1998-05-123817REPS297301998-05-12Mr SPEAKER(Rt Hon. Ian Sinclair) took the chair at 2.00 p.m., and read prayers.Miscellaneous297314:01:002973Howard, John, MPMr HOWARDZD4BennelongLPPrime Minister10—Mr Speaker, could I have your indulgence—and I would expect that the same indulgence be extended to the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Beazley)—to say a few words about the tragic accident that occurred on board HMAS Westralia last week?10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—Indulgence is given.ZD4Howard, John, MPMr HOWARD—I am sure that honourable members would be aware that last Tuesday, 5 May, four Australian personnel died in tragic circumstances as a result of a fire on board HMAS Westralia . They were Midshipman Megan Pelly, aged 22, Petty Officer Shaun Smith, aged 29, Leading Seaman Bradley Meek, aged 25, and Able Seaman Phillip John Carroll, aged 23. Five more naval personnel were seriously injured in the accident, and this particularly tragic event I know touched all members of parliament and the entire nation, because here were four young people embarking upon promising careers in the Royal Australian Navy. In the case of Petty Officer Smith, Leading Seaman Meek and Able Seaman Carroll, they were all planning their marriages later this year. Midshipman Pelly, who I understand is the first woman to have lost her life in the service of the Royal Australian Navy, was on her first day at sea on Westralia .I know that I speak on behalf of the entire nation in extending sympathy to the family and other loved ones of those who lost their lives. A very moving memorial service was held at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia last Friday. That service was attended by His Excellency, the Governor-General, me, the Leader of the Opposition, the Minister for Defence (Mr McLachlan), the Minister for Defence Industry, Science and Personnel (Mrs Bishop), the Premier of Western Australia and other representatives of the community and representatives of the Royal Australian Navy.The government is doing everything possible to extend comfort and support to the injured, their families and the friends of those who died. I think all of us are particularly affected when young people—and they seem always, because of the nature of their pursuit and the risks they take, to be very young—lose their lives in the service of their country. What happened on the Westralia last week was a reminder to all Australians of the risks and the perils that are involved even in peace time in serving in the armed forces of Australia. An inquiry has been convened to investigate the accident. The defence minister has given clear instructions, and that is already being demonstrated by the structure of the inquiry that it will be fully open to the public and that it will, on this occasion, include civilian experts so that later down the track there can be no concerns legitimately expressed about the amplitude of the inquiry, its openness to the public or the seriousness of those conducting the inquiry and their determination to find out precisely what caused the accident.I had the opportunity of speaking to the captain of the Westralia and expressing my personal respect for the role that he played and the very difficult situation in which he had found himself. From a personal point of view, the service was particularly moving. It was a reminder to me of the great sense of family within the Royal Australian Navy in times of great adversity. I am delighted that it was possible in such tragic circumstances for there to be such a representative group of the Australian community to pay their respects to those who lost their lives and to offer our sympathy, love and support for those who are left deeply bereaved by this tragic accident.14:05:002974Beazley, Kim, MPMr BEAZLEYPE4BrandALP00—Thank you for your indulgence, Mr Speaker. I join with the remarks of the Prime Minister (Mr Howard) and agree with them wholeheartedly. I share all the sentiments that he expressed. Can I also acknowledge the presence for the first time in your newly reformulated gallery of Admiral Don Chalmers, the Chief of the Navy. As the Prime Minister said, I was given the opportunity to attend the service, and I was also permitted the day before by the Minister for Defence (Mr McLachlan) to go to Garden Island HMAS Stirling and receive a briefing. HMAS Stirling is in my constituency, and the dead and many of the bereaved are constituents of mine.Could I, along with the Prime Minister, acknowledge the service of the four who died: Midshipman Megan Pelly, Petty Officer Shaun Damien Smith, Leading Seaman Bradley John Meek and Able Seaman Phillip John Carroll. With the Prime Minister and the other ministers, I had an opportunity to meet with their sad and distraught families on the day of the service. It was a deeply affecting, disturbing occasion. To share with them in their sorrow was a privilege; a real privilege to share with people who have sacrificed so much for the nation.I also want to acknowledge the great character shown by the captain of the ship, Commander Stuart Dietrich, in the decisions he had to take in extreme circumstances and to extend a word of kind regard to the crew overall. It was a very close run thing indeed. By rights, by any reasonable anticipation, the Westralia would no longer be on our order of battle, but the bravery of the crew—which I hope will come out in the inquiry—was absolutely exemplary and was within the finest naval traditions.Having had an opportunity to look at the Westralia, its engine room is like a cathedral. It is not a normal warship which is an enclosed affair, basically, for damage limitation purposes. It is fundamentally a civilian ship where no such considerations apply, which makes firefighting almost impossible within it. You could stand at the upper entrance looking down to the engine room, and above everything was singed, distorted, twisted, burned. Then you realise that the firefighting crews, many of whom went in five or six times, were fighting the fire from about 60 feet below you. There were acts of extraordinary heroism entailed in this exercise.Fortunately—sometimes there are fortunate accidents as well as unfortunate ones—apparently the crew had trained for precisely this eventuality one week before it occurred and there was, therefore, a level of preparedness that may not normally have been aboard the ship, which meant that they had a thoroughgoing understanding of what it was they needed to do.I congratulate the minister on organising a very substantial inquiry—both in the appointment of civilians to the inquiry, and the openness of it. I think it is absolutely critical for not just the confidence of the public but the confidence of the defence forces that this inquiry is conducted in that way. I think also it is enormously important—and I note some of the comments made in public by some of those conducting the inquiry—that they want to look at not just the issues that caused the problems and come with recommendations on how to deal with them but to give a complete picture of the events of that day, including those acts of heroism. I think, if the inquiry does that, then it will be a very good thing for our nation indeed for us to learn anew what I think we all as Australians appreciate—and that is the very great skill and the willingness to sacrifice, on our behalf, of the people who are in our defence forces.Can I extend my deepest sympathy to the families whom I met and those I did not; my deepest sympathy to the mates of the dead on the base. I have had a number of occasions to address crews who have been through not dissimilar things to this, unfortunately. I know the effect that it has on them, the fact that it draws them together in the way the Prime Minister said. But also, of course, it is enormously impactful on their sense of security and their personal happiness. We ought to be, and I am sure we are all, mindful of that fact.I welcome the Prime Minister's assurance that everything will be done for the families of the crew who died and for those members of the crew who were injured and others who may experience a degree of personal difficulty from the service aboard the ship that day. The fight to save the ship was in the very best traditions of the Royal Australian Navy—the very best traditions—and I express my admiration to the members of the crew and to the captain of the ship for the way in which they conducted that and looked after their mates.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—As a mark of respect to those deceased sailors, I invite all honourable members to rise in their places.Honourable members having stood in their places—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—I thank the House.Condolences297529752975Mr SPEAKERMr SPEAKER10000PON/A10—I inform the House of the death on Thursday, 9 April 1998, of David Bernard Vigor, a former senator who represented the state of South Australia from 1984 to 1987. As a mark of respect to the memory of our former colleague David Vigor, I invite honourable members to rise in their places.Honourable members having stood in their places—10000Mr SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—I thank the House.Ministerial Arrangements29752975Howard, John, MPMr HOWARDZD4BennelongLPPrime Minister10—I inform the House that the Treasurer (Mr Costello) will be absent from question time today due to budget preparations, and the Minister for Finance and Administration (Mr Fahey) will answer questions on his behalf.Questions Without Notice297529752975Brereton, Laurie, MPMr BRERETON5T4Kingsford-SmithALP00—My question is addressed to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, following the Indian elections and given the declared intention of the new Indian government to induct nuclear weapons into its military arsenal, what representations did you make to your counterpart Prime Minister Vajpayee registering Australia's absolute opposition to any nuclear tests and warning of the very serious consequences for international security flowing from any such action? 2975Howard, John, MPMr HOWARDZD4BennelongLPPrime Minister10—I am not aware that specific representations were made—5T4BRERETONMr Brereton—You should have been.ZD4Mr HOWARD—on my behalf. The foreign minister will speak for himself in relation to the Department of Foreign Affairs and the foreign affairs portfolio of the government.Mr Brereton interjecting—ZD4Mr HOWARD—But you ask specifically in relation to me; I am giving you the answer.But let me take the opportunity of endorsing the remarks that were made this morning on the AM program. And it passes strange, after the pathetic response of your foreign minister when you were in government about French nuclear tests, that you should have the audacity to ask me questions about the Indian nuclear tests. It took you ages to respond to tests after they had actually taken place, let alone pre-emptive warnings. It was only as a result of comments that had been made by others on our side of politics that Gareth Evans was finally chased out to say something about French nuclear tests. So I would not start chasing that up.The foreign minister has already made the position absolutely clear on our behalf, and no doubt the remarks that have been made by the foreign minister on AM this morning will be further amplified by the foreign minister during the course of the day. I understand that he has already spoken to the Indian High Commissioner to state the views of the Australian government.29762976Elson, Kay, MPMrs ELSON6K6FordeLP10—My question is addressed to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister inform the House on how well the Australian economy is placed to withstand any impact from weakness in the Asian economies?2976Howard, John, MPMr HOWARDZD4BennelongLPPrime Minister10—The reality is that the Australian economy is infinitely better placed to withstand the impact of the Asian turmoil than if the Labor Party had remained in office after March 1996. Moreover, let me remind the Leader of the Opposition—who, of course, has not only now been exposed as having deceived the Australian people before the last election, but he has now been exposed as having deceived the Australian people after the election—we are indebted on this side of the House, as we so often are, for the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.The Deputy Leader of the Opposition is really a class act when it comes to helping the government. That Channel 7 program on Sunday was a real tour de force by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. He was asked about the deficit of $10½ billion that his government had left behind, that is, the Keating/Beazley inheritance; the inheritance that the Leader of the Opposition did not tell us about, refused to tell us about, before the last election. What the Deputy Leader of the Opposition did was to expose not only the deceit of the Leader of the Opposition before the March 1996 election but also the deceit of the Leader of the Opposition since.The reality is that we did inherit a deficit of $10½ billion. We inherited an accumulated net federal government debt of between $95 billion and $100 billion. Not only did we inherit that, but we have had over the last two and a quarter years to struggle with all the obstruction in the world from the Labor Party and the Australian Democrats in relation to the attempts that we have undertaken to get the economic accounts of this nation in order.I am very proud to say on behalf of the government that the full measure of the success that we have achieved over the last two and a quarter years will be revealed tonight when the Treasurer brings down his budget. I am very proud to say that the economy of Australia is the strongest it has been for a quarter of a century. We have the lowest interest rates for more than 30 years; we have the lowest small business rates for 33 years; we have the lowest unemployment rate for the last eight years; and we have, in fact, the lowest unemployment rate since the recession that the former Prime Minister said was the recession we had to have. We have, in fact, one the of highest business investment levels in Australia's history. It is forecast that the Australian economy will grow faster than the economies of the G7 or G8 nations.In other words, Mr Speaker, I think my government has done a remarkable job in turning around the Australian economy. We have had no help from the Australian Labor Party. We have had obstruction, obfuscation, delay, sabotage and guerilla tactics towards the attempts of my government to turn it around. I think the Australian people understand two things: they understand the mess that Labor left and they understand the magnificently applied job that we have brought to cleaning up that mess.29762976Beazley, Kim, MPMr BEAZLEYPE4BrandALP00—That comes from a bloke who misled on the $25 billion budget deficit before we came in. My question is to the Minister for Workplace Relations. Minister, are you aware that the High Court's MUA decision states in relation to conspiracy that:All parties to a conspiracy are liable as concurrent tortfeasors. It is only necessary for one of the conspirators to have performed the act for an action to lie against all. If damages are recovered, each is liable for the whole amount. Has the minister or his office been advised that you should seek a guarantee of personal indemnity against prosecution for conspiracy to breach section 298K of the Workplace Relations Act? Will you now rule out seeking such an indemnity? Minister, are you sure your penthouse is safe?Honourable members interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—Order! Both sides of the House will come to order. I ask the Minister to wait, please. When the opposition has come to order, I shall call the Minister.2977Reith, Peter, MPMr REITHWI4FlindersLPWorkplace Relations and Small Business10—I have had a lot of legal advice, but I have some real advice for you for a change. My advice to you is that we are going to fix up the waterfront in a way that you never could.Honourable members interjecting—PE4BEAZLEYMr Beazley—On a point of order!10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—When the House is silent, I will hear the Leader of the Opposition on a point of order.PE4BEAZLEYMr Beazley—My point of order is as to relevance. The minister had been asked a very specific question about whether or not he has had advice on his need for an indemnity, whether or not he sought it and will he now rule it out. There is nothing about waterfront reform in that, Mr Speaker.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat.SJ4TUCKEYMr Tuckey—Mr Speaker!10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—Does the member for O'Connor have a point of order?SJ4TUCKEYMr Tuckey—Yes, I have. I refer you to the context of the question that went as far as to mention a penthouse and the answer, therefore, should be about the BLF.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—I suggest that the member for O'Connor and the Leader of the Opposition resume their seats. The Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business is in order and I ask him to return to answering the question.WU5O'CONNORMr O'Connor—Where are the dogs?10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The member for Corio.Mr Martin Ferguson interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The member for Batman will remain silent.WI4Mr REITH—It passes strange that the Leader of the Opposition should raise a point of relevance, because there is no party more irrelevant than the Labor Party when it comes to fixing up the Australian waterfront. The question provides me with the opportunity to say that, not only has this government given us the lowest interest rates for small business, for which I also have responsibility—PE4BEAZLEYMr Beazley—Mr Speaker—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The Minister will resume his seat.PE4BEAZLEYMr Beazley—My question asked no such thing. I go to a point of relevance again.Honourable members interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—When the House has come to order, I will call the Leader of the Opposition.PE4BEAZLEYMr Beazley—My point of order is as to relevance. It was a very specific question about him seeking indemnity for himself in this situation and whether or not he had any advice on it. There was nothing else in it.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The Leader of the Opposition made his point of order. Members of the Opposition will remain silent. The minister will respond to the question.WI4Mr REITH—Mr Speaker, I am very happy to answer any questions they have. My only disappointment is that they did not start with Dubai. We will have to await your better questions as we go through question time. As to the legal advice that I have had, that is between me and the Attorney-General. When I am ready to tell you about it, I will be happy to do so. But I will tell you this: as far as all of these court cases are concerned, they are as they always said they would be; they are legal wrangles at an interlocutory stage, and at no stage have there been any findings in respect to the Commonwealth. For all the hoo-ha we have had from the other side, in respect of the Commonwealth position there have been no findings whatsoever on anything—absolutely nothing.The claims about the arguable case are claims about Patrick. As Mr Justice North said in his first decision—which is the decision on the substance of the issue—he had heard the evidence and in due course, when he has heard all of the evidence from both sides of the case, then he may well have a different view. Mr Speaker, I think the opposition ought to be taking some legal advice about its own approach to this issue and the approach it took when it was in office.DT4CREANMr Crean—On a point of order on the question of relevancy: the Leader of the House was asked whether he would be seeking indemnity for his backing of illegal actions. Mr Speaker, I would ask you to get him to answer the question.CF4CAMPBELLMr Campbell—On a point of order, Mr Speaker, up here we are finding the speakers offensively loud. We were wondering whether you have sought indemnity for industrial deafness. Could you do something about them?10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—That matter has already been brought to my attention. I have asked the officials in the sound box to try to ensure that the volume is adequate for everybody to hear.WI4Mr REITH—I conclude by saying this: maybe the member for Hotham ought to write to the Attorney-General to see if there is an indemnity available to him for being down at East Swanson Dock and publicly advocating that people breach a Supreme court injunction.DT4CREANMr Crean—On a point of order, my appeal was upheld—knocking out the injunction against me, you dope.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The member will resume his seat; he does not have the call.29782978Kelly, Jackie, MPMiss JACKIE KELLYGK6LindsayLP10—My question is addressed to the Minister for Finance and Administration. How did the economic policies introduced by this government address the problem of the budget deficit left by the previous government?2978Fahey, John, MPMr FAHEYHQ5MacarthurLPFinance and Administration10—I thank the honourable member for Lindsay for her question. At long last the Labor Party have pleaded guilty to leaving the Australian public with a $10½ billion deficit. At long last the truth has emerged. Last Sunday we all listened with great interest to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition on the Sunday program. I am sure that all who have read the report of that particular interview in Monday's Age newspaper will have indelibly impressed upon their minds the headline that emerged, and that headline said, `Labor left nation in debt: Evans'.At long last, as I have said, the truth is out. Of course, that follows some 2½ years of the sham perpetrated by the Leader of the Opposition, a sham which was to deny that there was any deficit left by Labor. That self-denial that went on for 2½ years has been exposed with a degree of truth by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. That was always a fact: the first budget of the coalition government revealed that there was a deficit of $10½ billion. Another fact is: that first budget revealed that, in their last five years of government, Labor, through their debt and deficit policies, ratcheted up some $70 billion worth of debt. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition tried on Sunday to say, `We could have corrected the problem. Yes, there was $10½ billion worth of deficit left for the Australian people when we finished in office but we could have corrected the problem.'In recent months we have seen various spokespeople for the opposition running round the countryside. We have had the spokesman on business talking about reintroducing R&D spending. We have had the Deputy Leader of the Opposition talking about introducing additional funding for EMDG and DIFF. We have had Ms Kernot, of course, looking after the baby boomers. And we have had the Leader of the Opposition saying, `Take no notice of all of that; the only thing that we are committed to are what shadow cabinet approves.' And the only thing that the shadow cabinet has approved is some support for nursing homes.Here they go: they had all of those years and in their last five years they ran up $70 billion worth of debt. Now they say, `We could have fixed it.' Promises are being made to any audience they come in front of. They are trying to appease them with promises and at the same time we are hearing this line, `Don't take any notice of these promises because unless shadow cabinet approves them they do not mean anything.' Who would believe the Labor Party on fiscal responsibility? How could any Australian believe the Australian Labor Party?In stark contrast to what Labor did, particularly in their last five years, the first 2¼ years of a coalition government have seen one sound fundamental principle endorsed in the first two budgets. That sound fundamental principle was that we would not live beyond our means. We would not spend what we did not have. We accepted the debt that we inherited and we worked to get rid of the deficit. Through those sound fiscal policies we have achieved much—we have seen some four per cent reduction in home mortgage rates, low inflation locked in and some 280,000 additional jobs created in this country. This is contrasted with an opposition that will say anything to the audience that is in front of it. We have seen an opposition that was profligate in its spending and that simply lived off the debt and deficit drip. In stark contrast we have a government that has acted fiscally responsibly. And tonight we get the third instalment, the third budget, and this budget brings Australia back into the black. It sets up the base for future sustainable economic growth in this country—something Labor could never achieve.29792979Crean, Simon, MPMr CREANDT4HothamALP00—My question is directed to the Prime Minister. Does the Prime Minister recall telling the parliament, in relation to the Corrigan scheme:We will support them to the hilt, provided they act within the law.Is the Prime Minister aware that Mr Corrigan denied under oath that Patrick had provided any financial support for the Dubai operation? Has he seen a letter dated 8 May 1998 and signed by Christopher D. Corrigan to the Fynwest lawyers which states:Your clients have consistently . . . failed to provide regular accounting and bank reconciliation details in respect of . . . the loan provided by Patrick to Fynwest Pty Ltd. 10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The member will draw his question to a close.DT4Mr CREAN—If Mr Corrigan has perjured himself shouldn't you stick to your promise and stop backing him `to the hilt'?2979Howard, John, MPMr HOWARDZD4BennelongLPPrime Minister10—I am glad that we have finally got a question that is remotely connected to Dubai. Mr Speaker, let me start off by saying that what I said in the parliament last year in relation to that issue stands, and it stands completely. Let me also say that the proposition that in some way it is wrong for people to be trained overseas is something that totally escapes me. If a group of Australians want to train somebody overseas, so what? Our position has been all along—and let me repeat it—that we are in favour of waterfront reform. We are determined to achieve waterfront reform. Unlike the Leader of the Opposition—DT4CREANMr Crean—I rise on a point of order, Mr Speaker, and its goes to relevance. My question was very specific. It was about the perjury by Christopher Corrigan.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The honourable member has raised his point.DT4CREANMr Crean—Mr Speaker, can I suggest it might help the Prime Minister if I am allowed to table the letter by which Mr Corrigan has perjured himself.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—I do not think that is at all appropriate at this stage. The member for Hotham will resume his seat.ZD4Mr HOWARD—In contrast to the Labor Party, which has stuck up for the MUA and nobody else throughout this whole dispute, the Leader of the Opposition—PE4BEAZLEYMr Beazley—I rise on a point of order, Mr Speaker, which goes to relevance. The Prime Minister has been asked a very specific question. It is not a question about waterfront reform; it is not a question about that. It is a question about the relationship of the government and Mr Corrigan and the situation in which Mr Corrigan has placed himself. There are no extraneous matters in it and it is to establish what the Prime Minister's intentions are in relation to Mr Corrigan.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—I point out to the Leader of the Opposition that the question was a very long one and consequently it covered a very wide area. The Prime Minister is in order. I call upon the Prime Minister to respond.ZD4Mr HOWARD—Whether the Leader of the Opposition likes it or not, this issue is all about waterfront reform and nothing else. That is what this issue is all about. You may not like that. You may find that uncomfortable. You may regret the fact that you bound and gagged yourself to the MUA from the beginning of this dispute. You may regret the fact that when it came to making a choice between the sectional interest and the national interest—DT4CREANMr Crean—I rise on a point of order, Mr Speaker. The question is: is the Prime Minister still backing the Corrigan scam? That is the question.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—That is not a point of order.DT4CREANMr Crean—Well, it is a point of order.ZD4Mr HOWARD—The Prime Minister is backing two things: the Prime Minister is backing a more efficient Australian waterfront and the Prime Minister is backing voluntary unionism on the Australian waterfront. The Leader of the Opposition is opposing both of those things. The Leader of the Opposition is against a reformed waterfront and in favour of union thuggery.PE4BEAZLEYMr Beazley—I rise on a point of order on relevance, Mr Speaker. Aside from the fact that this is fatuous nonsense from the Prime Minister, it also happens to be well outside the ambit of the question, which was highly specific on the state of the relationship of the government with Corrigan and Corrigan's situation in relation to the courts.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The Leader of the Opposition has raised his point of order. The Prime Minister is responding to the question, which I identified before as a remarkably long one.ZD4Mr HOWARD—You really crystallise this down to a very simple proposition: those on this side of the House want a reformed water front. Those on this side of the House want voluntary unionism on the Australian waterfront. Those on this side of the House want a fair day's work for a fair day's pay on the Australian waterfront.Most of those who sit opposite—I will exempt my colleagues in the National Party and I will exempt the honourable member for Curtin, and I think on this I might even exempt the honourable member for Kalgoorlie and the honourable member for Moore—but the rest of you here are against a reformed Australian waterfront. You are totally opposed to voluntary unionism. Your leader had the opportunity on the PM program last week to declare himself in favour of something that 75 per cent of the Australian population want, that is, a mixture of union and non-union employment on the Australian waterfront. But so weak, so pathetic—PE4BEAZLEYMr Beazley—I rise on a point of order, Mr Speaker, that goes to relevance, despite the pathetic rantings of the Prime Minister.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—There is no need for that form of reflection.PE4BEAZLEYMr Beazley—The question of relevance is this: he has been asked a question on his relationship with Corrigan and undertakings that he made to this House. In the situation in which Mr Corrigan now finds himself, does he persist in his position?10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The Leader of the Opposition is now debating the point.Honourable members interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The House will remain silent. The Prime Minister will respond to the question.ZD4Mr HOWARD—When this dispute is long behind us and long behind the recollection of most of the Australian population, there will be one thing that they will remember about the Leader of the Opposition—that he was a weak, pathetic mouthpiece of the Maritime Union of Australia.DT4CREANMr Crean—I rise on a point order, Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister is defying your ruling. You asked him to address the question.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The Prime Minister is addressing the question.DT4CREANMr Crean—The question is: does he still back Chris Corrigan and his scam? Does he still support a perjurer?10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The member for Hotham does not have the call and I point out to the member for Hotham that the question was a question about perjury. I listened very carefully to that part of it. There is no formal accusation, as I understand it, regarding perjury. If there were so, it would have to be on notice. The Prime Minister should respond to the question. The Prime Minister has finished his answer.DT4CREANMr Crean—Mr Speaker, I seek leave to table the letter referred to in my question which demonstrates that Chris Corrigan has perjured himself.Leave not granted.29812981Dondas, Nick, MPMr DONDAS5M6Northern TerritoryCLP10—My question is addressed to the Minister for Trade. Has the government's trade policy of diversifying markets for Australian exporters as a hedge against the economic woes of the immediate region been successful?Opposition members interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—I ask the members of the opposition to remain silent, including the honourable member for Prospect. I ask the member for the Northern Territory to readdress his question.Mr Bevis interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The honourable member for Brisbane! Nobody can hear.5M6Mr DONDAS—I ask the Minister for Trade: what outcomes does the minister envisage will flow from his two forthcoming ministerial meetings in Geneva.2981Fischer, Tim, MPMr TIM FISCHERDG4FarrerNPTrade; Deputy Prime Minister10—In respect of the second part—Honourable members interjecting—QJ4THEOPHANOUSDr Theophanous—A point of order!10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The Deputy Prime Minister will resume his seat. When the House is silent, I will call the honourable member for Calwell.QJ4THEOPHANOUSDr Theophanous—Mr Speaker, the question is out of order. The question asked what the minister thought would flow from his forthcoming meeting. It is clearly an expression of opinion that is requested here, and the question is out of order.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—I do not uphold the point of order. There have been many occasions in this House where the expectations of future meetings have been questioned. It is in that light that I accept this question as being in order.DG4Mr TIM FISCHER—I thank the honourable member for the Northern Territory for his question. I advise the House that, in respect of the second part of the question, we will, amongst other things, be pursuing the virus in the world trading arrangements whereby there is a hefty amount of export subsidisation, most notably in the Northern Hemisphere, which is adding to the burden of citrus producers, pork producers, beef producers and the manufacturing sector. We are going to do all we can to turn that issue around by a series of approaches which flow with the World Trade Organisation.With respect to the first part of the question, it is a fact that the Asian part-meltdown is impacting to a degree on Australia's export activity. Its effect has, to some extent, been considerably ameliorated by the strategy this government has pursued with regard to trade: firstly, diversification beyond Asia and, secondly, putting real effort into the bilaterals. As a consequence, for the first nine months of this financial year, our overall export performance is up more than $8 billion—more than 10 per cent—compared to the nine months of the previous financial year. That is an outstanding effort by our exporters.In respect of East Asia, I would highlight to the House that exports are up $2.9 billion or nine per cent; coal up 19 per cent, mainly to Japan; metal ores and scrap up 24 per cent, mainly to Japan and China; and non-ferrous metals up 20 per cent, mainly to Japan. In fact, in the figures for March, there was a welcome upward flip: Korea exports up 30 per cent; Malaysia and the Philippines up 40 per cent; and Singapore jumped up 45 per cent in February and 26 per cent in March.Against the odds, but because of and helped by the strategy pursued by this government, we are helping our exporters to make real gains. In that regard, I highlight that the diversification means that we do not have an Asia first and Asia last export policy; we have a policy to export to the world. And that has been clearly laid down by the Prime Minister and carried out by the Minister for Trade, the Minister for Primary Industries and Energy, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and others. On the bilaterals—Mr Beazley interjecting—DG4Mr TIM FISCHER—You neglected the bilaterals, and no less than former Minister Button has said so.PE4BEAZLEYMr Beazley—Rubbish!DG4Mr TIM FISCHER—Your former great hero, Minister Button, said, `Under Labor everyone's down there at DFAT concentrating on the multilaterals; no-one is doing anything on the bilaterals.' We have turned that around.Mr Beazley interjecting—DG4Mr TIM FISCHER—You do not like it. If Gareth was here he would remind us that two Sundays ago he said that he was happy to put a $50 tax on every export container—an additional $100 million burden on our exporters.PE4BEAZLEYMr Beazley—That's what you are trying to do.DT4CREANMr Crean—You've just done it with the levies, you fool!DG4Mr TIM FISCHER—I want to say very clearly that we are making many breakthroughs with our bilaterals. Try Mexico. Canola is now able to be exported from Australia to Mexico—reduced tariff. Coal—steaming coal and coking coal—has been exported for the first time ever to Mexico. All aspects of Australian wool, including semi-processed wool, has a zero tariff into Mexico and, from 1 August, a zero tariff from Mexico into the United States of America. We are doing the hard yards. This is a somewhat colourful pre-budget question time. I just make the point that, in the budget tonight, you will see Treasurer Costello provide a hard-yard surplus which will be a further boost to our economic performance and help our exporters.KV5NEVILLEMr Neville—Mr Speaker, the sound system down here is oppressively loud, especially when people yell into the microphone.UNKNOWNHonourable membersHonourable members—Hear, hear!10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—I would ask the attendants in the booth to take note of that. I have asked on successive occasions. The member for Kalgoorlie raised the same point, as have several other members. I gather that there has been some change to these microphones.29822982Andren, Peter, MPMr ANDRENKL6CalareIND00—My question is to the Minister for Transport and Regional Development. Could you tell the House when the report from Dr David Asimus on the Inland Marketing Corporation Parkes Export Freight Project will be completed? Will you undertake to table this report in the House? If positive, what process and timing will be applied to help fund the project?2982Vaile, Mark, MPMr VAILESU5LyneNPTransport and Regional Development10—I thank the member for Calare for his question. As the member for Calare is aware, Maunsell undertook a feasibility study of the proposal by the IMC. The government is currently having that assessed by Mr David Asimus, a respected agricultural economist. I understand that that report is almost completed and I should have the draft shortly. Upon completion, we will make the findings of that report public. But I will identify and ask the member for Calare to note that, in most part, our government is already well down the path to achieving what the IMC is proposing to do, with the implementation of a lot of the recommendations coming out from the Supermarket to Asia Council, particularly with regard to transport logistics and also cleaning up that freight chain between here and those Asian marketplaces. That is what the IMC is about. We have been working through and getting established sea freight export councils and air freight export councils in each state in Australia. These are the sorts of things that are going to achieve the outcomes that the IMC is trying to achieve. We are well down the path to achieving that. When I have the report from David Asimus and have reviewed that, I will make it public.29832983Charles, Bob, MPMr CHARLESOT4LaTrobeLP10—My question is addressed to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business. Minister, the Productivity Commission has recently released two reports on Australia's waterfront. Could you please tell us if these reports support the government's policy on the need for ongoing waterfront reform?2983Reith, Peter, MPMr REITHWI4FlindersLPWorkplace Relations and Small Business10—I thank the member for La Trobe.Opposition members interjecting—WI4Mr REITH—They say `release it'. They have been released, you mugs! You ought to read them. If you read them maybe you would understand there is a problem—a problem that we are going to fix, that you created and which you encouraged. One of the amazing things—Honourable members interjecting—WI4Mr REITH—I tell you, Graeme, they are no better since you were here. They are the worst opposition since Arthur Calwell.Government members interjecting—WI4Mr REITH—Okay, worse than Arthur. At least he had integrity. At least he was old-style Labor. He was the sort of bloke who would nod to you in the street instead of sitting in the back of a Roller.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The minister will respond to the question.WI4Mr REITH—There have been two Productivity Commission reports, one which was on international benchmarking of the Australian waterfront. This is the first of two reports. The second report was on work arrangements in container stevedoring. These two reports together make the most convincing, irrefutable, absolutely complete case setting out the need for reform of the Australian waterfront. You could not get a more convincing, more independent, more clearly articulated case as to why Australia needs to fix up the waterfront.These people have not even read it, by their own interjections. They probably read that MUA report which said, `There's nothing to worry about. We're nearly as good as the rest of the world.' It was based on the Drury report. They got some academic in Canberra to extrapolate the work done by a reputable crowd in London. He did it for his own purposes and released it out here. Why did they release it here? They knew the Productivity Commission report was coming so they thought they had better get their own case out onto the public record.In fact, there was a very interesting piece in Lloyd's List a couple of days later which actually had some quotes by the research people at Drury's. They said about the Hamilton report, `Well, the basis of it might be valid. Then again it might not be.' There is only one valid independent study on the public record, and that is the Productivity Commission report. What I like about this report too is that there is no hyperbole, there is no rhetoric—it just gives the straight, hard facts.Mr Crean interjecting—WI4Mr REITH—You can read this, because this is out of the executive summary. It would not take you long, Simon. It says:Container stevedoring in Australia is characterised by a system of complex, inflexible and prescriptive work arrangements which constrain workplace performance.It went on to give a very good example of the cost of unreliability of shipping schedules. It says:The cost of poor waterfront reliability on shipping schedules is illustrated by the experience of one container ship operator in the study.This is a group which has got seven ships going back and forward between Australia and the west coast of the US. They said that, because of the lack of reliability in the Australian ports, they have to have another ship on the service so that they can maintain a reasonable schedule. So, instead of having six ships, they have got seven. Of course, who pays for it? It is all those thousands of Australian businesses that rely on having a service to the west coast to make their businesses tick and to provide jobs. They say that just for this one shipping line alone the cost for them on an annual basis is $7 million a year. They say in respect of that whole Australia-US west coast trade that they estimate that the extra cost in shipping alone because of the lack of reliability is $US20 million every year, which we are paying for and which the Labor Party is not prepared to lift a finger to do anything about.The other thing is that they talk about the work practices and the `double header'. I have done a lot of radio recently, but I must say that one of the more entertaining moments on Melbourne radio the other day was when a wharfie rang up and said, `I'm sick of you talking about a crane driver earning $90,000 a year for sitting on a crane 14 hours a week. I'm sick of you, Mr Reith, talking about rorts.' His name was Barry and he was from Sunshine. Barry from Sunshine, wherever you are, never again hesitate to ring because it was great to talk to you. I said to Barry, `Well, Barry, you're sick of hearing about the rorts. Tell me this, Barry: have you ever heard of such a thing as a double header?' He said, `Yeah, double headers. We have double headers.' I said, `What rate of pay do you get on a double header on the second shift, Barry?' He said, `Oh, we get paid double time and a half.' I said, `Gee, that's not bad, Barry. Barry, when you've finished the job on the second shift, do you get to go home and still get paid for the whole shift?' He said, `Yeah, that's right.' I said, `Barry, have you ever heard of such a thing called `nick off'?' He said, `Listen, don't you talk about rorts. It's been like this since 1960.'That is what Barry said. He is your mate. You are looking after the Barrys of this world. Mr Speaker, do you know what the Productivity Commission said?Honourable members interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—A little quiet, please.WI4Mr REITH—Mate, he could afford two penthouses. What the Productivity Commission shows you is that these guys, these blokes—most of them—are on an average income of $62,000 to $101,000 a year. As the Productivity Commission report shows, they are paid that money for a paid working week of 45 hours, on average, and get from $62,000 to $101,000. But, as the Productivity Commission report also says, of that 45 hours a lot of it is idle time, so many of them are doing less than 40 hours for $62,000 to $101,000 a year. It is the ultimate rort, supported by the Labor Party at the expense of the rest of the Australian community. That is why we are going to fix it up.29842984Tanner, Lindsay, MPMr TANNERYU5MelbourneALP00—My question is to the Prime Minister. I again refer to your statement in relation to the Corrigan scam, `We will support them to the hilt provided they act within the law.' Are you aware of a meeting on 31 January 1998 between Corrigan, Wells and Kilfoyle, where the transcript shows that Kilfoyle asked whether the action being planned was illegal? Corrigan replied, `No, no, well, partly illegal.' Will you continue to back to the hilt an operation which, according to Corrigan himself, is partly illegal?3K6CAMERONMr Ross Cameron—Mr Speaker, I take a point of order. I refer to the House of Representatives Practice , page 515. It states:Questions critical of the character or conduct of other persons cannot be asked without notice.I note you have allowed a question from the member for Hotham which is slanderous in an allegation of criminal conduct by an individual who cannot be here to defend himself. That offends both standing orders and the principles of natural justice. This question likewise offends them and I ask you to rule it out of order.YU5Mr TANNER—On that point of order, I am happy to table it for the honourable member if he likes. It is his own words.3K6CAMERONMr Ross Cameron—Mr Speaker—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The honourable member has made his point of order. The question does raise matters that go very close to the restraints imposed by the standing orders. But I believe that in the circumstances of it being a quotation, as I understand it, it is therefore in order and in spite of the general concern that we all must have about the insinuations and allegations about individuals in questions, I believe this question is in order. Therefore, I call the Prime Minister.2984Howard, John, MPMr HOWARDZD4BennelongLPPrime Minister10—I have a couple of comments to make in response to the honourable member for Melbourne. The first is, that if I were seeking a legal opinion on the behaviour of others I would not seek his opinion. That is the first comment I would make. The second comment I would make is to reiterate the attitude that I take to this issue and the attitude that my government takes to this issue. The attitude we take is that we are for a reformed Australian waterfront. We believe in a reformed Australian waterfront because it is in the interests of the Australian people. We set out at the beginning of this to achieve one goal and one goal alone; that is, to serve the national interest by reforming the Australian waterfront. That has been our single irrevocable aim throughout the whole of this issue. At no stage did we set out to damage the MUA, at not stage did we set out to achieve other than a reformed Australian waterfront. Our promise was to reform the Australian waterfront. Can I take the opportunity of saying to the members of the Maritime Union of Australia—Opposition members interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—Members of the opposition will remain silent.ZD4Mr HOWARD—and all the noise under the sun from the Australian Labor Party will not block out this unassailable fact: if the Maritime Union of Australia months ago, indeed years ago, had adopted a reasonable approach, the events of the last few months would not have occurred. What the Australian public need to be reminded of is that in 1995—this goes to the very heart of this issue—an agreement was made between the Maritime Union of Australia and the Patrick company. For three years the company negotiated with the maritime union to try to get the union to adhere to the agreement that their national secretary had signed. But at no stage would the maritime union show any willingness to do that.Our goal has been to reform the Australian waterfront. Our goal has been to get rid of the rorts. Our goal has been to end compulsory unionism on the Australian waterfront. Our goal has been to deliver a measure of fairness and justice to the farmers of Australia, who have suffered more than any other section of the Australian community due to the disrup tive behaviour of the Maritime Union of Australia over the last not three years but probably the last 20 years. When I saw that great assembly of farmers in Sydney a couple of weeks ago they sent the message to the men and women of Australia that they were the people of Australia who were the real victims of the chicanery on the waterfront. These are men and women whose incomes are often only $15,000 or $20,000 a year. These are men and women who have fought the seasons, they have fought the adversity of perverse world markets. They are the victims of the thuggery of the Maritime Union of Australia and I am very proud of the attempts that my government has taken to reform the Australian waterfront.YU5TANNERMr Tanner—I seek leave to table—Opposition members interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—Will the House be quiet. The honourable member for Melbourne will not speak until he is called. I call the honourable member for Melbourne.YU5TANNERMr Tanner—I seek leave to table a copy of the transcript of the conversation which demonstrates that the Prime Minister is continuing to back an illegal scheme.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—Is leave granted? Leave is not granted.29852985Draper, Trish, MPMrs DRAPER0L6MakinLP10—My question is addressed to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business. What position have various parties adopted in relation to the support of non-MUA approved labour on the waterfront? How does this compare with the position adopted by the government?2985Reith, Peter, MPMr REITHWI4FlindersLPWorkplace Relations and Small Business10—I thank the member for Makin for her question. I thank her for the excellent function that I attended in her electorate the other day. She is another one of the great marginal seat holders on our side that is going to come roaring back at the next election. One of the reasons is that people in Makin want the waterfront fixed up. That is why! I compliment the member on her strong personal stance in support of dinky-di waterfront reform.I tell you another thing that people in Makin support, and that is the right of Australians to make a simple choice. That is the choice to be in a union or not to be in a union. That is the mainstream view in this country. In fact, there was a poll out the other day that showed 74 per cent of Australians believe that on the Australian waterfront individual employees should have the same choice as to whether to join a union or not as do Australian employees in any other workplace.What is so damning of the opposition's position on this issue is that, when it comes to the waterfront, they have a special policy position especially for the MUA. One of the more pathetic performances of the Leader of the Opposition the other day was on the ABC on PM.PE4BEAZLEYMr Beazley—Nobody believes you, Pete.WI4Mr REITH—I will not be distracted. This was at 6.20 p.m. on Monday, 4 May. He was asked—not just once—to reply to the question:Do you object to the idea of non-union labour working on the wharves?He said:I object to the idea of people being sacked because they're unionists and replaced by non-union labour.So question No. 1: do you object to non-union labour? He failed to answer the question. Question No. 2:But what about non-union labour working there? Do you object to that?Again, he failed to answer the question. Question No. 3—talk about skewered good and proper!—was:I ask you again, do you object to the idea of non-union labour working on the waterfront?`Separate the two out,' he says, and avoids the question again. And question No. 4:Does that include supporting non-union labour working there?This is when he said:No, it doesn't include that, Matt. It doesn't include that at all. That is an irrelevancy.I have news for you: in the Australian public, we actually think it is relevant. We do think people have a civil right; it is a civil right in this country to make a decision.Opposition members interjecting—WI4Mr REITH—There are claims coming from the opposition about a conspiracy. I will tell you what I believe about conspiracies: the one conspiracy on this issue is a conspiracy between the Labor Party, the MUA and the ACTU. That conspiracy is to maintain compulsory unionism on the Australian waterfront.Why do you want to do that? Because you like to have the shock troops in the MUA for the benefit of the ACTU's political agenda. What is the second element of that? This is what I call the `Cheryl clauses'. These are the bans on secondary boycotts. What is the Labor Party's public policy on the `Cheryl clauses'? They are to be repealed.What would be the practical effect of that? The practical effect of that is to enhance the monopoly position of the MUA and then allow these people to hold this country to ransom so as to maintain and prop up the rorts, the inefficiencies and the overmanning. That is the real conspiracy on this policy issue. It is the same old conspiracy between the Labor Party, a weak leader of the Labor Party, the MUA and the ACTU. You will be damned for that because the Australian public will not accept a proposition that requires and allows the MUA to keep a stranglehold on this country anymore.29862986McMullan, Bob, MPMr McMULLAN5I4CanberraALP00—There is only one member of this House in court over a conspiracy.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The honourable member will address his question.5I4Mr McMULLAN—My question is to the Prime Minister. I ask, Prime Minister, do you recall saying on 1 May:I knew nothing about Dubai, Mr Reith knew nothing about it. He's received assurances from his staff to the same effect.Prime Minister, leaving the very specific and narrow reference to Dubai to one side, can you assure the House that neither Mr Reith nor the former minister, Mr Sharp, their staff or consultants, were aware prior to 3 December of any proposal by Patrick to replace its entire union work force with a new work force?2987Howard, John, MPMr HOWARDZD4BennelongLPPrime Minister10—Let me say to the member for Canberra that the government's goals have always been to achieve waterfront reforms. During the course of achieving those goals, as you would expect, there were discussions between relevant ministers and the people involved. The goal was to achieve waterfront reform, and let me make it very clear that at all times the government, I believe, acted immaculately in accordance with the law.29872987Bartlett, Kerry, MPMr BARTLETT0K6MacquarieLP10—My question is addressed to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business. Minister, are you aware of media reports which have highlighted the productivity gains made by non-MUA approved labour on the waterfront over past weeks?Opposition members interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The House will remain silent. The honourable member will re-address his question. There was so much noise in the House nobody could hear it.0K6Mr BARTLETT—With pleasure, Mr Speaker.Opposition members interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—Members of the Labor Party will remain silent or I will have the question repeated a third time.0K6Mr BARTLETT—My question is addressed to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business.Opposition members interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—You can make as much noise as you like—we are still going to have silence before the honourable member for Macquarie starts.Mrs Crosio interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The honourable member for Prospect, I suggest you remain silent.0K6Mr BARTLETT—Thank you, Mr Speaker.Mrs Crosio interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The member for Prospect!0K6Mr BARTLETT—Minister, are you aware of media reports which have highlighted the productivity gains made by non-MUA approved labour on the waterfront over past weeks? Minister, what is the government's response to these reports?2987Reith, Peter, MPMr REITHWI4FlindersLPWorkplace Relations and Small Business10—I thank the honourable member for Macquarie. I take the opportunity of thanking him for the time I spent in his electorate. That was a memorable occasion.The MUA has had a lot of coverage but the people who have actually been running some of these operations in the last three or four weeks have had, in my view, not enough coverage. They are Australians. They have taken on a new task to get Australia an efficient waterfront. It is about time these people were given some public recognition for being prepared to take on a new job and to do a job of which all Australians could be proud.Whatever side of politics you come from and whatever you think of this dispute, the fact is these people have done a first-class job under very difficult circumstances. It is not an easy thing to have hoodlums, basically, outside the gate hurling abuse at you, smashing buses, threatening family members—all sorts of abuse that we have seen in recent times.I was caught, therefore, by an article which appeared in the Sunday Telegraph in the last couple of days. This relates the circumstances of a new wharf labourer, a female. She was the first woman to drive the enormous portainer cranes at Port Botany. She had some very interesting things to say about her experience. Her name was Chris. According to this report, Chris's team moved up to 23 containers an hour. According to this report, the MUA's previous rate was about 14 an hour.PE4BEAZLEYMr Beazley—Absolute rubbish!WI4Mr REITH—Absolute rubbish, is it? Yes, sure. Good on you, Kim. You have got the last lot of statistics given to you by John Coombs. You probably got his last lot of research to tell you what to say as well, Kim.Opposition members interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The Minister will answer the question through the chair. Members on the opposition will remain silent.WI4Mr REITH—This hurts. The report goes on to say:Her team unloaded containers one and a half shifts ahead of schedule. Some ships booked in all day were free to leave by mid-morning. `My team the was a first team to break 100 containers in one day, and we did that within a week.'They set a record in Port Botany in their first week. Then she goes on to say—Opposition members interjecting—WI4Mr REITH—Why don't you attack this woman? Wouldn't you attack her? Just typical. She has done the right thing and you are out there attacking her personally. It is typical of your behaviour. If you are not a member of the MUA, you are not worth knowing.Opposition members interjecting—WI4Mr REITH—That is your attitude. Typical!10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The minister will resume his seat for a minute. When I have enough silence in this House, I will call the minister again. There is so much noise that nobody has any chance of hearing the answer. Can I ask the minister to give his response through the chair. I call the minister.Mrs Crosio interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The member for Prospect is not helping.WI4Mr REITH—Mr Speaker, this particular person was a crane operator, fully trained. She was working on $53,000 a year and she thought that was a pretty fair deal. It is reported that on her first day at Port Botany she said she saw two pool tables, three ping-pong tables, a TV, video, spa, weight room, exercycle and step machine. `We started calling it Club Med Port Botany,' she said.This is not the first of these stories. When the first ship to leave Fremantle left having been stevedored by persons other than the MUA, in the last two hours that ship was stevedored at the rate of 22 to 23 cranes per hour, which is better than the national five-port average which had been the product of years and years of MUA rorts and inefficiencies. What this demonstrates is that if people are prepared to put in a decent day's work for a decent day's pay it is good for them, it is good for the exporters and it is good for this country, and that is why we want reform.29882988Tanner, Lindsay, MPMr TANNERYU5MelbourneALP00—My question is also to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business. Can the minister confirm that, according to FOI material, a member of your personal staff, departmental officials and Patrick executives met on 1 December 1997 to discuss `breaking MUA control of the waterfront'? Wasn't this two days before the waterfront mercenaries left for Dubai and wasn't it four days before your department wrote to Chris Corrigan promising to underwrite redundancies? Minister, can you guarantee that a plan to dismiss the entire existing Patrick work force and replace it with another was not discussed at this meeting? Would you now release the record of this meeting?2988Reith, Peter, MPMr REITHWI4FlindersLPWorkplace Relations and Small Business10—What I will guarantee the member is that we are opposed to monopoly control by your mates in the MUA. That is what we are opposed to. I tell you what we are in favour of: we are in favour of an efficient waterfront. Had we had discussions? We have had loads of discussions. We have had discussions with Patrick; we have had discussions with P&O. There was a report out in the last couple of days about the number of job losses because of the overmanning in P&O—DT4CREANMr Crean—A point of order, Mr Speaker!Honourable members interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The Minister will resume his seat. The member for Hotham on a point of order.DT4CREANMr Crean—My point of order goes to relevance. The one discussion that was asked about was the one of 1 December which your staffer attended. Will you release the details that show that they were discussing breaking the MUA control on the waterfront?10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The member is no longer making a point of order. The member will resume his seat. I call the minister.WI4Mr REITH—We have had a lot of discussions with a lot of people. I tell you why: because when we were elected we were elected on a promise to fix up the waterfront. Why was that necessary? Because you spent $420 million and, instead of fixing up the waterfront, Australia has become under Labor's 13 years an international laughing stock. That is why.29892989Taylor, Bill, MPMr TAYLOROJ4GroomLP10—My question is addressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The foreign minister will be aware of reports that India conducted three underground nuclear tests overnight. What are the Australian government's concerns about and responses to these tests?2989Downer, Alexander, MPMr DOWNER4G4MayoLPForeign Affairs10—I thank the honourable member for Groom for his question about this sorry event. The government unreservedly condemns India's action of detonating three nuclear tests, and we have taken immediate and decisive action to make our views clear to the Indian government. India has flagrantly defied the international community's strong support for nuclear non-proliferation and opposition to nuclear testing. India's action does have serious implications for global and, of course, regional security. The Australian government urges India's neighbours to exercise restraint in the face of this provocation. I have called in the Indian High Commissioner today and I have conveyed the Australian government's condemnation in the strongest possible terms. I also made it clear to the Indian High Commissioner that we would expect India to desist from any further tests of any kind and that we would wish to see India immediately move to sign the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty. This same message has been conveyed by our High Commissioner in New Delhi to the Indian authorities.I am also recalling the Australian High Commissioner from New Delhi to Australia for consultations and I expect him back here in the next 48 hours or so. He will leave New Delhi as soon as it is practicable. Further steps will be decided on in the light of those consultations and, of course, also in the light of consultations with our regional friends and neighbours as well as countries such as the United States which share the great concerns that we have about what India has just done.I would like to make one other comment as well about representations we have made to India not over just the last few months but over a large number of years about the issue of nuclear testing and the development of a nuclear capability. We have of course throughout our term in government—and I think to be fair the previous government probably did throughout its whole term in government as well—made it perfectly clear to the Indian government or succession of Indian governments that we wanted India to join with the world and sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.There are now 186 countries which have signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and there are only five that have not—and India is one of those five. I urge the Indian government to do the responsible thing and to sign that treaty. Our views—and, to be fair, the views of the previous Australian government—have always been made clear to the Indian government on that matter. We also have made it perfectly clear to the Indian government on many occasions that we wish them to sign the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty and have expressed our grave concern that they have not signed that treaty.Most recently, following a long succession of representations to successive Indian governments on this broader issue of nuclear questions, our High Commissioner in New Delhi on 22 April conveyed Australia's strong opposition to nuclear testing to India's Defence Minister Fernandes and the following day to the Indian Prime Minister's principal secretary.So let me say in conclusion in relation to the Indian testing program that we want India to understand three things: first, to understand the strength of Australia's feelings about this issue; secondly, to make sure that India does not persist with this policy of detonating nuclear devices; and, thirdly and importantly, to send a strong message to other countries which might be considering entering the nuclear weapons age. Let me say in that context that not only have we, through my department, spoken to the Pakistani High Commissioner but our High Commissioner in Islamabad will also be speaking with the Pakistani government, explaining to them that it would not be to their advantage, to the advantage of the international community or to the advantage of the security of our region as a whole if Pakistan were to respond to India's decision to conduct nuclear tests by doing the same thing. Pakistan should set an example in the cause of nuclear non-proliferation by not going down the path that India has very mistakenly followed.29902990McMullan, Bob, MPMr McMULLAN5I4CanberraALP00—My question is to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business. Minister, have you not made it a specific condition of the Patrick administrators gaining access to the redundancy fund that they reduce the size of the union work force involved in handling containers and at the same time employ non-union labour? Are you not giving preference to non-unionists over unionists, contrary to the requirements of your act?Government members interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—Members of the Government will remain silent. The honourable member for Canberra has the call.5I4Mr McMULLAN—Minister, at the end of your 50-day deadline for all employees and members of the union, will the administrators be able to access the government funds?2990Reith, Peter, MPMr REITHWI4FlindersLPWorkplace Relations and Small Business10—What the opposition perhaps does not appreciate is that the redundancy policy position of the government is right across the board in respect of both shipping and stevedoring and we have had discussions with all the relevant parties right across the board. In the shipping area, for example—Opposition members interjecting—WI4Mr REITH—Shipping, shipping, shipping—got it?Mr Tanner interjecting—WI4Mr REITH—I just find with you people that if I repeat it you eventually get it—that is all. In respect of shipping, for example—ZD4HOWARDMr Howard—It finally sinks in as the deficit finally sank in.WI4Mr REITH—Finally Gareth worked out the $10½ billion and announced it on Sunday television: `We left you a legacy of $10½ billion.' Thank you, Gareth. It will make a great ad in the next campaign, Prime Minister.I do not think that there has ever been any discussion about who is in the union or who is not in the union—with the shipping companies, I do not think ever. In respect of the administrators, I think the Labor Party and the MUA are placed in an exquisitely difficult position. I say that for this reason: normally in these protracted disputes what happens is the union keeps hammering away at the employer until eventually the employer sort of succumbs under the financial pressure, but in this particular situation in fact it is completely the other way around because what you actually have in place is labour hire contracts for the provision of labour for the stevedoring operations based on a commercial assessment of the needs of the stevedoring operations company. As I understand it, from what Mr Corrigan has said on the public record—DT4CREANMr Crean—How can you believe him?WI4Mr REITH—Let me finish and you might at least understand the position. What he has said is that he required these companies to meet certain performance benchmarks and the more industrial action they took the less able they were to meet the performance benchmarks which were required of them under the contract. So what he was doing was topping up those companies to keep them afloat, but eventually the harder the unions hit the stevedoring operations company the more he had to put in by way of subsidy to keep them going, until eventually he said, `Well, given the inefficiencies in your operation, we are no longer prepared to subsidise the inefficiencies in those operations.'What the administrators find is that, once the matter got before the Federal Court, the union said, `We appreciate the insolvency of those companies so—to a layman—basically we are prepared to work for nothing to keep them afloat.' In legal terms, they gave an indemnity against the personal liability of the administrators just to keep the companies afloat.The administrators have these labour hire companies with these contracts. They are looking under the Corporations Law, as required by the High Court, to keep the companies going into the future. In layman's terms, it is basically their obligation, as they have explained it to me, to get these companies up on a sound financial basis. They are looking at how they can be rearranged to meet that simple commercial goal.As they look at those labour supply contracts and how they could configure the work force to meet those contracts, they are asking themselves, `What do we need to keep these companies on a financial basis?' They have said to us that, to get them on to a financial basis, there will obviously be redundancies. They were also looking at the fact that other people were coming to them and saying, `We can provide exactly the same service for 30 per cent less than those labour contracts currently provide by way of a revenue stream.'The requirement on the labour hire companies and their administrators is to look at the means by which they can set these companies up on a commercial basis. The difficulty for the MUA is that their public position is that there is no way known that they can provide labour in those labour hire companies which will allow those companies to operate efficiently in the future. The MUA is saying, `Oh, no. We cannot possibly do it on that existing cost basis.' The reason for that is the inefficiencies, the rorts and the overmanning. It is a neat comparison to make between the national need for an improved waterfront and the micro-need for those companies to put themselves on a financial basis.The administrators have said to me that, on the current basis, the companies are not in funds and therefore they would go into liquidation, the 1,400 would lose their jobs and they would not get a cent. There would be no funds available to them. That is one possibility. The second possibility is—recognising that there are redundancies—that they need Commonwealth funds to be able to meet their obligations. Our funds have always been available on the basis of genuine restructuring, and that is simply what we have said to them. It is a matter for them how they organise the labour to meet the contractual obligations required under those contracts. We said to them, `We would only expect of you what we would expect of anybody else, and that is that you observe the law, that people have—5I4McMULLANMr McMullan—Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order on relevance. This is a very interesting answer but we particularly wanted to know, and the question particularly asked, what would be the circumstance at the end of the 50-day period if all the employees were members of the union; whether the funds would be available at that time. That was the specific question, to which he has not referred.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The minister will respond to the question.WI4Mr REITH—I am responding absolutely relevantly, and in detail, so you might understand, and I am informing the House what I have been told by the administrators. I am giving the House a proper explanation of the Commonwealth's position in this matter, which is actually spelt out in the letter which we made public yesterday. What that does is allow these labour hire companies to enter into arrangements so that they can satisfy the requirements of the labour supply contracts. We have said, therefore, that whether people are members of a union or not is ultimately a matter for them. It is true that we say—not in the letter, but it is clear from our public position—that we are opposed to anybody using their position to enforce, on an ongoing basis, a monopoly and requiring people to be members of the MUA. Of course that is our position. That is always our position. That is the great political divide.If you were the government, you would be saying to the administrators, `Set these companies up however you like but only on the basis that they are members of the MUA'—a clear breach of the Workplace Relations Act. The perversity of this whole thing is that the people who are opposed to and in breach of the spirit of the Workplace Relations Act are none other than the Labor Party and the MUA because they are publicly in favour of com pulsory unionism on the Australian waterfront.This is a very interesting position. It is a requirement on the administrators to act in accordance with the Corporations Law. In a nutshell, the position facing the administrators is that they either liquidate or they reform. If they reform, everybody is fully paid out their entitlements—100c in the dollar—you get an efficient waterfront, people can be proud of the work they do as wharfies and, of course, it is good for the country. The real test now for you guys is: are you prepared now to publicly support the right of the administrators put in place, given the authority of Mr Justice North and the imprimatur of the High Court, to put these companies back on to a sound footing? That is the challenge for you, and I say that you will fail it because you are in the grip of the MUA, as usual.29922992Kelly, De-Anne, MPMrs DE-ANNE KELLYFK6DawsonNP10—My question is addressed to the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs. Can the minister inform the House about the government's recent initiatives to address unemployment? Is the minister aware of comments on these reforms, and what is the government's response to these comments?2992Kemp, Dr David, MPDr KEMPBT4GoldsteinLPEmployment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs;Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service10—I thank the member for Dawson for her question. A top priority of this government is expanding job opportunities for all Australians. Unemployment is now at 7.9 per cent, the lowest level since October 1990. We have had 183,000 jobs created in the last nine months, of which 137,000 have been full time. This compares with the total full-time job creation in the last six years of the Labor government of 20,000 full-time jobs.ZD4HOWARDMr Howard—Seven times better.BT4Dr KEMP—As the Prime Minister points out, the record of this government is seven times better. We are also concerned to make sure that all unemployed people have equal opportunity to get those jobs as they come through. On 1 May, the Job Network replaced the CES. It was clear to employers and it was clear to unemployed people that the old system simply did not work to get them jobs. They had only 20 per cent of the job vacan cies, they had 296 sites and they were not paid according to performance. They shuffled unemployed people through these short-term training schemes that did not lead on to jobs.Overnight on 1 May unemployed people in this country were better off. From the first day unemployed people were able to go to over 1,400 different sites around Australia—not twice as many sites as the CES provided, not three times as many sites but four times as many sites as the CES provided. Over the first week of the operation of the Job Network, thousands of new vacancies were added to the job vacancy database. Thousands of long-term unemployed people who did not have access to case management under the old system are now getting intensive assistance under the new arrangements.LS4FERGUSONMr Martin Ferguson—Tell the truth for a change.BT4Dr KEMP—What sort of comment can we expect from the member for Batman, who right through the lead-up to the establishment of the Job Network attacked individual providers in a vicious, untruthful way? What has been his big criticism of the Job Network? He has decided to attack one of the major providers, the Salvation Army. He has decided to accuse the Salvation Army of colluding with other Job Network providers. Colluding to do what? Colluding to provide unemployed people, non-allowees, with free access to job services. The only people in this country attacking the Salvation Army are the Labor Party. What a big political ploy on behalf of the member for Batman! What judgment he shows! He is an embarrassment to the Labor Party, and he is an embarrassment to the Leader of the Opposition.Did he tell you that he was going to write to the ACCC? The Labor Party has shown its true colours. It is not interested in providing unemployed people with a better deal. It is not interested in a performance based system. All it is interested in is its narrow, shabby, mean politics. It is willing to drag any organisation down into the gutter along with the member for Batman. You should apologise to the Salvation Army, and you should apologise to all those thousands of men and women who are working hard to provide unemployed people in this country with a better go.29932993Crean, Simon, MPMr CREANDT4HothamALP00—My question is directed to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business. Does the minister recall saying in relation to claims that Mr Wells had phoned his staffer Stephen Webster on 5 September—and I quote the minister:I have spoken to Dr Webster this morning and he totally repudiates that claim.That was the phone call on 5 September. Does the minister stand by his statement? If so, how does he explain the phone account of Mr Wells showing a call on that day, 5 September, to a phone number 0418 595706? Minister, was this not Stephen Webster's phone number at the time? Does this not confirm Mr Wells's assertion by affidavit that he phoned Webster to report progress on his discussions with Chris Corrigan? Do you still stand by your assurance that he did not speak to Wells on 5 September?10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The question is incredibly long, but I call on the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business if he wishes to respond.2993Reith, Peter, MPMr REITHWI4FlindersLPWorkplace Relations and Small Business10—What is John Coombs's telephone number? What is Jennie George's telephone number?Honourable members interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—Order! Honourable members will cease interjecting.WI4Mr REITH—I should not be stimulated by my colleagues at the back. There is no doubt that there is a conflict between Mr Corrigan and Patrick and Messrs Wells and Kilfoyle. There is no doubt whatsoever there is a conflict between them. There are threats of legal action and all sorts of claims being made. It is worth putting it in context. It seems what has happened is that the claims being pursued by Messrs Wells and Kilfoyle had been passed over to a colleague of theirs, Mr Andrew Harris. Mr Harris went public at the end of April or 1 May, and he claimed to have documents that were available for sale which would reveal all on Dubai. We have heard about these documents for some time because John Coombs told us back in March, if not earlier, that they were for sale for $5.6 million. They were documents definitely worth having!Then, when Mr Harris was brought in to pursue the claim, he announced that they were for sale for $1 million. He was asked specifically whether or not these documents in any way implicated the government. This is what he said:I have got nothing in the documentation whatsoever, however, that suggests that.That was in response to the question:Did the documents show that anybody working for the government at any stage had any advanced knowledge of what was happening in Dubai?He said:I have got nothing in the documentation whatsoever, however, that suggests that. There is nothing to suggest that Wells told anyone in government that they knew anything about Dubai at all.He also said on 1 May to Neil Mitchell:So you still haven't on what you've got. You've got nothing that suggests the government was lying.`Absolutely not. I said that yesterday,' says Harris.So the first thing we know is that documents are for sale for colossal amounts of money, absolutely, completely unrelated to the government on the representation publicly made by the person who had the documents for sale. The next thing we know is that there is a claim in which the government is implicated, and the claim is that there were three points of contact.At the same time, if not before, Dr Webster—who was then not on my staff but doing a consultancy for the government on waterfront, for which I was jointly responsible—had already made it quite clear that he had had a contact once before with Mr Wells. He was quite open about it, and why shouldn't he be? For heaven's sake, there is nothing wrong with doing so. That was a contact in respect of a completely separate, unrelated matter which is independently verifiable.Furthermore, I have it on independent advice from Pratt Industries, for which this job was done, that at the time Dr Webster, who had worked for them for many years—14 years or thereabouts—was asked by them to do a particular job for him, which he did. In the advice that I have from Vizy Industries, the matter was sort of settled, but there was some ongoing debate about whether the person who got a job as a driver would be part time or full time. That is a full and complete explanation for who had telephone numbers or who did not.DT4CREANMr Crean—Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. The issue goes to relevance. The settlement of the chauffeur was in July. I am asking about 5 September and a phone call which you said did not take place.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The honourable member for Hotham will not proceed to argue the question. He has made his point regarding relevance. The minister should answer the question. The question was broad, and the minister is responding to it. It covers a lot of matters.LS4FERGUSONMr Martin Ferguson—Tell the truth, Reithie!10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The minister is entirely in order.LS4FERGUSONMr Martin Ferguson—Tell the truth!10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The member for Batman.WI4Mr REITH—The advice that I have is that the driver finally accepted the offer of a full-time position with Vizy, which is part of the Pratt group, on 1 October.DT4CREANMr Crean—You're finished!WI4Mr REITH—So you go and check it. Lastly, as to the balance of the claims, Dr Webster put out a statement which was publicly released on 8 May in which he completely explained the position.DT4CREANMr Crean—Do you stand by it?WI4Mr REITH—I stood by it then, and of course I stand by it.DT4CREANMr Crean—Mr Speaker, I seek leave to table the records that demonstrate that the phone call from Mr Wells to Dr Webster—Leave not granted.29942994Cameron, Ross, MPMr ROSS CAMERON3K6ParramattaLP10—My question is addressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Can the minister inform the House of the purpose of the new youth ambassadors for development program, announced by the Prime Minister on 5 May, during his speech to the Australia Unlimited conference?2994Downer, Alexander, MPMr DOWNER4G4MayoLPForeign Affairs10—First, let me thank the member for Parramatta for his question and say that he is one of the members on this side of the House who has advocated a youth ambassadors program for a long time. I hope the member for Parramatta will make sure that the people of Parramatta are made aware of his enthusiastic support and advocacy for this program. What is more, the people of Parramatta understand that you ask relevant to the point questions and not grubby irrelevancies that come from the vacuous opposition.The Prime Minister did indeed announce the youth ambassadors program on 5 May. This is a visionary program designed to encourage young Australians to get to know the Asia-Pacific region better and to encourage people in the Asia-Pacific region to meet with, deal with, and themselves understand better, young people in this country. This is about engagement with our region at the people to people level. This is about bringing young people into the region from this country, helping them to understand it, helping them to build links and helping to create a pathway for Australia's future.Formally, this will be announced in the budget. But as the member has pointed out, the Prime Minister made an announcement on 5 May about the youth ambassadors program. It includes funding of $10 million over two years, and that will provide places for 500 young Australians. These young people, under the age of 30, will have the opportunity to take up placements in areas such as government, business, and educational and community organisations around the region. Young nurses, engineers, plumbers, farmers, environmentalists, and so on, will be able to represent Australia abroad—and I know that they will do so proudly and in a truly constructive way.I regard this initiative as a particularly visionary initiative by this government. It is about doing things for this country's future—not about the sort of grubby politicking that we are getting from the other side; not about the sort of irrelevancy of phone calls made from one person to another, and this sort of trivia. This is about doing things for the country's future. This is about us taking Australia forward in the Asia-Pacific region.Whatever the Labor Party may say—which on this topic, of course, is precisely zero—institutions like Monash University are getting involved and supporting this project. I would like to congratulate Monash University as the first institutional partner which has agreed to allow scholarship holders under its Monash abroad scholarship program to attach youth ambassadorships to their Monash funded overseas study visits.So the Prime Minister was right. This is a visionary and constructive program all about Australia's future.29952995Beazley, Kim, MPMr BEAZLEYPE4BrandALP00—My question is addressed to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, in the light of clear evidence that the government has been backing to the hilt an operator who prima facie has conspired to stack an entire work force because they are members of a union, who was taped on 31 January admitting that his plan was `partly illegal' and who appears to have committed perjury by swearing under oath that he provided no financial backing to the Dubai operation—SJ4TUCKEYMr Tuckey—Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. The constraints on members asking questions under standing order 144 do not allow speeches to be made. There has not been one reference to a question in the first hundred words expressed by the Leader of the Opposition.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The reason that I allowed the question was that I was also concerned about the use of the word `perjury' and the allegations made. But I am listening carefully and I believe at the moment that the question is in order.PE4Mr BEAZLEY—Mr Speaker, I used the expression `appears'. When did you first become aware of the Patrick plan to sack its existing work force and replace it with another? Will you now call an independent inquiry into the government's role in the Patrick plan?2995Howard, John, MPMr HOWARDZD4BennelongLPPrime Minister10—Of course I will not be calling an independent inquiry, because I am proud of the fact that my government has tried to reform the Australian waterfront. I am very proud of the fact that I lead a government that is prepared to stand up for the Australian interests and not the sectional interests. I am very proud of the fact that I have a minister who is prepared in the Australian national interest to fight for the long-term future of the farmers of Australia and the long-term interests of the business community of Australia, and is not bound hand and foot to the Maritime Union of Australia.Let me say to the Leader of the Opposition that the great take-out for the Australian public as far as you are concerned is that when the MUA dog barked you came running. That is the great take-off as far as you are concerned. You were prepared to go down to the Fremantle dock and put your hands up for the Maritime Union of Australia, but at no stage were you prepared to put your hand up—Honourable members interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—When the honourable gentlemen and ladies remain quiet, we can proceed.ZD4Mr HOWARD—The Leader of the Opposition was a member of a government that was prepared to ruthlessly import foreign pilots into Australia in order to destroy the jobs of Australian pilots. You were a member of a government that was prepared to use the armed forces of Australia to destroy a trade union. You were prepared to work hand in glove with Bill Kelty of the ACTU. In other words when it suits you, you will set out to destroy a union, but when it suits your sectional interests you will always stand up for the trade union sectional interests.On this occasion we have stood up for the Australian national interest. I am proud of that fact and I am proud of the role played by my minister.Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.Censure Motion2996299615:47:002996Beazley, Kim, MPMr BEAZLEYPE4BrandALP00—by leave—I move:That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Leader of the Opposition moving forthwith:That this House censures the government for its failure to hold an independent inquiry into its conduct, and that of associated parties, in relation to waterfront issues, particularly in the light of the growing body of compelling evidence showing:(1) potentially illegal actions in contravention of the Workplace Relations Act, and the potential exposure of the Commonwealth, and all taxpayers, to substantial damages;(2) collusion between the government and Patrick Stevedoring in, and government foreknowledge of, a scheme to sack Patrick's workforce and replace it with an alternative workforce;(3) collusion between the government and principals of Fynwest in, and government foreknowledge of, a scheme to train an alternative workforce, including in Dubai;(4) Patrick's financial support for Fynwest Pty Ltd, despite Mr Chris Corrigan's sworn evidence to the contrary before the Australian Industrial Relations Commission;(5) Mr Corrigan's own acknowledgment, at a meeting with Fynwest principals on 31 January 1998, that the actions being contemplated by the parties were `partly illegal'; and(6) the findings of the High and Federal Courts that there is an arguable case that there has been a conspiracy to break the law.Mr Speaker, in the course of his remarks today the Prime Minister (Mr Howard) said to the House that he regarded the MUA as something like an imprint on the opposition and that, when all else was forgotten, we stood for the MUA on the waterfront. I do not think that on this sorry episode that will be anybody's political epitaph as far as this issue is concerned.There are several phrases that stand out, but I think that the phrase that will stand out will be that by Mr Corrigan that is stamped on the forehead of the government—`No, no, partly illegal.' That will be the take-out from this particular sorry episode in Australian industrial relations history.This censure motion is relevant of course on a number of grounds. We have all seen, and the public has had an opportunity to inspect, the public record now in relation to what has been done by this government in cahoots with the owners of Patricks to illegally deprive workers of their right to work. We have all seen that and, whatever the Prime Minister might say, there are ten judges who have come to a conclusion that there is a case to answer as far as these matters are concerned. We have all seen that.One thing that all Australians including this opposition firmly believe in is the requirement for reform and competition on the waterfront. What the government is now trying to do is to wrap around itself a position that every Australian agrees with—including those on this side of the House—as an excuse to cover what has been one of the most manifestly incompetent and malevolent episodes in Australian industrial relations and political history.What the public will not forgive the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business (Mr Reith) for is not so much his objectives; they will not forgive him for his incompetence and his unwillingness to acknowledge and understand that the course of action he chose to support was an illegal course of action. The Australian people above all expect their government to be a government of competence and a government of laws. That is what they expect of them—a government of competence and a government of laws.This is not the first occasion on which we have had to call into question the competence of this government. We have had plenty of opportunities in that regard; 15 changes in nursing home policy, one disaster after another on employment policy and one bungle after another in public administration.But this is the first time that the incompetence has been combined with illegality. It takes a position of true genius from a government with 75 to 80 per cent support in the public for waterfront reform to convert that into 60 per cent opposition with it methodology. That is an act of true political genius by the Prime Minister and his Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business.Only fumble farm over there could produce an outcome like that. Instead of using the fact that there is strong public sentiment for waterfront reform, the minister and this government chose to take a course of illegality. Why did they do it? They chose to do it because some time around about last March a number of people put up their hands in the business community and elsewhere and said, `What are you doing? You are an incompetent, weak government and as an incompetent and weak government we expect you to develop a degree of competence and get about waterfront reform. Get off your bike and get into it.' That is what they said.What happened after that point of time was flat panic as far as this government was concerned. There was no investigation of what ought to be done sensibly to bring about change. Everybody on the waterfront was prepared to negotiate change. Everybody on the waterfront has been prepared to negotiate change repeatedly over the course of the last nine years or so. Everybody on the waterfront has been there for it. Only these incompetents can turn that willingness on the waterfront and that public sentiment behind it into a concern in the entire community about whether or not their jobs and their job security might not come under attack from 1970s style bottom of the harbour arrangements being officially approved by the government. What the government has touted in its own Workplace Relations Act as a right to work and a right to be in employment is, if you choose to be a member of a union, a right that does not exist against a government that no longer is in touch with its own laws. Only this incompetent minister could produce that outcome and only that Prime Minister, who spends more time chatting on radio stations and examining opinion polls than he does in administering this country, could let him get away with it—fundamental, utter incompetence.Part of the mantra that they used to talk themselves into this mad, insane obsession they have with the MUA is that somehow they confronted a situation where there had been no change and they needed to take this from the ground up and alter it. I ask the Australian public and the House this question: looking at Minister Reith's record and this government's record over the course of the last six months, do you think that they would have been capable of taking down the stevedoring work force, by consensus, from 10,000 to 3,700? Do you think they would have been capable of improving container rates by 75 per cent?Mr Reith interjecting—PE4Beazley, Kim, MPMr BEAZLEY—These are BTCE figures, old son—not ours. Do you think that this government could have reduced to one-fifth the cost of movement of bulk cargo across the waterfront and establish world's best practice on what is in fact about two-thirds by volume of our exports? Do you think they could have done that? Do you think they could have established company employment out of a situation which existed for 60 to 70 years as pooled employment? Do you think they could have established company employment on the waterfront? No. I do not think that anybody in all honesty could look at the character opposite and say that he would have been capable of delivering that.What is he actually asking for in terms of improvements in container rates? He is asking for a 25 per cent improvement in container rates—against all that. That is the gravamen of his position—a 25 per cent improvement in container rates, on his own figures. Against everything that was achieved by the previous government since 1989 he asks for a bagatelle and he makes a meal of it. And he stands up in this place and quotes container rates achieved by the non-union work force on the waterfront—but Patricks was sending congratulatory letters out to its work force during the course of the last 18 months for doing five and six containers an hour better than those particular propositions. That is what he has managed to achieve. He has managed to achieve a sort of `value subtractal' in relation to the work force on the waterfront.He has to live with this: in his own polling something like 10 per cent of the Australian people believe him. He has almost broken the Abe Lincoln barrier; he has almost got himself down to beat the Abe Lincoln barrier, which is, `You can fool some of the people all of the time; all of the people some of the time; but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.' He has actually got to the point, the Abe Lincoln record, that as far as the public is concerned nobody believes him any of the time. He has compromised his government's position as a result of that. His malevolence and his competence and his complete inability to fathom what his obligations are in waterfront reform have got him to the sorry state that he is in now, where 75 to 80 per cent of the Australian people want waterfront reform and 60 per cent of the Australian people oppose the way in which the government has gone about it. He alone has managed to produce these circumstances.Honourable members interjecting—10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—Order! Could I suggest that there be a little less intervention, please.Honourable members interjecting—PE4Beazley, Kim, MPMr BEAZLEY—There are not many of them in regard to this place. So this man who has managed to produce a situation where the public puts a question mark over waterfront reform is the character who still has to carry the argument. And what is his motive? Is his motive waterfront reform? No, and he has said it here again today. His motive is the destruction of the MUA. This is not a legal objective, this is not a democratic objective and it is not an industrially necessary objective. It is none of those things. Every single port in the United States, in Japan, in Singapore and in Europe with which the minister likes to compare Australia's situation has one thing in common with Australian ports and that is this: every single port has a single union of which all stevedores are members—every one of them. The public knows that the destruction of the MUA is not the sine qua non of waterfront reform; it is the political objective of the Liberal Party. And it is no wonder that the Australian public by a substantial margin do not support $250 million of their hard-earned cash going into the backing up of the political objectives of the Liberal Party. They do not support that. And they also probably do not know that they should.When we put our reforms in place—and it was not $400 million worth of public funds that was spent; it was closer to $130 million to achieve all those reforms that I talked about a bit earlier on—we arrived at that position on the basis, signed up to by the companies and the unions, that any further redundancies would be met from the situation that persisted after those reforms of company employment by the companies themselves. Why can it not be achieved in the case of Patrick's? Because this government—and this is one of the reasons why it should be censured—have said to Patrick's that as far as they are concerned they can restructure themselves in identikit sort of bottom-of-the-harbour type arrangements in order to remove their assets from their stevedoring companies.There is no question at all about Patrick's being able to afford those redundancy payments if the totality of the company is considered. They can amply afford those redundancies if the totality of the companies involved is considered. But a legal piece of sharp practice which has been tumbled by the Federal Court and the High Court has placed at jeopardy $250 million worth of taxpayers' funds. I will quote Justice North, upheld six to one by the High Court, including appointees of the current government, on this subject:There is also evidence that the Patrick owners and other companies in the Patrick group, together with others, agreed on these unlawful acts as part of an overall plan to replace the workforce with non-Union labour. This means that there is an arguable case that the Patrick owners and Patrick employers have engaged in an unlawful conspiracy.Further on, the High Court judgment says that all parties to a conspiracy are liable as concurrent tortfeasors, and it is only necessary for one of the conspirators to have performed the act for an action to lie against all. If damages are recovered, each is liable for the whole amount. It is time, old son, for you to tell the Australian people whether they or you are going to pay for your personal area of liability. Are the Australian people going to have to pay for your personal incompetence? I think there will be one or two people over the next few months who will be very interested in an answer to that question.He talks about me evading questions on the waterfront—listen to his entire performance in question time today! Not one answer on any of the pointed matters put to him, all of which a parliament would be entitled to, all of which an independent inquiry would tease out, as far as the involvement of his government is concerned. Don't you remember him here, just before Easter, standing up and slapping everybody on the back for the wonderful thing he had done—illegally sacking the work force—which has caused the Federal Court and the High Court, conservative gentlemen and lady as far as legal matters are concerned to a person, to come down on top of him 10 to one, like a ton of bricks, to say that out there is a prima facie case for conspiracy which he has given the tick to in the course of the last six months?Every time he has got up he has washed his hands: `I know nothing.' He produces a detailed bill on what we ought to do a day later but he did not know what was going on the day before; he just conjured that out of the atmosphere. He gets on the 7.30 Report and says, `We did not know anything about the suggestion to sack the whole work force. I have learnt about that in the last 24 hours.' Then people come out and present evidence that he has been involved in discussions of that matter for a good six months prior to that date—one piece of evidence produced after another.His totally mendacious performance is matched only by the incompetence and malevolence of his performance. The Australian people have tumbled him on this matter and he is now damaged goods, and is damaging the reputation of this government as a result of his incompetence. Nothing is more despicable in this debate than the way in which they exaggerate the outcomes of what they want to achieve in order to protect themselves from examination of their incompetence. Nothing is more demeaning of people who are supposed to be adults than taking that child-like approach to their own defence. Nothing is more insulting to those of us who are professional politicians, who have been ministers for 13 years, than to watch one of their colleagues perform in the pathetic, mendacious and incompetent fashion that this minister has performed in.Those of us who have actually made a few hard yards when it comes to a bit of microeconomic reform around here see the Australian public turned off its conviction that things ought to change not because reform is not achieved but because the terms and conditions under which they are employed are threatened, as indeed they are by what this government has chosen to do. That is a serious worry to ordinary Australians and it is a further serious worry that when somebody is faced with being illegally sacked they are then confronted by government approved guard dogs on the waterfront snapping and biting at them.If you are talking about symbols of this period of time stamped on anybody in Australian politics as far as this whole exercise is concerned, guard dogs snapping on the waterfront is certainly going to be one of the symbols. You talk about things featuring in election advertising. You don't think that might not feature in the course of the next little while? We have got the rottweilers up there and the ad says: `Your entitlement to annual leave: snap. Your entitlement to a lunch hour: snap. Your entitlement to sick pay: snap. Your entitlement to long service leave: snap.' You do not think that might not make a bit of an advertisement about your behaviour in the course of the next election campaign if it is advertisements that you want to talk about, Minister? You are symbolised by the balaclava.The other thing he does is exaggerate. What can be more important than exaggerating the effect of waterfront reform! Let us understand what he is struggling for: an improvement in stevedoring costs. Let us take farmers and the movement of fine wool. Let us take fine wool shifted by containers at today's price of 650c a kilogram. Stevedoring costs for fine wool are 1c a kilogram. Australian GDP is over $550 billion. If you accept the Productivity Commission statement as to what it costs us a year in efficiencies on the waterfront, it is $1 billion out of that $550 billion—$1 billion that it should not cost us if the position they put is indeed the case.Compare that with another of your areas of responsibility, minister, about which we hear nothing: that of occupational health and safety—the cost to the GDP, $20 billion. That is 20 times the cost of what is supposed to happen as far as improvement of the waterfront is concerned. But do we hear anything from you on that? Not a word. Every action that you take as a minister for industrial relations, not just on this matter but on others, has been inimical to the interests of decent workplace occupational health and safety as you threaten the job conditions of every Australian worker by the illegal acts that you are prepared to sign up to.UNKNOWNAn honourable memberAn honourable member—Who is next?PE4Beazley, Kim, MPMr BEAZLEY—`Who is next?' said a colleague behind me. I will tell you who next has the opportunity to declare themselves on this: the Australian people, and they have marked your card. (Time expired)10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—Is the motion seconded?YU5TANNERMr Tanner—I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.LS4FERGUSONMr Martin Ferguson—Come on, fibber.WI4REITHMr Reith—Mr Speaker, I think that should be withdrawn.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—I think that the honourable member for Batman might withdraw that remark.LS4FERGUSONMr Martin Ferguson—I withdraw the suggestion that the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business is a fibber.16:09:003000Reith, Peter, MPMr REITHWI4FlindersLPWorkplace Relations and Small Business10—The government, of course, rejects this shallow censure motion. It is indicative of the attitude of the Labor Party that they would present this censure motion today. Censure motions are supposed to raise matters of grave national importance. Instead, what the Labor Party have done is to reveal their partisan position in support of the MUA against the national interest. What the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Beazley) did not do was to acknowledge the problems faced by our country as a result of the inefficiencies on the Australian waterfront.I think people internationally are certainly looking at this dispute, but what they are wanting to know is whether Australia in the next century is going to have an efficient waterfront which will allow us to compete with the rest of the world. In the London Economist, for example, they said that the dispute in Australia reminded them of the agro-ridden Britain of the 1970s, and they are right to make that comment because the attitudes expressed today by the Leader of the Opposition, which are so evident in the conduct of the MUA, are really the attitudes of the 1970s in the UK and they are the left-over, remnant attitudes of a hardcore within the Australian trade union movement going back to the 1940s and 1950s. That is the truth of it. The world wants to know whether Australia is going to finally grasp this significant issue and make a difference so that our farmers, our exporters and our importers really are going to be able to compete against the rest of the world.The Leader of the Opposition says, `Oh, but the costs are only a few cents per pound of wool or whatever might be exported.' That really does reveal just a complete lack of understanding of the real problems here. Australia has something like $120 billion worth of goods going out by sea. A huge percentage of Australia's imports and exports go across the Australian waterfront.YU5TANNERMr Tanner—In bulk.WI4Reith, Peter, MPMr REITH—Yes, a lot of it is bulk. In value terms, approximately 70 per cent of imports and 78 per cent of exports were transported by sea in 1995-96. They shipped approximately $120 billion worth of cargo in 1995-96, $62 billion of which was containerised—$62 billion worth of goods. It is in the container terminals where we have appallingly low levels of productivity—where Australia's reputation for reliability has been marred for years by high levels of industrial action, a lack of reliability and workplace practices which make us a laughing-stock. That is the issue. You are obviously entitled to raise any related matter but, in the end, the issue is whether or not Australia is going to go into the next century with a system that works. That is the issue. You say that the marginal cost is therefore irrelevant. That is not the case.YU5TANNERMr Tanner—He didn't say that.WI4Reith, Peter, MPMr REITH—He did say that, and I heard him say it. Take Jack Schmidt, for example, who runs the Riverland stockfeed business. He made the point that, as the feed leaves his farm gates, it is a competitive product. It is a quality product and can beat the best in the world. They produce that product. It goes out through the port of Melbourne in containers. It goes to, of all places, the dairy industry in Japan. They compete against the Americans who also have a reasonable product, and it is very important that they can compete with them in every aspect of the growing, the harvesting and the delivery of their product. As he said, when it comes to those delivery costs, including the stevedoring, they are at a cost disadvantage to the Americans.This is not just a few cents off per kilo or whatever the price measurement is; this can mean the difference between whether you are in business or not. This is not just a cent here or there; this can be a vital question of whether or not you get the contract in the first place. If Australia's reputation is that we are not a reliable supplier, then you miss out on the lot. That is why cost is important. Price is important, but so is our reputation for reliability.I thought the figures that I read out during question time were very revealing when it comes to the impact of a less than reliable system. This is the impact calculated by the Productivity Commission on the shipping costs between Australia and the west coast of the US. What they say is that one of these companies runs seven ships whereas, if we had a more reliable system, they would need only six. So the extra ship is put on because of the lack of reliability in Australia. It costs that shipping line $US7 million per year, and who pays for that? We do. We all pay for it. That is lost export income and lost opportunities, and it makes us less competitive in those markets.When we go back to the workplace practices, we can see how it is that those workplace practices give Australia a reputation for being somewhat less than reliable. The level of industrial disputes on the Australian waterfront is, by average, nine times the national average. That is the official figure from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The figure does not include every stoppage. In fact, the stoppages which are for an hour, two hours or four hours are just as damaging as an even longer stoppage because again there is a knock-down effect. The ships come out here and they go from port to port. Of course, if they are four hours or two hours late in each and every port, that all adds up to our reputation for being unreliable.These guys take industrial action at the drop of a hat. In the case against Patricks, there has been something like 40 days plus of industrial action against them since near the end of January and early April. Only about nine of those days actually went into the official statistics. That gives a feel for the extent and constancy of industrial action. The wharfies take industrial action for just about any possible reason. During the first part of this year they took industrial action for a $4,500 a year wage increase. They are already on an average wage of between $62,000 and $101,000. They were taking industrial action to get a $4,500 increase and so as to be able to get all the rorts, inefficiencies and overmanning loaded into the base. That was the motive for the industrial action.But not just for wage claims do wharfies take industrial action; they take industrial action for the most extreme reasons. For example, last year in Port Botany there was an argument over the billiard table. They threatened to close down Sydney because they wanted the billiard table re-covered. In Port Botany last year there was a pallet of toilets to be loaded. They took industrial action because they wanted embarrassment money. This is typical of this union.They went back at Darling Harbour a week or so ago. They took industrial action on the day they went back. Do you know what one of their complaints was? Their complaint was that they did not want to wear safety vests because they had been worn by people who were not members of the MUA. They said to management, `We expect all the vests to be collected, put in plastic bags and burnt be cause they were worn by people other than members of the MUA.' They demanded that the cranes be cleaned because scab labour had been driving the cranes. That is typical of the behaviour of these people which, in the end, gives Australia this shocking reputation for unreliability. As these shipping company figures show, it all adds up. The people who are disadvantaged are literally the thousands of Australian businesses, big and small, that rely on having an efficient waterfront into the future.It is not just unreliability; it is lack of productivity. When it comes to productivity the figures coming out of the Productivity Commission report demonstrate that Australia is a long way behind an average world figure. The best in Australia is not as good as the worst in New Zealand. That tells you in a simple way where we are at. There was a very good 60 Minutes program—I think it must have been last year—where they put a camera on a ship that went from Auckland to Melbourne to Sydney. In Auckland they were doing 24 lifts an hour, when they got to Melbourne they were doing eight and by the time they got to Sydney they were doing 14. Could we do better? The lady whose story is in the Sunday Telegraph tells us that we can do better. She worked for the farmers and, as she said, they were doing 23 lifts an hour. As to the average in Sydney, there have been times this year in Sydney when those wharfies were running at 10 crane lifts an hour. Here is a young woman, the first ever to drive a container crane in Sydney. She is fully trained and she was doing double the rate they were doing in her first week on the Australian waterfront.In terms of the productivity rates, the five-port average in Australia is 18.5. In Auckland it is 25. In places like Manila, Laem Chabang or Mozambique they do better than we do—they do 25 to 30. As I said to John Coombs, why can't Australian wharfies do a decent day's work for a decent day's pay like wharfies anywhere else? Think of the average Australian small business person. They would give their right arms to have a job for $90,000 a year and 14 hours a week. What is the average Aussie farmer on? They are on an average sort of income of $11,000 or $15,000. They really put in a decent week's work for that sort of money. What a comparison it makes. It is not a fair system that allows these people to rort the system to the disadvantage of all other Australians. That is all we are saying.This has been an interesting dispute because of many aspects, but at the political and at the policy level it really has flushed out the Labor Party's position. Mr Beazley has had an opportunity to declare where he stands on some of these fundamental principles. We say it is a fundamental principle that, if you want to be in a union, then you should be allowed to be so. Similarly, if you do not want to be in a union, then you do not have to be. I cannot say it more simply than that. I cannot say it more plainly than that. That is the government's position. In fact, most Australians—I say three-quarters—think that is a fair position. Yet, when it comes to the waterfront, Mr Beazley and the Labor Party adopt a different view.When he was challenged on radio the other day, Mr Beazley ended up endorsing this position, namely, that the MUA is entitled to have a monopoly. The Labor Party's position is that it is okay and fair enough for people like John Coombs to be able to enforce compulsory union membership on the Australian waterfront. Why do they do that? I will tell you why they do that. It is because it allows the MUA, which has a significant influence within the Labor Party and the ACTU, to hang on to their stranglehold. They use that stranglehold: they use it for their own political purposes and to maintain rorts, inefficiencies and overmanning at the expense of every other Australian, and that is why we object to it. We think that, by all means, if you want to be in a union, that is fine, but compulsory unionism is not fine, a monopoly is not fine. We have been publicly opposed to and advocating that change for as long as I can remember and for as long as I have been in Australian politics. We will go on so arguing because it is in the national interest that we have real competition.The second policy position which the Labor Party has publicly advocated is the abolition of the Trade Practices Act provisions which place a ban on secondary boycotts. This is very important. I call these the Cheryl clauses because Cheryl, the star recruit of the Labor Party, voted for them in the Senate. These clauses in the Trade Practices Act prohibit people taking industrial action against their employer for a reason other than terms and conditions. In other words, you are not allowed to financially cripple your employer because you want to take industrial action for some reason other than the terms and conditions of your employment.You are not allowed as a union—for example, the MUA—to take secondary boycott action on the Australian waterfront because you want to take action in respect of some other business off the waterfront. You are just simply not allowed to do it. You are not allowed to do it for the very good policy reason that you are not entitled to financially damage your employer.We give people the right to strike; we think that is fair enough. It has to be constrained, it has to be reasonable, there have to be some rules about it; but if workers collectively want to take industrial action then they are entitled to do so. But you are not entitled to take secondary boycott action.The Labor Party's policy today is to repeal those provisions. The one union in this country that will use that to the disadvantage of every other Australian is the MUA. It says much about the Labor Party. They are in here today with their shallow nonsense censure motion, when in fact their policy position is against the national interest; it is opposed to genuine reform and, therefore, reveals them for what they are, bound hand and foot to the MUA. We just reject this censure motion. We treat it with the contempt it deserves. The policy position by the Labor Party deserves contempt. The challenge for them now is: are they going to support the administrators, who now have the authority given to them by the courts, are they going to support reform or are they going to sit back and support the MUA and push those companies into liquidation? Let us hear your answer.16:24:003003Tanner, Lindsay, MPMr TANNERYU5MelbourneALP00—Once again we have a minister in the dock— not just in the dock in parliament, not just in the dock of public opinion; he is in a real dock. He is in the dock in court. He is a defendant in an unlawful conspiracy action and all that he can do, in response to this action, is plead the fifth. Again, today in question time and, again, in his contribution just then, he has had the gall to suggest that we might answer some questions. He has not answered any; not one single question has been answered.Let me remind the defendant of what is on the charge sheet, let me remind the defendant what he is facing. In March 1997 his own department sends him a minute suggesting that maybe they should consider sacking the entire work force of the stevedoring companies in a way that there should be no appeal. On 30 July 1997 Stephen Webster starts as a consultant to the government. On the same day he contacts Michael Wells and says, `I want you to contact Chris Corrigan; he's got a job for you.' Wells subsequently does that and Corrigan starts the process with him of organising the recruiting of serving Australian soldiers to go and be trained in Dubai to replace an existing work force of people who are not on strike, who are not breaking the law, who are acting in accordance with their agreements and the award at that time.Subsequently, there are phone calls between Wells and Webster, and then Webster says, `Okay, no more calls. I'm satisfied that things are going according to plan, it's all all right, no more calls.' Webster has given us several versions of what happened. Initially, he denies that he calls, now he accepts that there might have been some calls. But this consultant on $1,000 a day, what was he doing at the time? He was organising chauffeurs for people. The government was actually out there organising chauffeurs for businessmen—or so we are led to believe.Then we get to the start of the process of asset stripping. We suddenly get Chris Corrigan rearranging and reconfiguring all these companies so that the employment of labour is separated from the ownership and the assets of the company. In December, the Dubai mercenaries fly out two days after Peter Reith's own staffer and departmental officials meet with Patrick's and discuss how to sack an entire work force and what procedures to go through and, only a couple of days before, the government writes to Corrigan saying, `Don't worry, we will fund redundancies.'In January, after the Dubai exercise has gone by the board, at least for the time being, the NFF Webb Dock operation starts up. Again, Peter Reith and John Howard do not know anything about this, but they endorse it. It is fine, it is all competition on the waterfront. The culmination of this sequence of events, this unlawful conspiracy—this conspiracy that has been found to be prima facie unlawful by 10 judges to one in the Federal and High Court—reaches its culmination in April when there are mass sackings, the dogs are brought in and the goons in balaclavas are brought in to take people away from their lawful jobs on the waterfront.Subsequently, much to the chagrin of Mr Reith, the High Court and the Federal Court have found that there is a prima facie case of unlawful conspiracy. Their only answer to this charge is, `We're in favour of waterfront reform.' We had another 15 minutes of it from the minister today. `My only answer: waterfront reform.' Does this mean that anything that he is prepared to do, however unlawful, is justified? Answer, `No.' The Labor Party supports waterfront reform but we also support acting in accordance with the law; and that, manifestly, is what this minister and this government are not doing.The real story underneath the facts that are emerging is this: the minister has approached the stevedoring companies and suggested, `How about sacking your entire work force?' He has appointed Stephen Webster as his go-between, as the coordinator of this exercise, and he has set up a deniability wall. He has said, `Look, I don't really need to know the details of what you're doing, because we might get into a bit of difficulty about this, so don't tell me the details but here's the basic strategy.' He has had other consultancies for people to lay the groundwork for the whole exercise. They have said to him, `Here is what the opinion polling says.' Mark Textor has done his consultancy. Jonathan Gaul says, `Here's the media strategy, here's what you need to do. Just vilify these people, abuse them, tell everybody they're bludgers and rorters.' We heard more of it today, more nonsense. He does not respond when you point out that some of what he is saying is totally untrue and the rest of it is grossly distorted. No response, just more nonsense. There is the strategy.You have Peter Reith, the minister, as the propagandist, and you have Chris Corrigan, the company, assisted by Stephen Webster, the consultant, as the people who do the dirty work. They are the people who actually orchestrate the corporate restructure, who orchestrate the soldiers off to Dubai, who orchestrate the mass sackings of the wharfies. The minister is able to stand up and say, `I didn't know anything about any of this. I have never heard of Dubai. I do not know anything about it.' Nobody believes him. He keeps repeating his mantra and nobody believes him.Now it has all gone wrong. The Oliver North of Australia is in a bit of trouble. Peter Kilfoyle and Michael Wells are singing like birds. Stephen Webster is contemplating his future. John Howard is wriggling. He is evasive and refusing to answer questions. He just says, `This is all a joke. It's all boring all this sort of stuff.' Peter Costello is doing cute pictures for the magazines in his jeans. The trendy young Treasurer is there, he is very elegant. He is there preening himself and saying, `Look, I don't want to have anything to do with Pauline Hanson.'So it is all going wrong for the minister and on top of that he now faces the threat of being personally liable for damages—and he wouldn't answer that question, would he? He did not tell us today whether he has been slinking around the corridors to the Attorney-General (Mr Williams), talking about indemnities. He would not respond to that question, would he? But at least we have to give him some credit for persistence—maybe not intelligence, but persistence. The High Court and the Federal Court found that prima facie he has acted unlawfully in breach of his own act—in breach of provisions that require non-discrimination with respect to union membership. Yet what is he doing now? He is telling the administrator of the Patrick companies, `We will only give you money for redundancies if you guarantee that you are employing non-union members.' He does not appear to have learnt his lesson.Oliver North was not that bright but he got caught only once: he did the wrong thing only once. Yet with this Oliver North no sooner is he out of court, having been found prima facie to have acted unlawfully, and he is doing it again. He is there saying, `We want what we call waterfront reform and the only way that we are going to go about it is to force de-unionisation'—because that is effectively what it amounts to.In all of this he is still backing Chris Corrigan. He and the Prime Minister are still supporting Chris Corrigan. Today the Prime Minister was asked, `What have you got to say about a few of the things that Corrigan has been involved in?' He has admitted lying. He has called himself a desperate man. He said to the Industrial Relations Commission on 8 February, `I don't know anything about the financing of Dubai. I didn't do that.' Yet there is a letter of 8 May—signed by Corrigan—to the lawyers acting for Fynwest Pty Ltd that states:Your clients have consistently failed to provide regular accounting and bank reconciliation details in respect of the loan provided by Patrick to Fynwest Pty Ltd.The bank records that are attached to Michael Wells's affidavit make it abundantly clear. If you look through them—they are from the Commonwealth Bank and are the usual sort of records—you will see there is a reference, for example, to `9 January 1988: $140,000' from Patrick Stevedoring. Yet this man, whom the Prime Minister continues to support to the hilt, told the Industrial Relations Commission one month later that he had nothing to do with the financing of Dubai.An honourable member interjecting—YU5Tanner, Lindsay, MPMr TANNER—He might possibly have forgotten but I think that is probably an unlikely scenario given the issues that were at stake. John Howard has wrapped his arms around Chris Corrigan and said, `If you're going down, then I'm going down with you.' Has he held any inquiry? Has he condemned any of the actions that Corrigan has admitted to? Has he even distanced himself from some of the features of the dispute like the dogs, the batons and the security guards in balaclavas? No, all he has done is to say this is a joke—any complaints and any concerns are a joke; it is all boring—and his own Minister for Justice (Senator Vanstone)—the person who is in charge of the Federal Police, the person who is supposed to administer the law with respect to matters such as perjury or giving unlawful evidence—says that Chris Corrigan should be nominated for Australian of the Year. There is something very strange going on here when the Minister for Justice is administering justice in this way. I wonder what she will say about Christopher Skase after that performance.We need to ask ourselves why all this is happening. You do not have to be a genius to work it out: there are decades of blind, atavistic hatred of the maritime union and of its membership. It goes back to `Pig Iron' Bob.KH4JONESMr Barry Jones—No, it goes back to Bruce.YU5Tanner, Lindsay, MPMr TANNER—The honourable member for Lalor is quite correct—it goes back to the 1925 dispute with Walsh and Johnson. He is absolutely correct, but I think that particular dispute pales into insignificance in the Liberal Party pantheon of hatred when you look at `Pig Iron' Bob, because they were humiliated by the maritime union at Port Kembla, which said to them, `Japan is going to be at war with Australia within a couple of years; we should not be sending the raw materials for weapons to them,' and Bob Menzies said, `No, that is all right. We think they are nice people.' Of course, he was proved wrong.On A Current Affair John Howard was asked why all the people in the smaller ports, who had not been on strike for years because there were no issues in dispute, had been sacked. His response: they were all members of the same union.What does that tell you? That is the reason why they were dismissed, and that is why the Federal Court has found that the government and Chris Corrigan and the NFF are prima facie in breach of Peter Reith's own act, because these people have been dismissed for one reason only: they are members of the maritime union. This has been compounded by Peter Reith's recent actions: not only have they done that but he is still in there boxing—punch drunk, albeit, but still in there boxing—and saying to the administrators after he has lost in court, `Only give the redundancy money to these people if they are employing non-union labour.'This whole exercise is not about waterfront reform and there is a very simple test, a very simple way of illustrating that, because waterfront reform is about a lot more than just workplace practices, a lot more than union membership and a lot more than labour. What have they done about new entrants and more competition on the waterfront? Nothing. What have they done about improving road and rail links to the ports and improving information technology links? The answer is nothing. What have they done about reducing port charges, something that our government was very successful on? Absolutely nothing.What have they done about anti-competitive practices like the agreement that was allegedly there between the Port of Melbourne Authority and the two stevedoring companies not to have a third entrant? Again, absolutely nothing because they are interested in only one form of competition. Give them credit, because there is actually one type of competition they are keen on: competition between workers; individual workers standing up to say, `I'll do the job for $8 an hour, sir,' and another worker saying, `No, I'll do it for $7 an hour, sir.' That is the competition that they want. That is what `monopolies on labour' is code for. That is what that whole story is about. They want competition between workers: they want to go back to the old bull system; they want to go back to the hungry mile when workers had to compete with each other for a decent wage. Of course, when they are in a position of having to do that, they have got no hope, no serious bargaining power—that is what the government wants.If ever there was a political scandal that needed a judicial inquiry this is it. We have a minister who has been found by a court and subsequently by appeal courts to have been prima facie involved in a conspiracy to breach his own legislation. We have a Prime Minister supporting to the hilt a confessed liar who has admitted to acting illegally and who is accused of giving false evidence to the Industrial Relations Commission on oath.We have a government refusing consistently to release key documents which are crucial evidence of this pattern of conspiracy. We have 2,000 workers, 1,400 of them permanent full-time workers, sacked in circumstances that I do not need to remind you of, and still under threat of not having jobs. And we have a new low in corporate immorality and corporate skulduggery set by Chris Corrigan, with the active connivance and involvement of this government. Bottom of the harbour John Howard of 1982 in tax avoidance is now bottom of the harbour John Howard of 1998 in corporate law and industrial relations. There is a link, because it is precisely the same techniques that have been used and it is precisely the same pattern. What you do is separate the bits that you want to keep that do not involve any liabilities, where the assets are, from the liabilities and out they go. That is precisely the technique that is being used.The Prime Minister cannot wriggle out of this one. He cannot just stand back and say, `Look, those ministerial guidelines that I had do not really mean very much anymore.' He cannot do a Senator Parer and redefine the notion of conflict of interest to a point where it actually ceases to exist. He does not have the ability to back away from this one. He must act. He must call an immediate independent judicial inquiry to go through all of the issues and to get to all of the evidence which has bit by bit been coming out in spite of all of the efforts to cover up by the government, to ensure that his government is acting honestly, legally and openly after what has been a pattern of two years of lies, deceit and conspiracy.16:39:003006Elson, Kay, MPMrs ELSON6K6FordeLP10—I welcome the opportunity to speak in support of the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business (Mr Reith) on this grandstanding motion moved by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Beazley). At the outset, I con gratulate the minister on his resolve, his patience, his bravery and the consummate skills he has displayed in his handling of this issue—3J4SAWFORDMr Sawford—Who wrote this?6K6Elson, Kay, MPMrs ELSON—I did.Opposition members interjecting—10000DEPUTY SPEAKERMr DEPUTY SPEAKER—Order! Members on my left will be silent.6K6Elson, Kay, MPMrs ELSON—If the opposition listened they might learn a little bit about why it concerns my electorate. He has remained steadfast in his determination to do what is in the national interest. That is the bottom line in our approach—the national interest. This is where our approach differs greatly from those on the opposite side of this House. We want what is best for Australia; they want what is best for the union movement. In a perfect world those two aims would not be mutually exclusive. But the fact is that the MUA, with their bloody-minded approach, their inability to catch up with the rest of the work force in terms of the need for productivity, their militant determination to hang onto every little rort of the job they have enjoyed for many years, cannot have it both ways.BV5ADAMSMr Adams—How much do you get paid?6K6Elson, Kay, MPMrs ELSON—I work hard for my money and I expect that they would too.BV5ADAMSMr Adams—Do you enjoy the car?6K6Elson, Kay, MPMrs ELSON—I hope you do too. Don't forget that we work hard. I appreciate that you have to work hard in your job—Mr Adams interjecting—10000DEPUTY SPEAKERMr DEPUTY SPEAKER—Order! The member for Lyons!6K6Elson, Kay, MPMrs ELSON—You cannot be bound hand and foot to the MUA, as the Leader of the Opposition has been, and be acting in the national interest. It is impossible. The Australian public know that. They can see very clearly that the MUA has had it too good for too long at the expense of thousands of Australian jobs over the years. They know that waterfront reform is crucial if we are to truly become a competitive nation in our region. The sad part about Labor's approach is that deep down the opposition leader and all those opposite know that waterfront reform is crucial, but the point is that they know they cannot deliver it because they are beholden to the MUA and the union movement.The Labor opposition say, `We want waterfront reform,' but they failed to do anything substantial in the 13 years they were in government, except to spend $420 million of taxpayers' money. They say they want waterfront reform, but they are not prepared to actually take the tough decisions necessary to ensure lasting reform. That is a pretty comforting position, isn't it? Similarly, they say they want tax reform, but they do not have the guts to make any substantial changes to the current system. Those opposite are great advocates for tinkering around the edges, aren't they? They are great at crying, `We want, we want,' but we only have to take a look at their record in office to see that they are just no good at delivering.The government, on the other hand, has been decisive, has been strong and has been determined in our push for waterfront reform. I would like to point out that the events of recent months do not represent the government's approach to reform. The Labor Party like to think they do because they think they can gain political mileage out of the difficulties created by the union picket lines and threats. But the fact is that the events of recent months are a direct result of the MUA's bloody-minded approach to maintaining their privileged monopoly and are a direct consequence of their senseless campaign to put their own employer out of business. Surely the past union leaders sitting opposite could have advised them better than that. When they could not produce productivity, the Australian public put them out of a job.Those opposite conveniently forget that the government's approach to waterfront reform has been one of negotiation and discussions for over a year. We have been prepared to talk with the MUA but we have not been prepared to compromise on what is in the national interest. We have set in place seven crucial benchmarks to be met. Most importantly, we have set in place legislative arrangements to contain industrial action. Ironically, that was only possible with the help of Jennie George's great mate and Labor's so-called star recruit, Cheryl Kernot. The point is that over the past two years we have discussed, met all parties, listened to everyone involved, but we have not been prepared to act contrary to the national interest. We have not been prepared to compromise on what is best for Australia. And why should we compromise Australian jobs and Australia's international competitiveness because a handful of men want to protect their privileged positions?The recent pickets by the MUA have succeeded in highlighting and magnifying the difficulties so many farmers and business people face in having to get their produce and their goods through the waterfront. The uncertainty of the last few months is merely a reflection on what these people go through year in and year out; reliability is the biggest problem that we have. Strikes, go-slows, stop-work meetings and containers piling up on our wharves are par for the course.The recent action has magnified things though; it has touched many people in my electorate of Forde. There have been many examples. Some 7,000 people in Forde are employed in manufacturing and local business owners have told me that they are concerned that crucial exports will be lost as a result of uncertainties on the wharves.A local backhoe operator has been unable to earn a living for nearly a month now because a crucial part he needed to repair his backhoe has been held up on the wharves. Many local produce and beef farmers in Boonah and Beaudesert have had to endure drought over the past few years and survive on a fraction of what the wharfies earn—they now worry about getting their produce overseas. One local engineer who won a tender for excavation of a building site has been waiting on a vital piece of equipment which was not allowed off the dock by the MUA; he fears losing his contract. These are just a few examples of how the wharves are crucial and how the MUA, fully supported by Labor, is putting jobs at risk by refusing to be part of this reform process.And there was the owner of a transport company who called me in tears. He explained how five of his trucks had been damaged by picketers while trying to get their containers off the wharves in Brisbane. He and his drivers are just ordinary blokes trying to earn a living and having to endure the treatment that the sacked wharfies dished out to them. I can assure you that the wharfies won no friends there.But, obviously, Labor consider their interests as second to that of the MUA. Just like the farmers do not matter, the small business people do not matter—all that matters is that the union bosses keep their stranglehold on power. That is why it amazes me that Labor have the gall to come in here and talk about the government's approach to waterfront reform. Their approach is to back the MUA. Let us look for a minute at the MUA's approach. The local transport company owner who had five of his trucks damaged by picketers is just one example. I am stunned that Kim Beazley has the gall to say he thinks that unions have conducted themselves pretty well. It is a real commentary on the nature of these people if he thinks that destroying property, spitting at people, hurling abuse at workers, making death threats and the like are examples of restraint on their part. I would hate to see what would have happened if they expressed their true selves.We all saw footage of unionists with planks of wood going up to a truck approaching the picket line and wilfully damaging it. One could only imagine what they would have done to the driver if he had stepped outside of the cab. And of course there was the disgraceful use of children on the picket lines; that was simply inexcusable. The father had the opportunity to remove those children, but he did not seem to be concerned about their welfare when it came to yelling at police.Closer to home, I had the opportunity to observe first-hand the thuggery of Labor's mates in the MUA when the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business visited my electorate last month. The minister was a guest speaker at the regional small business awards ceremony hosted by the Beenleigh Chamber of Commerce. It is an important annual event for locals and it was attended by over 500 small business people and their staff. This year these people, who are hardworking, decent Queenslanders, had to run a gauntlet of abuse from unionists—bussed in from Brisbane, I might add. They had to dodge eggs and many had their cars rocked and damaged. The local young children who were invited to sing and dance at the awards were also sworn at and their bus was pelted with eggs. These kids were as young as 12; they were naturally very scared. And Kim Beazley says that the unionists have handled themselves well.10000DEPUTY SPEAKERMr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Nehl)—The Leader of the Opposition says.6K6Elson, Kay, MPMrs ELSON—Sorry, the Leader of the Opposition says that the unionists have handled themselves well. I can tell the opposition leader that on that evening there were several people there who identified themselves as long-time Labor supporters who came up to me and said, `Never again.' They said they will never support Labor while Labor supports violent, disgusting action like that. In fact, they were so outraged by the protesters behaviour that they have offered to hand out how-to-vote cards for me on election day, and I appreciate those offers.I have no doubt whatsoever that the majority of Australians condemn the MUA's approach to reform; they recognise how crucial waterfront reform is and they are disappointed, though not surprised, that Labor are putting their mates before the national interest—that has always been their way though. That is why the MUA have been able to keep their stranglehold and their monopoly; that is why this country is so far behind our competitors when it comes to waterfront productivity and practice.You had 13 years to do something about it, so do not come into this place and say you want reform then condemn the only government with enough guts to actually stand up to the MUA and work to achieve real reform. The government's approach on this issue is what is needed; your approach is to cave in to union demands. The Australian public and certainly the people of Forde know that we cannot continue to give in to the MUA. For Australia's sake, we have got to fix the wharves and that is precisely what this government is doing. I join with Peter Reith and reject wholeheartedly the opposition's motion.16:51:003009Campbell, Graeme, MPMr CAMPBELLCF4KalgoorlieIND00—I feel it necessary to speak in this debate because I do not think either side really comprehends the nature of the problem. The Labor Party wonder where it all started. I can tell them: it started when Paul Keating embraced rational economics—which is not an economic theory; it of course is an ideology. It is the ideology of big business—mainly American big business—to control world trade. Once the Labor Party endorsed that, then there was no hope; obviously the Liberals were going to endorse it because it looks and tastes like neo-classical economics. Of course it is not because big business colludes; it does not compete.When we heard the last speaker, the member for Forde (Mrs Elson), talking about the national interest, it really was absurd. I am concerned about the national interest. It was in the national interest that the government's 10-point Wik plan got to the Senate; weak and wishy-washy as it is, it was important it got through because it contains one important clause. It is quite clear the government could have got it through had they accepted the vote of Senator Colston. But, for some reason or other, this was not acceptable, a matter of principle—the Parer principle I think it is probably called. But the fact is that, had they done that, we could have got that through. The government did not do it because they wanted a double dissolution election and now of course they are not so sure.Kalgoorlie—the centre of Australia's second biggest export industry—is grinding to a halt because of the government's action. Is that in the national interest? The truth is that the waterfront is not Australia's big problem. It never was and it is an absurdity to suggest that it was. Off the top of my head, I would say that the increase in litigation in this country is costing a magnitude more than the wharf is, and that is being endorsed by people in this parliament. There are many things that need attending to before the wharf, but that is not to say that there are not problems with the wharf. I was on a committee that looked at waterfront reform, and we found that the real problem is between the wharf and the warehouse. It is interesting to note that nothing has been done about our report. We noticed in the very congested port of Sydney, for instance, that the wharf worked 24 hours a day and the trucks worked 10. They stacked the containers up on the wharf, and Murphy's Law dictated that the first truck in the morning wanted the container on the bottom. You would see empty trucks going down to pick up containers and going away empty. It was a nonsense, and nothing has been done about that.I know a little bit about the wharf because I have had to deal with the wharf and, in my youth, I had some altercations with the waterfront myself. Overwhelmingly, the rate of pay is 15 bucks an hour. At the port of Dampier it is $15 an hour and, if you do not get overtime in the Pilbara, you simply cannot exist. In Derby there are no waterfront workers because it is an automatic port—the ship is loaded automatically—but there the seamen, and it is the same union, take a tug 22 nautical miles out to sea and load on to other ships. It is a very neat operation. They are paid a daily rate—they signed a workplace agreement—of $180, not big bickies by anyone's standard. I looked at their time sheets and noticed that some of them had been working 22½ hours a day, which is clearly outside any occupational health and safety standards. The mining company involved, Western Metals, is a very good company and they quickly got onto it and insisted that their operator fix this, and it has been fixed. These people are now back to working 12 hours a day at $18 an hour—not the big money that the minister is talking about. The figures the minister talks about are based on massive overtime. We talk about double-headers, but whose prerogative is that? If a company cannot arrange its work force to get over that, surely they must be the problem.I was in Perth the other day promoting a new Australian grader which is so far ahead of anything in the world in terms of productivity and cost that it should be in every local government and every government depart ment. I can assure some of the ministers here that they will be hearing about it. One of the people there had in his time been the CEO of the Port of Fremantle, and he was reminiscing about how they fought long and hard to get one union on the waterfront. He said it was a nightmare dealing with eight unions, and when they all consolidated into the MUA this was seen by the Liberal Party of the time as a great advance. He said, `No sooner had we done that than the government gave me 10 bureaucrats to negotiate with. So I got rid of eight unions and suddenly found myself with 10 government departments to negotiate with.' His figures were probably exaggerated, but the point he made was that he now had to arrange his working day to fit the travel arrangements and workings of a whole host of government ministers.Most of Australia's product goes out as bulk commodities. We are the best bulk commodity shippers in the world. We are talking here about the liner trade—containers—and it is mostly imports. It is my fervent wish that the wharf not be so confoundedly efficient because, with the policies of both the Labor and the Liberal parties destroying the manufacturing industry in this country, the waterfront is just about the last line of defence we have and, sadly, they have let us down.We hear about the farmers. I represent a lot of primary industry. The farmers have no real interest in waterfront reform; they are overwhelmingly bulk shippers and they have fairly good arrangements in this regard. The National Farmers Federation does not represent farmers. It is hard to say what it does represent. If it represents anybody at all, it probably represents peak councils in Australia which, in turn, are very unrepresentative. I think it also has a large component of agribusiness, but it certainly does not represent the family farm. Indeed, NFF stands for `No Family Farms' because its policies will see the advent of big business.The NFF recommended to this government that they allow in Brazilian orange juice concentrate. Its idea was that there would be winners and losers but that this would benefit the wheat, wool and beef producers. I repre sent those people and I know that the demise of orange growers is not going to benefit my constituency one little bit. As one wheat grower said to me, `Where are we going to send our second-grade wheat when the NFF kills the pig industry through support of pork imports?' The NFF has consistently attacked smaller domestic farming operations in pursuit of what it sees as the bigger picture. The truth is that as you diminish the whole rural constituency you diminish the power of the rural vote, and that is not in the interest of any farmer.It is true that there were a few farmers who went down to the waterfront. Sadly, just like the unions, there are some very stupid people involved. I represent a lot of farmers and they have seen through this and resent very strongly the suggestion that farmers are backing the NFF or that the NFF represents them. When I was at the PNG conference recently, overwhelmingly people were saying to me, `We want no part of this,' because they knew it was not in their interest.What has this government done? Look at the speed with which this government rushed off to war against Iran and immediately put at risk a $1.2 billion trade surplus with that part of the world. That trade surplus was overwhelmingly in agricultural produce, yet this government was prepared to put that at risk. I asked John Howard directly whether he was prepared to compensate farmers, and the answer was no. It was highly predictable that American longshoremen would act against Australian agricultural produce. Do you think that American farmers are going to say, `Oh, no, we believe in free trade'? They are going to endorse the actions of those longshoremen because it is in their interest to do so, and anyone who thinks otherwise is talking nonsense.Let us get down to it. We are told there are great reforms to be had on the waterfront. I am told by Patrick's that the cost of moving a container across the Australian waterfront is about $200. It is obviously cheaper in other places, but in some places in Europe it is also significantly dearer. But that is a figure. Now $200 as a value of the contents of that container is not very much, but it is worth hav ing. If you were to get a 50 per cent improvement—which I think is probably impractical for a whole host of other reasons—do you really think the customer will get that $100? Of course he will not. It will go into the pocket of the stevedores because the stevedores have the monopoly. That must be realised. The MUA at least had to share the monopoly. If you take them away, the stevedores will have the monopoly entirely on their own.This whole thing is an absolute nonsense. It is not in the national interest. It is one of these issues which the government picked because they saw it as a soft underbelly. They thought they could get public support, but the Australian public are more intelligent than that. Today they are better educated, and they knew, they sensed—either intellectually or ideologically—that the government were lying. The government were not being honest in this transaction.If you really want to improve the efficiency of Australian ports, you would close down a large number of the ports in Australia. This would certainly increase efficiency. But which state is going to volunteer to lose its ports? I suggest that none of them will. And why should they? You will improve the efficiencies of the ports, but you will increase the costs to the state. Nobody ever saved money by taking stuff off ships and putting it on rail. Certainly you would get stuff across the wharf quicker, but the result to those states which had forgone their ports would be a higher cost. It is a geographical fact that in Australia we have all these ports, and as a consequence they are not going to get the efficiencies.I have stood on the dock at Singapore and watched them unloading. A panamax loaded to the gunwales with 30,000 tonnes of containers would come in and unload bang, bang, bang, one after the other. It was very efficient. When they come to Australia they use small boats. If you get down to the wharf in Fremantle, as I have, you can see them having to lift a container because it is going to Launceston, take off the one underneath because that is for Fremantle and put the one for Launceston back on. When it gets to Adelaide there is the same procedure. That is one container movement. So you are never going to get those efficiencies.At the end of the day, it is not a big problem in Australia. What the government has done, in trying to make this an issue, is that it has made it a political issue, an ideological issue. What it has done is divided Australia and played into the hands of one of the great problems besetting this country: that is, the growing dichotomy between rural Australia and urban Australia. Here we have a nation where the major cultures are growing apart because of lack of understanding, and it is being exacerbated by this government. It is playing right into that. That is surely not in the national interest.We have seen the nation divided against itself this way. We are seeing it constantly as a result of policies which flow directly from the policy of rational economics endorsed by Paul Keating, the great architect, the great prophet of this nonsense policy. If the Labor Party goes down this road, what hope does this nation have? That brings me to my concluding remarks. The reality in Australia today is that there is very little difference between Labor and Liberal.8I4MARTINMr Martin—How can you say that after this?CF4Campbell, Graeme, MPMr CAMPBELL—Because the policies you pursue are only a matter of proportion. When the government point out what happened to the airline pilots, they have an uncomfortable truth about them. There is no doubt about that. Workplace agreements were brought in by the Keating government, and this is only an extension. It was bound to happen. When you look at the native title debate, the government are putting forward a wishy-washy bill. The Labor Party, in their absolute hypocrisy, are opposing what they thought was in their own bill—in fact, what was in their own bill but which was knocked out by the Federal Court. All this government are doing is putting that same condition back in the bill but not in the hands of the tribunal. But the Labor Party seeks to oppose it because it is not in the national interest. There is little difference between you. If you listen to that debate, one after another the bleeding hearts on the other side were indecipherable from your own left wing. That is an absolute fact of life.I make the point that the wharf is not the great problem the government says it is, it is an annoyance in some areas. I have found the union to be very open to negotiation. This union is not homogeneous either. I can remember when there was a refusal to transport uranium through the port of Darwin. I went to see the waterside workers at Wyndham and they said, `No problems, bring it here.' I suspect it was the threat of Wyndham that made the wharfies in Darwin see some sense. When we had to bring radioactive material back into Australia because it was inadvertently exported by Western Mining to Singapore, I had no trouble negotiating with the wharfies in Esperance to bring it back through Esperance. It would not come back through Fremantle, but through Esperance it was all right. So the union itself is much more reasonable, much more open to negotiation and by no means as united as the government and the opposition portray it to be. This is a nonsense. The wharf is not Australia's problem. Let us tackle the real problems and have done with it.Question put:That the motion (Mr Beazley's ) be agreed to.17:10:00The House divided. (Mr Speaker—Rt Hon. Ian Sinclair)41Adams, D. G. H. Albanese, A.Baldwin, P. J. Beddall, D. P.Bevis, A. R. Brereton, L. J.Brown, R. J. Campbell, G.Crosio, J. A. Dargavel, S. J.Ellis, A. L. Evans, M. J.Ferguson, L. D. T. Fitzgibbon, J. A.Griffin, A. P. *Hatton, M.Holding, A. C. Hollis, C.Jenkins, H. A. Jones, B. O.Kerr, D. J. C. Latham, M. W.Lawrence, C. M. Lee, M. J.Martin, S. P. McClelland, R. B.McLeay, L. B. Melham, D.Morris, A. A. Morris, P. F.Mossfield, F. W. O'Connor, G. M.O'Keefe, N. P. Price, L. R.Quick, H. V. Sawford, R. W. *Sercombe, R. C. G. *Smith, S. F.Theophanous, A. C. Thomson, K. J.Wilton, G. S.90Abbott, A. J. Anderson, J. D.Andrew, J. N. Andrews, K. J.Anthony, L. J. Bailey, F. E.Baldwin, R. C. Barresi, P. A.Bartlett, K. J. Billson, B. F.Bishop, B. K. Broadbent, R. E.Brough, M. T. Cadman, A. G.Cameron, E. H. Cameron, R. A.Causley, I. R. Cobb, M. R.Dondas, N. M. Downer, A. J. G.Draper, P. Elson, K. S.Entsch, W. G. Evans, R. D. C.Filing, P. A. Fischer, T. A.Forrest, J. A. Gallus, C. A.Gambaro, T. Gash, J.Georgiou, P. Grace, E. J.Halverson, R. G. Hardgrave, G. D.Hawker, D. P. M. Hicks, N. J. *Hockey, J. B. Howard, J. W.Jeanes, S. B. Johnston, R.Jull, D. F. Katter, R. C.Kelly, D. M. Kelly, J. M.Kemp, D. A. Lieberman, L. S.Lindsay, P. J. Lloyd, J. E.Marek, P. McArthur, F. S. *McDougall, G. R. McGauran, P. J.McLachlan, I. M. Miles, C. G.Moore, J. C. Moylan, J. E.Mutch, S. B. Nairn, G. R.Nehl, G. B. Nelson, B. J.Neville, P. C. Nugent, P. E.Prosser, G. D. Pyne, C. M.Randall, D. J. Reid, N. B.Reith, P. K. Rocher, A. C.Ronaldson, M. J. C. Ruddock, P. M.Scott, B. C. Sharp, J. R.Slipper, P. N. *Smith, A. C.Smith, W. L. Somlyay, A. M.Southcott, A. J. Stone, S. N.Sullivan, K. J. Taylor, W. L.Thomson, A. P. Truss, W. E.Tuckey, C. W. Vaile, M. A. J.Vale, D. S. Wakelin, B. H.West, A. G. Williams, D. R.Wooldridge, M. R. L. Worth, P. M.Question so resolved in the negative.Questions to the Speaker301330133013Fitzgibbon, Joel, MPMr FITZGIBBON8K6HunterALP00—Mr Speaker, I draw your attention to the new flags placed in each corner of the chamber and ask: what costs have been incurred to date in installing these flags and what additional costs are forecast? I also ask: are these flags to be replaced by larger flags and, if so, why and what costs are associated with this decision? Further, is it a fact that the flags had to be ironed before they were hung in the chamber? Will these flags be replaced daily, as happens with other flags in the chamber?3013Mr SPEAKERMr SPEAKER10000PON/A10—I thank the honourable member for Hunter for his question. The answer to his last question is no. It is for that reason that flags have been mounted outside the members entrance to the chamber. These are the flags that will be provided for members to present to their constituents, as they have in the past. They are a lot easier to get down and get up.Regarding the second question, I do not know whether the flags were ironed. I do know that we are going to trial larger flags tomorrow. The degree to which costs have been incurred is still highly problematic. I do not know how much they will be. They are all trials. Indeed, one of the concerns we had was to try to ensure that the architects looked at mounting them in such a way that nothing would be absolutely fixed. You will notice that the mountings are such that they can be removed. I would have preferred it had they been at right angles but, in order to maintain the design symmetry with the slope of the roof, I was told it was better that they went at that particular angle. The purpose is to make them a more permanent feature of the building in the same way as the flag pole is the centrepiece of the whole building. It is obviously desirable that we do not have things part of this building that appear to be there only temporarily. If at any stage—and, from my point of view, God forbid it—there were to be a change to the flag, presumably they could be very easily changed at that time.Miscellaneous30133013Mr SPEAKERMr SPEAKER10000PON/A10—There are a number of obvious difficulties when trialling anything in this place. We cannot trial something unless the House is sitting. The sound system today was unsatisfactory and I apologise to mem bers for that. At the same time, the fact that Hansard, where they are presently placed, cannot hear satisfactorily demonstrates how unsatisfactory the acoustics of this chamber are. I must admit, to the chagrin of most of us, that people in the gallery cannot hear about 50 per cent of the proceedings, and that is unsatisfactory. There are further processes under way to see whether that can be improved, but I have asked that the undue amplification which was a product of today's proceedings be reversed.Over the next two days Hansard are going to trial a number of different positions in this place. The advantage of Hansard not being seated at the table in front of us is that it makes that end of the chamber far more part of the chamber. There is no question that having the Hansard people in the middle did divide the House. If members of the House Committee decide, when they review the proceedings, that they do not like the changes, that will be taken into account.Questions to the Speaker301430143014Latham, Mark, MPMr LATHAMK26WerriwaALP00—Mr Speaker, I would like a question on notice answered, under the standing order regarding prompt answers. I refer you to the Treasurer's delay in answering my question No. 2189, first asked on 1 September last year.3014Mr SPEAKERMr SPEAKER10000PON/A10—I will write to the Treasurer accordingly.30143014Melham, Daryl, MPMr MELHAM4T4BanksALP00—Mr Speaker, my question to you is: in the spirit of reconciliation, and given that the Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag are flags that have been proclaimed under the Flags Act, will you give consideration to those flags also being flown in the chamber or outside the chamber at the appropriate time? For instance, we are shortly approaching National Reconciliation Week and I would have thought that, in the spirit of reconciliation, the national parliament might also consider flying the Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag, as do a number of councils. I raise this on the basis, and I repeat, that they are flags that are proclaimed under the Flags Act.3014Mr SPEAKERMr SPEAKER10000PON/A10—I thank the honourable member for Banks for his question. As he and other members know, from time to time other flags are flown around this building. I do not believe it appropriate that other flags be flown in the chamber, but I certainly take note of his request. I will consider it and see whether there are other places around the building where they can be exhibited at appropriate times. However, I suggest that they should only be flags registered under the Australian Flags Act and not other flags of other nations or for other purposes.30143014Lawrence, Carmen, MPDr LAWRENCEXS4FremantleALP00—Mr Speaker, you have partly answered the question I had, but I refer to your action in moving the Hansard reporters and the Serjeant-at-Arms to the rear walls of the chamber. You have indicated one of your purposes for this, but I would have to say, Mr Speaker, that I find it not altogether convincing—but that is for another time. Can you explain to the House precisely what you were attempting to achieve by moving them as far back as they are, and is it a fact that additional microphones have been placed in the chamber, particularly to assist, it would appear, the member for Banks? What additional costs, in both time and material, have been incurred in moving the Hansard reporters and the Serjeant and putting this additional amplification in the chamber?3014Mr SPEAKERMr SPEAKER10000PON/A10—As the honourable member may not know, in the old chamber Hansard sat at the bar table. That worked reasonably well, but the old chamber was a far more intimate forum and debate was far more easily conducted. As far as this chamber is concerned, the removal of Hansard has removed one of the major distractions with people coming and going throughout the proceedings. From this perspective, and the perspective of those in the horseshoe, it means that they are now part of the chamber to a greater degree than they were before.I should also point out that, customarily, the floor of the House is regarded as that part within the semicircle and the Serjeant and Hansard, technically, are not officers of the parliament. At the same time, we are trialling a number of other formats, including possibly the principal Hansard reporter, during question time, sitting where the old committee chair used to be in the middle of the table.Mr Latham interjecting—10000Mr SPEAKER—I hear your point. Let me say that in the old House we had something like 52 visitors who sat behind members. They sat there from 1927 to 1988 and there was no question ever raised about their placement. They were outside the actual body of the chamber. If members decide that they do not like these proceedings, there will be an opportunity for that point to be registered. What we are endeavouring to do is to make this place a debating forum that is satisfactory for everybody's convenience.I thought from the debates in which I have participated over the years that that was the common concern of many. It certainly is my worry. I believe that we ought to make this a debating forum. We are trialling a few processes. They are not being locked-in in any way. You will note that the tables and cables are temporary—nothing is being put in in a way which cannot be reversed.As to the cost, when the processes are complete I will provide for the House an indication of the cost. At this stage all the costs have been within the ordinary administrative budget of the House.30153015Griffin, Alan, MPMr GRIFFINVU5BruceALP00—On a related matter, I understand that there is a report that you are contemplating narrowing the table and moving the Speaker's chair forward into the chamber. Is that the case? You have answered the question on cost at this stage.3015Mr SPEAKERMr SPEAKER10000PON/A10—Your former Prime Minister, the then honourable member for Blaxland, and I have long had the view that we should have followed the dictate of Winston Churchill when he rebuilt the House of Commons and that was to maintain the two sides of the chamber within two sword lengths, if you like to use the old jargon, of each other and had the two sides, therefore, far closer. Unfortunately, that was not adopted. I have looked at the whole question. As you will recall, in the building of this chamber there was a good deal of concrete poured so the capacity to narrow the chamber is really going to be astronomic in its costs. It therefore is not, at least at this stage, practicable. I have looked at moving this chair to the same place relative to where it was in the old chamber—if it is practicable and if the cost is reasonable; I will report to the House before anything is done—which would mean that it would be advanced forward so that the rear would be just in advance of the middle of the advisers' chairs.4T4MELHAMMr Melham—They will come at you from behind, then.10000Mr SPEAKER—One gets used to that, even in the National Party. There are problems with the design of this place if you look at trying to revamp it to make it work. Obviously nothing will be done until a costing has been made. In answer to the honourable member for Bruce, the bar table would not be narrowed; it would be a matter of moving the bar table to the west, if you like to think of the members' forum in that direction, and everything moved forward. Whether that would work I do not know. There will be nothing done until members have been well and truly consulted.The purpose is to see if we can make this parliament a more efficient and effective debating chamber. I have found when I have been here that you do get an entirely different perspective of things. People at that end are remote from the chamber and, as Hansard have found, you cannot hear anything and you cannot participate. If I can find a way to make the chamber work better I will do so, but I will not be undertaking any modifications of a permanent character until members have been fully consulted.30153015Albanese, Anthony, MPMr ALBANESER36GrayndlerALP00—I asked a question of the Minister for Foreign Affairs—No. 2701 on 2 March. Under standing order 150, I ask that you write to him.3016Mr SPEAKERMr SPEAKER10000PON/A10—I thank the honourable member for Grayndler and I will write to the Minister for Foreign Affairs accordingly.30163016Morris, Peter, MPMr PETER MORRISHI4ShortlandALP00—Mr Speaker, I would like to support your remarks on the cathedral-like dimensions of this chamber. It is not a debating chamber; it has none of the intimacy or closeness of the old chamber in the provisional parliament house. The introduction of people onto the floor is something that I suggested to the former Speaker—An honourable member interjecting—HI4Mr PETER MORRIS—That is an option—put it to the Speaker. I am speaking from having served in the previous House, which was far more conducive to debate and to the activities of the parliament than this great cathedral we sit in here. I did suggest to the previous Speaker that we should locate visitors, guests of members, in the Speaker's gallery on the floor. As you mentioned, it was really a great experience in the older House for people who came to the parliament to be able to sit on the floor and feel the ambience of the chamber and the functioning of parliament; it was far greater than sitting up there where, people tell me, few of them can ever hear what is going on. It is so remote you may as well be in a grandstand. In fact, it is bigger and higher than some of the grandstands around the sporting fields in this nation.I would like to offer you my support for the suggestion that, rather than the small number of people you are suggesting be behind those seats, you should try to bring something forward so that we can have a greater number of people as guests of the chamber.Also, one of the suggestions that was mentioned to me by the clerks was that because the dimensions of this place are so vast there was a discussion about having shadow boards to try to bring in some closeness to the chamber. I fully support what you are doing and I think that it will give the public a greater opportunity to share in the proceedings of the parliament and experience something of the ambience of the place.3016Mr SPEAKERMr SPEAKER10000PON/A10—I thank the honourable member for Shortland. I can assure all members that before we start spending big bucks in any form I will be consulting people. If we can make the parliament, as the honourable member for Shortland has suggested, something of a debating chamber it will be to the benefit of us all.30163016Martin, Stephen, MPMr MARTIN8I4CunninghamALP00—Mr Speaker, under standing order No. 150 will you write to the Minister for Sport and Tourism—or perhaps just talk to him across the table—and suggest to him that he might like to respond to my question No. 2723, which is on the Notice Paper ?3016Mr SPEAKERMr SPEAKER10000PON/A10—In accordance with the request from the honourable member for Cunningham, I shall write to the Minister for Sport and Tourism and I am sure he will take note of your remarks.Auditor-General's Reports301610000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—I present the following Auditor-General's audit reports 1997-98: No. 40—Performance audit—Purchase of hospital services from state governments—Department of Veterans' Affairs ; No. 41—Financial control and administration audit—Asset management ; and No. 42—Preliminary inquiries into the Natural Heritage Trust .Motion (by Mr Andrew Thomson)—by leave—agreed to:That:(1) this House authorises the publication of the Auditor-General's audit reports Nos 40, 41 and 42 of 1997-98; and(2) the reports be printed.17:27:003016Anderson, John, MPMr ANDERSON4K4GwydirNPPrimary Industries and Energy10—Mr Speaker, I seek your indulgence to make a brief comment about the Auditor-General's report tabled a short time ago, titled Preliminary inquiries into the Natural Heritage Trust . The coalition government welcomes the Auditor-General's report on the government's processes for assessing projects under the Natural Heritage Trust.4I4McLEAYMr Leo McLeay—On a point of order, this is a contentious report that has been brought down by the Auditor-General. It is a report that the government ordered after there was much partisan comment about this particular trust. It is a trust that is under the ministerial control of this particular minister and, if the minister thinks that there is a matter that should be discussed, then surely he should make a ministerial statement about it so that the opposition can then make some response. For you to allow the minister to make these remarks on the report that you have tabled and not allow comment from the opposition is a gross waste of the time of the House and the wrong thing for the parliament to do. If the minister wants to say something he should give the opposition the time to respond, as anyone who wanted to make a ministerial statement on something to do with his ministerial responsibilities should.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The Chief Opposition Whip will resume his place. I certainly intended to call on indulgence somebody from the opposition should they rise. I believe that in these circumstances the minister should take on board the comments by the honourable member for Watson, nonetheless, that he believes it is a matter which should be dealt with by way of a ministerial statement. I have called the minister and I will allow him to conclude his remarks. But before I do, I call the honourable member for Watson on another point of order. I shall certainly call a member of the opposition, on indulgence, if somebody should rise in due course.4I4McLEAYMr Leo McLeay—I thank you for that position, Mr Speaker, but the point with this is that, if a minister is making a ministerial statement on a matter, then the opposition has notice. For the minister to get up here and now speak on a report, and for the opposition to be expected to jump straightaway on budget day when most of the opposition senior spokespeople are in the budget lock-up, is most unfair to the opposition. I think that the proper thing, Mr Speaker, would be for you to not grant the minister indulgence, or, if you intend to grant the minister indulgence, maybe to allow him to do this tomorrow or later today when the opposition would have time to have their spokesperson in here to speak on the matter. I think it puts the opposition in a very bad position if this sort thing is allowed to proceed, Mr Speaker.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The honourable member for Watson is referring to the fact that it has been a matter of some debate. I believe that, if the debate should be continued, there are processes within the House that can allow it to be done. I have given the minister indulgence; I intend to call him. But I ask that he take note of the request by the honourable member for Watson. Also I think it is not unreasonable that, with members of the opposition in the budget lock-up, the minister considers whether or not some other vehicle might be available for the opposition to respond to the indulgence I am now giving him.4K4Anderson, John, MPMr ANDERSON—Mr Speaker, I seek your further advice on the possibility of me making a ministerial statement in the next little while.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—That is for the government to determine and I am quite prepared for the processes to be adopted.4I4McLEAYMr Leo McLeay—We would give leave for him to make a ministerial right now, Mr Speaker.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—Would you like to make a ministerial statement, Minister?4K4Anderson, John, MPMr ANDERSON—No, I think I will reserve that right for a later time, but I do seek your indulgence just to make a few remarks.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—Indulgence is given. The minister and the honourable member for Watson will resume their seats. If the honourable member wishes to rise on indulgence, or any other member of the opposition, I will give it to them. The minister has undertaken that he will provide an opportunity for a ministerial statement and response to be given in due course.4K4Anderson, John, MPMr ANDERSON—Mr Speaker, it has to be said that the sensitivity of the opposition, after the muckraking that they went through—4I4McLEAYMr Leo McLeay—I raise a further point of order, Mr Speaker. Even though we consider this to be a most unsatisfactory way of doing things, if the minister is to be allowed indulgence, at the very least, to be fair to us, you should allow us indulgence at a later hour today so that our spokesperson can at least properly respond to this matter. His opening remarks were provocative.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The honourable member for Watson will resume his seat. I think he has taken enough time in making his point. There is already a process whereby there is to be indulgence given to a member of the opposition to respond, of about the same duration as the minister takes. I will ensure then that the minister remembers his undertaking that the ministerial statement be made at another time.4K4Anderson, John, MPMr ANDERSON—The coalition welcomes the Auditor-General's report on the government's process for assessing projects under the Natural Heritage Trust. Members will remember that the Auditor-General agreed to conduct—4I4McLEAYMr Leo McLeay—Mr Speaker—4K4Anderson, John, MPMr ANDERSON—Very telling, indeed.4I4McLEAYMr Leo McLeay—I move:That the minister be not further heard.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—Those in favour of the question say aye. Those against say no. I think the noes have it. Division required? Ring the bells.4I4McLEAYMr Leo McLeay—I have got him in here. Call the division off.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—I am sorry. Stop the bells; the division has been called off. We now have the honourable member for Burke present in the chamber. I gather that the minister can now exercise his indulgence, thanks to the withdrawal by the honourable member for Watson of the request. The honourable member for Denison has arrived. I call the minister, on indulgence.4K4Anderson, John, MPMr ANDERSON—I will pick up where I left off. Honourable members will recall that the Auditor-General agreed to conduct an inquiry following continual mudslinging by those opposite, who from the start have sought to undermine this historic national environmental restoration program. Unfortunately, to a very large degree they were aided and abetted in that by the Australian newspaper. I fully expect that tomorrow's edition will report the Auditor-General's findings with the same enthusiasm that it showed for propagating unsubstantiated allegations of political bias.The member for Denison (Mr Kerr) and the member for Burke (Mr O'Keefe), and the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Beazley), played a lot of cheap politics with the Natural Heritage Trust. Perhaps that is not surprising, given their record on environmental issues, because some things never change. But the fact of the matter is that the Minister for the Environment (Senator Hill) and I have been comprehensively cleared. That was never in doubt. The Auditor-General has given our administration of the Natural Heritage Trust a clean bill of health.The Leader of the Opposition's political ploy of referring this matter to the Auditor-General has comprehensively backfired and he and the members for Denison and Burke must now apologise to me and to Senator Hill, by any standards of common decency whatsoever, without reservation. Very importantly, they should also apologise to those outside this place who cannot come in here and defend themselves: the many fine Australians who give their time to sit on regional and state assessment panels for the Natural Heritage Trust and whose reputations they have, without thought, dragged through the mud. Those people deserve an apology, as do those Landcare and other community groups around Australia who suffered this massive diversion of government resources away from assessing applications, holding up the delivery of much needed grants. They should also apologise to Australian taxpayers for wasting their money.The fact is that the Auditor-General found that:. . . the decision making process was fundamentally sound in providing transparency and rigour and there was no evidence—I say to the member for Denison—of systemic bias in the allocation of funds to projects.The report finds that:. . . in the overwhelming majority of cases, the reasons for rejecting or varying State and Territory recommendations were adequately documented by the Departments and related to the published decision-making criteria.Further, it finds that the department could provide satisfactory advice on the background and reasons in all other cases.Mr Fitzgibbon interjecting—4K4Anderson, John, MPMr ANDERSON—You do not have the decency to listen to the case that establishes that you were wrong, that you were muckraking and that you showed a cavalier disregard for the standing of decent Australians. You will not even hear the case that rebuts your cheap political scaremongering. It is a very cheap approach indeed that you adopt.Mr Fitzgibbon interjecting—4K4Anderson, John, MPMr ANDERSON—You called them. You were the people who placed confidence in the ANAO.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The minister should speak through the chair and not reply to interventions.4K4Anderson, John, MPMr ANDERSON—In relation to the distribution of projects across electorates, the report said:Simply put, the apparent weighting . . . largely results because the proportion of the funding and the projects approved for Coalition- and Labor-held seats closely match—8K6FITZGIBBONMr Fitzgibbon—How do you explain this to the Hunter? How do you explain that to rural Australians? 4K4Anderson, John, MPMr ANDERSON—The member for Hunter is plainly implying that the ANAO has no standing. Your leader referred it to them because he regarded them as the appropriate body to establish the supposed claims that you were making about our management of the Natural Heritage Trust. They clear us, and you say that the ANAO has no standing. Let that be recorded. That is the only imputation that can be put upon the member for Hunter's stupid interjections.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—The minister needs to remember that he is making a statement on indulgence. He is going outside the normal bounds of an issue that is made on indulgence. I suggest that he should have that in mind. If he is going to make a ministerial statement, some of these remarks might be contained until that time.4K4Anderson, John, MPMr ANDERSON—I just repeat:Simply put, the apparent weighting . . . largely results because the proportion of the funding and projects approved for Coalition- and Labor-held seats closely matched the proportion of the funding and the projects recommended by the States and Territories.That is exactly what we were telling the opposition—not all of them in this place—yet they wasted a staggering amount of the parliament's time and the time of two departments in their attempt to smear the government. The member for Denison bragged in this place that the opposition had `a mountain of evidence' of abuse of process regarding the funding of grants under the trust, but the audit report has found him to be, quite simply, completely wrong.The audit report is welcomed as a major endorsement of the government's process. It goes even further. The report directly contrasts the coalition government's transparent dealing with the appalling conduct of Labor's sports rorts program. The report says:These findings contrast with the findings, for example, of Audit Report No. 9 1993-94 Community Cultural, Recreational and Sporting Facilities Program , where there was no record maintained of the reasons for each decision either in the Minister's Office or in the Department.It is quite apparent that the opposition spokesman for the environment owes quite a few people an unreserved apology. I trust that that will be forthcoming. It will be the measure of the man. It will be the measure of the man as to whether he is capable of taking it on the chin. He has been found to be comprehensively wrong, and he ought to be man enough to acknowledge it. I hope he will be.17:41:003019Kerr, Duncan, MPMr KERRRH4DenisonALP00—Mr Speaker, on indulgence, it is plain why the Minister for Primary Industries and Energy (Mr Anderson) does not wish to make a ministerial statement because, plainly, he would not wish to have a debate on this subject. He has put more spin on this Auditor-General's report, Preliminary inquiries into the Natural Heritage Trust , than Shane Warne.This report actually indicts rather than clears the government. The Auditor-General's report vindicates the opposition's highlighting of the funding imbalance where $9 out of every $10 went to coalition electorates. In his report, the Auditor-General states that neither DPIE or Environment Australia challenges Labor's analysis of that point. The report confirms Labor's highlighting of the degree of ministerial intervention in the process. It states that, notwithstanding the circulation of extensive selection criteria:. . . the emphasis placed on particular criteria by Ministers was greater than expected by applicants, RAPs, SAPs, State and Territory Ministers and the Departments—their own departments—for the 1997-98 funding round.In other words, the published criteria cannot explain and do not justify the decisions that the minister has made. We were absolutely right in pointing out the unrepresentative nature of the composition of the panel. The ministers have in fact agreed to make changes for the next round.Labor's concern that the Natural Heritage Trust must be improved if environmental priorities rather than political priorities of this government are to be addressed is vindicated and justified by this report. This report is not a clearance. In fact, the ANAO concludes that there is scope to enhance the geographic reach. In other words, this program did not distribute funds equally around Australia on the basis of environmental need. To the extent that the Auditor-General appears to clear the outcome, the opposition stresses that he attributes the flaws in the program to the structure of the selection process. The Natural Heritage Trust is, on the description of the Auditor-General, a submission driven scheme at the mercy of a process which was grafted on to existing rural landcare and catchment programs.A national government that was truly proposing a national scheme intended to address national environmental programs would have ensured that funds went to all areas of need and should have avoided the situation where already established groups were disproportionately able to take advantage of that first round. By the time the ministers acknowledged that there was an imbalance and that the community assessment panels had to be made more representative, the first round of funds of almost $200 million had been underwriting the coalition's electoral and political imperatives of this cycle.One of the concerns the opposition had, and which we put vigorously, was the level of ministerial intervention by the Minister for the Environment (Senator Hill) once recommendations were put to him after this exhaustive, costly and so-called independent process. We recognise the Auditor-General addressed himself to this particular concern, but we note with particular interest the very guarded language the Auditor-General used in relation to, for example, the notorious Woodhouse Pastoral Company Baillieu project when he said:While on balance the project would appear to be eligible, judgement is required to interpret the extent to which there is a `clear and substantial public benefit'. The evidence would appear to support the eligibility of the project . . . We really have to feel sorry for the Auditor in his gymnastic language covering up what we always thought was a pretty smelly funding decision. The Auditor-General acknowledges some projects resulted from direct representations from the proponents to the Minister for the Environment, but no indication is given as to how ministerial approval was prompted and finally obtained for the Woodhouse Pastoral Company. The minister has never, under direct questioning in the Senate, offered up any answer. In this context it is worth noting that the ANAO chose not to examine the records from the offices of the ministers. Had that been done, it may have shed some light on this matter.Our concerns about the funding dispersal ratios are vindicated in table 6. I urge all those who are genuinely interested in some sort of impartial assessment of this report to go to table 6. Look at table 6 and see how and where those funds were expended. Table 6 precisely matches the allegations the opposition made. Nothing has been said or offered in explanation for the case where apples were compared with apples. In regional Labor held seats and regional coalition held seats the extraordinary funding bias is five to one in favour of the coalition. Nothing has been offered in explanation for the rural Labor seats being disadvantaged on a ratio of two to one.The process may have been transparent, but so too is the political bias. The opposition does not resile from having raised legitimate concerns in the public interest. My colleague in the Senate, Senator Faulkner, will be having discussions with the Democrats, the Greens and Senator Harradine with a view to addressing how such structural difficulties can be addressed by the parliament as this fund is an ongoing matter.An advance copy of this report was provided to the press—the government did not have the courtesy to provide it to the opposition. Reports in the media already show that the coalition will use this as a vote buying exercise in its constituencies in the period of time in the run-up to the upcoming election.We will be asking the Auditor-General to look at this very closely. The government have got what they call a preliminary report. The full report will be presented in 1999. There are outstanding questions to be addressed. This imbalance, which the Auditor-General acknowledges and clearly states in annexure 6, is a reprehensible condemnation of a distortion of a program that ought to have been properly addressed to national environmental programs. Instead it has been allowed to run off the rails so as to advantage coalition held electorates as opposed to national environmental needs.17:49:003021O'Keefe, Neil, MPMr O'KEEFECE4BurkeALP00—Mr Speaker, on indulgence—Minister, during your observations you made several references to me, so let us go straight to the heart of them in the little bit of time I have got. Remember the debate about the member for Corangamite (Mr McArthur) and me? The question was: what is the difference between the electorate of Corangamite and the electorate of Burke? The answer is that there is a $600,000 difference in grants. What is the difference between the member for Corangamite and me? He is a member of the coali tion; I am a member of the Labor Party. Same environmental issues, same state, same electorate size—all the issues are identical, but there is a $600,000 difference in funding. We put this on the table.As the Auditor-General has said, there is an overwhelming number of cases. Let us have a look at the rest. Let us also see why the government avoided a proper debate on this today. Let us also put the government on notice that we expect that in the budget tonight it will announce another round of funding under the Natural Heritage Trust. The government is well and truly on notice that the same scrutiny will apply. If the same bias turns up, the same campaign will be run on it.I want the government to remember this: we knew about this six months before the event. We had people inside the government circle telling us the way the process was being set up to rort these grants. The fact of it is that we knew that the recommendations from the ground, the recommendations from the state based authorities, would be overturned in the minister's office. That is what the Auditor-General has found. He has found that both ministers have exercised an extraordinary amount of ministerial discretion in the allocation of these grants. A better example could not be found than the difference between Burke and Corangamite.Committees3021302130213021Mr SPEAKERMr SPEAKER10000PON/A10—I present the Presiding Officers' further response to the report of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories entitled A right to protest .The report of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories entitled A right to protest was presented to both Houses in June 1997. Madam President and the former Speaker presented a response to the report on 4 September 1997 and the government response was tabled on 25 March 1998.Madam President and I recognise the right to protest as an inherent part of any active and healthy democratic process and wish, in the light of the government's response, to affirm our position in relation to the committee's recommendations. Our joint response emphasises the special position of the parliament as established by the constitution, the privileges and immunities provided for by the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987 and authorities to control and manage the parliamentary precincts as provided for by the Parliamentary Precincts Act 1988. This response endeavours to balance the needs of the parliament as a legislature with those of public access to the parliamentary precincts and its elected officials. I table this further response.Documents30223022Vaile, Mark, MPMr VAILESU5LyneNPTransport and Regional Development10—Papers are tabled as listed in the schedule circulated to honourable members. Details of the papers will be recorded in the Votes and Proceedings and Hansard.The schedule read as follows—Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act—Administrative Review Council—Report for 1996-97—Errata.Financial Institutions and Public Administration—House of Representatives Standing Committee—Cultivating Competition: Inquiry into aspects of the National Competition Policy Reform Package—Government response.Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act—Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission—Those who've come across the sea: Detention of unauthorised arrivals.Treaties—Bilateral with national interest analyses—Agreement between Australia and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on the Promotion and Protection of Investments, done as Islamabad on 7 February 1998.Exchange of Notes constituting an Agreement to further amend the Agreement between Australia and New Zealand on Social Security, of 19 July 1994.Films Co-Production Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of Ireland, done at Dublin 4 February 1998. Headquarters Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna, done at Canberra on 20 January 1998.Multilateral with national interest analyses—Agreement, done at Montreal on 17 September 1997, to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer, of 16 September 1987.Amendment and adoption of Annexes, done at Kuching, Malaysia, on 27 February 1998, to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, of 22 March 1989.Fifth Protocol, done at Geneva on 12 December 1997, to the General Agreement on Trade in Services, of 15 April 1994.Motion (by Mr Vaile) proposed:That the House take note of the following papers:Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act—Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission—Those who've come across the sea: Detention of unauthorised arrivals.Debate (on motion by Mr Martyn Evans) adjourned.Personal Explanations302217:52:003022Katter, Bob, Jnr, MPMr KATTERHX4KennedyNP10—Mr Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—Does the honourable member claim to have been misrepresented?HX4Katter, Bob, Jnr, MPMr KATTER—Yes.10000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—Please proceed.HX4Katter, Bob, Jnr, MPMr KATTER—I, Robert Katter MP, member for Kennedy, apologise to Peter Laurance AO, former Chairman of the Queensland Tourist and Travel Corporation, his wife and family. This apology arises from comments made by me both inside and outside of parliament involving allegations made concerning ex-Senator Graham Richardson at Sea World Nara resort. I subsequently ascertained that I was in error in involving Mr Laurance and/or his family in the allegations. Harm was thereby caused to Mr Laurance and I extend to him and his family a sincere apology. Mr Laurance has accepted this apology and defamation proceedings instituted by him against me have been discontinued.By way of explanation to the House, comments previously made by me related to the activities of an ex-senator of this parliament were not intended by me in any way to cause the damage to Mr Laurence and/or his family that they have complained of. The Mr Cross referred to in relation to this matter has subsequently refused to aver statements allegedly made by him at the time.Matters of Public Importance302310000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—I have received a letter from the honourable member for Melbourne (Mr Tanner) proposing that a definite matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion namely:The government's approach to waterfront reform.I call upon those members who approve of the proposed discussion to rise in their places.More than the number of members required by the standing orders having risen in their places—Motion (by Mr Vaile) agreed to:That the business of the day be called on.Bills3023Message received from the Governor-General informing the House of assent to the following bills:Criminal Code Amendment Bill 1998 Child Care Legislation Amendment Bill 1998 Productivity Commission Bill 1996 Productivity Commission (Repeals, Transitional and Consequential Amendments) Bill 1996 Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (No. 1) 1998 Taxation Laws Amendment (Trust Loss and Other Deductions) Bill 1997 Indigenous Education (Supplementary Assistance) Amendment Bill 1997 International Monetary Agreements Amendment Bill 1998 Medicare Levy Amendment Bill 1998 Medicare Levy Consequential Amendment (Trust Loss) Bill 1998 National Residue Survey Administration Amendment Bill 1998 National Residue Survey (Customs) Levy Bill 1998 National Residue Survey (Excise) Levy Bill 1998 Therapeutic Goods Legislation Amendment Bill 1998 Ballast Water Research and Development Funding Levy Bill 1998 Charter of Budget Honesty Bill 1998 Commonwealth Places (Consequential Amendments) Bill 1998 Commonwealth Places (Mirror Taxes) Bill 1998 Commonwealth Places Windfall Tax (Collection) Bill 1998 Commonwealth Places Windfall Tax (Imposition) Bill 1998 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Amendment Bill 1998 Health Legislation Amendment Bill 1998 Social Security Legislation Amendment (Youth Allowance) Bill 1998 Insurance Laws Amendment Bill 1998Trade Practices Amendment (Fair Trading) Bill 1998Health Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 1998 Committees30233023302310000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—I have received advice from the Government Whip that he has nominated Mr Lloyd to be a member of the Standing Committee on Family and Community Affairs in place of Mr Ross Cameron.Miscellaneous302310000SPEAKERMr SPEAKER—I advise the House that the Deputy Speaker has fixed Wednesday, 13 May 1998, at 10 a.m., as the time for the next meeting of the Main Committee, unless an alternative day or hour is fixed.Miscellaneous3023Motion (by Mr Andrew) agreed to:That the following bills be referred to the Main Committee for consideration: Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Bill 1998 Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (Consequential Amendments) Bill 1998 Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (Licence Charges) Bill 1998 Australian Science, Technology and Engineering Council Repeal Bill 1998 Excise Tariff Amendment Bill (No. 1) 1998 Income Tax (Untainting Tax) Bill 1998 Interstate Road Transport Amendment Bill 1998 Interstate Road Transport Charge Amendment Bill 1998 National Measurement Amendment Bill 1998 National Road Transport Commission Amendment Bill 1998 Taxation Laws Amendment (Company Law Review) Bill 1998 Veterans' Entitlements Amendment (Male Total Average Weekly Earnings Benchmark) Bill 1998 Committees3024302430243024Nehl, Garry, MPMr NEHLAE4CowperNP10—I present the report of the Selection Committee relating to the consideration of committee and delegation reports and private members business on Monday, 18 May 1998. The report will be printed in today's Hansard and the items accorded priority for debate will be published in the Notice Paper for the next sitting.The report read as follows—Report relating to the consideration of committee and delegation reports and private Members' business on Monday, 25 May 1998Pursuant to sessional order 28D, the Selection Committee has determined the order of precedence and times to be allotted for consideration of committee and delegation reports and private Members' business on Monday, 25 May 1998. The order of precedence and the allotments of time determined by the Committee are shown in the list.COMMITTEE AND DELEGATION REPORTSPresentation and statements1 FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE AND TRADE—JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE: Report on a seminar on the Asian currency crisis and its effect on Australia.The Committee determined that statements on the report may be made—all statements to be made within a total time of 25 minutes.Speech time limits—Each Member—5 minutes.2 LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS—STANDING COMMITTEE : Report on retention of Census data.The Committee determined that statements on the report may be made—all statements to be made within the time remaining for committee and delegation reports.Speech time limits—Each Member—5 minutes.PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESSOrder of precedenceNotices1Mr Rocher to present a Bill for an Act to require financial accountability in relation to Commonwealth support of non-public sector bodies.2Mr Filing to move:That this House calls upon the Government to replace its existing consulate in Zagreb with an Australian Embassy to the Republic of Croatia as soon as possible.Time allotted—remaining private Members' business time prior to 1.45 p.m.Speech time limits—Each Member—5 minutes.The Committee determined that consideration of this matter should continue on a future day.3Mr Pyne to move:That this House:(1) endorses the Government's progressive immigration policy and its emphasis on skilled immigrants which creates additional demand for goods and services and community infrastructure and the consequent employment opportunities that it brings;(2) supports the Government in building community confidence in an immigration program that reflects the needs of the Australian economy while also recognising that there remains a requirement for family reunions; and(3) agrees that immigration has played a positive role in the building of the Australian population and nation since the Second World War.Time allotted—30 minutes.Speech time limits—Mover of motion—10 minutes.First Opposition Member speaking—10 minutes.Other Members—5 minutes each.The Committee determined that consideration of this matter should continue on a future day.4Mr McClelland to move:That this House: (1) notes that the current federal Government has diverted funding into private education at the direct expense of public education;(2) acknowledges that a properly resourced public education system is vitally important to equity of access to quality education; and(3) calls upon the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs to properly resource public education.Time allotted—remaining private Members' business time.Speech time limits—Each Member—5 minutes.The Committee determined that consideration of this matter should continue on a future day.3025302517:57:003025Taylor, Bill, MPMr TAYLOROJ4GroomLP10—On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, I present the committee's report, incorporating a dissenting report, entitled Funding Australia's defence , together with the minutes of proceedings and evidence received by the committee. I move:That the House take note of the report.I seek leave to continue my remarks when the debate is resumed.Leave granted; debate adjourned.Sitting suspended from 5.58 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.Bills30253025Message from the Governor-General transmitting particulars of proposed expenditure and recommending appropriation announced.Bill presented by Mr Costello, and read a first time.302519:31:003025Costello, Peter, MPMr COSTELLOCT4HigginsLPTreasurer10—I move:That the bill be now read a second time.In March 1996 our country set out on a new journey.It started from a bad position. We had lost our way—our budget, under Labor, was $10.3 billion in deficit. Government debts had grown nearly $80 billion over five years. Looking out to the next century there was just a haze of deficit upon deficit and climbing ranges of debt which hemmed us in and closed off our future opportunities.Australia needed direction. Australia had to change its way.So our Government laid out a map. We marked out the places we wanted to get to. We identified the goals we wanted to achieve and we put down a timetable so we could measure our progress. So we could stay on track.We wanted to get the budget out of deficit—out of the red and into the black—in three years. We wanted to stabilise our growing debt then halve it (in proportion to GDP) in five years. We wanted to achieve our goals not by raising taxes but by spending taxpayers' money more efficiently and well.That was two years ago. This coming year is the third year of the journey. We will finish the first leg in good shape. We have achieved our goal. Our budget is now in surplus. We are back in the black. We are back on track.The Commonwealth budget will be in surplus in 1998-99—a surplus of $2.7 billion.When we set out on this journey we knew it would be a tough road. If it were otherwise our predecessors would have taken it. And in many respects the road has become tougher—with the severe turmoil in the Asian region.But we all know that worthwhile achievement requires work and dedication and we have never lost sight of our goals.The burdens were shared and the benefits will be shared. It was something that all of us—as Australians—have achieved together.And now we set out on the second leg of our journey.Our second leg is to pay our way now and set up opportunities for the future by repaying Labor's debt.Repaying the debts of the past will secure the jobs for the future. Lower debt means lower interest payments. Our taxes will be lower and they will go on new services, better services, improving living standards, rather than servicing the past debts and the past failures.We are now well on track.In fact today we can map out even more exciting possibilities. The Government's sale of one third of the equity of Telstra gave millions of Australians the opportunity to share in the ownership of this company—mums and dads, employees—many people who have never owned a share before in their lives.The Government proposes to sell the further shares in this company—not because we need to balance the budget. The budget is already balanced. But a once only sale will let us get a once only reduction in our debt burden—a once only opportunity to reduce net debt to 1½ per cent of GDP—to wipe out Labor's debt for good. This would put the Commonwealth, at the Centenary of Federation, back in the strong position it had in the mid 1970s—in its best position in twenty-five years.I said earlier that the burdens that have been shared mean that the benefits will be shared.When we began this journey two years ago mortgage interest rates were 10½ per cent. Now they are closer to 6½ per cent. These are the lowest home mortgage rates since 1970. For the average Australian home buyer this represents a saving of $320 per month—they are $3,800 per year better off.And low home interest rates means the affordability of housing has, according to the HIA index, improved by 24 per cent over the last two years. What this means is more young Australians, more young families can buy their own home and get a start in life.Young people and families are sharing the benefits of good economic policy.Two years ago small business overdraft interest rates were over 11 per cent. Now they have come down to 7.7 per cent. These are the lowest rates for small business since the 1960s. At the start of the decade, under Labor, small business interest rates were 20.5 per cent—nearly three times the current rate. Small business is sharing the benefits of good policy. If we had not acted to repair the nation's finances, if we had not acted to lock in low inflation, if we had not been able to enjoy lower interest rates, if we had not been able to help small business, jobs would have been lost. But these measures have allowed new jobs, better jobs to be created. Employees are sharing the benefits of good policy.There are now more Australians in work than ever before. Whilst unemployment is too high, it is now the lowest it has been in Australia since 1990—the lowest in eight years, the lowest since Labor's recession. That was the recession we did not have to have. Finally, we are over it.CHALLENGESIn my first Budget Speech two years ago, I said that unless we acted decisively then ". . . Australia would be dangerously exposed to shifts in the international outlook . . . "We did not know then that the Asian region would, as happened late last year, experience its greatest financial crisis ever and its largest downturn in economic growth since the oil shocks of twenty-five years ago. We did not know then that the Asian region, which for decades has been an engine for growth in Australia, would become a brake on our growth.But we knew that prudent management meant we should strengthen the Australian economy against shocks outside our control. And we did. And it is now clear what an important decision that was. Our critics opposed us. Labor, which had put Australia in deficit, fought to keep it there. We are fortunate their views did not prevail.In the midst of the turbulence of the region, Australia's economic growth will remain strong—not as strong as it could have been without this external downturn, a downturn beyond our control—but Australia will have one of the highest growth rates in the developed world. Importantly, Australia will be the strong economy of this region. Our economic fundamentals are as good as they have been for twenty-five years: low inflation, low interest rates, good growth, falling unemployment, falling debt and a budget swinging into surplus. It is important to remember that this is the result of a coherent policy framework: a new framework for the conduct of monetary policy with an agreed inflation objective—set with the Reserve Bank—keeping inflation low; a Charter of Budget Honesty recognised as a standard setter by the International Monetary Fund—implementing the best practice in the world—keeping the budget on track; a leading edge reform of the financial sector which has proven strong and will be strengthened further under new institutional arrangements flowing from the Financial System (Wallis) Inquiry; and a programme of Corporate Law Reform that will make Australia one of the most efficient, stable, reliable centres in the world to do business—directed to our objective of promoting economic growth and jobs.But the turbulent events of Asia in recent times should remind us of the need to continue to work to strengthen our future. While many hard yards have been covered, many more have to be travelled to improve our tax system, to improve our ports and wharfs, to keep our focus on a stronger economy and jobs, to maintain our commitment to help families, the elderly, and those in regional and rural Australia.BUDGET OUTCOMESMr Speaker, we have turned around the nation's finances without increasing the tax burden on Australians.For the third time in a row, tonight I announce that there will be no increase in income tax rates, no increase in the company tax rate, no increase in the wholesale sales tax, no increase in the petrol excise.The uplift factor for provisional tax in 1998-99 will be reduced again one further percentage point to 5 per cent, half the rate that applied under Labor at the beginning of this decade. This will save business and individuals around $75 million in provisional tax instalments in the forthcoming year.We are putting the nation's finances in order by being careful with government spending—targeting the areas of need, whilst eliminating rorts and wastage. In the social security area alone, in the first eighteen months of the Coalition Government more than $600 million was repaid by people who had received more than their entitlements. In 1996-97, $28 million a week was saved by cancelling payments to those who were not entitled to them.Budget outlays as a proportion of GDP are expected to fall from around 27 per cent of GDP in 1995-96 to below 24 per cent by 2000-01. This represents an outcome not achieved since the early 1970s.And careful management of the nation's finances has allowed us to redirect spending to those with greater need.Care and Support for Older AustraliansMr Speaker, the Government has already demonstrated its strong commitment to older Australians.This is the only Government that has, by legislation, set the benchmark rate of the age pension at 25 per cent of male total average weekly earnings. This means that although the Consumer Price Index did not increase last year, the rate of the age pension did. This delivered an increase in the pension of $6.80 per fortnight in March 1998. The Government has also provided for this increase to flow to the recipients of War Widows' pensions.This Government also delivered tax fairness to the self-funded retiree. The Government has now introduced, in full, the availability of the pensioner tax rebate to self-funded retirees. Self-funded retirees now pay no more in tax for the same income than do pensioners. This allows a qualifying single self-funded retiree to earn up to $12,163 without paying tax.Starting from 1 July 1998, the savings rebate will reduce tax on savings by 7.5 per cent and by 1 July 1999 reduce tax on savings by 15 per cent up to the first $3,000 of income.The Government has decided that from 1 January 1999, a Gold Card for health care will be made available to an additional 50,000 Australian World War II veterans—those who faced danger from hostile forces during that war. This measure, which costs around $500 million over four years, recognises the significant contribution made by Australia's war veterans. A grateful nation acknowledges the debt we owe them.The Gold Card provides the veteran with free treatment as a private patient with choice of doctor or medical practitioner in hospital, together with a wide range of other services such as optical, dental, physiotherapy, podiatry and chiropractic services free of charge. These services are provided whether the conditions treated are service related or not. Gold Card holders receive the pensioner concession on pharmaceuticals. They are not required to pay the Medicare Levy. Their treatment is free.This Government wants to encourage people to save for their own retirement. And so it is determined to support those retirees who through thrift are now living from their own savings.To further encourage and support self-funded retirees, I announce tonight that eligibility for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card is to be expanded from 1 January 1999.The income test threshold for the card, which will be based on taxable income, is to be increased from around $21,000 to $40,000 per year for singles and from around $36,000 to $67,000 per year for couples. This change, costing $190 million over four years, is expected to allow some 220,000 additional self-funded retirees to qualify for the Seniors Health Card.It will enable cardholders to purchase eligible pharmaceuticals for $3.20—the same concessional rate as pensioners—with any prescriptions above 52 within a year being available free of charge.1999 is the International Year of Older Persons. A Government programme which will focus on implementing practical initiatives for improving the health and well-being of older Australians and recognising their contribution to the community and nation is being put in place to mark this occasion.A Healthy AustraliaMr Speaker, the Government is also building a stronger health system.Under Australian Health Care Agreements, Commonwealth funding available for public hospitals will increase by $2.9 billion over the next five years. In total, this will increase funding nearly 15 per cent in real terms and bring Commonwealth spending to $30.2 billion over the five year period. As part of this, the Commonwealth has taken on the full cost of purchasing veterans' health care, which is separately funded at $150 million per year. The extension of the Gold Card to an additional 50,000 veterans, separately funded for free treatment as private patients, creates additional places in the public system for others.Health Care Agreement funding will ensure that public patients receive free access to public hospitals, and will facilitate reforms to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of health services. This demonstrates the Government's strong commitment to the public hospital system.Earlier this year, the Government announced a range of measures to enhance the care of older people staying in the community, and to provide greater recognition and support for carers. The Government's package Staying at Home—Care and Support for Older Australians, announced in April, will assist elderly Australians to remain independent and live in their own homes with additional care and support.The measures, costing around $280 million over the next four years, will see the number of people receiving assistance through Community Aged Care Packages to stay in their own home double to 22,000; they expand eligibility for the Domiciliary Nursing Care Benefit; they will establish another fifteen Carer Respite Centres to give those caring for older people the chance for respite and help them to look after elderly relatives; and they provide additional respite care places for people with dementia.This year, the Commonwealth will also provide increased funding for the States of $130 million over five years under the new Commonwealth State Disability Agreement. This will provide for additional accommodation support services for people with disabilities. This funding is in addition to the $54 million in extra funding which was provided in the 1997-98 Budget.Our efforts to improve the health of Australians do not end there.Tonight, I am announcing the provision of around $80 million over four years to enhance preventive health programmes. This will fund a number of new programmes, including: a free annual influenza vaccine to all Australians over 65 in order to treat this preventible illness, as recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council; and a $6.1 million programme to reduce tobacco-related illness including school education campaigns to warn our children of the dangers of smoking.Following the successful introduction of Medicare claims units in pharmacies in rural Australia, the service will be extended to outer metropolitan and growth areas. Two hundred new units will open in pharmacies to allow people to access Medicare refunds from their local chemist.Foster parents, who generously give love and care to children, will be entitled to have a Health Care Card for the child, if the child qualified in his or her previous family, to use for health expenses. This recognises the important role of carers and the health needs of those who are cared for by them.The Government's commitment to medical research is demonstrated by our decision tonight to provide additional on-going funding for the National Health and Medical Research Council at a cost of around $175 million over four years. This provides longer term certainty for the health and medical research industry, and will encourage those with research skills to participate or continue in medical research.Expenditure on diagnostic imaging has grown significantly in recent years. Although this growth was slowed by measures introduced in the 1996-97 Budget, further reforms are needed to ensure that growth does not become unsustainable. The Government will be working with peak professional bodies to constrain diagnostic imaging expenditure.The Government will also be taking steps to ensure that abuse and waste in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme is minimised, through enhancing the compliance activities of the Health Insurance Commission and the development of education and awareness programmes.Youth, Education and TrainingA key priority of the Government has been to expand employment opportunities, through labour market reform and improvements in Australia's education and training system. A particular concern has been our unemployed youth.The Government's initiatives have included the major reform of the provision of employment services, with the establishment of the Job Network from May this year; improved incentives for employers to take on apprentices; and the Work for the Dole scheme.The Work for the Dole scheme is based on the principle of mutual obligation. A person out of work is given income support by the community and is expected, in return, to support the community by doing useful projects, learning skills and keeping up work habits.The Government is also providing an additional $350 million over four years for a range of measures to address problems associated with youth unemployment.In particular, the Government is taking the Work for the Dole initiative further, requiring all young people unemployed for six months or more to participate in an activity in addition to looking for work. The additional activities required can include the Green Corps, education and training, a new programme for literacy and numeracy or community job projects.This Budget provides for the extension of the Job Placement, Employment and Training programme until the end of 1999-2000. This programme helps young people up to 21 years of age who face multiple disadvantages, particularly the homeless. It provides individual assistance, tailored to their particular needs, to help them overcome the barriers they face in putting their lives back on track.A new Youth Allowance is being introduced, which simplifies income support arrangements for young Australians and encourages them to further their education and develop the basic skills needed to secure their future.Additional funding is also being provided for programmes to facilitate the transition of young people from school to work and to assist those at risk of early school-leaving.This year, the Government will establish a Volunteer Ambassadors for Development programme. This will provide the opportunity for around 500 young Australians of up to 30 years of age to live and work as volunteers in the Asia Pacific region. Volunteers will be involved in activities such as teaching, providing health services, advising small business and improving the environment. This will help build Australia's ties with the region. Importantly, it will also expand the skills and experience of the young people themselves.In this Budget, the Government is also providing significant increases in resources to fight the scourge of drugs through the National Illicit Drugs Strategy. The Strategy involves funding of around $215 million over five years to reduce the demand and supply of illicit drugs in the community, for drug treatment and rehabilitation and for community education. The new initiatives funded in this Budget will involve establishing new strike teams against illegal drugs and fighting the drug trade at its source with new Federal Police posts overseas where the drug trade can be intercepted before it reaches our shores.Rural and Regional AustraliaMr Speaker, the importance of the rural industry to Australia, to the nation, can never be forgotten. We know that many in the bush have faced difficult times, particularly because of drought.Sound policy and low interest rates are of enormous benefit to rural and regional Australia. The $525 million Government package, Agriculture—Advancing Australia, aims to help farmers out of debt and drought prob lems and, through the new FarmBis programme, provides assistance to farmers to improve the management of their businesses.Shortly after tonight, the Government is introducing legislation to provide a tax rebate for landcare works of 34 cents in the dollar. This will apply to expenditure in the 1997-98 financial year. Primary producers will be able to claim the rebate for works on levee or contour banks to control soil erosion, drainage works to control salinity, and the eradication of pests. There will be an annual limit of up to $10,000 for eligible landcare expenditures. The rebate will be available for those with taxable incomes of up to $20,700 from primary production—or around 70 per cent of farmers. The landcare rebate is an incentive for farmers with low taxable incomes to improve their land—one of our country's greatest natural resources. The rebate, worth $80 million, will be paid from the Natural Heritage Trust.In the coming year over $200 million will be spent on natural resource management and sustainable agriculture under the Natural Heritage Trust and other programmes.Steps are being taken in this Budget to improve rural and regional health, through the expansion of multi-purpose health and family services for Australians in rural or remote areas. This involves providing a flexible, integrated range of health and family services in conjunction with the States, in areas where individual health and care programmes would not otherwise be viable. An extra thirty rural areas will have access to new multi-purpose services, with an additional 836 residential aged care places to be made available over four years. This is designed to complement services to older Australians in rural areas who want services near their friends and families.Other MeasuresMr Speaker, one of the first areas where the impact of the downturn in Asian economies has been felt is the Australian tourism industry. We recognise the importance of tourism for the Australian economy. In that context, we recognise the need to promote Australia effectively in the world tourism market.Accordingly, this Budget provides increased funding of around $50 million over four years for the Australian Tourist Commission to improve Australia's promotional effort overseas in existing and emerging markets. A further $8 million will be provided over that period for the promotion of tourism in regional Australia.The Government is also taking steps to enhance the effectiveness of Australia's immigration and visa procedures. Experience shows that there is a high risk that visitors from certain countries will attempt to remain in Australia after their visas expire. Accordingly, visa applications from those countries are to be more closely scrutinised. These measures are to be funded by introducing a new visitor charge for applicants from high risk countries. At the same time, arrangements provide for faster processing of travellers from low risk countries.BUDGET REVENUESIn August last year the Prime Minister announced the Government's commitment to fundamental reform of the Australian taxation system.Our current tax system is not serving Australia's interests and is therefore no longer appropriate to a modern and dynamic economy.It is unnecessarily complex—the result of years of changes to patch up a system that was first developed in the 1930s.It imposes high rates of personal tax on additional earnings for Australians who do not have high incomes. The interaction of the tax and social security systems reduces the incentive to find work, or to earn more. Reward for effort is taken away through tax and reduced benefits.The tax system includes a Wholesale Sales Tax which applies high tax rates on a relatively narrow range of goods including many everyday items. The structure of the indirect tax system also adds to the costs of businesses and penalises our exporters.A more certain, fair and efficient tax system is necessary as Australia enters the next century. We need a tax system that ensures that all parts of the community pay a fair share of tax.In its first two Budgets the Government has taken action to protect honest taxpayers by clamping down on tax avoidance and tax minimisation. This has been achieved without increasing the overall tax burden facing the community.But repair and maintenance of the present taxation system can only go so far. In short, it is no longer a sufficient option for achieving fairness and avoiding disincentives to work. We must have fundamental reform of the taxation system.Mr Speaker, since the Government is committed to ensuring all taxpayers meet their obligations, I am announcing tonight an extension of the funding for a special taskforce within the Australian Taxation Office which is investigating the tax minimisation practices of some high wealth individuals. Examination to date has already unearthed a number of undesirable practices. Tonight's Budget sets aside $19 million for this taskforce which is expected to yield $200 million in additional tax compliance over the next two years.Year 2000 Computer SoftwareThe Government considers that expenses incurred in detecting and remedying software problems associated with the Year 2000 millennium bug should, in general, be immediately deductible for taxation purposes.To a limited extent this is provided for in the current law but amendments will be made where this is not so. This decision reflects the Government's determination that businesses should be encouraged to take all steps to iron out possible computer software failure before the Year 2000.The Government has also decided to amend the taxation law as it applies to computer software expenditure in response to a recent announcement by the Commissioner of Taxation withdrawing a ruling that deals with the taxation treatment. Unless the Government acted, most software expenditure could not be written off for taxation purposes or at best could be written off over twenty-five years. Most software expenditure would have been treated as capital and therefore as not deductible in the year incurred.The Government has decided to act in response to provide that expenditure on acquiring or developing computer software—apart from that associated with Year 2000 compliance—will be written off over 2½ years.The write-off rate of 2½ years reflects the relatively short expected effective life of software arising from rapid developments in the information technology industry.The proposed arrangements are generous compared to those applying in comparable overseas taxation jurisdictions.The new arrangements will encourage business modernisation and apply from the time of withdrawal of the ruling.I am also announcing some measures that will simplify the tax law and address some potential anomalies.A new generic tax framework will be introduced for the demutualisation of non-insurance organisations. Demutualisation is an emerging trend as more sectors of the Australian economy respond to increasing competition and structural reform. The development of the framework has benefited from extensive public input. It will provide greater certainty for organisations about the taxation consequences of demutualisation.The Government has decided to increase the revenue collected through telecommunications numbering charges in order to better reflect the market value of these numbers and discourage hoarding. Additional revenue of around $30 million per annum will be collected from telecommunications carriers for the use of special service telephone numbers such as `13' and `180' numbers. The Government's decision recognises the fact that special service numbers are a valuable community resource and previous charging levels have undervalued their true worth.Finally, Mr Speaker, I am announcing an increase in the Passenger Movement Charge of $3, taking it to $30. This will take effect from 1 January 1999. This increase will help meet the additional costs associated with the transit of people and goods for the Sydney 2000 Games.ECONOMIC OUTLOOKMr Speaker, it is expected that economic growth will remain solid in 1998-99, although it will slow from 1997-98. But for the effect of Asia we would be looking at a continuation of rapid growth in 1998-99.The strong growth in activity in 1997-98 reflects strong private sector demand. This is expected to carry into 1998-99. Investment plans remain strong, supported by low interest rates and high corporate profits. The housing recovery is proceeding and consumption will be supported by continued favourable labour market conditions.Employment growth should remain firm, supported by recent and prospective growth in non-farm activity. The unemployment rate is forecast to fall to around 7 per cent in the year ahead.While inflation will rise gradually in the year ahead, it is under control and expected to remain within the RBA's medium-term target band.The slowdown in some of our Asian trading partners will reduce Australia's export returns. Continued strength in the domestic economy will lead to a temporary rise in the current account deficit, edging it up to an average 5¼ per cent in the coming year.However, the rise in the current account deficit in prospect is expected to remain below the peaks in the 1980s and mid-1990s.And importantly, the rise in the current account deficit in prospect is taking place in clearly different circumstances to those earlier episodes. It does not reflect excessive growth in domestic demand. It is taking place in a period where the Government has locked in low inflation. It is occurring against the backdrop of policies designed to increase public saving and to provide a better environment for private saving.As a result, investor confidence in Australia can be expected to remain strong.CONCLUDING COMMENTSMr Speaker, on its election the Government mapped a course for economic and social prosperity into the next century.This Government was determined to deliver, not just for this generation, but the next. When we set out, we said that the burdens would be shared so the rewards would be shared.That is why young people, homebuyers, small business, job seekers now have better opportunities and a bright future—why we can care for the older people and hope for the younger ones.The journey is not yet finished. We should not stop now. This is an important milestone along the road. With the confidence and continued support of the Australian people, we will not stray from the task.I commend the Budget to the House.Debate (on motion by Mr Beazley) adjourned.Miscellaneous30333033Costello, Peter, MPMr COSTELLOCT4HigginsLPTreasurer10—I present for the information of honourable members the following papers in connection with the budget for 1998-99:Budget strategy and outlook 1998-99;Budget measurers 1998-99;Federal financial relations 1998-99;The Commonwealth public account 1998-99;Addressing priorities in indigenous affairs;Maintaining our commitment to women;Regional Australia: Our commitment;Investing in our natural heritage: The Commonwealth's environment expenditure 1998-99;Ordered that the papers be printed.Bills30333033Message from the Governor-General transmitting particulars of proposed expenditure and recommending appropriation announced.Bill presented by Mr Fahey, and read a first time.303320:01:003033Fahey, John, MPMr FAHEYHQ5MacarthurLPFinance and Administration10—I move:That the bill be now read a second time. It is with great pleasure that I now introduce Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 1998-99, which, together with Appropriation Bill (No. 1), is one of the principal pieces of legislation underpinning the third budget of the Howard Liberal-National Party government. This bill seeks appropriations of the consolidated revenue fund in 1998-99 totalling $4,172 million. Appropriation Bill (No. 2) provides for proposed expenditure on:. the construction of public works and buildings;. the acquisition of sites and buildings;. certain advances and loans;. items of plant and equipment which are clearly definable as capital in nature;. expenditure on new policy initiatives for which legislation has not been previously approved.Provision is also made for grants to the states under section 96 of the constitution and for payments to the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. Details of the proposed expenditure are set out in schedule 2 to the bill, the main features of which were outlined in the budget speech delivered by my colleague the Treasurer (Mr Costello) a short time ago.Reflecting recent experience, the provision for funding from the Advance to the Minister for Finance and Administration contained in Appropriation Bill (No. 2) has been increased by $40 million to $215 million with a commensurate reduction in the provision contained in Appropriation Bill (No. 1). There is no overall increase in the provisions for the Advance to the Minister for Finance and Administration being sought from parliament. I commend the bill to the House.Debate (on motion by Mr McMullan) adjourned.Bills30333033Message from the Governor-General transmitting particulars of proposed expenditure and recommending appropriation announced.Bill presented by Mr Fahey, and read a first time.303420:04:003034Fahey, John, MPMr FAHEYHQ5MacarthurLPFinance and Administration10—I move:That the bill be now read a second time.The purpose of this bill is to appropriate the consolidated revenue fund for the running costs and capital expenditures of the parliamentary departments for the year ending 30 June 1999. The total amount sought is $138.1 million. Details of the proposed expenditures are set out in the schedule to the bill. I commend the bill to the House.Debate (on motion by Mr McMullan) adjourned.20:05:003034House adjourned at 8.05 p.m.Miscellaneous30343034Mr Lee asked Mr Speaker on 7 April 1998:I have a question for you, Mr Speaker. I have before me a letter dated 2 April signed by the Acting Parliamentary Librarian, which I think has been sent to all members, stating that the library will be closed from 8 p.m. on sitting nights from the start of the winter sitting. I do not know how many of my colleagues know this, but I would like to bring to your attention, Mr Speaker, a statement that was made by the current Leader of the House on 1 December 1995. He said:The library people are of great importance, especially to the opposition. Governments have the mass of bureaucracy to assist them. In opposition we do not have those same resources. We rely very much on the Library, the parliamentary research people . . . I am wondering, Mr Speaker, if you could perhaps reconsider this decision relating to the right of members to have access to the library after 8 p.m. on sitting days.10000SPEAKERMr Speaker—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:The time at which the Parliamentary Library should close on sitting days has been under consideration for the last three years. Use of Library services has been monitored on an hours used basis and, since the Parliament resumed late evening sittings in May 1996, request levels during late evening sittings have been specifically monitored. In 1997 requests received by the Library after 8 pm accounted for only 0.89 per cent of total requests.The two principal reasons for recommending an 8 p.m. closing time were the costs of keeping staff on duty and the related question of the quality and extent of services possible to be provided by that limited number of staff. The rearrangement of hours, which includes keeping the Ground Floor Library open until 8 p.m. on sitting nights, will provide greater access to services at times which the Library's monitoring of usage and request levels indicates they are more in demand.The two late opening nights cost the Library around $100,000 a year in overtime and allowances. Only about 10 per cent of staff remain on duty and the services able to be provided are extremely limited, not only because of reduced staff numbers but also because of unavailability after hours of many external sources of information and resources. This financial year salaries for staff will account for 75 per cent of total appropriations with maintenance of the collection—both hard copy and electronic—taking a further 10 per cent. With funding as tight as this, the question of the most effective use of the Library's resources is paramount.The Library has suffered funding reductions over the last 3 years totalling $1.6 million, almost 10 per cent of its previous funding base, and its ability to absorb cuts of this magnitude is extremely limited, principally because of the very high proportion of appropriations which goes directly to salaries.The combination of extremely low usage levels after 8 p.m. and the financial pressures facing the Library both now and in the future mean that the most effective use of all the Library's resources—which include staff time, salaries and allowances—indicates that closing at 8 p.m. is the most beneficial balance for the interests of the Parliament overall. The following graph shows requests made to the Library by time of day for 1997. Of the 43,832 requests in that year, only 383 or 0.9 per cent were made after 8 p.m.3035Mr Hardgrave asked Mr Speaker on 31 March 1998:In light of the government's recent announcement regarding the introduction of digital high definition television, could you detail to the House the extent to which current Sound and Vision Office facilities within Parliament House will be replaced in order to meet SAVO's obligations to provide clean TV feed for broadcast and rebroadcast in digital format? What work has been done to date for the planning for this? What equipment would be replaced at what cost? Would this cost be met from current funds or would it be an addition to the vote for the Joint House budget? 10000SPEAKERMr Speaker—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:Digital radio and television broadcasting will have an impact on two aspects of Sound and Vision (SAVO) operations: firstly its role of producing radio and television coverage of the Houses and committees, which is then broadcast internally on the House Monitoring Service (HMS) and (in most cases) also made available as a `clean feed' to media bureaux; and secondly its role of receiving external television and radio signals and broadcasting them internally on the HMS.While the government has announced the timetable for the introduction of digital broadcasting it has not announced the technical standards Australia will adopt for digital television broadcasting nor whether digital radio broadcasts will be satellite or terrestrial. These standards will be critical in determining the extent of re-equipment required by SAVO. The television broadcasting industry has been moving to digital production, as opposed to broadcasting, for some time and the Sound and Vision Office has been in the forefront of that move, replacing analog production equipment with digital facilities as part of the department's asset replacement program.Production of television coverage of the two chambers is now substantially digitised and, when the cameras in the House are replaced next financial year, will be fully digital.Television production facilities for committee coverage are also being digitised, with control rooms used for committees having been converted. Existing analog cameras in committee rooms will be progressively replaced.In respect of SAVO's role of receiving external TV sources—both free-to-air and pay—and then reticulating them within the building, the fibre optic network in the building will carry digital signals. However, a new `head-end' for the HMS will be required to accept external digital input. The funding implications of this acquisition will also be affected by future decisions on technical standards.Radio production facilities in nine of the nineteen committee rooms have been converted to digital processing and a further two will be converted by the end of June this year. Chamber audio facilities are not planned to be converted to digital processing until the 1999-2000 financial year.The cost of equipment conversion so far has been met from the department's specific appropriations for asset replacement. This was set in 1995-96 at $7.6 million a year, but was reduced in 1996-97 as part of general budget reductions to $3.2 million a year.Notices3036The following notices were given:Mr Brown to move:That this House:(1) condemns the growing practice of companies contriving artificial arrangements to dismiss their unionised workforce in order to replace it with non-unionised scab labour;(2) condemns the action of Gordonstone Coal Management Pty Ltd, owned by Atlantic Richfield Oil Company (ARCO), which not only sacked its entire workforce and attempted to replace them with a new workforce but also hired a private security firm to patrol the mine and to spy on and intimidate workers and their spouses and children who live in the town of Emerald, Qld;(3) is encouraged by the decisions of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission which found that the dismissals were provocative and unnecessary and were harsh, unjust and unreasonable; and(4) calls on the Government to express its support for the coalminers at Gordonstone, to insist that the dismissed workforce be re-employed immediately and to advise ARCO and like companies that such actions are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.Mr McClelland to move:That this House:(1) notes that elected representatives and, in particular, ministers of the Crown occupy a position of trust to the Australian people;(2) further notes that a fundamental obligation of that position of trust is to ensure that the resources of the nation are used to advance the interest of the Australian people and not to promote the party political aspirations of the incumbent Government;(3) calls upon the Government to immediately cease its program of using public funds to produce politically biased material; and(4) calls for the establishment of an inquiry to ascertain how much money has been spent by the current Government for party political purposes, the legality of that expenditure and whether the minister or ministers responsible for that expenditure should be held accountable to the Australian people for the money which has been misapplied to promote party political purposes.Mr McClelland to move:That this House:(1) notes that the Government's tendering process for the provision of employment services was fundamentally flawed as a result of (a) an underlying strategy to break down the existing club, (b) the failure to have regard to the successful track record of many local services which were not awarded contracts, (c) the failure to have regard to the fact that in many areas those successful tenderers will have a monopoly in their particular employment submarket, (d) the existence of widespread collusive tendering, (e) the fact that a number of companies have provided reduced price tenders on the incorrect assumption that local government organisations would provide the same subsidised accommodation as they have provided for community based services and (f) the complete incompetence in the assessment of the capacity of successful tenderers to provide a proper and adequate level of service; and (2) calls upon the Government to render the tendering process null and void and establish an inquiry into the tendering process including properly identifying those matters which were (a) taken into consideration in the tendering process which properly should not have been considered and (b) not taken into consideration in the tendering process which should appropriately have been considered.Mr Ruddock to present a Bill for an Act to amend the Data-matching Program (Assistance and Tax) Act 1990, and for related purposes.Documents3037The following papers were deemed to have been presented on 12 May 1998:Aged Care Act—Determinations 1998 No. 1.Airports Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 70.Australian Bureau of Statistics Act—Australian Bureau of Statistics—Proposals 1998 Nos. 6, 7, 8.Australian Communications Authority Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 62.Child Care Legislation Amendment Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 64.Christmas Island Act—Ordinance 1998 No. 2.Civil Aviation Act—Civil Aviation Regulations—Civil Aviation Orders—Exemptions—1998 Nos. CASA 12, CASA 13, CASA 14, CASA 15, CASA 16.Instruments—1998 Nos. CASA 79, CASA 84, CASA 103, CASA 104.Part 105—Amendments—1998—13, 19(6), 23(6), 25(5), 27(2) March, 2(2), 3(2), 7(5), 8, 9(21) April.Part 106—Amendments—1998—19, 24(3) March, 3(2), 7, 9 AprilCocos (Keeling) Islands Act—Ordinances 1998 No. 2.Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act—Notice under section 45.Copyright Act—Declarations under section 10A 20 April 1998.Crimes Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 68.Customs Act—Instruments of approval 1998 Nos. 1, 3, 4.Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 58.Defence Act—Determinations—1998—Defence Force (Superannuation) (Productivity Benefit) Amendment (No. 2). Nos. 16, 17.Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 Nos. 60, 63.Export Control Act—Export Control (Orders) Regulations—Export Control Order 1998 No. 1.Export Inspection (Establishment Registration Charges) Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 75.Family Law Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 59.Financial Management and Accountability Act—Determinations to establish components of the Reserved Money Fund 7 (4) April 1998Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 65.Fisheries Management Act—Direction No. NPFD 20.Health Insurance Commission Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 67.Higher Education Funding Act—Determinations 1998 Nos. T9, T10, T29, T30, T31.Imported Food Control Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 69.Insurance Acquisitions and Takeovers Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 79.Insurance Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 80.Insurance (Agents and Brokers) Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 77.Insurance Contracts Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 78.International Organisations (Privileges and Immunities) Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 66.Judiciary Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 61.Lands Acquisition Act—Statements under section 40 (2).Meat and Live—stock Industry Act—Orders 1998 Nos. MQ72, M79.Military Superannuation and Benefits Act—Instrument 1998 Nos. 1, 2.Murray—Darling Basin Act—Schedule to Murray—Darling Basin Agreement.National Health Act—Declarations 1998 Nos. PB6, PB7, PB8.Determination 1998 No. HIG3.Instrument 1998 No. HIG2.Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 73.Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act, Horticultural Levy Act and Horticultural Export Charge Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 74. Proclamations by His Excellency the Governor—General fixing the dates on which the following provisions of Acts shall come into operation—Child Care Legislation Amendment Act 1998—Provisions of the Act except sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 and items 16 and 17 of Schedule 1 17 April 1998.Insurance Laws Amendment Act 1998—Schedule 1 28 April 1998.Trans—Tasman Mutual Recognition Act 1997—Provisions of the Act except Part 1 28 April 1998.Public Service Act—Determinations 1998 Nos. FAT 2, FAT 3, LES 14, LES 15, LES 16, LES 17, LES 18.Quarantine Act—Determination 1998 No. 1.Remuneration Tribunal Act—Remuneration Tribunal—Determination 1998 No. 12.Retirement Savings Accounts Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 82.Sales Tax Assessment Act—Determination 1998 No. STD 1.Ruling No. SST 9.Student and Youth Assistance Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 71.Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 Nos. 76, 81, 83.Superannuation (Resolution of Complaints) Act—Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 84.Taxation Administration Act—Determinations 1998 Nos. TD 98/5, TD 98/6, TD 98/7.Rulings 1998 Nos. TR 94/26 (Addendum), TR 98/5.Telecommunications Act—Determinations—1998—Telecommunications (Due Date for Annual Charge).Telecommunications (Late Payment of Annual Charge).Regulations—Statutory Rules 1998 No. 72.Telecommunications (Numbering Charges) Act—Determinations—1998—Telecommunications (Amount of Annual Charge).Telecommunications (Exemption from Annual Charge).Therapeutic Goods Act—Determination—Under section 19A 20 March 1998.Therapeutic Goods Order No. 61.Veterans' Entitlements Act—Instruments 1998 Nos. 3, 5.Instruments under section 196B 1998 Nos. 25—36.Answers to Questions in Writing3039The following answers to questions were circulated:3039(Question No. 2184)21843039Thomson, Kelvin, MPMr Kelvin ThomsonUK6WillsALP00 asked the Minister for Transport and Regional Development, upon notice, on 1 September 1997:(1) Did the Federal Airport Corporation (FAC) in its 1992 development of Essendon Airport, invest in the construction of a two storey office; if so, (a) has the building been fully tenanted since completion, (b) is it fully tenanted at 1 September 1997 and (c) has the investment made money or lost money.(2) Was Essendon Airport the FAC's first corporate development and was it followed by other similar developments; if so, how do the other developments rank in financial performance compared to Essendon; if further developments did not follow, why not.(3) Has his attention been drawn to a report in the Community News on 28 November 1995 which indicated the FAC had agreed to lease two hectares of land to a consortium which was to build a samples and seconds warehouse, a 24 hour child care centre, a health centre and a service station/convenience store; if so, (a) did the development proceed, (b) did the FAC enter into an agreement with a consortium and (c) was there a financial cost incurred by the FAC if the development did not proceed.(4) Has his attention been drawn to claims by the former Essendon Airport General Manager in the Community News on 7 May 1996 that a Brands factory warehouse would be established on the airport site which would sell discount clothing and shoes; if so, (a) did the proposal proceed and (b) was there any financial cost incurred by the FAC if the development did not proceed.3039Vaile, Mark, MPMr VaileSU5LyneNPTransport and Regional Development10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) Yes. (a) The FAC has advised that the office block has been fully tenanted since construction with the exception of one ten month period during 1995/96 when part of the ground floor was vacant. (b) Yes. (c) The building is providing satisfactory returns to the FAC.(2) The FAC has advised that it is unclear about the definition of `corporate development' in this context. (3) Yes. The FAC has advised that this development was for a Factory Seconds and Peripheral Sales Outlet Centre. (a) The project was delayed because of legal action taken by a nearby shopping centre operator. (b) The FAC has not finalised a lease with the prospective tenants as they may have lost interest because of the delay. (c) The FAC has incurred legal costs of approximately $14,100, which would normally be recovered from the tenant on satisfactory completion of lease documentation. If this project does not go ahead these costs will not be recovered.(4) The FAC has advised that the Brands factory warehouse is the same development referred to in the previous question.3039(Question No. 2236)22363039McClelland, Robert, MPMr McClellandJK6BartonALP00 asked the Minister for Health and Family Services, upon notice, on 23 September 1997:(1) Further to his answer to question No. 103 (Hansard , 23 May 1996, page 1378) concerning the establishment of Medicare Customer Service Centres under strict Health Insurance Commission (HIC) guidelines, what guidelines are used by the HIC in making a determination.(2) Who made the decision to close the Rockdale Medicare Customer Service Centre in the electoral division of Barton.(3) Have other Medicare Customer Service Centres been closed; if so, which centres.(4) Have Medicare Customer Service Centres been opened in NSW since March 1996; if so, which centres.(5) Is it a fact that since the substantial upgrading of the St George Hospital at Kogarah and the opening in November 1995 of the St George Private Hospital adjacent to the regional hospital there has been a substantial increase in the number of patients visiting doctors and using the hospitals in Kogarah.(6) Is it also a fact that there is now no Medicare Customer Service Centre within the electoral division of Barton; if so, will he request the HIC to establish a Medicare Customer Service Centre within the electoral division of Barton. 3040Wooldridge, Dr Michael, MPDr Wooldridge8E4ChisholmLPHealth and Family Services10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) A number of factors are taken into account when evaluating whether to open a customer service centre in a new area. These can be summarised as follows:- The volume of services claimed by residents in the immediate area and, where appropriate, the catchment area that the proposed customer service centre would serve, and the nature and level of the different types of billing by doctors in those areas.- The likely impact of a cash payment facility on the availability of direct billing.- The proximity of the proposed customer service centre to other customer service centres and the impact that it might have on the workloads of other customer service centres.- Transport arrangements in the area.- The minimum staffing of an office required to be able to satisfy the security needs of an office.- The minimum cash service workload required to maintain the minimum staffing requirements, that is 150 cash services per day.- Costs to the HIC of paying claims in cash compared with other forms of payment.- Pressure on the HIC for continued improvements in efficiency.- The costs of establishing and maintaining the centre and the overall financial position of the HIC in being able to expand its payments outlets.- The competing claims of other locations for a customer service centre and the priority to be given these claims.The weight given to each of these criteria will be different depending on whether we are talking about a proposed customer service centre in a metropolitan/suburban setting or in a country location. For example, transport arrangements in an area are more likely to determine where to locate an office within a suburban sprawl than assist in establishing the need for a customer service centre. The proximity or distance from a centre only has validity as a criterion where the economic and service viability of a centre is otherwise sustainable.The primary data to assess the need for a centre is the pattern of services billed from a particular area. Direct billing has never faltered in its popularity and growth. This is the form of billing that best achieves the Government's access objectives for the Medicare program. It decreases the need for cash and cheque services and renders analysis of customer service centre needs on the basis of the size of population somewhat meaningless. For example, a small population with a low level of direct billing may be better able to demonstrate a greater need for a cash reimbursement facility than a large population with a high level of direct billing.If the HIC is operating a new centre it needs to ensure that there will be a sufficient cash service workload to keep the staff of the centre fully employed. For security reasons there needs to be a minimum of two persons on the premises at all times. Thus the minimum staffing of a centre is two (2) full-time and one (1) part-time person. To sustain this level of staffing requires a minimum of 150 cash services per day.This is only the first element in the analysis of whether to open a customer service centre. The HIC has to have overall regard for its approved level of funding and the overall impact that added cash services would have on its financial position. Because of the differential costs of processing direct bill, cash or cheque claims, if a customer service centre cannot sustain the minimum cash service load or cause a shift in the mix of services away from direct billing, then the financial impact to the HIC is greater than the costs of merely establishing and maintaining the customer service centre. At the end of the exercise, there is the need, as well, to look at the competing interests of other localities to decide priorities.(2) HIC management made the decision which was endorsed by the Minister for Health and Family Services.(3) As at 31 March 1998, the following Medicare Customer Service Centres will have closed:NSW Auburn, Belmont, Cabramatta, Campsie, Corrimal, Dee Why, Erskine Street, Leichhardt, Marrickville, Merrylands, Mt Druitt, North Rocks, Randwick, Rockdale, St Ives, Sylvania, WarrawongVIC Boronia, Clayton, Croydon, Deer Park, Footscray, Heidelberg, Keysborourgh, ReserviorQLD Cannon Hill, Coorparoo, Queen Street, WynnumSA Blackwood, Eastwood, Glenelg, Ingle Farm, Rundle Mall, Sefton ParkWA Cloisters, East Victoria Park, Maddington, MirabookaTAS Moonah(4) No.(5) The HIC is unable to comment as this is a State government matter.(6) (a) Yes; (b) No. 3042(Question No. 2251)22513042McClelland, Robert, MPMr McClellandJK6BartonALP00 asked the Minister for Transport and Regional Development, upon notice, on 24 September 1997:(1) Further to the answer to question No. 985 (Hansard, 11 February 1997, page 695) concerning Botany Bay wetlands, has the Federal Airports Corporation (FAC) commenced implementing the Botany Bay environment plan by removing noxious weeds, restocking native vegetation and building footpaths; if so, (a) how far has the work progressed and (b) when will the work be completed.(2) Has the FAC, in consultation with Rockdale Council and other organisations, completed the development of a management plan to enhance the wetlands at Barton Park in the electoral division of Barton; if so, what are the details of the plan.(3) Were local community groups and Government statutory authorities consulted in the development of the plan; if so, which.(4) What is the cost of completing the plan and when will the work be completed.3042Vaile, Mark, MPMr VaileSU5LyneNPTransport and Regional Development10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) The FAC advises that Sydney Airport has begun removing noxious weeds, restocking native vegetation and building footpaths in the Botany Bay wetlands. 90% of the established weeds have been removed. The removal of the remaining noxious weeds from the eastern Engine Pond has been budgeted for this financial year. This involves partly draining the pond and excavating the noxious weeds. Re-occurring weeds are an ongoing maintenance issue. The weeds will be sprayed each year as part of the airport's landscape maintenance program. Restocking with native vegetation should be completed soon. A number of access tracks have also been established and will be subject to a continuing improvement program.(2) The FAC's interest in the Barton Park Wetlands is confined to the placement High Intensity Approach Lights (HIALs) within the wetlands. These wetlands are owned and managed by the Rockdale City Council. The FAC advises that the Airport will be replacing the HIALs on the western approach to the east-west runway. The FAC is in the process of developing a statement of environmental effect on the placement of HIALs in consultation with stakeholders.(3) The FAC has advised that in preparing the statement of environmental effect, they have consulted the Rockdale Wetlands Preservation Society, Rockdale City Council, Department of Lands and Water Conservation, Department of Urban Affairs and Planning and Sydney Ports Corporation.(4) The FAC has advised that a final costing for the project, including costs associated with the statement of environmental effect, has not been finalised. This will be prepared once the consultation process is complete.3042(Question No. 2577)25773042Cameron, Eoin, MPMr Eoin Cameron6V5StirlingLP10 asked the Treasurer, upon notice, on 1 December 1997:(1) How many TaxPacks were printed for the Australian Taxation Office in (a) 1993-94, (b) 1994-95, (c) 1995-96 and (d) 1996-97.(2) What was the cost of producing TaxPacks in (a) 1993-94, (b) 1994-95, (c) 1995-96 and (d) 1996-97.(3) On what basis was the print run for each year determined.(4) How many TaxPacks were posted to households and what was the cost of delivery in (a) 1993-94, (b) 1994-95, (c) 1995-96 and (d) 1996-97.(5) How many taxpayers and what percentage of the total completed tax returns from TaxPacks in (a) 1993-94, (b) 1994-95, (c) 1995-96 and (d) 1996-97.3042Costello, Peter, MPMr CostelloCT4HigginsLPTreasurer10—The Assistant Treasurer has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question:(1), (2), (4) and (5) The following table shows TaxPack costs, printing, distribution and returns for the 1993-94 to 1996-97 income years.Year(1) Quantity printed(2) Cost to print and package(4) Quantity delivered to households(4) Cost to deliver to households(5) Number of Form I taxpayers using TaxPack(5) Percentage lodged using TaxPackm$ mm$ mm%(a) 1993-94 TaxPack 948.603.556.951.202.7228.9(b) 1994-95 TaxPack 958.60 a5.67 a7.01.252.6827.9(c) 1995-96 TaxPack 966.25 b3.85 b3.251.622.7127.5(d) 1996-97 TaxPack 975.853.703.251.752.52 c32.1 cNotes:a ) There was a 60% increase in the print production of TaxPack 95 because: (a) the size of the publication increased by 14% and (b) the cost of paper increased by 40%.b ) Project costs have been contained for TaxPack 96 and `97 by: (a) changing the distribution methods outlined in Question 3 and (b) number printed because of the changed distribution method.c ) Preliminary figures only and includes 1996-97 tax returns processed to 29 December 1997. The number of TaxPack returns will increase marginally while the percentage lodged using TaxPack will decline as more tax agent returns are processed in the latter part of the year. Final figures for 1996-97 will not be available until after 30 June 1998.(3) The basis for calculating the 1993-94 and 1994-95 income year print run was one copy of TaxPack per Australian household plus an additional quantity for distribution via newsagent outlets and Australian Taxation Offices. The basis for calculating the 1995-96 and 1996-97 income year print run was one copy of TaxPack for each taxpayer who lodged their own tax return the previous income year in urban areas and one copy to each rural household plus an additional quantity for distribution via newsagent outlets and Australian Taxation Offices.3043(Question No. 2598)25983043Smith, Stephen, MPMr Stephen Smith5V5PerthALP00 asked the Minister for Transport and Regional Development, upon notice, on 4 December 1997:(1) Has the Government undertaken a noise audit to examine the impact of aircraft noise on residents in the suburbs surrounding Perth Airport; if so,(a) when and (b) what were the findings.(2) If an audit has not been undertaken, (a) will the Government initiate an audit or (b) has an audit been planned.(3) If an audit has been planned, was it referred to in the answers to questions Nos. 464 (Hansard , 10 September 1996, page 3918) or 1640 (Hansard , 27 August 1997, page 7198); if not why not.(4) Will the Government implement a noise compensation program for Perth Airport or extend the noise compensation program implemented for Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport; if so, (a) how will eligibility be determined and (b) what compensation or noise amelioration will be available to eligible residents: if not, what other plans for a compensation program exist for Perth Airport.3043Vaile, Mark, MPMr VaileSU5LyneNPTransport and Regional Development10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) The Government has not undertaken a noise audit to examine the impact of aircraft noise on residents in the suburbs surrounding Perth Airport, and has no plans at this time to conduct such an audit.(2) (a) No.(2) (b) No.(3) No reference was made to a planned audit in answers to Questions Nos. 464 (Hansard , 10 September 1996, page 3918), or 1640 (Hansard , 27 August 1997, page 7198), as the Government had not planned an audit.(4) The Government is not giving consideration to the introduction of any additional aircraft noise amelioration programs, including at Perth, at this time.3043(Question No. 2604)26043043Morris, Peter, MPMr Peter MorrisHI4ShortlandALP00 asked the Minister for Transport and Regional Development, upon notice, on 4 December 1997:When will he provide an answer to questions Nos. 2015 and 2018 which first appeared on the Notice Paper on 26 June 1997.3044Vaile, Mark, MPMr VaileSU5LyneNPTransport and Regional Development10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:Parliamentary question 2015 was tabled on 2 March 1998 and 2018 on 4 December 1997.3044(Question No. 2614)26143044McClelland, Robert, MPMr McClellandJK6BartonALP00 asked the Attorney-General, upon notice, on 2 March 1998:(1) What is the fee for transcript in each Federal Court and Tribunal.(2) Will the Government subsidise the cost of transcripts in those jurisdictions where no filing fee or a minimal filing fee is payable by applicants.3044Williams, Daryl, MPMr Williams7V5TangneyLPAttorney-General10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) The High Court has its own court reporting service. The fee payable for a copy of a transcript of proceedings in the High Court, as provided for by the High Court of Australia (Fees) Regulations is $7.00 for each page. In addition, transcript of cases heard since 1996 is available on the Internet at www.hcourt.gov.au.Auscript provides transcript to other federal courts and tribunals. Auscript currently operates as a commercialised business unit in the Attorney-General's Department. It has tendered successfully, in open competition, for the provision of transcript services to federal courts and tribunals. Auscript currently services the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, the National Native Title Tribunal, and the Family Court nationally. It services the Federal Court in NSW, ACT, Tasmania, Northern Territory and Queensland. Transcript prices are negotiated with each court or tribunal as part of the tender negotiations. Prices vary for each court and tribunal and within them, depending on whether the court or tribunal purchases the transcript, the number of parties purchasing transcript and when orders are placed. Following a departmental review of Auscript conducted last year it was decided to sell Auscript. The Minister for Finance and Administration announced on 30 March 1998 that, following a competitive tender process, the preferred buyer for Auscript was an employee buy-out team.(2) There are no plans, at this stage, for the Government to subsidise the cost of transcript.3044(Question No. 2620)26203044McClelland, Robert, MPMr McClellandJK6BartonALP00 asked the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, upon notice, on 2 March 1998:Has his Department completed its evaluation of tenders for the provision of English language tuition within the Government's Adult Migrant English Program in New South Wales; if so, (a) what was the outcome, (b) who participated in the evaluation team and (c) what are the qualifications of the participants.3044Ruddock, Philip, MPMr Ruddock0J4BerowraLPImmigration and Multicultural Affairs10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(a) As a result of the tender process preferred tenderers have been selected in the five New South Wales Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) regions. The preferred tenderers are:(i) a consortium led by Adult Migrant English Service (AMES) for the Eastern and Central Sydney Region, Burwood, Hornsby, Newcastle and Rural NSW and Distance Learning throughout the state.(ii) a consortium led by the Australian College of Languages (ACL) for the Southern, Western and South-West Sydney Regions.The first contract in NSW under the new arrangements was signed with a consortium led by the ACL for the delivery of the AMEP in the South Sydney and Illawarra region on 20 March 1998.Negotiations with the preferred tenderers in the other four regions are continuing and the tender process will be completed when the remaining four contracts are signed.(b) The tender evaluation panel for NSW comprised three members of DIMA's Adult Migrant English Program Section, a representative of the department's Corporate Services Division, a representative of the DIMA NSW office and an independent English as a Second Language (ESL) expert.(c) Qualifications of the participants are summarised below:Chair BA(Acc) CPAExtensive DIMA management experience. Expertise in migrant and refugee settlement issues, evaluations and tender processes, provision of language services. Member BA (hons), Dip EdExperience in language policy development in DIMA and ACT Chief Minister's Department and expertise in ESL and Languages other than English (LOTE) teaching issues:- Formerly teacher of ESL and LOTE, Executive Officer LOTE (Asian Languages) for ACT Dept of Education, President ACT Modern Language Teachers' and Japanese Teachers' AssociationsMember BA, Dip EconExperience in language policy development and data analysis in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and DIMAMember BSC, Dip Ed, MA, Dip BusExperience in survey design and data analysis, program evaluation, benchmarking and systems in former Public Service Board, Department of Primary Industries and Energy and DIMAMember BA (Psych)Extensive experience in migration decision-making, Settlement, Residence and Migration-related issues in DIMA in Australia and overseasMember (external ESL expert) BAExperience in ESL management and teaching has included being:Director NSW Adult Migrant English Services (AMES)Chair, AMES Teacher Qualifications Assessment CommitteeMember and Chair of NSW Vocational Education and Training Advisory Board (VETAB) Course Accreditation PanelDirector, Educational Policy and Planning, DIMA NSWPresident NSW Association for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (ATESOL)Consultant to National ELICOS Accreditation Scheme (NEAS)3045(Question No. 2621)26213045McClelland, Robert, MPMr McClellandJK6BartonALP00 asked the Minister for Defence, upon notice, on 2 March 1998:Will the Government sell Defence property on the Mosman Peninsula in Sydney; if so, (a) what quantity of land will be sold and (b) to what uses will the remaining property be put.3045McLachlan, Ian, MPMr McLachlanHT4BarkerLPDefence10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:It is assumed that the property referred to in the question is the Georges Heights and Middle Head precinct.In October 1996, a Georges Heights and Middle Head Steering Committee which included local, State and Federal politicians, community representatives and officials from the Commonwealth and State governments, released a `preferred outcome' for future use of the precinct when it was no longer required for Defence purposes. The planning study considered the whole 115 hectares, comprising 64 hectares of Commonwealth (Defence) land and 51 hectares of Sydney Harbour National Park. The outcome of the study proposed residential development on already developed areas at Georges Heights, although some of those areas, and particularly along the ridgeline, would be replanted. Under this scenario, approximately 11 hectares of the Defence land would be sold. No development was proposed on the land at Middle Head.Of the remaining Defence land, 13 hectares of additional bushland would be created, 16 heritage buildings would be retained in Commonwealth ownership and leased with the funds contributing to the upkeep of the buildings and environmental conservation; the naval fuel storage facility at Chowder Bay would remain under Defence control; and the Navy base at HMAS Penguin would remain as a functioning establishment in the medium term. In addition, the ovals would be opened up to public use and a new indoor community recreation centre constructed. 3046(Question No. 2625)26253046Campbell, Graeme, MPMr CampbellCF4KalgoorlieIND00 asked the Minister representing the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, upon notice, on 2 March 1998:Does the legal firm of Arnold Bloch Liebler receive a retainer or similar payment from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission or an Aboriginal Legal Service for assistance provided to the Yorta Yorta land claim; if so, is the payment approximately $500,000.3046Wooldridge, Dr Michael, MPDr Wooldridge8E4ChisholmLPHealth and Family Services10—The Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question:Arnold Bloch Leibler is the legal representative for the Yorta Yorta Murray Goulburn Rivers Clan (YYMGRC), and receives payment for services rendered in progressing the YYMGRC Native Title Claim. The firm does not receive payment of a retainer. In 1997/98, YYMGRC has received $865,000 in Native Title funding for costs associated with its Native Title claim, including legal costs for Arnold Bloch Leibler. Funding is provided through an ATSIC grant to the Yorta Yorta Murray Goulburn Rivers Clan Inc. A decision on the determination of the claim is expected to be handed down by the Federal Court at the end of 1998.3046(Question No. 2634)26343046Ferguson, Martin, MPMr Martin FergusonLS4BatmanALP00 asked the Prime Minister, upon notice, on 2 March 1998:(1) Has the Minister or the Minister's Department provided grants to the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) or bodies related to the ACCI since 2 March 1996; if so, (a) in each case, (i) what was the nature of the grant and (ii) for what purposes was it provided and (b) what total sum was provided.(2) To what boards, committees or other bodies for which the Minister has portfolio responsibility have (a) Mr Mark Patterson, the chief executive of ACCI, or (b) other officers or staff of ACCI been appointed since 2 March 1996.(3) What sums has the Commonwealth paid in sitting fees, board fees, travel costs and related expenses with respect to each appointment referred to in part (2).3046Howard, John, MPMr HowardZD4BennelongLPPrime Minister10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) No.(2) (a) and (b) Nil.(3) Nil.3046(Question No. 2642)26423046Ferguson, Martin, MPMr Martin FergusonLS4BatmanALP00 asked the Minister representing the Minister for Social Security, upon notice, on 2 March 1998:(1) Has the Minister or the Minister's Department provided grants to the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ACCI) or bodies related to the ACCI since 2 March 1996; if so, (a) in each case (i) what was the nature of the grant and (ii) for what purposes was it provided and (b) what total sum was provided.(2) To what board, committees or other bodies for which the Minister has portfolio responsibility have (a) Mr Mark Patterson, the chief executive of ACCI, or (b) other officers or staff of ACCI been appointed since 2 March 1996.(3) What sums has the Commonwealth paid in sitting fees, board fees, travel costs and related expenses with respect to each appointment referred to in part (2).3046Ruddock, Philip, MPMr Ruddock0J4BerowraLPImmigration and Multicultural Affairs10—The Minister for Social Security has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question:(1) (a) Neither the Department nor Centrelink has provided any grants to the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), or to any known bodies related to the ACCI since 2 March 1996.(b) No cost applicable.(2) According to Departmental and Centrelink records Mr Mark Patterson is not a member of: Social Security; Appeals Tribunal; Migrant Advisory Research Centre; Social Policy Research Centre; Centrelink Board of Management.It is not possible to ascertain whether any members of these bodies are also officers or staff of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.(3) Not applicable.3046(Question No. 2664)26643046Ferguson, Martin, MPMr Martin FergusonLS4BatmanALP00 asked the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, upon notice, on 2 March 1998:(1) Has he or his Department approved the employment by Australian companies of Korean chick sexers in NSW enterprises; if so, (a) on what basis were they given visas and (b) for what period.(2) Did his Department consult with the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs on whether chick sexers were available in Australia or could be trained locally.(3) Did the Department check the (a) qualifications and standards and (b) English language competence of the Korean chick sexers before they were allowed into Australia.(4) What standard of English language competence is possessed by each Korean chick sexer employed by Steggles to enable them to pass their skills to Australian co-workers.(5) Did he ask his Department to undertake extensive market testing and advertising to ensure that Australians were not available for the work.(6) Did he ask his Department to consult the Australian Chick Sexers Association about alternatives to employing Koreans; if not, why not.(7) Was the establishment of programs to train unemployed Australians considered before the employment of the Koreans was approved.(8) Has the Government entered into agreements with the chicken industry to extend the employment of foreign chick sexers; if so, what are the details.3047Ruddock, Philip, MPMr Ruddock0J4BerowraLPImmigration and Multicultural Affairs10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) My Department has approved temporary business visas for 5 Korean chick sexers under a sponsorship by Goodman Fielder Limited (on behalf of Steggles Limited—a wholly owned subsidiary).(a) The sponsorship and related visas were approved on the basis of proposed training and re-training of Australian chick sexers (including the multi-skilling of hatchery workers) as a productivity initiative.(b) The validity of the temporary business visas is 4 years with a validity date of 20 October 2001.(2) The Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA) were not specifically consulted on whether chick sexers were available in Australia or could be trained locally. The sponsorship proposal is to train and re-train existing Australian employees with the objective of improved performance and productivity, and development of an in-house multi-skilled hatchery workforce. The proposal is not about labour market competition with Australian workers.DEETYA is routinely consulted in the assessment of sponsorship proposals. This is in terms of information they hold on the business background and training record of the sponsor. No adverse comments were received from DEETYA on the sponsorship application by Goodman Fielder. (3) (a) There is no mandatory skills assessment of key personnel approved under the skilled temporary entry arrangements. The Korean chick sexers were approved as key personnel on the basis that they were acknowledged as world leaders in this field. The visa process included obtaining information on the qualifications and relevant skills of each of the applicants. This information was consistent with the sponsorship objective.(b) No. This is not a requirement under sponsored temporary entry arrangements. The expectation is that sponsoring employers would ensure that sponsored employees had the necessary level of English language competence.(4) Steggles advises that all the Korean chick sexers have sufficient English to complete training in vent sexing, that is, they are able to provide immediate guidance to and assessment of trainee sexers. All of the sexers have completed not less than 2 years formal English studies and are competent in reading English. Three of the sexers are fully competent conversational English speakers.(5) No. Labour market testing is not a requirement for key personnel. As indicated in the response to question (2) the proposal is not about labour market competition with Australian workers. The sponsored temporary entry arrangements are otherwise predicated on their being a benefit to Australia such as introducing new skills or technology or enhancing employment opportunities for Australian citizens and permanent residents.(6) No. The sponsorship proposal also involved re-training and enhancing the skills of members of the Australian Chicken Sexers Association working with Steggles. This had become necessary due to factors such as the introduction of new poultry breeds to Australia with which the Australian sexers were unfamiliar.(7) No. As indicated in the response to question (2) the proposal is not about labour market competition with Australian workers. Steggles expectation is that the training initiative and associated productivity gains will enhance the employment opportunities for Australians.(8) No.3047(Question No. 2669)26693047Ferguson, Martin, MPMr Martin FergusonLS4BatmanALP00 asked the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural affairs, upon notice, on 2 March 1997:Has the operation of migrant resource centres in Australia been reviewed; if so, (a) what were the terms of reference of the review, (b) who conducted it and (c) what were its conclusions. 3048Ruddock, Philip, MPMr Ruddock0J4BerowraLPImmigration and Multicultural Affairs10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:The operations of the Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) network have been the subject of an internal review by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) during 1997/98. The review was based upon a discussion paper prepared by DIMA, entitled `Migrant Resource Centres: Future Directions'. This discussion paper was circulated for comment to MRCs and other interested parties, including members of the Refugee Resettlement Advisory Council, State/Territory Ethnic Affairs Commissions, and the Australian Council of Social Services.The discussion paper presented a range of questions, potential options and strategies for the future of the MRC program. These formed the terms of reference for DIMA's internal review of the program. The aim of the discussion paper was to generate discussion of possible improvements to the effectiveness of the overall program, with particular emphasis on: a program vision and the appropriateness of role, functions and the current name; maximising the opportunities of different service delivery approaches; optimising management and organisational structures; more flexible funding arrangements.(b) The review was conducted by officers of DIMA in consultation with staff from my Office. The Department held consultations with MRCs in each State and Territory in August and September 1997 based on the `Future Directions' paper. Written submissions from MRCs and other interested parties in response to the discussion paper were also considered.(c) Based on these consultations and consideration of written submissions, DIMA has prepared a report and recommendations of the review for my consideration. The overall response to the consultation process has been very positive with most MRCs indicating that they were already following the broad directions outlined in the Future Directions discussion paper. Many ideas contained in the paper had already been implemented by different MRCs and the consultations process provided an opportunity to identify `best practice' models. DIMA will be writing to all MRCs shortly to advise them of the outcomes of the review and how recommendations will be further progressed.3048(Question No. 2670)26703048Ferguson, Martin, MPMr Martin FergusonLS4BatmanALP00 asked the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, upon notice, on 2 March 1998:(1) Has $8.749 million been allocated in core funding in 1997-98 for migrant resource centres.(2) What sum was allocated to each centre.(3) How many clients did each centre serve in 1996-97.(4) What was the basis for the allocation to each centre.(5) What are the (a) period and (b) terms of condition of the service agreements between him and the migrant resource centres.3048Ruddock, Philip, MPMr Ruddock0J4BerowraLPImmigration and Multicultural Affairs10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) $8,749,215 has been allocated in core funding for the current network of Migrant Resource Centres (MRCs) for the period 1 October 1997 to 30 September 1998.(2) The sum allocated to each Centre is as follows:Name of MRCSum allocated ($)Auburn157,441Baulkham Hills, Holroyd, Parramatta255,473Blacktown327,263Botany292,535Cabramatta Community Centre (Fairfield)282,955Canterbury Bankstown334,789Illawarra305,485Inner West (Ashfield)276,737Liverpool317,897Macarthur303,538Newcastle299,267St George350,593Geelong320,779Gippsland129,890 Inner Western Region (Melbourne)425,678North Eastern Region (Melbourne)288,708North West Region (Melbourne)292,443Northern Metropolitan (Melbourne)342,250South Central Region (Melbourne)391,270South Eastern Region (Melbourne)273,155Westgate Region110,340Brisbane293,430Cairns *117,792Logan and Beenleigh156,498Townsville242,689South Australia460,500Fremantle247,191Northern Suburbs (Perth)299,230Northern Tasmania190,670Southern Tasmania262,020Central Australia (Alice Springs)103,399Canberra & Queanbeyan297,310* Funding terminated from 1 April 1998.(3) Migrant Resource Centre outcomes are measured in numbers of services to clients rather than number of clients; and are aggregated for States and Territories. The average number of services delivered by each MRC by staff core-funded by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs during the reporting period October 1996 to March 1997 was 4370 services per MRC. These averages are based on statistics supplied from MRCs in NSW, Victoria and South Australia.(4) Core funding to each Centre is allocated on the basis of salary and salary related costs, rents, operating costs, capital costs and extraordinary expenditure.(5) The (a) period and (b) terms of conditions of the Service Agreements are: . Twenty nine MRCs have Service Agreements which operate to 30 June 1998; and. Two MRCs—Auburn MRC and Baulkham Hills, Holroyd, Parramatta MRC—operate under four-year Funding Agreements running until 25 March and 12 April 2000 respectively.3049(Question No. 2676)26763049Ferguson, Martin, MPMr Martin FergusonLS4BatmanALP00 asked the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, upon notice, on 2 March 1998:(1) How many persons without visas are deported each year. (2) How many of the persons referred to in part (1) are applicants for protection visas.3049Ruddock, Philip, MPMr Ruddock0J4BerowraLPImmigration and Multicultural Affairs10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) "Deportation" only relates to the enforced departure of permanent residents who have committed serious crimes."Removal from Australia" is the process of effecting departure of the following persons:Unauthorised arrivals, (people who arrive without a visa and whose entry to Australia is refused).- some do not apply for a visa- some apply for a visa and the application is refusedAuthorised arrivals who overstay their visas or whose visas are cancelled because they breached visa conditions.People who arrive in Australia without valid documents or have their visas cancelled on arrival are refused immigration clearance. The Migration Act 1958 requires that such persons be detained and removed as soon as reasonably practicable, unless they are subsequently granted a visa to remain in Australia. The number of persons who have been refused immigration clearance since 1996 are:1996-97, 1350 who arrived by air and 366 who arrived by boat;1997-98, (as at 31 January 1998), 874 who arrived by air and 118 who arrived by boat. People who overstay their visas or whose visas are cancelled for a breach of the visa conditions, are able to depart Australia on a voluntary basis or are removed from Australia.In 1996-97, 1373 persons were removed at Commonwealth expense.In 1997-98, (as at 27 March 1998), 1425 persons have been removed.(2) Unauthorised arrivals who applied for protection visas for the same period are:1996-97, 551 who arrived by air and 71 who arrived by boat; and1997-98, (as at 31 January 1998), 314 who arrived by air and 57 who arrived by boat.3050(Question No. 2680)26803050Thomson, Kelvin, MPMr Kelvin ThomsonUK6WillsALP00 asked the Minister for Finance and Administration, upon notice, on 2 March 1998:(1) Has the Advance Australia Foundation (AAF) been declared insolvent; if so, will he provide details and identify the source of his figures.(2) Did the AAF prepare an annual report for 1995-1996; if so, (a) was it distributed; if not, why not, and (b) will he provide me with a copy.(3) Is the AAF being disbanded because of insolvency; if so, (a) has it taken 18 months for this to be publicised; if so why, and (b) were licensees informed; if not, why not.(4) Did the AAF's annual report for 1994-95 list $3 million in licence fees and $800 000 in cash reserves; if so, (a) what has become of the sums, (b) who is accountable for the sums and (c) what safeguards and procedures apply.3050Fahey, John, MPMr FaheyHQ5MacarthurLPFinance and Administration10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) No.(2) No. (a) N/A. (b) N/A.(3) No. (a) N/A. (b) N/A.(4) Yes. (a) Remaining funds of the AAF are now in the process of being transferred into a trust fund held by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry pending new arrangements for administering the Australian Made Logo.(b)and (c) KPMG Chartered Accountants wound up the financial affairs of the AAF.3050(Question No. 2683)26833050Entsch, Warren, MPMr Entsch7K6LeichhardtLP10 asked the Minister for Transport and Regional Development, upon notice, on 2 March 1998:Did the previous Government make an agreement with a private consortium under which the Commonwealth was to grant approximately $30 million toward the construction of a light rail system from Sydney Central Station to Pyrmont; if so, will he present to the House (a) a statement showing (i) the parties to the agreement, (ii) its terms, (iii) the representations and negotiations which led to it and (iv) payments made by the Commonwealth under it and (b) all papers relating to the matter.3050Vaile, Mark, MPMr VaileSU5LyneNPTransport and Regional Development10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(a) Under the Better Cities 1 Program 1991-97, an agreement was entered into with the NSW Government, of the Ultimo-Pyrmont area in Sydney, under the management of the NSW Government. As part of the Area Strategy, a range of planning initiatives and capital works were initiated, one being the building of a light rail link between Central Station and Pyrmont. $40m was the total anticipated construction cost for the light rail. (i) Parties to the agreement were the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of New South Wales. (ii) The terms are detailed in the agreement. (iii) The representations and negotiations which led to payment to the light rail consortium were conducted by the NSW Government, therefore, information on this matter is not available. (iv) $117.04m was paid by the Commonwealth Government under the Better Cities Agreement in respect of the Ultimo Pyrmont Area Strategy. The NSW Government was not required under the Program to detail to the Commonwealth precise levels of funding for each project. Commonwealth funding was allocated to an area strategy, with expected levels of funding provided in the Indicative Funding Schedules to each Area Strategy Agreement.(b) A copy of the agreement* has been provided to the honourable member.* Copies of the agreement are available from The House of Representatives Table Office.3050(Question No. 2685)26853050Wakelin, Barry, MPMr WakelinHV5GreyLP10 asked the Minister representing the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, upon notice, on 2 March 1998:(1) What (a) salaries, (b) travel allowance, (c) administrative and staff entitlements and (d) other benefits do regional and other commissioners of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) receive.(2) What is the average number of registered voters per regional commissioner in each State and Territory.(3) What was the total turnout of voters for each electoral region at the ATSIC regional elections.3051Wooldridge, Dr Michael, MPDr Wooldridge8E4ChisholmLPHealth and Family Services10 The Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs has provided the following information to the honourable member's question:(1) (a) Salaries are set by the Remuneration Tribunal as follows:Commissioners; $76,105; Deputy Chairperson; in the $94,510; Chairperson; $153,630.(b) Travel Allowance is set by the Remuneration Tribunal and is currently:Capital cities $320 per day; Non-capital cities $165 per day.(c) Administrative allowances are allocated as part of the ATSIC Administrative line item budget and based on:Travel—size of electoral zone including number of Regions; Motor vehicle—size of zone and type of vehicle required to cover zone; Communications—size of zone and STD codes; and Office requisites—standard allocation.Each Commissioner is provided with a Personal Assistant at ASO 3. These officers are employed under the APS Act on fixed term appointment.(d) Where applicable, Commissioners are entitled to District Allowance in addition to their basic salary.(2) It is not possible to provide details on registered Indigenous voters as the Commonwealth Electoral Roll does not identify voters by race. However, information on the estimated number of people entitled to vote per ATSIC Region is at Attachment A.It is not clear whether Mr Wakelin is seeking the average number of voters per Regional Councillor or Zone Commissioner. Accordingly, details on the voting system for Regional Council elections, Reg ional Council Chairperson elections, and Zone Commissioner elections, are included in the attachment.It should be noted that the Australian Electoral Commission, and not ATSIC, is the body responsible for conducting ATSIC elections.(3) Statistics on the 1996 round of Regional Council elections is provided in the attached "Electoral Newsfile", dated December 1996 and produced by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). A summary of the figures, giving total votes received in each of the ATSIC Regions is given at Table 3. The figures in this Table are derived by totalling the figures provided in the Electoral Newsfile. The AEC is responsible for the conduct of ATSIC Regional Council elections. ATSIC can neither determine nor verify these figures.ATTACHMENT AThere are 35 Regional Councils nationally, which are grouped into 16 Zones.Each Regional Council has between 9 and 12 members (depending on the estimated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in the region), elected by eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voters in each ward. To be eligible to vote, a person must be an Aboriginal person or a Torres Strait Islander, and be registered on the Commonwealth Electoral Roll at an address in the ward for which they wish to vote. Voting is by declaration.At the first meeting of the Regional Council after it is elected, members elect from among their number, a Regional Council Chairperson. In addition, all Councillors in each Zone elect a Zone Commissioner.In accordance with section 106(3)(b) of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act 1989, the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs made an estimate, based on data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, of the number of persons entitled to vote in the 1996 Regional Council elections. The estimate is reproduced at Table 1.Also provided is a table showing the number of Councillors by Region, the estimate of the number of people entitled to vote, and the estimate of the average number of people entitled to vote per Regional Councillor at Table 2.TABLE 1RegionEstimate of Eligible VotersEstimate of population of Aboriginal persons and Torres Strait IslandersBourke37006778Coffs Harbour1180221067 Queanbeyan43017833Sydney1464825349Tamworth535310128Wagga Wagga777514802Ballarat572110778Wangaratta58169701Brisbane1158820755Cairns765613610Cooktown40186505Mt Isa34086348Rockhampton52839982Roma36777234Townsville714813303Adelaide661011949Ceduna9101678Port Augusta34375951Broome20523765Derby25534381Geraldton26875000Kalgoorlie17273153Kununurra23304338Narrogin30846027Perth813415712South Hedland26904672 Warburton15682420Hobart580910687Alice Springs29524888Apatula39826792Darwin45788639Jabiru50998754Katherine39937391Nhulunbuy41517105Tennant Creek20653566TABLE 2RegionNumber of CouncillorsEstimate of Eligible VotersAverage number of eligible voters per Regional CouncillorBourke103700370Coffs Harbour1211802983Queanbeyan114301391Sydney12146481220Tamworth125353446Wagga Wagga127775648Ballarat125721476Wangaratta115816528 Brisbane1211588965Cairns127656638Cooktown104018401Mt Isa103408340Rockhampton115283480Roma113677334Townsville127148595Adelaide126610550Ceduna9910101Port Augusta103437343Broome92052228Derby102553255Geraldton102687268Kalgoorlie91727192Kununurra102330233Narrogin103084308Perth128134677South Hedland102690269Warburton91568174Hobart125809484Alice Springs102952295Apatula103982398Darwin114578416Jabiru115099463Katherine113993363Nhulunbuy114151377Tennant Creek92065229TABLE 3Total Votes Cast per ATSIC Region—1996 Regional Council ElectionsATSIC RegionTotal Votes ReceivedATSIC RegionTotal Votes ReceivedCoffs Harbour2132Broome818Tamworth1702Derby1364Sydney1632Kununurra1245Bourke1489Geraldton822Wagga Wagga1770South Hedland777Queanbeyan1132Narrogin1016Ballarat1154Perth1393 Wangaratta785Kalgoorlie723Brisbane2060Warburton957Cooktown2668Hobart1094Mt Isa1916Darwin1179Cairns2186Jabiru2450Townsville1602 *Katherine2275Rockhampton1551Nhulunbuy1492 Roma1698Alice Springs938Adelaide845Apatula1983Ceduna530Tennant Creek1135Port Augusta1037National Total49550* elections not required in one ward as the number of nominations equalled the number of vacancies for the ward.PLEASE NOTE: These figures are derived by totalling the figures provided in the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) publication Electoral Newsfile dated December 1996. The AEC is responsible for the conduct of ATSIC Regional Council elections. ATSIC can neither determine nor verify these figures.3054(Question No. 2697)26973054Ferguson, Laurie, MPMr Laurie Ferguson8T4ReidALP00 asked the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, upon notice, on 2 March 1998:(1) Is he able to say whether medical research has found that the strongyloides infestation can persist in ex-prisoners of war and Vietnam veterans for decades and can develop into hyperinfestation in the event of a weakened immune system including that caused by chemotherapy.(2) What action has his Department taken to properly inform veterans and their treating doctors on the detection and treatment of the condition referred to in part (1) and on the minimisation of associated risks.3054Scott, Bruce, MPMr Bruce ScottYT4MaranoaNPVeterans' Affairs10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) I am advised that strongyloides stercoralis is a worm infestation that can persist for decades unnoticed, and that in the event of an immune system weakened from such things as chemotherapy or immunosuppressive treatment it can result in parasitic hyperinfestation. Infestation with this parasite is known as strongyloidiasis.This parasitic worm exists in many regions of the tropics and subtropics, including South East Asia and tropical areas of Australia.As awareness of the prevalence and possible health risks attached to the presence of this parasite gradually emerged over the years, appropriate action and procedures were instituted.Ongoing research into the problem commenced at the Repatriation General Hospital, Concord in 1971. (2) In December 1971 a Hospital Staff Instruction advised that all Prisoners of War (Japan) should be tested for the parasite, as should all Australian Aborigines and any person with a known past or present infestation. In particular advice was given with regard to action to be taken if immunosuppressive or radiation therapy were to be contemplated.In 1978 my Department funded a special research project on strongyloidiasis, the paper produced as a result was published in the British Medical Journal in March 1980. I have provided you with a copy of the article separately.Prisoner of War groups considered to be at special risk were advised with regard to investigation and treatment from time to time, and urged to contact their Local Medical Officers. An awareness program was considered appropriate largely because while the persistence of the parasite in small numbers produced no symptoms of illness, there always remained the risk for development of hyperinfestation.A special educational bulletin was prepared and circulated to all Local Medical Officers in December 1982, and another issued in September 1986.As far as Vietnam veterans are concerned, there are reports in America of Vietnam veterans presenting with strongyloides stercoralis infestation many years after their service in Vietnam. I am advised that some of the standard textbooks of medicine now warn that veterans of wars in those regions where the parasite is commonly found are at risk of infestation.A major morbidity study of Vietnam veterans, involving a survey of all surviving Vietnam veterans, has now been released. The study showed that about two per cent of veterans report that they have been told they are infected with strongyloides stercoralis. 3055(Question No. 2698)26983055Ferguson, Laurie, MPMr Laurie Ferguson8T4ReidALP00 asked the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, upon notice, on 2 March 1998:(1) How many (a) full-time and (b) part-time members of each class of member were there on the Veterans' Review Board (VRB) in (i) June 1997 and (ii) January 1998.(2) How many members in each class of member are women.(3) How many veterans' or claimants' applications to the VRB were outstanding at (a) 31 December 1996, (b) 30 April 1997, (c) 30 June 1997, (d) 30 September 1997 and (e) 31 December 1997.(4) How many of the applications referred to at each date in part (3) were classified as being with the VRB rather than with his Department or the applicant.(5) If the number of outstanding applications with the VRB has changed, why.(6) In each month in 1997-98, how many VRB decisions were (a) outstanding and (b) outstanding for more than 4 weeks because the decision had not been written up.(7) What is the (a) average number and (b) range of cases heard by each of the new VRB members he announced on 29 October 1997.3055Scott, Bruce, MPMr Bruce ScottYT4MaranoaNPVeterans' Affairs10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) (i) In June 1997 there were: 2 full-time Senior Members, 10 part-time Senior Members, 2 full-time Members, 12 part-time Members, 14 part-time Services Members, The Principal Member's position is full-time.(ii) In January 1998 there were: 13 part-time Senior Members, 13 part-time Members, 18 part-time Services Members, 1 acting part-time Senior Member, The Principal Member's position is the only full-time position.(2) In June 1997 four part-time Senior Members and two part-time Members were women. In January 1998, two part-time Senior Members and six part-time Members were women. In addition, the acting part-time Senior Member is a woman.(3) The VRB maintains its statistical collection on a four-weekly rather than a monthly cycle. The figures below reflect the number of applications outstanding at the end of the four-weekly statistical period immediately following the date at which the information is requested: (a) 31 December 1996—7,684; (b) 30 April 1997—7,238; (c) 30 June 1997—7,922; (d) 30 September 1997—8,140; (e) 31 December 1997—8,903.(4) (a) 1,454; (b) 1,320; (c) 1,345; (d) 1,675; (e) 2,013.(5) The number of outstanding applications with the Board has increased during this financial year. There are several reasons for this including an increase over the previous financial year of the number of applications lodged. The Principal Member of the Veterans' Review Board advises me that the increase in lodgements over the financial year is likely to number 2 000. During the early part of the current financial year there were insufficient cases ready for hearing to allow the resources of the Board to be fully utilised and this resulted in less hearings than would have otherwise occurred. The Board's hearing activities were disrupted towards the latter part of last year and the early part of this year due to the appointment process and training of new members. All members' terms of office expired either at the end of last September or December. The Principal Member of the Board advises me that the position has now stabilised and that he expects to make inroads with a continued high level of hearings.(6)4 Weeks endingCases heard and awaiting decisionCases outstanding for more than 4 weeks17.01.972826214.02.973531714.03.973841411.04.972971409.05.972691306.06.97262504.07.972341401.08.97247129.08.9725713 26.09.97236024.10.97138021.11.97201519.12.97298116.01.982317913.02.9837528(7) Members of the board sit in panels of three on a daily basis for a week at a time. The normal practice is for a panel to hear 15 matters in a week. All members of the Board are part-time, with the exception of the Principal Member and are expected to sit at least two weeks in every five weeks. On that basis each member should sit on at least 30 cases each five weeks. This figure varies considerably depending on factors such as agreed leave, availability of cases and advocates and, in the case of newly-appointed members, time allocated to training and familiarisation. In that context the Principal Member advises me that the fifteen new members appointed in October 1997 have sat on 1,956 cases to the end of February 1998. The average during that period is, accordingly, 130 cases per member. As to the second part of the question, particular members are not allocated to specific types of cases. Cases are listed by order of receipt and members expect to deal with any matter that may be put to the Board. No records are maintained of the particular type of case heard by each member.3056(Question No. 2699)26993056Ferguson, Laurie, MPMr Laurie Ferguson8T4ReidALP00 asked the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, upon notice, on 2 March 1998:(1) How many veterans are eligible for assistance with pharmaceutical benefits under the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS).(2) How many items were listed on the RPBS schedule as at (a) February 1997 and (b) February 1998.(3) What was the (a) total number of items dispensed under the RPBS, (b) average number of items dispensed per entitled veteran and (c) total cost to the Commonwealth in each financial year since 1989-90.(4) What is the latest revised estimate of expenditure under the RPBS for (a) 1997-98 and (b) 1998-99.3056Scott, Bruce, MPMr Bruce ScottYT4MaranoaNPVeterans' Affairs10—The answer to the honourable member's questions are as follows:(1) The total number of veterans eligible for assistance with pharmaceutical benefits under the RPBS is 339,329. These figures are current as at 30 December 1997.(2) Eligible veterans have access to the full range of items listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) which is available to the general community in addition to those on the RPBS. The number of items available on the PBS in February 1997 was 1,239 and in February 1998 was 1,328 plus the Repatriation Schedule had an additional: (a) 264 items at February 1997; and (b) 304 items at February 1998.This represents a total of 1,503 items available on the RPBS in February 1997 and a total of 1,632 items in February 1998.(3) The following table represents the total number of items dispensed under the RPBS, the total cost to the Commonwealth in each financial year since 1989-90, the number of card holders, the average cost per item and the average number of items dispensed per entitled veteran.Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme DataYearNo. of ItemsTotal ExpenditureNo. of Card HoldersAverage Cost Per ItemNo. of Items Per Cardholder1989-907,593,329$84,044,050205,609$11.0736.91990-917,166,244$85,325,493201,914$11.9135.51991-926,654,306$90,982,238199,163$13.6733.41992-935,876,140$81,863,637197,664$13.9329.7 1993-945,671,262$88,738,980197,827$15.6528.71994-955,445,766$94,937,382198,255$17.4327.51995-966,515,884$122,893,276340,818$18.6819.11996-979,208,882$180,252,650340,327$19.5727.1As shown in the data total expenditure increased from 1989-90 until 1991-92 whilst the number of items decreased. This was largely due to new and more expensive drugs being added to the schedule each year. The reason for the decrease in total expenditure in 1992-93 is not apparent.From 1995-96 onwards there was a significant increase in RPBS usage resulting from the reinstatement of RPBS entitlements for war widows and service pensioners from 1 January 1996.In 1995-96 the average number of prescriptions per client was unusually low at 19. This was due to two main reasons. Firstly, many of the war widows who became eligible for RPBS entitlements on 1 January 1996 were traditionally prescribed fewer medications. Secondly, although these clients became eligible for RPBS entitlements in January many already had a supply of their current medications from the PBS so therefore did not access the scheme until later in the calendar year.(4) (a) $211m and (b) $227m.3057(Question No. 2710)27103057Mossfield, Frank, MPMr MossfieldMK6GreenwayALP00 asked the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, upon notice, on 4 March 1998:(1) What criteria were used to select the successful tenders which will replace the existing Adult Migrant Education Service (AMES) in New South Wales.(2) Were new and privately owned tenderers successful in 3 of the 5 regions in New South Wales; if so, what (a) assessments were used in awarding tenders and (b) were the failings of the existing AMES.(3) Will up to 500 teachers within AMES in New South Wales be lost under the new system; if so, how can the loss of their experience and expertise be justified.3057Ruddock, Philip, MPMr Ruddock0J4BerowraLPImmigration and Multicultural Affairs10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) The criteria used to evaluate tenders for the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) in NSW were the AMEP operational and policy requirements as described in the Statement of Requirement (SOR) which formed part of the documents provided to all prospective tenderers.This has resulted in the selection of preferred tenderers for the five AMEP regions of NSW. If all contracts are signed, the Adult Migrant English Service (AMES) will continue to provide services through a consortium in two of the five AMEP regions in NSW, and distance learning throughout the State.(2) The first contract in NSW under the new arrangements was signed with a consortium led by the Australian Centre for Languages (ACL) for the delivery of the AMEP in the South Sydney and Illawarra region on 20 March 1998. A consortium led by the ACL is the preferred tenderer for the Western and South-West Sydney regions.(a) The tender evaluation process comprised two parts:- an evaluation panel, comprising members of the AMEP Section and a representative of the Corporate Services Division of the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, with an external English as a Second Language (ESL) expert, assessed the technical worth of the tenders by the extent to which they met the AMEP operational and policy requirements as described in the SOR;- a separate financial evaluation was carried out by a firm of Chartered Accountants.Results of the two assessments were combined to produce a value for money rating with an emphasis on the capacity to deliver AMEP services in accordance with the SOR.(b) Tenders are submitted on a Commercial-in-confidence basis. Details of the individual tenders and the assessments of them cannot be disclosed.(3) Teachers in the Adult Migrant English Service (AMES) in New South Wales are employed by the NSW Department of Education and Training. I cannot comment on their employment or redeployment options.3057(Question No. 2711)27113057Latham, Mark, MPMr LathamK26WerriwaALP00 asked the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, upon notice, on 4 March 1998:(1) Which properties were inscribed on (a) the World Heritage List and (b) the World Heritage List in Danger at the 21st session of the World Heritage Committee (Naples, 1-6 December 1997).(2) How many properties are now inscribed on each list.(3) Who attended the session on behalf of Australia.(4) Did the committee review any Australian properties which had already been inscribed on the World Heritage List; if so, with what outcome.(5) Did the committee consider any Australian properties which have been nominated for the list but not inscribed on it; if so, with what outcome.(6) What is the timetable for inscribing the Sydney Opera House in its Harbour Setting, which was first nominated at the fifth session of the committee (Sydney, October 1981).3058Anderson, John, MPMr Anderson4K4GwydirNPPrimary Industries and Energy10—The Minister for the Environment has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question:(1) (a) The following properties were inscribed on the World Heritage List: Heard and McDonald Islands (Australia); Macquarie Island (Australia); The Sundarbans (Bangladesh); Cocos Island National Park (Costa Rica); Morne Trois Pitons National Park (Dominica); Mount Kenya National Park/Natural Forest (Kenya); Sibiloi/Central Island National Park (Kenya); Pyrenees-Mount Perdu (France/Spain); Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape (Austria); The Historic Centre of Sao Luis (Brazil); The Old Town of Lijiang (China); The Ancient City of Ping Yao (China); The Classical Gardens of Suzhou (China); The Episcopal Complex of the Euphrasian Basilica in the Histroic Centre of Porec (Croatia); The Historic City of Trogir (Croatia); San Pedro de la Roca Castle, Santiago de Cuba (Cuba); The Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn (Estonia); The Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne (France); The 18th Century Royal Palace at Caserta, with the Park, the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli, and the San Leucio Complex (Italy); Residences of the Royal House of Savoy (Italy); The Botanical Garden (orto Botanico), Padua (Italy); Portovenere, Cinque Terre, and the Islands (I'almaria, Tino and Tinetto) (Italy); The Cathedral, Torre Civica and Piazza Grande, Modena (Italy), The Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculanum and Torre Annunziata (Italy); The Costiera Amalfitana (Italy); The Archaeological Area of Agrigento (Italy), Villa Romana del Casale (Italy), Su Nuraxi di Barumini (Italy), The Ch'angdokkung Palace Complex (Republic of Korea); Hwasong Fortress (Republic of Korea); The Historic Centre of Riga (Latvia); Hospicio Cabanas, Guadalajara (Mexico); The Archaeological Site of Volubilis (Morocco); Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha (Nepal); The Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout (Netherlands); The Historic Area of Willemstad, Inner City and Harbour (Netherlands); Rohtas Fort (Pakistan); Historic District of the Town of Panama with the Salon Bolivar (Panama); The Medieval Town of Torum (Poland); The Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork (Poland); Las Medulas (Spain); The Palau de la Musica and the Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona (Spain); San Millan Yuso and Suso Monasteries (Spain); Dougga/Thugga (Tunisia); and Maritime Greenwich (United Kingdom).(b) The following properties were inscribed on the World Heritage List in Danger: Manovo-Gounda-St.Floris National Park (Central African Republica Okapi Faunal Reserve and Kahuzi Bega National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo); and Butrinti (Albania).(2) 552 properties are now inscribed on the World Heritage List. 25 properties are inscribed on the World Heritage List in Danger.(3) Ms Sharon Sullivan, Head, Australian and World Heritage Group, Environment Australia; Dr Warren Nicholls, Director, World Heritage Unit, Environment Australia; Ms Roni Ellis, Alternate Permanent Delegate of Australia to UNESCO and Prof Rick Varne, expert in geology, University of Tasmania attended the World Heritage Committee meeting (Naples, 1 to 6 December 1997) on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia is currently a member of the Committee.(4) No.(5) Yes. The Committee considered the nominations of Heard and McDonald Islands and of Macquarie Island and listed both properties.(6) The Commonwealth Government has decided not to proceed with World Heritage nomination of the Sydney Opera House in its Harbour Setting at this time.While the Government appreciates the significant values of the site, the proposed listing raises complex questions regarding what exactly would be listed and who would be responsible for managing other harbour assets in the heart of Australia's largest metropolis. In particular, it raises issues about what responsibility the Commonwealth would assume in relation to urban planning around the harbour foreshore.We do not have satisfactory answers to these questions at this time.3058(Question No. 2717)27173058Bevis, Arch, MPMr BevisET4BrisbaneALP00 asked the Minister for Defence, upon notice, on 4 March 1998:Has the Government received a request to use RAAF equipment or personnel to assist with importing rhinoceros; if so, (a) who made the request, (b) when was the request made, (c) what response was given, (d) what is the estimated cost and (e) who was to pay.3059McLachlan, Ian, MPMr McLachlanHT4BarkerLPDefence10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:No.3059(Question No. 2719)27193059Latham, Mark, MPMr LathamK26WerriwaALP00 asked the Minister representing the Minister for Communications, the Information Economy and the Arts, upon notice, on 4 March 1998:(1) Can the Minister say (a) what items of indigenous cultural property have been repatriated to Australia since 1988 and (b) when, whence and in what circumstances they were repatriated.(2) What decisions and recommendations were made concerning indigenous cultural property and archives at the 13th meeting of the Cultural Ministers Council in Adelaide on 27 February 1998.(3) When and where will the 13th meeting of the council be held.3059Smith, Warwick, MPMr Warwick SmithGJ4BassLPMinister for Family Services10—The Minister for Communications and the Arts has provided the following amendment to his answer to the honourable member's question:In my answer to part (3) of question No. 2719 (Hansard 26 March 1998) an incorrect date was supplied for the next meeting of the Cultural Ministers Council. The correct date is June 1999.3059(Question No. 2725)27253059Melham, Daryl, MPMr Melham4T4BanksALP00 asked the Attorney-General, upon notice, on 10 March 1998:(1) What human rights issues were placed on the agenda of the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General in Hobart on 11 and 12 December 1997 by each Attorney General.(2) What was the outcome of each item on the agenda.3059Williams, Daryl, MPMr Williams7V5TangneyLPAttorney-General10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) The Commonwealth's written report, placed before the December meeting of the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General, referred to a number of human rights issues. These include: . Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;. ILO Convention 169, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries (1989);. Commission on Human Rights; Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture;. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW);. Fourth World Conference on Women;. Possible optional protocols to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;. Australia' s presentation of its Third Periodic Report to the CEDAW Committee July 1997;. Complaints under international communications procedures, and confidentiality regarding these complaints;. Reporting under international communications procedures;. Joint Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission/Australian Law Reform Commission reference on children and the justice system;. National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families, and Development of Australia' s National Policy in Respect of Discrimination in Employment and Occupation under the International Labour Organisation Convention 111 (1958).Other matters included:. Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) and Disability Standards;. Sex Discrimination Act Issues—Review of Exemptions in subsections 40(2) and 40(3) of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth);. Reform of the Human and Equal Opportunity Commission - Human Rights Legislation Amendment Bill 1997;. Co-operative arrangements with the States;. SCAG Working Group on Human Rights;. Human Rights Forum for Non Government Organisations;. Decade of Human Rights Education;. Review of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth), and. Sex Slavery(2) All items were placed on the agenda by the Commonwealth. Proposed offences relating to sex slavery were referred to the Model Criminal Code Officers Committee for the development of legislation. All other matters were raised in the context of the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Human Rights Paper. This paper serves to inform States and Territories about the activities of the Commonwealth in this area. Matters raised in the Human Rights Paper were noted by State and Territory Attorneys-General.3060(Question No. 2727)27273060Thomson, Kelvin, MPMr Kelvin ThomsonUK6WillsALP00 asked the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, upon notice, on 10 March 1998:In the light of the amendment at the Kyoto Climate Summit enabling a reduction in land clearing to give Australia greenhouse gas emission credits, what action is the Government taking to reduce land clearing.3060Anderson, John, MPMr Anderson4K4GwydirNPPrimary Industries and Energy10—The Minister for the Environment has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question:The inclusion of emissions from land clearing in the greenhouse gas target established in Kyoto is important to Australia as it provides an extra incentive to reduce land clearing and to increase the revegetation of cleared land. It also ensures that Australia is undertaking a comprehensive approach across all relevant sectors and sources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.The management of vegetation is primarily the responsibility of the States and Territories. The Commonwealth Government has put in place a number of programs which working together with States and Territories encourage a reduction in land clearing. These include:• The National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity commits States and Territories to arresting and reversing the decline of remnant vegetation, and avoiding or limiting any further broad-scale clearance of native vegetation to those instances in which regional biological diversity principles are not compromised.• Natural Heritage Trust partnership agreements, developed with States and Territories, among other components focus attention on the importance of reducing land clearing as an element of sustainable land management.• All States and Territories have signed on to the objectives and performance measures of the Bushcare program. These agreements specify no clearing of endangered vegetation communities and no clearing which changes the conservation status of vegetation communities. They also commit the States and Territories to the national goal of a net gain in native vegetation cover by June 2001.. The Government will invest more than $350 million in Bushcare through the Natural Heritage Trust. This represents an unprecedented contribution to conserving biodiversity in the 93 per cent of Australia outside the national parks and reserves system. Other programs that are reducing the impact of land clearing include the Farm Forestry Program, Plantations for Australia: the 2020 Vision and the Bush for Greenhouse program.Current estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from land clearing require further refinement to improve certainty. Australia is one of the leading contributors to research in this field. The Government is establishing a National Carbon Accounting System which will provide the comprehensive framework and scientific services necessary to account for emission reduction and sink enhancement programs as part of meeting Australia's emission target under the Kyoto Protocol.3060(Question No. 2736)27363060Campbell, Graeme, MPMr CampbellCF4KalgoorlieIND00 asked the Attorney-General, upon notice. on 10 March 1998:Is Sir Ronald Wilson entitled to Commonwealth funded travel since ceasing to be Chairman of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission; if so, (a) what are his entitlements and (b) has he been paid expenses by his Department or other Commonwealth departments since ceasing to be Chairman.3060Williams, Daryl, MPMr Williams7V5TangneyLPAttorney-General10—The answer to the honourable member's questions is as follows:Yes.(a) Sir Ronald Wilson has been appointed a part-time hearing Commissioner for the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. In this capacity he is paid $535 per day as sitting fees for the days he works. He is also entitled to a capital city travel allowance of $320 per day, a non-capital city allowance of $165 per day and a $50 allowance for travel of at least 10 hours that does not involve an overnight stay.(b) In his capacity as a part-time hearing Commissioner, Sir Ronald Wilson is paid other expenses by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, which include reimbursement for costs incurred on official travel and other associated expenses such as telephone calls.3060(Question No. 2739)27393060Campbell, Graeme, MPMr CampbellCF4KalgoorlieIND00 asked the Minister representing the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, upon notice, on 10 March 1998:(1) Has the Minister's attention been drawn to a report in the Western Times of 18 December 1997 that Mr Floyd Robinson was fined for possession and supply of a dangerous drug, drink driving and other driving offences.(2) Is it a fact that a car owned by the Department of Finance and Administration and leased to Mr Robinson's father, a deputy chairman of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, was used as a base to sell drugs; if so, what action has the Minister or his Department taken.3061Wooldridge, Dr Michael, MPDr Wooldridge8E4ChisholmLPHealth and Family Services10—The Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs has provided the following information to the honourable member's question:(1) I am advised by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) that officers were not aware of the article in The Western Times and therefore did not bring the matter to Minister Herron's attention. The Western Times is not a paper normally included in the press clippings although regional items sometimes appear at a later date. As the Media Monitors service closed down over the Christmas/New Year period it may have been missed by them during the follow up process.(2) On 29 January 1998, a letter appeared in The Western Times which challenged the contention that the Commissioner's vehicle was used as a base to sell drugs. The letter from the solicitors defending the four Charleville men convicted of offences under the Drugs Misuse Act states that the court was told that on one occasion a drug transaction occurred between Floyd Robinson and the undercover operative in that particular vehicle.The letter goes on to state that there was no suggestion to the court that Commissioner Robinson had any knowledge of the use of his vehicle by his son on that occasion. Commissioners are provided with vehicles under the same conditions as those enjoyed by officers in the Senior Executive Service (SES) of the Australian Public Service. Under those conditions members of an officer's immediate family can become nominated drivers subject to certain conditions.The Minister has referred the matter to the Office of Evaluation and Audit for advice.3061(Question No. 2743)27433061Andren, Peter, MPMr AndrenKL6CalareIND00 asked the Minister for Health and Family Services, upon notice, on 10 March 1998:(1) Would he consider giving persons the choice of paying either the Medicare levy or private health insurance.(2) Is there evidence to suggest the Medicare levy is a disincentive to persons joining or leaving private health cover.(3) Is it a fact that doctors who blatantly over-service are disqualified from Medicare participation but specialists who charge above the scheduled fee are not; if so, why.3061Wooldridge, Dr Michael, MPDr Wooldridge8E4ChisholmLPHealth and Family Services10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) No.(2) There is anecdotal evidence, but no hard evidence, of which I am aware.(3) Yes. The two situations are not comparable.3061(Question No. 2760)27603061McMullan, Bob, MPMr McMullan5I4CanberraALP00 asked the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, upon notice, on 11 March 1998:(1) How many persons have worked in each department, agency, Commonwealth authority and company, including government business enterprises, for which the Minister has portfolio responsibility under a contract for services entered into with a firm whose sole or predominant business is the hiring of labour to clients (a) in 1996-97 and (b) between 1 July 1997 and 28 February 1998.(2) In what sections of the department, agency, authority or company were the persons referred to in part (1) employed.(3) What are the names of the labour-hire firms referred to in part (1) which provided services (a) in 1996-97 and (b) between 1 July 1997 and 28 February 1998.(4) How were the labour-hire firms selected.(5) Will the Minister provide a copy of the tender documents in each case where a labour-hire firm was selected by public tender.(6) Will the Minister provide a copy of the terms of reference for the selection of labour-hire firms.(7) Who comprised the selection panel for successful tenders.(8) What commission was payable by each department, agency, authority or company to each labour-hire firm for each person contracted for labour.(9) What total sum (a) is owed and (b) was paid to each labour-hire firm. (10) What total sum was paid to labour-hire firms in total (a) in 1996-97 and (b) between 1 July 1997 and 28 February 1998.(11) What projected labour requirement will be met by labour-hire firms in the departments, agencies, Commonwealth authorities or companies, including government business enterprises, for which the Minister has portfolio responsibility from (a) February to June 1998 and (b) July 1998 to June 1999.(12) How many government employees have been replaced through labour provided by labour-hire firms in each department, agency, Commonwealth authority and company, including government business enterprises, for which the Minister has portfolio responsibility.3062Ruddock, Philip, MPMr Ruddock0J4BerowraLPImmigration and Multicultural Affairs10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:This information is provided in summary form at Attachments A and B below. Attachment A covers 1996-97 and Attachment B the first 8 months in 1997/98.(1) For the 1996-97 financial year 77 persons have worked in the Department as a result of an agreement between the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) and a firm whose sole or predominant business is the hiring of labour to clients.For the period 1 July 1997 to 28 February 1998 the number of persons engaged was 93.(2) Several sections of DIMA were involved with hiring labour. Details are provided at column 2 of Attachments A and B.(3) A number of firms were engaged to provide this service. Column 3 of Attachments A and B lists the firms engaged by DIMA.(4) There methods of selection were used in selecting the firms used.. For specialist IT work DIMA sought competitive quotes from suitable PE68 panel members.. In two instances, because of the anticipated value of the work, competitive tenders were sought.. In a number of other instances, where the anticipated value of the work was below $50,000, DIMA sought competitive quotes from suitable organisations.In all cases the primary criteria for selecting a firm was overall value for money.(5) Public tender documents can be provided in each case where there was the method used to select a firm.(6) Where appropriate, a copy of the terms of reference for the selection of firms can be provided.(7) Where it was judged necessary to form a selection panel for successful tenders, they are listed in column 7 of Attachments A and B.(8) DIMA has paid no separately identifiable commissions to any labour-hire firm.(9) The moneys owed and paid to the firms engaged are shown at columns 9 and 10 of Attachments A and B.(10) DIMA paid a total of $2,390,226 to labour-hire firm during 1996/97. During the period 1 July to 28 February 1998, $2,637,359 was paid for this purpose. Columns 9 and 10 of Attachments A and B provide detailed breakdowns.(11) The projected number of persons to be hired from labour firms is: (a) 53 for the period February to June 1998; and (b) for the 1998/99 Financial Year.(12) No government employees have been replaced by labour provided by labour-hire firms.ATTACHMENT AFINANCIAL YEAR 1996/97(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)NumberEmploying SectionName of firmSelection methodTender documents available?Terms of reference for selection available?Name of panel selecting successful tendersCommission payableMoney owed to labour-hire firmMoney paid to labour-hire firmTotal sum paid to labour-hire firmQ. (1)Q. (2)Q. (3)Q. (4)Q. (5)Q.(6)Q. (7)Q. (8)Q. (9a)Q. (9b)Q. (10a)2Review Policy & AnalysisSotherton's Corporate Services3 Quotes soughtN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$3,975$3,9752Recruitment & PlacementsCP ResourcingQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$4,656$4,6561Recruitment & PlacementsWizard Personnel Pty Ltd Quotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$1,640$1,6401Translating & Interpreter ServiceKey People Personnel Pty LtdPE 151N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$5,335$5,3353Adult Migrant English ProgramAnderson ContractingPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$207,850$207,8502Adult Migrant English ProgramParity PeoplePE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$39,084$39,0841ResearchWizard PersonnelQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$6,055$6,0553Onshore SystemsAnderson ContractingPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$115,684$115,684 4Onshore SystemsATRPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$170,807$170,8071Onshore SystemsBusiness SyneticsPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$6,072$6,0723Onshore SystemsComputer PeoplePE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$188,516$188,5161Onshore SystemsCP ConsultingPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$15,300$15,3002Onshore SystemsMC Computer ServicesPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$150,287$150,2872Onshore SystemsPaxusPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$46,760$46,7601Onshore SystemsSouthern CrossPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$47,826$47,8262Onshore SystemsStratagemPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$184,365$184,3652Onshore SystemsWizard PersonnelPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$117,548$117,5481Entry SystemsAndersenPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$39,415$39,4153Entry SystemsComputer PeoplePE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$119,670$119,6701Entry SystemsMC Computer ServicesPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$47,292$47,2921Entry SystemsNatural SystemsPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$57,600$57,6001Overseas SystemsBusiness SyneticsPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$72,600$72,6001Overseas SystemsVanspall Nominees P/LPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$116,337$116,337 2SecurityCoopers & LybrandPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$48,650$48,6503SecurityAdmiralPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$81,800$81,8001SecurityStrategemPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$19,832$19,8322SecurityCD & MPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$20,300$20,3001SecurityStantonPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$4,232$4,232 2Legal Services SupportWizard PersonnelQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$10,109$10,1091Standards & Data ManagementDecast Pty LtdTenderYesYesG.Saphin & C. FlynnN/ANIL$99,944$99,9441Standards & Data ManagementMC Computer ServicesTenderYesYesG.Saphin & C. FlynnN/ANIL$133,945$133,9451Standards & Data ManagementStrategemPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$40,442$40,4421Standards & Data ManagementAzimuthPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$20,400$20,4002Refugee Review TribunalJulia RossQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$13,657$13,65713Refugee Review TribunalDrake OverloadQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$28,591$28,591 2WA State OfficeDrake OverloadQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$45,818$45,8184QLD State OfficeWestern Staff ServicesQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$57,834$57,83477Total$2,390,226$2,390,226ATTACHMENT BFINANCIAL YEAR 1997/98 TO 28 FEBRUARY 1998(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)NumberEmploying SectionName of firmSelection methodTender documents available?Terms of reference for selection available?Name of panel selecting successful tendersCommission payableMoney owed to labour-hire firmMoney paid to labour-hire firmTotal sum paid to labour-hire firmQ. (1)Q. (2)Q. (3)Q. (4)Q. (5)Q.(6)Q. (7)Q. (8)Q. (9a)Q. (9b)Q. (10a)2Budget StrategyWizardQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneN/A$17,399$17,3994Recruitment & PlacementsCP ResourcingQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$6,899$6,899 1Translating & Interpreter ServiceKey People Personnel Pty LtdPE 151N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$2,954$2,9543Translating & Interpreter ServiceAnderson ContractingPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$112,174$112,1742Adult Migrant English ProgramAnderson ContractingPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$179,542$179,5421Adult Migrant English ProgramParity PeoplePE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$39,526$39,526 1ResearchWizard PersonnelQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$25,116$25,1161Legal PolicyWizard PersonnelQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$19,278$19,278* 0Onshore SystemsAndersenPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$3,777$3,777* 0Onshore SystemsATRPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$10,374$10,374* 0Onshore SystemsComputer PeoplePE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$5,682$5,682* 0Onshore SystemsMC Computer ServicesPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$2,540$2,540* 0Onshore SystemsPaxusPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$3,156$3,156* 0Onshore SystemsSouthern CrossPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$1,438$1,438* 0Onshore SystemsStratagemPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$5,249$5,249* 0Onshore SystemsWizardQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$4,995$4,995* 0Entry SystemsAnderson ContractingPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$6,185$6,185* 0Entry SystemsComputer PeoplePE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$90$90* 0Overseas SystemsVanspall Nominees P/LPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$8,463$8,463 1Alliance Resource GroupBusiness SyneticsPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$77,715$77,7156Alliance Resource GroupComputer PowerPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$205,307$205,3072Alliance Resource GroupMC Computer ServicesPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$869,613$869,6133Alliance Resource GroupNatural SystemsPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$160,285$160,28517Alliance Resource GroupPaxusPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$103,442$103,4424Alliance Resource GroupStratagemPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$142,899$142,8991Alliance Resource GroupVanspall Nominees P/LPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$52,299$52,2991Alliance Resource GroupWizard PersonnelQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$3,157$3,1571SecurityStrategmPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$1,782$1,7821SecurityStantonPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$5,879$5,8791SecurityMC Computer ServicesPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$1,753$1,7535Legal Services SupportWizard PersonnelQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$25,822$25,8221Personnel Policy & ServicesWizard PersonnelQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$6,329$6,3294Desktop & Mainframe Computer PeoplePE 68N/AN/AN/ANone$13,725$184,246$197,971 6Desktop & Mainframe MC Computer ServicesPE 68N/AN/AN/ANone$1,753$127,278$129,0311Desktop & Mainframe LCDPE 68N/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$65,280$65,2801Standards & Data ManagementPaxusPE 68N/AN/AN/ANone$5,187$5,18712Refugee Review TribunalDrake OverloadQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$36,123$36,1231Refugee Review TribunalLibrary LocumsQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$6,730$6,7301Refugee Review TribunalZenithQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$11,683$11,683 2WA State OfficeDrake OverloadQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$2,367$2,3671WA State OfficeJulia Ross PersonnelQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$4,786$4,7874QLD State OfficeWestern Staff ServicesQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANoneNIL$45,816$45,816 1Resource Systems SectionCareers UnlimitedQuotes sought:most suitably priced applicants chosenN/AN/AN/ANone$2,385$18,882$21,26893Total$23,050$2,614,309$2,637,359* Represents final payments made in 97/98 for services received during 1996/97.3071(Question No. 2775)27753071Andren, Peter, MPMr AndrenKL6CalareIND00 asked the Minister representing the Minister for Communications, the Information Economy and the Arts, upon notice, on 23 March 1998:Has Australia Post instructed rural post office agents not to accept business banking on behalf of the Commonwealth Bank; if so, (a) why, (b) does the decision disadvantage farmers and small business in rural centres where there are no other bank branches or agencies and (c) what action can the Government take to ensure that rural Australians have equal access to banking services.3071Smith, Warwick, MPMr Warwick SmithGJ4BassLPMinister for Family Services10—The Minister for Communications, the Information Economy and the Arts has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question:(a) Australia Post introduced its giroPost service in 1995 through which it provides on-line personal banking services nationally for eleven banks/financial institutions, including the Commonwealth Bank.All of the agency agreements between Australia Post and participating giroPost banks/financial institutions specify personal banking transactions only, and that includes transactions conducted at Licensed Post Offices.Transactions on business accounts are not permitted by Australia Post because:. any transactions accepted outside the terms of the agreements become the liability of Australia Post and, where applicable, the Licensee. Australia Post is not prepared to accept the associated risk or to expose its Licensees to the risk; and. business banking transactions are much more complex than personal transactions, and generally involve large deposits in a mix of cash and personal cheques. This raises issues such as the length of time involved in handling such transactions, the effect on customer service (queues) and security implications for individual outlets and the overall network.To date, Australia Post's banking principals have not been prepared to consider an appropriate commercial arrangement that would recognise the increased level of risk and greater complexity involved in business banking.(b) Transactions on business accounts have never been officially permitted by either Australia Post or the participating giroPost banks/financial institutions.Australia Post would be prepared to consider any appropriate commercial arrangements that might be proposed for the extension of its giroPost agreements to include business banking. However, the introduction of any such arrangement would be dependent on the relevant systems changes being implemented.(c) This matter is the responsibility of the Treasurer.3071(Question No. 2784)27843071Thomson, Kelvin, MPMr Kelvin ThomsonUK6WillsALP00 asked the Minister representing the Minister for Communications, the Information Economy and the Arts, upon notice, on 24 March 1998:Will the Government provide the funds necessary for ABC TV to upgrade its transmission facilities to digital broadcast facilities.3071Smith, Warwick, MPMr Warwick SmithGJ4BassLPMinister for Family Services10—The Minister for Communications, the Information Economy and the Arts has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question:The Government will be considering all aspects of the ABC's digitisation strategy in the context of the 1998-99 Budget.3071(Question No. 2785)27853071Ferguson, Laurie, MPMr Laurie Ferguson8T4ReidALP00 asked the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, upon notice, on 24 March 1998:(1) How many suicides of Vietnam veterans were reported for (a) 1995, (b) 1996 and (c) 1997.(2) Is he able to say how many suicides in each period referred to in part (1) were by persons involved in appeals against decisions by his Department which were extant at the time of death.3071Scott, Bruce, MPMr Bruce ScottYT4MaranoaNPVeterans' Affairs10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) Statistics for (a) 1995, (b) 1996 and (c) 1997 are not available.The Vietnam Veterans Mortality Study, published in 1997, contained such statistics only for the years 1980-1994. During that period a total 172 Vietnam veterans were considered to have committed suicide. This was a major exercise and will not be repeated until the next review, due after the year 2000.There is no obligation to notify my Department about the death of a veteran.(2) I am not able to say how many suicides in each period were by Vietnam veterans involved in appeals against decisions by my Department. 3072(Question No. 2797)27973072Latham, Mark, MPMr LathamK26WerriwaALP00 asked the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment, upon notice, on 25 March 1998:Which countries attended the World Natural Heritage workshop organised in Huay Kha Khaeng, Thailand, between 19 and 23 January 1998.3072Anderson, John, MPMr Anderson4K4GwydirNPPrimary Industries and Energy10—The Minister for the Environment has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question:The following twelve (12) countries were represented at the "Workshop on Role of Local Communities in the Management of World Natural Heritage in Southeast Asia, West Pacific, Australia and New Zealand" at Huay Kha Khaeng, Thailand, between 19 and 23 January 1998: Australia, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Island, Thailand and Vietnam.In addition there were representatives from four international organisations: South Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP), International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), UNESCO and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).3072(Question No. 2799)27993072Campbell, Graeme, MPMr CampbellCF4KalgoorlieIND00 asked the Minister for Customs and Consumer Affairs, upon notice, on 25 March 1998:(1) Is it proposed to establish foreign trade zones (FTZs) in Gippsland, at Avalon Airport and the adjoining precincts near Geelong and elsewhere in Australia; if so; in each case, what rules and conditions will apply.(2) Will foreign sourced labour be used within a foreign trade zone: if so, what conditions will apply.3072Truss, Warren, MPMr TrussGT4Wide BayNPCustoms and Consumer Affairs10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) No. The Government has introduced a Manufacturing in Bond scheme which, together with existing Government programs, will provide the benefits sought by the proponents of foreign trade zones.Anyone may apply for an MiB facility, for any location in Australia. Everyone applying is subject to the same rules and conditions. The main requirement is for applicants to demonstrate to the Government an intention to use the facility as a base for generating increased exports. (2) No changes are contemplated to current conditions applying to the use of foreign sourced labour in Australia.3072(Question No. 2800)28003072Crosio, Janice, MPMrs Crosio7T4ProspectALP00 asked the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, upon notice, on 25 March 1998:(1) Do his Department's procedures for opening the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) to private tender meet the required standards; if so, how.(2) Was the Australian Centre for Languages' (ACL) tender proposal for conducting the AMEP in the south west region of Sydney judged by his Department to be superior to the proposal by the Adult Migrant English Service (AMES); if so, on what grounds.(3) Who in his Department was directly responsible for selecting the successful tenderers for the provision of AMEP services in the south west region of Sydney and on what criteria did they base their evaluation.(4) Will he make the ACL and AMES tender proposals public; if not, why not.(5) Are details of the ACL and AMES tender proposals available under freedom of information procedures; if not, why not.(6) Is it a fact that opening the AMEP to private tender denies previously existing public access to detailed information regarding Commonwealth funding of adult migrant English education; if not, why not.(7) Will opening the AMEP to private tender reduce the transparency and accountability of the program.(8) Would the involvement of AMES employees in preparing both the AMES and ACL tender proposals contravene his Department's guidelines on collusive tendering and conflicts of interest.(9) Has he or his Department examined whether certain employees of AMES involved in preparing the AMES AMEP tender proposal were also involved in preparing the ACL proposal; if not, why not.(10) Is he able to state that the guidelines have not been broken during the tendering process.3072Ruddock, Philip, MPMr Ruddock0J4BerowraLPImmigration and Multicultural Affairs10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) The Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) was tendered in New South Wales as part of a national tendering exercise. The processes followed in tendering the AMEP in NSW were identical to those followed in other States and Territories. From the outset they have met the required standards and have been open and accountable. Their probity was maintained through the measures outlined below: Oversight of tendering was provided by a steering committee whose members included representatives of the Attorney-General's Department, the Department of Finance and Administration and the Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship Division and Resource Management Branch of the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA). This steering committee signed off on all processes and monitored the implementation of tendering. The tender process was designed by a professional consultant who provided an evaluation methodology which was followed by the tender evaluation panel. This consultant also acted as adviser to the tender evaluation panel. Industry briefings and consultations were held in all states and territories with potential tenderers when the Expression of Interest was released and again when the Request for Tender was released. The purpose of these briefings and consultations was to explain the tender documents and the tender process and to answer any questions that were raised. The tender documentation was made publicly available before the tender was called. The tender evaluation was a two-part process:(i) a tender evaluation panel, comprising three members of DIMA's Adult Migrant English Program Section, a representative of the Department's Corporate Services Division, a representative of the DIMA NSW office and an independent English as a Second Language (ESL) expert, assessed the extent to which tenders met the AMEP operational and policy requirements as described in the Statement of Requirement (SOR) which formed part of the documents provided to all prospective tenderers;(ii) a separate financial evaluation was carried out by a firm of Chartered Accountants.Results of the two assessments were combined to produce a value for money rating with an emphasis on the capacity to deliver AMEP services in accordance with the SOR.The tender evaluation panel presented its assessments to the steering committee for their comments. The assessments, together with the complete tender documentation, were then presented to a delegate for the final decision.(2) The tender evaluation panel's assessment of the tenders for the south-west Sydney region was that the Australian Centre for Languages (ACL) tender met the AMEP operational and policy requirements as described in the SOR to a higher level than did the Adult Migrant English Service (AMES) tender.(3) The tender evaluation panel described in 1 (i) above made recommendations to the delegate with responsibility for this program. These, together with the complete tender documentation, formed the basis for the delegate's decisions.(4) All tenders for AMEP service delivery were submitted on a commercial-in-confidence basis. They cannot therefore be made public.(5) Certain documents which form part of the tender proposals may be available under the Freedom of Information Act (1982). However, much of the content of the tenders is likely to be exempt from release under sections 43 and 45 of the Act which relate to business affairs and documents obtained in confidence.(6) Details of DIMA's funding of adult migrant English education will continue to be made available through Commonwealth reporting and accountability processes.(7) The transparency and accountability of the program will be increased through the new AMEP purchasing arrangements. Both the SOR and the contracts for AMEP service delivery make clear that there are the following accountability requirements: annual monitoring of the required contract services by the National ELICOS Accreditation Scheme (NEAS); continuous monitoring of client learning outcomes through the AMEP Reporting and Management System (ARMS) to ensure that benchmarks developed by the National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research (NCELTR) at Macquarie University are met; submission of an annual report to DIMA which will report on progress of the contract services; a full evaluation of all aspects of delivery of the AMEP during the third year of the contract; provision of a grievance and dispute resolution procedure for all clients which links directly to DIMA's proposed client service charter; and progression to payment in arrears by the second year of the contracts which will entitle the Commonwealth to withhold payments if it forms the view that the services have not been provided to the expected standard.(8) DIMA adheres to the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines in conducting tender processes. I am advised that there is no evidence that collusive tendering occurred, or that a conflict of interest arose in the preparation of tenders, or that the guidelines were contravened in any respect. (9) DIMA has made enquiries to ascertain whether a consultant employed by AMES to assist in the preparation of their tenders was also involved in the preparation of the ACL tenders. I am advised that this consultant, who was previously a Director of AMES, was not involved in the preparation of the ACL tenders.(10) I am further advised that guidelines have been adhered to throughout the tendering process.3072(Question No. 2805)28053072Lee, Michael, MPMr LeeMG4DobellALP00 asked the Minister for Family Services, upon notice, on 25 March 1998:(1) Will he provide data on the number of eligible agencies and level of funding provided under the Emergency Relief Program to each agency in each federal electorate division in (a) 1994-95, (b) 1995-96 and (c) 1996-97.3072Smith, Warwick, MPMr Warwick SmithGJ4BassLPMinister for Family Services10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) Total appropriation for the Emergency Relief Program for 1994-95 was $19.481 million, for 1995-96 was $17.342 million and for 1996-97 was $23.227 million. Data by electorate for the years 1994-95 and 1995-96 are not available as they were not left in an accessible format prior to 1996-97.Data on the number of eligible agencies and the level of funding provided under the Emergency Relief Program to each agency in each federal electoral division is provided for the year 1996-97 (see Attachment A).Emergency Relief Outlet Name and AddressSuburbPostcodeElectorateGrant TypeYearGrant $NSWAboriginal Childrens Service L 18 George StreetRedfern2016SydneyA96/975340Aboriginal Corporation for Hom 118 Victoria StreetAshfield2131GrayndlerA96/9710628Aboriginal Medical Service Co- 36 Turner StreetRedfern2016SydneyA96/9714002Al-Zahra Muslim Welfare Centre 1- 5 Wollongong RoadArncliffe2205BartonG96/9710306Albury Wodonga Community Centre Smolkit StreetAlbury2640FarrerG96/9732909Armidale Neighbourhood Centre Rusden StreetArmidale2350New EnglandG96/9714706Armidale and District Services Longswamp & Cooks RoadArmidale2350New EnglandA96/976454Auburn Asian Welfare Centre 8 Rawson StreetLidcombe2141ReidG96/977977Auburn Neighbourhood and Commu 21 Harrow RoadAuburn2144ReidG96/9723238Australian Islamic Shi'ite Ass 113A Railway StreetRockdale2216BartonG96/9712046Australian Turkish and Kurdish 50 Susan StreetAuburn2144ReidG96/979793Awabakal/Newcastle Aboriginal 38A Samdon StreetHamilton2303NewcastleA96/9710040Bangalow Anglican Opportunity 1 Ashton StreetBangalow2479RichmondG96/970Bankstown Community Services C 62 Restwell StreetBankstown2200BlaxlandG96/9769233Barriekneal Housing and Commun 39 Morilla StreetLightning Ridge2834GwydirA96/972481Baryulgil Local Aboriginal LanBaryulgil2460PageA96/973637The Hills Community Aid & Info 390 Windsor RoadBaulkham Hills2153MitchellG96/9745016Biripi Medical Centre Pacific HighwayPurfleet2430LyneA96/973889Blacktown Community Aid and In Cnr Kelso La & Newton RdBlacktown2148GreenwayG96/9732988Blue Mountains Family Support 10 Station StreetKatoomba2780MacquarieG96/9727646Bogan Aboriginal Corporation 46 Nymagee StreetNyngan2825ParkesA96/973741Boomerang Housing and Advancem 39 Bathurst StreetCondoblin2877ParkesA96/976269 Botany Migrant Resource Centre 3 General Bridges CrescentDaceyville2032Kingsford-SmithG96/9730490Bourke Aboriginal Health Servi 61 Oxley StreetBourke2840ParkesA96/974445Broken Hill Local Aboriginal L 84 Oxide StreetBroken Hill2880ParkesA96/972978Brunswick Heads Community Care South Beach RiseBrunswick Heads2483RichmondG96/970Bucketts Way Neighbourhood Cen 78 Church StreetGloucester2433PatersonG96/974980Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aborigin 128 Bacon StreetGrafton2460PageA96/972531Bundjalung Tribal Society 1 Club LaneLismore2480PageA96/975533Central Coast Aboriginal Commu 141 Wallarah RoadGorokan2263DobellA96/979133Burwood Community Welfare Serv 45 Belmore StreetBurwood2134LoweG96/9742621Byron Bay Community Associatio 69 Jonson StreetByron Bay2481RichmondG96/970Anglicare—Campbelltown 1 Reddall StreetCampbelltown2560WerriwaG96/9736004Anglicare—Marrickville 44 Framptom 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519 Station StreetBox Hill3128ChisholmG96/9765882Brighton Benevolent SocietyBrighton North3186GoldsteinG96/978772Broadmeadows Uniting Church Mi 415-419 Camp RoadBroadmeadows3047CalwellG96/9720569Broadmeadows Financial CounselBroadmeadows3047CalwellG96/9717598Camcare Inc (Ashburton) 4 Y StreetAshburton3147HigginsG96/9716717Camcare Inc (Camberwell) 19 Fairholm GroveCamberwell3124KooyongG96/9730101Shire of Cardinia (Pakenham) Henty WayPakenham3810McMillanG96/9740742Central Gippsland Aboriginal H 17-19 Collins StreetMorwell3840McMillanA96/975420 Chelsea Community Info & Suppo 1 Chelsea RoadChelsea3196IsaacsG96/9721099Chelsea Community Health Centr 147 Nepean HighwayAspendale3195IsaacsG96/9710178Child & Family Care Network In 583 Ferntree Gully RoadGlen Waverley3150BruceG96/9716646Church Of All Nations 180 Palmerston StreetCarlton3053MelbourneG96/979061Community Information and Refe 198A High StreetWodonga3690IndiG96/9721022Chelsea Benevolent Society Inc 7 Berwen StreetChelsea3196IsaacsG96/9720727Co-As-It 185 Faraday StreetCarlton3053MelbourneG96/974449City of Yarra (Fitzroy Distric 201 Napier StreetFitzroy3065MelbourneG96/972436Community Information Diamond 25 Main StreetGreensborough3088ScullinG96/9740657Concern Uniting Church 2 Baillang StreetGeelong South3220CorioG96/9735966Coranderrk Koori Co-op Ltd 161 Maroondah HighwayHealesville3777McEwenA96/979801Cranbourne Information and SupCranbourne3977IsaacsG96/975305Dandenong Benevolent Society 120 Foster StreetDandenong3175HoltG96/9721629City of Darebin Family Support 438 High StreetNorthcote3070BatmanG96/974092Victorian AIDS Council 6 Claremont StreetSouth Yarra3141HigginsG96/9710000 Disability Support Pensioners 1/8 Beasley AvenueWerribee3030LalorG96/972000DoncareDoncaster3108MenziesG96/9733295Doutta Galla 12 Gower StreetMoonee Ponds3039MelbourneG96/9732182East Burwood Counselling Centr 220 Burwood HighwayBurwood East3151DeakinG96/9712454Eltham Community Health Centre 917 Main RoadEltham3095JagajagaG96/9727252Emergency Accommodation and SuBendigo3550BendigoG96/973189Mildura Aboriginal Corporation 120 Madden AvenueMildura3500MalleeA96/976538Southern Peninsula Emergency A 2 Murray Anderson RoadRosebud3939FlindersG96/977474Mornington Community Informati 320 Main StreetMornington3931DunkleyG96/9733320Ballarat Aboriginal Co-op 5 Market StreetBallarat3350BallaratA96/975556Enmaraleek Association IncorpoBroadmeadows3047CalwellA96/973886Family Life Assistance Group I 31 Marcus RoadDingley3172HothamG96/972550Far East Gippsland Health & Su Boundary RoadOrbost3888GippslandG96/9715681Financial Counselling and Cons 18 Aberdeen StreetGeelong West3218CorioG96/9741691Frankston Community Support an 68 Playne StreetFrankston3199DunkleyG96/9712214 8Gippsland and East Gippsland A 37-53 Dalmahoy StreetBairnsdale3875GippslandA96/977016Glen Eira Community Informatio 256 Hawthorn RoadCaulfield3162Melbourne PortsG96/970Gunditj-Mara Aboriginal Co-op Harris StreetWarrnambool3280WannonA96/972159Hanover South Melbourne 52 Haig StreetSouth Melbourne3205Melbourne PortsG96/976909Hastings Emergency Relief Comm 30 King StreetHastings3915FlindersG96/9722109Healesville Inter Church Commu Maroondah HighwayHealesville3777McEwenG96/9725720Heidelberg Citizens Advice Bur 44 Turnham AvenueRosanna3084JagajagaG96/9710031Inner Western Region Migrant R 41 Pickett StreetFootscray3011GellibrandG96/976403Uniting Church Plenty CorridorMill Park3082ScullinG96/9711195Knox City Council 511 Burwood HighwayWantirna South3152AstonG96/9764908Kyneton and District Welfare C 129 Mollison StreetKyneton3444BurkeG96/9747563La Trobe Community Health ServChurchill3842McMillanG96/9713640Laverton Community Centre Inc 12 Crown StreetLaverton3028LalorG96/9720914Laverton Emergency Relief Soci 159A Railway AvenueLaverton3028LalorG96/9711001Lilydale and District Communit Hutchinson StreetLilydale3140CaseyG96/9723662Mallee Accommodation and Suppo 33 Lemon AvenueMildura3500MalleeG96/9725708Mallee Accommodation and Suppo 33 Lemon AvenueMildura3500MalleeG96/977682Mansfield Welfare Group 33 Highett StreetMansfield3722McEwenG96/972657City of Kingston (Mordialloc) 98 Collins StreetMentone3194IsaacsG96/979704Citizens Advice Bureau and Inf 36 Florence StreetMentone3194IsaacsG96/9732861La Trobe Community Health Serv 26 Tarwin StreetMorwell3840McMillanG96/9714741Migrant Resource Centre Westga 78-82 Second AvenueAltona North3025GellibrandG96/974115 North Yarra Community Health I75 Brunswick StreetFitzroy3065MelbourneG96/979126Northcote Benevolent Society IC/O 22 Hanslope AvenueAlphington3078BatmanG96/9713728Footscray-Yarraville Parish Mi 93 Geelong RoadFootscray3011GellibrandG96/9789388Ovens and King Community Healt 53 Ryley StreetWangaratta3677IndiG96/9710552Whittlesea Community Health Se 40-42 Walnut StreetWhittlesea3757McEwenG96/976881City of Port Phillip (Port Mel 81 Liardet StreetPort Melbourne3207Melbourne PortsG96/979384Portland and District Co-ordin Otway StreetPortland3305WannonG96/9721310Darebin Community Information 45 Town Hall AvenuePreston3072BatmanG96/9726365Progress House Inc 31 High StreetSeymour3660McEwenG96/979225Pyramid Hill Neighbourhood Hou Kelly StreetPyramid Hill3575MurrayG96/973705Red Cliffs Benevolent Society Heytesbury AvenueRed Cliffs3496MalleeG96/979720Ringwood Benevolent Society 3 Yarmouth StreetRingwood3134DeakinG96/974976Robinvale Benevolent Society 4 Donald StreetRobinvale3549MalleeG96/974412Rochester Community Welfare Co 5 High StreetRochester3561MurrayG96/977906Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-opMooroopna3629MurrayA96/9713461Sacred Heart Mission St Kilda 87 Grey StreetSt Kilda3182Melbourne PortsG96/9728577St Albans Community Support an 368 Main RoadSt Albans3021MaribyrnongG96/9710068 5Sale Community Aid Volunteers' 82 MacAlister StreetSale3850GippslandG96/9718112San Remo and District Communit 1 Back Beach RoadSan Remo3925FlindersG96/9714749Sandringham Citizens Advice Bu 31 Abbott StreetSandringham3191GoldsteinG96/975435Scoresby Uniting Church 1351 Ferntree Gully RoadScoresby3179AstonG96/979824Sherbrooke Community Informati 1632 Burwood HighwayBelgrave3160La TrobeG96/9719479Shire Of Murrindindi (Yea) Perkins StreetAlexandra3714McEwenG96/977909Springvale Indo-Chinese Mutual 9 Hillcrest GroveSpringvale3171HothamG96/978732Society Of St Vincent De Paul 39 Campbell StreetBirchip3483MalleeG96/979568Society of St Vincent De Paul Sladen StreetCranbourne3977IsaacsG96/9715341Society of St Vincent De Paul 22 Bolwarra StreetChadstone3148ChisholmG96/978429Society of St Vincent De Paul 290 Childs RoadMill Park3082ScullinG96/974992Society of St Vincent De Paul 6 Dalny RoadMurrumbeena3163HothamG96/977679Society of St Vincent De Paul 16 Lightwood RoadSpringvale3171HothamG96/979204Society of St Vincent De Paul 142 Curlewis StreetSwan Hill3585MalleeG96/9712685Society of St Vincent De Paul 25 Orange GroveBayswater3153AstonG96/977349Society of St Vincent De Paul 16 Coolgardie AvenueMalvern EAST3145HigginsG96/977679South Gippsland Shire Council, 9 Smith StreetLeongatha3953GippslandG96/979573South Western Community Care W 26 Fairy StreetWarrnambool3280WannonG96/9720993 Spanish Latin American Welfare 313 Dorcas StreetSouth Melbourne3205Melbourne PortsG96/972043Springvale Community Aid and A 5 Osborne AvenueSpringvale3171HothamG96/9777894St Kilda Welfare Organisation 178 Carlisle StreetSt Kilda3182Melbourne PortsG96/9728930St Mark's Community Centre Fit 250 George StreetFitzroy3065MelbourneG96/9723789St Mark's Emergency Relief Cen 138 Hoffman's RoadNiddrie3042MaribyrnongG96/975579South Central Region Migrant R 24 Victoria StreetPrahran3181HigginsG96/974391Stonnington West Emergency Rel 18 Surrey RoadSouth Yarra3141HigginsG96/9748284Surf Coast Community Health Se 15 Bell StreetTorquay3228CorangamiteG96/975690Salvation Army Beechworth 35 Ford StreetBeechworth3747IndiG96/974767Salvation Army Benalla 85 Bridge TerraceBenalla3672IndiG96/977899Salvation Army Bendigo 6 High StreetBendigo3550BendigoG96/9742816Salvation Army Bentleigh 87 Robert StreetBentleigh3204GoldsteinG96/9714947Salvation Army Box Hill 17 Nelson StreetBox Hill3128ChisholmG96/977211Salvation Army Broadford 25 Powlett StreetBroadford3658McEwenG96/9717348Salvation Army Brunswick 390 Sydney RoadBrunswick3056MelbourneG96/9783877Salvation Army Clayton 378 Haughton RoadClayton3168HothamG96/9724362Salvation Army Colac 41 Bromfield StreetColac3250CorangamiteG96/9753624Salvation Army Dandenong 55 James StreetDandenong3175HoltG96/9720826 Salvation Army Doncaster 37 Taunton StreetDoncaster3108MenziesG96/972360Salvation Army Doveton 1a Frawley RoadDoveton3177HoltG96/9718418Salvation Army Echuca 432 High StreetEchuca3564MurrayG96/973830Salvation Army Emerald Como StreetEmerald3782La TrobeG96/978543Salvation Army Ferntree Gully 37 Wattletree RoadFerntree Gully3156La TrobeG96/9734174Salvation Army GeelongGeelong3220CorioG96/9794085Salvation Army Glenroy 2/849 Pascoe Vale RoadGlenroy3046CalwellG96/9775407Salvation Army Hamilton 89 Kennedy StreetHamilton3300WannonG96/977716Salvation Army Kyabram 24 Unitt StreetKyabram3620MurrayG96/974703Salvation Army Macleod 7 Lindsay StreetMacleod3085JagajagaG96/974775Salvation Army Malvern 75 Union StreetMalvern3144HIGGINSG96/975456Salvation Army MaryboroughMaryborough3465BendigoG96/9726641Salvation Army Melbourne 69 Bourke StreetMelbourne3000MelbourneG96/9760284Salvation Army Mildura 29 Lemon AvenueMildura3500MalleeG96/9731004Salvation Army Mill Park 1 Devlin CourtMill Park3082ScullinG96/974945Salvation Army Moonee PondsMoonee Ponds3039WillsG96/9715713Salvation Army Mooroolbark Manchester RoadMooroolbark3138CaseyG96/9713034Salvation Army Moreland 345 Sydney RoadBrunswick3056MelbourneG96/9710098Salvation Army MorwellMorwell3840McMillanG96/9731640Salvation Army Northcote 20 Mitchell StreetNorthcote3070BatmanG96/9716459Salvation Army Oakleigh 165 Kangaroo RoadOakleigh3166HothamG96/9724362Salvation Army Preston 263 Gower StreetPreston3072BatmanG96/9760182Salvation Army Richmond 54 Garfield StreetRichmond3121MelbourneG96/9747731Salvation Army Ringwood 53 Wantirna RoadRingwood3134DeakinG96/9760692Salvation Army Seymour 47 Loco StreetSeymour3660McEwenG96/975268Salvation Army Shepparton 33 Middleton StreetShepparton3630MurrayG96/9711288 3Salvation Army Springvale View RoadSpringvale3171HothamG96/973264Salvation Army St Kilda 12 Chapel StreetSt Kilda3182Melbourne PortsG96/9710096 9Salvation Army Sunbury 27 Anderson RoadSunbury3429BurkeG96/976092 Salvation Army Swan Hill 190 Beveridge StreetSwan Hill3585MalleeG96/9723345Salvation Army TraralgonTraralgon3844McMillanG96/9721788Salvation Army Wangaratta 13-17 Garnet AvenueWangaratta3677IndiG96/977909Salvation Army Warrnambool 261 Lava StreetWarrnambool3280WannonG96/9731012Salvation Army Welfare and Hou 42 Devonshire RoadSunshine3020GellibrandG96/9725867Salvation Army Welfare Service 4 Raimeno StreetLalor3075ScullinG96/9741589Salvation Army Werribee 15 Perkins AvenueWerribee3030LalorG96/9717665Salvation Army Wonthaggi 106 White RoadWonthaggi3995GippslandG96/971825The Salvation Army Social and 208 Dana StreetBallarat3350BallaratG96/9778095Smith Family Collingwood 390 Smith StreetCollingwood3066MelbourneG96/9741238Smith Family Sunshine 52 Sun CrescentSunshine3020GellibrandG96/9724251Springvale Benevolent Society 20 St Marks CloseDingley3172HothamG96/9738884The Travellers' Aid Society Of 168 Swanston StreetMelbourne3000MelbourneG96/9729258The Travellers' Aid Society Of 168 Swanston StreetMelbourne3000MelbourneG96/9716044Uniting Church Care and Concer 21 Duncans RoadWerribee3030LalorG96/9737997Uniting Church Welfare—Pex (Wendover AvenueNorlane3214CorioG96/9763830Upper Yarra Advisory Centre In 1 Little Yarra RoadYarra Junction3797McEwenG96/9710537Victorian Aboriginal Health Se 186 Nicholson StreetFitzroy3065MelbourneA96/975020Victorian Aboriginal Child Car 34 Wurruk AvenuePreston3072BatmanA96/976759Victorian Relief Committee 134 Jeffcott StreetWest Melbourne3003MelbourneG96/972388Anglican Emergency Food Group Ford StreetWangaratta3677IndiG96/9760958Warrandyte Housing and Support 19 Harris Gully RoadWarrandyte3113MenziesG96/977845Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-op Morgan StreetGeelong North3215CorioA96/975067 Waverley Benevolent Society InGlen Waverley3150BruceG96/9722279Wesley Community Contact Centr 291a Maroondah HighwayRingwood3134DeakinG96/9784567West Gippsland Hospital—Comm Landsborough RoadWarragul3820McMillanG96/9716035West Wimmera Health Service 49 Nelson StreetNhill3418MalleeG96/976321Western Highlands Health Servi 13 Hospital StreetDaylesford3460BallaratG96/977555The Uniting Church In Australi 755 Ferntree Gully RoadWheelers HILL3150BruceG96/9710001City Of Whitehorse (Nunawading 379 Whitehorse RoadNunawading3131DeakinG96/9723535Wonthaggi and District Hospita Graham StreetWonthaggi3995GippslandG96/9726424Yarram and District Health Ser 85 Commercial RoadYarram3971GippslandG96/972000Yarrawonga Community Health Ce Piper StreetYarrawonga3730IndiG96/9713269Aborigines Advancement League 2 Watt StreetThornbury3071BatmanA96/978866Australian Greek Welfare Socie 7 Union StreetBrunswick3056MelbourneG96/9710406Australian Polish Community Se 51 Pickett StreetFootscray3011GellibrandG96/973102 Bairnsdale Regional Health Ser 115 Main StreetBairnsdale3875GippslandG96/9730050Kew/Hawthorn Information and S 614 Glenferrie RoadHawthorn3122KooyongG96/9738248Northern Metropolitan Migrant 182 Widford StreetBroadmeadows3047CalwellG96/976515CareForce Inner East 2A Chelmsford StreetGreythorn3104KooyongG96/979445St John's Care-Force Family Se 239 Murray RoadPreston3072BatmanG96/973638Caroline Chisholm Society 41 Park StreetMoonee PONDS3039WillsG96/9710101Melbourne Citymission Inc—Ho 472 Nicholson StreetFitzroy North3068MelbourneG96/975570Moorabbin Benevolent Society I2/7 Marriot RoadMoorabbin3189GoldsteinG96/9717727City Of Moonee Valley (Essendo Pascoe Vale RoadMoonee Ponds3039WillsG96/9795480City of Port Phillip (South MeSouth Melbourne3205Melbourne PortsG96/9720826Whitehorse Benevolent Society 18 Sussex StreetBlackburn3130DeakinG96/9710326Broadmeadows Craigieburn CommuBroadmeadows3047CalwellG96/975247Dandenong and District Aborigi 64 Stud RoadDandenong3175HoltA96/9715799Dandenong Community Advisory B Lonsdale StreetDandenong3175HoltG96/9744912Northcote Citizens Advice Bure 436 High StreetNorthcote3070BatmanG96/9720487Anglicare Victoria—Dixon Hou 2 Dixon StreetClayton3168ChisholmG96/975130East Preston Community HealthReservoir East3073BatmanG96/9716478Echuca Combined Welfare Servic1 4 Francis StreetEchuca3564MurrayG96/979938Goolum Goolum Aboriginal Co-op 143 Baillie StreetHorsham3400MalleeA96/972199Hanover Moorabbin 11 Central AvenueSouth Melbourne3205Melbourne PortsG96/9716773Heidelberg Emergency Housing G 44 Turnham AvenueRosanna3084JagajagaG96/976048Gannawarra Neighbourhood House Burgoyne StreetKerang3579MurrayG96/9713107Bayside Support & Info Service 12 Katoomba StreetMoorabbin3189GoldsteinG96/9712772Gippsland Southern Health Serv Bridge RoadKorumburra3950GippslandG96/976826Lakes Entrance Community Healt 18-26 Jemmeson StreetLakes Entrance3909GippslandG96/9720136Gippsland Southern Health Serv Koonwarra RoadLeongatha3953GippslandG96/979151Maltese Community Council of V 477 Royal ParadeParkville3052MelbourneG96/973847Melbourne Citymission Inc—Me 472 Nicholson StreetFitzroy North3068MelbourneG96/9714218Coburg Citizens Advice Bureau 80 Bell StreetCoburg3058WillsG96/9752067Murray Valley Aboriginal Co-op Latje RoadRobinvale3549MalleeA96/974760Njernda Aboriginal Co-op 1 Law Court PlaceEchuca3564MurrayA96/971626Port Melbourne Baptist Church 82 Ross StreetPort Melbourne3207Melbourne PortsG96/971363Seventh Day Adventist Church 5 Railway ParadeUpper Ferntree Gully3156La TrobeG96/9724264Melton Shire Council 232 High StreetMelton3337BurkeG96/9734761Shire Of Moorabool (Bacchus Ma 15 Stead StreetBallan3342BallaratG96/9725867 Shire of Mount Alexander (City 25 Lyttleton StreetCastlemaine3450BendigoG96/970Shire of the Pyrenees (Avoca) Rutherford StreetAvoca3467BallaratG96/972712Shire of the Pyrenees (Ripon) Lawrence StreetBeaufort3373WannonG96/972712South Western Community Care C Robinson StreetCamperdown3260WannonG96/979039 South Western Community Care H 118 Brown StreetHamilton3300WannonG96/977288South Western Community Care P 63 Percy StreetPortland3305WannonG96/973755South Central Region Migrant R 6 Atherton RoadOakleigh3166ChisholmG96/979482Rosebud Community Support & In 787 Point Nepean RoadRosebud3939FlindersG96/9752938St Lukes Family Care 31 McKenzie StreetBendigo3550BendigoG96/9723204St Philips Anglican Church Hei 8 Leonard StreetHeidelberg West3081JagajagaG96/9710032Shire of Strathbogie (Euroa) Binney StreetEuroa3666IndiG96/972233Swan Hill and Disctrict Aborig 79B Chapman StreetSwan Hill3585MalleeA96/973019Turkish Women's Association of 315 Barry RoadCampbellfield3061CalwellG96/9711632Uniting Church Plenty Corridor 6 Spring StreetThomastown3074ScullinG96/972358Uniting Church Plenty Corridor Forest StreetWhittlesea3757McEwenG96/973400Uniting Church Outreach Centre 105 Dana StreetBallarat3350BallaratG96/9778095Victorian Aboriginal Legal Ser 6 Alexandra ParadeFitzroy3065MelbourneA96/975020Vietnamese Community In Austra 131B Hopkins StreetFootscray3011GellibrandG96/973183Vietnamese Community In Austra 240 Wellington StreetCollingwood3066MelbourneG96/975019Banyule Community Health ServiHeidelberg West3081JagajagaG96/9725371Wimmera Community Care (Horsha 185 Baillie StreetHorsham3400MalleeG96/9718925Wimmera Community Care Stawell 14 Sloane StreetStawell3380BallaratG96/9725246Winchelsea Emergency Relief Fu 22 Hesse StreetWinchelsea3241CorangamiteG96/9713169Winda Mara Aboriginal Corp 21 Scott StreetHeywood3304WannonA96/973217Wombat Accommodation Services 14 Epsom RoadKensington3031MelbourneG96/974346La Trobe Community Health Serv 42-44 Fowler StreetMoe3825McMillanG96/9727214Community Information WhittlesEpping3076ScullinG96/970Cobram Community House 43 Punt RoadCobram3644MurrayG96/970Ovens Valley Churches Welfare 32 Smith StreetMyrtleford3737IndiG96/970Williamstown Pastoral CounsellWilliamstown3016GellibrandG96/970QLD139 Club Incorporated 505 Brunswick StreetFortitude Valley4006BrisbaneA96/9718824139 Club Incorporated 505 Brunswick StreetFortitude Valley4006BrisbaneG96/970Aboriginal & Islander Child Ca 29 Burke StreetWoolloongabba4102BrisbaneA96/975085Aboriginal & Islander Communit 10 Hubert StreetWoolloongabba4102BrisbaneA96/9711627Aboriginal & Torres Strait Isl 37 Milton StreetMackay4740DawsonA96/9719100Aboriginal & Torres Strait Isl 37 Milton StreetMackay4740DawsonG96/970Aboriginal & Torres Strait Isl 28 West StreetMt Isa4825KennedyA96/9710557 Aboriginal Corporation for Mal 8 Plum StreetTully4854KennedyA96/974456Acacia Ridge Community Support 48 Mannington RoadAcacia RIDGE4110RankinG96/9720665ACRO 40-44 George StreetBrisbane4000BrisbaneG96/9710926Adcare (Adventist Community Se 15/250 Kingston RoadSlacks Creek4127RankinG96/9710030Adcare Community Services 15 London StreetEight Mile Plains4123MoretonG96/9728580Adcare South-Side Community Ch 3359 Mt Lindsay HighwayBrowns Plains4118RankinG96/9715811Albert & Logan Housing Hotline 2 Burrigan StreetWoodridge4114RankinG96/977801Ang-Gnarra Aboriginal Corporat 0 Peninsula Development RoadLaura4871LeichhardtA96/978829Anglican Church Winton 72 Cork StreetWinton4735KennedyG96/974319Anglicare Brisbane 874 Ann StreetFortitude Valley4006LilleyG96/977912Aspley Care Con fidentialAspley4034LilleyG96/9712775Bama-Ngappi-Ngappi Aboriginal 28 Workshop StreetYarrabah4865LeichhardtA96/975764Noosa Baptist Church 215 Weyba RoadNoosaville4566FairfaxG96/977360Beenleigh Catholic Care and Co 70 Tobrook StreetBeenleigh4207FordeG96/9722428Beenleigh Uniting Church 32-50 Mt Warren BoulevardMt Warren Park4207FordeG96/9722456Bethania Lutheran Family Suppo 3 Church RoadBethania4205FordeG96/9722428Biddi Biddi Community Advancem 20 Jack StreetAtherton4883KennedyA96/977148Biloela Careforce 79 Kariboe StreetBiloela4715HinklerG96/9715003 Blair Athol Homeless Persons P 93 Golden Four DriveBilinga4225McPhersonG96/9715821Bohlevale District Community C 88 Veale RoadCordelia Estate4818HerbertG96/9710299Booval Community Service 2 North Station RoadBooval4304OxleyG96/9730113Bowen Community Council Incorp 20 Williams StreetBowen4805DawsonG96/9710046Bribie Island Neighbourhood Ce 9 Verdoni StreetBellara4507LongmanG96/9723381Brisbane City Mission (Ipswich1 Marsden ParadeIpswich4305OxleyG96/9717023Brisbane Migrant Resource Cent 126 Boundary StreetWest End4101BrisbaneG96/9718580Brisbane South Community Care 322 Wecker RoadMansfield4122GriffithG96/972619Brisbane Valley Care & Concern 12 Russell StreetEsk4312LongmanG96/979149Brisbane Youth Service 836 Brunswick StreetNew Farm4005BrisbaneG96/9724517Bundaberg & District Women's C- ConfidentialBundaberg4670HinklerG96/978687Bundaberg A&TSI Housing & Adva 53 Woongarra StreetBundaberg4670HinklerG96/970Bundaberg Housing Action Group 8 Woongarra StreetBundaberg4670HinklerG96/979911Burdekin Community Association 144 Young StreetAyr4807DawsonG96/977999Burragah Aboriginal & Islander 25 Jacaranda AvenueWoodridge4114RankinA96/9710062Bynoe Community Advancement Co 0 Matilda StreetNormanton4890KennedyA96/9713927Bynoe Community Advancement Co 0 Matilda StreetNormanton4890KennedyG96/970Caboolture Community Care Inco 8 King StreetCaboolture4510LongmanG96/9757064 Caloundra & District A&TSI Cor 60 Bullock StreetCaloundra4551FisherA96/9718428Caloundra & District A&TSI Cor 60 Bullock StreetCaloundra4551FisherG96/970Caloundra Baptist Community We 5 Caloundra RoadCaloundra4551FisherG96/9723727Caloundra Community Centre Inc 78 Buderim StreetCurrimund i4551FisherG96/9718755Camooweal Hospital FundCamooweal4828KennedyG96/974986Cardwell Shire Community Suppo 54 Bryant StreetTully4854KennedyG96/974642CARE Goondiwindi 52 Marshall StreetGoondiwindi4390MaranoaG96/9712536Care Services Incorporated 0 McGinn RoadFerny Grove4055DicksonG96/9714443Careforce Longreach Magpie LaneLongreach4730KennedyG96/971621Careforce Moura 20 Gilchrist StreetMoura4718CapricorniaG96/974790Cathay Club 31 Duncan StreetFortitude Valley4006BrisbaneG96/976202Catholic Church of St Clares 0 McQuillan StreetTully4854KennedyG96/973769Centacare—Townsville 22-26 Ingham RoadWest End (Townsville)4810HerbertG96/9728562Centacare Cairns 193 Abbott StreetCairns4870LeichhardtG96/9774485Central West Aboriginal Corpor 82 Ash StreetBarcaldine4725KennedyG96/970Centre Education Programme Inc 108 Mudgee StreetKingston4114FordeG96/979751Charleville Emergency Relief F 41 Alfred StreetCharleville4470MaranoaG96/977020Cherbourg Community Council 0 Barambah AvenueCherbourg4605Wide BayG96/970Chermside Anglican Welfare Min 501 Hamilton RoadChermside4032PetrieG96/977830Childers Christian Ministers F 24 Macrossan StreetChilders4660HinklerG96/978464Chinchilla Family Support Cent 7 Mayne StreetChinchilla4413MaranoaG96/9711212Chjowai Housing Cooperative So 18 McGowan DriveInnisfail4860KennedyA96/9719715Chjowai Housing Cooperative So 18 McGowan DriveInnisfail4860KennedyG96/970Christian Outreach Resource Ce 0 Kiel Mountain RoadWoombye4559FairfaxG96/977001Clermont Emergency Accommodati 49 Capella StreetClermont4721CapricorniaG96/977226COASIT Italian Australian Welf 50 Water StreetSpring Hill4000BrisbaneG96/974722Community Action in Carole Par 12 Southampton RoadCarole Park4300OxleyG96/9714536Community Centreplace Incorpor 24 Lawrence StreetGympie4570Wide BayG96/9717857Community Development Services 8 Corundum StreetStanthorpe4380MaranoaG96/9718472Community Emergency Support Ce Cnr Morey & Morehead StreetSouth Townsville4810HerbertG96/9733955Cooktown & District Family Res Cnr Furneaux & Charlotte StreCooktown4871LeichhardtG96/9710027Cooper Aboriginal Housing Corp 0 Victoria StreetWindorah4481MaranoaA96/97804Cooper Aboriginal Housing Corp 0 Victoria StreetWindorah4481MaranoaG96/970Crestmead Community Centre Gilmet StreetCrestmead4132RankinG96/9713931 Crisis Accommodation & Support 18 Gordon StreetMackay4740DawsonG96/9712988 Crisis Food Care 855 Logan RoadHolland PARK4121GriffithG96/972619Cunnamulla Community Support G 59 Stockyard StreetCunnamulla4490MaranoaG96/975267Deception Bay Neighbourhood Ce 24 Endeavour StreetDeception Bay4508PetrieG96/9718885Doomadgee Aboriginal Community 0 Sharpe StreetDoomadgee4830KennedyA96/973294Downs Aborigines & Islander Co 5 Bowen StreetToowoomba4350GroomA96/978202Dundalli Aboriginal & Torres S 161 Newmarket RoadWilston4051BrisbaneA96/978521Eacham Community Help Organisa 46 Patrick StreetMalanda4885KennedyG96/977258Eagleby Care Association 0 Cowper AvenueEagleby4207FordeG96/9715324Eidsvold Aboriginal Housing & 50 Moreton StreetEidsvold4627HinklerA96/978067Emerald & District Social Deve 17 Yamala StreetEmerald4720MaranoaG96/9714842Emergency & Long Term Accommod 9 Griffen StreetMoranbah4744CapricorniaG96/971753Family Emergency Accommodation 201 Campbell StreetRockhampton4700CapricorniaG96/9758053Filipino Australian Community 0 Leopard StreetKangaroo Point4169BrisbaneG96/973313Gargarthu Aboriginal Corporati 192 Boomerang StreetDoomadgee4830KennedyA96/974941Gatton Uniting Church Cnr Maitland & Spencer StreetGatton4343GroomG96/9718539Gin Gin Ministers Fraternal c/- 75 Mulgrave StreetGin Gin4671HinklerG96/975957Girudala Community Co-operativ 50 George StreetBowen4805DawsonG96/977171Gladstone Aboriginal and Islan 25 Tank StreetGladstone4680HinklerA96/977304Gladstone City Council Communi 105 Toolooa StreetGladstone4680HinklerG96/9718834Gold Coast Youth Service Inc. 15 Oak AvenueMiami4220McPhersonG96/9717522Goobidi Bamanga Community Adva 7 Johnson RoadMossman4873LeichhardtA96/9715575Good Shepherd Lutheran Church 152 Belmont RoadTingalpa4173GriffithG96/9720251Good Shepherd Parish 17 Stanley StreetMt Isa4825KennedyG96/975735Goodna Anglican Welfare Minist 73 Alice StreetGoodna4301OxleyG96/9713384Goodna Youth Accommodation Ser 11 William StreetGoodna4300OxleyG96/9710038Graham House 21 Taylor StreetMurgon4605Wide BayG96/9710899Grapples Community Centre 5 Thomas StreetChermside4032LilleyG96/976797Greek Welfare Centre 36 Browning StreetSouth Brisbane4101BrisbaneG96/972825Gympie Widgee Youth Services 79 Mellor StreetGympie4570Wide BayG96/9718356Helensvale and District Baptis 23 Discovery DriveHelensvale4210FaddenG96/979258Hinchinbrook Aboriginals and I 2 Gedge StreetIngham4850KennedyA96/974010Hinchinbrook Community Support 71 Townsville RoadIngham4850KennedyG96/9713745Holy Rosary Supportive Accommo 100 Hoskins StreetSandgate4017LilleyA96/977806Housing Action Group Maryborou 273 Kent StreetMaryborough4650Wide BayG96/9711743Housing Resource Service 158 Margaret StreetToowoomba4350GroomG96/9710769 Hughenden Community Care Assoc 0 Resolution StreetHughenden4821KennedyG96/97571Inglewood Community Welfare Gr 0 Cnr Albert & Princess StreetInglewood4387MaranoaG96/972676Innisfail Youth & Family Care 16 Danelle StreetInnisfail4860KennedyG96/9715357Ipswich Community Aid Incorpor Cnr South & Nicholas StreetIpswich4305OxleyG96/9730113Ipswich Ministers Fraternal Brisbane StreetIpswich4305OxleyG96/9716730Jena Boran Aboriginal and Torr. Lyons StreetMundubbera4626Wide BayA96/974034Jimberella Cooperative Society 0 Mark StreetDajarra4825KennedyA96/973750Kabi Kabi Aboriginal Corporati 170 Alexandia ParadeAlexandra Headlands4558FisherA96/977600Kalwun Development Corporation 1/30 Lawrence DriveNerang4211MoncrieffA96/978692Kalyan Youth Service Incorpora 4-6 Park StreetMackay4740DawsonG96/9715947King's Christian Centre 70 Gemvale RoadReedy Creek4228McPhersonG96/9714097Kingston East Neighbourhood Gr 177 Meakin RoadSlacks Creek4127FordeG96/9713513Koobara Aboriginal & Islander 0 Beckman StreetZillmere4034LilleyG96/970Kootana Women's Centre 0 Mango AvenuePalm Island4816HerbertA96/9711056Korrawinga Aboriginal Corporat 4/352 The EsplanadeScarness4655Wide BayA96/977142Krurungal Aboriginal & Torres 11 5th AvenuePalm Beach4221McPhersonA96/979809Krurungal Aboriginal & Torres 11 5th AvenuePalm Beach4221McPhersonG96/970 Laidley Shire Community Care A13 Mary StreetLaidley4341LongmanG96/9716312Lifeline Brisbane 16 Hamilton PlaceBowen Hills4006BrisbaneG96/9733586Lifeline Darling Downs & South 5 Mill StreetToowoomba4350GroomG96/9744616Lifeline Maryborough/Hervey Ba Cnr Alice & Bazaar StreetMaryborough4650Wide BayG96/975843Link Up 1 Mary StreetKingston4114RankinG96/978080Logan and District R.S.L. Sub-44-46 Blackwood RoadWoodridge4114RankinG96/975572Logan Central Community Inform Jacaranda AvenueWoodridge4114RankinG96/9718249Logan City Migrant Neighbourho 168-170 Wembley RoadWoodridge4114RankinG96/979194Logan Community Church Cupania StreetDaisy Hill4127FaddenG96/978271Logan East Community Neighbour 99 Cinderella DriveSpringwood4127FaddenG96/978303Mackay Coloured Cooperative So 60 Victoria StreetMackay4740DawsonG96/970Mackay South Pacific Islanders 7 Morley StreetSouth Mackay4740DawsonG96/970Macleay Island Community Servi 0 High Central RoadMacleay Island4184FaddenG96/976547Magani Malu Kes Resource & Inf 458-468 Flinders StreetTownsville4810HerbertA96/973210Mareeba Information & Support 199 Walsh StreetMareeba4880KennedyG96/9712018Marsden Homes For BoysKallangur4503Dickson96/9744159Maryborough Aboriginal Corpora 115 March StreetMaryborough4650Wide BayG96/970Maybanke Association IncorporaCapalaba4157BowmanG96/9722628Migrant Women's Emergency Supp 59 Baynes StreetWest End4101BrisbaneG96/973777 Ministers Fraternal Warwick Cnr Albion & Grafton StreetWarwick4370MaranoaG96/9718233Mitakoodi Aboriginal Housing C 12 Ramsay StreetCloncurry4824KennedyA96/978255Mitchell Aboriginal Housing Co 46 Cambridge StreetMitchell4465MaranoaA96/972444Monto Community Development Co 7 Huxley StreetMonto4630HinklerG96/9711742Mooraridgi Community Advanceme 164 Walsh StreetMareeba4880KennedyA96/9710662Moranbah Ministers Fraternal Belyando AvenueMoranbah4744CapricorniaG96/971239Moungibi Housing Cooperative S 5 Bowen StreetBurketown4830KennedyA96/973115Mt Gravatt District Community 1693 Logan RoadUpper Mt Gravatt4122MoretonG96/9734989Mt Isa Aboriginal & Islander C 13 Fifth AvenueMt Isa4825KennedyA96/978682Mt Isa Family Support Service 14A Hilary StreetMt Isa4825KennedyG96/974986Mt Morgan Aboriginal Corporati 55 Morgan StreetMt Morgan4714CapricorniaA96/972088Mudth-Niyleta Aboriginal & Tor 35 Central StreetSarina4737DawsonA96/9713829Mundubbera Care Committee 28 Lyons StreetMundubbera4626Wide BayG96/977865Mura Kosker Sorority Inc. 148 Douglas StreetThursday Island4875LeichhardtA96/9720124Murilla Community Centre Incor 64 Murilla StreetMiles4415MaranoaG96/979004Murrie Care Aboriginal & Torre 4 Church StreetWest End4810HerbertA96/976022Murrie Evangelical Baptists 38 Brisbane RoadDinmore4303OxleyA96/9715789Murrumba Aboriginal Housing Co 8 Stuart StreetDalby4405MaranoaA96/975263Musgrave Park Aboriginal Corpo 32 Hope StreetSouth Brisbane4102BrisbaneA96/978830N.P.A. Women's Shelter Lower Lui StreetBamaga4876LeichhardtA96/972565Neighbourhood Centre Hervey Ba 57 Taylor StreetPialba4655Wide BayG96/9745350WUNYA AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL CO 12 Ascot StreetCaboolture4510LongmanA96/979872Ngoonbi Co-operative Society L 0 Condoo StreetKuranda4872LeichhardtA96/978819North Queensland Aboriginal & 1/3 Barlow StreetSouth Townsville4810HerbertA96/978255North Queensland Combined Wome 50 Patrick StreetAitkenvale4814HerbertG96/979410North Queensland Domestic Viol Cnr Sturt & Stanley StreetTownsville4810HerbertG96/972700North Queensland Prisoners' Ai Cnr Morey & Morehead StreetSouth Townsville4810HerbertG96/975992Our Lady of the Way Care & Con 0 Armstrong StreetPetrie4502DicksonG96/9720030Petford Training Farm Aborigin 0 Emuford RoadPetford4872KennedyA96/973099Polonia Polish Association of 10 Marie StreetMilton4064BrisbaneG96/974811Port Douglas Community Service 58 Mudlo StreetPort Douglas4871LeichhardtG96/977305Pregnancy & Family Support Ass 37 Connor StreetBurleigh Heads4220McPhersonG96/9719589Presentation Family Support Ce 29 Beauvardia StreetCannon Hill4170GriffithG96/9716297 Prison Transport Group Incorpo 243 Edward StreetBrisbane4000BrisbaneG96/974395Queensland Aids Council Incorp 3070 Gold Coast HighwaySurfers Paradise QLD4217MoncrieffG96/9713841Queensland Aids Council Incorp 32 Peel StreetSouth Brisbane4101BrisbaneG96/9712235Queensland Aids Council Incorp 0 Lake StreetCairns QLD4870LeichhardtG96/9710027Queensland Housing Crisis Line Railway TerraceMilton4064BrisbaneG96/977660Queensland Youth Services Inco 0 Flinders MallTownsville4810HerbertG96/9710800Quilpie Emergency Relief Progr 34 Quarrion StreetQuilpie4480MaranoaG96/971629Ravenshoe Community Centre 5 Moore StreetRavenshoe4872KennedyG96/979228Red Hill Paddington Community 180 Jubilee TerracePaddington4064BrisbaneG96/976876Redcliffe Welfare Council Inco 6 Ella StreetRedcliffe4020PetrieG96/9743698Redland Community Centre Incor 29 Loraine StreetCapalaba4157BowmanG96/9730023Richmond Community Care Associ 0 Carter StreetRichmond4822KennedyG96/971155Roma & District Community Supp Cnr Bowen & Quintin StreetRoma4455MaranoaG96/9716374Ruth's Women's Shelter Incorpo ConfidentialCairns4870LeichhardtG96/9713608Sisters of St Joseph 23 Tasman TerraceEagleby4207FordeG96/978498Society of St Vincent de PaulDeception Bay4508PetrieG96/9716023Society of St Vincent de PaulMargate4019PetrieG96/9720712Society of St Vincent de PaulSouth Brisbane4101BrisbaneG96/9748939Society of St Vincent de PaulBundaberg4670HinklerG96/9724373Society of St Vincent de PaulGoodna4300OxleyG96/978977Society of St Vincent de PaulCharters Towers4820KennedyG96/975285Society of St Vincent de PaulDalby4405MaranoaG96/9716684Society of St Vincent de PaulInnisfail4860KennedyG96/972684Society of St Vincent de PaulMackay4740DawsonG96/9710187Society of St Vincent de PaulMount Isa4825KennedyG96/976733Society of St Vincent de PaulProserpine4800DawsonG96/972079Society of St Vincent de Paul PO Box 873Runaway Bay4216FaddenG96/9715313Society of St Vincent de PaulToowoomba4350GroomG96/9740000Society of St Vincent de PaulTownsville4810HerbertG96/973600Society of St Vincent de PaulCairns4870LeichhardtG96/9716473Society of St Vincent de PaulGympie4570Wide BayG96/979085Society of St Vincent de PaulLowood4311LongmanG96/9710487Society of St Vincent de PaulMaroochydore4558FisherG96/9752895Society of St Vincent de PaulSouthport4215MoncrieffG96/9745883Society of St Vincent de PaulSt George4487MaranoaG96/973029Society of St Vincent de PaulTully4854KennedyG96/971654Society of St Vincent de PaulWoodridge4114RankinG96/9720339Society of St Vincent de PaulHome Hill4806DawsonG96/974023Society of St Vincent de PaulNerang4211MoncrieffG96/9712456Society of St Vincent de PaulTugun4224McPhersonG96/9735187Society of St Vincent de PaulYeppoon4703CapricorniaG96/9718111Society of St Vincent de PaulCoorparoo4151GriffithG96/9713148Society of St Vincent de PaulIngham4850KennedyG96/972815Society of St Vincent de PaulMaryborough4650Wide BayG96/9718724Society of St Vincent de PaulInala4077RankinG96/9714665 Society of St Vincent de PaulLilleyG96/9717171Society of St Vincent de PaulToowong4066RyanG96/974493Society of St Vincent de PaulVictoria POINT4165FaddenG96/9714986South West Queensland Aborigin 48 Stockyard StreetCunnamulla4490MaranoaA96/975512St George Aboriginal Housing C 90 The TerraceSt George4487MaranoaA96/973029St Hugh's Emergency Relief Age 105 Poinsettia StreetInala4077RankinG96/9734221St Joseph's Caring Committee 11 Kelly StreetPoint Vernon4655Wide BayG96/9722004 St Mark's Anglican Church Welf 4 Boronia AvenueSlacks Creek4127FaddenG96/9715154St Mary's Catholic Care & Conc 24 Anna StreetBeaudesert4285FordeG96/9723264St Mary's Catholic Church 23 Milne StreetTara4221MaranoaG96/979501St Mary's Parish Kingaroy 15 Albert StreetKingaroy4610FisherG96/9711368Sunnybank Family Support Incor 58 Gager StreetSunnybank4109MoretonG96/9710000Sunshine Coast Lions Emergency 16 Carroll StreetNambour4560FairfaxG96/9738412Sunshine Coast Youth & Family 135 Duporth AvenueMaroochydore4558FisherG96/9745376Surfers Paradise Anglican Cris 36 Hamilton AvenueSurfers Paradise4217MoncrieffG96/9725563Tableland Neighbourhood & Info 38 Mabel StreetAtherton4883KennedyG96/979919Tablelands Women's Centre Inco 15 Beatrice StreetAtherton4883KennedyG96/979919Tamborine Mountain Retirement 0 Dapsang DriveEagle Heights4271FordeG96/973622Tharpuntoo Legal Service 7 Sheridan StreetCairns4870LeichhardtA96/977184The Community Service Committe 81 Charlotte StreetWynnum4178BowmanG96/9714841The Neighbourhood Centre Incor 38 Thallon StreetSherwood4075RyanG96/9714746The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 40 Hodgkinson StreetCharters Towers4820KennedyG96/975946The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 0 Main StreetAtherton4883KennedyG96/979919The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 13 Arthur StreetBlackwater4717CapricorniaG96/978295The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 82 Lower King StreetCaboolture4510LongmanG96/9758208The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 9 Coorong StreetWurtulla4575FisherG96/9720454The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 15 Caledonian HillGympie4570Wide BayG96/9716949The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 83 Inala AvenueInala4077RankinG96/9713154The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 1 Galvin StreetLawnton4501DicksonG96/9728765The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 26 Doonella StreetTewantin4565FairfaxG96/9731175The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope Queen StreetAyr4807DawsonG96/977999The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 72 Woondooma StreetBundaberg4670HinklerG96/9738116The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 198 Goondoon StreetGladstone4680HinklerG96/9725796The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 14 Ellenborough StreetIpswich4305OxleyG96/9726767The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 7 First AvenueMaroochydore4558FisherG96/9713650The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 100 Bazaar StreetMaryborough4650Wide BayG96/9718890 The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 5—7 Hoben StreetMitchelton4053DicksonG96/9710397The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 165 Currie StreetNambour4560FairfaxG96/9731175The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope Cnr Price & Water StreetNerang4211MoncrieffG96/9757349The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 262 Denison StreetRockhampton4700CapricorniaG96/9729271The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope Chapel Street & Sandgate RoadNundah4012LilleyG96/9718925The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 21 Bay StreetSouthport4215MoncrieffG96/9799681The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 342 Upper Roma StreetBrisbane4000BrisbaneG96/9748833The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 15 Pelican StreetLongreach4730KennedyG96/976500The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 4 Little High StreetBoonah4310FordeG96/978920The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 5/41 Station RoadWoodridge4114RankinG96/9723821The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 48 Gregory StreetMackay4740DawsonG96/9710187The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope Gregory StreetBowen4805DawsonG96/978228The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 107 Akonna StreetWynnum4178BowmanG96/9731536The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope Cnr Montague & Ellis StreetStones Corner4120GriffithG96/9719286The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 2 Snell StreetToowoomba4350GroomG96/9728818The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope Walker StreetTownsville4810HerbertG96/9715750The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope 50 Guy StreetWarwick4370MaranoaG96/9718233The Salvation Army (Qld) Prope KP Morgrath Drive & Kalam CouElanora4221McPhersonG96/9716040The Salvation Army (Qld) PropeHervey Bay4655Wide BayG96/970Theodore Aboriginal Housing Co The BoulevardTheodore4719CapricorniaA96/974429Tieri Support Group 26 Talagai StreetTieri4709CapricorniaG96/976382Tofa Mamoa A Samoa Samoa Commu 0 McEwan StreetEbbw Vale4304OxleyG96/970Toowoomba & District Youth Ser 201 Hume StreetToowoomba4350GroomG96/979089 Townsville Aboriginal & Island 551-559 Flinders StreetTownsville4810HerbertA96/979630Townsville Womens ShelterTownsville4810HerbertG96/9712150Tugulawa Womens Centre 12 Barnard StreetAitkenvale4814HerbertA96/976589Uniting Church in Australia Gl 19 Pacific AvenueTannum Sands4680HinklerG96/9710076Uniting Church in Australia Na 114 Drayton StreetNanango4615FisherG96/9711247Uniting Church of Australia Sa 116 Board StreetDeagon4017LilleyG96/9714502Upper Mt Gravatt Care & Concer 21 Hoad StreetUpper Mount Gravatt4122MoretonG96/9735026Vietnamese Community in Austra 2079 Ipswich RoadDarra4076RyanG96/976339Wandarrah Neighbourhood Centre 1 Lilac StreetInala4077RankinG96/9713408Warringu Aboriginal & Torres S 48 Winkworth StreetWestcourt4870LeichhardtA96/9714882Warwick Aboriginal Housing Com 76 Locke StreetWarwick4370MaranoaA96/975081 Wee Care Family Incorporated 9 First StreetRailway Estate4810HerbertG96/976913Werne Ngal Karan Aboriginal CoMornington Island4871KennedyA96/975132Wesley Central Mission 140 Ann StreetBrisbane4001BrisbaneG96/9761053Westcourt Youth Centre 5 Hudson StreetKirwan4817HerbertG96/977492Whitsunday Baptist Emergency R Lot 6 Paluma RoadCannonvale4802DawsonG96/974217Whitsunday Community Services 155 Shute Harbour RoadCannonvale4802DawsonG96/9712199Whitsunday Women's Services In 185 Shute Harbour RoadCannonvale4802DawsonG96/9712222Winna-Burra Aboriginal & Islan 91 Bolsover StreetRockhampton4702CapricorniaA96/9714915Winna-Burra Aboriginal & Islan 91 Bolsover StreetRockhampton4702CapricorniaG96/970Winnam Aboriginal and Torres S 124 Florence StreetWynnum4178BowmanA96/976375Winton District Aboriginal Cor 18 Bladensburg StreetWinton4735KennedyA96/972522Women's Information & Referral 230 Mulgrave RoadCairns4870LeichhardtG96/9711459Woolloongabba Neighbourhood Ce 48 Linton StreetKangaroo Point4169BrisbaneG96/978683Woompera Muralug Cooperative S 0 Lake StreetCairns4870LeichhardtA96/9723606Woorabinda Aboriginal CouncilWoorabinda4702CapricorniaA96/9710559Youth & Family Services (Logan 2-4 Rowan StreetSlacks Creek4127FordeG96/9712611Youth Emergency Services Incor 25 Thorne StreetWindsor4030BrisbaneG96/976960Youthlink Cairns Service Provi 35 Severin StreetCairns4870LeichhardtG96/9720770Yumba Community Cooperative So 19 Moran StreetHughenden4821KennedyG96/975852Wakka Wakka Jinda Aboriginal C 8 Capper StreetGayndah4625Wide BayA96/973625Bundaberg Area Youth Service 71 Woongarra StreetBundaberg4670HinklerG96/970Charters Towers Neighbourhood 24 Mill LaneCharters Towers4820KennedyG96/970SAAdcare Adventist Adelaide 82 Angas StreetAdelaide5000AdelaideG96/97554Adcare Adventist Millicent 100 Williams RoadMillicent5280BarkerG96/971993Adcare Adventist Mitcham 123 Edwards StreetMelrose Park5039BoothbyG96/971302Adcare Adventist Modbury 138 Nelson RoadPara Vista5093MakinG96/971993Adcare Adventist Port Adelaide Corner Webb Street & Langham PQueenstown5014Port AdelaideG96/973613Adcare Adventist Prospect 31 Prospect RoadProspect5082AdelaideG96/977309Adcare Nuriootpa 1 Old Kapunda RoadNuriootpa5355WakefieldG96/971359Adelaide Benevolent & Stranger 17 Morialta StreetAdelaide5000AdelaideG96/9747574Adelaide Central Mission—Byr 61-67 Byron PlaceAdelaide5000AdelaideG96/978991Anangu PitjantjatjaraAlice Springs870GreyA96/972791Anglicare SA—Elizabeth 91 Elizabeth WayElizabeth5112BonythonG96/9771760Anglicare SA—Moore St 26 Moore StreetAdelaide5000AdelaideG96/9751827Anglicare SA—Noarlunga 8 Acacia RoadMorphett Vale5162KingstonG96/9789700Anglicans Supporting Aborigina 18 King William RoadAdelaide5000AdelaideA96/979700Association of Ukranians in SA 64-66 Orsmond StreetHindmarsh5007AdelaideG96/972658 Australian Lebanese Women's Or 132 Henley Beach RoadTorrensville5031AdelaideG96/972658Australian Refugee Association 2 Brown StreetWest Croydon5008Port AdelaideG96/9714312Cambodian Australian Associati Corner Trafford & Cowan StreetAngle Park5010Port AdelaideG96/972017 Care & Clothes Centre 8 Aldersay StreetMcLaren Vale5171KingstonG96/975714Ceduna Minister's Fraternal 23 East TerraceCeduna5690GreyG96/970Ceduna/Koonibba Aboriginal HeaCeduna5690GreyA96/978753Chinese Welfare Services of SA 122 Gouger StreetAdelaide5000AdelaideG96/973787Christian Care & Share Inc (Mt 2 Hawthorne RoadMount Barker5251MayoG96/9710766Church of Christ Community Car 63 Sturt RoadBrighton5048BoothbyG96/9711960Churches of Christ—Community 114 Henley Beach RoadTorrensville5031BoothbyG96/9753155Clare Christian Financial Coun 8 Burton StreetClare5453GreyG96/977018Combined Church Aid Murray Bri Corner Florence & Charles StreMurray Bridge5253WakefieldG96/9732547Combined Churches Welfare FundBerri5343WakefieldG96/9712624Community Care Ascot Parish 5 Barnett AvenueSt Marys5042BoothbyG96/9722031Community Church Aid Renmark 1 Nineteenth StreetRenmark5341WakefieldG96/9717276Comserve Riverland Inc 31 Vaughan TerraceBerri5343WakefieldG96/977973Coober Pedy Multicultural Comm Hutchinson StreetCoober Pedy5723GreyG96/972718Coordinating Italian Committee 84 Payneham RoadStepney5069SturtG96/977840Davenport Community Council InPort Augusta5700GreyA96/979967Dunjiba Community Council IncPort Augusta5700GreyA96/976844Playford Community FundElizabeth5112BonythonG96/9710081 6Federation of Polish Organisat 2/132 Henley Beach RoadTorrensville5031HindmarshG96/974374Federation of Spanish Speaking 95 Currie StreetAdelaide5000AdelaideG96/972213Gerard Reserve Council IncWinkie5343WakefieldA96/975356Glenelg Parish Uniting Church 92 Jetty RoadGlenelg5045HindmarshG96/9721262Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Gre 195 Victoria SquareAdelaide5000AdelaideG96/974651Greek Orthodox Community of SA 288 Franklin StreetAdelaide5000AdelaideG96/977973Hackney Mission Inc 36 Richmond StreetHackney5069SturtG96/9724983Hungarian Caritas Society in S 82 Osmond TerraceNorwood5067SturtG96/973189Kangaroo Island Ministers' FraParndana5220BarkerG96/972840Loxcare IncLoxton5333WakefieldG96/974795Lutheran Community Care—Luth 309 Prospect RoadBlair Athol5084AdelaideG96/9759521Marion Church of Christ Welfar 887 Marion RoadMitchell Park5043BoothbyG96/9762263Marree Arubunna People's CommiMarree5733GreyA96/973322Migrant Resource Centre of SA 2/132 Henley Beach RoadTorrensville5031AdelaideG96/971631Migrant Resource Centre of SA 2/132 Henley Beach RoadTorrensville5031BonythonG96/971631Migrant Resource Centre of SA 2/132 Henley Beach RoadTorrensville5031KingstonG96/971631Migrant Resource Centre of SA 2/132 Henley Beach RoadTorrensville5031HindmarshG96/971631 Morphett Vale Baptist Church C 130 States RoadMorphett Vale5162KingstonG96/9728571Mt Gambier District Aid SocietMount Gambier5290BarkerG96/971595Mt Gambier and District Unitin 26 Elizabeth StreetMount Gambier5290BarkerG96/976511Nepabunna Community Council InPort Augusta5700GreyA96/975316North East Community Assistanc 489 North East RoadHillcrest5086SturtG96/9753899Northern Metropolitan Aborgina 9 Bayer RoadElizabeth5112BonythonA96/9713739Northern Yorke Peninsula Uniti 26 Taylor StreetKadina5554WakefieldG96/978346Nunkuwarrin Yunti 182 Wakefield StreetAdelaide5000AdelaideA96/975994OARS Adelaide 234 Sturt StreetAdelaide5000AdelaideG96/9721262OARS Berri 1 Trenamen CrescentBerri5343WakefieldG96/971329OARS Mt Gambier 33 Percy StreetMount Gambier5290BarkerG96/972193OARS Murray Bridge 7th StreetMurray Bridge5253BarkerG96/973216OARS Noarlunga 87a Dyson RoadChristies Beach5165KingstonG96/9710631OARS Port Augusta 12 Jervois StreetPort Augusta5700GreyG96/978644OARS Port Lincoln 27 Edinburgh StreetPort Lincoln5606GreyG96/975442OARS Salisbury 63 Commercial RoadSalisbury5108BonythonG96/9713953Pika Wiya Health Service Inc (5 Jervois StreetPort Augusta5700GreyG96/970 Pika Wiya Health Service IncPort Augusta5700GreyA96/970Port Adelaide Central Mission 70 Dale StreetPort Adelaide5015Port AdelaideG96/9710486 4Pt Lincoln Aboriginal Health S 19A Oxford TerracePort Lincoln5606GreyA96/978753Pt Pirie Central Mission Inc 30 Ellen StreetPort Pirie5540GreyG96/9738804SA Aboriginal Child Care Agenc 29 North TerraceAdelaide5000AdelaideA96/977973SPARK Resource Centre Inc 220 Victoria SquareAdelaide5000AdelaideG96/9727907STARRS Survivors of Torture & 12 Hawker StreetBowden5007AdelaideG96/971484Salisbury Emergency Relief Fun 16 Ann StreetSalisbury5108BonythonG96/9759510Salvation Army Family Support 42-46 Carrington StreetAdelaide5000AdelaideG96/9710795 0Salvation Army Family Support 55 George StreetNorwood5067SturtG96/977973Salvation Army Family Support 473 Torrens RoadWoodville5011Port AdelaideG96/9739867Salvation Army Elizabeth Corner Kincaid & Aylwin StreetElizabeth East5112BonythonG96/9717276Salvation Army Glenelg Byron StreetGlenelg5045HindmarshG96/973322Salvation Army Golden Grove Corner Wynn Vale Drive & EndeaWynn Vale5127MakinG96/971329Salvation Army Ingle Farm Corner Bridge & Maxwell RoadIngle Farm5098BonythonG96/9729236Salvation Army Millicent Bramwell StreetMillicent5280BarkerG96/975382Salvation Army Mt Barker 17A Fletcher RoadMount Barker5251MayoG96/973227Salvation Army Mt Gambier Corner Gray & Wyatt StreetMount Gambier5290BarkerG96/9719933Salvation Army NaracoorteNaracoorte5271BarkerG96/973472Salvation Army Noarlunga 186 Elizabeth RoadMorphett Vale5162KingstonG96/975316Salvation Army Parafield Garde 76 Lavender DriveParafield Gardens5107BonythonG96/9717276 Salvation Army Peterborough Kitchener StreetPeterborough5422GreyG96/972445Salvation Army Port Augusta 18 Jervois StreetPort Augusta5700GreyG96/979302Salvation Army Port Lincoln 41 Marine AvenuePort Lincoln5606GreyG96/975316Salvation Army Port Pirie Florence StreetPort Pirie5540GreyG96/973987Salvation Army Renmark 109 Renmark AvenueRenmark5341WakefieldG96/971993Salvation Army Semaphore Exmouth RoadGlanville5015Port AdelaideG96/973322Salvation Army Tea Tree Gully 1015 North East RoadModbury5092MakinG96/971329Salvation Army Victor Harbor Corner Crozier RoadVictor Harbor5211BarkerG96/972658Salvation Army Whyalla Vicount Slim AvenueWhyalla Norrie5608GreyG96/9718524Serbian Community of SA Inc 2/132 Henley Beach RoadTorrensville5031HindmarshG96/972658South Coast Christian Communit Seaview RoadVictor Harbor5211BarkerG96/9710863South East Anglican CommunityMount Gambier5290BarkerG96/977941Southern Urgency Relief Fund (8 Seavista GroveChristies Beach5165KingstonG96/9755725St Petri Lutheran Church Nurio 6 First StreetNuriootpa5355MayoG96/972718St Vincent de Paul Adelaide 202 Franklin StreetAdelaide5000AdelaideG96/975980St Vincent de Paul CroydonCroydon5008AdelaideG96/978904St Vincent de Paul DernancourtDernancourt5075MayoG96/9719933St Vincent de Paul Elizabeth NElizabeth North5113BonythonG96/978564St Vincent de Paul Elizabeth WElizabeth West5113BonythonG96/9719269St Vincent de Paul Flagstaff HFlagstaff Hill5159MayoG96/977973St Vincent de Paul GlenelgGlenelg5045HindmarshG96/975316St Vincent de Paul MaitlandMaitland5573WakefieldG96/971902St Vincent de Paul NoarlungaNoarlunga Centre5168KingstonG96/9710631St Vincent de Paul NorwoodNorwood5067SturtG96/973322St Vincent de Paul SalisburySalisbury5108BonythonG96/9721262St Vincent de Paul StrathalbynStrathalbyn5255BarkerG96/973912St Vincent de Paul WallerooWallaroo5556WakefieldG96/974186St Vincent de Paul WhyallaWhyalla5600GreyG96/9711960St Vincent de Paul YorketownYorketown5576WakefieldG96/971902Tatiara Ministers Fraternal (BBordertown5268BarkerG96/977973Ucare Gawler Inc 67 Murray StreetGawler5118WakefieldG96/9739867 Umoona Community Council Inc (Coober Pedy5723GreyA96/975045Waikerie Intercare IncWaikerie5330WakefieldG96/976644Wesley Uniting Mission Inc 77 Gibson StreetBrompton5007AdelaideG96/9779069Westcare Adelaide 212 Wright StreetAdelaide5000AdelaideG96/9717940Westcare WillungaWillunga5172KingstonG96/975355Whyalla Communicare Inc 15A Barter StreetWhyalla Playford5600GreyG96/9713588Yalata Maralinga Health ServicYalata5690GreyA96/973184WAAlbany Aboriginal Corporation Lot 1 Hanrahan RoadAlbany6330ForrestA96/975992Anglican Church—Newman (St S 1A Hilditch AvenueNewman6753KalgoorlieG96/973335 Anglicare-Busselton (St Mary's Cnr Causeway Rd & Albert StreeBusselton6280ForrestG96/9710589Anglicare—Manjimup 3 Brockman StreetManjimup6258ForrestG96/9712133Anglicare—Mt Barker Albany Hwy, Cnr Nanarup StreeMount Barker6324O'ConnorG96/978153Anglicare—Perth 42 Colin StreetWest Perth6005CurtinG96/9710220 6YMCA 57 Short StreetPerth6000PerthG96/972905Armadale Information & Referra 28 Sexty StreetArmadale6112CanningG96/9720382Bay of Isles 2A Milner StreetEsperance6450KalgoorlieA96/972718Bega Garnbirringu Health Servi 16-22 McDonald StreetKalgoorlie6430KalgoorlieA96/9711203Bishop Raible Co-operative (G) 22 Robinson StreetBroome6725KalgoorlieG96/9727163Bojanning Aboriginal Progress 68 Upland StreetWagin6315O'ConnorA96/971359Bunbury Migrant Resource Group 18 Spencer StreetBunbury6230ForrestG96/974756Cambodian Welfare and Cultural 66 Parry StreetEast Perth6004PerthG96/975435Catholic Migrant Centre 25 Victoria SquarePerth6000PerthG96/9710559Central Midland Aboriginal Pro Padbury StreetMoora6510O'ConnorA96/973368Chilean Welfare Association 79 Stirling StreetPerth6000PerthG96/974076Chung Wah Association Inc 128 James StreetNorthbridge6003PerthG96/975496Citizens Advice Bureau—Bunbu 99 Victoria StreetBunbury6230ForrestG96/976000Citizens Advice Bureau—Midla 1 Old Great Northern HighwayMidland6056PerthG96/9726343City of Melville Citizens Reli Almondbury RoadArdross6153TangneyG96/9710870City of Stirling Welfare Servi Civic PlaceStirling6021StirlingG96/979512City of Wanneroo—Yanchep Com 7 Lagoon DriveYanchep6035MooreG96/9719023City of Wanneroo—Financial C 11 Moolanda BoulevardJoondalup6027CowanG96/9716006Yorganup 44a Picadilly SquarePerth6000PerthA96/975846Co-Assist Inc. 86 Cordelia AvenueCoolbellup6163FremantleG96/9722386Anglicare-Collie Financial Cou 43-49 Steere StreetCollie6225BrandG96/977670Communicare Inc 28 Cecil AvenueCannington6107SwanG96/9740764Congregation of Vietnamese Bud Lot 91 Evandale RoadMarangaroo6064CowanG96/976431Cooinda Association 11 Donnan StreetTammin6409O'ConnorA96/973368Croatian Welfare Association 241 High StreetFremantle6160FremantleG96/976794Daisy House 1 Wade CourtGirrawheen6064CowanG96/9741798Derby Community Church (G) 43-45 Loch StreetDerby6728KalgoorlieG96/978844Esperance Aboriginal Corporati 15-19 Windich StreetEsperance6450KalgoorlieA96/971359Filipino Australian Club of Pe 275 Stirling StreetPerth6000PerthG96/975845Financial Advocacy & Relief Ag 202 Hannan StreetKalgoorlie6430KalgoorlieG96/9736599Foothills Information & Referr 24 Anderson RoadForrestfield6058PearceG96/975026Fremantle Migrant Resource Cen 241 High StreetFremantle6160FremantleG96/9724458Fremantle Wesley Mission Cnr Cantonment & Market StreetFremantle6160FremantleG96/9721362Fremantle Youth Service 7 Quarry StreetFremantle6160FremantleG96/9716985 Friends of Citizens Under Stre 26 Stuart StreetCarnarvon6701KalgoorlieG96/9711210Garl Garl Walbu Ashley StreetDerby6728KalgoorlieA96/9710792GRC—Salvation Army Geraldton 42 Ainsworth StreetGeraldton6530O'ConnorG96/9710870GRC—Fusion (Cameliers Guest 92 Marine TerraceGeraldton6530O'ConnorG96/976794 GRC—Geraldton Resource Centr 180 Marine TerraceGeraldton6530O'ConnorG96/9729406GRC—Salvation Army Shark Bay StreetDenham6537KalgoorlieG96/970Gnowangerup Aboriginal Corpora Lot1099 Aylmore StreetGnowangerup6335O'ConnorA96/972996Goomburrup Aboriginal Corporat 100 Spencer StreetBunbury6230ForrestA96/974970Gosnells District Information 2240 Albany HighwayGosnells6110CanningG96/9739885Granny Spiers Community House 2 Albatross CourtHeathridge6027MooreG96/9741837Greek Welfare Centre 20 Parker StreetPerth6000PerthG96/972038Health Agencies of the YilgarnSouthern Cross6426KalgoorlieG96/973769Hedland Well Women's Centre 2 Leake StreetSouth Hedland6722KalgoorlieG96/977582HOPE—Helping Out People Ever 101 Goderich StreetEast Perth6004PerthG96/9712860Italo Australian Welfare & Cul 209 Fitzgerald StreetPerth6000PerthG96/975435Joorook Ngarni Aboriginal Corp Lot 1740 Kangaroo DriveWyndham6740KalgoorlieA96/976745Karla Aboriginal Corporation 64 Forrest StreetCollie6225BrandA96/972561KERO—St Vincent de Paul, Kar Welcome RoadKarratha6714KalgoorlieG96/974431KERO—Anglican Church, Wickha 33 Herbert WayKarratha6720KalgoorlieG96/974432KERO—Community Health, Karra Warambie RoadKarratha6714KalgoorlieG96/974431KERO—Karratha Womens RefugeKarratha6714KalgoorlieG96/975039KERO—Karratha Youth Housing 7 GOODWIN CloseKarratha6714KalgoorlieG96/974431Katanning Aboriginal Corporati 102 Clive StreetKatanning6317O'ConnorA96/970Katanning Ministers Fraternal 19 Hassell StreetKatanning6317O'ConnorG96/9711542Kellerberrin Family Share & Ca 36 Massingham StreetKellerberrin6410O'ConnorG96/974076Kellerberrin Family Share & Ca 36 Massingham StreetKellerberrin6410O'ConnorA96/972009Koondoola Neighbourhood Centre 4 Tempany WayKoondoola6064CowanG96/972718Kooraminning C'tee of Narrogin 2 Hansard StreetNarrogin6312O'ConnorA96/970Kununurra Neighbourhood House Lot 694 Leichardt StreetKununurra6743KalgoorlieG96/973329Kununurra Parish Council 1 Leichhardt StreetKununurra6743KalgoorlieG96/977119Kuwinywardu Aboriginal Resourc 74 Robinson StreetCarnarvon6701KalgoorlieA96/978153KRERO—St Nicholas Anglican C Council AvenueRockingham6168BrandG96/9717239KRERO—All Saints Kwinana Ang Chisham Ave, Cnr Bickner WayParmelia6167BrandG96/9717239KRERO—Salvation Army, Kwinan 57 Medina AvenueKwinana6167BrandG96/9717239KRERO—Salvation Army, Rockin Read St, Cnr Willmott DriveCooloongup6168BrandG96/9717239Lady Gowrie—Community House 3 Yaralla PlaceKarawara6152SwanG96/976760 Lady Gowrie—Community Advice 249 Abernethy StreetBelmont6104SwanG96/970Living Stone Foundation Inc 57 Murray StreetPerth6000PerthG96/9710559Lockridge Community Centre 39 Diana CrescentBassendean6054PerthG96/9724122Macedonian Social Welfare Cent 51 Albert StreetNorth Perth6006CurtinG96/975435Mandurah Murray Emergency Reli 199 Mandurah TerraceMandurah6210BrandG96/9775815Margaret River Community Resou TUNBRIDGE StreetMargaret River6285ForrestG96/977902Maylands Spiritualist Church 123 Caledonia AvenueMaylands6051PerthG96/9728643Medina Aboriginal Cultural Gro1 3 Leasham WayMedina6167BrandA96/976760Merredin Churches' Fraternal 78 Haig RoadMerredin6415O'ConnorG96/977745Milliya Rumurra Association 78 Broome HighwayBroome6725KalgoorlieA96/9712141Miniarra Resource Agency 387 Darlot StreetMeekatharra6642KalgoorlieA96/9712909Morley Baptist Church 55 Vera StreetMorley6062CowanG96/9724551Mt Barker Aboriginal Progress 10 Montem StreetMount Barker6324O'ConnorA96/972497Ngaanyatjarra—NgaanyatjarraWiluna6646KalgoorlieA96/972698Ngaanyatjarra—Warnan CommuniImage Flat4560KalgoorlieA96/972698Ngaanyatjarra—Papulankutja CWiluna6646KalgoorlieA96/972698Ngaanyatjarra—Tjukurla CommuWiluna6646KalgoorlieA96/972698Ngaanyatjarra—Warakurna CommWiluna6646KalgoorlieA96/972698North Perth Migrant Resource C 66 Angove StreetNorth Perth6006PerthG96/9724458Northam Share and Care (G) 88 Wellington StreetNortham6401PearceG96/9735500 Nyininy Aboriginal Corporation 121 Throssell StreetCollie6225BrandA96/975122Outcare—Robin Clarke Family Nicholson RoadCanning Vale6155CanningG96/9712860Outcare—Casurina Family Supp Orton RoadCasuarina6167BrandG96/9712860Outcare—Perth SupportService 3 Fitzgerald StreetNorthbridge6003PerthG96/9713044Perth Aboriginal Medical Servi 154 Edward StreetPerth6000PerthA96/9754352Perth Asian Community Centre 17 Monger StreetNorthbridge6003PerthG96/976430Perth City Mission—Maddingto 40 Orr StreetMaddington6109CanningG96/970PERO—Port Hedland Reg. Hospi Kingsmill StreetPort Hedland6721KalgoorlieG96/974158PERO—Community Health Centre Colebatch WayPort Hedland6721KalgoorlieG96/974620Rumanian Community of WA StreetPerth6000PerthG96/974093Salvadorean Association of WA 33 Moore StreetEast Perth6004PerthG96/974076Salvation Army—Bunbury 262 Spencer StreetBunbury6230ForrestG96/9727009Salvation Army—Heathridge 36 Christmas AvenueHeathridge6027MooreG96/9718168Salvation Army—Merriwa 29 Jenolan WayMerriwa6030MooreG96/970Salvation Army—Balga 10-18 Lavant WayBalga6061StirlingG96/9725482Salvation Army—Narrogin 13 Doney StreetNarrogin6312O'ConnorG96/9720176Salvation Army Family Welfare 333 William StreetPerth6000PerthG96/9710895 6Salvation Army—Morley 565 Walter RoadMorley6062CowanG96/9728643Bindi BindiOnslow6710KalgoorlieA96/973500Someone Cares 8 Lindsay StreetKalamunda6076PearceG96/9718801Southcare Inc 54 Bickley CrescentManning6152SwanG96/9739885 Southern Agcare Lot 83 Aylmore StreetGnowangerup6335O'ConnorG96/977990Anglican Church—Esperance (S29 Andrew StreetEsperance6450KalgoorlieG96/9710191St Patrick's Care Centre 9 Parry StreetFremantle6160FremantleG96/9721317St Vincent de Paul—Rockingha 3/37 Hurrell StreetRockingham6168BrandG96/9712168St Vincent de Paul—Armadale 13 William StreetArmadale6112CanningG96/976760St Vincent de Paul—Bridgetow Steere StreetBridgetown6255ForrestG96/974756St Vincent de Paul—Gosnells 2337A Albany HighwayGosnells6110CanningG96/974056St Vincent de Paul—Kalgoorli 10 Hare StreetKalgoorlie6430KalgoorlieG96/972853St Vincent de Paul—Maylands 46 Eighth AvenueMaylands6051PerthG96/975846St Vincent de Paul—Mirrabook Cobbler PlaceMirrabook a6061StirlingG96/977599St Vincent de Paul—Morley 23 Napier StreetMorley6062CowanG96/975844St Vincent de Paul—Ocean Ree 3 Sandsnail PlaceOcean Reef6027MooreG96/971754St Vincent de Paul—Redcliffe 16 Towton StreetRedcliffe6104SwanG96/976760Sudbury Community House 30 Chesterfield RoadMirrabook a6061StirlingG96/9712078Sussex Street Community Law Se 29 Sussex StreetVictoria Park East6101SwanG96/9734489Swan Emergency Accommodation Great Eastern HighwayMidland6056PerthG96/974756Swan Emergency—Karnay 3/4 Henry StreetMidland6056PerthA96/970Tambellup Aboriginal Progress 8 Crawford StreetTambellup6320O'ConnorA96/971359Albany Combined Churches StreetAlbany6330ForrestG96/9724292Uniting Aid—Nollamara 19 Monterey StreetNollamara6061StirlingG96/9713671Vietnam Veterans Assoc of WA 219 Railway ParadeMaylands6051PerthG96/972718Vietnamese Community in Wester 164 Lincoln StreetHighgate6003PerthG96/9710522WA Association of Polish Women 33 Eighth AvenueMaylands6051PerthG96/974076Wanneroo Youth Accommodation 10 Lockeville CloseBeldon6027MooreG96/974530Waringarri Aboriginal Associat 717 Mistletoe StreetKununurra6743KalgoorlieA96/976745Wesley Central Mission 283 Murray StreetPerth6000PerthG96/9781837Westcare Family Support Buller RoadDarkan6392O'ConnorG96/975707Wongatha Wonganarra Aboriginal Lot 418 Weld DriveLaverton6440KalgoorlieA96/973125WRG—Zonta HouseMount Pleasant6153TangneyG96/972103WRG—AnawimPerth6000PerthA96/970WRG—Ave MariaHighgate6003PerthG96/971923WRG—ByandaPerth6000PerthG96/971923 WRG—EmmausInglewood6052PerthG96/971923WRG—Esperance Women's RefugeEsperance6450KalgoorlieG96/972113WRG—Hedland Women's RefugePort Hedland6721KalgoorlieG96/974865WRG—KoolkunaMidland6056PerthG96/971923WRG—Lucy Saw Women's RefugeRockingham6168BrandG96/972103WRG—Marnja JarnduBroome6725KalgoorlieA96/970WRG—Mary Smith Night ShelterBentley6102SwanG96/972103WRG—Multicultural ServicesPerth6000PerthG96/971818WRG—NardineVictoria Park6100SwanG96/971818WRG—Narrogin Women's RefugeNarrogin6312O'ConnorG96/971553 WRG—Onslow Women's AboriginaOnslow6710KalgoorlieA96/970WRG—OranaPerth6000PerthG96/971818WRG—Pat Giles RefugeHillarys6025MooreG96/974156WRG—Pat Thomas HouseMandurah6210BrandG96/972275WRG—Salvation Army KarrathaKarratha6714KalgoorlieG96/973506WRG—South West RefugeBunbury6230ForrestG96/972275WRG—Starrick HouseGosnells6110CanningG96/972103WRG—Stirling Women's RefugeNollamara6061StirlingG96/971818WRG—Waminda Womens Refuge StreetNortham6401PearceG96/972718WRG—Wonthella House Gerald toGeraldton6530O'ConnorG96/972718WRG—Wyn Carr HouseFremantle6160FremantleG96/972103Wyndham Family Support Service 827 Koolama StreetWyndham6740KalgoorlieG96/976317Bishop Raible Co-operative (A) 22 Robinson StreetBroome6725KalgoorlieA96/970Centacare—Geraldton 116 Durlacher StreetGeraldton6530O'ConnorG96/970Centacare—Exmouth 1 Learmonth StreetExmouth6707O'ConnorG96/970Broken Chains Ministry 189 Clayton StreetBellevue6056PerthG96/970A.S.W.A.—Bunbury Accommodati 8 Stuart StreetBunbury6230ForrestG96/970WAAC—Western Australian Aids 64 Murray StreetWest Perth6005PerthG96/970Damayang Filipino 79 Stirling StreetPerth6000PerthG96/970Derby Neighbourhod Centre Ashley StreetDerby6728KalgoorlieG96/970Derby Community Church (A) 43-45 Loch StreetDerby3516KalgoorlieA96/970GRC—Geraldton Resource Centr 180 Marine TerraceGeraldton6530O'ConnorA96/970Northam Share and Care (A)Northam6401PearceA96/970TASAnglicare Burnie—G 9 King StreetBurnie7320BraddonG96/9735058Anglicare Burnie—A 9 King StreetBurnie7320BraddonA96/970Bridgewater—Gagebrook Commun Gunn StreetBridgewater7030FranklinG96/9789176Bridgewater—Gagebrook Commun Gunn StreetBridgewater5155FranklinA96/970City Churches Christian Care G 380 Main RoadGlenorchy7010DenisonG96/9750963City Churches Christian Care G 380 Main RoadGlenorchy7010DenisonA96/970Hobart Benevolent Society—G 27 Watchorn StreetHobart7000DenisonG96/9717491Hobart Benevolent Society—A 27 Watchorn StreetHobart7000DenisonA96/970Hobart City Mission—G 50 Barrack StreetHobart7000DenisonG96/9743400Hobart City Mission—A 50 Barrack StreetHobart7000DenisonA96/970HYPO—G 251-253 Elizabeth StreetHobart7000DenisonG96/9710000HYPO—A 251-253 Elizabeth StreetHobart7000DenisonA96/970Tasman Council—G Main RoadNubeena7184LyonsG96/978814Tasman Council—A Main RoadNubeena7184LyonsA96/970Rokeby Christian Care Group—King StreetRokeby3818FranklinG96/9716578Rokeby Christian Care Group—King StreetRokeby3818FranklinA96/970Salvation Army—Ulverstone—25 Victoria StreetUlverstone7315BraddonG96/9715991Salvation Army—Burnie—G 99 Wilson StreetBurnie7320BraddonG96/9731986Salvation Army—Queenstown—Orr StreetQueenstown7467LyonsG96/9715993 Salvation Army—Devonport—G 166 William StreetDevonport7310LyonsG96/9715993Salvation Army—Scottsdale—Arthur StreetScottsdale7260BassG96/976691Salvation Army—George Town—36 Low Head RoadGeorge Town7253BassG96/976690Salvation Army—Launceston—22 Canning StreetLaunceston7250BassG96/9745121Salvation Army—St Marys—G Main StreetSt Marys7215LyonsG96/976690Salvation Army—Hobart—G 250 Liverpool StreetHobart7000DenisonG96/9743947 Salvation Army—Huonville—G35 Wilmot RoadHuonville7109FranklinG96/972405Salvation Army—Carlton—G 217 Carlton RoadCarlton7173LyonsG96/972406Salvation Army—New Norfolk—2 Hackett StreetNew Norfolk7140LyonsG96/975411Salvation Army—Ulverstone—25 Victoria StreetUlverstone7315BraddonA96/970Salvation Army—Queenstown—Orr StreetQueenstown7467LyonsA96/970Salvation Army—Devonport—A 166 William StreetDevonport7310LyonsA96/970Salvation Army—Scottsdale—Arthur StreetScottsdale7260BassA96/970Salvation Army—George Town—36 Low Head RoadGeorge Town7253BassA96/970Salvation Army—Launceston—22 Canning StreetLaunceston7250BassA96/970Salvation Army—St Marys—A Main StreetSt Marys7215LyonsA96/970Salvation Army—Hobart—A 250 Liverpool StreetHobart7000DenisonA96/970Salvation Army—Huonville—A 35 Wilmot RoadHuonville7109FranklinA96/970Salvation Army—Carlton—A 217 Carlton RoadCarlton7173LyonsA96/970Salvation Army—New Norfolk—2 Hackett StreetNew Norfolk7140LyonsA96/970Salvation Army—Burnie—A 99 Wilson StreetBurnie7320BraddonA96/970South East Tasmanian Aborigina 37 Mary StreetCygnet7112FranklinA96/974443Stepping Stone Tasmania Incorp 1 Gavitt StreetGlenorchy7010DenisonG96/9710633Stepping Stone Tasmanian Incor 1 Gavitt StreetGlenorchy7010DenisonA96/970Deloraine House—G 112 Emu Bay RoadDeloraine7304LyonsG96/979401Deloraine House—A 112 Emu Bay RoadDeloraine7304LyonsA96/970Flinders Island Aboriginal Ass West StreetLady Barron7255BassA96/975338Launceston City Mission—G 46-48 Frederick StreetLaunceston7250BassG96/9783397Launceston City Mission—A 46-48 Frederick StreetLaunceston7250BassA96/970George Town Council—G 16-18 Anne StreetGeorge Town7253BassG96/973979George Town Council—A 16-18 Anne StreetGeorge Town7253BassA96/970West Tamar Council Emergency R Bolton StreetBeaconsfield7270LyonsG96/972611West Tamar Council Emergency R Bolton StreetBeaconsfield7270LyonsA96/970Helping Hand Association—G 12 Archer StreetLongford7301LyonsG96/974436Helping Hand Association—A 12 Archer StreetLongford7301LyonsA96/970Saint Vincent de Paul—Wynyar 38 Jackson StreetWynyard7325BraddonG96/9721231Saint Vincent de Paul—Devonp 2/10 Pelion PlaceDevonport7310BraddonG96/9721231Saint Vincent de Paul—N regi 217b Invermay RoadInvermay7248BassG96/9723049Saint Vincent de Paul—Hobart 212 Argyle StreetHobart7000DenisonG96/9711999Saint Vincent de Paul—Huonvi 43 Main RoadHuonville7109FranklinG96/973789Saint Vincent de Paul—Glenor 12 Mill LaneGlenorchy7010DenisonG96/9715787Saint Vincent de Paul—Wynyar 38 Jackson StreetWynyard7325BraddonA96/970 Saint Vincent de Paul—Devonp 2/10 Pelion PlaceDevonport7310BraddonA96/970Saint Vincent de Paul—N Regi 217b Invermay RoadInvermay7248BassA96/970Saint Vincent de Paul—Hobart 212 Argyle StreetHobart7000DenisonA96/970Saint Vincent de Paul—Huonvi 43 Main RoadHuonville7109FranklinA96/970Saint Vincent de Paul—Glenor 12 Mill LaneGlenorchy7010DenisonA96/970Wyndarra Centre Incorporated—43 Smith StreetSmithton7330BraddonG96/9729098Wyndarra Centre Incorporated—43 Smith StreetSmithton7330BraddonA96/970NTAboriginal Development FoundatLot 2269 Stuart HighwayBerrimah828Northern TerritoryA96/9710000Alice Springs Women's ShelterAlice Springs870Northern TerritoryG96/9710880 Alice Springs Youth Accommodat Todd Street MallAlice Springs870Northern TerritoryG96/9717680Anglicare NT Ebirra Hostel 91 Old McMillans RoadNightcliff810Northern TerritoryA96/978000Anglicare NT Youth Housing 5 Nemarluk DriveLudmilla820Northern TerritoryG96/974000Angurugu Community AnguruguAlyangula (Groote Eylandt)885Northern TerritoryA96/974080Anyinginyi Congress 1 Irvine StreetTennant Creek860Northern TerritoryA96/9713600Barkly Alcohol and Drug Abuse 21/29 Thompson/Staunton StreetTennant Creek860Northern TerritoryG96/971768Binjari Community Association Lot 3362 Victoria HighwayKatherine850Northern TerritoryA96/979520Casy House YWCA 36 Francis StreetRapid Creek810Northern TerritoryG96/973400Central Australian Aboriginal 25 Gap RoadAlice Springs870Northern TerritoryA96/9724480Christ Church Cathedral 2 Smith StreetDarwin800Northern TerritoryG96/973034Coalition of Low Income Earner 6 Vanderlin DriveCasurina810Northern TerritoryG96/9720072Crisis Accommodation Centre, G 14 Corallita StreetNulunbuy880Northern TerritoryG96/972720Crisis Care and Resource Centr Boulter RoadBerrimah828Northern TerritoryG96/973060Daguragu CommunityKalkaringi852Northern TerritoryA96/974080Dawn House Women's ShelterCasurina810Northern TerritoryG96/9723120Kalano Community Kalano FarmKatherine850Northern TerritoryA96/970Migrant Resource Centre of Cen Cnr Bath & Parsons StreetAlice Springs870Northern TerritoryG96/975440Milingimbi Community Governmen Milingimbi IslandMilingimb i822Northern TerritoryA96/975440Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Y 3 Wilkinson StreetAlice Springs870Northern TerritoryA96/976120Ngintaka Women's CouncilKintore872Northern TerritoryA96/971360Nhulunbuy Neighbourhood Franklin StreetNulunbuy880Northern TerritoryG96/974080NT AIDS Council 1/1 Carey StreetDarwin City800Northern TerritoryG96/971700Our Lady Help of Christians Cnr Emery Avenue & Harrison CPalmerston830Northern TerritoryG96/9714136Ramingining Homelands ResourceRamingini ng822Northern TerritoryA96/976800 Rrumburriya Malandari Corporat 331 John StreetBorroloola854Northern TerritoryA96/9713600Saint Vincent de Paul—Darwin 2 Westralia StreetStuart Park820Northern TerritoryG96/9718020Salvation Army—Alice Springs 88 Hartley StreetAlice Springs870Northern TerritoryG96/9746240Salvation Army—Darwin 49 Mitchell StreetDarwin City800Northern TerritoryG96/9753380Salvation Army—Palmerston Cnr Temple Terrace & WoodroffePalmerston830Northern TerritoryG96/9716856Salvation Army—Katherine 5-13 Martin TerraceKatherine850Northern TerritoryG96/9723120Santa Teresa Women's CentreSanta Teresa872Northern TerritoryA96/972040Somerville Community Services 147 Lee Point RoadWagaman800Northern TerritoryG96/978840Saint Vincent de Paul—Palmer 3 Rolyat StreetPalmerston830Northern TerritoryG96/9715496Saint Vincent de Paul—Alice Railway TerraceAlice Springs870Northern TerritoryG96/9713600SVDP St Paul's Parish N/Cliff 23 Trower RoadNightcliff810Northern TerritoryG96/979520Tangentyere Council 4 Elders StreetAlice Springs870Northern TerritoryA96/9719040Tennant Barkly Community Suppo Paterson StreetTennant Creek860Northern TerritoryG96/9718360Katherine Women's Crisis CentrKatherine850Northern TerritoryG96/970Tanami Network Incorporated Yuendumu CommunityYuendumu872Northern TerritoryA96/970Imanpa Community IncorporatedAlice Springs Roadside De872Northern TerritoryA96/970Barunga Manyallaluk Community BarungaKatherine Private Bags852Northern TerritoryA96/970Aherrenge Community Government Ammaroo StationAlice Springs Private Bag872Northern TerritoryA96/970Ngkarte Mikwekenhe Aboriginal 28 Kidman StreetAlice Springs870Northern TerritoryA96/970Walangeri Ngumpinku Community Yarralin StreetYarralin852Northern TerritoryA96/970Milikapiti Community GovernmenMilikapiti822Northern TerritoryA96/970Pirlangimpi Community Governme Garden Point StreetMelville Island822Northern TerritoryA96/970Nguiu Community Government Cou Puti DriveNguiu822Northern TerritoryA96/970Somerville Youth & Family Serv First StreetKatherine850Northern TerritoryG96/970ACTAlcohol and Drug Foundation Childers StreetCanberra2601MolongloG96/972552Belconnen Youth Centre Cnr Chandler & Swanston StBelconnen2617GinninderraG96/975000Erindale Youth Centre Grattan CctErindale2903BrindabellaG96/975000 Pathways—CIRS of the ACT—Adults Section Bunda StreetCanberra2601MolongloG96/971658Pathways—CIRS of the ACT—Youth Section Bunda StreetCanberra2601MolongloG96/978084Salvation Army—140 Elizabeth StSydney2000SydneyG96/9767675St Vincent de Paul 17-19 Colbee CourtPhillip2606MolongloG96/9749490The Smith Family Launceston StPhillip2606MolongloG96/9769956Winnunga Nimmityjah—Cnr Moore & Alinga StreetCanberra2601MolongloA96/97128223107(Question No. 2807)28073107Lee, Michael, MPMr LeeMG4DobellALP00 asked the Minister for Health and Family Services, upon notice, on 26 March 1998:(1) Which State and Territory governments have signed the memorandum of understanding with the Commonwealth to establish a national public health partnership for Australia.(2) Will he provide a copy of each memorandum which has been signed.(3) Have the governments which have not signed provided the Commonwealth with their reasons for not signing; if so, what is the reason in each case.(4) Under what arrangements are the agencies which provide services in the areas covered by the memorandum operating.(5) Are the HIV/AIDS, drugs, women's health and childhood immunisation strategies operating under the memorandum still being implemented by the State and Territory governments.(6) What mechanisms are in place to monitor the implementation of the strategies referred to in part (5).3107Wooldridge, Dr Michael, MPDr Wooldridge8E4ChisholmLPHealth and Family Services10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) To date, the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania have signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish the National Public Health Partnership (NPHP).(2) Yes.(3) The MOU is a multilateral agreement between the Commonwealth and States and Territories to establish the NPHP. All States and Territories, with the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, are represented on the NPHP Group. New Zealand has observer status on the Group. Since the Partnership was established in December 1996, work has commenced on implementation of the work program.Although the NPHP is not a funding mechanism, the process of signing the Partnership MOU is being delayed in NSW and WA, due to the current bilateral negotiations on Public Health Outcome Funding Agreements (PHOFAs) and the Health Care Agreements. Despite the formal stance of WA and NSW, both States are represented on the NPHP Group by their Chief Health Officers, and are active participants in Partnership Working Groups and other initiatives. (4) The NPHP is an ongoing multilateral mechanism between the Commonwealth and the States and Territories. The Partnership is a co-ordination and collaboration mechanism for national public health activity with clearly articulated roles and responsibilities for each of the jurisdictions. The Partnership is not a funding mechanism. Work commenced on the NPHP Work Program in late 1996-97. Concurrent with, but separate to the development of the NPHP Work Program was the commencement of bilateral negotiations between the Commonwealth and State and Territory governments on the PHOFAs, a new mechanism for Commonwealth funding of particular public health activities. While there are some policy links, the Partnership work and the Agreement negotiations are two separate processes.The PHOFAs are bilateral funding agreements between the Commonwealth and each State and Territory. The first Agreements are for a two year period 1997-98 and 1998-99. The Agreements enable agreed national public health priorities to be addressed while allowing the States and Territories more flexibility in allocating available resources to meet local needs and determining how the needs of specific population groups will be met.(5) Through the PHOFAs, funding is provided by the Commonwealth to assist State and Territory governments implement a number of public health priorities and strategies including, but not limited to: the National Drug Strategy; the National HIV/AIDS Strategy 1996-97 to 1998-99; the National Childhood Immunisation Strategy; the National Women's Health Policy; the National Breast Cancer Screening Policy; and the National Cervical Screening Policy.(6) The PHOFAs with the States and Territories contain performance and financial reporting requirements. The Agreements contain performance indicators tailored to reflect the targets and commitments for each State/Territory with respect to the broadbanded strategies/policies. States and Territories will report against their performance indicators on a yearly basis.3107(Question No. 2810)28103107Andren, Peter, MPMr AndrenKL6CalareIND00 asked the Minister for Family Services, upon notice, on 26 March 1998:(1) Was an additional $125,000 made available to the Carers Association following the 1997-98 Budget.(2) Was consideration given to refunding the Australian Pensioners and Superannuants Federation (AP&SF) following the 1997-98 Budget. (3) Has his attention been drawn to the valuable input which the AP&SF has continued to provide to (a) the rural banking inquiry of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Financial Institutions and Public Administration, (b) National Medicines Week, (c) a new old persons guide to banking for distribution by Centrelink, (d) the Australian Bureau of Statistics 13th review of the consumer price index and (e) several other key Government inquiries.(4) Has his attention been further drawn to the reduction in input to the Government and representation of older vulnerable persons in the community by the AP&SF which will result unless Commonwealth funding is restored.(5) Will he reconsider the decision not to fund the AP&SF.3108Smith, Warwick, MPMr Warwick SmithGJ4BassLPMinister for Family Services10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(1) Subsequent to the 1997 review of the Community Sector Support Scheme (CSSS), a decision was made to increase the level of funding to the Carers Association (from $125,000 to $290,000).The Carers Association is universally recognised as a peak national organisation and the major organisation representing carers. As such, support for carers is a key plank in the Government's aged care and disability policies.The Association had previously received funds from two separate sources for its secretariat, research and policy development activities. These funds have now been brought together under one grant.(2) Consideration was not given to refunding the AP&SF following the 1997-98 Budget.(3) I am aware that the AP&SF continues to make valuable contributions to the important work of the Department of Health and Family Services.(4) The decisions about which organisations would continue to be funded under CSSS were difficult. In considering the outcomes of the CSSS review, there was a need for the Government to balance the competing demands for limited CSSS funds while at the same time ensuring that the Scheme supported the Government's wide range of priority areas in the health and family services sectors. There is continuing capacity for input to aged care policy and for effective representation of the views of older people through a range of mechanisms, including the two remaining CSSS funded aged care organisations, Council on the Ageing and Aged Care Australia.I am confident that the outcomes of the review provide the greatest opportunity for focused and strategic input to Government health and family services policy and a responsible use of taxpayers' money. (5) I will not be reconsidering my decision to defund the AP&SF under the CSSS in the foreseeable future.3108(Question No. 2816)28163108Campbell, Graeme, MPMr CampbellCF4KalgoorlieIND00 asked the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, upon notice, on 26 March 1998:Is he able to say whether the Government has imposed any impediment upon the departure of Mr Abe Saffron of 105 Hopetoun Avenue, Vaucluse, NSW, from Australia at a time of his choosing.3108Ruddock, Philip, MPMr Ruddock0J4BerowraLPImmigration and Multicultural Affairs10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:I have no knowledge of any such impediment.3108(Question No. 2822)28223108Bevis, Arch, MPMr BevisET4BrisbaneALP00 asked the Minister for Family Services, upon notice, on 30 March 1998:Have there been problems in the payment by the Department of Health and Family Services of residential care subsidies to aged care facilities between October 1997 and February 1998; if so, (a) what caused the problems, (b) have aged care facilities been underpaid and, if so, will they be reimbursed and (c) what steps has the Department taken to ensure the problems do not recur.3108Smith, Warwick, MPMr Warwick SmithGJ4BassLPMinister for Family Services10—The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:(a) A number of payment errors occurred with the implementation of the new payment system in November 1997. There have also been some delays in payments in state offices. All system errors known by mid January were corrected by the end of January and thus processed claims after January correctly. To make necessary back adjustments (both positive and negative) a reconciliation and back adjustment payments program was developed and implemented on 20 February 1998. This program was designed to recalculate the payment for each resident back to October 1997 and report in detail on resident payments affected and adjust the payment to the provider accordingly.Meetings were held with peak organisations to inform them of the problems and how they were to be resolved. A payments newsletter for providers to keep them abreast of payment issues was produced and distributed in January, and further newsletters will be produced to keep providers informed.(b) The reconciliation program back paid facilities for incorrect payments, amounting in total to $5.5 million out of an annual budget of $3 bil lion. Each claim processed after 20 February has automatically paid (or recovered) any incorrect payments made to services.(c) The Department continues to assess and improve the strategies in place for introducing change to the program. Additional staff have been employed to test payment system changes and process claims in state offices. The communication strategies are being amended to ensure both Departmental staff and industry staff understand the changes to the program and the payment system. Liaison with the peak organisations of the sector continues to ensure all views are taken into consideration and information is disseminated as widely as possible.