11th Nov 2020, 4:24 PM – Representatives Australia's Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Bill 2020 - Second Reading - Redraft bill

The majority voted in favour of keeping the wording of the usual second reading motion unchanged. The usual second reading motion is "That the bill be read for a second time," which is parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill. The MP for Corio Richard Marles (Labor) had proposed to delete the words after 'that' and replace them with the words below.

Motion text

That all 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:

(1) notes:

(a) the desirability of greater oversight and review mechanisms for decisions made under the bill; and

(b) the lack of clarity in the definition of 'arrangements' and 'institutional autonomy' in the bill; and

(2) calls on the Government to:

(a) address the regulatory gap of private universities;

(b) provide clarity on the treatment of the Port of Darwin in the bill before the bill proceeds;

(c) make clear how this regime will interact with the existing legislation and guidelines that work to safeguard Australia's sovereignty, and provide confidence that the bill does not present a sovereign risk that will undermine investment and cost Australian jobs; engage in genuine consultation with Australian entities covered by the bill on the design of the regime; and

(d) redraft the bill and re-present it to the Parliament at the earliest opportunity"