Tuesday, 20 August 1985 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES SENATE Hansard 1985 FIRST SESSION OF THE THIRTY-FOURTH PARLIAMENT (SECOND PERIOD) The Senate, on 31 May 1985, adjourned to 20 August 1985, unless the President fixed an earlier day of meeting. Pursuant to the Resolution of the Senate passed on 31 May 1985, the Senate met on Tuesday, 20 August 1985, at 2 p.m. The Senate met at 2 p.m. His Excellency Air Marshal Sir James Rowland, Administrator of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia, entered the chamber and, taking his seat on the dais, said: Honourable Senators: I am present to administer to senators elected to serve in the Senate from 1 July 1985 the oath or affirmation of allegiance as required by section 42 of the Constitution. The Clerk produced and laid on the table the Certificates of Election for the following senators to serve in the Senate for the respective States from 1 July 1985: New South Wales-Kerry Walter Sibraa; Bruce Kenneth Childs; John Joseph Morris; Michael Ehrenfried Baume; Colin Victor James Mason. Queensland-Margaret Reynolds; Ronald Leslie Doyle Boswell; David John MacGibbon; Gerry Norman Jones; Michael John Macklin. South Australia-Nick Bolkus; Baden Teague; Graham Maguire; Donald Scott Jessop; Rosemary Anne Crowley. Tasmania-Brian Archer; John Watson; John Coates; Michael Townley; Norm Sanders. Victoria-Olive Zakharov; Alan Joseph Missen; Robert Ray; David John Hamer; John Royston Siddons. Western Australia-Patricia Jessie Giles; Noel Ashley Crichton-Browne; Peter Francis Salmon Cook; Reginald Greive Withers; Josephine Vallentine. The abovenamed senators made and subscribed the oath or affirmation of allegiance. His Excellency the Administrator having retired- Senator BUTTON(Victoria-Leader of the Government in the Senate) —Mr Cumming Thom, I remind the Senate that the time has come when it is necessary for the Senate to choose one of its members to be President. I propose to the Senate, for its President, Senator Douglas McClelland. I move: That Senator McClelland do take the chair of the Senate as President. Senator Grimes —Mr Cumming Thom, I second the motion. The Clerk-Are there any further nominations? Senator CHANEY(Western Australia-Leader of the Opposition) —Mr Cumming Thom, I propose to the Senate, for its President, Senator Don Jessop, and I move: That Senator Jessop do take the chair of the Senate as President. Senator Durack —Mr Cumming Thom, I second the motion. The Clerk-Are there any further nominations? There being no further nominations, I invite the two candidates to address the Senate. Senator Douglas McClelland —Mr Clerk, I submit myself to the will of the Senate. Senator Jessop —Mr Clerk, I also submit myself to the will of the Senate. The Clerk-There being two nominations, in accordance with the Standing Orders a ballot will be held. Before proceeding to ballot, the bells will be rung for three minutes. The bells having been rung- The Clerk-The Senate will now proceed to ballot. Ballot papers will be distributed to honourable senators, who are requested to write upon the paper the name of the candidate for whom they wish to vote. The Clerks will now distribute ballot papers to all honourable senators. The candidates are Senator Douglas McClelland and Senator Jessop. A ballot having been taken- The Clerk-I announce the result of the ballot as follows: Senator Douglas McClelland, 41 votes; and Senator Jessop, 32 votes. Senator Douglas McClelland is therefore elected President of the Senate in accordance with the Standing Orders. Senator Douglas McClelland having been conducted to the dais- The PRESIDENT(Senator the Hon. Douglas McClelland) —I thank the Senate for bestowing upon me once again the responsibilities of this high office. With the frustrations that I have had over the last 2 1/2 years I wondered at times whether I wanted the position or not, but when it came to the crunch I really fought hard for it. I assure you that over the last 2 1/2 years I have become very conscious and acutely aware of the responsibilities of office. I look foward to working with all my senatorial colleagues for the betterment of the Senate, the Parliament and Australia. Senator JESSOP(South Australia) —Mr President, may I be the first to congratulate you on your preferment to the position of President. I must say that I did very little lobbying for the position. I have no doubt that you will discharge the duties in the manner in which you have in the past. I look forward to acting as your deputy in the same friendly spirit as in the past and wish you well in your very eminent position. Senator BUTTON(Victoria-Leader of the Government in the Senate) —Mr President, I would very much like to congratulate you personally on your election as President for a further term, and I am sure I speak for my colleagues. Since you were previously elected President of the Senate I think you have conducted proceedings in this chamber with great dignity. In an alliterative frame of mind a minute or two ago I noted that I thought you had conducted proceedings with fairness, firmness and flair. My lack of alliterative imagination prevents me from going on to use further and similar adjectives. Mr President, I wish you every success. I hope and believe that you will continue to conduct the Senate in the way in which you have in the past. Senator CHANEY(Western Australia-Leader of the Opposition) —Mr President, on behalf of the Opposition I extend our congratulations to you on your re-election as President. I have done a very quick calculation. On my guess, you received the votes of all of the Liberals and Nationals but one, and the Right faction of the Australian Labor Party to get your very impressive result. In that sense we are very pleased to see you restored to your position. Mr President, I agree that you have been a firm and fair President. The Opposition, of course, in particular looks to the President for the protection of its rights and privileges, as do individual honourable senators. I believe we have been able to look to you in the past with great confidence and we will do so again in the future. Mr President, we wish you well for a very happy tenure in this place. Senator CHIPP(Victoria-Leader of the Australian Democrats) —Mr President, on behalf of my Party and myself I extend our sincere congratulations on your re-election. In the 25 years of my time in both this chamber and the other place I have served under several Presiding Officers. I say with deep sincerity, sir, that no fairer person has presided over the chamber of which I was a member. There has been no one more courageous and more impartial than you. Unlike many of your predecessors, you have presided over a Senate which has not been easy at all times. In the last few years you have presided over a Senate in which very heavy questions have been debated and settled. You have done that with impeccable impartiality, for which we thank you. Senator COLLARD(Queensland-Leader of the National Party of Australia) —On behalf of the National Party of Australia I would add my congratulations to those which have already been put down by the Leader of the Opposition (Senator Chaney). As has been said, Mr President, you have served with distinction in the high office which you now hold. I am sure you will continue to do so. The Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator Button) remarked on the dignity with which you hold that office. I am quite sure that there are times when you wish that we would reciprocate. Be that as it may, this is not a Sunday school picnic; that is the nature of this chamber. Sir, you do have the respect of all of us. We appreciate the impartiality with which you hold your office and with which you preside over this chamber. Speaking on behalf of my National Party colleagues, I can assure you that we will abide by most of the Standing Orders most of the time. Senator HARRADINE(Tasmania) —The Leader of the Opposition (Senator Chaney) was somewhat astray in his figures; I can assure him of that. Of course, being President of the Senate means more than sitting in that chair. Mr President, you have an enormous responsibility for both the staff and the running of this place, and also in relation to the challenges that I believe will confront this chamber from governments of all complexions in the future; that is to say, in relation to the independence of the Parliament from the Executive Government. As a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations and Staffing, I am aware that you are well across those matters which are of great importance for the future of parliamentary democracy. I am confident that you will be able to lead us in those respects. I congratulate you on your election and look forward to working with you for that cause. Senator VALLENTINE(Western Australia) —Being a stranger to this place and not experienced in the workings of the Senate, but having heard your praises sung, Mr President, I also congratulate you and wish you well for the term of the Senate. The PRESIDENT —I thank Senator Jessop, the Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator Button), the Leader of the Opposition (Senator Chaney), the Leader of the Australian Democrats (Senator Chipp), the Leader of the National Party of Australia (Senator Collard), Senator Harradine and Senator Vallentine for the complimentary and laudatory remarks that they have made upon my election for a second term in this high office as President of the Senate. It is the most prestigious position that one can occupy as a parliamentary officeholder. As I said a little earlier, over the last 2 1/2 years in particular I have been made aware of the responsibilities of the office, not only in this chamber but also outside. I assure honourable senators that with the enlargement of this Parliament as at the last election, and as we get closer to our move to the new Parliament House, the responsibilities of the office and the duties attaching to it grow more every day. It is a challenging and responsible role. I look forward to renewing the work that I have been engaged in in the last 2 1/2 years and to receiving the support of my senatorial colleagues. I pay tribute to the supportive role that was provided to me by the Deputy President of the Senate in the last Parliament, Senator Hamer. He worked ceaselessly and tirelessly in a supportive role. I am grateful to him and I appreciate the assistance he rendered to me. Senator BUTTON(Victoria-Leader of the Government in the Senate) —I wish to inform honourable senators that His Excellency the Administrator will be pleased to receive the President and such honourable senators as desire to accompany him in the Senate Opposition party room forthwith. Sitting suspended from 2.42 to 3.30 p.m. The PRESIDENT —I have to report that, accompanied by honourable senators, I presented myself to His Excellency the Administrator of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia as the choice of the Senate as its President and His Excellency was pleased to congratulate me upon my election. The President read prayers. Senator CHIPP(Victoria-Leader of the Australian Democrats) —by leave-I inform the Senate that Senator Haines was elected deputy parliamentary leader of the Australian Democrats in a national ballot of members which concluded on Friday, 16 August 1985. In the same ballot members saw fit to re-elect me as the parliamentary leader. I pay the highest tribute possible to Senator Mason who, as Deputy Leader of the Party, entered the Senate with me in 1978 and has worked untiringly in Parliament and in the community for the welfare of Australians. I will continue to rely on his wise counsel, active support and warm friendship. Senator COLLARD(Queensland-Leader of the National Party of Australia) —by leave-On the retirement of my former senatorial colleague Senator Scott, I have been elected Leader of the National Party of Australia in the Senate. Senator Bjelke-Petersen is Deputy Leader and Senator Sheil is Party Whip. Motion (by Senator Button) agreed to: That the Senate do now proceed to elect a Deputy President and Chairman of Committees. Senator BUTTON(Victoria-Leader of the Government in the Senate) —I propose to the Senate Senator Tate for its Deputy President and Chairman of Committees, and I move: That Senator Tate be appointed Deputy President and Chairman of Committees. Senator Grimes —I second the motion. Senator CHANEY(Western Australia-Leader of the Opposition) —I propose to the Senate for its Deputy President and Chairman of Committees Senator Hamer. I move: That Senator Hamer be appointed Deputy President and Chairman of Committees. Senator Durack —I second the motion. The PRESIDENT —Are there any further nominations? There being no further nominations, I invite the two candidates to address the Senate. Senator Tate —Mr President, I submit myself to the will of the Senate. Senator Hamer —Mr President, I submit myself to the will of the Senate. The PRESIDENT —There being two nominations, in accordance with the Standing Orders a ballot will be held. Before proceeding to the ballot, the bells will be rung for three minutes. The bells having been rung- The PRESIDENT —Order! The Senate will now proceed to ballot. Ballot papers will be distributed to honourable senators, who are requested to write upon the paper the name of the candidate for whom they wish to vote. The Clerks will now distribute the ballot papers to all honourable senators. The candidates are Senator Tate and Senator Hamer. A ballot having been taken- The PRESIDENT —Order! The result of the ballot is: Senator Hamer, 37 votes; Senator Tate, 34 votes. I declare Senator Hamer elected Deputy President and Chairman of Committees. Senator HAMER(Victoria) —Mr President, I thank the Senate for the confidence reposed in me. I shall do my best to conduct the proceedings for which I am responsible with fairness, efficiency and impartiality. To you, Mr President, I pledge my support and loyalty. Senator TATE(Tasmania) —I offer my contratulations to Senator Hamer on his election as Deputy President. I am sorry only that this was apparently a non-nuclear issue; the vote might have been closer if Senator Vallentine had come into the chamber! I believe Senator Hamer's election was well justified by his excellent handling of the duties of the Chair over the past session. I am sure no honourable senator would begrudge him the task that he is undertaking on our behalf. His knowledge of the Standing Orders and the rules of procedure is, I think, unparalleled. We are confident of his impartial application of them. Senator BUTTON(Victoria-Leader of the Government in the Senate) —I also congratulate Senator Hamer and associate myself with the remarks made by my colleague, Senator Tate, although I cannot emulate his joke. Senator CHANEY(Western Australia-Leader of the Opposition) —On behalf of the Opposition I congratulate our colleague Senator Hamer on his election. I would say of him what I said of you, Mr President: He has shown firmness and fairness in the chair. The combination of you and Senator Hamer has been a successful one for the Senate. Senator Hamer has our best wishes and I know that he will act in the Senate in the same fair way as he has acted in the past. Senator CHIPP(Victoria-Leader of the Australian Democrats) —On behalf of the Australian Democrats I join in the congratulations to Senator Hamer on his election as Deputy President. It was a difficult choice because both candidates are outstanding members of the Senate. In fact, I thought Senator Tate was in with a real chance until you, Mr President, shopped him in your acceptance speech. Senator Hamer has been absolutely outstanding in the way he has conducted the difficult Committee stage on many complex Bills. I wish him well and assure him of our co-operation. Senator COLLARD(Queensland-Leader of the National Party of Australia) —I add my congratulations to those already offered to Senator Hamer. Having been in the position of Temporary Chairman of Committees for some time, I know the difficulties under which you, Mr President, and the Deputy President and Chairman of Committees operate. At times it can be the loneliest seat in the place. Senator Hamer has mastered the Standing Orders and has been able to take us through the labyrinth of the Committee stage, which is often long and arduous. Senator Hamer has carried out that duty well and has been able to keep a firm hand on the proceedings. He has also had a knowledge of what has been going on, which is more than I can say for some of us who sit here trying to handle the various Bills. The PRESIDENT —Order! I join with my colleagues in congratulating Senator Hamer. As I said earlier, he has been a great backstop to me in my duties. I appreciate the assistance he has given me in my position as President, and I am sure that we will continue that association over the life of this Senate. The Clerk-Petitions have been lodged for presentation as follows: Taxation To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The petition of the undersigned respectfully showeth. Introduction of any additional capital gains taxes, wealth taxes or death duties is opposed on the grounds that: they adversely affect the small and medium size businesses in Australia, destroying incentive and discouraging investment in this important area of the economy; the Australian economy, and employment in particular, is heavily reliant on growth in small businesses; any capital gains that might result when owners of small businesses finally sell the business are not ``windfall gains'' but the result of many hard years of work and sacrifice, with very little being taken out of the business by way of salaries so that the maximum amount of money can be ploughed back into the business to create growth and jobs; the owners of small businesses often depend on a capital gain-which are simply deferred salaries-when they eventually sell their business to sustain them in retirement; Your petitioners request that the Senate, in Parliament assembled, will protect the rights of private enterprise and reject any inequitable additional taxes. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Brownhill (from 208 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The petition of the undersigned respectfully showeth that your petitioners are concerned about foreign owned military bases on Australian territory and the entry into Australian waters and territory of foreign warships and aircraft carrying nuclear weaponry. And that the Australian Government should take an active and constructive role in the promotion of a nuclear-free world. Your petitioners most humbly pray that the Senate in Parliament assembled should: 1. Promote the expression of Australian sovereignty by legislating to bring foreign military bases on Australian territory under the control of the Australian Government. 2. Make it compulsory that the disclosure of weaponry carried by foreign warships and aircraft be given in confidence to the Australian Government prior to a request for entry. And that foreign warships and aircraft that carry nuclear weaponry be banned from Australian waters and territory. 3. Legislate for the cessation of all uranium mining in Australia and its subsequent export. 4. Urge the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia to pose to the Governments of the United States and the Soviet Union that both countries agree to immediately halt the testing, production and further deployment of all nuclear weapons, missiles and delivery systems in a way that can be checked and verified by both sides. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Macklin (from 32 citizens). To the President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of the undersigned citizens of Australia respectfully shows: 1. That the functions of local government involve assessing local demand for services and either providing, or facilitating the provision of, those services; 2. That a transfer of responsibility for the provision of services from one level of government to another must be accompanied by a corresponding transfer of funds; 3. That local government in Victoria is becoming increasingly involved in the planning and provision of human services in particular; 4. That the level of services currently provided by or through local government cannot be maintained, and certainly cannot be increased, if the funds made available to local government through the personal income tax-sharing arrangements are not maintained at the present level; 5. That we are totally opposed to any reduction in the percentage of personal income tax allocated to local government. Your petitioners humbly pray that no change be made to the funding of local government without the consent of representatives of local government. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senators Gareth Evans (from nine citizens), Dame Margaret Guilfoyle (from nine citizens) and Lewis (from nine citizens). To the Honourable President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The Humble Petition of the undersigned citizens of Australia respectfully showeth: That we the undersigned have great concern for the further development and research of the IVF programme and express that we are against `Senator Harradine's Bill' Human Embryo Experimental Bill 1985. The Bill threatens the provisions as a treatment for infertility because it defines as `prohibited experimentation': 1. Any manipulation of a relevant human embryo; 2. Any procedure undertaken on, or involving the use of, a relevant human embryo, 3. The creating of a relevant human embryo in anticipation that the development of the full human potential of the relevant human will be interrupted or of using the embryo, or of having the embryo available for use, in any experimenting by virtue of sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be prohibited experimenting for the purposes of this Act. 4. Willfully destroy a relevant human embryo. 5. Willfully allow a relevant human embryo to die. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senators Peter Baume (from 246 citizens) and Puplick (from 112 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of the undersigned citizens of Australia respectfully showeth: That we the undersigned have great concern for further development and research of the IVF program and express that we are against (Senator Harradine's) Human Embryo Experimentation Bill 1985. The Bill threatens the provisions of IVF as a treatment for infertility because it defines as prohibited experimentation (1) any manipulation of a relevant human embryo. (2) any procedure undertaken on, or involving the use of a relevant human embryo. (3) creating a relevant human embryo in anticiptation that the development of the full human potential of the relevant human embryo will be interrupted. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Chipp (from 41 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The petition of the undersigned citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia respectfully showeth: That the proposed Human Embryo Experimentation Bill is a retrogressive step which could deprive thousands of couples of the chance to have children. The planned prohibition on experimentation on a human embyro would have the effect of ending the breakthroughs made in the study of infertility. Your petitioners most humbly pray that the Senate in Parliament assembled should seek the prevention of the passage of the Human Embryo Experimentation Bill. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Dame Margaret Guilfoyle (from 19 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled: Victorian Planning (Brothels) Act 1984. The petition of the undersigned citizens of Australia respectfully showeth: That whereas the Commonwealth of Australia ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1983, the Government of Victoria in passing the Planning (Brothels) Act 1984 is in breach of Article 6 of the Convention which says that `States Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women'. That the Victorian Planning (Brothels) Act 1984 provides legal authority to brothel operators to traffic in and exploit the prostitution of women and to live off the earnings of prostitutes. That whereas the Federal Minister for Health has counselled citizens to shun promiscuity (The Australian 26.1.85) because of the serious and sometimes fatal health hazards, the operation of legalised brothels encourages promiscuity and the spread of diseases, including AIDS. Your petitioners therefore pray: That the Government of Australia having ratified the UN Convention on Women remain consistent in its obligations to uphold the Articles of the Convention and request the Victorian Government to immediately repeal the Planning (Brothels) Act 1984. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Lewis (from 813 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament. The petition of the undersigned shows that because it will cause serious harm to the community, the Parliament will not legalise the possession, sale, hire, or supply of any publication or video tape, video disc, slide or any other recording from which a visual image can be produced, which displays degradation of any person, particularly women and children, or animals; scenes of explicit sexual relations showing genitalia detail; acts of violence and sex; sexual perversion such as sodomy, mutilation, child pornography, urolagnia, coprophilia, necrophilia, bestiality; or the use and effect of illicit drug taking; explicit fellatio and cunnilingus; explicit nudity including touching genitalia, erect penis. Your petitioners pray the Senate, in Parliament assembled that you will give this matter earnest consideration and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. by Senator Messner (from 11 citizens). To the honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament House assembled. The petition of the undersigned citizens of Australia respectfully showeth that the Australian Labor Party: `is committed to the elimination of nuclear weapons and the ultimate achievement of general and complete disarmament' (ALP Platform 1984, 12E); and will: promote the development of zones of peace and nuclear free zones in the Indian and Pacific Oceans' (ALP Platform 1984, 12E.34); `oppose the development and acquisition of nuclear, chemical, bacteriological or other weapons of mass destruction for Australia's Armed Forces; nor permit any foreign government to station such weapons on Australian soil' (ALP Platform 1984, 121F.41); and `oppose the storage of nuclear weapons on Australian territory and the staging of operations involving nuclear weapons from Australian territory' (ALP Platform 1984, 121F.48). Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that all Federal representatives of the Labor Government, and Federal representatives of all other political parties including independents, vote for Senator Chipp's Nuclear Weapons Prohibitions Bill 1984, the passage of which would effectively make Australia a nuclear weapons free zone and would leave no doubt as to the present Government's stated commitment to disarmament. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Chipp (from 84 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament House assembled. The petition of the undersigned citizens of Australia respectfully showeth that we support Senator Chipp's ``Australian Waters (Nuclear Powered Ships and Nuclear Weapons Prohibition) Bill 1984,'' a Bill for an act to prohibit the passage of nuclear-powered ships, and of vessels carrying nuclear weapons, through Australian waters or in the airspace over them, effectively declaring Australia a ``Nuclear weapons free zone''. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that all Senators, regardless of political affiliations, support this Bill. Not just for our sake but for our children. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Chipp (from 80 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The Petition of certain citizens of South Australia respectfully showeth: That the Australian flag symbolises the continuity between Australia's past, its present and its future; That the presence of the Union Jack on the flag represents not a subservience to Britain, but a reminder of our inheritance of the fruits of hundreds of years of struggle for individual liberty against the forces of tyranny and oppression; Nonetheless recognises the rights of Australians should they so wish to change the design of their flag. Your petitioners humbly pray that no change be made to the Australian flag except with the consent of the people in a referendum. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Messner (from 181 citizens). To the Honourable the President and the members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The petition of the undersigned citizens of Australia respectfully showeth and in concern for peace support: 1. a move towards unity, co-operation and peaceful co-existence amongst all peoples of the earth. We pledge our agreement to an immediate bilateral freeze of the development and deployment of all nuclear weapons and to speed negotiations to dismantle all such weapons of mass destruction under the supervision of a neutral peace-keeping force. 2. the establishment of a Ministry for Peace to focus our energies towards non-violent resolution of world conflicts, encouraging our government to pursue its own independent policies in foreign affairs, non-aligned to any one polarity, with the aim of bringing about lasting and peaceful co-existence worldwide. 3. the establishment of a Senate Select Committee on Nuclear Disarmament and Peace to examine and debate all submissions by way of petitions and proposals and to assist in the creation of the Ministry for Peace. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. Peace on earth and goodwill to all humankind. by Senator Macklin (from 170 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The petition of the undersigned citizens of the Northern Territory respectfully showeth: 1. That we are deeply concerned that the redevelopment of the Darwin International Airport is not to continue on schedule. 2. That failure to complete the project will do great damage to the Northern Territory's, and Australia's tourism industry. 3. That the north of the Northern Territory will be left with a totally inadequate airport to service its resident population. 4. That general aviation facilities and industry will be adversely affected by failure to continue with the redevelopment. 5. That the RAAF Base in Darwin will be hampered by failure to continue with the redevelopment, which could result in interference with effective defence procedures for the north of Australia. Your petitioners most humbly pray that the Senate, in Parliament assembled, should ensure the Commonwealth stands by its commitment to complete the redevelopment of Darwin International Airport by the scheduled completion date of 1988. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Kilgariff (from 110 citizens). To the Honourable the President and the honourable members of the Senate in the Parliament assembled. The humble petition of the undersigned electors of the Commonwealth of Australia respectfully showeth that: 1. We are completely satisfied with the design of the existing Australian national flag. 2. We are aware it properly reflects the immutable characteristics of Australia namely: The Union Jack-itself the creation of 3 Christian crosses-represents the nation's historical origin, and the source of its language and law. The Southern Cross on an azure blue background signifying its place in space. The large star depicting the advent of Federation in 1901. 3. We know the flag has been a source of inspiration to generations of Australians in peace and war. 4. We recall that millions of native-born Australians and newcomers to these shores from other parts of the world have become united under its proud symbolism. 5. We are certain that any change to the flag will produce division in the Australian community. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that your Honourable House will: Propose and pass a motion that `the existing Australian national flag remains sacrosanct from change'. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Durack (from 68 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The petition of the undersigned citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia respectfully showeth: That in the light of the Labor Governments failure to act to correct the anomolies in the Assets Test on pensions bring to its notice and due to have effect from the 21 March 1985 the Labor Government's legislation should be repealed before it has an unduly unfair impact on pensioners, and calls upon the Australian Democrats to support Senator Messner's bill for the abolition of the Assets Test. Your petitioners most humbly pray that the Senate in Parliament assembled should immediately seek the passage of the Social Security and Repatriation Assets Test Abolition Bill to repeal the Labor Governments iniquitous and unfair Assets Test. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senators Durack (from 20 citizens) and Messner (from 417 citizens). To the Honourable the President, and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. Petition of the undersigned respectfully showeth concern for pending proposals to effectively alter the import duties applicable to parts for vehicles 30 years old and older, as from 30th June, 1985. Such proposals will clearly render pursuance of the laudable pastime of restoration of such vehicles, in many families and circumstances, financially unviable. Persistance with the policy adopted by senior officers of your Department of Industry, Technology and Commerce, is anticipated to have a devastating impact upon unemployment in associated industries, and will significantly interfere with the preservation of a major component of our national heritage. At the same time, little if any revenue will be attracted in excess of that required to meet the administrative costs necessarily accruing to the proposed complex procedures. Your petitioners therefore pray that you investigate their grievances as a matter of urgency, and we seek your support to undertake the necessary steps to ensure the continuance of the favorable import concessions for such parts, bearing in mind that complete vehicles of this age category are still to be deservedly the subject of concessional entry into Australia. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Button (from nine citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of the undersigned citizens respectfully showeth: That the Australian Citizenship Act contains provisions for an Oath of Allegiance to Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Australia, Her heirs and successors, and an Affirmation of Allegiance, to Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Australia, Her heirs and successors. That the said Oath of Allegiance and Affirmation of Allegiance are supported by the overwhelming majority of Australians. Your petitioners humbly pray that the Members of the Senate in Parliament assembled: will ensure that the present Oath of Allegiance and Affirmation of Allegiance are retained, and will strongly oppose any attempts to remove all references to God and the Queen from the Oath of Allegiance and any attempts to remove all references to The Queen from the Affirmation of Allegiance. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Robertson (from 15 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament: The petition of the undersigned shows that there is a need to end the current discriminatory application of sales tax on confectionery and to end the other anomalies existing in the sales tax law. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that the Senate in Parliament assembled support a change in existing legislation so that this tax be replaced by a broad-based consumption tax with a uniform ad valorem rate without any exemptions whatsoever. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Chaney (from 19 citizens). To the Honourable the President and the Honourable members of the Senate in Paliament assembled. The humble petition of the undersigned citizens of Australia showeth that whereas: 1. They are completely satisfied with the design of the existing Australian National Flag. 2. They are aware it properly reflects the immutable characteristics of Australia, namely: (a) The Union Jack, itself the creation of three Christian Crosses, represents the Nation's historical origin and the source of its language and law; (b) The Southern Cross on an azure blue background signifying its geographical location on this planet Earth; (c) The large star depicting the advent of Federation in 1901. 3. They know the Flag has been a source of inspiration to generations of Australians in peace and war. 4. They recall that millions of native-born Australians and newcomers to these shores from other parts of the world have become united under its proud symbolism. 5. They are certain that any change to the Flag will produce division in the Australian community. Your petitioners therefore pray that your honourable House will: Propose and pass a motion that `the existing Australian National Flag be changed only with the approval of the Nation as expressed in a Referendum'. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Durack (from 7,180 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in the Parliament assembled. The petition of the undersigned shows: That human embryos deserve legal protection to enable the development of their full human potential. Your petitioners request that the Senate, in Parliament assembled, should: Pass Senator Harradine's Bill to prohibit experiments involving the use of human embryos created by in vitro fertilization. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senators Bolkus (from 172 citizens), Sir John Carrick (from 680 citizens), Chaney (from 283 citizens), Childs (from 370 citizens), Chipp (from 192 citizens), Gareth Evans (from 1,246 citizens), Dame Margaret Guilfoyle (from 959 citizens), Jessop (from 553 citizens), Mason (from 579 citizens), Messner (from 863 citizens), Puplick (from 610 citizens), Peter Rae (from 354 citizens), Short (from 525 citizens), Teague (from 657 citizens), Vanstone (from 69 citizens), Vigor (from 70 citizens), Walsh (from 30 citizens), and Withers (from 216 citizens). To the Honourable the Speaker and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of the undersigned citizens of Australia respectfully showeth that: Upon evidence from within Australia and overseas, the introduction of Plant Variety Rights legislation would not be in Australia's best interests because: 1. Plant genetic resources should remain a public resource; 2. Australia's public plant breeding programmes could be undermined; 3. Such legislation may lead to a reduction in the genetic diversity of commercial varieties; 4. There is reason to fear that choices of seed and other plant propagation materials may be restricted due to the controls placed on their use; 5. Plant Varietal Rights legislation could lead to higher costs for the grower, the consumer, the plant-breeder and the tax-payer; 6. Plant Variety Rights will lead to a further increase in foreign control of Australia's plant genetic resources; Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that Parliament ensure that it recognises the widespread public opposition to PVR and promote alternative means of royalty collection for plant breeders. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Childs (from 13 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament. The undersigned are convinced that an alliance, including full military co-operation, between Australia and the United States is indispensible to the defence security of the Australian Commonwealth; that every alliance involves co-operative arrangements of a practical nature; and that the following arrangements are indispensible to the effective conduct of A.N.Z.U.S. and any similar agreement, to wit; the reception of U.S. naval shipping (nuclear and non-nuclear) in Australian ports; the maintenance of the present U.S. nuclear installations in Australia; reasonable co-operation by Australia in U.S. missile testing programs. Your petitioners, therefore, pray the Senate, in Parliament assembled, that you will give this matter your earnest consideration. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Dame Margaret Guilfoyle (from 18 citizens). To the Honourable, the President and the members of the Senate assembled. The petition of the undersigned respectfully shows that to pose a broadly-based consumption tax would mean a proportionately greater burden on low income groups and increase poverty stricken victims already existing within Australia. Supporting Parents and their children are acknowledged as the largest amount of victimised citizens forced to survive on a financial basis below the poverty line. These Petitioners therefore hope that the Federal Government do not adopt the proposed acceptance regarding increased Indirect Taxation. Yours Sincerely, St Kilda Income Stretchers Resource Centre, Stationed at: 7 Duke Street, St Kilda, Vic. 3182. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Walsh (from 14 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate assembled. The petition of the undersigned respectfully shows that the introduction of tertiary fees will: impose further unacceptable financial hardships on students, force countless thousands of students to terminate their courses before completion, deprive many more thousands of potential students of the opportunity to commence tertiary education, and furthermore result in a dramatic increase in unemployment. Western Australian tertiary students therefore call on the Government to honour its election commitment not to introduce tertiary fees. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Walsh (from 1,094 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate assembled in Parliament. The petition of the undersigned citizens of Victoria respectfully showeth that: The freeze on nursing home benefit levels for Victoria will disadvantage the indigent patients already living in participating nursing homes. Your petitioners most humbly pray that the Senate in Parliament assembled should lift the freeze on nursing home benefit levels. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senators Button (from 411 citizens) and Dame Margaret Guilfoyle (from 1,073 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate assembled in Parliament. The petition of the undersigned citizens of Victoria respectfully showeth that: This Government having already imposed on the aged community, assets and income tests, has now further selectively imposed a freeze on the patient subsidy of residents in Victorian private sector nursing homes. Your petitioners most humbly pray that the Senate in Parliament assembled should lift the freeze on nursing home benefit levels. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Lewis (from 640 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate assembled in Parliament assembled. The petition of the undersigned citizens respectfully showeth: That we strongly oppose the reduction of Education funding and petition the Government to reverse it's decision. As it is the rights and welfare of our children that are threatened. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Ryan (from 75 citizens). To the Honourable the President and the members in the Senate in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of the undersigned citizens respectfully showeth: We deplore the proposed cut-back of funding for pre-school and child care in the mini budget as the proposal adversely affects young families, women's employment prospects and children's development in their most formative years. We urge you to reverse the proposed cuts in children's services. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senators Bolkus (from 756 citizens), Chipp (from 36 citizens), Jessop (from 469 citizens), Teague (from 101 citizens), Vanstone (from 19 citizens) and Vigor (from 19 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of we, the undersigned citizens of Australia, respectfully showeth: We as parents of the Minlaton and District Kindergarten children and concerned members of the community deplore the proposed cut-back of funding for pre-school and child care in the mini-budget as the proposal adversely affects young families, women's employment prospects and children's development in their most formative years. We urge you to reverse proposals for cuts in children's services. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Messner (from 41 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate assembled. We the undersigned citizens of Australia respectively believing that: 1. the Ethiopian government has refused to distribute any of the aid it receives from overseas among the great majority of those who live in the northern Ethiopian provinces of Tigray and Eritrea; 2. five million of the seven million starving in Ethiopia live in the above two provinces; 3. aid can, and has been, successfully sent directly to the peoples of Tigray and Eritrea, using Australian non-government organizations and thus avoiding the corrupt hands of the Ethiopian government; humbly petition that the Senate call upon the Government to redirect it's foreign aid away from the Ethiopian government towards the peoples of Tigray and Eritrea. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senators Button (from 111 citizens) and Gareth Evans (from 116 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament House assembled. The petition of the undersigned citizens of Australia respectfully showeth that we believe that our protected wildlife are not suitable subjects for laboratory experimentation and that repetitive and needless experiments should be prohibited. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Teague (from three citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled: The petition of the undersigned citizens, teachers, parents and students working in and for the interests of government schools and TAFE colleges showeth that: 1. We oppose the proposed cuts of 75 teaching and 40 ancillary positions in ACT government schools and 28 teaching positions in ACT TAFE colleges. 2. We deplore the cuts to public education and the harm caused to the opportunities of thousands of Canberra's youth. 3. We call on the Commonwealth Government to honour its primary obligation to public education and its commitments to increase participation and equity in education by not implementing staffing cuts in ACT government schools and TAFE colleges. by Senator Ryan (from 372 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The petition of the undersigned respectfully showeth: Every citizen should have- 1. A constitutional guarantee of the right to vote and 2. A constitutional guarantee of the equality of votes. Your petitioners most humbly pray that the Senate in Parliament assembled, should support the Constitution Alteration (Democratic Elections) 1985 Bill. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. by Senator Macklin (from 110 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The petition of the undersigned respectfully showeth: That the Government did not honour its promise to consult with veterans before introducing the Repatriation Legislation Amendment Bill. Your petitioners most humbly pray that the Senate in Parliament assembled, should oppose any sections of the Veterans' Entitlements Bill which would have the effect of reducing veterans' benefits and particularly that section which seeks to change the onus of proof. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. by Senator Macklin (from 19 citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The petition of the undersigned respectfully showeth: That your petitioners are concerned at the cuts made by the Government to Veterans' entitlements, amounting to $123.6 million. Your petitioners most humbly pray that the Senate in Parliament assembled, should urge the Government to accept its moral obligations to veterans and delay any implementation of these cuts until the Budget Session. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. by Senator Macklin (from six citizens). To the Honourable the President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of the undersigned citizens of Australia respectfully showeth: that the Technical and Further Education Participation and Equity Program established as the centre-piece for national youth policy, addresses the educational, social and employment needs of twenty-two thousand unemployed Australian youth. The intended fifty per cent funding cuts will directly affect at least ten thousand already disadvantaged young people, denying them access to further education and potential employment. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray: (1) That the decision to cut the Participation and Equity Programme funding be reversed. (2) That the Technical and Further Education Participation and Equity Programme be guaranteed funding for 1987, and beyond. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Giles (from 346 citizens). Senator PETER BAUME —by leave-I present to the Senate the following petition from 175 petitioners requesting the Senate to oppose Senator Harradine's Bill to control future research into invitro fertilisation: We, the undersigned, strongly oppose Senator Harradine's proposed legislation to control future research into in-vitro fertilisation. Petitions received. Senator GIETZELT(New South Wales-Minister for Veterans' Affairs) —I give notice that, on the next day of sitting, I shall move: That, in accordance with section 5 of the Parliament Act 1974, the Senate approves the following proposal contained in the report of the Joint Standing Committee on the New Parliament House presented to the Senate on 20 August 1985, namely: The construction of additional administrative accommodation at the Australian National Gallery. Senator SIDDONS(Victoria) —Mr President, I offer my congratulations on your election as President. I give notice that, on the next day of sitting, I shall move: That leave be given to introduce a Bill for an Act to encourage the introduction of industrial democracy in Australian enterprises through reductions in company tax for enterprises classified as industrial democracy enterprises. Senator SANDERS(Tasmania) —Mr President, I too congratulate you on your election to your position. I give notice that, on the next day of sitting, I shall move: That the Senate- (a) notes with concern the lack of power of the Parliament of the Commonwealth to prohibit, terminate, amend or in some cases to even view agreements between the Australian Government and governments of any other country, since the power to do any of the above is conferred in the Executive Government of the Commonwealth and not in the Parliament, and therefore security and defence agreements, specifically those related to US bases on Australian soil, may not be terminated or amended by the Commonwealth Parliament; (b) notes with concern that Parliament may not have the power to regulate this Executive power; and (c) calls upon the Government to take immediate steps to establish national sovereignty over Australian Territory by conferring power over agreements with foreign countries upon the Commonwealth Parliament, given the threat to Australia posed by foreign bases on Australian soil. The PRESIDENT —Order! I inform honourable senators that I have received from His Excellency the Administrator a commission to administer to senators the oath or affirmation of allegiance. Commission laid on the table and read by the Clerk. Assent to the following Bills reported: Australian Land Transport (Financial Assistance) Bill 1985 Australian Shipping Commission (Additional Capital) Bill 1985 Dairy Produce Market Support Levy Bill 1985 Defence (Re-establishment) Amendment Bill 1985 Local Government (Personal Income Tax Sharing) Amendment Bill 1985 Ministers of State Amendment Bill 1985 National Health Amendment Bill 1985 Representation Amendment Bill 1985 Social Security Legislation Amendment Bill 1985 States Grants (Schools Assistance) Legislation Amendment Bill 1985 States Grants (Tertiary Education Assistance) Amendment Bill 1985 States Grants (Education Assistance-Participation and Equity) Amendment Bill 1985 Telecommunications (Interception) Amendment Bill (No. 2) 1985 Broadcasting and Television Amendment Bill 1985 Broadcasting and Television (Consequential Amendments) Bill 1985 Broadcasting Stations Licence Fees Amendment Bill 1985 Director of Public Prosecutions Amendment Bill 1985 Health Legislation Amendment Bill 1985 Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill (No. 1) 1985 Television Stations Licence Fees Amendment Bill 1985 Australian Sports Commission Bill 1985 Bass Strait Freight Adjustment Levy Amendment Bill 1985 Bass Strait Freight Adjustment Trust Fund Amendment Bill 1985 Bounty (Ships) Amendment Bill 1985 Fertilizers (Subsidy) Amendment Bill 1985 Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Amendment Bill 1985 Petroleum (Submerged Lands) (Registration Fees) Amendment Bill 1985 Petroleum (Submerged Lands) (Retention Lease Fees) Bill 1985 Petroleum (Submerged Lands) (Royalty) Amendment Bill 1985 States and Northern Territory Grants (Rural Adjustment) Bill 1985 Supply Bill (No. 1) 1985-86 Supply Bill (No. 2) 1985-86 Supply (Parliamentary Departments) Bill 1985-86 Wool Industry Amendment Bill 1985 Wool Tax (No. 1) Amendment Bill 1985 Wool Tax (No. 2) Amendment Bill 1985 Wool Tax (No. 3) Amendment Bill 1985 Wool Tax (No. 4) Amendment Bill 1985 Wool Tax (No. 5) Amendment Bill 1985 Repatriation Legislation Amendment Bill 1985 The PRESIDENT —On 27 May I presented a special report of the Joint Committee on the Broadcasting of Parliamentary Proceedings relating to the broadcasting of excerpts of the sound recordings of proceedings on Australian radio and television stations. After the presentation of the report the Senate agreed to the authorisation of the broadcasting of excerpts of its proceedings for a trial period under such conditions as were determined by the Committee. Appended to the special report were guidelines governing access by media organisations to the audio signal of proceedings for the purposes of taking excerpts. The Joint Committee subsequently met and considered those guidelines in the light of media comment on their desirability and practicality. As a result the Committee has determined conditions of access which I now table for the information of honourable senators and which, with the leave of the Senate, I will incorporate in Hansard. The document read as follows- JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE BROADCASTING OF PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS Conditions for granting access to proceedings of the Senate and the House of Representatives for the purpose of recording and broadcasting excerpts 1. Excerpts may be taken from the proceedings of each House (whether or not the proceedings are being continuously broadcast) commencing at the time fixed for the meeting of the House until the adjournment of that House until the next sitting. 2. Excerpts shall be recorded from the audio signal of proceedings transmitted by the House monitoring system throughout Parliament House, Canberra. 3. Excerpts are not to be used for the purposes of satire or ridicule. 4. Excerpts shall not be used for the purposes of political party advertising or in election campaigns. 5. Fairness and accuracy and a general overall balance should be observed. 6. Excerpts must be placed in context. Commentators should identify Senators and Members at least by name. 7. Unusual events in the galleries should not be given undue emphasis. 8. Qualified privilege only shall apply to broadcasters in the use of excerpts. 9. The instructions of the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives or their delegated representatives on the use of recorded excepts, shall be observed at all times. 10. Where the excerpts are used on commercial networks, the station should try to ensure that advertising before and after excerpts is of an appropriate nature. 11. Where the audio excerpts of proceedings are used on television, their use may be that of audio over still frames, or overlay material. 12. Access to proceedings for the purpose of recording excerpts shall be on the basis of an understanding to observe these guidelines. The PRESIDENT —The conditions as determined represent some modification of the original guidelines. Honourable senators should be aware that as well as allowing excerpts to be taken from those proceedings normally available for broadcasting, the Committee has determined that excerpts may also be taken from the adjournment debates and proceedings after 11.30 p.m. which are not currently broadcast. The guidelines now also specify that excerpts are not to be used for the purposes of political party advertising or in election campaigns and that qualified privilege only shall apply to broadcasters. Another modification is that the fortnightly return which was previously required to be provided to the Committee by media organisations is no longer a requirement for access to the audio signal. Alternative monitoring arrangements have been entered into and I will report to the Senate on the monitoring at the conclusion of the trial period. I remind honourable senators of the resolution of the Senate of 27 May 1985 authorising the recording for later broadcasting of excerpts of the proceedings of the Senate from the commencement of proceedings today. Senator PETER RAE(Tasmania) —Mr President, I seek leave to ask you a question. Leave granted. Senator PETER RAE —Mr President, I wonder what `qualified privilege' means in the terms of what you have just announced, bearing in mind the varying differences in the meaning of `qualified privilege' amongst the States of Australia. I wonder whether we could perhaps have some further elaboration at some future date to assist those who may be involved. There are differences in relation to State defamation law and the meaning of `qualified privilege' does differ. The PRESIDENT —Order! I am not able to provide Senator Peter Rae with an immediate answer to the question that he asked. However, I think, from recollection, the Committee did receive legal advice on this subject. I shall make appropriate inquiries and advise the Senate accordingly. Senator HARRADINE(Tasmania)(4.07) —by leave-I move: That the Senate take note of the paper. This is the first time that I have seen the statement that has just been made by the President. I do not know whether that is my fault or somebody else's. However, I must say that the statement differs somewhat from what was proposed. When I was coming into the chamber I understood the President to say that it is now proposed that audio excerpts of proceedings can be taken from adjournment debates. I had not understood that that was a recommendation of the Joint Committee on the Broadcasting of Parliamentary Proceedings. Normally speaking, adjournment debates, fortunately or unfortunately, are coloured by local matters and are interspersed with names. I know that on a number of occasions in the last Parliament considerable exception was taken to names being used in the adjournment debate by at least one honourable senator. That honourable senator had a perfect right to raise the questions that he did. Indeed, he raised those questions time after time. Honourable senators will recall that he named persons in the Public Service who were not in a position to defend themselves. Again, I do not question the right of any honourable senator to raise matters such as those in the adjournment debate. I might question the prudence of doing so but I do not question their right. I feel that we should have another look at whether we should agree to allow audio excerpts to be taken of adjournment proceedings. I acknowledge the point that Senator Peter Rae has made. However, statements could be made which may not be libellous under any law of the Commonwealth but may require some answering. Yet, people named in adjournment debates may not be able to respond because of the nature of their employment. In such cases, I believe some consideration should be given by the Senate to the appropriateness of allowing such audio excerpts of the proceedings to be made without some sort of control. Senator Chipp —Aren't people also named in ordinary debates on broadcast days? Senator HARRADINE —That is a valid point; I was just coming to that. It is true that in fact there is opportunity in the Senate for any honourable senator to name anybody at any stage of a debate. Senator Georges —And on broadcast days. Senator HARRADINE —And on broadcast days. However, I cannot recall such a situation occurring under normal circumstances on a broadcast day. Senator Georges —It has. Senator HARRADINE —Senator Georges says that it has. I make the point that normally speaking the adjournment debate is utilised by members of Parliament, as part of their express representative function, for constituents. This is a new question to which, I should point out, I have not given mature consideration. I feel that perhaps time should be given to the Senate to consider this matter before it becomes a fait accompli. Senator CHANEY(Western Australia-Leader of the Opposition)(4.11) —Mr President, I just want to make a couple of comments. I agree with Senator Harradine that the Senate should move to take note of your statement because I think it is an important statement which announces a further step to be taken to open up this Parliament to the media. On previous occasions I have expressed a view, with which I think you are in broad agreement, that it is in the interests of this Parliament that we should as far as possible be as open to the electronic media as we are to the print media. It is something of an accident of history that whereas the rules which apply to newspapers and which give them ready access to anything that is said, during ordinary debate or the adjournment debate, and it is available and can be used in the print media anywhere, there have been very strong restrictions on the use-- Senator Harradine —The adjournment debate is generally too late to be printed. Senator CHANEY —The same rules apply to debate on the adjournment. In any event, Mr President, in fact the sorts of problems that have been raised by Senator Harradine arise in just the same way with respect to newspaper publication. Whilst I think it is important that we examine these matters, I would simply wish to welcome the fact that the Joint Committee on the Broadcasting of Parliamentary Proceedings is in fact taking this Parliament to a point where it is more accessible to the Australian public. The present position, as I understand it, is that the readership of newspapers is declining. People are placing less reliance on the printed word and more reliance on the electronic media. I think it is absurd to exclude the Parliament from that electronic media. I certainly welcome the fact that the Committee is experimenting in this way. I am sure that all of us will watch with great interest the monitoring that the Committee undertakes. However, in light of the doubts that have been raised, I wish to express my general support for the direction which the Committee is taking. On the face of it, I think the point raised by Senator Peter Rae is one on which we need to be advised. However, again it would seem to me that the problem which he adverts to is a problem which could arise with respect to news- papers as well as the electronic media. There are variations in the law of defamation from State to State. The best endeavours of Senator Durack and Senator Gareth Evans seem fated not to produce a uniform defamation law in Australia, and I do not think we will ever get a perfect solution because of that lack of uniformity. Mr President, I would not wish the questions which have been raised to leave an impression that there is not support for the general thrust of the Committee's report. Although the Opposition has not had a chance to discuss that matter formally, it was certainly reported to our party room. On a personal basis, I express my broad satisfaction with what is proposed. Senator WATSON(Tasmania)(4.14) —Mr President, I support the guidelines as tabled by you this afternoon. If I recall correctly the proceedings of the Joint Committee on the Broadcasting of Parliamentary Proceedings, it was acknowledged that the member or senator had absolute privilege on whatever was said within the Parliament. However, privilege so far as the broadcaster or rebroadcaster is concerned depends on the context of the material and the degree of excerpting or additional wording that occurs down the line. It may be recalled that in the guidelines further editing by rebroadcasters was permitted so long as it complied with the other guidelines in relation to balance, the requirement that proceedings should not be held to ridicule, and so on. I believe that the recommendations, which will be followed during this session, will bring this Parliament into line with what happens in the United Kingdom. Currently the British Broadcasting Corporation can excerpt items from the House of Commons. I think it is necessary to open up parliamentary debates to a wider area of activity and interest within the community. I commend the guidelines to the Senate. Senator BUTTON(Victoria-Leader of the Government in the Senate)(4.16) —I move: That the debate be now adjourned. Senator Missen —It is very unfair. Many people have raised objections- The PRESIDENT —Order! Senator Button was given the call and he has moved that the debate be now adjourned. I have no alternative but to put that question. Senator Chipp —I raise a point of order. May I plead with the Leader of the Government in the Senate to reconsider. We would vote against his motion at this stage. Senator Missen is entitled to say a few words. Senator BUTTON —I am not terribly fussed about whether Senator Missen says his words today or on some other day. As the Leader of the Opposition, Senator Chaney, has said, there are matters which the Liberals would like to consider at their Party meeting. It is no good Senator Missen nodding his head at me; that is what Senator Chaney said. Senator Chaney —It is not what I said, actually. Senator BUTTON —Senator Chaney did say that there were matters which he would like to consider. He said that he expressed his own view, not his Party's view. Matters have arisen which I believe people on this side of the chamber would like to consider. A matter which was raised by Senator Peter Rae requires a further comment from you, Mr President. I would have thought it would be appropriate to adjourn the matter until those considerations can be brought together in any debate which takes place here. If that is not the wish of the Senate, I do not pursue the point. As at the moment, I have moved the motion that the debate be now adjourned. Question resolved in the negative. Senator MISSEN(Victoria)(4.18) —I desire to speak very briefly because you, Mr President, will be making a further statement on this matter. Generally, I support what the Leader of the Opposition, Senator Chaney, and Senator Watson have said; it is a very good thing for this to happen. However, we should be sure that what we do is not obscure. I raise a point which has not been made and I hope that you, Mr President, will take it into account in the report which you will make to the Senate. Guidelines No. 8 states: Qualified privilege only shall apply to broadcasters in the use of excerpts. I believe that guideline is capable of two alternative meanings. In regard to broadcasters, only qualified privilege applies-if malice is shown, of course, it can be rebutted-and the full privilege is not allowed. That is one possible meaning. The other meaning is that it is applicable only to broadcasters, and, therefore, people who speak in the adjournment debate, which is not normally broadcast, may find themselves liable because of what they have said. That is a possible interpretation of that guideline. I put it that the guideline is obscure and it ought to be cleared up. In fact, it should not be included. It is obvious that only qualified privilege is intended, but it is not clear from the wording in the guideline. I suggest that my point be taken into account when you consider making a statement to this House, Mr President. Senator PUPLICK(New South Wales)(4.19) —I draw the attention of the Senate to guideline No. 10 of this statement. I think it is absolutely extraordinary for the Parliament to try to lay down for commercial broadcasters that their advertising before and after excerpts of parliamentary broadcasting should be `of appropriate nature'. I assert that it is not the role of the Parliament to determine what the nature of advertisements preceding and after excerpts of the Parliament should be. The Joint Committee on the Broadcasting of Parliamentary Proceedings has suddenly made this determination despite all the regulation of broadcasting that is going on at the moment. It is now, undoubtedly, going to open a whole new Pandora's box for everybody who wants to appear at a renewal hearing before the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal to argue that broadcasters have breached some sort of standard because they had advertisements of an inappropriate nature on television before and after the broadcasting of parliamentary proceedings. Senator Chipp —Can you give us an example of what you consider inappropriate? Senator PUPLICK —With the greatest of respect, Senator, it seems to me that the onus lies upon the people who are seeking to impose censorship upon the broadcasters to tell us what its is they want to censor off the broadcasts. I think it is absolutely ridiculous to lay down a set of guidelines and start involving this Parliament in questions of what constitutes appropriate advertising if broadcasters happen to use an excerpt of the parliamentary broadcast on one of their news programs. I think that guideline in particular ought to be struck out entirely. Debate (on motion by Senator Grimes) adjourned. The PRESIDENT —Pursuant to the Resolution of the Senate of 31 May 1985, I lay on the table the second report of the Standing Committee on Education and the Arts on the Examination of Annual Reports which was presented to me on 9 July 1985. In accordance with the terms of the resolution, I have authorised the printing and circulation of the report. Senator COLSTON(Queensland) —by leave-I move: That the Senate take note of the report. I seek leave to continue my remarks later. Leave granted; debate adjourned. The PRESIDENT —Pursuant to the Resolution of the Senate of 31 May 1985, I lay on the table the second report of the Standing Committee on Industry and Trade on the Development of Closer Economic Relations between Australia and New Zealand which was presented to me on 16 July 1985. In accordance with the terms of the resolution, I have authorised the printing and circulation of the report. Senator ARCHER(Tasmania) —by leave-I move: That the Senate take note of the report. I seek leave to continue my remarks later. Leave granted; debate adjourned. The PRESIDENT —Pursuant to the Resolution of the Senate of 31 May 1985, I lay on the table the report of the Select Committee on Animal Welfare on the Export of Live Sheep from Australia which was presented to me on 13 August 1985. In accordance with the terms of the resolution, I have authorised the printing and circulation of the report. Senator GEORGES(Queensland)(4.24) —by leave-I move: That the Senate take note of the report. Mr President, I ask that some precedence be given to the resumption of this debate on the next day of sitting. Some controversy has arisen about the report of the Senate Select Committee on Animal Welfare and some explanations need to be made. The conclusions and recommendations of the report had a somewhat delphic touch. Everyone seems to have determined to interpret them in his own way, much to my personal disadvantage. So, in moving the motion for the resumption of the debate, I ask that the Senate consider that the debate on this report be given some precedence. I seek leave to continue my remarks later. Leave granted; debate adjourned. The PRESIDENT —I present a report by the Joint Standing Committee on the New Parliament House relating to proposed works in the Parliamentary Zone, namely, the construction of additional administrative accommodation at the Australian National Gallery. The PRESIDENT —It is with deep regret that I inform the Senate of the death on 1 June 1985 of former Senator Dame Dorothy Tangney. Senator BUTTON(Victoria-Leader of the Government in the Senate) —I move: That the Senate expresses its deep regret at the death, on 1 June 1985, of Dame Dorothy Tangney, DBE, Senator for the State of Western Australia from 1943 to 1968, places on record its appreciation of her long and meritorious public service and tenders its profound sympathy to the members of her family in their bereavement. Dorothy Tangney was born in 1911, a member of a family of nine children. Her father was an engine driver and she was brought up in poor circumstances. She won a State secondary scholarship which paid for her attendance at Saint Joseph's College in Fremantle for five years secondary schooling. On matriculation she combined school teaching and part time study to complete a BA degree at the University of Western Australia. She continued as a post-graduate student to take a diploma of education. As a teacher Dorothy Tangney taught in the heart of the Fremantle industrial area during the Depression years, where she saw the effects of depressed shipping activities on the families of the waterfront workers. She witnessed hardship, poverty and social deprivation amongst the people and children of that city. These experiences as a person very interested in social issues led her to an interest in politics. She became an active member of the Australian Labor Party and contested a State parliamentary seat in 1936 and 1939. She was placed on the Federal Senate ticket in 1940, and in 1943, although she was in fourth position on the ticket, there was a landslide which saw all four ALP candidates elected. As a result she was the first woman to take a seat in the Australian Senate. She headed the Western Australian Senate ticket for the Labor Party until 1967, the first woman to do so for a major political party. From the perceived wisdom of 1985 it is probably difficult for us to imagine the challenges which being the first woman senator imposed on Dorothy Tangney. She bore an enormous responsibility. As one of her colleagues said in this place on her retirement, it is a tribute to the success with which she carried out her duties as a senator that other political parties said: If women can do as splendid a job as Dorothy Tangney we had better also be represented by women in the Senate. Dorothy Tangney was a strong advocate of governments taking responsibility in respect of social services, education and recognition of the social problems of deserted wives, civilian widows and war widows. Between 1943 and 1946 she was a member of the Joint Committee on Social Security established by the Chifley Labor Government. Much of her most valuable work was accomplished through serving on that Committee. The Committee's recommendations on such matters as child endowment and hospital benefits had all become law by the time she left the Parliament. Another notable contribution was her membership of the Council of the Australian National University from 1951 until her retirement in 1967. Again, she was the first woman member of the Council of the ANU and the only one for many years. In 1967 Dorothy Tangney was created a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Her parliamentary achievements were also recognised when in 1974 the new Federal seat in Western Australia was named Tangney. She retired from active politics in 1968. She did so in an atmosphere in which colleagues of all parties in the Senate and the House of Representatives praised her work, her sense of humour and wit and her considerable achievements as the first woman senator. She was a long-standing and respected member of the Senate. On behalf of the Government I extend to her family our sincere sympathy at the passing of a fine Australian. Senator CHANEY(Western Australia-Leader of the Opposition) —On behalf of the Opposition and also personally I support the motion of condolence which has been moved by the Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator Button) and his comments. The late Dame Dorothy Tangney is warmly remembered in my State of Western Australia. There was a great deal of pride in the fact that she was the first woman to enter the Senate. My first knowledge of her was at the University of Western Australia. She was in fact identified primarily as the President of the Societies Council in 1936, which was just before she went into Parliament, and then as the first woman senator; but certainly she was remembered with great regard and affection at that place. I met her when she was serving as a senator and soon learned that she was very well and warmly regarded across the political spectrum. The members of parliament such as my father and Peter Sim from the Senate had a great affection and regard for her. It seems to me that in everything that has been written and said about her there are some very consistent threads which have been touched on by the Leader of the Government and which I would like to touch on again. In the speeches which were made on her leaving this place there was a series of tributes in this chamber. Said of her were things such as: All I can say to you, Dorothy- I notice that everybody referred to her as Dorothy- is that you have a warm heart and soul that everybody appreciated. It did not matter whether they were Labor, Liberal, Communist, Country Party, or who they were-you fought their fight for them. . It was said elsewhere by Dame Annabelle Rankin that her first meeting with her predecessor was when Dorothy Tangney came up to her in the Library and said: `I am Dorothy Tangney. Can I do anything to help you?' Dame Annabelle said that has been her story all through her life. I will not go through all of the appropriate things that were said at that time, but I was struck by the quotation, which has been used by the Leader of the Government, that she did, indeed, provide an example which many others felt they wished to follow. We certainly have many examples of that in the Senate today. In one sense I think Dorothy Tangney was of a totally different era in politics. Before her retirement she said: `I have never been a left winger or a right winger. Those terms were non-existent when I joined the Labor Party. I am just a Labor-ite'. But I think she came from another era in other respects as well. I think relationships were a little easier in much of her time in parliament, although she went through that very difficult period of the split. But, in fact, across party lines relationships were a little easier. I think she was a very good example of a person who had very clear lines of communication both within her own party and across to the other side. She was from another era. I make an intentional pun; in a sense, she was pre-era. She did not have the benefit of any equal rights legislation; she simply got out there and did it in circumstances which were extremely difficult. She sacrificed a great deal in her early life in the support of her large number of brothers and sisters. Again, I will not take the time of the Senate to read the speech, but I think anyone who wants a glimpse of the sorts of qualities which were referred to by the Leader of the Government could take the time to read her own farewell speech to the Senate. I think it is a witty and self-deprecating speech which few of us could emulate. It does give some measure of the woman. In recent years she suffered ill-health. My most recent recollection of her is the weekly references to her in the church bulletin where she was mentioned among those prayed for as the sick of the parish. That was for a very lengthy period. It was, in a sense, an unfortunate end to a long, productive and energetic life. On behalf of the Opposition I extend my sympathy to her surviving family and express the admiration of us all for the way she broke new ground. I thought that the newspaper in her home town stated something which most Australians would like to read of someone who had served in high office in the national parliament. It stated: The daughter of an engine driver, Dorothy Tangney spent much of her childhood in timber mill towns . . . She won her education through scholarships and . . . once sold lottery tickets at the Victoria Quay wharf gate so that she could afford to take up a scholarship at a secondary school. She started her career as a teacher after working to help her family of eight brothers and sisters by day and studying at night. It is through careers such as that that we are reminded of how much can be achieved by an individual who starts with few advantages but is prepared to make a very great effort. Senator CHIPP(Victoria-Leader of the Australian Democrats) —I join the Australian Democrats with the motion of condolence moved by Senator John Button and supported by Senator Fred Chaney on behalf of the Opposition. I knew Senator Dame Dorothy Tangney only slightly but I did know that she was a kindly, humble woman who spread humour and inspiration everywhere she went. I join with other speakers in expressing condolences and sympathy to her family. Senator COLLARD(Queensland-Leader of the National Party of Australia) —I join the members of the National Party of Australia in the Senate with the condolence motion moved by the Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator Button). Senator Tangney was obviously a trail blazer for the women of Australia in many ways, not in the least-as has been alluded to-in her being the first woman in these hallowed halls. She represented women, her party and the people of Australia, in particular Western Australia, so well here, as has been indicated by those who have spoken before me. It is fitting that a person of her high stature in this community should be so remembered. I wish to be associated with all that has been said. Senator GILES(Western Australia) —In the absence of Senator Coleman, who I know would wish to speak to this motion of condolence, I will speak briefly about the career of Dorothy Tangney who, as has already been mentioned, was certainly an inspiration to those of us who have worked within the Australian Labor Party and, I suspect, to women in other political parties over the last 40 years. As little more than an schoolgirl herself, Dorothy Tangney discovered that her students were desperately hungry and that their lassitude, listlessness and inattention were the result of malnutrition. She decided then to become a parliamentarian and to put a stop to such misery and destitution. After several attempts she gained preselection and was elected to the Senate in 1943, the year in which both the Senate and the House of Representatives welcomed their first elected women. The portraits of these two women, Senator Dorothy Tangney and Dame Enid Lyons, hang in Kings's Hall. They are now in the light and out from behind the pillars behind which they languished for so many years until the sudden explosion of women parliamentarians of the 1980s insisted that the portraits of our two courageous pioneer women be suitably displayed. It must have taken great courage and stamina to be a Western Australian senator, male or female, for the 25 years of Dorothy's parliamentary career. In 1968, the last year of her term, she talked about the early trips to Canberra by train. She talked about the time used to get to know Canberra well and to get down to preparation for parliamentary work. For some, this would have been a fairly leisurely existence, but not for a women of Dorothy's calibre and commitment, with a massive agenda of social reforms and the determination to argue for her causes at every possible opportunity. Her parliamentary career encompassed a generation but it was only for the first six years of those 25 that the Labor Party was in government. Dorothy was proudest of what she called the golden years of social services in this country, the years from 1943 to 1946, during which, despite the crippling effects of war, the community mood was sensitised to social needs and the role of the Federal Government in satisfying those needs. In the Address-in-Reply debate in 1968 she said: `I see that all the things for which I had worked are now accomplished.' She listed achieving government responsibility for and building up a public consciousness of the need for adequate social services; Commonwealth assistance in education; recognition of the rights of ex-service men and women; and recognition of deserted wives, civilian widows and war widows. Among the many other issues on which she fought successful campaigns were the virtual eradication of tuberculosis as a common and, in the 1940s, a frequently fatal infectious disease; persuading governments and the community to take a non-punitive approach to mental illness; the establishment of the Australian National University; and the need for a naval base in Western Australia, which was an issue on which she haunted-her words-successive Ministers for 15 years. Senator Tangney also argued frequently for a national disaster fund and on one occasion fell foul of the President of the Senate who thought she was alluding to a gentleman in another place when she described a `cock-eyed Bob', which is Western Australian vernacular for a localised very destructive storm. Dorothy was the only woman in the Senate for four years and the only Labor Party woman in the Senate for the 25 years of her term. She was, however, joined by three conservative women within the next decade in the Senate. We who have had the support and the companionship of our female colleagues can only speculate about the loneliness of all those years, all those train trips, the frustration of years in opposition and the fearsome responsibility of being one of the very few women in Federal Parliament, required to fulfil all the expectations of Australian women and also to reassure continually all those doubting men of her capacity for the job. We who now represent our respective parties in the Senate, the House of Representatives and the State parliaments are very well aware of the debt that we owe to Dorothy, whose energy and great talents were given so generously to her constituency and to parliamentary duties without a thought for the heavy cost to her well-being. Despite ill-health after her retirement, Dorothy maintained her interest in politics and her delightful sense of humour. She often recounted how she had served under six Prime Ministers and seven Governors-General. Until she entered the Senate, the Labor Government did not have a majority in either House but she insisted that she had newspaper articles to prove that at that time she was regarded as the Labor Government's slender majority. She would, I believe, have been highly amused by an incident which occurred during her funeral. I had been requested to represent the President of the Senate at her funeral, including acting as a pall bearer, and was honoured to do so. However, when I lined up with the other pall bearers the funeral director could not cope. He politely but firmly turned me down with the words: `You go back there with the other ladies. This is an all-men affair'. That there are few all-men affairs left in Australian public life is, in no small measure, due to the parliamentary career of this outstanding woman. We honour and celebrate the memory of Dorothy Tangney, pioneer, crusader and senator-a great inspiration to us all. Question resolved in the affirmative, honourable senators standing in their places. The PRESIDENT —I inform the Senate of the deaths of Mr F. R. Birrell and Mr J. A. England, former members of the House of Representatives. Senator CHANEY(Western Australia-Leader of the Opposition) —by leave-On behalf of the Opposition I express our sympathy to the widow of John England and his children. Mr John England had a distinguished career not just in the Parliament of Australia but also in his service in the armed forces, before and during the Second World War, and subsequently as Administrator of the Northern Territory. I had the pleasure of sharing one term of the 1974-75 Parliament with Mr England. I had quite a lot do with him because we were both Whips during that period. I think my experience with him was that of us all. He was a real gentleman; he was a very fine man-- Senator Kilgariff —You looked up to him. Senator CHANEY —As my Whip reminds me, I certainly loooked up to him; he was a man of considerable physical stature. Again, Mr England is a reminder of the changes which have occurred in Australia. As a man who died in his seventies, he was a very good example of many of the virtues of his generation. I believe he was utterly trustworthy; he was a man whom one could respect and on whom one could rely. His service to Australia in peace and war was exemplary. On behalf of the Opposition, I express sympathy to his relatives and thank them for his service to Australia. I do not know the other former member who has been referred to. However, I do not wish to let the occasion pass without also expressing the sympathy of the Opposition to the relatives of the late Mr Birrell. Senator BUTTON(Victoria-Leader of the Government in the Senate) —by leave-I associate myself with the remarks made by the Leader of the Opposition (Senator Chaney) in respect of the late John England. I had the pleasure of meeting him on only one or two occasions but on the basis of those meetings-- Senator Chipp —You would have to look up to him too. Senator BUTTON —That is right. I concur entirely with the remarks made by the Leader of the Opposition. Mr President, Fred Birrell was the other member of the House of Representatives to whom you referred. He was a key figure in the Australian Labor Party in South Australia. He joined the Party in the early 1930s and gave service not only to the Labor Party but also to the trade union movement as an official of the Vehicle Builders Employees Federation of Australia for nearly 20 years. He served with distinction during the Second World War and was in the forces for some six years. In 1963 he was elected to the Federal Parliament as the member for Port Adelaide and he represented that seat for 11 years. I think I can put it best by saying that he was very affectionately and well regarded in the electorate. He worked hard for the interests of the men and women whom he represented. He had a fine record of community service both in his electorate and in Adelaide generally. As I have said, he made a great mark as a member of the Labor Party and through that Party and because of his involvement in social issues broadly he served both his country and this Parliament well. On behalf of the Government, I extend to his widow, Pat, and his three children our sincere sympathy and regret at the loss of a fine Australian. Senator COLLARD(Queensland-Leader of the National Party of Australia) —by leave-I would like to be associated first of all with the remarks in relation to John England. I did not know John England as a member of Parliament-he was the honourable member for Calare-but I got to know him very well later. Honourable senators have alluded to the fact that he was a big man. He was a big man in every way. He was also a Whip. As one of the members of the ex-Whips club, I know that being a Whip means that one rises above mere mortals. He did that in many ways. He gently but firmly ran the then Country Party in the other place. One could well say that he was a gentle giant. I doubt that he ever had to raise his voice but those over whom he had charge were under no illusion as to what he meant when he said something. He had a deep, resonant voice which went well with his big stature. He served his country with distinction during war time and peace. When he concluded his career as a parliamentarian he served as Administrator of the Northern Territory during a time of change. The fact that he was a warm, gentle human, a man with a common touch, helped him in the position which he held. My colleague Senator Kilgariff will probably talk about those times in the Northern Territory. When John England concluded serving in that position he retired to his farm at Grenfell which he knew and loved so well, but he still did not opt out of publc life. He took on the job as General Secretary of the National Party. I associate the National Party of Australia with the remarks that have been made. John England was a person whom we knew, whom we admired and who served his country well in many ways. I did not know Fred Birrell but I also associate the National Party with what has been said. Our sympathy goes to Polly England and her family and to the family of Fred Birrell. Senator KILGARIFF(Northern Territory) —by leave-I support the remarks made with regard to John England. Like many other Northern Territorians I knew John England and his wife, Polly, very well. John Armstrong England had a long and distinguished career in government service. Many honourable senators will remember his term in the House of Representatives which began in 1960 when he was elected to the seat of Calare in New South Wales which he retained until his retirement on 11 November 1975. In October 1972 he was elected Country Party Whip in the House of Representatives, a position he held until his retirement. During Mr England's time in the House of Representatives he served on several parliamentary committees, including the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence and the Joint Committee on the Australian Capital Territory. As a representative of Parliament he also served as a councillor at the spring meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Bucharest, as a member of the Australian delegation to the sixty-first Inter-Parliamentary Union conference in Tokyo and as a member of the parliamentary delegation to South Korea during the latter part of his political life. After his retirement from Federal politics John England was appointed Administrator of the Northern Territory where he gained the respect and admiration of the Northern Territory population. His term as Administrator spanned 4 1/2 years from June 1976 to December 1980. As Senator Collard has said, John England was a man of considerable stature, both physically and as a man. He was much recognised in the Northern Territory because he went there in the period of responsible self-goverment when there was much agitation for change. He went to Darwin not much more than a year after Cyclone Tracy struck and in 1976 Darwin was still going through the throes of re-establishment and re-building. He added his considerable strength to both of these projects. As I have said, he was respected and admired by many people in the Northern Territory. John England's home was that of all the Administrators of the Northern Territory, the old Residency Building, and it was often filled by his friends who flocked there to spend time with him and Polly. Also they assisted in so many ways the organisations of the Northern Territory. The Residency became a popular place for holding meetings, fund raising functions and the like. He contributed much to the Northern Territory and its people. John England's career began in the Australian armed forces. In 1931 he enlisted with the Light Horse Regiment and remained there until 1942 when he transferred to the 2nd Australian Imperial Force to serve in West New Guinea, Morotai, Labuan and Sarawak. In 1943 he was made a lieutenant-colonel and was later awarded the Efficiency Decoration in recognition of his dedicated service. The fact that he worked his way up through the ranks is indicative of the man he was. As I understand it, he became the commanding officer of an AIF battalion-no mean feat. John England is to be remembered as a man who contributed much during his career as a Federal politician and later as Administrator of the Northern Territory, and he will be sadly missed by all who knew him. As a Territorian who knew the family of John and Polly so well, as did so many people in the Northern Territory, I send to Polly and the family my thoughts and the condolences of all his very many friends from the Northern Territory and outback Australia. Senator CHIPP(Victoria-Leader of the Australian Democrats) —by leave-From looking at this sad item on the Order of Business, one comes to the conclusion that Fred Birrell and John England shared one outstanding quality. They were both extraordinarily decent human beings who would find it almost impossible to say or do a nasty thing to another human being. I send my sympathies to their loved ones. In particular, I had a lot in common with John England. John and I shared the terrifying experience on 8 March 1961-which is a long time ago-of making our maiden speeches in the House of Representatives on our first day in Parliament. We had just been elected at by-elections. I was elected to the seat of Higinbotham in Victoria, and John to the seat of Calare in New South Wales. I do not know whether this is still the practice in the House of Representatives but in those days it was the two newest members who moved and seconded the motion for the adoption of the Address-in-Reply to the Governor-General's Speech. On this occasion the Administrator delivered the Speech and I moved in absolute terror the Address-in-Reply on our first day in Parliament. John and I quite often shared a laugh about the experience that we had together on that day. I remember John as being not only an honest man but also a big man. He was a passionate follower of Australian rules football. He would have made the perfect centre half-back or first ruck. He looked after himself. He was a man about six feet four in stature but, as other speakers have said, he was big not only in stature but also in integrity. He was a very big man and yet a gentle man, a shy man. He was a sincere man, a person of total integrity. As I said about Fred Birrell and him, I do not think one could say anything better on their deaths than that neither man could do a nasty or a dirty thing to anybody else and each would go out of his way to do something good for someone less fortunate than themselves. I send my sympathies to their loved ones. Senator FOREMAN(South Australia) —by leave-As a South Australian senator I wish to associate myself with the condolence remarks about Fred Birrell, a person who spent the best part of his life serving the labour movement. Fred Birrell retired at the 1974 general election as the member for Port Adelaide which he had served as a member for 11 years. He worked in the motor industry at General Motors-Holden's Ltd as a motor trimmer and he also served for six years in the Royal Australian Air Force. Fred Birrell later became a trade union official with the Vehicle Builders Employees Federation, rising to the position of General Secretary of the South Australian branch, a position which I have also held. He held various other positions in the labour movement. Fred had many hobbies including football, fishing, motoring and gardening. Probably his greatest distinction in his football career was playing in the 1934 Glenelg premiership team. Fred Birrell leaves a wife and three children. I offer his wife, Patricia, and his children, Pamela, Julie and Ron, my deepest sympathy and condolences. Senator ELSTOB(South Australia) —by leave-I also wish to join in the condolence remarks about Mr Fred Birrell and Mr England although I did not know Mr England. I remember Fred Birrell as a great person. He not only served in the Parliament and the armed forces but he had a very happy knack of helping people when they were in need. Fred would go out at all hours of the day and night if he heard of anyone who was in trouble. He was a very humane person and he lived his life in the service of other people. I wish to be associated with the remarks of sympathy to his wife and three children. Senator ROBERTSON(Northern Territory) —by leave-I wish to be associated with the comments about John England, a former Administrator of the Northern Territory. I do this on two grounds; firstly, on a personal basis, because I was privileged to develop a warm relationship with him while he was Administrator, and, secondly, on behalf of those people in the Northern Territory who would wish to be associated with the comments that have been made. I first met John England on the day he was commissioned as Administrator. The then Minister, Minister Adermann, rang me and asked whether I would like an invitation to the commissioning which was to be held at Government House. I indicated that I would prefer not to receive an invitation for reasons which will be understood by most honourable senators. Immediately after the commissioning Mr England came to my office downstairs-we had little square boxes in those days-to meet me because I was involved with the Northern Territory. He won my respect by that action, by the fact that he was prepared to come down and see me. I apologised for not attending the commissioning and he said that he understood. I believe that he did understand and that again raised him in my estimation. He was prepared to see another's point of view and while perhaps not agreeing with it, he accepted it. John England was very popular with all sections of the community in the Northern Territory. I think this was basically because of his personality, the sort of person he was-which has been described by other speakers today-and the fact that beside him he had a charming wife who helped him, as so many of our wives do in this sort of situation. The other reason why I believe that he was popular was that he left politics completely behind when he became Administrator of the Northern Territory. This is not always done by people who accept an office such as that. That action endeared him to the people of the Northern Territory. He was very gracious to me and to my wife and, with the stature which has been mentioned already, he would make sure that he spoke to us whenever he came to a function. I have a particularly warm respect for the fact that if I were in Canberra on parliamentary duties he would make it his special duty to make sure that my wife was looked after at the functions which they both attended. I join other senators in extending sympathy to Mrs England and the family and I am sure that they will have the satisfaction of knowing that not only was he respected greatly in the Northern Territory, but it is fair to say that he enjoyed a degree of love from the people of the Northern Territory for the service he rendered as Administrator. The PRESIDENT —I wish to inform the Senate of the death, on 30 July 1985, of Mr James Rowland Odgers, Clerk of the Senate from 1965 until his retirement in 1979. Mr Odgers served the Parliament, and in particular the Senate, for some 42 years, He commenced duty with the Senate in 1942, having previously worked with the Parliamentary Reporting Staff, and subsequently the Joint House Department, from 1937. In 1953, he produced the first edition of Australian Senate Practice, which is now in its fifth edition. In 1959, Mr Odgers undertook a three-month study of the United States Senate and its committee system, and the widely accepted and effective committee system of this Senate owes a lot to the application of that knowledge by Mr Odgers. Many Parliaments sought his assistance, within Australia and overseas, and it is not without significance that in the week before his death he appeared, by invitation, before the New South Wales Legislative Council Select Committee on a System of Committees, to share with it his knowledge, experience and expertise in that area of parliamentary operations. That invitation reflected an acknowledgement of the contributions of Mr Odgers. The scope of Parliamentary knowledge and experience has been lessened by Mr Odgers's passing and I extend to his wife, Jean, and family my sympathy in their bereavement. Senator BUTTON(Victoria-Leader of the Government in the Senate) —by leave-Mr President, I would like to join with you in the comments that you have made about Mr Odgers. Mr Odgers was born on 9 August 1914 in Adelaide. He was educated at Thebarton Public School and then Adelaide Technical High School. He joined the Public Service in South Australia and had a distinguished record of public service spanning almost 50 years. He joined the reporting staff of the Commonwealth Parliament in 1937 and the staff of the Department of the Senate in 1942. His rise through the upper ranks of the Senate staff culminated in his promotion to the position of Clerk in 1965. He held that position of Clerk for some 14 years. Mr Odgers was a great authority on parliamentary practice and he prepared the first edition of Australian Senate Practice, which bears his name and which was published in 1953. The fifth edition of the text was published in 1976 and remains an important book of reference, not only for senators and those who work in the Senate, but also for students of parliamentary practice in all countries which have inherited the traditions of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Mr Odgers was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1968. I am sure that all honourable senators join me in extending to his widow and family our sincere sympathy at his passing. Senator CHANEY(Western Australia-Leader of the Opposition) —by leave-Mr President, I wish to support the remarks made by you and by the Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator Button) about Mr Odgers and the expressions of sympathy which you have both extended to his widow and to his children. Mr Odgers had a very distinguished and lengthy career and he will, of course, be best remembered for his contribution to the literature of parliament in his Australian Senate Practice. Mr President, the details of his career have already been put on the record by you and the Leader of the Government. I would like to just quote a few sentences from the now Clerk, who was quoted in the Canberra Times following Mr Odgers' death. The Standing Orders do not permit the Clerk to make his tribute to Mr Odgers and I think it would be appropriate if a few of his words were recorded. Mr Cumming Thom said of Mr Odgers: His dedication to his work as an officer and to the institution which he served, has probably never been equalled and is unlikely ever to be so. The best known product of that dedication is probably his authoritative Australian Senate Practice, the first major work of its kind in Australia, and entirely produced by his own effort over a period of 30 years, almost exclusively in his own time. An accepted text in tertiary and other institutions. It stands as a memorial not only to his remarkable enthusiasm and capacity, but also to the principle of committed parliamentary service at the officer level. Mr Odgers was a very experienced Clerk by the time I arrived in the Senate. Indeed, he seemed to be very much a part of the institution at that time and it seemed impossible that the institution could function without him. It is the way of institutions that of course it did and it has, but his contribution will, of course, be long remembered. The things which seem to me notable about his particular contribution are not just the length of his service but also the degree of application he brought to his work and his devotion to the Senate as an institution. At times it seemed to me that the passing parade of senators was an utter irrelevancy, that the key thing was the welfare of the institution itself, and I always felt that that very strongly influenced his thinking. He was always courteous to us and helpful but, as I say, I always felt rather irrelevant as compared with the importance of the institution. His work on Senate practice, my second point, is notable and unlikely to be equalled. That stands as a permanent reminder of and memorial to his work. The third thing I wish to say about him is that it always seemed to me that he did his work as a labour of love. I do not think there is any doubt that he had a great devotion to his work. I think his work was a pleasure. He took on considerable administrative and physical burdens, but there was no doubting the very great pleasure that he got from the work that he did. I think the fact that Mr Odgers leaves a permanent memorial in his Australian Senate Practice should be a consolation to his family at this very sad time and I am sure that that work will still be utilised by senators in generations ahead. Senator CHIPP(Victoria-Leader of the Australian Democrats) —by leave-I join in the tribute to the late James R. Odgers, CB, CBE, former Clerk of this Senate. I join my party with the remarks passed by you, Mr President, by the Australian Labor Party and by the Liberal Party of Australia. Although I knew him slightly for a long time, I got to know him more closely only in his last two years in the Senate after I entered this place. I believe he was a man of great ability, who had an intense love for the Westminster parliamentary system, particularly the Senate. Above all-and I deliberately say this-I believe he was a man of total integrity. I join the Australian Democrats with the tributes that have been paid to him, and we send our condolences and sympathy to his widow and children. Senator COLLARD(Queensland-Leader of the National Party of Australia) —by leave-Mr President, I would like to associate the National Party of Australia with the tributes already paid by you, the Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator Button), the Leader of the Opposition (Senator Chaney) and the Leader of the Australian Democrats (Senator Chipp). Senator Sheil and I both served in this chamber when Mr Odgers was Clerk of the Senate. I suppose two things stand out in my mind. The first is the espirit de corps that he engendered amongst the staff. I think that has been reflected in the very fitting words of the current Clerk, Mr Cumming Thom, in a tribute in one of the newspapers which was alluded to by Senator Chaney. The second point is the passion he had for this place as an institution, and I think we are all the richer for that. His Australian Senate Practice has become literally the bible of this place and for anybody who wants to study the institution. It is a recognised work right around the world. I think we all have a copy of that and we all refer to it at some stage or other in our senatorial careers. If we do not, or think we do not have to, we are deluding ourselves. It is a standing tribute to Mr Odgers and to his remarkable mind, and it will always be there as an empirical writing on this institution. As I said, I join in the expressions of condolence and also express the sympathy of the National Party to his wife and family. Senator GEORGES(Queensland) —by leave-Mr President, I suppose that after you I am the longest serving member of the Senate and therefore have considerable memories of Jim Odgers. I regret that his death was so sudden that many of us were not aware that it had occurred and were not therefore able to express our sympathy and our condolences at that time. For those of us who are older the death of Jim Odgers seems to accelerate the passage of time. As a person who had considerable ability and talent he stands as a mark which seems to indicate that people and events recede. The unfortunate effect of the events of 1975 led to some disagreements in this place which I believe troubled Jim Odgers very much indeed. As a previous speaker said, he placed this institution well above all other institutions in Australia. He valued its prestige and its authority. He perhaps placed on it a greater value than many of us on this side do. Nevertheless, in spite of those disagreements, I found Jim Odgers to have accepted the disagreement with the great quality he had for calm and reflection. Over a period of years he gave to this place some sense of being a place that one did well to be in and that one did well to serve. For that reason, I regret that the work he did in placing on record the events, the practices and the orders of this place came to an end in 1976. I believe that he did further work. I hope that that work will somehow be published and be added to the previous records he was responsible for. We may not agree with everything he said and every position that he took; nevertheless, it is important for the position to be presented so it can be debated, discussed and determined. Therefore, his work had tremendous value. I do not doubt that that material which is not printed will have further value. I offer my condolences to his family. Senator PETER RAE(Tasmania) —by leave-I join with those honourable senators who have expressed their condolences to the family of the late Jim Odgers. I was delighted to hear Senator Georges's speech. Mr President, I remind you that you and I were in Bonn together with Jim and Jean Odgers in 1978 when Jim broke his arm, as he said, in a swimming pool. At the time we made some fun of it. I believe that there is no doubt at all that, as in every other thing he did in his life as I know it, he was absolutely honest in his explanation as to how he broke his arm on that occasion. I mention that matter to introduce a little levity into what is a serious situation-paying tribute to a man who, as has been said, regarded this institution and its preservation and development as a mission in life. As Senator Georges said, whether one totally agreed or disagreed with any of the particular stances Jim Odgers took, one cannot but pay tribute to the integrity displayed in the devotion to the institution as an institution, interpreted as he saw it. The first edition of his work, to which reference has been made, was in 1953. He continued to update it as time passed. The House of Representatives has now produced in very recent time-in the past couple of years-a comparable work which I think has brought to the Australian parliamentary scene a recording of that which has been established by practice and decided by decision. That is to the benefit of the operation of the democratic parliamentary process. I do not want to repeat what other honourable senators have said but I wish simply to pay my tribute to the man. I was introduced to him by the present Clerk who was then but a boy, as I was myself. I can but say that I came to know him in such a way that I would now like to pay tribute to him, to the work he did, to the support that he received from others of similar mind, to his family and to his wife Jean. I join happily, in this unhappy situation, in supporting the expressions of condolence. Senator HARRADINE(Tasmania) —by leave-I think that almost all that can be said has been said. However, I place on record my appreciation to Jim Odgers for what he did for me personally when I was first elected to this Parliament in 1975. It appeared to me that he put out the red carpet for me as an Independent. That may not have been so; being the type of man he was, he may have put out the red carpet to anyone, to all senators. However, I felt that with my background and being a little cynical of parliament, Jim Odgers gave me an appreciation of this institution which certainly I did not have at the time and which I may not have obtained had he not indicated what he did at that time. As with other senators, I express my appreciation for the services of Jim Odgers not only to us as senators but also to the institution and to the furtherance of parliamentary democracy in Australia. I join honourable senators in conveying condolences to Jim Odgers's wife and children. Senator HAINES(South Australia) —by leave-I would like to add today my comments to the expressions of condolence because had it not been for the presence of Jim Odgers when I first entered the Senate I, like Senator Harradine I suspect, would have had a much harder time of it. I first met Jim early in December 1977 when he came to Adelaide to attend the joint sitting of the South Australian Parliament which was meeting to determine who would fill the casual vacancy left by Steele Hall. He impressed me at the time as being a kindly gentleman who was prepared to spend quite some time explaining to me just exactly what was going to happen, when Parliament was due to start, what I could and could not do and what my entitlements were and were not. This advice continued for some six months or so. Not only did Jim Odgers put out the red carpet for me, as Senator Harradine said he also did for him, but, perhaps because I was a young woman with no parliamentary experience and at that time no colleague here, Jim took me under his wing. Together with Anne Lynch, to whom I also owe a considerable debt of gratitude, he tutored me in the traditions of the Senate and helped me, as I needed to be helped with the intricacies of Senate procedure, bearing in mind the fact that I had no one else to whom I could turn. In helping me in these ways, Jim Odgers transmitted to me the love and respect he had for this place. Some colleagues here may not appreciate that he was largely responsible for my wanting to continue with a political career in the Senate as distinct from anywhere else. For that I would like publicly to record my thanks and say that he inspired me. I appreciated his diligence, enthusiasm and basic kindheartedness during that time. In many ways the Senate owes him a debt of gratitude. He worked hard for this place and the publication that resulted from his love for this place is something we all turn to quite regularly. I extend my sincere and deep condolences to his family. We lost a man who felt a great deal for the Senate. Senator WALTERS(Tasmania) —by leave-I support the remarks made by honourable senators and extend my sympathy to Mrs Odgers. Jim was one of the kindest people I have known. He was particularly kind and helpful when I first came to the Parliament and he made my first few weeks in this place a great deal easier by giving me plenty of good advice. I believe that it will be a great comfort to Mrs Odgers to know how well liked and respected he was in this Senate. Jim Odgers has left for all senators his Australian Senator Practice, which is a must for all senators to read. It is a valuable history of Senate practice to which at times we all refer. I want to add my condolences to his family. The PRESIDENT —Order! As a mark of respect to the deceased, Mr Birrell, Mr England and Mr Odgers, the sitting of the Senate is suspended until 8 p.m. Sitting suspended from 5.28 to 8 p.m. Senator WALSH(Western Australia-Minister for Finance) —by leave-I table the following papers: Budget Statements 1985-86. Estimates of Expenditure and Receipts 1985-86. Portfolio Program Estimates 1985-86. Payments to or for the States, the Northern Territory and Local Government Authorities 1985-86. Government Securities on Issue at 30 June 1985. Australia's Overseas Development Assistance Program 1985-86. National Income and Expenditure 1984-85. Income Tax Statistics. Civil Works Program 1985-86. Youth Policies in the 1985-86 Budget. Particulars of Proposed Expenditure for the Service of the Year Ending 30 June 1986. Particulars of Certain Proposed Expenditure in respect of the Year Ending 30 June 1986. Particulars of Proposed Expenditure for the Service of the Year Ending 30 June 1986 in relation to the Parliamentary Departments. I seek leave to make a statement outlining the Government's budgetary proposals for the financial year 1985-86. Leave granted. Senator WALSH —In order to give honour-able senators the opportunity to watch the real Budget Speech, I seek leave to incorporate the Budget Speech in Hansard. Leave not granted. Senator WALSH —Tonight the Treasurer is delivering in another place his Budget Speech for 1985-86. It is my privilege to outline to the Senate the Government's Budget proposals. The Hawke Government stands before the people of Australia tonight proud of its record of economic success and confident that Labor's social priorities are being met. The evidence of our achievement is indisputable. We have turned the economy around from deep recession to a rate of growth which is one of the fastest in the Western World. We have generated 410,000 new jobs and are well on the way to meeting-or even surpassing-our target of creating half a million jobs in our first three years of office. We have reduced the unemployment rate from a peak of 10.4 per cent to 8.2 per cent. We have arrested and turned around the blow-out that we inherited in the Commonwealth's deficit. We have reduced inflation to levels not seen for a decade. At the same time we have inplemented the social priorities of the Australian Labor Party with vigour and with vision. We have introduced Medicare, we have substantially lifted social security payments, we have increased spending on education, public housing and home purchase assistance, and we have funded the community employment program. In our first two and a half years we have achieved a great deal. But our task is far from complete. It will take many more years of consistently high growth and economic discipline to unwind the legacy of our predecessors. The recession in this country was so deep and the economic deterioration so widespread that we need sustained and strong economic growth for the rest of this decade to restore full employment. The achievement of that goal continues as the greatest challenge of our administration, of the Labor movement, and of the nation. 1985-86 Budget Mr President, Australia is able to tackle the challenges of the coming year from a position of renewed economic strength and against the background of a successfully implemented strategy. In the coming year we anticipate a further fall in unemployment and increased private sector activity. The Budget accordingly incorporates a very large cut in government sector demands on financial markets. It includes no new or increased sales taxes or excises, and no increases in income tax rates. Mr President, this Government has from the beginning of its term of office sought the establishment of a sustainable private sector economic recovery. That private sector recovery is now well underway. Our historic trilogy of budgetary commitments will ensure it continues. The trilogy requires the Government not to increase the percentage of tax revenue above the 1984-85 share of taxation in the total economy. The trilogy also commits us to reducing Commonwealth Government expenditure as a proportion of the total economy. And it requires a reduction in the size of the deficit. These are historic commitments unmatched by any previous Australian Government. The discipline these commitments impose has not been met in any of the past sixteen years. Our trilogy of budgetary commitments will be more than met in 1985-86. Tax revenues will be contained within the trilogy commitment while outlays will fall significantly as a proportion of gross domestic product. The deficit has been cut sharply, both as a proportion of the economy and in money terms. The increase in total outlays in 1985-86 has been reduced to 8.4 per cent-or 1.3 per cent in real terms, the lowest increase for six years. Commonwealth outlays will fall from 30.8 per cent of gross domestic product to 29.8 per cent. This outcome has enabled us to bring the Budget deficit down from $6746 million in 1984-85 to $4919 million in 1985-86. I repeat, this Budget cuts the deficit by $1.8 billion to $4.9 billion. This deficit represents 2.1 per cent of GDP compared with 3.3 per cent in 1984-85, 4.3 per cent in 1983-84 and the 5 per cent in prospect that we inherited from the coalition Government. In other words, in three Budgets we have more than halved the deficit as a share of the total economy. This year's large cut in the deficit, combined with the reduction in borrowings agreed to at the May Premiers' Conference, will greatly reduce overall new borrowings by the public sector. The Budget Priorities Mr President, the Government has secured this achievement in reducing the deficit while still making room for expenditure on those people in special need. Our youth were among the chief victims of the economic crisis presided over by the previous Government. The Labor Government is determined that they should share fully in the benefits of economic recovery and growth. Clearly, the most substantial way they can be assisted is through the creation of lasting jobs in the private sector. The whole thrust of our economic policies is directed to that end. But government also has a direct role to play. The strategy we have developed, following the review which I foreshadowed in last year's Budget Speech, covers three main areas-job training, financial support and education. First, job training. Presently, about 100,000 of our young people leave school each year and receive no further systematic vocational training. It is this group which finds it most difficult to get jobs. Accordingly the Government has decided to support the creation and rapid development of a new system of traineeships. This scheme will provide young people with a combination of training and work lasting for a minimum of one year. For example, under the scheme a 16-year-old school leaver could become a trainee in the hotel industry or in the retailing industry, receiving at least 13 weeks outside instruction during the course of the year. Trainee wages will be negotiated between employers and unions taking into account time spent at the workplace, and will involve payment of at least $90 per week. Commonwealth assistance for the training part of this scheme will be up to $4,000 per person, payable partly to the employer and partly to the training institution. We intend that 10,000 such places will be created in 1985-86, expanding rapidly to a total of 75,000 places by 1988. Further, the Government proposes to combine a range of existing labour market programs for disadvantaged young people into a single community-based training program. The Government also recognises the need to explore ways of reducing the costs to employers of engaging young people. To this end the Government will negotiate with the States to achieve remission in 1986 of payroll tax and workers compensation premiums for employees under 21. Another major initiative in the employment field will be the introduction of a new, integrated wage subsidy program from the beginning of 1986. This new program will absorb several existing schemes, including the special youth employment training program, the adult wage subsidy scheme, and other programs which assist disadvantaged job seekers. We intend that at least 85,000 people will benefit from this program in 1985-86. The second major area of our strategy isfinancial support for young people. In a nutshell, we have developed a comprehensive four year plan designed to encourage young people to remain in education rather than opt out and pick up unemployment benefits. As a first step, in 1986 there will be increases of around 20 per cent in the effective rates of secondary education allowances, plus increases in tertiary education allowances. Unemployment benefits for single people under 18 will be standardised at $50 a week, an increase of $5 a week for those on unemployment benefits for less than 6 months. It will be held at this rate until the end of 1987 while the equivalent student allowances are brought into line; it will then be increased and indexed annually thereafter. Another important feature of this new plan is the establishment of an intermediate rate of unemployment benefit for the single unemployed aged 18-20. As of November 1985 this rate will be set at $88.20 a week-an increase of $3 a week on the current level. Education allowances for the 18-20 age group will increase at a faster rate than the new intermediate unemployment benefit rate so that by 1988 full time students living away from home and the single unemployed will be receiving the same basic benefits. I am also pleased to announce that from 1989 the real value of this rate will be maintained by annual indexation-a reform of enduring significance. Education allowances will, as at present, be income tested. Finally, rental assistance of up to $10 a week will be available from May next year for those aged 18 and over who are living independently and who have been receiving the unemployment benefit for more than six months. Those people will therefore be eligible for a maximum benefit of $98.20 a week-an increase of $13 a week on the existing rate. The third element of our strategy will be to ensure that sufficient education places are available for those young people who wish to go on to higher education. There will be a substantial increase in direct spending on education, which in the period 1985 to 1987 will provide an additional 20,500 places in higher education. The net cost of the three arms of this strategy is estimated at $70 million in this financial year, rising to about $190 million in 1986-87. A statement by the Prime Minister, to be tabled in another place at the conclusion of this speech, will expand on the details of the strategy. Mr President, in our first two Budgets the Hawke Government directed to those most in need some $1.2 billion of new and increased social security benefits over and above the established indexation arrangements. We did this despite the enormous budgetary stress that we inherited. We did it because the Labor movement is irrevocably committed to justice and compassion for those in genuine need. This Budget provides $110m in 1985-86 and $245m in a full year for increased levels of social security payments over and above the existing indexation arrangements. This includes from November an increase of $3 a week in the single adult rate of unemployment benefit for those aged 21 and over. That rise will be in addition to the November indexation increases of $3.25 a week, which together will increase the single adult unemployment benefit by $6.25 to $91.45 a week. From May 1986 there will also be a $10 increase in the income test free area for unemployment and sickness beneficiaries, increasing the amount they can earn without losing part of their benefit by 50 per cent to $30 a week. To assist pensioners and lower income families with children, there will be a $2 a week increase in the additional benefit for each child and a $2 increase in the rate of the family income supplement from November. Taken together with the increases announced in each of the last two Budgets, this represents an increase of 60 per cent in these benefit rates since the Government took office. The mother's and guardian's allowance, payable to single parent pensioners or beneficiaries with children, will increase by $2 a week from May 1986. New initiatives in the Veterans' Affairs portfolio, particularly in the area of health care, will cost over $15m in 1985-86. Provision has been made for increased purchases of specialised hospital equipment and a redevelopment program for repatriation hospitals. A new home and community care program for the aged and the disabled is being negotiated with the States involving Commonwealth expenditure of $117.5m, of which $35m represents additional expenditure for new and expanded services. This program will enable the elderly and disabled to receive care and assistance at home from community groups rather than being forced to seek inappropriate and expensive insitutional care. A further $5m is being provided for the first phase of the new community disability services program, in addition to $144.8m required for ongoing programs. This program is designed to enhance community involvement with the disabled and improve rehabilitation services. The Government is providing $22.1m for national campaigns to combat drug abuse, an increase of $18.9m over 1984-85. Some $8.4m has been allocated to combat the spread of AIDS. Mr President, the Government is concerned about the economic difficulties faced by many of our primary producers, particularly in view of the extremely poor international commodity prices flowing from subsidised overproduction by our major competitors. We are therefore introducing a number of important initiatives to assist the rural sector. From 1 November 1985, currently eligible primary producers will receive a full rebate of the excise on diesel fuel. Senator Chaney —We moved for that in the last Parliament. You said that it could not be afforded. Senator WALSH —When the Fraser Government introduced the bicentennial roads program excise it decided not to rebate fully the excise to primary producers. This will be done. This Government will do what the Fraser Government declined to do in that area. Farmers' diesel will therefore be excise free, reducing the price of diesel used by farmers, fishermen and other primary producers by 2.4 cents a litre. From 1 January 1986, the tariff on grain harvesters will be replaced by a subsidy on local production, thus reducing the cost to farmers of this equipment. This is something else the Fraser Government declined to do. These measures will reduce primary industry costs by some $25 million in 1985-86 and some $46 million in a full year. The Government is also disposed to replace tariffs on agricultural chemicals with a bounty and will consider this matter further in light of the Industries Assistance Commission report due in February 1986. The Government is allocating $16.8 million for the rural adjustment scheme and in addition is providing special assistance for the dried vine fruits and wine grape industries and the northern prawn fishery at an extra cost of $6 million. A further $7 million has been allocated over the next 4 years for marketing assistance for the meat and livestock industry. Budget Overview Mr President, the Budget strategy I have outlined tonight will underpin a third year of strong economic growth. We expect activity in the non-farm sector of the economy to again increase rapidly, at about the same 5 per cent rate as last year. Total economic growth will again be about 4 1/2 per cent. As a result, during three years of the Hawke Government, the Australian economy will have grown by more than it did over the previous 8 years. As well the pattern of growth will have changed and improved markedly. Whereas last year over a third of Australia's economic growth came from the public sector, this year we expect less than a sixth to come from that source. Once again in 1985-86 Australia is poised to record one of the fastest growth rates in the developed world. The OECD has forecast that growth in the industrialised countries as a whole will slow and that in many Western countries unemployment will rise. We will be one of the few countries to run counter to that trend. In this we will be assisted by the beneficial effects of the depreciation of the Australian dollar on our international trading accounts, which will contribute around a quarter of the overall growth this year. But also as a result of the dollar's depreciation, the consumer price index is expected to rise by about 8 per cent between June 1985 and June 1986, compared with 6.7 per cent in the previous year. While this rate compares favourably with the 11 1/2 per cent inflation rate we inherited from our predecessors, it will exceed that recorded by many of our trading partners. We must ensure that this one-off increase does not get built into the underlying rate of inflation-inflation must be made to slow again during 1986. That is why the main challenge that now confronts us is that flowing from the decline in the value of our dollar. For years the previous Government overvalued the dollar because it had no alternative policy. It had no accord for dealing with inflation. That crude approach to fixing the exchange rate gradually ruined our industries' ability to compete on local and overseas markets. Imports devastated local suppliers while export growth was constrained. Australian jobs were lost in the tens of thousands. The capacity of the Government to fix the exchange rate was swept away when we decided to float the Australian dollar in December 1983. The recent decline in the value of our dollar on currency markets has restored our competitive edge-it has made our goods cheaper on world markets and it has made it easier for our industries at home to compete with imports. In short, Australia is back in business. But in the face of a slowing world economy we must increase our share of markets to pay our way as a nation. This means we must stay competitive. And if we are to do that, we cannot afford to allow our production costs to rise above those of our competitors. If the initial and full price effects of the depreciation were to be transmitted to wages via indexation decisions, our cost increases would noticeably exceed those of our major competitors for years to come. Our competitive edge would be lost. Our chances of improving our share of local and world markets would be diminished. We would be throwing away any prospect of sustaining the growth rates required to get unemployment down. That is why, temporarily, we must modify our normal support for full wage indexation. In principle the Government remains committed to the maintenance of real living standards and the Government does not intend to abrogate that commitment under the accord. Our aim is not to permanently reduce real wages. That is neither appropriate nor necessary. However, in the next two wage indexation cases the Government will argue before the Full Bench of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission that the price effects of depreciation be taken into account. We seek a small reduction in the size of wage rises to allow the economy to digest the adverse consequences of the depreciation so Australia can reap the enormous opportunities that the depreciation offers. Before the case begins, the Commonwealth will meet with unions and with employers to discuss the Government's approach. Within the framework of the accord, we will explore with the ACTU means by which any temporary loss of real income can over time be fully restored without doing damage to the economy. This additional measure of restraint is the necessary link in the chain of continued healthy expansion of jobs, without which there can be no real security for ordinary Australians. We believe that trade unionists will share our deep conviction that the benefits of growth offered by the devaluation should be enjoyed not only by those in employment but by providing the maximum number of new jobs for their fellow Australians. Mr President, the potential to achieve a truly durable economic recovery can be realised from the shared commitment by all Australians which this Government has sought to foster. We now have economic growth in this country unprecedented in the last decade. We now have a remarkable opportunity to keep this growth going. The Government's policies will continue to play their fundamental part. In creating growth. In creating jobs. In creating prosperity and sharing it among all sectors and all walks of life, among all Australians. This Budget makes a significant contribution to that vital endeavour. Opposition senators interjecting- Senator WALSH —So say the people who were members of the only government in history which gave Australia double digit inflation and double digit unemployment at the same time. The magnitude of their achievement should be yet again put on the record. Outlays I will now deal in more detail with aspects of the expenditure side of the Budget. Budget outlays in 1985-86 are estimated to total just under $69,100 million which, as I stated earlier, is an increase in real terms of only 1.3 per cent. That is very much less than was authoritatively forecast by Dr Norman about two days ago. By any measure, such expenditure growth is modest. It is about $2,300 million lower than the ceiling implied by the Government's trilogy commitment on outlays growth. This outcome reflects the determined approach which the Government has adopted to expenditure control, both in the May statement and in the preparation of this Budget. Rationalisation of existing spending programs has enabled the Government to direct funding to its own priorities and at the same time to achieve a substantial cut in the deficit. As I stated earlier, the Government will seek adjustments in the two indexation cases in 1985-86 to take into account the impact of the dollar's depreciation. Given that outcomes in this area are subject to future decisions of the Arbitration Commission, the Budget Estimates for receipts and outlays make no specific allowance for such a modification of indexation adjustments. However, we note that full discounting in both cases would imply on present estimates a reduction of about one percentage point in the Budget estimate of average weekly earnings growth for 1985-86. The overall impact of such a change would be to add about $350 million to the Budget deficit for 1985-86. I outlined earlier some of the new spending initiatives, notably for our young people, for social security and for assistance to farmers. I will now discuss other important initiatives. Details of individual programs are contained in Statement No. 3 and other Budget Papers; more detailed information will be provided, as appropriate, by the relevant Ministers. EDUCATION Consistent with the Government's continuing commitment to education, and because of the importance of this area to youth in particular, the 1985-86 Budget provides $4,944 million in direct spending on education, an increase of 9.4 per cent on 1984-85. Building on the substantial increases announced last year, additional funding will be provided in 1986 and 1987 to create some extra 5,500 places in higher education. By 1987, 28,000 extra places-a 10 per cent increase-will have been created since this Government came into office. To match enrolment growth, further increases in higher education capital and equipment grants amounting to $11 million over 1986 and 1987 also will be provided. LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT In addition to the new traineeships and other measures targeted on young people, the Government is lifting expenditure on adult training programs by 36 per cent or $6.5 million. Also, $1.5 million is to be paid to the industry training Committee network to fund innovative training courses. CHILD CARE In 1985-86 $4.9 million is being provided to create 1,000 new child care places. In the following two years further new places will be provided to meet the Government's election commitment for 20,000 additional places over three years. The Government will ensure that low-income families are not disadvantaged by the implementation of the child care savings announced in the May statement. HOUSING Total outlays from the Budget on housing for this year are estimated at $1397 million, an increase of 5.2 per cent on 1984-85 and an increase of over 100 per cent on funding provided in the final year of the previous Government. In 1985-86 the States and the Northern Territory will be able to nominate up to $492 million of their Loan Council borrowing program for public housing purposes at the highly concessional interest rate of 4.5 per cent per annum over 53 years. The increase in Federal funds provided for this priority area will allow us to continue our attack on housing-related poverty in Australia. Since the introduction of the Government's highly successful first home owners scheme in October 1983, 144,000 approvals have been granted. Funding sufficient for a further 82,500 approvals will be provided this year. CAPITAL SPENDING AND WORKS Total Budget outlays for capital purposes in Australia, including capital grants and advances, are estimated to be $5051 million which, in keeping with our expectation of greater private sector activity, is a slight decrease on 1984-85. Expenditure on capital works funded directly from the Budget is estimated at $840 million, an increase of over $155 million on 1984-85, comprising $604 million for civil works and $236 million for defence works. $139 million is provided for major airport development works, including Brisbane, Perth, Townsville, Sydney and Canberra. Provision has also been made for planning work to begin on the Parramatta law courts complex, which is estimated to cost $15.5 million. New Defence projects include the East Sale RAAF base development, the HMAS Stirling Submarine escape training facility in Western Australia and the next phase of the Williamstown dockyard development. Senator Kilgariff —What about the Northern Territory? Senator WALSH —The problem with the Commonwealth investing in the Northern Territory is that the money might be expropriated by that red-necked territorial Government, just as Federal Hotels' property was expropriated by the Northern Territory Government. The PRESIDENT —Order! I ask the Minister to ignore the interjections. Senator WALSH —Certainly, Mr President. TRANSPORT Road Grants to the States and Northern Territory under the Australian bicentennial road development program and the new five-year Australian land transport program total $1245 million in 1985-86. The new land transport program will be funded by a dedicated share of the excise on fuel, which is indexed to the CPI. INDUSTRY, ASSISTANCE AND DEVELOPMENT The Government is pursuing policies directed at rationalising and restructuring Australian manufacturing industry. The Government's decision to provide a 150 per cent tax concession for corporate research and development expenditure was announced on 29 May 1985. In addition, expenditure of $35m is likely this year under the motor vehicle and components development grants scheme. A further $65 million is to be provided in 1985-86 under the industrial research and development incentives scheme. In addition, $6 million has been provided to facilitate rationalisation of the heavy engineering sector and to improve advisory and extension services for industry. EXPORT AND TRADE PROMOTION The Government attaches great importance to the development of Australia's export markets. As announced earlier this year, the Australian Trade Commission is to be established from 1 January 1986 to improve the co-ordination and effectiveness of Australia's export marketing efforts. Additionally, $5 million has been allocated in 1985-86 for the funding of a new tourism overseas promotion scheme to replace the tourism incentive formerly provided under the export markets development grants scheme. DEFENCE In February 1985 the Minister for Defence announced that a major review of Australia's defence capabilities would be undertaken. That review is now well underway and the Government will be considering it before the next Budget is brought down. Meanwhile, the Government has made significant decisions to acquire major new defence capabilities. In particular, contracts have been signed for Seahawk helicopters for the Navy's guided missile frigates and for project definition studies for six new submarines proposed to be built in Australia. Overall, this Budget provides for an underlying real increase of 3.1 per cent in Defence spending-in actual terms it provides $6535 million for defence, an increase of 10 per cent on 1984-85 outlays. This reflects the Government's continuing commitment to major expenditures on Defence. COMMONWEALTH STAFFING The growth in staffing approved for 1985-86 is one and a quarter per cent, compared with 2 per cent last year and 4 1/2 per cent in 1983-84. These significant reductions in staff growth reflect the transition from public sector economic stimulus to a broadening private sector recovery. Half of the growth this year is for the Australian Taxation Office, the National Crime Authority and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Senator Withers —All wasted money. Senator WALSH —I can well understand why many members of the Liberal Party of Australia, particularly those from Western Australia, or their friends, would be opposed to any measures which effectively enforce the taxation laws of this country or apprehend and prosecute those who breach them. The PRESIDENT —Order! I ask the Minister to ignore the interjections and get on with his second reading speech. Senator WALSH —Certainly, Mr President. Taxation Following the July tax summit, work is proceeding on a package of taxation reform measures. The Treasurer anticipates that a full statement on these will be made in September. The measures announced at that time will not have significant net revenue implications for 1985-86, and so will not affect the Budget figures announced tonight. The tax measures in this Budget are not related to the tax reform package but are important in their own right. Following the years of scandalous neglect by the former Government, we have again strengthened the Tax Office with an additional staff allocation of 869. This follows the increase of 727 last year. The bulk of this year's increase will be allocated to compliance work, and a special program to collect outstanding tax from avoidance scheme participants. The Government has also approved the implementation of a system of self-assessment by taxpayers, to be introduced from 1 July 1986. This will greatly increase the capacity of the Tax Office to concentrate its efforts on the main areas of avoidance and evasion and increase efficiency in processing tax returns. RETIREMENT INCOMES Two taxation changes relate to superannuation. First, there is to be an increase of $300 in the maximum tax deduction allowed for superannuation contributions by self-employed people and others not covered by an employer-sponsored superannuation scheme. That will increase the allowable deduction to $1,500 and will assist small business and other self-employed people to obtain superannuation benefits more in line with those available to employees. Secondly, the Government has decided to increase by $5,000 to $55,000 that part of a lump sum retirement payment which is taxed at the concessional 15 per cent rate. This concessional rate applies to the fully taxable component of lump sums paid to persons aged 55 or over. BENEFICIARY REBATES In last year's Budget the Government introduced tax rebates for people receiving unemployment, sickness or special benefits. These ensured that people wholly or mainly dependent on such social security benefits were not liable to tax. The maximum amount of rebate was $50 a year for single and $75 for married beneficiaries-these will be increased to $170 and $220 a year respectively. MEDICARE LEVY Two changes will be made to the Medicare levy arrangements. First, the threshold level is to be raised, extending the range in which low income earners do not pay the levy. For single people it will rise from $7,110 to $7,526 and for couples from $11,803 to $12,504; the additional allowance for each dependent child or student will rise from $1,330 to $1,530. Secondly, from 1 July 1985 the ceiling on the amount of levy, at present $750, will not apply. The rate of levy will remain at one per cent. LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS As a measure of further support for the local government sector, a tax deduction of up to $1,000 is to be introduced for the expenses incurred by candidates contesting local government elections. Candidates for the ACT House of Assembly elections will also be eligible for this deduction. Senator Puplick —Here it comes-the Fine Cotton budget. Senator WALSH —I would have thought that Senator Puplick's friends would have more to do with Fine Cotton than ours. THE RACING INDUSTRY Three measures are to be adopted to assist the horse racing industry. First, the income tax exemption currently applying to some sporting clubs, such as football and athletic clubs, is to be extended to horse and greyhound racing clubs. Secondly, a more generous livestock valuation option will be available to horse breeders for the purpose of the trading stock provisions of the income tax laws. Thirdly, to assist in improving Australia's thoroughbred bloodstock, all horses imported after tonight are to be exempt from sales tax. ACT TAXES The Government has considered the report of the Commonwealth Grants Commission, which found that the financial contribution to revenue from residents of the Australian Capital Territory was low relative to the standard of works and services provided. In order to align the Territory's contribution more closely with that applying in the States, it is proposed to introduce a number of new taxes and increase others. These include a tobacco franchise tax, a levy on bookmakers' turnover, an extension and increase in stamp duties and, in lieu of the States' financial institution duties. A higher bank account debits tax restricted to the ACT. The Minister for Territories (Mr Scholes) will release a full statement detailing these measures later tonight. Monetary Policy The overall aim of monetary policy in the year ahead will remain unchanged. That is to help restrain inflation while allowing sufficient room for strong but sustainable growth. The interpretation of monetary conditions was made very difficult in 1984-85 as the effects of institutional changes and innovation were reflected in the monetary aggregates. Deregulation of the financial system is producing the benefits we expected of it. Financial institutions are becoming more competitive and more innovative. They are providing better service to Australian businesses and families. A side effect of this process is a change in the relationship between financial aggregates and the real economy. As banks and other institutions lend and borrow in areas previously closed to them, this new business is swelling the measured monetary aggregates. These developments have had to be taken into account in assessing monetary conditions and managing monetary policy. In January, the Treasurer announced the suspension of the M3 money supply projection because movements in it were no longer a reliable guide to monetary conditions. The monetary aggregates will again be heavily affected by similar factors in 1985-86. In addition, most of the new banks will begin trading over the next few months. For all these reasons M3 will continue to be artifically swollen, but it is not possible to say by how much. In these circumstances it would not be sensible to resume M3 projections. Some commentators have suggested we project some other aggregate-either narrower or broader. This suggestion misses the point that all the aggregates are being affected by the changing financial structure. It is impossible to say confidently how much of the growth in lending by financial institutions represents growth in final demand for credit and how much is merely a shift in the provision of finance from one channel to another. The aggregates are again likely to increase strongly in 1985-86 but this will not reflect easy conditions. Monetary conditions will be kept firm in the year ahead. None of our objectives would be assisted by a different monetary policy. As I have noted, we have sharply reduced the Budget deficit this year. The overall deficit is down by $1.8 billion while the domestic deficit has been cut more sharply, by $2.3 billion to only $1.4 billion. The domestic deficit is now considerably lower than in 1982-83. The borrowing programs of the rest of the public sector have also been reduced. This financial year the gross public sector borrowing requirement will amount to 5.6 per cent of GDP, a fall of over 1 1/2 percentage points. Together these outcomes should significantly reduce pressures on domestic capital markets in 1985-86. Treasury bond tenders in 1985-86 are expected to total around $5 billion, of which some $3 billion represents roll-over of maturing debt. The gross program compares with $7.6 billion in 1984-85, and $9.7 billion in 1983-84. The bond selling program will involve a more even spread of tenders during 1985-86 than has been the case in recent years. The Treasury is announcing tonight details of the next bond tender for an amount of $800m. The Treasurer intends to provide a review of monetary developments and policy from time to time throughout the year. Conclusion Mr President, tonight I have outlined the Government's strategy for the new financial year. It is a strategy that builds upon our very significant successes to date and puts further behind us the despair and economic failure of the former Government. This Budget lays the foundations for another year of strong growth. With that in mind we have significantly reduced the Commonwealth's deficit. We have fulfilled our historic trilogy of budgetary commitments. We have clearly stated that we will maintain a firm non-inflationary monetary policy. We have spelt out our determination to seek a modification of the current wage fixing arrangements so that the whole nation can benefit from the recent change in the value of the Australian dollar. And, while implementing this strategy, we have been able to further assist those in greatest need. We have introduced a major new policy package for youth. We have improved the levels of financial support for low income families and the unemployed. We have provided a significant support package for Australia's primary producers. In summary, tonight's Budget builds upon Labor's first two Budgets. We have again pursued our two great goals of economic growth and a fairer society. Mr President, this is a Budget for growth. It is a Budget for a fairer Australia. I commend the Budget to the Senate. I seek leave to move a motion in connection with this statement. Leave granted. I move: That the Senate take note of the statement and papers. Debate (on motion by Senator Chaney) adjourned. Senator GRIMES(Tasmania-Minister for Community Services) —I table the paper entitled `The Commonwealth Government Strategy for Young People'. I move: That the Senate take note of the paper. Debate (on motion by Senator Peter Baume) adjourned. Senator GIETZELT(New South Wales-Minister for Veterans' Affairs) —I seek leave to make a statement relating to the inquiry into the community housing expansion program in the Australian Capital Territory. Leave granted. Senator GIETZELT —I seek leave to incorporate the statement in Hansard. Leave granted. The statement read as follows- Mr President, on 19 July this year, the Minister for Territories, the Hon. Gordon Scholes, M.P., requested Mr Brian O'Donovan, a former Commonwealth Crown Solicitor, to inquire into and report upon the operation of the community housing expansion program in the Australian Capital Territory. The Government appreciates the thorough and expeditious manner in which his report was completed and presented to it. This investigation was instituted following doubts about whether there was adequate protection of the Commonwealth's interests in the allocation of some $1.4m under the Community Housing Expansion Program in the ACT, and in particular the circumstances surrounding a grant of $133,000 to the Wyuna community. As Mr Scholes announced on 19 July 1985, the Government commissioned Mr O'Donovan to inquire and report on: (a) All aspects of the financial and administrative arrangements concerned with grants under ACT CHEP and, in particular, the grant to Wyuna Community Incorporated; (b) The adequacy and effectiveness of existing safeguards of the Commonwealth's interests in properties purchased with grants under ACT CHEP and funds provided for purchase of such properties; and (c) Measures which might reasonably be taken to ensure that the Commonwealth's interests are fully protected. Mr O'Donovan reported to the Government last week, and at the conclusion of this statement I will be tabling his report. Mr President, I should say at the outset that the O'Donovan Report states that expenditure on the Program has increased the stock of housing in the ACT available to low income earners. This accords with the aims of the Program. However, Mr O'Donovan believes the existing safeguards of the Commonwealth's interests are inadequate, and he has recommended a number of additional measures. In considering these recommendations the Government decided that, in regard to the ACT Community Housing Expansion Program, it is of paramount importance that action be taken to ensure the maximum protection of the Commonwealth's interests, with the objectives of the Program being a secondary issue. Accordingly, the Government has decided that officers from the Department of Territories and the Attorney-General's Department will negotiate with existing recipients of CHEP grants for the maximum protection of the Commonwealth's interests. Wherever possible, the measures recommended by Mr O'Donovan will be implemented. These measures are, in essence, to obtain and register mortgages over properties already purchased and, where the purchase has not been completed, for a Commonwealth co-signatory to the bank account in which the CHEP grant is held. Mr Scholes will be receiving quarterly reports from the Secretary of his Department on each recipient's compliance with its Deed of Grant. I should also point out that independently of the O'Donovan Report, Mr Scholes and his Department had taken steps to secure the Commonwealth's interests. Formal breach procedures under Wyuna's Deed of Grant had been commenced and legal action initiated through the Australian Government Solicitor's Office. The other co-operatives had been contacted and asked to register the Commonwealth's interest on the Title. Those with unspent grant money had been asked to agree to the Commonwealth being a co-signatory on the relevant bank account. An examination of all other non-statutory grant schemes in the Department had been commenced. Early this year Mr Scholes decided that he would not be seeking funds for CHEP in the 1985-86 financial year and on 18 July he announced a consultancy to examine the need for and form of, alternative public housing in the ACT. Mr President, there is a need for further action and for improvement of the administration of my Department. Accordingly, the Secretary of the Department of Territories is developing proposals to improve the management of the Housing Branch and will also review other schemes in that Department with the aim of improving the relationship between the management tasks of the Department and the resources available to it. It is likely that one or two officers from elsewhere in the Public Service will be temporarily seconded to assist departmental management in this work. The Report identifies the problems which can arise when a body which is independent and outside Ministerial control is given responsibility for determining the objectives, criteria and recipients of grants. These issues raise significant problems of general application including: - the need for a clear distinction between the responsibilities of Ministers and Departments and the responsibilities of the outside body - the need for a clear separation between the making of recommendations on individual proposals and the encouragement, facilitation and development of those proposals - the establishment of clear criteria or guidelines for assessment of proposals before funds are made available, and - identification of all resource requirements, including those needed for effective administration, when considering proposals for new initiatives. Accordingly, the Government had decided that the Departments of Prime Minister and Cabinet and Finance and the Public Service Board are to prepare a report on the Service-wide implications and on ways and means of ensuring more effective systems for administration and financial supervision of non-statutory grant programs. As I mentioned, the Commonwealth has already taken action in the ACT Supreme Court in relation to the grant made to Wyuna Community Incorporated. The Government has given careful consideration to whether it should table the whole of the O'Donovan Report given that litigation has commenced. It believes however that discussion on matters of this kind should not be stifled merely because there is civil litigation pending, because of the greater public interest in upholding freedom of discussion on matters of general public concern. However, while the raising of these matters in Parliament is protected by Parliamentary privilege and is consistent with the sub-judice convention, care needs to be taken with the reporting of these matters outside Parliament. That is a matter on which elements of the media should take their own counsel. Mr President, the actions taken, and to be taken, by the Government in regard to the ACT CHEP recognise financial and administrative deficiencies. But I would like to conclude by quoting the final paragraph of the O'Donovan Report:- `` . . . I would express my agreement with the view that the identity of persons associated with an application for a CHEP grant cannot, as such, be a relevant consideration in deciding whether or not the application should succeed. I would also wish to record that I have no reason to believe that any person concerned in making the recommendation for the grant to Wyuna acted other than honestly.'' I table the report of the Inquiry into the Community Housing Expansion Program in the Australian Capital Territory. Senator CHANEY(Western Australia-Leader of the Opposition) —by leave-I move: That the Senate take note of the paper. I have not had an opportunity to study this report but I know that Senator Lewis has had the report since lunchtime and has been considering it. I had expected that he would wish to make some comments on it this evening. I do not wish to delay the Senate. I do not intend to go through the charade of talking about a report that I have not seen, although I am tempted to indulge just for the hell of it in the resurrection of some of the famous Australian Labor Party names which appear in this report. I seek leave to continue my remarks at a later stage. Leave granted; debate adjourned. Senator RYAN(Australian Capital Territory-Minister for Education and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Status of Woman) —by leave-For the information of honourable senators, I present a document entitled `Woman's Budget Program-An Assessment of the Impact on Women of the 1985-86 Budget'. On Budget night last year the Prime Minister (Mr Hawke) tabled in the House of Representatives the first edition of the `Women's Budget Program'. That document represented the first occasion on which a Commonwealth Government had published an assessment of the impact of the Commonwealth Budget on women. The first edition, as a pilot project, contained assessment by 13 Commonwealth departments of the impact on women of their programs and activities. The departments were judged to be those whose programs and activities had the greatest importance for women. This, the second edition of the `Women's Budget Program', contains assessments of the programs and activities for their impact on women of each Commonwealth portfolio. These assessments have been prepared by the various departments and agencies involved, in consultation with the Office of the Status of Women. In general the assessments in this second edition are more comprehensive and informative than those provided last year. In almost all cases the assessments deal only with the impact on women of external programs and do not deal with internal programs affecting female staff, for example, equal employment opportunity initiatives. Information on such internal programs is provided only when it is particularly relevant. This document also contains a section summarising the main features of the 1985-86 Budget as they impact on women in a wide range of situations. In addition, the document contains details of Commonwealth Government initiatives for women in 1984-85. Senator PETER BAUME(New South Wales) —by leave-I move: That the Senate take note of the paper. I seek leave to continue my remarks later. Leave granted; debate adjourned. Senate adjourned at 8.53 p.m. The following papers are tabled: Air Force Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 Nos 91, 115, 116, 170. Air Navigation (Charges) Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 130. Airports (Surface Traffic) Act-Regulation-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 129. Audit Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 Nos 78, 132, 133, 134, 135. Australian Bureau of Statistics Act-Proposal 1985-No. 4-Survey of Consultancy Services, 1984-85-August 1985. Australian Federal Police Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 82. Australian Meat and Live-stock Corporation Act-Orders 1985-MQ13-High Quality Beef to EEC-1985 Control Scheme. M23-Amendment to Order M19/84-Corporation forms 4, 9 and 10: Meat. Bounty (Books) Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 101. Bounty (Penicillin) Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 Nos 102, 154. Bounty (Printed Fabrics) Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 103. Bounty (Ships) Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 Nos 153, 155. Census and Statistics Act-Determination-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 191. Christmas Island Act- Ordinances 1985- No. 2-Christmas Island Services Corporation Provident Fund. No. 3-Services Corporation (Amendment). No. 4-Christmas Island Assembly. Regulations 1985-No. 1-(Christmas Island Assembly Ordinance). Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 175. Crimes Act-Regulation-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 179. Customs Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 Nos 96, 104, 105, 126, 138, 139, 160. Dairy Industry Stabilization Levy Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 151. Dairy Produce Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 150. Dairying Industry Research and Promotion Levy Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 152. Defence Act- Determinations- No. 35-Charge for Rations and Quarters. No. 36-Intermediate Term Duty Living Allowance and others. No. 37-Outfit Allowance. No. 38-Overseas Living Out Allowance and others. No. 39-Intermediate Term Duty Living Allowance and others. No. 40-Temporary Rental Allowance. No. 41-Intermediate Term Duty Living Allowance and others. No. 42-Intermediate Term Duty Living Allowance and others. No. 43-Defence Force Extra Risk Insurance Expenses Allowance and others. No. 44-Travelling Allowance and others. No. 45-Travelling Allowance and others. No. 46-Overseas Living Out Allowance and others. No. 47-Salary of Permanent Force Members and others. No. 48-Detention Allowance. No. 49-Salary of Permanent Force Members. No. 50-Intermediate Term Duty Living Allowance and others. Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 Nos 88, 90, 92, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 131, 156. Defence Act, Naval Defence Act and Air Force Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 114. Defence Force Discipline Act- Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 125. Rules- Defence Force Discipline (Consequences of Punishment). Statutory Rules 1985 No. 128. Defence Force Discipline Appeals Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 161. Defence (Visiting Forces) Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 159. Dried Vine Fruits Equalization Act-Regulation-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 143. Dried Vine Fruits Equalization Levy Act-Regulation-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 110. Excise Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 Nos 127, 137, 141, 142. Export Control Act-Export Control (Orders) Regulations-Orders 1985-No. 8-Prescribed Goods (General) (Amendment). Export Finance and Insurance Corporation Act-Regulation-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 83. Export Inspection Charge Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 144. Export Inspection Charge Collection Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 145. Extradition (Foreign States)-Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 Nos 157, 158, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167. Family Law Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 183. Federal Court of Australia Act- Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 178. Rules of Court-Statutory Rules 1985 Nos 97, 168. Fisheries Act-Fisheries Notices- No. 142-Prohibition relating to trawling in region A of the eastern sector of the south eastern trawl fishery. No. 143-Prohibition relating to trawling in region B of the eastern sector of the south eastern region trawl fishery. No. 144-Prohibition relating to trawling in the south western sector of the south eastern trawl fishery. No. 145-Prohibition relating to pair trawling in region A of the eastern sector of the south eastern trawl fishery. Nos 147A and 147B-Revocation of Fisheries Notices Nos 132 and 139. Foreign Fishing Boats Levy Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 182. Freedom of Information Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 Nos 106, 113. Grain (Export Inspection Charge) Collection Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 81. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 169. Health Insurance Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 Nos 95, 149. Housing Loans Insurance Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 Nos 111, 112. Income Tax Assessment Act-Regulation-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 148. Insurance Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 189. Insurance Contracts Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 162. Land Acquisition Act-Statements (7) by the Minister describing lands acquired by agreement under sub-section 7 (1) of the Act, for specified public purposes. Live-stock Export Charge Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 172. Live-stock Slaughter Levy Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 171. Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 181. Meat Inspection Act-Meat Inspection (Orders) Regulations-Orders 1985-No. 1-Meat Inspection (General) (Amendment). Merit Protection (Australian Government Employees) Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 176. National Health Act- Principles formulated under sub-section 40AA (7), dated 9 July 1985. Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 Nos 86, 136, 184, 186, 187. Naval defence Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 Nos 89, 93, 94, 122, 123, 124. Navigation Act-Report by the Minister stating the cases in which the Governor-General has exercised his power under section 422A, dated 15 July 1985. Norfolk Island Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 173. Nursing Homes Assistance Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 87. Ombudsman Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 98 Overseas Telecommunications Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 85. Pay-roll Tax (Territories) Assessment Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 185. Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 174. Postal Services Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 107. Poultry Industry Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 79. Primary Industry Bank Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 109. Public Service Act- Appointments- Department of Aboriginal Affairs-C. S. Dixon, V. G. Copley. Department of Education and Youth Affairs-L. Williams, D. Wilson. Department of Employment and Industrial Relations-M. G. Berto, A. Coe, T. Griffiths, W. Kennedy, S. Ralph, D. J. Stewart, D. Walker. Department of Social Security-M. L. Gooda. Determinations 1985-Nos 35, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59. Presiding Officers Determination 1985-No. 3. Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 Nos 108, 177. Remuneration Tribunals Act- Determinations 1985- No. 5-Remuneration payable to holders of the Parliament and certain public offices-Chairman, Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Crime Authority and others, dated 11 June 1985. No. 16-Remuneration payable to holders of certain public offices-Official Secretary to the Governor-General and others, dated 25 July 1985. Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 Nos 147, 188. Sales Tax Assessment Acts (Nos 1 to 10)-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 100. Sales Tax (Exemptions and Classifications) Act-Regulation-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 99. Seat of Government (Administration) Act- Determination made under the following Ordinances- Credit, dated 6 June 1985. Electricity, dated 6 June 1985. Health Services, dated 6 June 1985. Surveyors, dated 9 July 1985. Ordinances 1985- No. 21-Small Claims (Amendment). No. 22-Registration of Deeds (Amendment). No. 23-House of Assembly (Amendment). No. 24-Interpretation (Amendment). No. 25-New South Wales Acts Application. No. 26-Meat (Amendment). No. 27-Blood Donation (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) No. 28-Schools Authority (Amendment). No. 29-Legal Practitioners (Amendment). No. 30-Motor Traffic (Amendment) (No 2). No. 31-Motor Traffic (Amendment) (No. 3). No. 32-Fire Brigade (Promotion of Officer). Regulations 1985- No. 11-(Motor Traffic Ordinance). No. 12-(Health Services Ordinance). No. 13-(Public Health Ordinance). No. 14-(Medical Practitioners Registration Ordinance). No. 15-(Meat Ordinance). No. 16-(Land Rent and Rates (Deferment and Remission) Ordinance). No. 17-(Motor Traffic Ordinance). Spirits Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 140. States Grants (Petroleum Products) Act-Amendments of the Schedules to the subsidy schemes in relation to the States, dated 8 July 1985 and 30 July 1985. Stevedoring Industry Levy Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 84. Superannuation Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 No. 190. Telecommunications Act-By-laws- Telecommunications (General) Amendment No. 42. Telecommunications (Charging Zones and Charging Districts) Amendment No. 57. Wool Industry Act-Regulations-Statutory Rules 1985 Nos 146, 180.