NOTICES

Senator Xenophon, the Leader of the Australian Greens (Senator Bob Brown) and the Leader of The Nationals in the Senate (Senator Joyce): To move on the next day of sitting—That the following bill be introduced: A Bill for an Act to provide for the accurate labelling of palm oil in food, and for related purposes. Food Standards Amendment (Truth in Labelling—Palm Oil) Bill 2009. (general business notice of motion no. 631)

Senator Humphries: To move on the next day of sitting—That the Senate—

 (a) recognises the service of those Australians who were employed as field constabulary officers (Kiaps) in the Royal Papua and New Guinea Constabulary between 1949 and 1974;

 (b) acknowledges the hazardous and difficult conditions that were experienced by the members serving with the Royal Papua and New Guinea Constabulary;

 (c) notes that former members of the regular constabulary of the Royal Papua and New Guinea Constabulary may be entitled to long service and good conduct medals, such as the National Medal, subject to meeting eligibility criteria;

 (d) supports moves to allow former members of the field constabulary to count their service towards the National Medal;

 (e) notes that qualifying service to meet the eligibility criteria for the National Medal must include at least one day of service on or after the medal's creation on 14 February 1975;

 (f) expresses concern that many former Kiaps may not meet the eligibility criteria for the National Medal, as eligible Kiap service ceased on 30 November 1973;

 (g) recognises that the Trust Territory of New Guinea, under the terms of the Papua New Guinea Act 1949 and the Trusteeship Agreement for the Territory of New Guinea, held sovereignty unto itself and as such, was at law an international country (and foreign to Australia);

 (h) recognises that the Governor-General's assent of the Papua New Guinea Act 1949 and the signing of the Trusteeship Agreement for New Guinea by the Australian Government, prescribed service activity whereby the service was carried out by members of the Australian Police Force and the service was undertaken as part of an international operation; and

 (i) calls on the Australian Government to change the eligibility criteria applying to the Police Overseas Service Medal so as not to prevent the award of the medal to those:

  (i) Australian public servants who were employed through the Australian Government and served in the Australian administered United Nations Trust Territory of New Guinea between 1949 and 1974, and

  (ii) individuals serving in Papua New Guinea as sworn and armed Commissioned Officers of the Royal Papua and New Guinea Constabulary (at the time an Australian External Territorial Police Force). (general business notice of motion no. 632)

Senators Birmingham and Barnett: To move on the next day of sitting—That the Senate—

 (a) notes that the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (the convention), which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989, will be celebrated worldwide on 20 November 2009;

 (b) applauds the significant improvements in the status of children globally that have been achieved over these 20 years, including:

  (i) the decrease in child mortality rates such that the number of children dying before their 5th birthday is now the lowest in recorded history,

  (ii) the increased awareness of, and improved protections for, children in conflict situations, and

  (iii) the strengthened drive for, and provision of universal education for, both boys and girls; and

 (c) recognises the continued importance of the convention and its aims, as well as their complementarity to the Millennium Development Goals, in particular, those goals to:

  (i) eradicate extreme poverty and hunger,

  (ii) achieve universal primary education,

  (iii) promote gender equality and empower women, and

  (iv) reduce child mortality. (general business notice of motion no. 633)

Senator Hanson-Young: To move on the next day of sitting—That the Senate—

 (a) notes that:

  (i) according to Human Rights Watch, three Iranian men have been sentenced to death, under charges of `male homosexual conduct' allegedly committed when they were under the age of 18,

  (ii) Iran leads the world in executing juvenile offenders, with at least seven in 2008, and at least three so far in 2009, and

  (iii) in February 2009, the United Nations General Assembly called on Iran, a signatory to both the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that prohibits the imposition of the death penalty for crimes committed before the age of 18, immediately to suspend executions of all persons for offences committed by children under 18; and

 (b) calls on the Australian Government to add its voice to international calls for Iran immediately to abolish the death penalty of persons who were under age 18 at the time of their offence and halt all executions of those sentenced to death. (general business notice of motion no. 634)

Senator Cormann: To move on the next day of sitting—That the Senate—

 (a) notes that:

  (i) the Senate disallowed the massive reduction in MBS cataract surgery rebates pursued by the Rudd Labor Government, with the objective to have the MBS rebates for cataract surgery maintained at the `2008 Regulations' level,

  (ii) the Minister for Health and Ageing justified the massive 50 per cent cut to Medicare rebates for cataract surgery by arguing that the procedure was now `quicker and easier' to perform and now took only about 15 minutes instead of the 45 minutes when the procedure was first introduced,

  (iii) the Minister for Health and Ageing never provided any Australian data to substantiate those assertions, while an AMA survey of 334 ophthalmologists indicated that about 70 per cent of ophthalmologists took between 25 and 40 minutes to perform cataract surgery,

  (iv) that it is further understood that the procedure band for cataract surgery has not been altered on the National Procedure Banding List, indicating no significant cost/time changes have occurred, and further

  (v) the Minister for Health and Ageing has so far failed to acknowledge that MBS rebates for cataract surgery:

   (A) have been reduced twice before since they were first introduced, by 30 per cent in 1987 and by 10 per cent in 1996, and

   (B) have been indexed by about 2 per cent per annum since 1996, below CPI and below AWE, to take account of productivity improvements, and

  (vi) the Minister for Health and Ageing or her department appear to have made some belated efforts to collect data to identify the average length of time taken to perform cataract surgery; and

 (b) orders that there be laid on the table by noon on Friday, 20 November 2009:

  (i) any information the Minister for Health and Ageing, her office or the department has received, compiled or commissioned on cataract surgery times in Australia since the Senate successfully disallowed the reduced rebates for cataract surgery on 28 October 2009, and

  (ii) any information held by the Government in relation to procedure bands for cataract surgery on the National Procedure Banding List since its inception, including the cataract surgery related procedure band information on the most recently updated National Procedure Banding List. (general business notice of motion no. 635)

The Special Minister of State (Senator Ludwig): To move on the next day of sitting—That, on Thursday, 19 November 2009:

 (a) the hours of meeting shall be 9.30 am to 6.30 pm and 7 pm to adjournment;

 (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 12.45 pm till not later than 2 pm shall be government business only, and from not later than 4.45 pm shall be the government business order of the day relating to the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009 [No. 2] and related bills—second reading speeches only;

 (d) the routine of business from 3.30 pm till not later than 4.30 pm shall be valedictory statements;

 (e) divisions may take place after 4.30 pm;

 (f) the question for the adjournment of the Senate shall not be proposed until a motion for the adjournment is moved by a minister; and

 (g) if the Senate is sitting at midnight, the sitting of the Senate be suspended till 9.30 am on Friday, 20 November 2009.

The Special Minister of State (Senator Ludwig): To move on the next day of sitting—That the provisions of paragraphs (5) to (8) of standing order 111 not apply to the following bills, allowing them to be considered during this period of sittings:

 Appropriation (Water Entitlements and Home Insulation) Bill 2009-2010

 Appropriation (Water Entitlements) Bill 2009-2010.

Document: Senator Ludwig tabled the following document:

  Consideration of legislation—Statement of reasons for introduction and passage of bills in the 2009 spring sittings.