THIS WEEK, Senator Sue Lines, President of the Senate, and Milton Dick MP, Speaker of the House of Representatives, will welcome the attendees to the 26th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) at Australian Parliament House.

This biennial conference aims to strengthen parliamentary institutions by bringing together Speakers and Presiding Officers.

Held January 3-6, 2023, more than 120 delegates will attend the conference, including Presiding Officers, parliamentary staff, and observers from 32 Commonwealth Parliaments. The Presiding Officers represent the breadth of parliamentary systems in the Commonwealth and are from some of the smallest to the largest of nations.

The proceedings will begin with a procession of Speakers and Presiding Officers in their ceremonial robes, to be led by First Nations dancers and singers to the Great Hall.

“We are looking forward to welcoming our parliamentary colleagues from the Commonwealth to Australian Parliament House,” President Lines said. “As we emerge from the pandemic, we will look to strengthen our relationships and learn from each other to ensure that our debates and parliamentary processes continue to be robust.”

Delegates will attend workshops and plenaries on topics relating to their roles as Presiding Officers, including the pandemic, security, e-parliaments, and the central role Presiding Officers play in leading innovation. This will be the first CSPOC to be held in three years.

“The last few years have taught us that things can change very quickly, and the role of parliamentary institutions has been reinforced. It is so important for us to work together and learn from one another,” Speaker Milton Dick said.

The first CSPOC was held in Canada in 1969. The program for CSPOC 2023 is available on the website.

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REFORMS to stop rorting of Australia’s migration system are urgently needed, according to a new submission to a government review.

Caps on the proportion of overseas students in all university courses, increased minimum wage thresholds for temporary skilled migrants, measures to stop rorting of skill migration visas, and tightening of family reunion criteria are among the recommendations made by Sustainable Population Australia (SPA).

The group also calls for a lower annual migrant intake (net overseas migration or NOM) of no more than 60,000, so that Australia’s population can stabilise at an ecologically sustainable level below 30 million people.

The submission says high levels of immigration have solved none of the problems it was intended to fix, while exacerbating all of the issues of most concern to Australians, from job insecurity and falling real wages to housing unaffordability, inadequate infrastructure, environmental degradation and greenhouse gas emissions.

The submission is to the Federal Government’s review, A Migration System for Australia’s Future, announced by the Minister for Home Affairs, Clare O’Neil, at the Jobs and Skills Summit in September.

SPA national president, Jenny Goldie said returning to a NOM of 235,000 annually, as currently proposed by the government, would simply deliver windfall gains to property developers, large employers, universities and migration agents, at the expense of ordinary Australians and the environment.

“High immigration leads to rapid population growth,” Ms Goldie said. “Yet the costs of population growth far outweigh the benefits.

“In particular, concerns about demographic ageing causing worker shortages have proven unfounded. The fiscal costs associated with population ageing are more than off-set by lower infrastructure costs in a stable population.”

“Excessive overseas student numbers are weakening our higher education system and placing extra costs on Australian taxpayers.”

SPA has made a number of recommendations in its submission that include:

• A sustainable scale of migration, based on a vision for an ecologically sustainable population and economy, must be the bedrock criterion;
• A NOM of no more than 60,000 a year should include a generous allowance for humanitarian refugees;
• All skilled migrants should be employer-sponsored and initially temporary. Permanent skill visas should only be offered to those who have demonstrated a period of appropriately skilled employment;
• To ensure that the jobs migrants fill are actually skilled and needed, the Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) should be at least 10 percent greater than the median full-time wage, that is, the TSMIT should be set at around $90,000 a year, not the current $53,900;
• Caps should be placed on the proportion of international students enrolled in any course, perhaps no more than 25 percent except in courses specifically intended to prepare foreign students for further study;
• The family reunion system should be tightened to reduce its widespread abuse as a method for commercial chain migration. Only those who have gained Australian citizenship should be entitled to sponsor a newly-married spouse. At least five years on a permanent residence visa should be required before qualifying for citizenship.

www.population.org.au

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Further information: Jenny Goldie This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 0401 921 453
Dr Jane O’Sullivan (author of submission) This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

THE Select Committee on Workforce Australia Employment Services is calling for submissions on key issues with Workforce Australia, as well as advice and proposals to improve employment services in the future. Submissions are requested by February 28, 2023.

The committee has published a Submissions Guide which identifies key issues, themes and insights arising from the committee’s preliminary investigations, provides an overview of the current system, and sets out questions that may assist in the framing of a submission.

Committee Chair, Julian Hill MP said, “This inquiry is a comprehensive, first-principles review of Workforce Australia hence nothing is off the table. We are actively questioning all assumptions about the design and implementation of employment services in Australia, as well as a range of other issues related to jobseekers’ and employers’ interactions with employment services. Fundamental aspects of the system require re‑examination.

“A well-known definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. Yet this is what Australia has done for decades now with the employment services system. This has led to a system which failed to effectively invest in Australian jobseekers and to support people into sustainable employment, and which has failed to engage and assist the vast majority of employers.

“The submission guide will make it easier for people to contribute as the employment services system is very complex and the inquiry is very broad.  The guide also invites expert submitters to assist the Committee by helping to answer a range of specific questions as clearly and concisely as possible.

“Please be honest, direct and bold in your submissions.”

The committee especially encourages people who have first-hand, lived experience with the system to share their views and recommendations for change.

Copies of the documents provided to the committee by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations at its first public hearing on November 3, 2022 are now online. These provide a range of details on Workforce Australia that may be useful for submitters.

All contributions to the inquiry are welcomed. Submitters may address as many or as few matters set out in the guidance material as they wish. Submissions may also highlight other issues, so long as they remain directly relevant to the Terms of Reference.

Further information about the inquiry, including future public hearings, published submissions and hearing transcripts, are available on the inquiry website.

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THE Electoral Matters Committee is holding a public hearing on December 19, 2022 as part of its examination of the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022.

The committee will hear from representatives of the Department of Finance, the Australian Electoral Commission as well as legal, electoral and constitutional experts.

Committee Chair Kate Thwaites MP said, "The committee is looking forward to hearing views on how the bill will modernise the way in which referendums are conducted in Australia, and the value in bringing this process in line with the way today’s federal elections are conducted."

"While I know many are interested in highlighting views on issues like the referendum question, amendments to the Constitution or the merits of the Voice to Parliament, it’s important to note that this inquiry will not be examining these matters; our focus is on the provisions of the bill."

Further information about the inquiry, including published submissions and hearing transcripts, will be available on the inquiry webpage.

Public hearing details in Canberra

Time: 10am – 3.30pm AEDT
Date: Monday, 19 December 2022
Location: Main Committee Room, Parliament House

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

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THE Joint Standing Committee on Treaties has recommended the Australian Government ratifies the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United States of America on Access to Electronic Data for the Purpose of Countering Serious Crime (CLOUD Act Agreement).

Committee Chair, Josh Wilson MP said, “If certain conditions are met, the CLOUD Act Agreement would allow Australian authorities to seek an Order under Australian law to obtain data related to a serious offence from communications service providers that operate under the jurisdiction of the United States, and vice versa.

“The CLOUD Act Agreement would provide an agreed administrative mechanism so that providers in the receiving country can comply with Orders without the necessity of law enforcement or intelligence agencies relying on mutual legal assistance arrangements, while still requiring certain steps to be followed for the CLOUD Act Agreement to be properly invoked," Mr Wilson said.

The committee agreed that current processes for obtaining data from United States (US) communications service providers under the mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) process can be cumbersome and not necessarily suited to modern communications, data storage, and cloud computing. The CLOUD Act Agreement would complement but significantly improve on the current MLAT process for the acquisition of data held by US communications service providers.

The committee did, however, examine a range of issues with the CLOUD Act Agreement, including implications for civil liberties, reporting on and oversight of Orders, and consultation during negotiations.

The committee encouraged the Australian Government to be mindful that consultation, reporting, and oversight were critical integrity elements that should be applied appropriately where surveillance or other incursions into privacy are involved.

The report can be found on the Committee website, along with further information on the inquiry.

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THE Defence Subcommittee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade will hold its first public hearing tomorrow to examine how Australia makes decisions to send service personnel into international armed conflict.

The inquiry was referred by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Richard Marles MP, on September 28 to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (JSCFADT) (see Terms of Reference).

The committee will hear from witnesses advocating for both preservation of the status quo and for reform in this important area of public policy. Due to give evidence are Australians for War Powers Reform, legal scholars from academic institutions, public citizens, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Australian Defence Association, and the Australian Defence Force.

Commenting on the inquiry hearing, Defence Subcommittee Chair, Julian Hill MP said, “This public hearing will hear evidence from a range of stakeholders and witnesses to examine disparate views around the transparency and accountability of policy settings in the current exercise of these powers. The Terms of Reference also seek advice regarding the impact of any proposed policy changes on the safety and security of our Defence Force personnel.

“The Subcommittee is keen for evidence regarding the way other Westminster democracies exercise these powers, as well as examining this issue from a legal and constitutional perspective.”

Further information in relation to the inquiry is available from the JSCFADT’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Friday 9 December
Time: 1pm – 6.30pm ADST
Location: Committee Room 1R3 and via teleconference

The hearings will be audio streamed live at aph.gov.au/live.

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THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics today released its report Review of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Annual Report 2021. The report focuses on matters arising from the committee’s public hearing with the RBA in September 2022.

Daniel Mulino MP, chair of the committee, said, “The committee’s regular scrutiny of the RBA occurred at an unprecedented time.

“The domestic and global environment had changed rapidly since the last hearing in February. International pressures, including the war in Ukraine, a recovery in local demand as we came out of pandemic lockdowns, and supply side constraints all combined to push inflation to its highest rate since 1990.

"The committee appreciates that several factors influencing inflation could not have been foreseen," Dr Mulino said.

During the hearing, the committee scrutinised the RBA’s approach to monetary policy, including the inflation target; forward guidance on interest rate movements; and the path to bringing inflation down within the target range over time.

“Transparency and accountability in the RBA’s monetary policy decision-making are paramount, and the committee will continue to scrutinise the RBA’s policy responses to current and emerging threats to the economy,” Dr Mulino said.

“The committee also expects the RBA to closely examine lessons learnt from its approach to forecasting and the way it communicated this. Australian households, workers and industries deserve nothing less.”

Other issues the committee canvassed included:

• the interaction between fiscal and monetary policy
• climate change
• housing affordability
• productivity and the labour market.

A full copy of the report is available on the committee’s website.

The committee will next hear from the RBA on February 17, 2023.

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THE DEFENCE Subcommittee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade will conduct a public hearing this Friday, December 9, as part of its inquiry into the Auditor-General’s Report No.4 21/22 Defence’s Contract Administration Defence Industry Security Program.

Witnesses from the Australian Industry Group, and defence contractors Babcock Australasia and Leidos Australia will appear along with the Australian National Audit Office and the Department of Defence to discuss Defence’s implementation of the Auditor-General’s recommendations and suggested improvements to the program.

Chair of the Subcommittee, Julian Hill MP said, "Ensuring security requirements are met right across the defence industry supply chain is of critical importance to Australia’s national security.

"The Auditor-General raised serious concerns and Parliament is right to expect greater assurance from Defence. This is important both for current activities and also to give maximum confidence to allies and partners regarding technology transfer and the security of Australia’s defence industrial base.

“After assessing submissions from Industry and Defence, now is the time to publicly examine in depth the extant of Defence’s progress on reform of the DISP and to hear firsthand from Defence Industry of their experiences in the program.”

Public hearing details

Date: Friday 9 December
Time: 9.15am – 12pm AEDT
Location: Committee Room 1R3 and via teleconference

The hearings will be audio streamed live at aph.gov.au/live.

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