timeframe, there be laid on the table by 15 November 2010, a report on the matter by the Information Commissioner, including a review of the adequacy of the grounds specified by the Government for its refusal to produce the information and, if applicable, his arbitration on the release of the information.

( Motion of Senator Cormann agreed to 26 October 2010; documents tabled 28 October 2010 and 15 November 2010; document certified 3 February 2011 and tabled 9 February 2011 .)

 

 28  Taxation—Mining tax—Order for production of documents

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Government has refused to provide any of the information requested by the Senate about its negotiations with BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata on the revised mining tax proposal,

(ii) in relation to some of the information only, the Government justified its refusal in its response to the relevant Senate order on the basis that, ‘Data and other material provided to the Treasury as part of negotiations around the MRRT are considered to be commercial in confidence’,

(iii) no justification was provided by the Government as to why release of any of the other information was not in the public interest, and

(iv) specifically, no reason was provided by the Government as to why the release of the signed heads-of-agreement between the Government and BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata would not be in the public interest;

(b) considers release of all the information requested on the negotiations between the Government and BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata about the revised mining tax proposal to be in the public interest;

(c) orders that there be laid on the table by noon on Thursday, 28 October 2010:

(i) any information held by the Government related to the negotiations and agreement about the new mining tax proposal announced on 2 July 2010, including, but not limited to, briefing notes, emails, data provided to the Government by BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata and any other information generated in the context of the negotiations about the new mining tax proposal, and

(ii) a copy of the signed heads-of-agreement on the new mining tax proposal between the Government and BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata;

(d) notes the agreements between the Government and other parties and independents to refer disputes about public interest disclosures to the Information Commissioner, who will arbitrate on the release of documents; and

(e) orders that, if the Government does not produce the information required by this order within the specified timeframe, there be laid on the table by 15 November 2010, a report on the matter by the Information Commissioner, including a review of the adequacy of the grounds specified by the Government for its refusal to produce the information and, if applicable, his arbitration on the release of the information.

( Motion of Senator Cormann agreed to 26 October 2010; documents tabled 28 October 2010 and 15 November 2010; document certified 3 February 2011 and tabled 9 February 2011 .)

 

 29  Taxation—Mining tax—Government estimates—Order for production of documents

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Government has ignored a request by the Senate for information about where the $10.5 billion in estimated revenue from the mining tax over the 2010-11 forward estimates is expected to come from, by commodity and on a state and territory basis, and

(ii) in what appears to be a consolidated response to three separate orders of the Senate for the production of documents the Government did not provide any of the information requested in the relevant order, nor did the Government provide any explanation as to why release of this information would not be in the public interest;

(b) orders that there be laid on the table by noon on Thursday, 28 October 2010:

(i) the Government estimates of where the $12 billion in revenue from the Resource Super Profits Tax was expected to come from, by commodity and by state and territory, and

(ii) the Government estimates of where the $10.5 billion in revenue from the Minerals Resource Rent Tax/expanded Petroleum Resource Rent Tax is expected to come from, by commodity and by state and territory;

(c) notes the agreements between the Government and other parties and independents to refer disputes about public interest disclosures to the Information Commissioner, who will arbitrate on the release of documents; and

(d) orders that, if the Government does not produce the information required by this order within the specified timeframe, there be laid on the table by 15 November 2010, a report on the matter by the Information Commissioner, including a review of the adequacy of the grounds specified by the Government for its refusal to produce the information and, if applicable, his arbitration on the release of the information.

( Motion of Senator Cormann agreed to 26 October 2010; documents tabled 28 October 2010 and 15 November 2010; document certified 3 February 2011 and tabled 9 February 2011 .)

30  Superannuation—Productivity Commission report—Order for production of document

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the current process to select default superannuation funds under modern awards is not transparent, not objective or evidence based, not competitive and not subject to systematic review,

(ii) the top ten most commonly listed default funds under modern awards are all union based industry super funds, with these ten funds listed as default super funds in modern awards 330 times,

(iii) the Cooper Review into superannuation also confirmed that current default superannuation fund arrangements undermined competition as new employees typically become a member of a default fund, and

 

 (iv) a competitive, transparent and efficient superannuation industry is critically important to maximise value for all superannuants;

(b) endorses the Labor Party’s commitment before the 2010 election to instruct the Productivity Commission to design a process for the selection and ongoing review of the superannuation funds to be included in modern awards or enterprise agreements as default funds; and

(c) orders that there be laid on the table, no later than 31 May 2011, a report by the Productivity Commission on the design of a process for the selection and ongoing review of the superannuation funds to be included in modern awards or enterprise agreements as default funds, with the requirements that:

(i) the process is to be based on objective criteria and evidence and be subject to systematic review, so that the selection and ongoing review of eligible default funds is transparent and competitive,

(ii) the process is to help maximise employees’ retirement incomes by ensuring that only those superannuation funds that deliver - and continue to deliver - the best results to their members are able to be included as default fund options in modern awards and enterprise agreements, and

(iii) in designing the process the Productivity Commission make reference to the existing sophisticated system of superannuation fund ratings which has evolved over the past 20 years and is already used widely by employees, employers and financial planners in making decisions on fund selection.

( Motion of Senator Cormann agreed to 16 November 2010; documents tabled 9 February and 17 August 2011 .)

31  Health—GST Agreement—Proposed variation—Order for production of documents

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Government, as part of its changes to the health system, is proposing to fundamentally alter the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Reform of Commonwealth-State Financial Relations (1999 GST Agreement) with the clear opposition of at least one state - Western Australia, and

(ii) clause 44 of the 1999 GST Agreement states: ‘All questions arising in the Ministerial Council will be determined by unanimous agreement unless otherwise specified in this Agreement’; and

(b) orders that there be laid on the table by 5 pm on Thursday 18 November 2010, any advice (including legal advice and advice from the Solicitor-General or the Australian Government Solicitor) to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet or the Department of the Treasury, or advice from these departments to their respective Ministers, concerning the need for unanimous agreement to vary the GST Agreement.

( Motion of Senator Cormann agreed to 17 November 2010; document tabled 18 November 2010; document presented 6 December 2010 and tabled 9 February 2011 .)

 

 32  Communications—National Broadband Network—Order for production of documents

That there be laid on the table by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (Senator Conroy), by 17 November 2010, the following documents relating to the National Broadband Network:

(a) the National Broadband Network Business plan; and

(b) the Government’s response to the McKinsey and Company and KPMG Implementation Study.

( Motion of Senators Ludlam and Birmingham agreed to 17 November 2010 .)

33  Education—Building the Education Revolution—Cost data—Order for production of documents

That—

(a) the Senate notes recommendation 1 of the interim report of the Building the Education Revolution (BER) Implementation Taskforce (the Orgill report), which reads as follows, ‘In the interest of transparency and public accountability, the Taskforce recommends that each education authority publish school specific project cost data related to BER P21 in a nationally common structure with consistent definitions’; and

(b) in the interest of transparency and public accountability in relation to the BER program, there be laid on the table no later than Tuesday, 23 November 2010, school specific project cost data related to each BER P21 school project, in a nationally common structure with consistent definitions.

( Motion of Senator Mason agreed to 18 November 2010; document tabled 23 November 2010 .)

34  Communications—National Broadband Network—Order for production of documents

That there be laid on the table by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (Senator Conroy), by 22 November 2010, the following documents relating to the National Broadband Network:

(a) the complete text of the departmental ‘Red Book’ advice provided to the incoming Government about the National Broadband Network (NBN), including text ‘blacked out’ in the version of the ‘Red Book’ publicly released on 16 November 2010 and, including in particular, text reflecting NBN Co’s view of any recommendations made in the McKinsey and Company and KPMG Implementation Study;

(b) in respect of sites chosen for early roll-out of the NBN:

(i) the criteria (including engineering advice) used as the basis for choosing each of the stage 1 and seven stage 2 sites in Tasmania (to which the Minister referred to in Senate Estimates on 25 May 2010), and

(ii) the ‘commercial, construction and local authority acceptance criteria’ (to which reference is made on p. 12 of the NBN Co annual report for 2009-10, tabled in the Senate on 15 November 2010) used as the basis for choosing each of the first and second release sites around the rest of Australia; and

 

 (c) the agreed set of enterprise bargaining agreement principles ‘signed and agreed by the ACTU, coordinating right through with the CEPU and a range of other unions’ (to which the Minister referred to in Senate Question Time on 15 November 2010) and on which the Minister based his reassurance (also made during Senate Question Time on 15 November 2010) that ‘there is no suggestion at all that there would be a wages blow-out’ in rolling out the NBN.

( Motion of Senator Fisher agreed to 18 November 2010; document tabled 23 November 2010 .)

35  Health—GST Agreement—Proposed variation—Order for production of documents

That the Senate:

(a) notes that:

(i) the Government has refused to provide the information requested by the Senate in relation to advice to Government about the requirement for unanimous agreement from all parties to change the GST arrangements,

(ii) the Government did not justify its refusal by pointing to a recognised public interest ground and by explaining any harm to the public interest from releasing that information,

(iii) both the 1999 Intergovernmental Agreement on the Reform of Commonwealth-State Financial Relations (GST Agreement) as well as the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations in 2008 require unanimous agreement from all parties to make any changes to GST arrangements,

(iv) there is no unanimous agreement to change the GST arrangements, and

(v) in its Incoming Government Brief, Treasury advised the Government that ‘Western Australia has indicated that it is not prepared to agree to proposed amendments to the IGA notwithstanding that they preserve the current arrangements for Western Australia’ and that ‘as changes can only be made to the IGA by unanimous agreement of all parties, alternative approaches may need to be considered to give effect to the financing arrangements for other jurisdictions’;

(b) orders again that there be laid on the table by 5 pm on Thursday, 25 November 2010, any advice (including legal advice and advice from the Solicitor-General or the Australian Government Solicitor) to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet or the Department of the Treasury, or advice from these departments to their respective Ministers, concerning the need for unanimous agreement to vary GST arrangements;

(c) notes the agreements between the Government and other parties and independents to refer disputes about public interest disclosures to the Information Commissioner, who will arbitrate on the release of documents; and

 

 (d) orders that, if the Government does not produce the information required by this order within the specified timeframe, there be laid on the table by 15 December 2010, a report on the matter by the Information Commissioner, including a review of the adequacy of the grounds specified by the Government for its refusal to produce the information and, if applicable his arbitration on the release of the information.

( Motion of Senator Cormann agreed to 23 November 2010; document tabled 6 December 2010; documents certified 23 December 2010 and 3 February 2011 and tabled 9 February 2011 .)

36  Environment—Home Insulation Safety Program—Foil Insulation Safety Program—Order for production of documents

That there be laid on the table, no later than noon on Thursday, 25 November 2010:

(a) the full rate of defects discovered under both the Home Insulation Safety Program and the Foil Insulation Safety Program, including:

(i) the number and percentage of roofs found to be unsafe,

(ii) the number and percentage of roofs found to be faulty or substandard,

(iii) the number and percentage of roofs found to be flawed, unsafe or substandard in any way,

(iv) the number and percentage of roofs rectified,

(v) the cost of repairing the faulty, substandard or unsafe insulation, and

(vi) the total amount of money paid by the Australian Government to insulation companies for faulty, substandard, flawed or unsafe insulation; and

(b) information on the asbestos problem discovered under the Home Insulation Program, in particular:

(i) the number of roofs containing asbestos that received insulation,

(ii) any specific warnings of asbestos risk given to installers prior to fitting the insulation, and

(iii) steps being taken to manage the asbestos risk for safety inspectors assessing roofs.

( Motion of Senator Birmingham agreed to 24 November 2010; document presented 6 December 2010 and tabled 9 February 2011 .)

37  Education—Building the Education Revolution—Bilateral agreements—Order for production of documents

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Australian Government has entered into separate bilateral agreements with the states and territories and with Block Grant Authorities (BGAs) in relation to the expenditure of funding granted under the Building the Education Revolution (BER) program,

(ii) the language in the agreements with the states and territories differs from the language in the agreements with the BGAs with respect to the Australian Government’s ability to withhold, suspend or recover monies in the event that the funding is not expended for the purposes of the program and in accordance with the BER Guidelines, and

 

 (iii) the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations indicated at a Senate estimates hearing in October 2010 that the Commonwealth has obtained legal advice that confirms that, notwithstanding the differences in language in the agreements, under each of the two types of agreements the Commonwealth has the power to withhold or recover monies; and

(b) orders that there be laid on the table by the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations, no later than 4 pm on Thursday, 10 February 2011, a copy of the legal advice relied on by the Government to reach this conclusion.

( Motion of the Chair of the Education, Employment and Workplace Relations References Committee (Senator Back) agreed to 9 February 2011; document tabled 10 February 2011 .)

38  Law and Justice— Water Act 2007 —Legal interpretation—Order for production of documents

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) the conflicting and confusing positions of the Labor Government in regards to the legal interpretation of the Water Act 2007 ,

(ii) that the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities tabled legal advice from the Australian Government Solicitor in the House of Representatives on 25 October 2010 stating that, ‘The nature of the decision-making in relation to the Plan involves the application of broad concepts and there is therefore scope for the consideration of how economic, social and environmental outcomes should be optimised’,

(iii) that the Chairman of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Mr Mike Taylor, responded by stating that this advice disagrees with previous advice the Authority had received stating, ‘... clearly the advice we’d had to date had indicated that we were obliged to meet the requirements of adhering to international agreement, and ensuring that we met the environmental flows required to maintain and restore key environmental assets and key ecosystems, and that it was not subject to social and economic impacts’, and

(iv) that, in a statement on 26 October 2010, the Authority revealed that this advice had come from the Minister’s Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, in close consultation with the Australian Government Solicitor for legal interpretation; and

(b) resolves that, to clear up the confusion on the legal interpretation, and the consequent effect that is having on the prospects for jobs and investment in Basin communities, there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, no later than Thursday, 10 February 2011, all the advice that the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, the Minister’s office and the Australian Government Solicitor have received or provided on this matter.

( Motion of the Leader of The Nationals in the Senate (Senator Joyce) agreed to 9 February 2011; document tabled 10 February 2011 .)

 

 39  Superannuation—Productivity Commission report—Order for production of document

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) the response by the Chairman of the Productivity Commission to an order of the Senate seeking a report by the Commission on the design of a process for the selection and ongoing review of the superannuation funds, which was agreed to by the Senate on 16 November 2010,

(ii) that in a letter to the Clerk of the Senate the Chairman of the Productivity Commission expressed the view that in his understanding ‘such a report would need to be commissioned by the Assistant Treasurer’,

(iii) that like the Australian Information Commissioner, the Chairman of the Productivity Commission appears to have confused a legitimate order of a House of the Australian Parliament for the production of a document, with a request to perform a specific function under his enabling statute, and

(iv) with increasing concern this recently emerging trend of statutory agencies established by the Parliament failing to understand valid orders of the Senate and thereby threatening to interfere with the free exercise by the Senate of its authority and functions;

(b) advises the Productivity Commissioner as follows:

(i) that under section 49 of the Constitution the Senate has the undisputed power to order the production of documents necessary for its information, a power which encompasses documents already in existence and documents required to be created for the purpose of complying with the order,

(ii) this power may be modified only by express statutory declaration, as required by section 49 of the Constitution,

(iii) nothing in the Productivity Commission Act 1998 is expressed as a declaration for the purpose of section 49 that would have the effect of limiting the exercise of the power by the Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament in respect of the Productivity Commission,

(iv) multiple resolutions of the Senate affirm the principle that information may be withheld from it only following consideration by the Senate of a properly founded claim of public interest immunity, and

(v) the Senate has on numerous occasions exercised its power to require statutory agencies and officers to produce information in response to orders; and

(c) again orders the Productivity Commission to provide the report requested by the Senate consistent with its order agreed to on 16 November 2010.

( Motion of Senator Cormann agreed to 10 February 2011; documents tabled 17 August 2011 .)

 

 40  Estimates hearings—Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee—Questions on notice—Answers to questions to Education portfolio—Order for production of documents

That there be laid on the table no later than 18 May 2011, the answers to the 159 questions placed on notice that remain outstanding.

( Motion of Senator Back agreed to 12 May 2011 .)

41  Taxation—Mining tax—Fiscal impact—Order for production of documents

(a) notes that:

(i) the Government has so far failed to answer questions on notice and during Senate estimates about the long-term fiscal impact of the Budget measures related to the proposed introduction of the Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) and the expanded Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT), and

(ii) the Government has released under freedom of information Treasury modelling of the expected MRRT revenue between 2012-13 and 2020-21; and

(b) orders that there be laid on the table by noon on Wednesday, 22 June 2011, details of the fiscal impact for each financial year from 2011-12 to 2020-21 for each specific measure related to the imposition of the MRRT and expanded PRRT, including:

(i) the proposed increase in the Superannuation Guarantee levy from 9 per cent to 12 per cent,

(ii) the proposed Regional Infrastructure Fund,

(iii) the proposed reduction in the company tax rate,

(iv) the proposed new write-off measures for small business,

(v) the proposed standard income tax deduction, and

(vi) any other proposed Budget measures related to the MRRT/PRRT.

( Motion of Senator Cormann agreed to 21 June 2011; document tabled 23 June 2011 .)

42  Trade—New Zealand—Import protocol for apples—Order for production of documents

That the Senate—

(a) orders that all documents associated with the development of the import protocol for apples from New Zealand be laid on the table by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry by 5 pm on Thursday, 30 June 2011, including:

(i) all details of the Integrated Fruit Production System that forms the basis of on farm management of fireblight and other diseases in orchards producing apples for export to Australia, including a copy of the Integrated Fruit Production Manual,

(ii) documents referred to in the Draft report for the non-regulated analysis of existing policy for apples from New Zealand (May 2011) (the draft report), including:

 

 ( a ) Biosecurity Services Group (2011) Trip Report: Apple production practices in Hawkes Bay and Nelson, New Zealand , March 6-11, Biosecurity Services Group, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Canberra,

( b ) Japan Regulations (2007) Plant Quarantine Enforcement: Detailed Regulation Concerning Fresh Apple Fruit Produced in New Zealand, July 2007,

( c ) Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry New Zealand (2011) Correspondence sent from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to Plant Biosecurity, 8 April 2011, and

( d ) Rogers DJ (2008): Correspondence sent from Dr DJ Rogers to the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and

(iii) evidence of new science taken into account in preparing the draft report which was not referred to in the Final Import Risk Analysis Report for Apples from New Zealand (November 2006),

(iv) records of communications between Biosecurity Australia or the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry with:

( a ) the Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs, or Minister for Trade about the draft report, or the review leading to the draft report, including all briefings provided to the Prime Minister concerning the review prior to her speech to the New Zealand Parliament on 16 February 2011 and all briefings provided to the Minister for Trade, Minister for Foreign Affairs or Prime Minister concerning the review prior to the Minister for Trade publishing the document ‘Gillard Government Trade Policy Statement: Trading our way to more jobs and prosperity’ in April 2011,

( b ) the Director of Quarantine,

( c ) the Government of New Zealand since the decision by the World Trade Organization in 2010, including ministers and New Zealand Government departments and agencies, and

( d ) Pipfruit New Zealand Inc.,

(v) all details of how ‘equivalence’ of other systems will be assessed and the process of consulting with Australian industry with regard to permission of other on farm systems,

(vi) all details relating to the verification processes, including audit frequency, auditor qualifications/competency and registration, related to the Integrated Fruit Production System,

(vii) all details of the historic efficacy of the Integrated Fruit Production System in containing, controlling and preventing the outbreak of fireblight and other diseases in apple orchards,

(viii) all details of pack house management protocols for export of apples to Australia, including, but not limited to:

( a ) details of testing and assessment of fruit maturity,

( b ) maintenance of sanitary conditions in dump tank water,

( c ) maintenance of high pressure water washing and brushing of fruit,

( d ) good hygiene practices, and

 

 ( e ) training of key personnel in the identification of fireblight and other diseases of concern to Australia,

(ix) all details relating to the verification processes, including audit frequency, auditor qualifications/competency and registration, related to the pack house management protocols,

(x) details of accreditation of auditors and certification bodies by independent bodies, such as JAS-ANZ [Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand],

(xi) all details of inspection protocols at the border, including training, qualifications/competency and registration of inspectors, and

(xii) mitigation measures for outbreaks of fireblight in export orchards; and

(b) calls on the Government to extend to 4 August 2011 the period of public consultation by Biosecurity Australia on the draft report, to allow consideration of the documents referred to above.

( Motion of Senator Colbeck agreed to 23 June 2011; documents presented 30 June 2011 and tabled 4 July 2011 .)

43  Administration—Act of grace payments—Answer to question on notice—Order for production of documents

That the Senate—

(a) notes that the Government has refused to provide an answer to question on notice no. 671 regarding act of grace payments without properly raising a claim of public interest immunity; and

(b) orders that there be laid on the table by noon on Tuesday, 23 August 2011, all information about:

(i) the number of act of grace payments approved by the Minister since 24 November 1996 where the department recommended against approval, and

(ii) the reason for approval, the date of approval and value of each of the above act of grace payments.

( Motion of Senator Cormann agreed to 22 August 2011; document tabled 23 August 2011 .)

44  Taxation—Minerals Resource Rent Tax—Order for production of documents

That there be laid on the table by noon on Tuesday, 8 November 2011:

(a) for each of the following measures linked to the MRRT [Minerals Resource Rent Tax], the estimated budget expenditure and/or revenue foregone for each of the financial years from 2011-12 to 2014-15 inclusive:

(i) superannuation guarantee increase (from 9 to 12 per cent),

(ii) superannuation tax rebate for low income earners,

(iii) 50 per cent discount on interest income,

(iv) increasing concessional contribution caps for over 50s,

(v) phasing down interest withholding on financial institutions,

(vi) early company tax cut for small business,

(vii) small business instant asset write-off,

(viii) standard deduction for work related expenses,

(ix) lowering company tax rate, and

(x) regional infrastructure fund;

 

 (b) for each of the measures listed above the methodology used for projecting these costs in 2013-14, 2014-15 and over the medium- to long-term, including (but not limited to) actual uplift/up rate factors for wages, prices and any other relevant factors;

(c) the methodology used to project the cost of the proposed superannuation guarantee increase at $3.6 billion in 2019-20, as cited in the 2010-11 Budget, Budget paper no. 2, p. 42; and

(d) Treasury’s assessment of the impact on estimated MRRT revenue for the period 2012-13 to 2014-15, and if available beyond, of state and territory government decisions taken since the release of the 2011-12 Budget to change royalty arrangements in relation to iron ore and coal.

( Motion of Senator Cormann agreed to 1 November 2011; documents tabled 9 February 2012 .)

45  Trade—Export of live cattle to Indonesia—Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry—Order for production of documents

That there be laid on the table by 5 pm on Thursday, 10 November 2011 by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Senator Ludwig), all documents, including electronic communications, held by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, relating to the imposition, and subsequent extension, of the ban on the export of live cattle to Indonesia.

( Motion of Senator Colbeck agreed to 3 November 2011; documents tabled 10 November 2011 .)

46  Trade—Export of live cattle to Indonesia—Australian Government Solicitor—Order for production of documents

That there be laid on the table by 5 pm on Thursday, 10 November 2011 by the Minister representing the Attorney-General (Senator Ludwig), all documents, including electronic communications, held by the Australian Government Solicitor, relating to the imposition, and subsequent extension, of the ban on the export of live cattle to Indonesia.

( Motion of Senator Colbeck agreed to 3 November 2011; documents tabled 10 November 2011 .)

47  Trade—Export of live cattle to Indonesia—Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade—Order for production of documents

That there be laid on the table by 5 pm on Thursday, 10 November 2011 by the Minister representing the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Trade (Senator Conroy), all documents, including electronic communications, held by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, relating to the imposition, and subsequent extension, of the ban on the export of live cattle to Indonesia.

( Motion of Senator Colbeck agreed to 3 November 2011; documents tabled 10 November 2011 .)

48  Communications—Australia Network—Tender process—Order for production of document

That there be laid on the table by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, no later than noon on Thursday, 10 November 2011, all recommendations provided by the Australia Network tender assessment panel to the responsible minister or responsible departmental secretary since the commencement of the tender, the original advice from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade regarding how the Australia Network contract should be awarded and the legal advice referred to by the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy in question time on Tuesday, 8 November 2011.

( Motion of Senators Birmingham and Ludlam agreed to 9 November 2011; statement by leave made 10 November 2011 .)

Orders for production of documents still current from previous parliaments

Parliament

49  Meeting of Parliament—‘Welcome to Country’ ceremony

That the Senate is of the view that the declaration of the opening of Parliament should be preceded by an Indigenous ‘Welcome to Country’ ceremony.

( Agreed to 23 June 2010 .)

Question time

50  Modified rules for question time—Temporary order

That the following modified rules for question time continue to operate as a temporary order, in conjunction with standing orders 72 and 73, until 30 June 2012:

(a) primary questions shall be limited to one minute and answers to them to two minutes;

 

 (b) two supplementary questions shall be allowed to each questioner, each supplementary question shall be limited to thirty seconds and the answers to them to one minute each; and

(c) answers shall be directly relevant to each question.

( Agreed to 25 November 2009; continuation of temporary order agreed to 28 October 2010 upon adoption of recommendation in the Procedure Committee’s third report of 2010, 1 March 2011, 24 March 2011 upon adoption of recommendation in the Procedure Committee’s first report of 2011, 12 May and 24 November 2011 .)

Senate

51  Appropriations—Ordinary annual services of the Government

That, in accordance with the recommendation made in the 50th Report of the Appropriations and Staffing Committee, the Senate resolves:

(1) To reaffirm its constitutional right to amend proposed laws appropriating revenue or moneys for expenditure on all matters not involving the ordinary annual services of the Government.

(2) That appropriations for expenditure on:

(a) the construction of public works and buildings;

(b) the acquisition of sites and buildings;

(c) items of plant and equipment which are clearly definable as capital expenditure (but not including the acquisition of computers or the fitting out of buildings);

(d) grants to the states under section 96 of the Constitution;

(e) new policies not previously authorised by special legislation;

(f) items regarded as equity injections and loans; and

(g) existing asset replacement (which is to be regarded as depreciation),

are not appropriations for the ordinary annual services of the Government and that proposed laws for the appropriation of revenue or moneys for expenditure on the said matters shall be presented to the Senate in a separate appropriation bill subject to amendment by the Senate.

(3) That, in respect of payments to international organisations:

(a) the initial payment in effect represents a new policy decision and therefore should be in Appropriation Bill (No. 2); and

(b) subsequent payments represent a continuing government activity of supporting the international organisation and therefore represent an ordinary annual service and should be in Appropriation Bill (No. 1).

(4) That all appropriation items for continuing activities for which appropriations have been made in the past be regarded as part of ordinary annual services.

( Agreed to 22 June 2010 .)