The majority voted in favour of disagreeing with a motion to disallow the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Amendment (Annual Members ' Meetings Notices) Regulations 2022, which means the motion failed. This means the Regulations would remain as part of law.

Motion text

That the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Amendment (Annual Members ' Meetings Notices) Regulations 2022 made under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 on 1 September 2022 and pres ented to the House on 5 September 2022, be disallowed.

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Hotham MP Clare O'Neil (Labor), which means it succeeded.

The designation of Nauru as a regional processing country lapsed in October 2022 due to error on the part of either the department, the minister or a combination of both. Read the debate for more information.

Motion text

That, in accordance with section 198AB of the Migration Act 1958, the House approve the instrument of designation of the Republic of Nauru as a regional processing country.

The majority voted in favour of a motion to suspend the usual procedural rules - known as standing orders - in order to let another vote take place.

Motion text

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the following proceedings at the conclusion of the Matter of Public Importance today:

(1) a Minister presenting documents pursuant to the Migration Act 1958, then immediately moving a motion in relation to the instrument of designation of the Republic of Nauru as a regional processing country;

(a) including the Minister's speech, debate continuing for no longer than one hour, at which time any questions necessary to complete consideration of the matter being put without delay; and

(b) if required by a Minister before the expiration of time allocated, debate on any question provided for under paragraph (1)(a) being extended for a further period specified by the Minister,

(2) immediately following proceedings on the instrument of designation, the private Members' business notice relating to the disallowance of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Amendment (Annual Members' Meetings Notices) Regulations 2022, made under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 on 1 September 2022 and presented to the House on 5 September 2022, standing in the name of the Member for Fadden, being called on;

(a) including the mover's speech, debate continuing for no longer than one hour, at which time any questions necessary to complete consideration of the matter being put without delay; and

(b) if required by a Minister before the expiration of time allocated, debate on any question provided for under paragraph (2)(a) being extended for a further period specified by the Minister; and

(3) any variation to this arrangement being made only on a motion moved by a Minister.

The majority voted in favour of disagreeing with a motion introduced by Bradfield MP Paul Fletcher (Liberal), which means it failed.

Motion text

(1) Omit subparagraphs (2)(a) and (b);

(2) Omit paragraph (3); and

(3) Insert new subparagraph (2)(a) as follows:

"that the question on the disallowance motion not be put until such time as every Member wishing to speak on the question has spoken as provided for by the standing orders".

The majority voted in favour of the following motion:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the arrangement of business for this sitting being as follows:

(1) a Minister presenting the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022;

(2) following the Minister's second reading speech, debate continuing immediately;

(3) the time limits for the second reading debate being 10 minutes for the Minister and first Opposition speaker, and five minutes each for all other Members;

(4) the bill proceeding through all stages without interruption;

(5) the second reading debate concluding no later than 11.15 am, and questions being immediately put on any amendments moved to the motion for the second reading and on the second reading of the bill and any message from the Governor-General under standing order 147 being announced;

(6) if required, a consideration in detail stage of the bill, with all government amendments to be moved together, all opposition amendments to be moved together, and any crossbench Members' amendments to be moved as one set per Member, with:

(a) one question to be put on all government amendments;

(b) one question to be put on all opposition amendments;

(c) separate questions to be put on any sets of amendments moved by crossbench Members; and

(d) one question to be put that the bill [as amended] be agreed to;

(7) any question provided for under paragraph (6) being put after no more than 10 minutes of debate on each set of amendments, unless a Minister sets a further period of debate;

(8) at 12 noon, any remaining questions required to conclude consideration in detail being put with no further debate;

(9) when the bill has been agreed to, the question being put immediately on the third reading of the bill;

(10) following the third reading of the bill, a Minister moving leave of absence for all Members;

(11) following resolution of the leave of absence motion, a condolence motion being moved and debated on the deaths of Queensland Police Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, and Mr Alan Dare;

(12) at 1.30 pm, or when no further Members rise to speak, if earlier, provided that a message from the Senate has not been received in relation to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022, the House suspending until the ringing of the bells;

(13) the condolence motion on the deaths of Queensland Police Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, and Mr Alan Dare, standing referred to the Federation Chamber;

(14) when received if the House is sitting, or upon resumption of the sitting after a suspension, any message from the Senate relating to the bill being considered, and no further business being considered, after which the House immediately adjourning until 10 am on Monday, 6 February 2023;

(15) the only business to be conducted during this sitting being as provided in this motion;

(16) standing orders 31 and 33 being suspended for this sitting; and

(17) any variation to this arrangement being made only on a motion moved by a Minister.

The majority voted in favour of disagreeing with an amendment introduced by Bradfield MP Paul Fletcher (Liberal), which means it failed.

Amendment text

That all words in paragraphs (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (11), (15) and (17) be omitted and the following be inserted:

(1) new paragraph (1A) as follows: "that as the first priority for the House there be a condolence motion in relation to the deaths of Queensland Police Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, and Mr Alan Dare";

(2) at the start of paragraph (1) as follows: "as its second item of business,";

(3) new paragraph (3) as follows: "that the question on the second reading of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022 not be put until such time as every other Member wishing to speak on the question has spoken for up to 15 minutes as provided for under standing order 1";

(4) new paragraph (4) as follows: "that any question put during the consideration in detail stage of the bill not be put until such time as every other Member wishing to speak on an amendment has spoken for up to five minutes as provided for under standing order 1";

(5) new paragraph (5) as follows: "that Question Time be conducted from 2 pm to 3.30 pm or until such time as 22 questions have been asked and answered, whichever is first"; and

(6) new paragraph (6) as follows: "that after Question Time or when no further Members rise to speak, if earlier, provided that a message from the Senate has not been received in relation to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022, the House suspending until the ringing of the bells".

The majority voted in favour of disagreeing with an amendment introduced by Aston MP Alan Tudge (Liberal), which means it failed.

What did this amendment do?

Mr Tudge explained that:

What this amendment does is actually call on a couple of things. Most importantly, it calls for a review to occur after two years. A period of two years is important because it gives enough time to see what the behavioural change will be from the operation of this bill in relation to the doctors and nurse practitioners. Secondly, it asks for the review team to specifically examine whether or not the measures which are proposed for doctors and nurse practitioners should apply to other professions where there are shortages in regional and remote areas. In particular, the amendment calls for an examination of other health measures—mental health in particular—and the education sector. But there may be other professions where there are shortages. In a couple of years time those shortages could be different ones, and we may want to consider providing the same HECS discounts for those professions.

Amendment text

(1) Page 2 (after line 11), after clause 3, insert:

4 Review of Schedule 2 to this Act

(1) The Minister must cause an independent review to be conducted of the operation of the amendments made by Schedule 2 to this Act, with the purpose of assessing the expansion of the policy of waiving HELP debt to additional professions of high skills need in rural and remote Australia.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the review must consider, and make recommendations to the Commonwealth Government about, the expansion of the policy implemented by the amendments to other sectors in rural and remote Australia, including the health, mental health and education sectors.

(3) The review should consult widely with rural and remote communities and their health, mental health and education service providers and specifically, the following must be consulted as part of the review:

(a) the National Rural Health Commissioner;

(b) the Regional Education Commissioner.

Timing of review

(4) The review must start as soon as practicable after the end of the period of 2 years after the commencement of this Act.

Review report

(5) The persons who conduct the review must give the Minister a written report of the review within 3 months of the commencement of the review.

(6) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the report is given to the Minister.

Government response to recommendations

(7) As soon as practicable, and in any event within 3 months, after the report is first tabled in a House of the Parliament, the Minister must cause:

(a) a statement, setting out the Commonwealth Government's response to each recommendation included in the report, to be prepared; and

(b) the statement to be published on the Department's website.

The majority voted in favour of a motion to disagree with an amendment introduced by Goldstein MP Zoe Daniel (Independent), which means it failed.

What did the amendment do?

Ms Daniel explained that:

This amendment goes to the leaking of documents and the potential for journalists, particularly from the public broadcasters, to be penalised for receiving such documents, the fear of which, I believe, can thwart investigative journalism and, by extension, damage democracy.

Read more about the bill in its bills digest.

Amendment text

(1) Clause 8, page 16 (after line 21), at the end of the clause, add:

Journalist activities

(14) To avoid doubt, conduct engaged in by a person who is an employee, contractor or agent of any Commonwealth agency (including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Special Broadcasting Service Corporation) that is engaged in the business of reporting news, presenting current affairs or expressing editorial or other content in news media does not constitute corrupt conduct if:

(a) the person engaged in the conduct in the person's capacity as:

(i) a person engaged in the business of reporting news, presenting current affairs or expressing editorial or other content in news media; or

(ii) a person engaged as part of the editorial staff for the business of reporting news, presenting current affairs or expressing editorial or other content in news media; or

(b) at the time of engaging in the conduct, the person:

(i) was a member of the administrative or production staff of the Commonwealth agency or of a contractor or agent of the Commonwealth agency; and

(ii) was acting under the direction of a journalist, editor or lawyer who was an employee, contractor or agent of the Commonwealth agency.

The majority voted in favour of a motion to disagree with amendment (1) and (2) introduced by Mayo MP Rebekha Sharkie (Centre Alliance), which means they failed.

What did the amendment do?

Ms Sharkie explained that:

The first really relates to the fact that I think it's important to provide as much clarity as possible with respect to what must be put into the review. I'm sure it is self-explanatory. You would expect these points—the role of the NACC, the oversight of the NACC, the use and conduct of hearings, and emerging best practice—to be in a review. But this is really to make sure that we don't assume that it is really quite plain and simple.

Amendment (2) is to ensure that the minister—whoever the minister of the day is, for many parliaments to come—does provide to the parliament in a very timely manner a copy of the report of the review. What we have seen in the past—perhaps not in this parliament but in the past in parliaments gone by—is that sometimes ministers of the day have held on to reviews for a very long period of time and perhaps also released them at times when the rest of Australia is not paying attention. So this is really just about timeliness and about some detail of what is in that review.

Read more about the bill in its bills digest.

Amendment text

(1) Clause 278, page 219 (after line 8), after subclause (1), insert:

(1A) Without limiting subsection (1), the review must consider and report on the following:

(a) the role of the NACC;

(b) oversight of the NACC;

(c) the use and conduct of hearings;

(d) emerging best practice.

(2) Clause 278, page 219 (lines 27 to 29), omit subclause (6), substitute:

(6) The Minister must, as soon as practicable, and in any event within 14 business days, after receiving a copy of the report of the review, cause a copy of the report to be:

(a) laid before each House of the Parliament; or

(b) if a House is not sitting—presented to the Presiding Officer of that House for circulation to the members of that House.

The majority voted in favour of a motion to disagree with an amendment introduced by Wentworth MP Allegra Spender (Independent), which means it failed.

Rebellion

Bass MP Bridget Archer (Liberal) crossed the floor to vote "No" against the rest of the Liberal party, who voted "Yes".

What did the amendment do?

Ms Spender explained that:

Politicisation damages public institutions and our democracy, and we cannot afford to undermine the NACC. My amendment addresses the risk of such politicisation without affecting the government's control over the parliamentary committee's other functions. It prevents the committee's chair from having the casting vote when it comes to appointing the commissioner, deputy commissioner or inspector. That means the majority of all committee members would be required to approve these appointments, including at least one crossbench or opposition member. My amendment will ensure that the people chosen for these critical roles enjoy multipartisan support and that they are truly independent from government. It is a commonsense way to ensure this commission delivers what the public expects.

Read more about the bill in its bills digest.

Amendment text

(1) Clause 178, page 146 (after line 17), after subclause (2), insert:

(2A) If the proposed recommendation is for the appointment of the Commissioner or a Deputy Commissioner, or the Inspector:

(a) the decision to approve or reject the recommendation is to be determined by a majority of all of the members of the Committee; and

(b) despite paragraph 173(5)(b), if the votes are equal, the Chair of the Committee does not have a casting vote.