COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES SENATE Official Hansard WEDNESDAY, 5 FEBRUARY 1997 THIRTY-EIGHTH PARLIAMENT FIRST SESSION—THIRD PERIOD BY AUTHORITY OF THE SENATE CANBERRA CONTENTS WEDNESDAY, 5 FEBRUARY Petitions— Aerial Cabling ....................................... 83 Food Labelling ....................................... 83 Uranium ........................................... 83 Logging and Woodchipping .............................. 83 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ........................ 83 Child Care .......................................... 83 Triple J ............................................ 84 Medicare Office, Lithgow ............................... 84 Rural Cutbacks ...................................... 84 Child Care .......................................... 84 Ramsar Treaty ....................................... 84 Sri Lanka .......................................... 84 Housing ........................................... 85 Repatriation Benefits .................................. 85 Repatriation Benefits .................................. 86 Mobile Phone Towers .................................. 86 British Commonwealth Occupational Force ................... 86 Notices of Motion— Community Standards Committee ......................... 87 Nuclear Weapons ..................................... 87 Forests ............................................ 87 Higher Education ..................................... 87 Senator Woods ....................................... 88 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ........................ 88 Native Title ......................................... 88 Uranium Mining...................................... 88 Alcohol Marketing .................................... 89 Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service ................. 89 Genetically Engineered Foods ............................ 89 Order of Business— Logging and Woodchipping .............................. 89 King Island Dairy Products Pty Ltd ........................ 89 Introduction of Legislation .............................. 90 BHP Petroleum ...................................... 90 Tibet: Female Sterilisation ............................... 90 Minister for Social Security .............................. 90 Euthanasia .......................................... 90 Public Interest Secrecy Committee ......................... 90 Leave of Absence ...................................... 90 Committees— Finance and Public Administration References Committee—Report ................................... 90 Migration Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 3) 1996— Migration (Visa Application) Charge Bill 1996— Immigration (Education) Charge Amendment Bill 1996— First Reading ........................................ 90 Second Reading ...................................... 90 Bills Returned from the House of Representatives ................ 94 Hindmarsh Island Bridge Bill 1996— Second Reading ...................................... 94 In Committee ........................................ 116 Matters of Public Interest— Australian National University: Students Association ............ 125 Unemployment ....................................... 127 Questions Without Notice— Australian Broadcasting Corporation ........................ 130 Small Business ....................................... 132 CONTENTS—continued Distinguished Visitors ................................... 132 Questions Without Notice— Australian Broadcasting Corporation ........................ 132 Unemployment ....................................... 134 Radio Australia ...................................... 135 East Gippsland Forests ................................. 136 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ........................ 138 Austudy ........................................... 139 Senator Woods ....................................... 140 Free to Air Television .................................. 141 Free to Air Television .................................. 142 Youth Unemployment .................................. 143 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ........................ 144 Condolences— Hon. Charles Robert Kelly CMG .......................... 150 Matters of Public Importance— ABC: Funding ....................................... 166 Days and Hours of Meeting ............................... 179 Ministerial Statements— Trade Outcomes and Objectives Statement ................... 180 Assent to Laws ........................................ 184 Documents ........................................... 184 Committees— Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee: Joint—Report ..... 184 Reports: Government Responses .......................... 186 Documents— Tabling ............................................ 186 Western Australian Commission on Government ................. 186 Committees— Scrutiny of Bills Committee—Report ....................... 188 Membership ......................................... 188 Order of Business— Government Business .................................. 188 Customs Amendment Bill (No. 2) 1996— Import Processing Charges Bill 1996— Customs Depot Licensing Charges Bill 1996— Second Reading ...................................... 191 Documents— Australian National Railways Commission ................... 197 National Rail Corporation Ltd ............................ 197 Industry Commission—Report No. 53 ...................... 199 Adjournment— Senator Woods ....................................... 200 Senator Woods ....................................... 201 Cricket ............................................ 202 Australian Broadcasting Corporation ........................ 202 Northern Territory: Growth .............................. 205 Documents— Tabling ............................................ 206 Proclamations ......................................... 206 Documents— Tabling ............................................ 206 Questions On Notice— Unemployment—(Question No. 116) ....................... 210 Sydney West Airport—(Question No. 142) ................... 211 Royal Australian Navy: ‘Lead-through’ Exercises—(Question No. 304) ........................................... 211 Royal Australian Navy: Malaya Emergency—(Question No. 316) . 212 Royal Australian Navy: Malaya Emergency—(Question No. 317) . 213 GEMCO Oil Spill—(Question No. 321) ..................... 214 CONTENTS—continued Mining: Conservation Areas—(Question No. 352) .............. 214 AQIS: Inspection of Imported Food—(Question No. 355) ......... 215 Logging and Woodchipping—(Question No. 367) .............. 216 Logging and Woodchipping—(Question No. 371) .............. 218 SENATE 83 Wednesday, 5 February 1997 World Heritage Listed Area of the Kakadu National Park or any other proposed or current operating site. Your petitioners ask that the Senate oppose any The PRESIDENT (Senator the Hon. intentions by the Australian government to support Margaret Reid) took the chair at 9.30 a.m., the nuclear industry via any mining, enrichment and read prayers. and sale of uranium. PETITIONS by Senator Woodley (from 20 citizens). The Clerk—Petitions have been lodged for Logging and Woodchipping presentation as follows: To the Honourable President and Members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The petition of the Aerial Cabling undersigned shows: To the Honourable the President and Members of Australia’s old growth forest and wilderness the Senate in Parliament assembled. areas are being diminished as a result of continued The Petition of the undersigned shows: logging. The Federal Government has granted new The people of Western Australia are opposed to woodchip export licences despite its agreement for any proposal to string aerial cabling. a moratorium on logging in high conservation areas. Your Petitioners ask that the Senate should: Your petitioners ask that the Senate should: Ensure that pay TV and telephone cable networks are installed underground and furthermore that apply conditions retrospectively to woodchip carriers should either share existing infrastructure licences in order to meet Commonwealth obliga- or co-locate their cables. tions, and by Senator Campbell (from 451 citizens). exclude from licenses, woodchip derived from old growth forests and wilderness areas. Food Labelling by Senator Woodley (from 11 citizens). We, the undersigned citizens and residents of Australia, call on all Senators to support implemen- Australian Broadcasting Corporation tation of the following: To the Honourable the President and members of a requirement to label with the production the Senate in Parliament assembled: process, all foods from genetic engineering The petition of certain citizens of Australia. technologies or containing their products; Your petitioners request that the Senate, in real public participation in decisions on Parliament assembled, should recognise that the whether to allow commercialisation of foods, Coalition’s proposed cost-cutting measures to the additives and processing agents produced by Australian Broadcasting Corporation will remove gene technologies; the broadcaster’s ability to properly provide ser- premarket human trials and strict safety rules vices to both its radio and television audiences— on these foods, to assess production processes as particularly those in rural and regional areas. well as the end products. Your petitioners oppose any cuts to the ABC and Precedents which support our petition include request that the Coalition be held to its pre-election several examples of foods already labelled with the promise to "maintain existing