THEAB OHOUSEUT WASTED LIVES Saving communities drowning in despair ISSUE 48 | AUGUST 2014 Our fatal attraction Dark side of the sun Overdue north Continental shift or drift ABOUT THE HOUSE | AUGUST 2014 2 UP FRONT Parliamentary Budget Parliament echoes a nation’s grief Office review With heads bowed in a minute of Federal parliament’s Public Accounts silence, federal parliamentarians and Audit Committee has announced stopped the scheduled business of a review of the Parliamentary Budget parliament on Friday 18 July 2014 Office (PBO). to honour the victims of the The PBO was established in 2012 to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 increase the transparency of the budget brought down over eastern Ukraine. process, provide analysis of fiscal policy, and cost policy initiatives, including “This is a grim day for our country election commitments. and it is a grim day for the world,” Public Accounts and Audit Committee said Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Chair, Andrew Southcott (Boothby, SA) “As things stand, this looks less like said the committee will examine whether an accident than a crime.” the PBO is meeting the objectives for which it was established. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Deputy Leader of the Australian A recent audit report found that Greens Adam Bandt supported the the PBO was performing well. The committee will review the report and Prime Minister’s remarks. look more widely at whether the PBO “This is a violation of the rules of should: civilisation. It is a tyrannical, wild n have statutory information gathering act,” Mr Shorten said. powers, and access to information; “Thousands of lives are going to be n report on government progress touched by this tragedy,” Mr Bandt against a new set of fiscal rules stated. (as recommended by the National Commission of Audit); and The House of Representatives then suspended its sitting for a time as a n report against medium-term mark of respect. projections of fiscal outlook beyond the forward estimates. n The following day, the Australian flag atop Parliament House flew at half-mast as a nation mourned the LINKS innocent victims. n www.aph.gov.au/jcpaa Drones report released [email protected] iStock (02) 6277 4615 New privacy protections may be needed amid a boom in the use of airborne drones in Australia. Video reports from Releasing its latest report, the House of Representatives Social Policy delegations and Legal Affairs Committee was concerned that existing laws do not To provide more information on protect Australians’ privacy from overseas visits by parliamentary drones. delegations, video reports from those Qld). “All the same, we must set delegations are now available from the Among its recommendations, the out clear rules that govern how the Australian parliament’s international committee has called for modernised police, governments, businesses and program webpage at www.aph.gov.au/ and nationally uniform laws members of the public use drones.”n international and from the About regulating the use of surveillance (See feature page 44) the House YouTube channel at: devices, including drones, as well as www.youtube.com/athnews an education campaign to inform LINKS drone users about privacy and air The international program webpage safety laws. www.aph.gov.au/spla also provides information on the Australian parliament’s activities to “Drones will revolutionise some [email protected] industries, with a wide range of support democratic development beneficial uses,” said committee (02) 6277 2223 in our region, including the Pacific chair George Christensen (Dawson, Parliamentary Partnerships program that links together 22 parliaments. n ABOUT THE HOUSE | AUGUST 2014 3 IN THIS ISSUE THE LAW 30 WEALTH BY STEALTH GETS HARDER New powers target criminal kingpins 30 Red tape removal helps children 31 Stress treatment boost for soldiers Wasted Lives 20 32 Push for public service diversity iStock 32 Reforms target farm chemicals newspix REGULARS 4 DESPATCH BOX Our fatal 7 HILLSIDE Overdue north 26 attraction 34 9 NEWSFEED iStock 19 ONE ON ONE David Foote DPS/Auspic 33 EXTRA iStock 54 HOUSE RULES Opportunity knocks for Eyes in Geared new MPs 40 the sky 44 to work 48 54 QUESTION TIME House of Representatives About the House is published Editor: Andres Lomp Printing: by the Department of the House CanPrint Communications Pty Ltd magazine, Issue 48, Deputy Editor: of Representatives. For more August 2014 Emma O’Sullivan Front cover: information on the work of Indigenous artist David Hardy Australia’s House of Representatives Associate Editor: Joe Italiano was commissioned to illustrate visit: www.aph.gov.au/ath this About the House cover story Contact: Correspondents: About the House magazine, Alan Jenkins and Claire McEvilly PO Box 6021, Parliament House, Creative Direction: Canberra ACT 2600 Prue Beckett, PBMC Ph: Freecall 1800 139 299 Fax: (02) 6277 8521 Design and Production: Lisa McDonald and Email: [email protected] Lucas Kuncewicz, House of Representatives Knowledge Management and Publishing Office ABOUT THE HOUSE | AUGUST 2014 4 DESPATCH BOX TWENTY YEARS OF SPEAKER DEDICATED BROADCASTING CHALLENGES UNIVERSITY ABC NewsRadio STUDENTS House of Representatives Speaker Bronwyn Bishop has challenged students to put forward their arguments on what freedom of speech means in Australia’s democracy. The best debater will win a cash prize of $500 as part of the 2014 Speaker’s University Challenge. “Freedom of speech is a fundamental principle on which our democracy is built,” SWITCHED ON: The ABC NewsRadio team in 1994 Mrs Bishop said. “It’s exercised every sitting day here n 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected President of South Africa, Bill Clinton in the House of Representatives.” was in the White House, Tony Blair had just been elected the leader of British ILabour and Paul Keating was our Prime Minister. “So for this year’s University The year also saw the shooting death of NSW Labor MP John Newman and the Challenge I’m asking university imprisonment of former WA Labor Premier Brian Burke. students to explore the topic: ‘Freedom of speech in a modern It was a sign that the pace of the news cycle was quickening and along with it day democracy’.” the appetite for continuous news coverage, analysis and reaction which ABC NewsRadio serves to this day. Students have been asked to make It’s grown from transmitters in eight locations to 72 nationally. When parliament a three-minute video to present sits, parliamentary proceedings can be heard on those 72 analogue transmitters. their case on the topic. Those who want to stay with the continuous news service can do so online, on The producers of the top three digital radio or through a mobile app. videos will be flown to Canberra On August 17th, ABC NewsRadio will celebrate 20 years as the nation’s all-news for the announcement of the network. winner on 1 October 2014. In 1988, the Parliamentary News Network (PNN) assumed the responsibility More information is at: of broadcasting parliamentary proceedings. In 1994, PNN evolved to the ABC www.aph.gov.au/unichallenge or NewsRadio of today. email: [email protected] or The requirement that the proceedings be broadcast by the ABC dates back to phone: freecall 1800 139 299. 1946. For just over 40 years normal programming on ABC Local Radio on the national broadcaster throughout the country was interrupted to bring citizens live proceedings from the House of Representatives and the Senate. The formula was simple. When parliament sat people could tune in to a dedicated frequency in the cities and the regions to listen to the deliberations of their elected representatives. When the houses were not sitting they could listen to a new offering – continuous news from home and abroad. Now, with the advent of digital radio, the internet and mobile apps you can quite literally get the best of both worlds, parliamentary proceedings and news – anywhere and anytime – on ABC NewsRadio. Stay tuned for the celebration of 20 years of continuous news in August. n ABOUT THE HOUSE | AUGUST 2014 5 DESPATCH BOX HOUSE OF DAILY PARLIAMENT DIARY REPS APP LAUNCHED The House of Representatives has gone digital with the launch of an app that features an interactive seating plan showing where members and parliamentary officials sit during debates in the chamber. The interactive seating plan includes each member’s name, photo, electorate name and information on any parliamentary position held. There is also a link that takes you direct to the member’s home page on the Parliament House website, where you will find biographical information, latest speeches and electorate details. More information on the work of the House is being progressively added to the app, which is free to download. n Each morning when parliament meets, just before 9am, Speaker of the House of Representatives Bronwyn Bishop previews the business before the House on a new television segment broadcast on Sky News. Parliament Diary is shown during the AM Agenda program. At the end of each sitting period, the House of Representatives television program MPI (Matters of Public Importance) is broadcast on the Australian Public Affairs Channel, with segments also available on the About the House TV webpage at www.aph.gov.au/athtv or from the House of Representatives YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/athnews MPI shows highlights from the fortnight in the House, focusing on bills presented, committee reports tabled, issues raised by backbench MPs, events held at Parliament House, and a one on one interview. n FORWARD TOGETHER, WITH NO LIMITS Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (pictured) has joined a select aap group of world leaders who have been given the opportunity to address Australia’s federal parliament. Previous speeches to both houses have been given by leaders from the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Canada, Indonesia and New Zealand.