30th Parliament · 1st Session
The PRESIDENT (Senator the Hon. Condor Laucke) took the chair at 2.30 p.m., and read prayers.
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Senator WITHERS (Western AustraliaLeader of the Government in the Senate)Honourable senators will be aware that last Friday week the Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development, Senator Greenwood, was suddenly taken ill and is now in the Canberra Community Hospital. I am sure that all senators were shocked and saddened by this sudden illness of one of our colleagues. I am also sure all senators will join with me in expressing to Mrs Greenwood and her family, our best wishes and hopes for his speedy recovery.
I inform the Senate that during the illness of Senator Greenwood, the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, Mr MacKellar, will act for him. As a consequence the following representational arrangements will operate in the Senate: Senator Carrick will represent the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister in Public Service Matters and the Acting Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development; I will represent the AttorneyGeneral; and Senator Cotton will represent the Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs.
I also inform the Senate that the Minister for Foreign Affairs left Australia this morning for discussions in Papua New Guinea relating to Torres Strait. He is expected to return tomorrow evening. During his absence the Minister for Primary Industry will act as Minister for Foreign Affairs.
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– I present the following petition from 1 3 citizens of Australia:
To the Honourable the President and Members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of the undersigned members of the community organisations respectfully showeth that
There is a growing interest and concern in all sections of Australian society for the conservation of the environment, natural and man-made.
That there are also rapidly growing pressures by powerful forces tending towards the destruction of the Australian heritage.
That it is therefore urgent to appoint the Australian Heritage Commission, which was approved by both sides of this
Parliament and to give the Commission sufficient independent staff, resources and funds.
That Technical Assistance Grants and Administrative Support Grants to community organisations are needed to partially redress the gross imbalance in technical expertise and resources suffered by community groups in pressing the community’s case against the exploiter.
That a proper balance between the Government programme of public austerity and the need for action in conservation would be a modest increase in the budget allocations in these areas over that of 1 975-76.
And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray.
Petition received and read.
– I present the following petition from 42 citizens of Australia:
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 Family Planning Association and similar organizations throughout Australia contribute to the welfare and well-being of a great proportion of the Australian people both in family planning and in an advisory capacity on the prevention and control of social diseases.
Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that urgent consideration be given to a favourable decision on the continuation of Federal Government finance to enable the activities of the Family Planning Associations and like organizations to proceed unimpaired throughout Australia.
And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray.
Petition received and read.
– I present the following petition from 27 citizens of Australia:
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 Federal Government implement the June, 1975 Report of the Schools Commission so that:
1 ) The present level of Federal Government Education Expenditure is increased to the level recommended by the Schools Commission.
The role of the Schools Commission as an independent statutory authority free to make its own assessment of the needs of Australian Education is maintained.
Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that the Government will take no measures to interfere with the Schools Commission.
And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray.
Petition received and read.
– I present the following petition from 2 1 citizens of Australia:
To the Honourable the President and Members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of the undersigned respectfully showeth that
There is a growing interest and concern in all sections of Australian society for the conservation of the environment, natural and man-made.
That there are also rapidly growing pressures by powerful forces tending towards the destruction of the Australian Heritage.
That it is therefore urgent to appoint the Australian Heritage Commission, which was approved by both sides of this Parliament and to give the Commission sufficient independent staff, resources and funds.
That Technical Assistance Grants and Administrative Support Grants to community organizations are needed to partially redress the gross imbalance in technical expertise and resources suffered by community groups in pressing the community’s case against the exploiter.
That a proper balance between the Government’s programme of public austerity and the need for action in conservation would be a modest increase in the budget allocations in these areas over that of 1975/76.
And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray.
Petition received.
-I present the following petition from 154 citizens of Australia:
To the Honourable the President and Senators of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of the undersigned students and staff at the colleges respectfully showeth-
That the Commonwealth Government Tertiary Educational Allowance Scheme, be raised from $30 per week to $48 per week.
Your Petitioners therefore humbly pray that the Treasurer, Mr Lynch and the Minister for Education, Senator Carrick will carry out this Petition.
And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray.
Petition received.
-I present the following petition from 159 citizens of Australia:
To the Honourable the President and Senators of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The humble Petition of the undersigned students and staff of the State Colleges of Victoria respectfully showeth-
That the Immigration of teachers recruited from outside Australia be prevented while students with similar University qualifications are refused entry into Diploma of Education courses, and school leavers are refused entry into the state colleges of Victoria.
Your Petitioners therefore humbly pray that the Minister for Immigration, Mr MacKellar will carry out this Petition.
And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray.
Petition received.
-I present the following petition from 270 citizens of Australia:
To the Honourable the President and Senators of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of the undersigned students and staff of the State Colleges of Victoria respectfully showeth:
That Teachers recruited outside Australia by the Victorian Education department have their income taxation exemption for the period of their stay in Australia cancelled.
Your Petitioners therefore humbly pray that the Treasurer will carry out this petition.
And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray.
Petition received.
– The following petitions have been lodged for presentation:
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 since the Australian Assistance Plan is making it possible for citizens to help themselves, thereby ensuring best possible use of limited Government resources, as shown by the fact that over 200 community projects nave been initiated or funded through the AAP in the Outer Eastern Region.
Your petitioners most humbly pray that the Senate in Parliament will take immediate steps to continue the Australian Assistance Plan as recommended in the Report tabled by the Honourable the Minister for Social Security, Senator Margaret Guilfoyle in Parliament on the 4th of March, 1976 and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. by Senator Webster (2 petitions).
Petitions received.
To the Honourable the President and Members of the Senate in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of the undersigned members of the Western Australian Naturalists Club Incorporated respectfully showeth that
There is a growing interest and concern in all sections of Australian society for the conservation of the environment natural and man-made.
That there are also rapidly growing pressures by powerful forces tending towards the destruction of the Australian heritage.
That it is therefore urgent to appoint the Australian Heritage Commission, which was approved by both sides of this Parliament and to give the Commission sufficient independent staff, resources and funds.
That Technical Assistance Grants and Administrative Support Grants to community organizations are needed to partially redress the gross imbalance in technical expertise and resources suffered by community groups in pressing the community’s case against the exploiter.
That a proper balance between the Government’s programme of public austerity and the need for action in conservation would be a modest increase in the budget allocations in these areas over that of 1 975-76.
And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Chaney.
Petition received.
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 Federal Government implement the June, 1975 Report of the Schools Commission so that:
Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that the Government will take no measures to interfere with the Schools Commission.
And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. by Senator Missen.
Petition received.
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 opportunity for citizens to take part in government is provided by elections.
That the present provision in the Australian Electoral Act compelling voters to mark preferences for ALL candidates is unreasonable and unjust and a hindrance to the full exercise of the voters’ basic right to take part in government.
Your petitioners pray that the Senate will proceed to remove the unjust compulsion and bring in a act that provides protection for the voters’ rights. by Senator Carrick.
Petition received.
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– I give notice that on the next day of sitting- we will most likely consider this on Thursday- I shall move:
Tuesday 2.30 to 6 p.m., 8 to 11 p.m.; Wednesday 2.15 to 6 p.m., 8 to 11 p.m.; Thursday 10.30 a.m. to 1 p.m., 2.15 to 6 p.m., 8 to 1 1 p.m.
– I give notice that on the next day of sitting I shall move:
That the Lands Acquisition Repeal Ordinance 1976 as contained in Cocos (Keeling) Islands Ordinance No. 1 of 1976 and made under the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act 1955-75 be disallowed.
-I give contingent notice of motion as follows: Contingent on the Senate’s consideration of any Bill relating to the stevedoring industry, and where appropriate, I shall move:
That the Senate is of the opinion that the Bill should not be further proceeded with until after consideration of general business notice of motion No. 4 standing in the name of Senator Harradine and relating to a paper on the stevedoring industry by R. M. Northrop, Q.C.
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– I direct my question to the Leader of the Government in the Senate since it has Foreign Affairs and other ramifications. I ask the Minister to indicate to the Senate whether Australian aid rendered to Italy as a result of its recent earthquake is based upon the principles followed by the former Minister for Immigration, Mr Clyde Cameron, in the Cyprus debacle, with particular regard to external aid sent direct to the stricken region. Could the Minister give a clarification of the definition of special category migrant which would apply to victims of the earthquake, particularly orphans? Could he also outline the ambit of aid based on the foregoing principles that applied to what might be called a secondary earthquake in the Yugoslav Republic of Slovenia, a matter which he will know that I have raised with the Prime Minister and other Ministers following representations from the Slovene community in Sydney?
-All I can say to the honourable senator is that to get a proper answer I will need to have consultation not only with the Prime Minister but also with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs. I shall seek information from each of those Ministers and get a reply as early as possible for the honourable senator.
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-I ask the Leader of the Government in the Senate whether he has seen reports that an Aborigine convicted in the South Australian Supreme Court for killing a woman has been handed back to his tribe for tribal law and justice to be applied for his misdeed. Can the Minister say whether this Supreme Court decision will in any way conflict with the application of Australian law generally, particularly in relation to any future actions of Aborigines under their tribal laws which may be in direct conflict with Australian laws?
-I happened to see that report in a newspaper when I was in Canberra on Sunday. That is a remarkable confession. I must say that I was somewhat intrigued by Mr Justice Wells’s decision but I assume that he had full power under the laws of South Australia to take such action. Nobody seems to have taken any action to appeal against that decision so far as I know, but as the honourable senator has an interest in this matter I shall take it up with the Attorney-General and ask whether he can supply a more detailed answer than that which I have been able to give. I must repeat that I assume the honourable and learned judge knew what he was doing and was acting within the laws of South Australia.
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– My question is directed to you, Mr President. I preface it by reminding you that on 28 April 1976 Senator Michael Townley produced a document in this chamber which, by inference, he claimed had been compiled by Mr Henry Fischer. The document was unsigned and when it was tabled it was seen that 2 pages had been removed previously. Are you aware that on 4 May 1976 the Attorney-General, Mr Ellicott, said in another place that the document had not been released by him? Are you also aware that in a Press statement published on 5 April 1976 the Attorney-General denied in more detail that he had released the document? Are you aware also that Mr Fischer issued a statement through his Sydney solicitors on 3 March 1976 denying the main allegation in the unsigned document? As it appears that all the evidence presented by the honourable senator was unsubstantiated and indeed may have been false, will you take the necessary action to ensure that the honourable senator is dealt with by the appropriate Senate committee in accordance with the Standing Orders, customs and practice of the Senate?
– In response to the honourable senator, I inform him that I shall give this matter my consideration.
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– My question is addressed to the Minister for Administrative Services. I refer to a question to him which I placed on the notice paper on 24 February 1976 in which I asked:
I now ask the Minister whether I can expect an early answer to this question. I further ask whether, quite apart from any legislation promoted by the previous Governmment, the Minister agrees that there are many recommendations in the May 1974 report of the Scott Committee which are relevant to efficient and economic development of procurement and disposal procedures, particularly in this period of financial stringency?
-I apologise to the honourable senator because he has not had an answer before this date. Honourable senators may be aware, and Ministers in this place are aware, that we are all engaged in a chase-up situation at the moment in trying to get answers to questions which have been on the notice paper for far too long in many cases. As to the remainder of the honourable senator’s question, work is going on in my department concerning the Scott Report. In fact, there have been consultations with some other departments within this area, certainly with Senator Cotton’s department, as I recall it, which of course is very : interested in the matters contained in the Scott Report and with government procurement in general. At the moment I think it would be preferable if I obtained an early answer to question No. 66 on the notice paper- I hope tomorrow or the next day- and gave to the honourable senator a more detailed and considered answer to the other matters which he has raised this afternoon.
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– My question is directed to the Minister for Social Security. Is it true that officers of the Minister’s department have been making raids en masse on recipients of unemployment benefits in the Kensington and Flemington areas of Melbourne? Are these officers acting on specific information or is this just a dragnet exercise to see what can be turned up? Is it intended that this tactic, which to some of us smacks of secret police raids, will be used again in the future and, if so, why?
– I take it that the honourable senator’s question is based on a leaflet distributed in Melbourne by certain groups of people and relating to checks which were made by officers of my Department. In relation to the comments that have been made about inquiry officers raiding the area, the Melbourne office of my Department has advised that during the week from 4 to 7 May 12 inquiry officers in 9 vehicles reviewed 425 unemployment benefit claims in Kensington, an area of dense population and high rise flats. As a result of that review, which involved 581 visits, it was recommended that 13 people be transferred to other benefits, for example sickness benefits; 47 people have returned to employment and benefits were terminated; and recommendations were made that benefits be terminated for other reasons in 72 cases. Sixty people failed to keep appointments and these cases are being followed up. It should be emphasised that there is nothing unusual about this review. It is a routine procedure. The comment that was attributed in some sections of the Press to the Victorian Council of Social Service in the last paragraph of an article, that the Department is investigating suspected defaulters, is misleading. The Department regularly reviews all claims and not just with the intention of finding defaulters. Many people require assistance with claims or are eligible for a different form of benefit. Wherever possible inquiry officers assist these people.
To answer the question that was addressed to me, there is no substance in the allegation regarding police tactics or whatever else may have been suggested. It was simply the usual review that is undertaken by inquiry officers in the Department to enable the inspection of people who are in receipt of benefits to see whether the appropriate benefit is being paid or whether the benefit should be suspended or discontinued.
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– My question, which is directed to the Minister representing the Minister for Transport, concerns an article by Peter Samuel which appeared in the Bulletin of 15 May. I ask the Minister whether the following assertions are factual: That officials in Canberra say it is just possible that the absorption of the South Australian railways into the Federal system may yet be blocked; that agreement on awards and conditions has not been reached with the employees due to be transferred to the Commonwealth on 1 July, and that Australian National Railways officials have done an exercise which discloses that the whole of the existing Adelaide to Port Pirie railway line can be converted to standard gauge for $10m over one weekend? Is it a fact that the proposals of the previous Government for a railway line from Adelaide via Crystal Brook to accomplish the same result would cost $90m for line construction alone? Finally, is the Minister able to comment upon statements concerning the economics of the new railway line from Tarcoola to Alice Springs which was mentioned in the article?
- Senator Jessop was good enough to draw my attention to the article to which he refers and I was therefore able to get some information. I am advised as follows: The Railways (South Australia) Act 1975 and the Railway Agreement (Tasmania) Act 1975 provided for the assets and liabilities of the nonmetropolitan South Australian rail system and the Tasmanian rail system to be transferred to the Commonwealth, together with financial responsibility for these rail systems, on 1 July 1976. The agreements for the transfer provided for the States to operate the systems transferred to the Commonwealth on behalf of the Commonwealth pending a transfer of management to the Australian National Railways. Negotiations with the employee unions concerned are currently continuing with a view to completion as early as possible.
I am not aware of the current cost of converting the existing rail line from Adelaide to Port Pirie to standard gauge. However, this conversion was one of the options considered at the time of negotiating the new standard gauge line. The cost of line construction alone of the new main line from Adelaide to Crystal Brook under the Adelaide to Crystal Brook Railway Act 1974 is estimated at about $40m. Finally, the previous detailed evaluation which resulted in legislation to enable the continuation of this line in 1 974 has not been re-evaluated at this stage.
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-My question is addressed to the Minister for Administrative Services. I ask: Is the report correct that the Minister forwarded a submission to the Remuneration Tribunal, for which body he is ministerially responsible, on the subject of salaries of senators and members of the Australian Parliament? If so, was the submission put to the Tribunal by the Minister on behalf of the Government, or was it a submission made in the Minister’s own right as a senator of the Parliament? If it was a submission on the part of the Government, did it receive the approval of Government supporters at any Party meeting? Does the submission mean that if the Tribunal does not conform to the Government’s submission, the Government intends to move in either House of the Parliament to disallow the Tribunal’s determination?
-I think the honourable senator has asked 4 questions. The answer to the first one is yes. The answer to the second one is yes. The answer to the third one is no, we have to be a government and governments make decisions under their own rules and governments live with their own decisions. As to the fourth question, all I can say is that if the honourable senator likes to speculate, he may go for his life and do so. But why one should form an attitude before the report of a tribunal is presented somewhat escapes me.
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– I direct a question to the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs. It follows the question asked by Senator Mulvihill and concerns also the devastation which has occurred to the Friuli region of northern Italy and to the areas of Slovenia, which is my birthplace, as a result of the recent disastrous earthquake. In addition to generous financial assistance already promised to the Friuli region by the Commonwealth Government, what other help has been offered to victims of the earthquake in both countries? In particular, what arrangements are in hand or in prospect to make it possible for the victims of the disaster to come to Australia, as I was able to do 25 years ago, to make here a new and secure life?
– The Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs has stated that we will give immediate priority to those nominations already in the pipeline involving people made homeless by the earthquake. We will also give priority to other nominations lodged in the immediate future which are within existing immigration criteria. Nominations outside the normal criteria where special compassionate circumstances exist, such as where families have been deprived of their breadwinner or where children have been orphaned, will be accepted and dealt with quickly. The Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs announced also that staff from the Department in Rome would go to the disaster areas without further delay to help process the nominations quickly. At Sydney and Melbourne the officers of the Department of Immigration will be specially designated to attend to these nominations in an expeditious manner. We hope that this will be of assistance to those people who are victims of and made homeless by the earthquake.
In answer to the other question with regard to any other assistance that may be given, I state that I believe the Senate would be aware of the $250,000 donation that was given by the Australian Government through the International Red Cross in respect of the earthquake. I am sure that further consideration would be given to any other matters in regard to which we are able to offer some concrete assistance.
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– Is the Minister for Social Security aware of the growing public concern about maintenance of the Medibank health scheme? Can she give an unqualified assurance that the operation and efficiency of Medibank in providing universal health cover for all Australians regardless of their ability to pay will not be directly or indirectly jeopardised by the current steps to cut public expenditure? Can the Senate be assured that Mr Malcolm Fraser’s disavowal of Mr Chipp’s statement last November that Medibank would be abolished is still Government policy?
– I refer the honourable senator to the Prime Minister’s statement last night and also to the fact that it is known that a statement will be made in the Parliament on Thursday of this week. Those statements will reveal the Government’s policy with regard to Medibank. I can suggest only that the honourable senator await that statement on Thursday night. Until it has been presented I could not direct myself to specific questions which have been asked.
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-I shall have to seek a response from the Acting Minister for Foreign
Affairs as to the 3 matters raised. I would comment however that the first proposal by the honourable senator seems to be the most sensible way of providing aid to East Timor.
– The Red Cross cannot get in.
– You seem to have better knowledge than most other people about the place. I do not know why other Australian elements, to use the interesting term of the honourable senator, imagine they will have more success than the International Red Cross. I can understand the honourable senator’s feeling of frustration that the United Nations Security Council appears to be bound up in its own decisions instead of taking some action. I shall pass on to my colleague in the other place the 3 questions and seek an answer for the honourable senator.
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– Can the Minister representing the Treasurer explain what miracle the Prime Minister has performed to enable Treasury to give the go-ahead for full tax indexation from 1 July, when 6 months ago Treasury told the former Prime Minister, Mr Whitlam, that total tax indexation was not possible?
-These details will be brought before the Parliament on Thursday night. A possible explanation is that this Government is a competent one whereas the previous one was incompetent.
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-Can the Minister representing the Treasurer inform the chamber when a national rural bank will be established to assist the rural sector with long term loans at better than bank interest? When does the Government propose to establish a farm income reserve fund which will allow for some stabilisation of rural incomes?
-The question of a national rural bank has been discussed by the Minister for Primary Industry, the trading banks and the Treasurer. It was decided at that discussion about the middle of February to have a working party examine the whole proposal. That is what is happening at present. The question of a farm income reserve fund is equally under examination. It is a very complex and difficult matter, as was the study, and will take some time to resolve.
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– I direct a question to the Minister representing the Treasurer. I am interested to know how field staff and others are to be recruited for the work associated with the taking of the census. Will the facilities of the Commonwealth Employment Service offices throughout the States be employed to recruit the necessary staff? If not, why not?
– I do not have any details on that question. I have not anything that I can give the honourable senator immediately, but it seems to me that if staff are to be recruited the logical avenue for recruitment would be the Commonwealth Employment Service to which the honourable senator referred. I shall ask the Treasurer to let me know.
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– My question which is directed to the Minister for Social Security relates to the national compensation scheme. Is it true that the recent meeting between the Minister and State Ministers was a flop because the Minister had no national compensation scheme to consider? Does the Minister agree that there is an urgent need for such a scheme? Will she say whether she has a scheme to be considered or have her promises about an impending scheme been window dressing to pacify the growing unrest among State governments and others who are gravely concerned about the soaring costs of compensation schemes in Australia?
– I think it is of interest to hear the suggestion from the honourable senator from Western Australia that the meeting was a flop because the Western Australian Minister for Labour and Industry has publicly expressed considerable satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting which was held in Canberra recently. As far as a national compensation scheme is concerned, I have interest in the preparation of a scheme. The Ministers concerned were invited to Canberra on that occasion for exploratory talks. That was the specific invitation which was tendered to them. It appears to me that they have become accustomed in the past 3 years when coming to Canberra to having a scheme forced upon them rather than having consultation in a co-operative way. The outcome of the meeting which I hoped to obtain was that there should be some concurrence among the State Ministers and the Federal Government about moving towards devising a co-operative scheme in which all parties would participate. I am pleased to say that the outcome of the meeting is that a steering committee has been formed. Meetings have been arranged in June for that steering committee which will have representation from the States, the Territories and the Federal Government.
If the State Ministers concerned had come to the meeting expecting to have a scheme forced upon them I assume that they, likewise, would have brought some matters which they wished to have discussed. As most of them accepted the talks as exploratory and as a steering committee has now been formed, I believe that the preparatory stage is finished and that we can move forward and work together in order to find a common area of agreement whereby a national compensation scheme can be devised. That was the outcome of the meeting. Anything else which was reported may have been an impression of individual State Ministers. As far as I am concerned, the invitation was for exploratory talks.
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– I direct my question to the Minister representing the Minister for the Northern Territory. Is it a fact that earlier this month 3 boys, aged 13, 14 and 16 years respectively, spent 3 days and nights in the maximum security section of the Fannie Bay gaol while on remand? If this is a fact, will the Minister explain to the Senate how such a situation could be tolerated, especially as the Fannie Bay gaol has been described as the worst institution of its type in Australia? Will the Minister give an undertaking that other and more appropriate remand facilities will be provided on any future occasion when they are required for offenders in this age group?
-The facts generally as asserted by Senator Robertson are true. A 13-year old boy spent 3 days in the Fannie Bay gaol while on remand and two other children, aged 15 years, were similarly remanded. Subsequently, all three were released at the expiry of the remand period. The decision to place the children in Fannie Bay gaol was the magistrate’s and was in keeping with a recent trend adopted by the magistrate to ensure that children who appeared before the court were brought face to face with the possible consequences of breaking the law. The Children’s Court magistrate is aware that the only security facility where likely absconders can be kept under control is Fannie Bay gaol. At present 10 juvenile prisoners are held in Northern Territory prisons, in Darwin and Alice Springs. Of these, 3 prisoners are in Darwin and the remainder in Alice Springs. Two of those held in Alice Springs have been remanded pending committal proceedings to the Supreme Court.
Discussions have been held with the senior magistrate and the Children’s Court magistrate who have been informed that the Department has prepared Palmerston House as a holding centre which could be used in remand cases, where there is no reason to believe that the individual will abscond, or in case of a first offender who needs to be placed under restraint as part of a rehabilitative program. General agreement was reached and the proposals outlined at the discussions are to be put into effect.
Senator Robertson may acknowledge that, whilst arrangements have been made to use Palmerston House, it could be said that these may prove unacceptable to the magistrate in cases involving difficult children who are absconders and who have a past history indicating that control would be more difficult. Palmerston House offers no more security than a normal family home and is so constructed that it is virtually impossible to make it anything else. The general matter is under discussion at the moment. I hope that that information gives some advice to Senator Robertson.
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– My question is directed to the Minister representing the Minister for Post and Telecommunications and concerns the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Is the Minister aware that early this month Soviet authorities refused to allow a visit to Russia by Sir Charles Curran, the Director-General of the British Broadcasting Commission, because of the BBC’s refusal, despite pressure from the Soviet Embassy in London, to withdraw an interview with Mr Solzhenitsyn? Is the Minister aware also that, in the period since Solzhenitsyn ‘s release from the Soviet Union, the Australian Broadcasting Commission has screened only one interview with Solzhenitsyn, despite the fact that several other interviews were available and at least one was offered by the BBC to the ABC but was rejected as not suitable? Will the Minister ascertain the specific reasons the ABC considered the BBC program not suitable? Will he ascertain also who made that decision and whether any pressure was applied by the Soviet Union on the ABC similar to the pressure applied without success to the BBC? Will the Minister seek an assurance from the ABC that the apparent decision not to provide an opportunity to the Australian public to hear what Solzhenitsyn has to say is not based on political considerations and that, should the Soviet Embassy in Canberra attempt to apply pressure on the ABC, as it did on the BBC, any such pressure will be firmly rejected?
– It is my understanding that what Senator Harradine has said regarding the attempt by Sir Charles Curran to visit the Soviet Union and the refusal of that visit is true. As to the details regarding the Australian Broadcasting Commission, I am not aware whether the ABC screened one interview or more with Solzhenitsyn. I am not aware, therefore, what specific reasons there may have been for not screening the BBC interview, if so. I am quite sure that the Australian people would be eager to see and to hear interviews with a man such as Solzhenitsyn who must be one of the most courageous men of massive integrity alive in the world today and also one of the great fighters for freedom. On that basis, I will refer the substance of the honourable senator’s question to my colleague in another place and seek from the Australian Broadcasting Commission the information which the honourable senator requests.
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– I ask the Minister representing the Prime Minister whether he will confirm or deny that the Prime Minister has given directions to the Chairman of the Public Service Board that staff ceilings are to be stretched to the extent of allowing the appointment of an additional 270 public servants to work on rural reconstruction in the dairy industry. Is the Prime Minister prepared to consider giving a direction that staff ceilings should be reviewed in the Aboriginal employment section of the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations, in view of the fact that the unemployment level among Aborigines has reached 30 per cent or roughly 6 times the national average?
-I am unable to confirm or deny the honourable senator’s allegations. That is all they are. If that is the best he can do, I intend to do nothing else about the matter.
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– I direct a question to the Minister representing the Attorney-General. I ask: Will the Attorney-General give consideration to the report of the Joint Commonwealth and West Australian commission into incidents between police and Aborigines at Laverton in Western Australia which was tabled in this place by the Minister on Thursday, 6 May, to ascertain whether any breach of Commonwealth law is disclosed in the findings of the commission? Will the Attorney-General further inform the Senate, in view of the fact that the commission was a joint Commonwealth and State commission, whether the laws relating to Commonwealth royal commissions apply to this particular commission?
-I am quite certain that the Attorney-General will investigate the matters alluded to in the report. I have never understood that a joint Commonwealth and State royal commission was concerned in this matter. As I understand it, the 3 royal commissioners sat by virtue of letters patent issued by the Governor of Western Australia. It was a joint commission only in the sense that the Commonwealth paid half the bill.
– And appointed commissioners.
-No. The 3 persons were appointed by letters patent issued by the Governor of Western Australia. It may well have been that one of those persons was appointed on the nomination of the Commonwealth Government. I have always understood that it was a royal commission held under the Royal Commissions Act of Western Australia. It reported to the Governor of Western Australia. The Commonwealth Government was involved only in 2 ways. Firstly, it paid half the Bill; secondly, I think it nominated one of the 3 commissioners and the nomination was accepted. I think the questions asked by the honourable senator are valid and I will ask the Attorney-General to give him an answer at the first opportunity.
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– I direct a question to the Minister representing the Minister for Transport. I ask him whether he has noticed, in the last annual report of the Australian National Line, that of the $9m loss incurred up to 30 June last for the preceding 12 months $6m was due to industrial disputes? Will the Minister have the situation examined carefully to investigate whether or not the unions are making a target of the Government shipping line to prevent proper shipping services which that line provides, being operated, particularly to Tasmania?
-I am not specifically aware of the figures in the annual report of the Australian National Line to which Senator Wright draws my attention but I accept them as being part of the general picture. I am, and my Government is, acutely aware that strikes and industrial action have bedevilled the Australian
National Line in recent years to a point where it is wreaking havoc, particularly upon the people of Tasmania. Tasmanians, of course, are vitally concerned with sea transport. I am aware of the problem. I will invite my colleague in another place to study the situation, as suggested by the honourable senator.
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– I direct a question to the Minister for Social Security. May I say, by way of preface, that according to Mr Williams, the General Manager for Medibank Australia, total administrative and operating costs of Medibank represent only 3lA per cent of claims paid, that is, $50m to $ 1,400m? In view of the fact that health and hospital funds have no computers but still work with manual type recording and assessment methods, does the Government expect these funds to be administered more economically and efficiently than Medibank?
– I am unaware whether the matters that have been stated by the honourable senator are accurate, but I shall refer the question to the Minister for Health so that he can supply an answer to the honourable senator.
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-Has the Minister representing the Minister for Health noted reports to the effect that nurses in the Australian Capital Territory are anxious that a full-time commissioner with a nursing background be appointed to the Australian Capital Territory Health Commission. Is the Minister able to say whether such a commissioner will be appointed and, if so, when that might be done?
– I am not able to say when a commissioner with a nursing background will be appointed, but it is part of the Government’s stated policy that one of the full-time commissioners should be a person with a background in nursing. I understand that the Minister for Health has been having discussions with the Australian Capital Territory Health Commissioner. Due to possible changes in Medibank and other things that may need to be resolved, it will be at the time when those things are being considered that the Government will examine the whole structure of the Australian Capital Territory Health Commission. I am sure that if it is at all possible to do so at the time of looking at these difficulties the Government will take the opportunity to fulfil its own policy, that is, to appoint a full-time commissioner with a background in nursing.
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– The Minister representing the Minister for Primary Industry will recall that in the early hours of Thursday, 6 May, I raised the matter of imported fruit juice concentrates and the ill effects that that importation was having in the citrus industry in South Australia. I now ask the Minister whether he can say whether the Government has taken any action to curtail imports of juice concentrates or whether action is to be left to the trade union movement to assist the citrus industry by refusing to handle imported concentrates?
– I remember the remarks of the honourable senator which I undertook to direct to the responsible Minister. I have done that, but I have not received a reply. I shall attend to the matter after question time.
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-I direct a question to the Minister representing the Minister for the Northern Territory. I understand that the Department of the Northern Territory on 18 December 1975 advised the Moslem community in Darwin that a block of land in Vanderlin Drive, Casuarina- blocks 6257 and 6258- was to be made available for a mosque. I further understand now that the Government of Arabia has agreed to assist the Moslem communities in Australia by providing finance, that it has in the last 2 weeks investigated the situation in Darwin and has agreed to assist the Moslem community there. I understand that there may be some difficulty in the allocation of that land. Will the Minister take up this matter with the Minister for the Northern Territory to ensure that the Moslem community in Darwin is given that parcel of land as quickly as possible.
– I am unfamiliar with the facts relating either to a Government grant or the Moslem community seeking a block of land in Darwin. I shall take up the matter with the appropriate Minister and seek an answer for the honourable senator as quickly as possible.
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– I ask the Minister representing the Minister for Primary Industry: In view of the sudden price rise for chopper cattle at auction in Victoria following the small mass slaughter operation in the Goulburn valley, will the Minister ask the Minister for Primary Industry to conduct a royal commission into all aspects of the Australian meat industry?
-No, I will not, but I shall direct the honourable senator’s question to the
Minister and ask him whether he has anything that he might add which might help the honourable senator’s knowledge of the subject.
page 1667
– My question, which is directed to the Minister for Social Security, refers to a situation in which a person who is in receipt of the unemployment benefit and who has worked previously in a situation in which award wages apply is offered a job by the Commonwealth Employment Service in relation to which only piece work rates apply, that is, where there is no guarantee of a particular minimum wage. Is such a person obliged to accept such a job offered by the Commonwealth Employment Service in order to prevent his or her unemployment benefit being terminated?
– I think it should be understood that in dealing with job opportunities in the present context, we are talking about award wages being paid for the job that is expected to be done. No person is expected to undertake an occupation which offers wages lower than the award wages for that particular job.
– I think the award provides a piece work rate.
– That is right and if that is the situation I shall have that particular point examined. It should be understood that where there is an award rate for an occupation to be undertaken, anything that is offered under that award rate is not regarded as a suitable job opportunity.
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– My question, which is directed to the Minister representing the Minister for Health refers to the very extensive deletions and other restrictions to the pharmaceutical benefits list and the recent increases introduced by the Government. Is the Minister able to advise whether the Minister for Health has considered the many representations from eminent doctors, other people and members of this Parliament in respect of numerous prescriptions which are necessary for the good health of citizens and which have been specially urged upon the Government by those bodies? Is she able to give any information about this? If she cannot, will she give any information later on in respect of antihistamine prescriptions? Will she also give information about the 3 recommendations from the prominent heart specialist and the petitions which have been presented to this Parliament in respect of milk substitutes?
– I am aware that many of the matters that have been mentioned by the honourable senator have been raised both in the Senate and through petitions. I feel sure that the Minister has considered the representations. However, I am unable to give any answer as to his response to them. I shall obtain that without delay and let the honourable senator have the information as soon as possible.
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– I direct my question to the Minister representing the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. It arises out of a previous question asked by Senator James McClelland. In the light of statistics cited by the Australian Financial Review of 17 May 1976 showing that the rate of unemployment amongst Australian Aborigines is as high as 30 per cent, will the Minister, perhaps in co-operation with the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations and also the Department of Social Security take immediate steps to ensure that this abnormally high rate of unemployment is reduced?
– I did notice the article to which the honourable senator has referred. I shall confer with the Ministers mentioned by the honourable senator to determine what can be done. We have already had interdepartmental meetings and ministerial meetings of several Ministers with regard to opportunities for employment of Aborigines. I hope that arising from the fact that this matter has been drawn to my notice again we shall be able to take some steps forward in this direction.
page 1667
– I address a question to the Minister for Social Security. In view of the statement of a day or two ago about unemployment benefit being made available to farmers, can the Minister say whether an assessment has been made of the number of farmers who it is anticipated will be eligible for the unemployment benefit. Further, insofar as the calculation of a farmer’s income is concerned, can the Minister inform the Senate how that is to be done to bring it into the normal unemployment benefits criteria?
– I am unable to give any indication of the numbers of primary producers who may need to take the opportunity to have unemployment benefit in terms of the provisions that were announced by the Minister for
Primary Industry a few days ago. I shall be making a statement later today- a Press statement, not a parliamentary statement- with regard to the other matter. I think that I shall be able to cover in that statement the matters that may be of interest to the honourable senator. I rather feel that his question would entail a lengthy answer if I were to embark upon it at this stage.
page 1668
– My question is directed to the Minister assisting the Prime Minister in Federal Affairs. Can he explain to the Senate how his federalism policy takes account of the Australian Capital Territory? As the Australian Capital Territory is not a State, in what way will State-like revenues be raised to fund State-like government services in the Territory? Does the Minister agree that the Federal Government has no constitutional right to impose tax surcharges on Australian Capital Territory citizens? How then will the citizens of the Australian Capital Territory fare under the new tax arrangements hinted at in the Government’s federalism policy?
– At stage 1 of the federalism policies which are now being discussed the Australian Capital Territory will not be involved. Stage 2 is at least 12 months off. In due course there will be discussions and we will then make available the details which the honourable senator seeks.
page 1668
– My question is directed to the Minister assisting the Prime Minister in Child Care Matters. Will the Minister inform the Senate whether recent reports claiming that the Government is to slash child care funds are true? Can the Minister say whether the Government will appoint permanent commissioners to the Childrens Commission? Has the Government any commitment to the thousands of Australian families who desperately need child care?
– Any statements that have been made that the Government proposes to slash child care funds are untrue and unfounded. When the statement is made on Thursday night I will be in a position to reveal the expected level of funding for the forthcoming year and I assure the honourable senator that the funds will be adequate to enable the development of a child care program and the support of children’s services which we consider essential. With regard to the appointment of commissioners to the Childrens Commission, as proposed by the former Government, we are awaiting the report of the Administrative Review Committee under Sir Henry Bland and no statements will be made about administration prior to the receipt of that report. Therefore no answer can be given to that part of the question. I assure the honourable senator of the availability of funds for the forthcoming year and the provision of services which we hope to develop.
page 1668
– My question is directed to the Minister representing the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Are 2 lawyers from the Western Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service at present visiting Warburton in Western Australia to receive instructions as to whether any civil action should be taken against Western Australian police for wrongful arrest? If the Aborigines desire to take legal action will the Minister provide the necessary funds to ensure that counsel can be provided for the applicants?
– The matter that has been directed to me is one of which I have no particular knowledge so I can make no statement on behalf of the Minister. However, I will refer the question to him for his urgent attention. I feel sure that he will sympathetically listen to any requests for funds for legal representation.
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– My question is directed to the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations and refers to the amendments to the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, presented by the Minister for Labor and Immigration in the previous Government, Mr Clyde Cameron, to provide a new section 133a and new section 140 (1) (d). Does the Minister realise that that amending Act provided that registered organisations had 12 months from the commencement of that Act or such longer period as the Registrar determined to bring their rules into conformity with those provisions? Is the Minister aware that very few organisations registered under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act have brought their rules into conformity with those provisions? Is the Minister also aware of the grave difficulties experienced by registered organisations in this regard? Will he obtain for the Senate the percentage numbers of industrial organisations which have brought their rules into conformity with those provisions?
-My understanding of the amendments introduced by the former Minister in another place, Mr Clyde Cameron, is as Senator Harradine has stated. My understanding also is that, as the honourable senator stated, the amendments impose very considerable difficulties on unions and only a percentage have been able to conform. I will obtain the information that the honourable senator seeks and let him know.
page 1669
– I direct a question to the Minister for Education and ask him to take his mind back some 6 or 8 weeks when he said that it was the intention of the Government to take the authority proposed to enhance the status of interpreters and translators from what was the Department of Labor and Immigration under the previous Government and give it to the Department of Education. Can the Minister give an indication of what has transpired in the 6 or 8 weeks since I raised the matter?
-The matter is not a simple one, as the honourable senator knows, and I acknowledge his interest in it. As he will recollect, one of the problems is that some 3 institutions are involved, with differing standards of approach to the question of training of interpreters and translators, and there is a need for some kind of accreditation agency which would set the standard to be attained. The honourable senator will understand also that unless accreditation standards are sufficiently high, job opportunities will not be available at the end, and in recent weeks there has been some evidence that this is so. All I can say at the moment is that a number of actions are being taken both within my Department and outside to try to rationalise the matter. As soon as I can, I will make a statement and let the honourable senator know the position.
page 1669
-Is the Minister for Education aware that the special services division of the Victorian Education Department has advised Victorian schools that the National Film Library has imposed a reduction of lending services to schools, the reasons given being the recently imposed staff ceilings and budgetary restraints. In view of the importance of audio-visual aids in education, will the Minister examine the position to see whether the cost savings involved justify deprivation of benefit to Australian schools and Australian school children?
– I am not aware that such an assertion has been made by the special services section of the Department of Education in Victoria nor am I aware of the accuracy or otherwise of the events which would flow from it. Certainly I will make investigations and let the honourable senator know.
page 1669
-Can the Minister representing the Minister for Post and Telecommunications inform the Senate whether some Australian radio programs, including news programs, which have been broadcast in northern areas of Australia are being jammed by transmitters located outside Australian waters? If this is happening, will the Minister provide the Senate with the relevant details?
– It has not come to my attention that that is so. If the honourable senator will let me know of some specific instances, and particularly if he will indicate the times of the alleged jamming, I will pass on the information to my colleague in another place and will certainly have an investigation made.
page 1669
– My question is addressed to the Minister representing the Minister for Post and Telecommunications. In view of public concern over the inquiry into broadcasting and television in Australia, will the Minister stir his colleague in the other place to give answers to the questions I asked on notice 3 weeks ago about the nature of the inquiry?
– I will look up the questions on notice that Senator Button has indicated. I will refer them to my colleague and I will hurry up the answers for the honourable senator.
page 1669
– I address my question to the Minister representing the Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs. I refer to question No. 46 1 dealing with the importation of secondhand motor vehicles, a question which I had on the notice paper and in respect of which I received an answer prior to the recess. Whilst the Minister was able to provide me with information about the number of vehicles imported during the last 5 years and the amount of revenue collected, can he tell me why his Department cannot provide me with the names of the persons and companies who imported these cars?
-I will have to ask the responsible Minister to give the honourable senator a further answer to his previous question.
page 1670
Assent to the following Bills reported:
Superannuation Bill 1976.
Superannuation Amendment Bill 1976.
Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Amendment Bill 1976.
Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits (Pension Increases) Bill 1976.
page 1670
– For the information of honourable senators I present the fourth report of the Royal Commission on Petroleum entitled ‘The Marketing and Pricing of Petroleum Products in Australia’.
– I seek leave to move a motion.
-Is leave granted? There being no objection, leave is granted.
– I move:
I ask for leave to make my remarks at a later stage.
Leave granted; debate adjourned. (An incident having occurred in the gallery)
– Order! Were photographs just taken in this chamber?
Honourable senators- Yes.
– That is strictly prohibited. Will the person who took the photographs please leave the gallery immediately.
page 1670
– For the information of honourable senators I present the first annual report and financial statements for the Australian Film Commission covering its initial operations from 5 May to 30 June 1975.
-I ask for leave to move a motion.
-Is leave granted? There being no objection, leave is granted.
-I move:
I seek leave to make my remarks at a later stage.
Leave granted; debate adjourned.
page 1670
– In response to a question from Senator McLaren I am providing for the information of the Senate details of VIP flights for the period 25 March 1975 to 8 February 1976. Details for the period subsequent to 8 February 1976 are being prepared and will be tabled prior to the rising of the Senate before the winter recess.
– I seek leave to move a motion.
-Is leave granted? There being no objection, leave is granted.
– I move:
I seek leave to make my remarks at a later stage.
Leave granted; debate adjourned.
page 1670
– For the information of honourable senators I present the record of the seventeenth meeting of the Australian Water Resources Council held in Melbourns on 24 October 1975.
-I seek leave to move a motion.
-Is leave granted? There being no objection, leave is granted.
– I move:
I ask for leave to make my remarks at a later stage.
Leave granted; debate adjourned.
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– For the information of honourable senators, I present a report by the Industries Assistance Commission entitled: ‘Welding Consumables and Flux Cored Solder’, and an interim report entitled: Footwear’.
-Mr President, I seek leave to move a motion that the Senate take note of the report with regard to footwear.
-Is leave granted? There being no objection, leave is granted.
-I move:
I seek leave to continue my remarks.
Leave granted; debate adjourned.
page 1671
Senator CARRICK (New South Wales-
Minister for Education)- For the information of honourable senators and pursuant to section 35 of the Student Assistance Act 1973,I present the report on the operation of that Act for 1974.
page 1671
– I present a progress report from the Senate Standing Committee on Trade and Commerce.
Ordered that the report be printed.
– I seek leave to make a short statement relating to the report.
-Is leave granted? There being no objection, leave is granted.
– When the Committee was established on 2 March 1976 it was empowered, where applicable, to inquire into and report upon such matters as were referred to the legislative and general purpose standing committees appointed during previous sessions and not disposed of by those committees. The Committee considered 3 outstanding references which have not been disposed of by the Senate Standing Committee on Industry and Trade, namely, the promotion of trade and commerce with other countries, the 35-hour week and containers. The Standing Committee on Trade and Commerce has decided to obtain these references for further examination.
page 1671
Motion (by Senator Withers) agreed to:
That leave be given to introduce a Bill for an Act to amend the Public Accounts Committee Act 195 1-1973.
Bill presented, and read a first time.
Standing orders suspended.
– I move:
Honourable senators may be aware that on 29 April the House of Representatives agreed to a motion moved by the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) for the establishment of an Expenditure Committee of that House. The
Expenditure Committee is an important part of the Government’s policy of strengthening the parliamentary system to enable it adequately to supervise and review Government administration. We consider that the Expenditure Committee will allow a greater in-depth examination of public expenditure than that provided by the Senate Estimates Committees and the Public Accounts Committee.
There is, however, an obvious need for close liaison between these Committees. It is for this purpose that I introduce this Bill to amend the Public Accounts Committee Act to enable the Chairman of the Expenditure Committee to be an ex-officio member of the Public Accounts Committee. It is also proposed that the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee be an exofficio member of the Expenditure Committee, but this of course does not need an amendment of the Act. The Bill also proposes to make several formal amendments to the Act in accordance with current drafting procedures. I commend the Bill to honourable senators.
Debate (on motion by Senator Wriedt) adjourned.
page 1671
Motion ( by Senator Withers) agreed to:
That the sitting of the Senate be suspended until 10.15 p.m., or such later time as the President may take the Chair, to enable Estimates Committees A, B and E to meet.
– The sitting of the Senate is suspended until 10.15 p.m., or such later time as the President may take the Chair this day, to enable Estimates Committees A, B and E to meet. The committees will meet as soon as possible. Committee A will meet in the Senate chamber, Committee B in Senate Committee Room No. 1, and Committee E in Senate Committee Room No. 5. The bells will be rung for 3 minutes prior to the meeting of the Estimates Committees.
Sitting suspended from 3.51 to 10.15 p.m.
page 1671
Bill received from the House of Representatives.
Ordered that the Bill may be taken through all its stages without delay.
Bill (on motion by Senator Guilfoyle) read a first time.
– I move:
The purpose of this Bill is to extend the effective operation of the Aged Persons Hostels Act 1972-1974 to enable grants to be made for aged persons hostel projects for which applications have been lodged but which, for one reason or another, could not be commenced within the time limits imposed by the Act. The amendment will not re-open the legislation for lodgment of applications for new or additional grants.
The Aged Persons Hostels Act 1972-1974 was introduced with effect from 27 September 1972 and was designed to operate for a period of 3 years. The reason for this, as stated by the Hon. W. C. Wentworth, the then Minister for Social Services, in introducing the Bill in another place on 14 September 1972, was to encourage the building of additional hostel accommodation for the frail aged within a short period of time. The measure was not introduced as a substitute for the continuing program operating under the provisions of the Aged or Disabled Persons Homes Act 1954-1974 which as honourable senators are aware provides for the Commonwealth to subsidise the cost of building self-contained, hostel and nursing accommodation for aged or disabled persons.
The objective is that all beds funded under the Aged Persons Hostels Act 1972-1974 are hosteltype, catering specifically for the frail aged and those in greatest need of accommodation because of advanced age and limited financial resources. In introducing that Bill it was intended that by encouraging additional hostel accommodation there would be a lessening of the pressure for admission to nursing homes by people who had no real need for nursing care. Since the inception of the Act 154 grants have been approved which have attracted grants in the region of $64m. When all these projects have been completed accommodation will have been provided for 5700 aged persons.
Under the Aged Persons Hostels Act 1972-1974 the Commonwealth Government meets the capital cost of providing hostel type accommodation for 2 additional aged persons for every one accommodated in an unsubsidised home, or one additional person for every two in an existing home subsidised on a dollarfordollar basis prior to 1957. To achieve the objective of encouraging early construction of new accommodation the Aged Persons Hostels Act 1972-1974 presently has a condition that a grant shall not be made in respect of a hostel unless the hostel was approved under section 5 of the Act on or before 27 September 1975 and construction commenced within 12 months from the date of approval of the hostel. Under the Aged Persons Hostels Act 1972-1974 many organisations were approved as eligible and acquired the right to purchase or construct new hostel type beds subject to the availability of Commonwealth funds. The original legislation was amended on 9 December 1974 to enable organisations who wished to do so to transfer their rights to other eligible organisations. These rights were sought by some organisations and this gave a considerable stimulus to the program and created a demand for grants in respect of hostels that exceeded the number that could be funded in 1975-1976 within the Budget allocation of $40m.
In order to preserve organisations’ hostel bed entitlements under the Aged Persons Hostels Act 1972-1974, the previous Government decided in August 1975 to approve all outstanding proposals under section 5 of the Act on or before 27 September 1975- the last day on which, under the existing legislation, a hostel could be approved- but to defer the making of a grant in a large number of cases because of insufficient funds. This resulted in the previous Government deferring in excess of 300 applications for grants under this legislation. These are valued at in excess of $ 134m. At the same time these organisations were given an assurance by the previous Government that their rights under the Aged Persons Hostels Act 1972-1974 would be preserved even though the making of grants in respect of their projects had been deferred.
Under the existing Act, projects must be commenced not later than 27 September 1976. If projects are not commenced by that date, as the legislation now stands, eligible organisations would lose their previously approved entitlements. The Government has decided that to enable an annual program of construction to be undertaken and to ensure that the rights of organisations which have acquired entitlements under the legislation are preserved, there should be an extension of the time within which the erection of a hostel can be commenced. An amendment to the existing legislation will give organisations with existing rights 12 months from the date on which a grant is actually approved to plan and commence construction of their hostels. Provided this condition is met, the legislation as amended will authorise the Director-General to actually pay the grant. I commend the Bill to the Senate.
Debate (on motion by Senator Grimes) adjourned.
page 1673
Bill received from the House of Representatives.
Ordered that the Bill may be taken through all its stages without delay.
Bill (on motion by Senator Cotton) read a first time.
– I move:
My second reading speech on this Bill relates also to the Apple and Pear Stabilization Export Duty Amendment Bill 1976 and the Apple and Pear Stabilization Export Duty Collection Amendment Bill 1 976. The purpose of these Bills is to extend the Commonwealth apple and pear stabilisation scheme to cover the 1976 export season for apples and pears. The scheme has operated over the 1971 to 1975 export seasons. The Industries Assistance Commission has inquired into the need beyond the 1975 season for Commonwealth Government financial support for the stabilisation of returns to growers from exports of fresh apples and pears. In its interim report, the Commission recommended the continuation of this scheme on a modified basis for the 1976 season.
These Bills give effect to the Government’s decision, announced on 27 February this year, to accept the Commission’s recommendations. The recommendations in respect of apples were that the maximum level of price support under the scheme in 1976 be $2 per box and the maximum quantity eligible for support be 2 million boxes. Support should be confined to sales ‘at risk’ to Europe, including the United Kingdom. Previously, stabilisation support for apples covered all apples exported on an ‘at risk’ basis. The Government has also accepted the recommendations of the Commission in respect of stabilisation support for the 1976 pear exports. The recommendations were that the maximum level of price support be 80c per box and the maximum quantity eligible for support be 1.4 million boxes. Support would be confined to ‘at risk’ sales to Europe (including the United Kingdom) and North America, whereas under previous stabilisation arrangements all pears exported on an ‘at risk’ basis were covered by stabilisation support.
The opportunity has also been taken to convert units and quantities referred to in the legislation to metric units, and to bring the language in the existing legislation into line with current drafting practices. The term ‘reputed bushel’ referred to in the Act has been replaced with the term ‘reputed box’ in accordance with the terminology currently in use within the industry, and approved by the Metric Conversion Board.
During the 1971 to 1975 seasons the apple and pear stabilisation scheme has provided for the establishment of a support price for the season for each variety of apples and pears. The support price has been calculated each season in line with movements in growers’ cash costs as assessed by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics. The ‘average export return’ for each variety was determined at the end of the season from actual sales. Where the ‘average export return’ apples or pears was less than the ‘support price ‘ a payment equal to the difference was made to growers exporting that variety ‘at risk’. Overall limits were placed on support to provide for a maximum rate of 80c per bushel on a total of 4.4 million bushels. The maximum quantity eligible for support was increased for the 1972 season only to 4.9 million bushels. Where the ‘average export return’ is greater than the support price a charge was levied on the relevant growers. A limit on the grower charge equivalent to the limit on the payments from the funds has been applicable. Varietal stabilisation funds have been established, into which Government and industry contributions were paid, and from which payments to growers were made. Provision for imposition and collection of the charge liable to be levied on growers in the circumstances I have just outlined, is made in the Apple and Pear Stabilization Export Duty Act 1971 and the Apple and Pear Stabilization Export Duty Collection Act 1 97 1 - 1 973, respectively.
The purpose of the Apple and Pear Export Duty Amendment Bill 1976 is to limit the rate of export duty that growers may be required to pay in the 1976 season, in accordance with the limits on stabilisation payment proposed for the 1 976 season under the Apple and Pear Stabilization Amendment Bill 19/6. These limits are a maximum of $2 per box for apples and 80c per box for pears. Export duty will also be limited in its application to exports to markets covered by the stabilisation scheme in 1976. The 1974 and 1975 export seasons have seen the operation of special schemes for apples only, supplementary to the Commonwealth stabilisation scheme. This additional assistance was provided jointly by the Commonwealth and State governments. In 1975 a limit was placed on this supplementary support, of 80c per bushel on a maximum quantity of 3.04 million bushels of apples exported ‘at risk’ to the United Kingdom/Europe market. In 1976, similar supplementary proposals have been made to State Governments by the Commonwealth Government for a support program covering apples exported on an ‘at risk’ basis to United Kingdom/Europe in 1976. The quantity of fruit covered by this Commonwealth offer is being apportioned among States. The Government has proposed that this assistance program, which would be supplementary to stabilisation support and funded jointly by Commonwealth and State Governments, provide support totalling Sim equivalent to 500 000 boxes at the rate of $2 per box.
Economic pressures on the export section of the apple and pear industry have been acute. The export sector, particularly of the apple industry, has traditionally been oriented towards the United Kingdom/Europe market. The profitability of this outlet has been reduced drastically by rising freight rates, currency adjustments and severe international competition. The industry is a labour intensive and high cost one, and is particularly vulnerable to international and domestic inflation. The nature of the apple and pear export trade, which involves long distance transportation of a bulky commodity, sold largely on a speculative basis in Europe and North American markets, is such that the transportation and marketing costs have severely eroded the profitability of much of the export trade. There have been strong representations from the industry particularly from Tasmania and Western Australia, that the level of support recommended by the Commission for 1976 exports of apples would not be adequate and would result in hardship in fruitgrowing regions. The Government considers that there is a case for some liberalisation of assistance, chiefly with respect to the quantity eligible for support. Accordingly, the special export assistance to which I referred covering a further quantity of apples to the United Kingdom/Europe market beyond the 2 million boxes supported by the stabilisation scheme has been submitted to State governments with strong recommendation for their support.
The extension of the stabilisation scheme will assist in easing the social and regional difficulties associated with the necessary adjustments which are occurring in the apple and pear industry. A considerable number of growers have left the industry, particularly in Western Australia and Tasmania, in recent years. The adjustment which has already taken place in the industry has resulted in a substantial reduction in exports. To illustrate the changes taking place in the industry, the volume of apple exports has declined from 7 million boxes in 1970 to 4.4 million boxes in 1975. Over the same period, apple and pear bearing tree numbers have declined by some 26 per cent. There can be little doubt that the next few seasons will see increased economic pressure on the apple and pear industry and that substantial further adjustment will be required. Because of the regional concentration of the export industry, particularly in Tasmania and Western Australia, the necessary changes will have regional implications. It seems inevitable that the industry will become increasingly orientated towards the domestic market with a substantially reduced and redirected export trade. It is the Government’s intention that this process of adjustment should be orderly, and should not be accompanied by unnecessary individual hardship.
The Government regards the stabilisation support as an interim measure pending Government consideration of the Commission’s final report on the apple and pear industry. The maximum cost to the Commonwealth of extending the apple and pear stabilisation scheme for the 1976 season would be $5. 12m. It should be noted that depending on the variables which influence the seasonal level of payments under the Commonwealth stabilisation scheme, such as average levels of return for fruit, the maximum commitment may not be fully drawn. In 1975, although $4.7m was committed by the Commonwealth in export support programs, only $3.6m was ultimately utilised. These Bills provide Government support for the 1976 apple and pear season which has already commenced. As such, they provide interim support for the industry for the period during which longer term and more comprehensive proposals for the industry can be considered. I commend the Bills.
Debate (on motion by Senator Douglas McClelland) adjourned.
page 1674
– Order! It being after 10.30 p.m., under sessional order I formally put the question:
That the Senate do now adjourn.
– I rise to point out to the Senate and to you, Mr President, my objection to what occurred last Wednesday during the debate on the
East Timor situation. I register my strong objection to the Government’s gagging that debate when all points of view had not been registered in this Senate. It is all very well for the Government and for the Opposition to be in each other’s pocket but there is another point of view which should have been expressed at that time. I cannot go along with what Senator Chaney said at the end of the debate, that is, that there was a substantial area of agreement between the parties in the Senate on the question of East Timor. I agree that he could have felt that I was of the same opinion as the vast majority of Australians that the East Timorese have the right to self determination. I had made that clear to Senator Chaney before coming into this chamber. However, what was not adverted to during the discussion was the hypocrisy of the Left on this question which is shown when its attitude, and particularly that of Senator Gietzelt who initiated the debate, is compared with the attitude that it adopted in 1962 over the invasion by Indonesia of West New Guinea. I certainly hold the same view as I did on the previous occasion.
- Mr President, I rise to order. I draw your attention to standing order 413 to determine whether the discussion is in order.
- Senator Harradine is in order.
– In July 1974 I was one of the first to advert to the problems which could arise in East Timor because of the developing concern in Portugal. At that time I supported the proposition that there should be an act of self determination for the East Timorese people. In 1962, in the committees of the Labor Council, I supported the view that there should be an act of self determination by the people of West New Guinea.
Let us look at what the current proposers on the Left are saying now and what they said then. There is no better illustration than a comparison of their current bellowing on the subject of East Timor and their silence and acquiescence at the time of the Indonesian takeover of West New Guinea. The 2 actions by Indonesia were very similar, but the response of the Left coalition in Australia has been markedly different in each case. The difference is explained by the fact that at the time of the takeover of West New Guinea Indonesia was very close to the Soviet Union, and the PKI- the Indonesian Communist Party- - exerted strong influence over President Sukarno. Today, of course, an anti-communist government is in power in Indonesia.
I have relied extensively on the document known as Keesing’s Contemporary Archives for information. At that time in 1962 there was an arms deal between the Soviet Union and Indonesia. There are a number of similarities between the Indonesian takeover in West New Guinea in 1 962 and the Indonesian takeover of East Timor in 1975. If it is correct to criticise Indonesia today for its action over East Timor it was also correct to criticise Indonesia for its actions in West New Guinea, but the forces which are beating the drum now about East Timor were silent in 1962. Why were they silent? They were silent because in 1962 the Soviet Union supported the Indonesian takeover of West New Guinea. In the words of Mr Kosygin, the Soviet Government and people ‘fully support the demand of the Indonesian people for the return of West Irian to Indonesia’. That was repeated by Mr Laurie Aarons in the Communist Party Tribune of 20 May 1962, when he wrote:
Communist policy is for complete support of Indonesia ‘s claim to West Irian and complete independence for the peoples exploited and oppressed by Australian capitalism.
That declaration of attitude by the Soviet Union and by the Communist Party of Australia had the effect of signalling to the Left that it should either support the takeover of West New Guinea or turn a blind eye to it. That is precisely what the Left did in its statements and propaganda organs, including the union journals which it influences. However, in the present circumstances the Soviet Union opposes the Indonesian takeover of East Timor, and only recently when Mr Fry left Australia to speak at the United Nations in support of Fretilin the Canberra Times reported on 13 April that the Soviet Embassy in Canberra offered him all possible assistance while in New York. Whether Mr Fry took up that assistance or not, the offer itself was significant. In my view, the Indonesian takeover of West New Guinea warranted equal criticism with Indonesia’s latest actions in East Timor.
As I said earlier, there are some interesting similarities between the 2 events. Firstly, in West New Guinea prior to the takeover there were parties of independence, just as there were parties in East Timor. In West New Guinea those parties were the Democratic Peoples’ Party, the New Guinea Party of Unity, the Party of United Young Papuans, the National Party, the Party of the People of New Guinea and the Strength Through Unity Party. In East Timor the parties were UDT, Fretilin, KOTA and Apodeti. The second similarity between West New Guinea and East Timor is that the United Nations was either powerless to act or disinclined to become too deeply involved. Thirdly, in the case of both West New Guinea and East Timor, the Indonesian actions were escalated during a time of elections or their aftermath in Australia. In the case of East Timor there were significant developments immediately before, during and after the time of the caretaker Government last year. In the case of West New Guinea, President Sukarno’s call to all Indonesians to be ready for general mobilisation to liberate West Irian came 10 days after the 1961 general election in Australia. The fourth similarity relates to the fact that both incidents involved a decolonising power which scarcely had a deep interest in the territory concerned. In the case of West New Guinea that power was the Dutch and in the case of East Timor it was the Portuguese. On both occasions the Indonesians’ actions warranted criticism by Australia, not ideologically motivated criticism but criticism based on a true regard for Australia’s interests and those of the people who were the subject of the takeover.
Let me illustrate the hypocrisy and double standards of some of those who are behind today’s protests, those who provide the muscle for the Left controlled operation. I exclude specifically those people who, like myself, support self determination in the case of East Timor and who stood to support self determination for the people of West New Guinea. As an example I illustrate the attitude of the Miscellaneous Workers Union, which is controlled by Mr Ray Gietzelt. Past and present officials of his union are prominent in today’s campaign over Timor. If one looks at the list published in the Communist Party’s Journal Tribune of 21 January 1976 of organisations involved in the Timor campaign, one will see some interesting entries. For example, the Wollongong contact for the Australia-East Timor Association is Len Norriss and his address is given as care of the Miscellaneous Workers’ Union, Room 11, 14 Station Street. Len Norriss is the district organiser of the Miscellaneous Workers’ Union, and, incidentally, is a member of the Communist Party of Australia. In the Tribune list the Newcastle contact is Mr Keith Wilson. He is the contact for the Campaign for an Independent East Timor. Mr Wilson is the secretary of the Newcastle Trades Hall Council, a former full time Communist Party organiser and secretary of the Newcastle branch of the Miscellaneous Workers’ Union. But where were the Miscellaneous Workers’ Union and its organisers in 1962 when a pro- Communist Indonesia was taking over West New Guinea with the support of the Soviet Union and the support of the Communist Party of Australia? Where were their great ideals in regard to the self determination of the peoples thus affected?
During March, April, May and June of 1 962 several hundred Indonesian paratroops were dropped by aircraft at a number of points in West New Guinea and the Indonesian attack on West New Guinea escalated rapidly. What was the Miscellaneous Workers’ Union doing? I will tell the Senate what it was doing. In March the New South Wales branch, under Ray Gietzelt ‘s leadership, was sponsoring the visit to Australia of a delegation from the Soviet Union which was actively backing the takeover at that time of West New Guinea by the Indonesians. In May the New South Wales branch organiser of that union, J. J. Dwyer, was in Moscow attending the May Day celebrations at the invitation of the socalled Soviet All Union Council of Trade Unions which, incidentally, was under the control of Mr Alexander Shelepin, a former KGB boss. Was not it Solzhenitsyn who said ‘. . . in our country, since the Revolution, there’s never been such a thing as a free trade union’? Mr Dwyer was sent to Moscow by the Federal Executive of the Miscellaneous Workers Union. Perhaps- I say this with some irony- Mr Dwyer was delivering a protest note to the Soviets about their support of the Indonesian takeover of West New Guinea. If so, he was not very successful because on 8 May 1962 Indonesia signed an agreement with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for the supply of Soviet arms. The Indonesian Foreign Minister said that the arms would be more than enough to face the growing threat from the Dutch in West Irian’.
Right throughout the period of the Indonesian takeover of West New Guinea the Miscellaneous Workers Union journal Federation News made not the slightest protest about the takeover. It maintained absolute silence. The only reference to West New Guinea in the entire collection of the 1961 and 1962 issues of Federation News was one paragraph within an item in the 1961 ALP Conference policy decision on foreign affairs and defence. Yet during this period Federation News published many items about the involvement of the Miscellaneous Workers Union in the New South Wales Peace Committee. In the September 1961 issue a photograph was published of a Miscellaneous Workers Union banner stating ‘Peace is Trade Union Business’. Indeed, peace is trade union business, but it must be peace with justice. We must stand for the right of self-determination of all people, whether they are being taken over by a communist power or not.
Let us have a look at that Peace Committee with which the Miscellaneous Workers Union was affiliated and which the union was lauding in its journal. What was the committee saying about the takeover? The committee in its journal was supporting the Indonesian takeover of West Irian on the basis that West Irian was for 300 years an integral part of the multi-racial colony formerly owned by Holland and then known as the Dutch East Indies. This was the basis for the powerful support from the Afro-Asian and socialist countries for the Indonesian claim to the territory. That is what the committee was saying at the dme of the Indonesian takeover of West Irian. This Committee with which the Miscellaneous Workers Union was involved- the New South Wales Peace Committee- had an equally two-faced attitude. It never once publicly criticised the takeover; indeed, in its publications it supported the takeover. Nor did the journal Peace Action for 1961 and 1962 carry any reports from associated organisations, such as the Sutherland Shire Peace and Disarmament Committee, criticising the Indonesian actions. The Sutherland Shire Peace and Disarmament Committee was supporting the views of the New South Wales Peace Committee and of its publication for the takeover of West Irian by the Indonesians. Who do we find is the patron of the Sutherland Shire Peace and Disarmament Committee? None other than the honourable senator who raised the matter of urgency last Wednesday, Senator Gietzelt. What double standards is the Senate treated to?
Similarly, we have the Amalgamated Engineering Union which now forms part of the Amalgamated Metal Workers Unions. What is that union doing at the present time? What was its attitude at that time? If one searches the journals of the Union one finds silence on this question. But like the Miscellaneous Workers Union, the Amalgamated Engineering Union in its journals during the period of the Indonesian paratroop landing on West New Guinea was busy following the Soviet line and also was busy feting delegations from the Soviet Union which in turn was supporting the Indonesian takeover of West New Guinea. The action of the Communist Party and its allies contrasted with the statements of Mr Arthur Calwell, the Leader of the Parliamentary Labor Party at the time. It has to be stated, and stated quite clearly, that the Australian Labor Party at the time stood for the selfdetermination of the peoples of West New Guinea, as it stands now for the selfdetermination for the peoples of East Timor.
– What are you complaining about then?
– I am complaining about the communists and the Left and their double standards. In the Sydney Morning Herald of 10 February 1962 Mr Calwell stated quite unambiguously:
Indonesia’s threatened seizure of West New Guinea is sheer aggression.
With great foresight Mr Calwell also warned that after it had seized West New Guinea, Indonesia might look greedily at Timor. But what were some of the members in the House of Representatives saying? What, for example, was Mr Ray Gietzelt ‘s friend, Mr Clyde Cameron, saying at that time? He was saying:
I am one who welcomes anything that is done by the Australian Government to create amicable relations with Indonesia . . .
Inside and outside this Parliament, that was his attitude. But it was denied by Mr Calwell who got up after two other members had spoken and said:
Mr Chairman the honourable member for Hindmarsh … is entitled to express his own views and tonight he has expressed his own views and not necessarily those of the Labor Party.
What right have the Left-controlled groups, such as the Miscellaneous Workers Union, the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union and the Association for International Co-operation and Disarmament to preach to the Australian people about independence in East Timor when they or their predecessors did nothing- absolutely nothing- at the time of the Indonesian takeover of West New Guinea and the destruction of the independence of the people of that country? Their actions and their statements today over East Timor are ideologically motivated. The friends of the communists are not genuinely concerned with the rights of the people of East Timor, and the tragedy is that they are using the people of East Timor for their own ideological ends. The tragedy of that is that the people who genuinely feel for the people of East Timor have a very different job in trying to have their point of view heard.
– We must be more outspoken.
-I agree that we must be more outspoken. On that point, we must call quite strongly on the Indonesian Government to allow the Red Cross teams to go into East Timor. This Government must do all in its power to see that these teams are allowed to enter East Timor. I say that the action of the Left over East Timor is ideologically motivated. It is concerned only with the opportunity which this issue presents of widening the coalition of the Left in the Australian society.
– But if they are right on one occasion why divide the forces.
– I am not dividing forces. The problem is the double standards that are adopted. Honourable senators saw a motion presented by one senator which demanded selfdetermination of a people against Indonesian aggression. What notice is the Indonesian Government or the Australian Government going to take of that resolution when the same person supported the takeover of another people and denied their right to self-determination simply because of the political colour of the Government at that time? I give this advice to certain members of the Government Parties in the Senate: The next time you are approached to sign a petition about East Timor which contains the statement, ‘We call for the extension to the people of East Timor of an opportunity to exercise freely their right to self-determination’, ask the organiser of the petition what was his attitude on the independence of the people of West New Guinea when a pro-Communist Indonesia liberated ‘ the country at that time.
I want to advert to one final matter, namely, the distressing situation in which we saw our newsmen killed in East Timor. I support the protests that have been made in regard to that. But there are some guilty men who have not been exposed. The guilty men are the newspaper proprietors who sent those people in there to obtain a sensational story. Sensational story they got with the deaths of those men. They were sent in unprepared and ill-equipped. I ask: Who are the guilty men? On whose shoulders rest the deaths of those newsmen? Certainly, it rests with the people who physically killed them. But surely the newspaper moguls cannot be absolved from blame altogether in that circumstance. Mr President, I apologise to you and the Senate for having taken its time but I hope that the Government will get the message that when a senator wants to speak on a particular matter, the Government should not gag the debate in future.
– I am tempted to speak very briefly on the utterances of Senator Harradine. Many of us have argued that the wrongs of the super powers never surprise us. Senator Harradine has complained frequently in his speeches about what he calls the selective news releases of the Australian Broadcasting Commission. I believe that he conducted that sort of exercise tonight.
He referred to what happened in the incorporation of West New Guinea under Indonesian sovereignty. I do not know whether he was absentminded on this subject or whether his memory failed him, but he would know also that regardless of the machinations of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or any other country, the United States of America was implicated to the extent that Mr Ellsworth Bunker, a top negotiator who at this very hour is endeavouring to salvage the United States reputation in regard to the future of the Panama Canal, was equally involved in the West New Guinea matter.
There is a lesson of which Senator Harradine ought be aware. I make these remarks with all due respect to Arthur Calwell who admitted afterwards that when the super powers made a deal there was nothing you could do about it. I am not here to defend honourable senators on the Government benches, but I know that when Arthur Calwell tried to activate the Australian public in regard to West Irian there was a general desire- justifiably- not to engage in warlike adventures. If Senator Harradine conducted some more research into the arguments expounded at that time by senior members of the then Liberal-Country Party coalition, he would know that their theme was: Do not rock the boat. I am not suggesting that the Liberal-Country Party coalition was involved in machinations with Moscow but I do say that it went along quietly with Ellsworth Bunker. The message that I give the Senate, and in particular Senator Harradine, is that the Labor Party on other occasions has urged Australia not to become tied down in a partnership line with any of the super powers but to reserve the right to have our options open. We have been justified by history in taking this stand.
I think that it is good to know that Bishop Gleason and others are not in the toils of Arthur Gietzelt or his brother Ray. That ought to be made very clear. I do not think that they are taking any notice of either my Senate colleague or his brother. Let us get the matter into its right perspective once and for all. I and many other people were not unaware that President Sukarno had Hatta and other socialists imprisoned. But one message came across loud and clear at that time, as it does now. I listened to Senator Wright speak on this subject in the Senate recently. I always listen to his views but I do not always agree with them. However, I believe that Government spokesmen on this matter agree with us on this point: Whatever has happened in Timor, we will not send an expeditionary force up there and have another Vietnam situation.
I do not want to decry anybody’s views but first and foremost there must be no more positioning of Australian forces, either in a voluntary or conscripted capacity, on mainland Asia. That is the major thing. Even Senator Sir Magnus Cormack has argued about continued negotiations taking place. My colleague, Senator Arthur Gietzelt, is much concerned and impatient to have relief and food sent to East Timor, and then have talk, not war. That slogan has a familiar ring. It is fruitless to be arguing about who did something at a given time. I can give an Irish analogy which I think Senator Harradine would appreciate. I have attended meetings of people who left the Republic of Ireland in the 1920s. They were not quarrelling about what Great Britain did or did not do. They lined up behind either Collins or De Valera and got into bitter arguments on the merits of both, when in effect, both Collins and DeValera deserved praise and not abuse for their activities. It was a pointless argument. It is just as pointless tonight for Senator Harradine to argue what stand somebody took on an earlier occasion. I am sure that Senator Missen and Senator Bonner have enough political maturity to know what is contained in the petition when they sign it. I am sure that if I presented them with petitions, sometimes they would sign and sometimes they would say, ‘It is not on’.
I conclude on this point: We should have a united front to help these people in desperate straits in Timor. We should not worry whether it is Ray Gietzelt of the Miscellaneous Workers Union or his brother, Senator Arthur Gietzelt, who is involved in the matter. I think that Senator Harradine did a disservice equally to Bishop Gleason and to Senator Missen.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Senate adjourned at 11.4 p.m.
page 1680
The following answers to questions were circulated:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for the Capital Territory, upon notice:
What proportion of the Australian Capital Territory’s (a) retail, (b) restaurant, (c) cinema, (d) indoor sporting/recreation, (e) outdoor sporting/recreation, (f) primary schools, (g) secondary schools, (h) pre-schools, (i) childcare, (j) playground, and (k) park land facilities has been established in the Belconnen area of the Territory.
– The Minister for the Capital Territory has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
In addition approximately 6 hectares per 1000 people are provided for metropolitan parklands, hill reserves, plantations and golf courses.
The neighbourhood parklands and pedestrian ways have been developed in most Belconnen suburbs. However, in Charnwood and Macgregor most of the landscaping has yet to be completed. In Hawker, Evatt, Giralang and Fraser partial landscaping has taken place and the balance is in progress.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for the Capital Territory, upon notice:
What proportion of the Australian Capital Territory’s (a) retail, (b) restaurant, (c) cinema, (d) indoor sporting/recreation, (e) outdoor sporting/recreation, (f) primary schools, (g) secondary schools, (h) pre-schools, (i) childcare, (j) playgrounds, and (k) park land facilities has been established in the Canberra area of the Territory.
– The Minister for the Capital Territory has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for the Capital Territory, upon notice:
What proportion of the Australian Capital Territory’s (a) retail, (b) restaurant, (c) cinema, (d) indoor sporting/recreation, (e) outdoor sporting/recreation, (f) primary schools, (g) secondary schools, (h) pre-schools, (i) childcare, (j) playgrounds, and (k) park land facilities has been established in the Tuggeranong area of the Territory.
-The Minister for the Capital Territory has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for the Capital Territory, upon notice:
What proportion of the Australian Capital Territory’s (a) retail, (b) restaurant, (c) cinema, (d) indoor sporting/recreation, (e) outdoor sporting/recreation, (f) primary schools, (g) secondary schools, (h) pre-schools, (i) childcare, (j) playground, and (k) park land facilities has been established in the Woden Valley-Weston Creek areas of the Territory.
– The Minister for the Capital Territory has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for the Capital Territory, upon notice:
– The Minister for the Capital Territory has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
The Government’s first priorities for development have been and must continue to be land development, housing, and health and education facilities.
In the current economic situation it is not appropriate to extend government expenditure on indoor recreation facilities when it will be difficult enough to provide for the normal priorities which are essential to the community. This situation can be expected to continue for quite a while.
Private enterprise, community organisations and clubs have provided quite a wide range of indoor recreation facilities in Canberra as the demand and market have grown. It can be expected that the interest of these sectors will continue as the market becomes more attractive.
Community co-operatives have been established in Canberra to provide retail facilities and the Government would actively support any similar move for co-operatives to develop indoor recreational facilities.
As I announced on 29 April, the A.C.T. Sports Council, together with private enterprise interests, are developing ;i proposal for a major indoor recreation complex in the Belconnen Town Centre, and the Government welcomes this initiative.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for the Capital Territory, upon notice:
– See my answer to Question No. 21.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for the Capital Territory, upon notice:
– See my answer to Question No. 21.
Health: Vegetable Oils in Plastic Containers (Question No. 45)
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Health, upon notice:
– The Minister for Health has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
The Australian Government Analyst’s survey was part of nationwide research being carried out for Food Standards Committee of the NH&MRC. This research has been underway since 1974 and is still continuing.
The Australian Government Analyst’s results had value at the time his samples were collected (prior to June 1975) but further results of the on-going survey show that these results are now not applicable.
Australia. The levels of VCM are now lower than those recommended by NH&MRC and are close to the limits of detectability.
Roads: Restrictions on Heavy Vehicles (Question No. 62)
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Transport, upon notice:
– The Minister for Transport has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, upon notice.
– The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs has provided the following reply to the honourable senator’s question:
ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS BUDGET ECONOMIES
The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Mr Ian Viner, said today his Department would defer funding of certain projects and make savings in others as well as in travel, overtime and other administrative costs to put into effect the Government’s decision to cut spending in this area by $7m. This would reduce the total expenditure by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs from the budget appropriation of $ 142m to an amount of $ 135m for the current year.
Mr Viner said the programs to be deferred would generally be ones which were not ready to proceed at present. While it was not possible at present to indicate in detail where the savings would be made, he said the deferred items would be re-examined in the next financial year.
The Minister believed that more careful consideration of proposals and application of procedures and conditions would provide a sound basis for a rational funding of Aboriginal programs in the future to give effect to the Government’s expressed policies and objectives. In this way wastage and inefficiency would be avoided while ensuring that Aboriginal organisations were not deprived of Government assistance.
Other savings would be made by economy measures already announced concerning the general field of Public Service employment.
In addition to the above, further savings in the order of $400,000 are expected as a result of maintaining restraint on expenditure in all areas.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Transport, upon notice:
– The Minister for Transport has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
TAA has reduced its fares on a number of occasions since 3 December 1972.
(a) The Perth-Eastern States air fares for Sydney and Brisbane had previously been calculated on the basis of distance travelled through Melbourne. The new fare was constructed to take in the distance direct to Perth from Sydney via Adelaide. The economy class air fares between Perth and Brisbane were reduced from $174.30 to $168.40, and between Penh and Sydney from $ 1 42.80 to $ 1 36.50.
Examples of the reductions in air fares by the application of off-peak rates were:
Sydney-Melbourne $54.60 to $46.40
Hobart-Adelaide $ 102.00 to $86.80
Hobart-Canberra $99.20 to $84.40
Launceston-Melbourne $39.00 to $33.20
Launceston-Canberra $87.20 to $74.20
Examples of reductions in economy class air fares resulting from the introduction of the new basis of fare construction were:
Melbourne-Canberra $26.90 to $26.30
Darwin-Mt Isa $7 1 . 80 to $62.00
Alice Springs-Darwin $70.00 to $62.50
Examples of reductions in economy class air fares from this decision were:
Hobart-Sydney $66. 10 to $65.80
Hobart-Canberra $55.90 to $55.70
Sydney-Melbourne $36.50 to $36.30
Launceston-Brisbane $94.90 to $94.50
asked the Minister representing the Treasurer, upon notice:
– The Treasurer has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
The schemes listed are classified according to the nature of the payment- directly or indirectly to individuals.
CATEGORY A: DIRECT PAYMENTS TO INDIVIDUALS
1 CULTURE
Research Grants provided by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies.
Public lending Right- Payments to Authors and Publishers.
Film and Television School Students Allowance.
Literary Fellowships and special purpose grants made by the Australia Council.
2 EDUCATION
Tertiary Education Assistance Scheme.
Adult Secondary Education Assistance Scheme.
Senior Secondary Scholarships.
Secondary Allowance Scheme.
Isolated Childrens Scheme.
Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan.
Scholarships for persons from New Zealand.
Australian European Awards Program.
Assistance for Vietnamese and Cambodian Students.
Postgraduate Awards.
Assistance for Postgraduate Studies in Social Work.
Commonwealth Technical Scholarships
Pre-School Teacher Education Allowances.
Aboriginal Secondary Grants.
Aboriginal Study Grants.
Overseas Study Grants for Aborigines.
Assistance for Graduate Diploma Studies in Recreation.
Overseas Study Fellowships in Recreation.
Overseas Management Fellowship.
Adult Migrant Education- full-time accelerated courses.
Full-time intensive English Language courses.
A.C.T. University Scholarships.
Commonwealth Teaching Service Scholarships.
3 HEALTH
Allowance to tuberculosis sufferers.
Scholarships for Undergraduates in Dentistry.
4 EMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Structural Adjustment Assistance- Income Maintenance.
National Employment and Training System.
Income Maintenance for Redundancy in Australian
Government Employment.
Training for Industry and Commerce.
5 REPATRIATION AND COMPENSATION
Compensation for or in respect of personal injury or death caused by the Darwin cyclone.
Soldiers Children’s Education Scheme.
War Pensions and Allowances.
Service Pensions.
6 SCIENCE
ARGC Grants.
NHMRC Grants.
Queen Elizabeth II Fellowships.
Queen’s Fellowships.
Australian Biological Resources Study Grants.
CSIRO Fellowships.
7 SOCIAL SECURITY
Age Pensions.
Invalid Pensions.
Widows Pensions.
Supporting Mothers Benefits.
Child Endowment.
Handicapped Childrens Allowances.
Orphans Pensions.
Unemployment Sickness and Special Benefits.
Rehabilitation Allowance.
Sheltered Employment Allowance.
CATEGORY B: PROGRAMS UNDER WHICH GRANTS ARE MADE TO ORGANISATIONS WITH THE OBJECTIVE OF PROVIDING REGULAR EMPLOYMENT FOR INDIVIDUALS (AND THEREFORE REGULAR INCOME)
1 CULTURE
Grants made by the Australian Council to performing arts organisations used directly to employ artists, singers, authors, actors, technicians and craftsmen, etc.
2 SCIENCE
Assistance to Aboriginal Missions- includes award wages for Aborigines and staff subsidies.
Special works projects supported to provide employment for Aborigines.
Employment of persons by Aboriginal Town Councils.
CATEGORY C: PROGRAMS UNDER WHICH GRANTS ARE MADE TO ORGANISATIONS THAT PROVIDE, AS A SECONDARY RESULT, A REGULAR INCOME TO INDIVIDUALS
Grants to conservation and National Trust organisations.
Grants to the Learned Academies.
Grants by CSIRO to Research Institutions.
Support for Aboriginal Housing Associations.
Aboriginal Legal Aid Services.
Aboriginal Publications Foundation.
A wide range of grants-in-aid to health, education and welfare organisations.
In terms of section 16 of the Income Tax Assessment Act, the Commissioner of Taxation is authorised to communicate information to-
Commonwealth relating to pensions, allowances, endowments or benefits; (in) the Director-General of Health for the purpose of the administration of any law of the Australian Capital Territory or ofthe Northern Territory which is administered by the Minister of State for Health;
the Secretary, Department of Education, or the Commonwealth Scholarships Board for the purpose of the administration of any law of the Commonwealth relating to financial assistance to students.
asked the Minister for Education, upon notice:
How many applications from Australian students for entrance to tertiary institutions in Australia for the 1 976 academic year were rejected.
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
Information of the type requested by Senator Rae is not normally recorded. Many students apply to a number of institutions, not only in their own state, but also outside their state. The major difficulty encountered in obtaining accurate information on the rejection of applications for admission to tertiary institutions is that there is no satisfactory way of establishing that a student rejected at one university or college of advanced education is not accepted by another university or college for the same or another course. There are also the associated problems of students who are offered places but reject them for a variety of reasons or who, when unable to enter the courses of their first choice, do not take up alternative offers and are therefore counted as rejections.
The only sources of information which may throw some light on the honourable Senator’s question are the central admission agencies which operate in three States; in Victoria, the Victorian Universities Admission Centre (VUAC) processes applications to all Victorian universities and most of the colleges of advanced education; in New South Wales, the Metropolitan Universities Admissions Centre processes applications to the three Sydney metropolitan universities only; and in South Australia applications to the two universities and the South Australian Institute of Technology are handled centrally. In the other States admission to tertiary institutions is a matter for the individual institutions concerned.
In summary, the best source of information is the VUAC, which is only a sample and relates to the situation in Victoria only. Relevant figures can be prepared by the centre when it completes its 1976 processing of applications but an appropriate fee would have to be paid.
asked the Minister representing the Treasurer, upon notice:
Has the format for the 1976 census form been decided upon; if so, will the Treasurer table a sample copy of the census form for the information of Senators, together with copies ofthe relevant form used in the last census.
– The Treasurer has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
The Acting Commonwealth Statistician has advised that Statutory Rules No. 28 of 1975 covering the particulars (other than those specified in the Census and Statistics Act, 1905-1973) to be included in the 1976 Census of Population and Housing were tabled in both Houses of Parliament on 4 March 1975 and were subject to scrutiny by the Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances who heard evidence from officers of the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
A full list of the particulars on which information is to be collected in the 1976 Census of Population and Housing, has therefore, been public from that date. Similar information for the previous census in 1971 is contained in Statutory Rules No. 30 of 1970.
asked the Minister representing the Attorney-General, upon notice:
– The Attorney-General, on the basis of information supplied to him by the Commonwealth Police, has supplied the following answer to the honourable Senator’s question:
asked the Minister for Administrative Services, upon notice:
What was the cost of Commonwealth cars used by members of the caretaker Fraser Ministry and their staff from 1 1 November to 14 December 1975.
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
The car transport charges incurred in all States, the A.C.T. and Northern Territory by the Caretaker Ministry during the period 1 1 November to 1 4 December 1975 were $59,48 1 .
During the same period, the car transport charges incurred by Ministers and Officeholders of the former Government were $69,889.
It has not been practicable to extract the car transport costs for the staff of Ministers or former Ministers, as these charges were mainly allocated to general departmental codes. There was also overlap of the charges for the present Government and the previous Government, as both were charges to the same individual codes.
asked the Minister for Administrative Services the following question, upon notice:
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
asked the Minister for Administrative Services, upon notice:
What was the expenditure by the Department of Administrative Services for the financial years 1973-74, 1974-75 and what is the anticipated expenditure for 1975-76 in each of the States and Territories.
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
Please refer to the information provided by the Prime Minister in answer to Senate Question No. 192 which appears on page 892 of the Senate Hansard of 30 March 1976.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce, upon notice:
What was the expenditure by the Department of Industry and Commerce for the financial years 1973-74, 1974-75 and what is the anticipated expenditure for 1975-76 in each of the States and Territories.
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
I refer the honourable senator to the Prime Minister’s answer to Question on Notice No. 192 (Hansard, 30 March 1976, page 892) explaining the difficulty in providing the information sought. I also mention that an additional difficulty in the Department of Industry and Commerce is the work which would be involved in arriving at comparable figures for the years concerned because of changes that have taken place in the functions of the Department.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Transport, upon notice:
– The Minister for Transport has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
When framing Design Rules the Council and its advisers pay attention to all safety factors. For example, of the 27 current Australian Design Rules related to safety, 14 are aimed at avoiding accidents, a primary safety, as some people like to call it, and 1 1 are aimed at minimising the risk of injury or death after an accident, or secondary safety. The other two rules could be said to have aims in both fields.
As a final comment it might be added that primary vehicle safety is extremely difficult to define. There are some high quality vehicles which most experts agree do have exceptional primary safety but nowhere in the world has it been possible to define more than a few individual features such as brakes, tyres and safety rims because of the complexity of the inter-relating factors involved.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs, upon notice:
– The Minister for Foreign Affairs has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s questions:
In taking this action, the Government was in no way attempting to frustrate the visiting United Nations mission. Indeed the Government itself proposed at the end of January that the United Nations special representative make use of radio facilities on board the Portuguese corvettes, then in Darwin harbour. This proposal, which was agreed to by the United Nations Secretary-General and the Portuguese Government, and taken up by Mr Winspeare-Guicciardi, was intended to establish a means of communication acceptable to all ofthe parties to the conflict. An unlicensed radio operated by Fretilin clearly would not have been acceptable. It would have attracted the suspicion of the other parties. The Government’s proposal was aimed at providing a means of communication which was above suspicion and open to verification by all concerned.
The Government has also made clear its wish that the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), under whose auspices the Geneva Conventions were drawn up, should be re-admitted to East Timor. The Government’s concern to see the return of the ICRC is related inter alia to its wish that the Geneva Conventions be respected by all parties to the conflict. It is not practicable to document every occasion on which the Government has urged upon the Indonesian authorities and, through them, the authorites in
Dili, the need for the return of the ICRC. However, numerous approaches have been made at many and varied levels. I pressed the matter during my visits to Jakarta on 19-20 J anuary and 1 3- 1 5 April. The Australian Embassy in Jakarta has also been able to convey the Government’s wish to see the return of the ICRC direct to UDT and Apodeti leaders who were recently visiting Jakarta. I am hopeful that as a result of my most recent discussions in Jakarta there will be an early decision on the return of an ICRC representative to East Timor.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, upon notice:
What proportion of (a) the population and (b) all persons with criminal convictions, is represented by persons of Aboriginal descent in each State of Australia and the Northern Territory in each year since 1 970.
– The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs has provided the following reply to the honourable senator’s question.
Annual figures are not available.
Available statistics on the Aboriginal prison population are listed below:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs upon notice:
– The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs has provided the following reply to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for the Capital Territory, upon notice:
– The Minister for the Capital Territory has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
1 ) Capital Circle, Adelaide Avenue and Yarra Glen
asked the Minister representing the Minister for the Northern Territory, upon notice:
– The Minister for the Northern Territory has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
DC-10 Aircraft (Question No. 329)
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Transport, upon notice:
– The Minister for Transport has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Transport, upon notice:
– The Minister for Transport has provided the following answers to the honourable senator’s questions:
Because of the Government’s particular concern at the inadequacy of funds previously provided to Local Government for roadworks, it asked the States to channel as much as possible of the additional funds for the use of Local Government. The Victorian Government agreed that, of the additional Commonwealth funds, $2.66m will be provided for Rural Arterial roads and $6.65m for Rural Local roads.
These additional funds together with whatever funds the Victorian Government elects to make available, should go a long way to assist Local Government Authorities in the State to maintain their road programs and prevent possible staff retrenchments.
The Government had no alternative but to accept the advice of the other States (with the exception of Victoria) that with only four months of the 1975-76 year remaining, their commitments were such that they could not make major adjustments in the proportion of funds already allocated for use by local Government without disrupting work programs and causing retrenchments.
You may be assured that, in the Government’s consideration of these recommendations, the need for adequate funds to be made available for rural roads will be kept in mind.
asked the Minister for Administrative Services, upon notice:
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
On 16 March 1976 (Hansard page S26) I supplied information in answer to Questions Nos 79 to 84, concerning the staffs of Ministers who are senators. I now supply the following information, prepared by my Department, in respect of all other Ministers’ personal staff in answer to the honourable senator’s Questions Nos. 255 to 273. ( 1 ), (2), (3) and (4): Details as at 5 April 1976 are listed in the table below. Where staff members are permanent officers of the Public Service, the Departments from which they are seconded are shown in the table.
and (6): Nil as at 5 April 1976, except for Sir Roland Wilson, K B E. who is retained as a special adviser to the Prime Minister on the Hoban Bridge disaster. He is employed on a part time basis, averaging approximately a half a day per week. His remuneration is at the rate of $150 per day.
In view of the honourable senator’s concern, he will be pleased to learn that the present Government has reduced the number of ministerial staff from 242 as at 10 November 1975 under the Labor Government to 166. This reduction in staff numbers will achieve savings in a full year, on current salary and staff allowance levels, of approximately $1.23 million. Savings will also be achieved in the costs of official travel and related allowances for the staff of Ministers not only because of the reduction in staff establishment but also because of restrictions placed on the number of staff who may accompany Ministers when travelling.
The Government has introduced stringent controls in respect of the employment of ministerial staff. Unlike Ministers of the Labor Government, Ministers of the present Government do not employ relatives in their Ministerial offices or Electorate offices. Before engaging a staff member, Ministers provide me with details of the employment history, academic attainments or other qualifications, and any personal, family or relevant connection of which I, as the Minister responsible for administrative matters relating to ministerial staff, should be aware. These procedures are designed to ensure that members of a Minister’s personal staff have appropriate qualifications and have no conflict of interest that could make them unsuitable for employment on the personal staff of a Minister of State.
I am also providing for the information of the honourable senator details as at 5 April 1976 of members of the personal staff of the Opposition office holders.
asked the Minister for Education, upon notice:
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
Under the scheme of Scholarships for Graduate Diploma Study in Recreation, twenty awards were offered in both 1975 and 1976 for persons qualified to enrol in one of the full-time one-year graduate diploma courses in recreation studies approved for this scheme. Applicants must meet the same residential requirements as for Tertiary Education Assistance. Persons who are party to a training agreement are ineligible. Benefits available under these awards are free of a means test and are of the same level as the maximum allowances provided under the Tertiary Education Assistance Scheme.
asked the Minister for Education, upon notice:
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
asked the Minister representing the Treasurer, upon notice:
– The Treasurer has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question: (1), (2) and (3) Banks are not required by the monetary authorities to provide information as to the terms of transactions in such detail as to enable identification of categories of customers such as staff. The details requested are therefore not available to me and I am unable to give the information sought by the honourable senator.
Legal Aid Offices
– On 23 March 1976, Senator Melzer asked me the following question, without notice:
My question is addressed to the Minister representing the Attorney-General. In November of last year, under the previous Government, steps were taken to set up legal aid offices at some 32 additional sites. To date there appears to have been no further work done on this matter. Can the Senate be advised whether there is likely to be any cut in the number of offices to be opened and if so, which offices will be cut? Can the public be assured that all other offices will be opened with all speed?
I provided some information to the honourable senator and undertook to provide further information. I said in my earlier reply that the Attorney-General has had discussions with representatives of the Law Council of Australia and would be taking up the matter with the State Attorneys-General. The Attorney-General has met with the State Attorneys-General. Following that meeting officers of the Commonwealth and States have met to work out the details of a scheme to rationalise legal aid services for submission to their respective Governments. The Attorney-General is now considering a report of that meeting, together with a number of representations from a wide range of interested groups and individuals. He hopes shortly to meet again with State Attorneys-General to discuss specific proposals.
The establishment of offices of the Australian Legal Aid Office at 28 new locations approved by the previous Government has been deferred pending completion of the review being conducted by the Attorney-General. The selection of locations for legal aid offices and the opening of new legal aid offices will be matters for consideration within any new framework for the provision of legal aid that is established as a result of the review.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Transport, upon notice:
– The Minister for Transport has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Primary Industry, upon notice:
– The Minister for Primary Industry has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
The freight rates to shippers are not necessarily inflated because of centralising, as, if it were less costly to make additional port calls in Northern Queensland, this would be done.
At present, there is no reason to believe that a radical change in beef shipping arrangements away from container shipping services would result in more efficient and economic services.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, upon notice:
– The Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
British migrants have constituted 44 per cent of ail migrant arrivals since the commencement of separate statistical recording of settler arrivals in 1959. In view of the size or the British community in Australia, it is remarkable that so few have encountered serious personal or other difficulties in settling.
Surveys with which my Department has been associated indicate that the ability to speak English contributes substantially to the capacity of newly arrived migrants to settle happily and successfully in the Australian community. The British migrant is, therefore, in that respect at a substantial advantage over his non-English speaking counterparts.
British migrants tend to have less difficulty than those from many other countries in securing recognition in Australia of their professional or trade qualifications and, therefore, tend to have less difficulty in finding employment in this country at a level commensurate with their training and previous employment.
Several years ago, a survey was conducted under the aegis of the former Immigration Advisory Council, on the departure from Australia of former settlers. This indicated that the departure rate of former British migrants was not exceptional. The survey showed that during the six years after arrival in Australia, approximately 23 per cent of settlers born in Britain and Ireland left Australia for permanent residence overseas. This was only slightly greater than the average of 21 per cent for all source countries and much smaller than the departure rates for many. Moreover in view of the absence of visa requirements up to January 1975 for United Kingdom citizens wishing to enter Australia it would not have been surprising if there had been a higher rate of departure from Australia by British migrants than by other migrants.
Chloroform Levels in Toothpaste (Question No. 355)
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Health, upon notice:
– The Minister for Health has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Health, upon notice:
– The Minister for Health has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Health, upon notice:
-The Minister for Health has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister for Administrative Services the following questions, upon notice:
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is:
Carpeting in Leased Premises (Question No. 379)
asked the Minister for Administrative Services the following questions, upon notice:
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is:
Gymnasium at University of Tasmania (Question No. 383)
asked the Minister for Education, upon notice:
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Transport, upon notice:
– The Minister for Transport has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
Recently completed modifications to the international concourse require international transit and departing passengers to be confined there for security purposes for extended periods, without being able to enter the main terminal or to have access to the open air, and airconditioning of these areas is now considered to be required. This project is being carefully considered for early inclusion in the construction program of the Department of Transport. Its timing will depend on the availability of funds in future Budgets.
Airconditioning of the domestic concourses is being closely examined in consultation with the domestic airlines to determine whether there is a need for such works and, if so, their timing.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for the Capital Territory, upon notice:
– The Minister for the Capital Territory has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Health, upon notice:
– The Minister for Health has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Transport, upon notice:
– The Minister for Transport has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, upon notice:
– The Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
At its first meeting on 10 May, I asked the Australian Population and Immigration Council to proceed as a matter of urgency with the preparation of a Green Paper on population and immigration policies dealing, inter alia, with the implications of demographic trends for various areas of
Government policy. This will provide a basis for public debate and assist in the formulation of considered Government views on these matters.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations, upon notice:
– The Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Primary Industry, upon notice:
– The Minister for Primary Industry has supplied the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Primary Industry, upon notice:
– The Minister for Primary Industry has supplied the following answer after consulting the Treasurer
Ban on Meat Imports (Question No. 463)
Senator Colston ask the Minister representing the Minister for Primary Industry, upon notice:
– The Minister for Primary Industry has provided the following reply to the honourable senator’s question:
Hobart Bridge Disaster Inquiry (Question No. 46S)
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Transport, upon notice:
– The Minister for Transport has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister for Administrative Services, upon notice:
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, upon notice:
– The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs has provided the following reply to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, upon notice:
– The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs has provided the following reply to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister for Administrative Services, upon notice:
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
Purchase of Liquor: Defence Establishments (Question No. SOS)
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, upon notice:
– The Minister for Defence has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
The Service Messes have a small percentage of civilian members. As such, they are entitled to use the mess facilities and to make purchases of liquor.
Under the regulations of the Australian Services Canteens Organisation, civilian members of the Department of Defence and their dependants are legally entitled to use ASCO facilities. This includes the purchase of liquor. An identity card is issued for this purpose. This practice nas been in force for 16 years.
The investigations conducted by my Department did not reveal any abuse of these entitlements.
asked the Minister for Administrative Services, upon notice:
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
The Service is also available to the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery and, on request, media outside Canberra. There is no free distribution to community or business groups. Statements are available for public inspection at Government Publications and Inquiry Centres in each State Capital or for purchase at a nominal charge.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Health, upon notice:
– The Minister for Health has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister for Science, upon notice:
– The answers to the questions are:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs upon notice:
– The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs has provided the following reply to the honourable senator’s question:
Electoral Boundaries (Question No. 518)
asked the Minister for Administrative Services, upon services:
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
asked the Minister representing the Treasurer, upon notice:
– The Treasurer has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
I note, however, that relatively few taxpayers have sought to have their PA YE deductions adjusted to take account of their entitlements under the scheme, which may suggest that the scheme as originally introduced may not have had all the qualities claimed for it. By contrast, what the Government, looking to the realities, proposes by way of the new home savings grant scheme and the amended deduction scheme will ensure that resources are applied at the points of greatest effective need.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, upon notice:
Has the Minister, or the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, had any discussions formal or informal, with the Queensland Parliamentary Commissioner for Administrative Investigations, Mr David Longland, C.M.G., since Mr Longland recently visited Aurukun; if so, has the Minister taken any action as a result of those discussions.
– The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs has provided the following reply to the honourable senator’s question:
No.
asked the Minister for Administrative Services, upon notice:
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
asked the Minister representing the Treasurer, upon notice:
– The Treasurer has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
New South Wales: 1969-70-3546; 1970-71-3658; 197 1-72-3819; 1972-73-3969; 1973-74-4074; 1974-75-4210.
Victoria: 1969-70-3300: 1970-71-3164: 1971-72-3087: 1972-73-3140; 1973-74-3266; 1974-75-3303.
Queensland: 1969-70-1327; 1970-71-1336; 1971-72-1345; 1972-73-1392; 1973-74-1383; 1974-75-1397.
South Australia: 1969-70-866; 1970-71-905; 1971-72-917; 1972-73-927; 1973-74-955; 1974-75-990.
Western Australia: 1969-70-898; 1970-71-759; 1971- 72-765; 1972-73-797; 1973-74-825; 1974-75-848.
Tasmania: 1969-70-375; 1970-71-387; 1971-72-385; 1972- 73-394; 1973-74-411; 1974-75-409.
Northern Territory: 1969-70-30; 1970-71-30; 1971-72-27; 1972-73-27; 1973-74-29; 1974-75-19.
Allof these figures represent full-time operative staff, i.e., inoperative staff (those on leave for twelve weeks or more) have been excluded. The monthly average number of inoperative staff in all offices combined rose from 226 in 1969-70 to 609 in 1974-75.
The figures for Head Office include those in respect of the A.C.T. regional office. At present there are 96 employees in the A.C.T. regional office.
The growth of staff in New South Wales since 1969-70, as compared with Victoria, is due largely to the transfer of work from Victoria to New South Wales following upon the closure of Central Office, Melbourne on 1 July 1 970. In Western Australia, the reduction in staff in 1970-71 resulted from the handing over to the State Government of the work of collecting State land tax and some other State taxes, as well as the associated land valuation work.
As recorded in the 53rd Annual Report to Parliament by the Commissioner of Taxation, the Taxation Office has managed to keep its annual rate of growth to an average of about 2 per cent while increasing its enforcement activities and coping with an annual increase in work volume estimated to be about 4 per cent.
asked the Minister representing the Treasurer, upon notice:
– The Treasurer has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
As honourable senators will be aware, the Australian Taxation Office has developed a sophisticated computer system to speed up the processing and associated actions involved with finalising assessments. Whilst all returns are examined by specially trained officers, much of the routine work formerly associated with their duties is now being performed by computer process. Apart from assisting with the assessing action, the computer systems amongst other things produce both a notice of assessment and refund cheque where applicable. It is not possible, therefore, to separately apportion the average time taken between the lodgment of a return, the making of an assessment and the payment of a refund; however, the average time taken throughout the Commonwealth from the date of receipt of a return until a notice of assessment and refund cheque is forwarded to a taxpayer is generally of the order of 6 to 8 weeks. It is known that, for 85 per cent of salary returns, assessments and refunds are issued within 6 to 8 weeks from the date the return is lodged.
Statistical information is not available to identify the average period between the date returns are lodged and the collection of tax assessed. Assessments are payable not earlier than 30 days after the date of service of a notice of assessment. The earliest date on which a taxpayer liable to provisional tax is required to pay his assessment is 3 1 March following the close of the financial year in which the income was earned, or 30 days after service of his notice of assessment. The vast majority of taxpayers pay the amount owing by the due date or shortly thereafter.
asked the Minister representing the Treasurer, upon notice:
– The Treasurer has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
3 ) Uncollected tax at 30 June generally speaking consists of-
a dispute as to the taxpayer’s liability has arisen which is still unresolved; and
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Health, upon notice:
– The Minister for Health has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs, upon notice:
– The Minister for Foreign Affairs has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister for Administrative Services, upon notice:
Were the reporters who accompanied the Minister during his recent visit to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands given the services of interpreters when interviewing Malay workers on the Islands; if not, why not.
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is:
No. It is not a function of the Government to provide interpreters for reporters.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Health, upon notice:
Does a Swiss drug company, Protea, enjoy a significant cost advantage in its dealings on the Australian pharmaceutical market; if so, is this because the company imports many of its products from South Africa, which are manufactured cheaply by black inmates in State mental institutes.
-The Minister for Health has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
The drug company, Protea Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd, which is registered in Switzerland is not known to enjoy a significant cost advantage in its dealings on the Australian pharmaceutical market. This company has advised my Department that it does not import products from South Africa.
asked the Minister for Administrative Services, upon notice:
Are Commonwealth Police investigating the disappearance of $40,000 which was being sent from Darwin to the Elcho Island Mission; if so, how was the money being sent to Elcho Island Mission, and from whom.
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
No.
Home Building Loans
– In answer to a question without notice from Senator Archer on 24 February, I undertook to have a proposal about home building loans examined. The Treasurer has provided the following comments for the honourable senator’s information:
Rental Housing
-On 28 April 1976, Senator Archer directed to me as Minister representing the Treasurer in the Senate a question without notice concerning the possibility of encouraging the provision of additional housing for rental through investment or depreciation allowances. I undertook to refer it to the Treasurer who has provided the following answer:
The Government’s Housing Policy Statement refers to this matter as follows: ‘To encourage private investment in new building for residential rental purposes we will examine additional tax provision to allow for depreciation on new buildings as recommended in the Asprey Taxation Review Committee’. That matter will be investigated in detail as soon us circumstances permit. Among other considerations, however, I point out that there are also revenue considerations to be taken into account.
Airport Security
– On 2 March 1976 Senator Sir Magnus Cormack asked the Minister representing the Minister for Transport the following question without notice:
Will the Minister representing the Minister for Transport inform the Senate whether the security arrangements for passenger aircraft at international airports in all of the Middle East countries are commensurate with the security arrangements at the Australian Airports? Secondly, is there any sound reason why spot check electronic surveillance of passengers disembarking in Australia should not be carried out? Thirdly, are the holders of diplomatic passports free from electronic surveillance under the Vienna Convention of a Diplomatic Immunity and Privilege?’
Senator Cotton replied as follows:
At an earlier stage in my parliamentary life I was more up to date on the question of surveillance and checks at airports than I am today. There was a very strong international arrangement between most of the principal countries that had either departure or landing facilities for the sort of checks to which the honourable senator refers. Most of the customary checking was done on outward going passengers. I have always felt that there was a case for some checks to be made on people entering a country. The same device- a magnetometer may be used for checks on people leaving as well as for people entering a country. I do not know what the current practice is in other countries. But for a long time there has been an international co-operation arrangement about checks, particularly with regard to hijack problems. I would imagine that it is still operating. I am not totally familiar with the area of diplomatic immunity in checking arrivals at airports. I think it is a very useful question to have asked and I shall try to get full details for the honourable senator’.
The following information has been provided by the Minister for Transport in reply to the honourable senator’s question:
Security arrangements at International Airports are a matter for each State to determine. Member states of ICAO ( International Civil Aviation Organisation) observe the provisions of Annex 1 7 (Security) to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation and use the Annex Standards and Recommend Practices as a guide to development of their own programs which may vary in stringency depending on the security required at any time.
The potential threat associated with disembarking pasengers is recognised but it has been considered more desirable by leading States for aviation security checks to be performed prior to commencement rather than after completion of a flight. Aviation authorities of countries with airlines operating to Australia have already been requested to ensure that their airlines carry out a search of passengers, their carry-on baggage, and, if the threat at the time justifies it, a search of hold baggage (i.e. baggage accompanying the passenger but not carried in the cabin) prior to arrival in Australia.
Australia has an obligation to comply with the provisions of Article 36(2) of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic
Relations which states that the personal baggage of a diplomatic agent shall be exempt from inspection ‘ unless there are serious grounds for presuming that it contains articles not covered oy the exemptions mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article, or articles the import or export of which is prohibited by the law or controlled by the quarantine regulations ofthe receiving State’. Paragraph 1 refers to articles for the official use of the mission and for the personal use of a diplomatic agent or members of his family.
The Vienna Convention was drawn up in 1 96 1 well before the emergence of the practice of hijacking and airborne terrorism and of the introduction of measures of protective security to combat these developments. Consequently there is no reference in the Vienna Convention about electronic surveillance.
Australia also has an obligation under Article 10 ( I ) of the Montreal Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation which provides that endeavour shall be made by contracting states in accordance with international and national law, to take all practicable measures for the purpose of preventing offences against the safety of civil aviation.
Foreign diplomatic and consular missions to Australia have been advised by the Department of Foreign Affairs that members of their staff will be subject to security screening if a security check is nominated for their particular flight. Discreet searching facilities are available for heads of a mission and persons of like status. We acknowledge the obligation to treat such persons with all due courtesy and respect but the airlines are obliged to comply with the direction and permit no exemptions.
Migrant Women: Employment Opportunities
-On 16 March 1976, Senator Melzer asked the following question, without notice:
I preface my question, which is addressed to the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations, by referring to the address given by Senator Guilfoyle, to the Australian Confederation of Apparel Manufacturers. She spoke of the need to widen the employment opportunities of migrant women by developing their natural skills by, amongst other things, assisting them with language problems. Senator Guilfoyle said- I agree with this-that it is futile to expect women who are working in factories all day and at home all night to go out to night school. Therefore I ask: What steps is the Government taxing to facilitate the teaching of English in the work place?
The following answer is provided to the honourable senator’s question:
As the migrant education function is now part of my responsibility, I am able to say that a special six weeks course for use with migrants in industry at the work site, preferably in employer time, was developed by the former Department of Immigration towards the end of 1971. The course provides basic instruction in the English language using the situational method and includes social and cultural content. The course consists of 36 hours instruction and is designed normally to run for a period of six weeks, though the time span may vary depending upon the requirements of shift work and other factors. Using the basic course and following discussion with management of a particular industry, the course can be modified and adapted to take into account safety factors, specialised vocabulary, and factory rules and regulations applicable to the work environment of the particular industry.
It was not until early in 1973 that the course was developed to any appreciable extent. Statistics are based on the period commencing May 1973 and from that date to the end of February 1976 a total of 394 courses had been held in factories and in industry generally in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. The number of migrants who have taken part in the course was 5431 and the number of employer organisations involved (some of which have maintained the course on a continuing basis) was 139, representing a wide range of industry. The statistics maintained under the program have not to date differentiated between male and female workers, but it has been estimated that women make up approximately 33 per cent of migrants enrolled in courses in Victoria. Courses in some firms are weighted in favour of women- GloVVeave, Rosella, Kraft and L M Ericcson for example. Across all States the figure would be about 20 per cent.
The development and further expansion of courses in industry and the extent to which the language needs of migrant women in particular can be reached in this way are areas to which the Government is committed as a matter of policy.
Education Expenditure in the Northern Territory
- Senator Keeffe asked the following question without notice on 1 8 March 1976:
Will the Minister for Education inform the Parliament of the total amount of cuts in funds for education in the Northern Territory? In particular will the Minister detail reductions in expenditure for this financial year in the following areas: School building programs; school maintenance programs; number of teachers employed; and the numbers of teachers and buildings on Aboriginal settlements.
I provided some information to the honourable senator and undertook to provide further information. I am now able to advise as follows:
The reduction in expenditure on the school building program in the Northern Territory for 1975-76 is approximately $l.lm or approximately 5.25 per cent ofthe forecast expenditure. This reduction in expenditure follows a cut of $26.937m or approximately 97.4 per cent of new program items as a result of the suspension of the 1975-76 Civil Works Program and 45.3 per cent of the total program including revoted works.
With regard to school maintenance programs, it is anticipated that some $1.2m of a total program of about $1.4m will be committed in the current financial year.
There has been no reduction in the number of teachers employed in the Territory. Its staff ceiling in 1976 is set at the same level as that which applied in 1 975.
The number employed on a full-time basis in the Territory increased from about 1230 in October of last year to 1315 at the end of March this year. The Commonwealth Teaching Service is shortly to hold further interviews in order to fill current and expected Term 2 vacancies. At the end of October 1 975 there were 341 teachers in Government Aboriginal schools. In April 1976 this increased to 366.
Restraints on expenditure have not affected the number of schools on Aboriginal settlements, missions and pastoral properties. These are, however, affected by changes in populations; at August 1 975 there were 49 such schools and at the end of March 1976 this number was 53. The installation of a number of mobile units in some ‘outstation’ communities has been delayed.
asked the Minister for Social Security, upon notice:
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
The Minister for Administrative Services and I have asked officers of my Department, The Australian Government Publishing Service and the Secretary of the Commission of Inquiry into Poverty to discuss possible economies in the publishing program for research reports. Since that meeting, figures have been prepared which show that the remaining research reports can be published at a total cost of $70,000 a saving of $62,000 on the previous estimate. This saving can be achieved by reducing the number of copies available for free distribution by increasing the sales price on each volume and by public tendering for printers instead of using standard forms of contract. The production standards of these reports will not be affected.
On 30 April 1976 I wrote to the Treasurer requesting an allocation of $70,000 to publish the remaining reports. On 4 May 1976 Mr Lynch approved the allocation and officers of my Department are now preparing several manuscripts for publication.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Post and Telecommunications the following question, upon notice:
– The Minister for Post and Telecommunications has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
These representations were made some time ago. Since the formal announcement on 27 February, by the Minister for Post and Telecommunications, the Honourable Eric Robinson, that legislation would be introduced for a total ban on the advertising of cigarettes and cigarette tobacco, with effect from I September 1976, representations were received by the Minister on behalf of Capital City Broadcasters Proprietary Limited, Licensees of commercial broadcasting station 2CC Canberra.
As the honourable senator will appreciate, representations of which I would have no knowledge, may have been received by other Ministers or colleagues.
asked the Minister for Social Security, upon notice:
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for the Capital Territory, upon notice:
– The Minister for the Capital Territory has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
Generally the park was then envisaged as containing only the wilderness area west of the Gudgenby River. Following some further consideration a decision was made to include a much larger area extending easterly to the A.C.T. border and including some land then held under freehold title.
A program of acquisition of all freehold land remaining in the Territory has been followed for the past few years and was near completion when overtaken by the present financial stringencies. Some freehold land in the Gudgenby area still remains to be acquired before the larger area could be formally declared as a Park. Consideration is now being given to an early declaration of the area as a National Park to the extent possible.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Health, upon notice:
– The Minister for Health has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, upon notice:
Were three squadrons of Mirage 111-0 supersonic fighter aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force grounded early in April 1976; if so, (a) how many aircraft were involved, and for how long were they out of action, (b) why were the aircraft grounded, and what checks were subsequently carried out, and (c) did the checks disclose any deficiencies in the aircraft.
– The Minister for Defence has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
On 6 April 1976 the pilot of an RAAF Mirage made an emergency landing at Nowra Naval Air Station because of indications that the aircraft could be on fire.
Subsequent investigations by RAAF engineers determined that the engine combustion casing had cracked at the fuel drain line attachment. Hot gas escaping through the crack burned electrical looms and some subsidiary structure.
On 8 April 1976 an RAAF Special Technical Instruction was issued ordering the immediate inspection of all Mirage engines for similar cracks.
Operational training was affected for two working days because those engines installed in aircraft could not be inspected in situ. The removal, inspection, re-installation and testing of these engines therefore caused some delay to flying programs.
The inspections carried out revealed that 14 per cent of the engines checked had incipient cracks. These engines will be repaired in Australia and returned to service in due course. The repair program will not affect the RAAF’s Mirage Operations.
asked the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister in Federal Affairs, upon notice:
– The answer to the honourable senator’s question is as follows:
The Ministers welcomed the report but emphasised that its reception implied no specific commitment on the part of any Government.
asked the Minister representing the Prime Minister, upon notice:
Have any State Government Departments made submissions to the Administrative Review Committee, chaired by Sir Henry Bland; if so, which Departments have made submissions, and on what subjects.
– The Prime Minister has provided the following information for answer to the honourable senator’s question:
When the Administrative Review Committee was established by the Government in December last I wrote to the Premiers inviting them to put forward submissions for the Committee’s consideration. All States have responded to this invitation.
The submissions from the States could be regarded by them as being in confidence to the Committee. For that reason it would not be appropriate for the Commonwealth Government to provide any information about the nature of these submissions.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs, upon notice:
Was it claimed in the British Medical journal, The Lancet, that anxiety has lately been expressed over the possible dangers of radiation from microwave ovens; if so, what action is the Government taking to (a) investigate this possible hazard, and (b) establish a standard specification for microwave ovens, to protect the public safety and health.
– The following information is provided in answer to the honourable senator’s question:
The claim appeared in The Lancet, of 1 1 October 1975.
The Department or Business and Consumer Affairs is now examining the issues raised, as well as work being done on safety standards both in Australia and overseas.
I believe the relevant State authorities have prescribed microwave ovens for approval purposes and apply the provisions of draft standard 1845, issued by the Standards Association of Australia in 1971. Work on the draft standard is proceeding and it is expected that an Australian standard will be pubished soon.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs upon notice:
– The Minister for Foreign Affairs has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs, upon notice:
– The following information is provided in answer to the honourable senator’s question:
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, upon notice:
What is the Government’s view on a reported suggestion by Father Roy Richardson at an Anzac Day Memorial Service in St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral, Adelaide, on 26 April 1976, that the Australian Army should be used as a peacekeeping force in East Timor.
– The Minister for Defence has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
Were the United Nations to decide to establish an international peace-keeping force in East Timor, and were a request addressed to Australia to participate in the force, the Government would be prepared to consider doing so.
asked the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, upon notice:
– The Minister for Defence has provided the following answer to the honourable senator’s question:
Second Derwent Crossing- Administrative Review Committee
-On 28 April 1976 (Hansard, page 1331) Senator Wriedt asked me, as Minister representing the Prime Minister, a question without notice as to whether the Bland Committee had made a recommendation to the Government that the Government not proceed with the financing of a second bridge across the Derwent River in Hobart. The Prime Minister has now supplied the following information for answer to the honourable senator’s question.
The Report of the Bland Committee on Administrative Review dealing with transport matters has not yet been considered by the Government.
asked the Minister representing the Prime Minister, upon notice:
– The Prime Minister has provided the following information for answer to the honourable senator’s question:
In the first table the amounts shown as outstanding for repayment include components of interest on the loans to 3 1 March 1976.
The details relating to investments in the second table show sums unrecouped as at 31 March 1976. Repayments in this table are only due when revenue has been recouped from the project concerned.
The Australian Film Commission came into operation on 8 July 1975 and is in the process of establishing a comprehensive system of accounts, incorporating the transactions of the Australian Film Development Corporation. Part of the new system will be a regular review of all contracts involving the repayment of moneys to the Commission.
Arrangements have already been made to collect moneys owed to the Corporation, and the new system should be fully operative by the end ofthe present financial year.
Cite as: Australia, Senate, Debates, 18 May 1976, viewed 22 October 2017, <http://historichansard.net/senate/1976/19760518_senate_30_s68/>.