I only have a limited amount of time available to me, but I do recognise that government procurement is an attractive option as a solution to shoring up local manufacturers. I understand that. Australian manufacturers would love to have something like the Buy American Act, just as Australian farmers would like our own version of…
DetailsI rise this evening to speak about Labor's failed mining tax and its impact on Western Australia. This is an anti-Western-Australian tax that has not worked. It is time that this tax was abolished so that we can get on with the business of fixing the mess that the former government has left us. Today…
DetailsI rise this evening to speak on the Minerals Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Bill. It gives me pause to mention the original mining tax, the resources super profits tax, which was expected to raise $49.5 billion over five years. In July 2010 the resources super profits tax proposal was replaced with the…
DetailsI rise to join with former members of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee that I had the pleasure to serve with during the production of this report. I stand here in place of a great advocate and member of the working group and implementation group, Senator Sue Boyce, to make a very short contribution.…
DetailsDuring the last round of Senate estimates in the Education and Employment Legislation Committee, my colleague Senator Back asked a number of questions regarding the appointment of expert panel members for the Fair Work Commission's review of default superannuation funds in modern awards. The Financial Services Council had earlier raised concerns about potential conflicts of…
DetailsTonight I rise to speak on the increasingly devastating effects that ice, or crystal methamphetamine, is having on regional Australian communities. The increasing prevalence of ice has been called 'a scourge', 'devastating', 'an epidemic' and 'a drug that has been tearing apart regional communities right across our nation'. As the Minister for Indigenous Affairs leaves…
DetailsIt would seem that both the Greens and Labor have a complete tin ear when it comes to the evidence that we have heard on the subject of this MPI—educational inequality and needs based funding—in the Senate Select Committee on School Funding. Labor and Greens speakers here today sit on that inquiry. We have heard…
DetailsRetiring Director of National Parks Peter Cochrane stated in the opening pages of his report for 2012-13 that he, and obviously the Australian government as a result, values engaging and responding to stakeholders and likes achieving objectives by working in partnership to improve environmental, cultural and heritage outcomes. I highlight these values and approaches, as…
DetailsNationals Senator for Victoria Bridget McKenzie has welcomed the decision by Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt to allow a cattle grazing trial in the Alpine National Park. Senator McKenzie said Minister Hunt had made a practical and well-informed decision. ‘‘The Victorian Government’s application for approval for a trial of up to 300 cattle required the…
DetailsI rise this evening to briefly talk about the coalition's agricultural competitiveness white paper, which is designed to ensure a vibrant, innovative and competitive agricultural sector, by making sure industry can make the most of the opportunities that lay ahead. We have now announced the first step in public consultation on the white paper, by…
Details