SENATOR MILNE

112 SENATE Wednesday, 24 June 2015

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aid are no exception. They are cruel and unnecessary and will impact on some of the world's poorest people. They

impact on literally millions of people who lack access to nutrition, vaccination, schooling, sanitation and clean

drinking water. I am not exaggerating when I point out that people will die as a result of these cuts.

When Labor was in government it committed to a strong target for foreign-aid spending, a target that was once

bipartisan. For the sake of humanity, decency and compassion I urge the government to start increasingnot cuttingforeign aid.

Climate Change

Senator MILNE (Tasmania) (19:40): On this day of national shameand that is the only way you can describe it when the government and the Labor Party have completely lost their moral compassto retrospectively legalise the illegal, under the law as it stands, to send babies into offshore detention indefinitely, I

rise here to say how proud I am that the Greens are a strong and rising political force here and around the world, a

force for hope, resilience and change in an otherwise bleak political environment. That force for hope, resilience

and change was on show here last night as well, as we stood up for addressing global warming, for renewable

energy, for the conversion to the low-carbon economy and, instead, watched what I can only describe as the

'hollow men'. I will come back to that a bit later.

The Greens are a force for standing up to the only two things that are really in the world: people and nature. We

know that economics is simply a tool that governs that relationship. The problem we have at the moment is that

we have to change the economic and political philosophical view that is in place. We have to change that as a

radical rethink, and we do not have any time. We need a reconnection with people. We need a reconnection with

country. There is no time: 'If not now, when? If not us, who? It is a famous quote. Senate President Kennedy said

it. People said it before him. It is true. Political expediency is stopping us getting the change we need in the time

frame we need it in.

So it is that I celebrate the fact that on a cold winter's day less than two weeks ago I was in New Zealand for the

ratification of the Asia-Pacific Greens Federation conference and its charter. It was fantastic to be there to see all

of the representatives from around the region. We had people there from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, India,

Nepal, Pakistan, Mongolia, Iraq, the Philippines, the Solomons, PNG, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.

They were all making another milestone in green politics for the region and for the world.

That means that the Asia-Pacific Greens Federation joins the federation from Africa, and the federation of the

Americas and the European Union, strengthening the global Greens network. We are the only political party in the

21st century that is global in its view, global in its reach and consistent in that philosophical view with a ratified

charter, which was ratified here in Canberra in 2001. It is no mean feat when you think about the cultural and

language difference around the world that we have managed to come together with an agreed philosophical view

that we are representing in parliaments from one end of the planet to the other.

That is really important, because the overwhelming issues of our time are global and that is why it is important

that as a political party we are global. Those issues start with things like the very basics. We live on a finite planet.

We live on a planet going to nine billion people by 2050 and it is because of the pressures of that economic

system that I talked about, the pressures of multinational corporations, in particular, that we are now seeing

accelerated global warming, the scramble for what is left of the earth's resource. We are seeing increasing conflict

and displacement of people.

That came up in every session of the Asia-Pacific Greens conference because the same problems exist therethat is, it is Australian mining companies in Mongolia displacing people, destroying people's quality of life. It is

logging companies in Indonesia. There is bribery and corruption throughout all of those countries in the region.

Once, we would have said that that would not be the case in Australia, but we heard only two weeks ago that here

we have an Australian government prepared to bribe people smugglerspay cash to people smugglerscontrary to international law and contrary to the OECD Convention Against Corruption. It is everywhere. We need to fight

corruption everywhere we find it.

It is great to hear that, when we get to those meetings, we have the Australian Greens being able to stand up

and say to the Taiwanese, to the South Koreans and to the Japanese, 'Yes, we oppose uranium mining in Australia

because we recognise it is the wrong way to go,' and they get hope from the fact that they are campaigning against

the rollout of nuclear in response to global warming. They want renewable energy; they do not want Australian

uranium. It is fantastic to be able to work with them in that capacity. We also work with the Global Greens in the

Framework Convention on Climate Change. At those global meetings you have Green MPs from all over the

world in various government delegations working together to try to secure a better outcome. It was a moment of

great pride to me that the European Greens took on the case of Peter Greste when he was in jail in Egypt and they

moved a comprehensive motion and got it through the European Parliament to great effect. That is the kind of

Wednesday, 24 June 2015 SENATE 113

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thing we can do together. It was wonderful to see the Young Greens supporting the British Greens in the recent

election and particularly campaigning for Caroline Lucas in Brighton. Who would have thought that you could

have had a global movement working together and sharing and identifying with those outcomes even a few years

ago?

We might be a fledgling political organisation in terms of the level of development in various countries and the

level of connection, but we are there as a philosophical view, we are there responding to the greatest challenges of

this century and we are doing it in a consistent and collaborative way, and that makes it a really exciting place to

be. The campaigns we are running for democracy are really important in that context. We have to fight for one

vote, one value; free and fair elections; and proportional representation. We need to take on bribery and get rid of

the influence of political donations. We have to respond to the need for freedom of speech and gender equality,

and end discrimination on the basis of anything, whether it is race, religion or sexuality, and we have to respond to

the rule of law. We have to reinforce the rule of law. That is slipping in this country. I did not think we would get

to a point in Australia where we would see the rule of law disappearing in the way that we have. We need to stand

up for those things.

People have said to me, 'You've been around politics for a long time,' and I have, but I want to say how proud I

am about that, because I was there through the formation of the world's first Green party out of Tasmania. How

proud am I of that! I would hope that, Mr President, as a Tasmanian, you would recognise that this is globally

significant: the United Tasmania Group. Then there was the formation of the Tasmanian Greens, the Australian

Greens and the Global Greens, and now there is the ratification of the Asia-Pacific Greens. Marg Blakers is in the

gallery. I want to acknowledge the work that she has done over the years to get us to the point of being a global

organisation. Looking back, people have said, 'How have you stood some of it? How have you stood the sexism

and how have you stood the ignorance that you hear in many of the debates?' Last night was a classic case where

we almost went back to the modern version of dunking stools, listening to the commissioner for wind farms et

cetera debate. My answer to that is: TS Eliot's The Hollow Men has been a favourite of mine, and I sit here listening to that and what is going in my head is:

We are the hollow men

We are the stuffed men

Leaning together

Headpiece filled with straw

and that cheers me up because I know the Greens are not in that category. People say, 'What's going to guide you

from here?' Tennyson's Ulysses has been a poem that has guided me for a good deal of my life and it does now.

Essentially, to Richard and this wonderful team that I am leaving behind in the Greens, let me say that I am

leaving you the sceptre and the isle and I have every confidence that they are in good hands. Like Ulysses and the elders of the party that have gone before me: 'There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail.' It is a case of striving to

seek to find and not to yield, or, as Peter Cundall in Tasmania would say, 'We will never, ever give up,' and that is

essentially where the Greens come from and it is where I come from. I am an activist. I am not leaving politics. I

am not leaving the Greens. I am leaving political representation. But for the Greens activism is everything in and

out of the parliament, and I will be there as an activist, with purple stockings, and more dangerous than ever.

Valedictory: Senator Christine Milne

Senator BRANDIS (QueenslandDeputy Leader of the Government in the Senate, Vice-President of the Executive Council, Minister for Arts and Attorney-General) (19:50): I know that Senator Milne's speech was not

officially a valedictory, but it was a farewell speech. I might make a few remarks on behalf of the government.

Senator Milne is a colleague with whom I disagreed on almost every issue that I can immediately think of. There

would be a few on which we have agreed, but there are not many. Of course, that is the beauty of this place:

people come from all parts of our country and from all variety of points of view. Through the process of this

place, usually not a chamber which the government controls, we produce an outcome which is tested on the anvil

of democracyindeed, this chamber is the anvil of Australian democracy. I have always found it possible to respect people whose points of view I profoundly disagree with, and I would put you in that category. What I

respect is the fact that you have brought a passion and a commitment to the prosecution of your beliefs and you

have been very successful, if I may say so. You became a senator shortly after I did. When I first came into this

place, there was one Greens senator, former senator, Bob Brown. There are now 10. For a substantial period of

time you led the Greens. I think, on the occasion of someone's farewell, it is appropriate to put to one side

differences of political opinionperhaps even bitter differences of political opinionand to acknowledge their service.

114 SENATE Wednesday, 24 June 2015

CHAMBER

You are one of the relatively few Australians who decided to give your life to public affairs and into the causes

about which you felt passionate. For that you should be respected, thanked and admired. You spent more than a

decade, as I understand, in the Tasmanian parliament and well over a decade in the Senate. So it has been a long

and conspicuous period of public service. You have been an idealist; you have been an effective spokesman for

your beliefs. On this occasion of your farewell, I am sure I speak on behalf of all government senators in thanking

you for that service and wishing you well.


Senator WONG (South AustraliaLeader of the Opposition in the Senate) (19:53): I suspect Senator Milne probably wanted to give a farewell speech and then leave and go and have some time with friends. But this is an

institution which enjoys its courtesies, notwithstanding your desire for a less formal farewell. I just want to make a

few remarks. Obviouslyparticularly when I was climate change ministerSenator Milne and I have had our differences, but I have never doubted the sincerity of her beliefs. Senator Milne, I never doubted the sincerity of

your beliefs nor the passion with which you felt them, and I respect that.

At times we have been combatants. I hope in more recent times, particularly leader to leader, that we did come

to a place where we could speak to each other openly. I certainly trusted you to be open with you. That, in this

place, is also something that needs to be respected. You have been a fighter for your causes. I know, knowing you,

that that was reflected again in your contribution tonight. Your activism and your struggle for the causes in which

you believe will certainly not diminish with your departure from this place.

I also note there are not many women who get the opportunity to lead a political party. I salute you for being a

woman who has led your party in this place. In that respect, women everywhere, I think, should look to women

such as yourself, or any woman who holds high political office regardless of their political party, as a role model

and a trailblazer. I know that, because you have spoken about it publicly, you have a desire for perhaps a sweeter

time with family. On behalf of opposition senators, we acknowledge your service. We thank you for your

contribution to public life, even if we have disagreed at times. We wish you very well in this next phase of your

life.


Senator CANAVAN (Queensland) (19:56): I too want to associate myself with remarks of the Deputy Leader

of Government in the Senate and the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. I have just come from a function

tonight launching a book about the 'Joh for PM' saga. Ian Sinclair was there to talk about the book. Ian regaled the

story about how, when he was first made a minister, Robert Menzies said to him, 'I've only got one piece of advice

for you: I might disagree with me, you might disagree with me, but your job is to always tell me what your views

are. Be up-front with those views.' We should never be afraid of debate and of different views in this place.

I, too, want to say to Senator Milne that she has put her positions to this chamber in a passionate and forceful

way over a long period. What would this place be without people like Senator Milne to have that debate and that

contest of ideas, which is what Australian politics should be about? As a relatively new senator of nearly one year,

I pay tribute. To think that Senator Milne has had 10 years in this place, almost to the day, and before that about

15-odd years in the state parliament in Tasmania, so a sum total of about a quarter of the century serving public

life. I can only take my hat off to you, Senator Milne. I fear for my own sanity and youthfulness about facing the

prospect of another 24 years in public life. I am sure my wife hopes that is not the case.

I, too, would like to wish you all the best for your future. I know that you will have more time to spend in your

much beloved Tasmania among nature and with your family as well. I was particularly drawn to your quoting

from Tennyson. There is a long poem that Tennyson wroteIn Memoriam. I am not going to read all of it, but there is a nice little verse that says:

But they must go, the time draws on,

And those white-favourd horses wait;

They rise, but linger; it is late;

Farewell, we kiss, and they are gone.

It is a beautiful poem. I hope that you can read much more poetry in your retirement. I certainly do not get an

opportunity to do that in this job.

Tonight, I was going to speak about the very important issue of single-income families. I was sitting here

thinking that the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate has turned up to hear my speech, the Deputy Leader of the

Government in the Senate has turned up to hear my speech; I must be saying something very important. And then

it dawned on me that they were not here for me. But perhaps I will have to hold over my remarks to another night,

except to say in the minute remaining tonight that I think this a very important issue. The tax treatment of single-

Wednesday, 24 June 2015 SENATE 115

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income families in Australia is becoming an increasingly important issue. We have always had a system which is

relatively discriminatory against single-income families. It is relatively discriminatory in comparison with other

countries in the world. Even when you compare it here in this country it is a difficult situation for those families

that rely on one income. It has gotten worse in the last few years with an increase in the tax-free threshold and

also the means testing of Family Tax Benefit Part B. I think it is time that, at some point, we look to tackle that

anomaly. I made a submission to the tax white paper with some practical suggestions to do thatsome affordable ones, I think. Perhaps in another adjournment speech night, I will expand further on those.

The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Canavan. You have been caught up in an occasion. We thank you for

your understanding.

Senate adjourned at 20:00

DOCUMENTS

Tabling

The following documents were tabled by the Clerk pursuant to statute:

[Legislative instruments are identified by a Federal Register of Legislative Instruments (FRLI) number. An explanatory

statement is tabled with an instrument unless otherwise indicated by an asterisk.]

Air Services Act 1995Statement of Expectations for the Board of Airservices Australia for the Period 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2017 [F2015L00861].

Customs Act 1901, A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999, Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989,

Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Act 2006, Aviation Transport Security Act 2004, Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1991,

Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988, Civil Aviation Act 1988, Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, Copyright

Act 1968, Crimes Act 1914, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, Excise Act 1901, Explosives Act

1961, Fisheries Management Act 1991, Imported Food Control Act 1992, Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006,

Maritime Transport and Offshore Facilities Security Act 2003, Migration Act 1958, Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989,

National Health Security Act 2007, National Transport Commission Act 2003, Navigation Act 2012, Olympic Insignia

Protection Act 1987, Overseas Missions (Privileges and Immunities) Act 1995, Primary Industries Levies and Charges

Collection Act 1991, Product Stewardship Act 2011, Public Service Act 1999, Quarantine Act 1908, Quarantine Charges

(ImpositionCustoms) Act 2014, Taxation Administration Act 1953, Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979, Therapeutic Goods Act 1989, Torres Strait Fisheries Act 1984 and Trade Marks Act 1995Customs and Other Legislation Amendment (Australian Border Force) Regulation 2015Select Legislative Instrument 2015 No. 90 [F2015L00854].

Defence Act 1903Section 58H

2014 ADF Workplace Remuneration ArrangementDefence Force Remuneration Tribunal Determination No. 5 of 2015.

Salaries AmendmentDefence Force Remuneration Tribunal Determination No. 3 of 2015.

Salaries Officers AmendmentDefence Force Remuneration Tribunal Determination No. 4 of 2015.

Designs Act 2003, Patents Act 1990 and Trade Marks Act 1995Intellectual Property Legislation Amendment (TRIPS Protocol and Other Measures) Regulation 2015Select Legislative Instrument 2015 No. 88 [F2015L00852].

Health Insurance Act 1973

Health Insurance (Accredited Pathology Laboratories Approval) Amendment Principles 2015 (No. 1) [F2015L00857].

Health Insurance (Diagnostic Imaging Services Table) Regulation 2015Select Legislative Instrument 2015 No. 83 [F2015L00850].

Health Insurance (General Medical Services Table) Regulation 2015Select Legislative Instrument 2015 No. 84 [F2015L00853].

Health Insurance (Pathology Services Table) Regulation 2015Select Legislative Instrument 2015 No. 85 [F2015L00851].

Higher Education Support Act 2003VET Provider ApprovalNo. 13 of 2015 [F2015L00860].

Lands Acquisition Act 1989Statement describing property acquired by agreement for specified purposes.

Legislative Instruments Act 2003Legislative Instruments Amendment (ExemptionsEmergency Management Ordinances) Regulation 2015Select Legislative Instrument 2015 No. 81 [F2015L00859].

Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Weekly Interest on the Lump Sum) Notice 2015 [F2015L00855].

Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1992Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation (Prescribed Ship Intra-State Trade) Declaration 2015 (No. 2) [F2015L00858].

Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999Social Security (International Agreements) Amendment (Republic of India) Regulation 2015Select Legislative Instrument 2015 No. 89 [F2015L00856].

Tabling

The following documents were tabled pursuant to standing order 61(1) (b):

Documents

SENATOR MILNE