The SPEAKER ( Hon. Bronwyn Bishop ) took the chair at 10:00, made an acknowledgement of country and read prayers.
High Speed Rail Planning Authority Bill 2013
That this bill be now read a second time.
That this House notes that:
(1) the Government is delivering on its promise to build a stronger Australia with its $1.5 billion commitment to the WestConnex project in Sydney;
(2) WestConnex is part of a long term vision for Sydney's future and is needed to cater for the additional 1.3 million people calling it home over the next 20 years;
(3) the 33 kilometre motorway linking Sydney's west and south-west with the CBD, Sydney Airport and Port Botany, will return some $20 billion to the NSW economy; and
(4) the project will create thousands of jobs including new apprenticeships.
(3) the 33 kilometre motorway linking Sydney's west and south-west with the CBD, Sydney Airport and Port Botany, will return some $20 billion to the NSW economy …
I appreciate that there are some significant logistical issues having the motorway run via the Port, not to mention the cost … but ideally, the ALC would have liked to have seen the motorway run further into the port area.
None of them seem to be raising what is quite a large elephant in the room: that WestConnex is the biggest urban infrastructure project in the country—with $3.3 billion of taxpayers' money already committed to it—and hardly anything is known about it.
Taxpayers do not know how many cars are expected to use this motorway. They do not know its estimated impact on local roads. They are yet to be told its precise route. They're in the dark on construction methods.
Even the need for the WestConnex is not known. It is certainly true Sydney's roads are inadequate. But this does not mean that the precise model of WestConnex is the solution.
That this House:
(1) notes the importance of having a well-trained medical workforce including doctors, nurses and allied health professionals for the sustainability of our health system;
(2) acknowledges the work of Health Workforce Australia in increasing the percentage of clinical training days for students, with the most recently released figures demonstrating a 50 per cent increase in 2012 compared to 2010;
(3) recognises that this increase in clinical training has been in part the result of the support provided to universities and health clinics through the Clinical Training Funding program;
(4) notes with concern the evidence provided in Senate Estimates on the 20 November 2013 by the Assistant Minister for Health that unallocated funds to support clinical training are currently frozen; and
(5) calls on the Government to immediately make available the money within Health Workforce Australia that assists universities and health services to make clinical placements available so that students can have improved access to placements in the upcoming academic year.
Environment Legislation Amendment Bill 2013
That all the words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:
"the House declines to give the bill a second reading because it would be ill advised to continue with the bill without considering:
(1) the impact of Schedule 1 of this bill in relation to the protection of matters of national environmental significance under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 ; and
(2) government plans for the delegation of approval powers to states through bilateral agreements."
Review and recourse from third parties to government decisions is an essential part of democracy, so it's very worrying this is being removed.
Environmental protection is suffering a death by a thousand cuts at the moment. Laws are being weakened and approvals are being handed over to the states, which have a questionable record of protecting the environment.
We should be strengthening laws but instead we are watering them down.
… ecosystems deliver essential services worth between US$21 trillion and US$72 trillion a year, which is comparable with the 2008 World Gross National Income of US$58 trillion.
'It shot out of some ferns behind me —I thought it was a cattle dog at first,' he said.
'But then I was face-to-face with the darn thing.'
That the order of the day be referred to the Federation Chamber for debate.
A carbon price in isolation in the absence of an energy policy is nonsense.
The message is that climate change, which is a problem, which is a concern to all of us, cannot be solved by one or two countries even if they are huge countries. Just for Australia trying to sort it out is for me a little bit strange.
Someone called Denise said she'd spend the cash on a new tattoo to match the wolverine job she has on one foot.
Mr Cullen, who took over Number 33—formerly the Sanctum—at the start of the year, even ran cheeky newspaper advertisements about the stimulus package, encouraging people to "Get more bang for your buck".
He said the economic downturn had certainly taken its toll on the sex industry.
"It is very quiet at the moment," Mr Cullen said.
"The stimulus package helped a bit. Around the time the money started to come in business picked up."
That Mr Christensen, Mr Entsch, Mr Gray, Mrs Griggs, Ms MacTiernan, Ms Price and Mr Snowdon be appointed as members of the Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia.
That this House:
(1) repeal the following resolutions:
(a) Broadcasting and re-broadcasting of excerpts of proceedings, adopted 30 November 1988;
(b) Televising of proceedings, adopted 16 October 1991;
(c) Extension of House monitoring service, adopted 28 September 1993;
(d) Radio broadcasting of parliamentary proceedings-general principles, adopted 20 September 1994; and
(e) Broadcasting of proceedings-conditions for broadcasters, adopted 1 May 1996; and
(2) in their place, adopt the following resolution:
1. Provision of broadcast
a. The House authorises the broadcast and rebroadcast of the proceedings and excerpts of proceedings of the House, its committees and of the Federation Chamber in accordance with this resolution.
b. The House authorises the provision of sound and vision coverage of proceedings of the House, its committees, and of the Federation Chamber, including records of past proceedings, through the House Monitoring Service and through the Parliament of Australia website.
c. Access to the House Monitoring Service sound and vision coverage of the proceedings of the House, its committees and the Federation Chamber is provided to persons and organisations as determined by the Speaker, on terms and conditions determined by the Speaker which must not be inconsistent with this resolution.
d. The Speaker shall report to the House on persons and organisations in receipt of the service and on any terms and conditions determined under paragraph 1(c).
e. Use of sound and vision coverage of proceedings of the House, its committees and the Federation Chamber, including records of past proceedings, published on the Parliament of Australia website is subject to conditions of use determined by the Speaker.
2. Broadcast of House of Representatives and Federation Chamber proceedings – House monitoring service
Access to proceedings provided through the House Monitoring Service is subject to compliance with the following conditions:
a. Only the following broadcast material shall be used:
i. switched sound and vision feed of the House of Representatives, its committees and the Federation Chamber provided by the Parliament that is produced for broadcast, re-broadcast and archiving; and
ii. official broadcast material supplied by authorised parliamentary staff.
b. Broadcast material shall be used only for the purposes of fair and accurate reports of proceedings, and shall not be used for:
i. political party advertising or election campaigns; or
ii. commercial sponsorship or commercial advertising.
c. Reports of proceedings shall be such as to provide a balanced presentation of differing views.
d. Excerpts of proceedings which are subsequently withdrawn may be broadcast only if the withdrawal is also reported.
e. The instructions of the Speaker or his or her delegates, which are not inconsistent with these conditions or the rules applying to the broadcasting of committee proceedings, shall be observed.
3. Broadcast of committee proceedings
The following conditions apply to the broadcasting of committee proceedings:
a. Recording and broadcasting of proceedings of a committee is subject to the authorisation of the committee;
b. A committee may authorise the broadcasting of only its public proceedings;
c. Recording and broadcasting of a committee is not permitted during suspensions of proceedings, or following an adjournment of proceedings;
d. A committee may determine conditions, not inconsistent with this resolution, for the recording and broadcasting of its proceedings, may order that any part of its proceedings not be recorded or broadcast, and may give instructions for the observance of conditions so determined and orders so made. A committee shall report to the House any wilful breach of such conditions, orders or instructions;
e. Recording and broadcasting of proceedings of a committee shall not interfere with the conduct of those proceedings, shall not encroach into the committee’s work area, or capture documents (either in hard copy or electronic form) in the possession of committee members, witnesses or committee staff;
f. Broadcasts of proceedings of a committee, including excerpts of committee proceedings, shall be for the purpose only of making fair and accurate reports of those proceedings, and shall not be used for:
i. political party advertising or election campaigns; or
ii. commercial sponsorship or commercial advertising;
g. Where a committee intends to permit the broadcasting of its proceedings, a witness who is to appear in those proceedings shall be given reasonable opportunity, before appearing in the proceedings, to object to the broadcasting of the proceedings and to state the ground of the objection. The committee shall consider any such objection, having regard to the proper protection of the witness and the public interest in the proceedings, and if the committee decides to permit broadcasting of the proceedings notwithstanding the witness’ objection, the witness shall be so informed before appearing in the proceedings.
4. Radio broadcast of parliamentary proceedings by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation – general principles
The House adopts the following general principles agreed to by the Joint Committee on the Broadcasting of Parliamentary Proceedings on 19 March 2013:
a. Allocation of the broadcast between the Senate and the House of Representatives
The proceedings of Parliament shall be broadcast live whenever a House is sitting. The allocation of broadcasts between the Senate and the House of Representatives will be in accordance with the standing determinations made by the Joint Committee on the Broadcasting of Parliamentary Proceedings. It is anticipated that over time, the coverage of each House will be approximately equal.
b. Rebroadcast of questions and answers
At the conclusion of the live broadcast of either House, questions without notice and answers thereto from the House not allocated the broadcast shall be rebroadcast.
c. Unusual or exceptional circumstances
Nothing in these general principles shall prevent the Joint Committee on the Broadcasting of Parliamentary Proceedings from departing from them in unusual or exceptional circumstances.
5. This resolution shall continue in force unless and until amended or rescinded by the House in this or a subsequent Parliament. (Notice given 20 November 2013.)
That business intervening before order of the day No. 5, government business, be postponed until a later hour this day.
There is no limit to what Australia can achieve, but only if we respect the limits of government, as well as its potential.
'Tis well enough that Goodenough
Before the Lords should preach;
But, sure enough, full bad enough
Are those he had to teach.
Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Amendment Bill 2013
That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the following from occurring in relation to the House's consideration of the Senate message relating to the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Amendment Bill 2013:
(1) the message being considered immediately;
(2) the House considering the Senate's request for an amendment;
(3) the House considering the Senate's further amendments; and
(4) on conclusion of the House's consideration, a message being sent to the Senate advising it of how the House has dealt with the request and further amendments.
(1) Schedule 1, items 1 and 2, page 3 (lines 5 to 11), omit the items, substitute:
1 Section 5
Repeal the section.
2 Subsection 51JA(2)
Omit ", disregarding stock and securities of the kind mentioned in subsection 5(2),".
3 After subsection 51JA(2)
Insert:
(2A) In working out the total face value of stock and securities for the purposes of subsection (2), disregard:
(a) stock and securities issued in relation to money borrowed under the Loan (Temporary Revenue Deficits) Act 1953 ; and
(b) stock and securities loaned by the Treasurer under a securities lending arrangement under section 5BA of the Loans Securities Act 1919 , or held by or on behalf of the Treasurer for the purpose of such an arrangement; and
(c) stock and securities invested under subsection 39(2) of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 ; and
(d) stock and securities on issue as at the start of 13 July 2008, other than Treasury Fixed Coupon Bonds.
Note: The time referred to in paragraph (d) is when item 4 of Schedule 1 to the Commonwealth Securities and Investment Legislation Amendment Act 2008 commenced.
4 At the end of section 51JA
Add:
(5) For the purposes of this section:
(a) the face value of a Treasury Indexed Bond is taken to be its face value at the time it was issued; and
(b) the loan of stock or a security is taken to include an arrangement under which it is sold and repurchased.
(2) Title, page 1 (lines 1 and 2), omit "amend the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911 , and for related purposes", substitute "remove the limit on stock and securities on issue, and for other purposes".
(3) Page 3 (after line 11), at the end of the bill, add:
Schedule 2—Amendment of the Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998
1 At the end of clause 2 of Schedule 1
Add:
Additional statements about Commonwealth stock and securities
(7) In certain cases where the face value of Commonwealth stock and securities on issue has increased by $50 billion or more since a previous report or statement under the Charter of Budget Honesty, the Treasurer is to table a statement setting out reasons for the increase (see Part 9).
2 Subclause 3(1) of Schedule 1
Insert:
Commonwealth stock and securities means stock and securities on issue under theCommonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911 (theCIS Act ) or theLoans Securities Act 1919 (disregarding stock and securities of the kind mentioned in subsection 51JA(2A) of the CIS Act).
debt statement , for a report under Part 5 or 7, means a statement that includes:
(a) the following information about Commonwealth stock and securities on issue, atthe time of the report and for the financial year to which the report relates and the following 3 financial years:
(i) the value of the stock and securities (including their market and face value, and their value as a proportion of gross domestic product);
(ii) the total expected interest expenses relating to the stock and securities; and
(b) a breakdown, by maturity and timing of interest payments, of Commonwealth stock and securities on issue at the time of the report.
3 At the end of subclause 12(1) of Schedule 1
Add:
; (f) a debt statement.
4 At the end of subclause 16(1) of Schedule 1
Add:
; and (c) contain a debt statement.
5 At the end of subclause 24(1) of Schedule 1
Add:
; (e) a debt statement.
6 At the end of paragraph 26(a) of Schedule 1
Add:
(v) the information required by paragraph 24(1)(e); and
7 At the end of Schedule 1
Add:
Part 9—Additional statements about Commonwealth stock and securities
33 Additional statements about Commonwealth stock and securities
(1) This clause applies when the actual face value of Commonwealth stock and securities on issue has increased by $50 billion or more since whichever of the following last occurred:
(a) a budget economic and fiscal outlook report, a mid‑year economic and fiscal outlook report or a pre‑election economic and fiscal outlook report was publicly released;
(b) a statement under this clause was tabled.
(2) The Treasurer is to table in each House of the Parliament, within 3 sittings days of that House after the increase referred to in subclause (1), a statement setting out the reasons for the increase, including the extent to which any of the following contributed to the increase:
(a) lower than expected revenue;
(b) higher than expected spending;
(c) capital purchases;
(d) grants to State and Territory governments for infrastructure.
8 Application—statements under clause 33 of the Charter of Budget Honesty
Clause 33 of Schedule 1 to the Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998 applies in relation to a report referred to in paragraph (1)(a) of that clause that is publicly released on or after the commencement of this item.
That the requested amendment be made.
That the question be now put.
The House divided. [16:59]
(The Speaker—Hon. Bronwyn Bishop)
The House divided. [17:07]
(The Speaker—Hon. BK Bishop)
That the further amendments, including an amendment of the title, be agreed to.
There is a world of difference between the Greens and as far as I'm aware just about everyone else who is contesting this election … because everyone else in this campaign supports economic growth and supports a more prosperous economy.
That was then, this is now.
… a litany of betrayals, of broken promises, of disappointed hopes …
… you should move heaven and earth to keep commitments … and only if keeping commitments becomes almost impossible could you ever be justified in not keeping them … And I suspect the electorate would take a very dim view even in those circumstances.
The Commission is asked to review and report on the extent, condition and adequacy of Commonwealth sector infrastructure and, if found to be deficient, factors that may have contributed to the current situation and possible remedies.
That the question be now put.
The House divided. [17:54]
(The Deputy Speaker—Hon. BC Scott)
Environment Legislation Amendment Bill 2013
Tax Laws Amendment (Research and Development) Bill 2013
That all the words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:
"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading the House is of the opinion that the:
(1) Government has broken an election promise and back flipped on its previous pledge to oppose this measure; and
(2) Government's decision to not continue with the Australian Jobs Act, which was intended to be funded by revenue from this tax measure, is deplorable and this demonstrates the Government's lack of commitment to supporting Australian employment."
Julia Gillard said this was about jobs and innovation but this policy announcement is destroying confidence in a tax incentive that makes industry responsible for its own innovation.
We know that large multinational companies won't be hit by the R&D tax cut. It is Aussie companies that will be struck by the cut, perversely the opposite of Labor's claim to be creating Aussie jobs.
More recently the government—
announced with no warning it was funding its Orwellian Plan for Australian Jobs package by cutting the R&D tax break for large companies, reaping $1 billion over four years. The government has become immensely unpredictable on tax policy, despite the charade of consultation.
Environment Legislation Amendment Bill 2013
(1) Schedule 1, page 3 (lines 4 and 5), omit the heading.
(2) Schedule 1, item 1, page 3 (lines 6 to 14), omit the item, substitute:
1 Non ‑compliance with requirement to have regard to any approved conservation advice before 31 December 2013
If a provision of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 requires the Minister to have regard to any approved conservation advice, then a thing is not invalid merely because the Minister failed, when doing the thing or anything related to the thing at any time before 31 December 2013, to have regard to any relevant approved conservation advice.
(1) Schedule 1, page 3 (lines 1 to 28), omit the Schedule.
(2) Page 14 (after line 23), at the end of the Bill, add:
Schedule 3—Amendments relating to retaining Commonwealth responsibility for approving proposed actions that significantly impact matters of national environmental significance
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
1 Paragraph 11(a)
Repeal the paragraph.
2 Division 1 of Part 4
Repeal the Division.
3 Paragraphs 44(c) and (d)
Omit "and approval".
4 Subparagraphs 45(2)(a)(iii) and (iv)
Omit "and approval".
5 Section 46
Repeal the section.
6 Subsection 48(3)
Repeal the subsection, substitute:
(3) Subsection (1) does not limit section 47.
7 Subsection 48A(1)
Omit "46 or".
8 Subsection 48A(1)
Omit "(2) or" (first occurring).
9 Subsection 48A(1)
Omit "subsection (2) or (3) (as appropriate)", substitute "that subsection".
10 Subsection 48A(2)
Repeal the subsection.
11 Subsection 51(1)
Omit "(1)".
12 Subsection 51(2)
Repeal the subsection.
13 Subsection 51A(1)
Omit "(1)".
14 Subsection 51A(2)
Repeal the subsection.
15 Subsection 52(1)
Omit "(1)".
16 Subsection 52(2)
Repeal the subsection.
17 Subsection 53(1)
Omit "(1)".
18 Subsection 53(2)
Repeal the subsection.
19 Subsection 54(1)
Omit "(1)".
20 Subsection 54(2)
Repeal the subsection.
21 Section 55
Omit ", or accredit for the purposes of a bilateral agreement a management arrangement or an authorisation process,".
22 Subsection 59(1) (examples 1 to 3)
Repeal the examples.
23 Section 64
Repeal the section.
24 Section 65A
Repeal the section.
25 Section 66
Omit "(It does not deal with actions that a bilateral agreement declares not to need approval.)".
26 Paragraph 77A(1A)(b)
Omit "relates; or", substitute "relates."
27 Paragraph 77A(1A)(c)
Repeal the paragraph.
28 Paragraph 78(1)(ba)
Repeal the paragraph.
29 Subsection 82(2)
Omit "1,".
30 Subsection 82(2)
Omit "bilateral agreement or".
31 Subsection 146(2) (note 2)
Omit ", or make a bilateral agreement declaring,".
32 Section 528 (definition of bilaterally accredited authorisation process )
Repeal the definition.
33 Section 528 (definition of bilaterally accredited management arrangement )
Repeal the definition.
First Ministers reaffirmed COAG’s commitment to high environmental standards, while reducing duplication and double-handling of assessment and approval processes.
The House divided. [20:35]
(The Deputy Speaker—Mrs Griggs)
That this bill be now read a third time.
Tax Laws Amendment (Research and Development) Bill 2013
Julia Gillard said this was about jobs and innovation but this policy announcement is destroying confidence in the tax incentive that makes industry responsible for its own initiative.
We now know that large multinational companies won't be hit by the R&D tax cut, just like the carbon tax, and it is Aussie companies that will be struck by the cut—perversely, the opposite of Labor's claim to be creating Aussie jobs.
Hence the Coalition may decide not to oppose any of them, doesn't commit to reversing any of them, and reserves the option to implement all of them in government, as short-term emergency measures to deal with the budget crisis Labor has created.
Far from cutting to the bone, we reserve the right to implement all of Labor's cuts, if needed, because it will take time to undo all the damage this government has done.
That this bill be now read a third time.
This is a nonsense—Tea Party-style fundamentalism at its most mindless and irrational. Real-world experience in the UK, Canada, New Zealand and even the United States, along with Australia, shows public broadcasting has a critical place in a free society.
"I am encouraging the Queensland Government to advance the design of the projects that we have outlined in this 10-year strategy so we have a capacity to advance them and our economic circumstances," he said.
"If there is a need (to stimulate the economy) there needs to be projects ready to go immediately."
The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mrs Griggs ) took the chair at 10:31.
We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties.
It was a strike for liberty, a struggle for a principle, a stand against injustice and oppression. … It is another instance of a victory won by a lost battle. It adds an honourable page to history; the people know it and are proud of it.
That this House:
(1) notes with alarm the burden placed on the bushfire affected residents of the Blue Mountains and Central Coast via the combined mismanagement of recovery processes by the Australian and New South Wales governments;
(2) acknowledges that while emergency personnel and volunteers acted swiftly and bravely to minimise the impact of the horrific October fires, the Australian and New South Wales governments have made decisions that have hurt families and businesses in the aftermath of the fires, namely:
(a) failing to extend full disaster relief support payments;
(b) presiding over a poorly executed response to the clean-up process; and
(c) breaking a promise by failing to provide consequential concessional loans to small businesses struggling to recover after the fires; and
(3) calls on both the Australian and New South Wales governments to urgently act to remedy this situation and assist homes and businesses to fully recover in a quicker timeframe.
That this House:
(1) notes that:
(a) eating disorders and poor body image present a significant problem for both males and females in Australia; and
(b) the social messages given to people by their family, friends, teachers, medical professionals and the media can have a significant negative or positive impact on a person's body image; and
(2) calls on:
(a) all Members of Parliament to take a leading role in the promotion of healthy living, exercise and positive body image in Australia; and
(b) the Government to commit to continued support for the National Body Image awareness program.
Medical graduates can't fix a rural workforce shortage if there aren't rural jobs to go to. Without an expanded rural training capacity, the new doctors would be forced to return to the cities—
There, they would likely settle down.
I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
The large African Boabab, who loved Africa as much as he loved South Africa, has fallen. Its trunk and seeds will nourish the earth for decades to come.
… embodied the promise that human beings—and countries—can change for the better.
The proposition that the white regime can be removed by the imposition of economic sanctions or that the imposition of sanctions will bring about a major change in the attitude of that regime, is a very questionable one.
It was the labour movement of this country in the early-50s which supported the dockworkers in this country who refused to unload South African ships. That was a decision which created a great deal of excitement, which gave the people of South Africa in their struggle, a lot of strength and a lot of hope.
It was difficult to understand how workers, thousands of miles from our shores, who did take the initiative the lead, among the workers of the world, to pledge their solidarity with the people of South Africa. The feeling that we are not alone, that we have millions of workers behind us, is a factor which has prepared us, notwithstanding the most brutal form of oppression which we've faced in our country. Throughout, since 1912, every South African Government has tried to destroy the African National Congress, or at least to cripple it. Not only have they failed in that resolve, but we have emerged to be the most powerful political organisation in the country, inside and outside of Parliament.
Men come and go. I have come and I will go when my time comes.
During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
We must accept that responsibility for ending violence is not just the government's, the police's, the army's. It is also our responsibility.
When Mandela gets out of gaol he will be just in the ruck with all the rest. As long as he is in gaol he really is a symbol of all that the blacks represent. The sooner he gets out, the sooner, in my view, his influence will be considerably diminished.
No one, in my view, has an absolute mortgage on morality.
Certainly not you, Senator.
It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
Deep in his bones was a basic sense of fairness: he simply could not abide injustice. If he, Mandela, the son of a chief, handsome and educated, could be treated as subhuman, what about the millions who had nothing like his advantages? "That is not right," he would say to me about something as mundane as a flight being cancelled or as large as a world leader's policies, but this phrase - that is not right - underlay everything he did.
What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.
Death is something inevitable. When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for the eternity.
During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to see realised.
… where there was real tension, he gave us all hope. There will never be another like him.
We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation. We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination.
We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity - a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world.
Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.
Let us give publicity to HIV/AIDS and not hide it, because the only way to make it appear like a normal illness like TB, like cancer, is always to come out and to say somebody has died because of HIV/AIDS—and people will stop regarding it as something extraordinary.
… rank him alongside Mahatma Gandhi in the pantheon of statesman who have led their nations through turbulent times and whose towering moral authority helped to avoid bloodshed on a terrifying scale.
During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination.
I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to see realised. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.
Success in politics demands that you must take your people into confidence about your views and state them very clearly, very politely, very calmly, but nevertheless state them openly.
Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow our fear to stand in the way.
If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.
I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.
Never before in history was one human being so universally acknowledged in his lifetime as the embodiment of magnanimity and reconciliation as Nelson Mandela was. He set aside the bitterness of enduring 27 years in apartheid prisons—and the weight of centuries of colonial division, subjugation and repression—to personify the spirit and practice of ubuntu —
He perfectly understood that people are dependent on other people in order for individuals and society to prosper.
… … …
Can you imagine what would have happened … had Mandela emerged from prison in 1990 bristling with resentment at the gross miscarriage of justice? Can you imagine where South Africa would be today had he been consumed by a lust for revenge, to want to pay back for all the humiliations and all the agony that he and his people had suffered at the hands of their white oppressors?
Instead, the world was amazed, indeed awed, by the unexpectedly peaceful transition of 1994, followed not by an orgy of revenge and retribution but by the wonder of forgiveness and reconciliation epitomized in the processes of the TRC—
Mandela's biographer, Rick Stengel, said a decisive moment for South Africa came three years after his release from prison when Chris Hani, a popular leader of the African National Congress, was murdered by an apartheid supporter.
Hani’s assassination came at the moment that the ANC was negotiating with South African President Frederik Willem de Klerk's white-minority apartheid government on the terms of the transition to majority rule.
After Hani's murder, Mandela went on the state-run national television network to tell his country, "We must not permit ourselves to be provoked by people who seek to deny us the very freedom for which Chris Hani gave his life."
Mandela "went on television in South Africa that night—rather than de Klerk—and showed that he was the father of the nation," Stengel said. He was so calm in a crisis and he rose to that. And he said later that was when South Africa was on the knife edge of a civil war, right then, that was the most perilous moment in their modern history."
To the wider world he represented many things, not least an icon of freedom but also the most vivid example in modern times of the power of forgiveness and reconciliation. Back in the early 1990s, I remember then President, FW De Klerk, telling me … how he found Mandela's lack of bitterness "astonishing".
His fundamental creed was best expressed in his address to the sabotage trial in 1964. "I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination," he said.
"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
When a man has done what he considers to be his duty to his people and his country, he can rest in peace. I believe I have made that effort and that is, therefore, why I will sleep for the eternity.
These countless human beings, both inside and outside our country, had the nobility of spirit to stand in the path of tyranny and injustice, without seeking selfish gain. They recognised that an injury to one is an injury to all and therefore acted together in defense of justice and a common human decency.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
Ever since the first car rolled off the line in 1949 there have been pots and pots of money available to the car industry in this country.
For $300 million a year, Holden, Toyota and 160 … manufacturing companies plus all the suppliers that flow from there can be preserved but the Government does not want to face up to its responsibilities.
So they're going to make it a fait accompli by seeking to destroy Holden through damaging speculation.
… … …
… they want to transfer responsibility to Holden, to get Holdens to make the decision to close and absolve themselves of responsibility.
… gives us the tools to be able to tell others what a great city Canberra is—proud to be the capital of Australia and the centre of government, but also a confident and bold city.
In respect of NAPLAN, administered under the Australian Curriculum Assessment Reporting Authority, (a) how were the minimum standards determined in 2007, (b) what is the basis for yearly changes in the scoring necessary to achieve the minimum standards, and (c) who is undertaking the current review of the minimum standards, what is the plan for consultation, and when is the report on the review expected.
(a) The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) scale bands, including the National Minimum Standards (NMS), were developed during 2007 by the Australian Education Systems Officials' Committee (AESOC) NAPLAN Steering Group.
The Steering Group received advice from the Expert Advisory Group (comprising leading Australian measurement experts) and were also informed by existing state and territory literacy and numeracy assessment programs that preceded NAPLAN. The bands were endorsed by AESOC early in 2008.
The NMS for each year level is represented by a particular band on the ten band NAPLAN common scale. The skills described in the table at Attachment A represent those assessed in NAPLAN tests at the relevant NMS band level for each year level. This information is available at www.nap.edu.au.
(b) The NMS remain the same from year to year and do not change. The scoring processes of NAPLAN tests have also not changed from the inception of NAPLAN. The number of correct responses needed to meet or surpass the NMS may change from year to year depending upon the difficulty of the current test when it is compared with the initial 2008 NAPLAN test.
A well-established psychometric equating process is used to adjust for differences in the difficulty of the tests across years so that the results from different years can be reported on the same achievement scale.
(c) The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is reviewing a range of matters relating to reporting student performance as part of its ongoing work to align NAPLAN with the Australian Curriculum and transition to online testing. This work will also take account of results from and standards set for international testing programs in which Australia participates.
ACARA's work will take account of a request from the Council of Australian Governments in June 2012 to the Standing Council on School Education and Early Childhood (SCSEEC) to give consideration to establishing 'proficient' NAPLAN standards, which would further strengthen focus on reporting student achievement across multiple levels.
In undertaking this work, ACARA will seek advice from its advisory, reference and working groups. These groups comprise departmental and school sector representatives, measurement experts, and representatives from other organisations. Advice on changes to the NAPLAN reporting process will be presented to the ACARA Board and SCSEEC during 2014 as part of the overall implementation of NAPLAN online.
Any change to the NMS and the process for reporting on student performance will require a decision from SCSEEC.
Attachment A
Skills assessed in NAPLAN tests at the relevant National Minimum Standard (NMS) band level for each year level