COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES SENATE Official Hansard No. 7, 2000 7 JUNE 2000 THIRTY-NINTH PARLIAMENT FIRST SESSION—SIXTH PERIOD BY AUTHORITY OF THE SENATE CONTENTS WEDNESDAY, 7 JUNE Telecommunications (Interception) Legislation Amendment Bill 2000 Second Reading........................................................................................... 14767 In Committee............................................................................................... 14773 Third Reading.............................................................................................. 14776 Local Government (Financial Assistance) Amendment Bill 2000 Second Reading........................................................................................... 14776 Matters of Public Interest Mandatory Sentencing................................................................................. 14802 Aged Care: Complaints System................................................................... 14804 Schools Funding.......................................................................................... 14807 Online Gambling ......................................................................................... 14810 Questions Without Notice Goods and Services Tax: Information Campaign........................................ 14815 Workplace Relations: Families.................................................................... 14816 Goods and Services Tax: Advertisements ................................................... 14818 Tax Reform: Income Tax............................................................................. 14818 Goods and Services Tax: Advertisements ................................................... 14819 Radio Australia: Funding ............................................................................ 14820 Goods and Services Tax: Advertisements ................................................... 14821 Distinguished Visitors....................................................................................... 14822 Questions Without Notice Rural and Regional Australia: Services....................................................... 14822 Goods and Services Tax: Information Campaign........................................ 14823 Cape York Natural Heritage Trust Fund...................................................... 14824 Goods and Services Tax: Compliance Costs ............................................... 14825 University Access........................................................................................ 14826 Answers to Questions Without Notice Centrelink: Client Privacy ........................................................................... 14827 Goods and Services Tax: Information Campaign........................................ 14828 Radio Australia: Funding ............................................................................ 14833 Committees Selection of Bills Committee—Report........................................................ 14834 Leave of Absence.............................................................................................. 14837 Notices Presentation ................................................................................................. 14837 Postponements............................................................................................. 14838 Committees Scrutiny of Bills Committee—Meeting....................................................... 14838 Air Facilities: Documents ................................................................................. 14838 Matters Of Public Importance Sugar Industry ............................................................................................. 14839 Committees Scrutiny of Bills Committee—Report ......................................................... 14850 Budget 1999-2000 Consideration by Legislation Committees—Additional Information.......... 14850 New Business Tax System (Alienation of Personal Services Income) Bill 2000 New Business Tax System (Alienated Personal Services Income) Tax Imposition Bill (No. 1) 2000 New Business Tax System (Alienated Personal Services Income) Tax Imposition Bill (No. 2) 2000 Report of Economics Legislation Committee—Erratum............................. 14850 CONTENTS—continued Committees Public Accounts and Audit Committee—Report ........................................ 14851 National Schools Constitution Convention 2000.............................................. 14851 Local Government (Financial Assistance) Amendment Bill 2000 Second Reading........................................................................................... 14853 In Committee............................................................................................... 14861 Adjournment World Environment Day.............................................................................. 14876 Environment: Greenhouse Gas Emissions................................................... 14878 Coal Fired Power Stations ........................................................................... 14878 Australian Defence Force: Capability ......................................................... 14880 Documents Tabling......................................................................................................... 14881 Tabling......................................................................................................... 14882 Questions on Notice No. 1235—Nursing Homes: Other Costs Reimbursed Expenditure ........... 14883 No. 1239—Nursing Homes: Income Tested Fees ....................................... 14884 No. 1358—Alimar Nursing Home: Standards and Accreditation Agency.. 14885 No. 1892—Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business: Year 2000 Compliance...................................................... 14886 No. 1904—Nursing Homes: Care Subsidies ............................................... 14887 No. 1947—Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet: Provision of Income and Expenditure Statements ........................................................... 14888 No. 1953—Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Businss: Provision of Income and Expenditure Statements .............. 14889 No. 2001—Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts: Contracts with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu............................. 14895 No. 2020—Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts: Contracts with PricewaterhouseCoopers................................ 14895 No. 2032—Department of Veterans' Affairs: Contracts with PricewaterhouseCoopers ............................................................................. 14897 No. 2039—Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts: Contracts with KPMG............................................................ 14897 No. 2058—Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts: Contracts with Arthur Andersen ............................................ 14899 No. 2077—Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts: Contracts with Ernst and Young............................................. 14899 No. 2097—Aged Care: Central Australia.................................................... 14900 No. 2117—Indigenous Australians: Education and Training Programs...... 14901 No. 2124—Irian Jaya .................................................................................. 14903 No. 2138—Telecommunications Service Inquiry: Submissions ................. 14904 No. 2139—Fletcher International Abattoir, Narrikup: Commonwealth Funding........................................................................................................ 14908 No. 2140—Whittaker, Mr Mark: Child Support Agency............................ 14908 No. 2150—Boards of Management............................................................. 14909 CONTENTS—continued Wednesday, 7 June 2000 SENATE 14767 Wednesday, 7 June 2000 in phone calls for criminals, drug handlers ————— and spies, in effect what it is not doing is saying that our whole spying system is being The PRESIDENT (Senator the Hon. moved to an international system which spies Margaret Reid) took the chair at 9.30 a.m., on everybody’s phone calls. Most Australians and read prayers. are not aware of that. TELECOMMUNICATIONS The bill does refer to intervention in for- (INTERCEPTION) LEGISLATION eign phone calls—phone calls going out of AMENDMENT BILL 2000 this country—but what it does not say is that Second Reading everybody’s phone calls are being listened to, Debate resumed from 6 June, on motion that everybody’s phone calls are being by Senator Ian Campbell: scanned and, moreover, that the check on this That this bill be now read a second time. system is not within our national boundaries. Australia has an arrangement with the UK, Senator BROWN (Tasmania) (9.31 the United States, Canada and New Zealand a.m.)—I was saying before the debate on the whereby the downloading of selected phone Telecommunications (Interception) Legisla- calls—the intercepted calls which the Ameri- tion Amendment Bill 2000 was adjourned cans, in particular, want to listen to—goes yesterday that there is more to this legislation straight to Washington. I will be asking the than meets the eye, or at least there is more to government during the committee stages of the change to modern communications than this debate what control Australia has over this legislation can deal with. At the outset