Inquiry

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL COMMITTEE INQUIRY SUBMISSION

The Planning and Heritage Inquiry submissions are up and running and we are hoping you will be able to add something to this, and/or share with other residents.  Submissions are due by 31 Jan 22. Anyone who wants to contribute to the adequacy on the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the Victorian planning framework in relation to planning and heritage protection is welcome to make a contribution. Areas covered include population policy, state and local; housing costs, vegetation protection, height limits, Green Wedges, concerns about VCAT, protecting heritage.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will appear at the opening public hearing today for an Australian parliamentary inquiry looking at the merits of expanding the membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The CPTPP agreement signed in 2018 is a trade bloc of 11 countries that includes Australia and is an export market of 500 million consumers worth nearly $14 trillion. The parliamentary inquiry will examine the scope for expanding the TPP beyond the existing membership of Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia and Peru to include new members. Find out how to view the inquiry by video at http://www.aph.gov.au/jfadt

Chair of the Trade Sub-Committee of the Joint Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, Ted O’Brien, welcomed the opportunity to investigate the process of how the current members of the CPTPP can agree on expanding the trade pact to include other economies, and understanding what the benefits of new members joining will be.

‘On the back of this week’s historical agreement to progress a FTA with the United Kingdom, between Prime Ministers Morrison and Johnson, it is timely to consider expanding the most comprehensive plurilateral trade agreement in existence, the CPTPP,’ Mr O’Brien said.

‘Before we can assess the merits of aspiring economies that could accede to the CPTPP, it is important to baseline everyone’s understanding of the agreement, and that starts today when hearing from DFAT.’

Representatives of DFAT will appear at the public hearing at 9:50 am, Thursday 17 June 2021 in Committee Room 1R4, Parliament House.

Further details about the about the inquiry, including terms of reference, details on how to contribute a submission and, when available, details of public hearings and roundtable discussions, can be obtained from the http://www.aph.gov.au/jfadt, the Committee’s website.

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment has commenced an inquiry into the efficacy of past and current vegetation and land management policy, practice and legislation and their effect on the intensity and frequency of bushfires and subsequent risk to property, life and the environment. Submission deadline 28 February 2020

On launching the inquiry, Chair of the Committee, Mr Ted O’Brien MP, said that ‘many communities across Australia had experienced or were still in the grip of a bushfire crisis’.

‘We are currently experiencing a difficult, dangerous and potentially prolonged bushfire season’, he said.

‘We feel for our fellow Australians both impacted by, and trying to control, these devastating fires.

‘The new inquiry provides an opportunity to better understand the practices relating to vegetation and land management, legislative frameworks, economic impact, mitigation strategies and the engagement of emergency services.

‘The Committee understands people will have very passionate views about this, particularly in light of the current bushfire season. We look forward to hearing all views and accessing all the evidence put before us.’

The Committee’s inquiry is in response to Minister for Natural Disaster and Emergency Management David Littleproud. It will have particular regard to matters including:
past and current practices of land and vegetation management;
the impact of current legislation and regulatory responses for landholders;
the scientific basis behind relevant bushfire management activities;
legislative capability at the local, state and federal levels requiring landholders to reduce fire risk on properties;
the economic impact of severe fires in urban, regional, rural and remote areas;
the progress and implementation of various state reviews over the last decade; and
the engagement of emergency services with land management officials in managing fire risk.
If you would like to contribute to the inquiry, you can make a submission. Submissions to the inquiry will be accepted until 28 February 2020. The Committee intends to hold public hearings at various locations, which will be announced in due course on the inquiry website.

Submissions must address the inquiry’s terms of reference, which are available along with details on how to make a submission on the inquiry website.

Media enquiries:
Mr Ted O’Brien MP (Fairfax, QLD), Committee Chair
Media Advisor, 0401 257 064

For background information:
House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy
(02) 6277 4580
[email protected]

Interested members of the public may wish to track the committee via its website. Click on the blue ‘Track Committee’ button in the bottom right hand corner and use the forms to login to My Parliament or to register for a My Parliament account.

The Standing Committee on Communications and the Arts is holding a public hearing at Southport, Queensland on Tuesday, 19 November 2019 for its inquiry into the deployment, adoption and application of 5G in Australia. This will be the first public hearing for the inquiry, and will begin a series of public hearings and site visits to gather evidence about the challenges and benefits of 5G in Australia. Information about the inquiry, including the public hearing program, may be found on the Committee’s webpage. See inside for details. There is also a facebook page of the Australian activist group: "We say no to 5G in Australia, which has a lot of information.

Public hearing details

Date: Tuesday, 19 November 2019
Time: 11.30am – 1.30pm
Location: Room F4, Southport Community Centre

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

Dr David Gillespie, MP, Chair of Committee
Electorate Office: (02) 6586 4462
Parliament Office: (02) 6277 4960

Committee Secretariat
02 6277 4386
[email protected]

Activist Group: "We say no to 5G Australia"

There is also an Australian activist group which has been holding meetings in many different Australian locations. They have submitted to the Inquiry. Here is their facebook address.
https://www.facebook.com/wesaynoto5ginaustralia/

Representatives of the Department of Home Affairs will discuss the regulation and registration of migration agents when the Joint Standing Committee on Migration holds a public hearing as part of its inquiry into the efficacy of current regulation of Australian migration agents. Watch live at https://www.aph.gov.au/live

Committee Chair Mr Jason Wood MP said, “It is important to ensure that Australian migration agents are acting professionally and are properly certified. This public hearing provides the Committee a valuable opportunity to review the current mechanisms and powers of the Department of Home Affairs to respond to unregistered or unlawful migration agents.”

The Committee will also consider:

the registration and regulation or migration agents;
deficiencies and barriers to relevant authorities' investigation of fraudulent behaviour;

evidence of the volumes and patterns of unregistered migration agents and education agents providing unlawful immigration services; and
reviewing the appropriateness of migration agents providing other services to clients.

The full terms of reference are available on the Committee’s website

Public hearing details: 10:10am to 10:45am, Wednesday 27 June 2018, Committee Room 1R4, Parliament House, Canberra.

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

Office of Jason Wood MP

(03) 9768 9164

For background information:

Joint Standing Committee on Migration

(02) 6277 4560

[email protected]

Interested members of the public may wish to track the committee via the website. Click on the blue ‘Track Committee’ button in the bottom right hand corner and use the forms to login to My Parliament or to register for a My Parliament account.

See inside for terms of reference and contact details. We also cite some of a contribution from the Property Council of Australia, which urges the government not to put koalas profits and lets them know that it will try to get laws to compensate landowners if development is hampered by koala protection. The council is big on relocation and would probably expect any actions to save the koala to be delayed pending better counting.

See Submissions here: http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/ec_ctte/koalas/submissions.htm.

The Property Council's submission is big on relocation and would probably expect any actions to save the koala to be delayed pending new counts. The problem here is that the government will probably avoid truly comprehensive statistics, so the community needs to demand these be obtained before any new development. In the end, there is already so much development that blind Freddy could work out that koalas must be threatened and one would suspect that the PCA realises this and therefore expects to have some of its ventures blocked by governments, State and Federal usually supine to its demands. PCA's submission here in pdf form.

Terms of Submission

"Regulatory Issues
If it is found that the koala population is indeed under threat, the five issues outlined below must be considered as part of any regulatory or planning change.
• Preservation of Existing Land Use and Development Rights
If further regulation is seen as the appropriate mechanism, it needs to protect and not interfere with existing land use entitlements and development rights, whether or not further development approvals are required. It is unacceptable for existing land use
entitlements and development rights to be eroded without just compensation. The Property Council cautions against approaches that will see the basic rights of land holders removed without compensation."

Inquiry into the status, health and sustainability of Australia's koala population
Terms of Reference
On 17 November 2010 the Senate referred the following matter to the Environment and Communications References Committee for inquiry and report by 1 June 2011, with effect from the first day of sitting of 2011:

The status, health and sustainability of Australia's koala population, with particular reference to:

1. the iconic status of the koala and the history of its management;
2. estimates of koala populations and the adequacy of current counting methods;
3. knowledge of koala habitat;
4. threats to koala habitat such as logging, land clearing, poor management, attacks from feral and domestic animals, disease, roads and urban development;
5. the listing of the koala under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999;
6. the adequacy of the National Koala Conservation and Management Strategy;
7. appropriate future regulation for the protection of koala habitat;
8. interaction of state and federal laws and regulations; and
9. any other related matters.

For further information, contact:

Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia
Phone: +61 2 6277 3526
Fax: +61 2 6277 5818
Email: [email protected]