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senate vote 2018-02-06#1
Edited by
mackay staff
on
2023-07-28 09:29:27
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Title
Bills — Regional Investment Corporation Bill 2017; in Committee- Regional Investment Corporation Bill 2017 - in Committee - Agree with bill as amended
Description
<p class="speaker">Sue Lines</p><p>The question is that the bill, as amended, be agreed to.</p> <p class="speaker">Mathias Cormann</p><p>It is my pleasure to advise the Senate that, since we last met, during the last sitting week before Christmas, some more work has been done across the chamber in relation to this important bill. We do believe that there is now majority support for the bill in the Senate, even if former Senator Lambie were still here and voting against the bill. Furthermore, noting the proposal of the opposition to defer consideration of this bill until such time as a replacement for former Senator Lambie has joined the Senate, I'm also pleased to advise the Senate that the government and the opposition have had some further discussions in relation to the progression of this bill.</p><p>I'm pleased to be able to inform the Senate that we've reached agreement and that bill can proceed now, subject to certain amendments which we understand the opposition will move, which the government has indicated we will support. May I place on the record my thanks and appreciation for the way the shadow minister for agriculture, Joel Fitzgibbon, has approached this matter by cooperating and working constructively with the government.</p><p>The government will support amendments which make the operating mandate for the Regional Investment Corporation a disallowable instrument. We will also support amendments that will make the rules and eligibility criteria for farm business, water loans and financial assistance disallowable instruments. We will also support amendments which require that ministerial directions and agreements regarding water infrastructure projects be tabled in each house of parliament within 15 days, after a final agreement has been received by the minister for agriculture. We will also, in a similar vein, support amendments which require that a copy of any agreement or ministerial direction, as above, must also be published on the internet within 30 days, after its receipt by the minister.</p><p>The location of the Regional Investment Corporation will be determined by a recommendation of the board, although it's of course well understood that the government's expectation is that the Regional Investment Corporation will be established in Orange. Finally, we will be supporting an amendment which requires the CEO of the Regional Investment Corporation to provide written notice to the board of any disclosure under section 20 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, which deals with the duty to disclose interests. So, again I thank all those in the chamber who have engaged with the government. I know that Senator Leyonhjelm has also had some constructive engagement with the minister for agriculture, Mr Littleproud. We are very appreciative of the way the chamber has engaged with us. With the indications that the government will support these amendments, I hope that we can secure a speedy passage of the legislation.</p> <p class="speaker">Carol Brown</p><p>I seek leave to move the amendments on sheet 8362 together.</p> <p class="speaker">Sue Lines</p><p>Senator Brown, I'm not sure they have been circulated.</p> <p class="speaker">Carol Brown</p><p>They were in the process of being circulated, I believe.</p> <p class="speaker">Sue Lines</p><p>As you're speaking? We don't have them before us, but, go on—keep going.</p><p>Leave granted.</p> <p class="speaker">Carol Brown</p><p>I move:</p><p class="italic">(1)   Clause 11, page 10 (lines 6 to 9), omit the note, substitute:</p><p class="italic">Note:   Part 4 of Chapter 3 (sunsetting) of the Legislation Act 2003 does not apply to the directions (see regulations made for the purposes of paragraph 54(2)(b) of that Act).</p><p class="italic">(2)   Clause 11, page 10 (after line 31), at the end of the clause, add:</p><p class="italic">  (4)   Despite regulations made for the purposes of paragraph 44(2)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003, section 42 (disallowance) of that Act applies to a direction forming part of the Operating Mandate.</p><p class="italic">(3)   Clause 12, page 11 (before line 16), before subclause (4), insert:</p><p class="italic">  (3C)   For the purposes of subsection (3), any terms and conditions to be included in an agreement must be in accordance with the rules.</p><p class="italic">  (3D)   However, a failure to comply with subsection (3C) does not affect the validity of a particular term or condition included in an agreement.</p><p class="italic">(4)   Clause 12, page 11 (lines 19 to 21), subclause (5) (including the heading), to be opposed.</p><p class="italic">(5)   Clause 12, page 11 (after line 21), at the end of the clause, add:</p><p class="italic">  (5)   The rules must prescribe, in relation to agreements to be entered into under subsection (3):</p><p class="italic">  (a)   the terms and conditions, or the kinds of terms and conditions, that may be included in an agreement; and</p><p class="italic">  (b)   the matters the Corporation must consider in specifying terms and conditions to be included in an agreement.</p><p class="italic">(6)   Page 12 (after line 23), at the end of Part 2, add:</p><p class="italic">13A Tabling of water infrastructure project agreements etc.</p><p class="italic">  (1)   The Corporation must give the Agriculture Minister a copy of an agreement entered into under subsection 12(3).</p><p class="italic">  (2)   The Agriculture Minister must cause:</p><p class="italic">  (a)   a copy of the agreement; and</p><p class="italic">  (b)   any direction given under subsection 12(3) relating to the agreement;</p><p class="italic">to be tabled in each House of Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after receiving a copy of the agreement.</p><p class="italic">  (3)   The Agriculture Minister must cause a copy of the documents mentioned in subsection (2) to be published on the internet within 30 days of the Minister receiving the copy of the agreement.</p><p class="italic">(7)   Page 23 (after line 10), after clause 41, insert:</p><p class="italic">41A Disclosure of interests</p><p class="italic">  (1)   The CEO must give written notice to the Board of any disclosure made by the CEO under section 29 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (which deals with the duty to disclose interests).</p><p class="italic">  (2)   Subsection (1) applies in addition to any rules made for the purposes of section 29 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.</p><p class="italic">  (3)   For the purposes of this Act and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, the CEO is taken not to have complied with section 29 of that Act if the CEO does not comply with subsection (1) of this section.</p><p>I thank Senator Cormann for his contribution just a moment ago, and I also thank the government for engaging with Labor on the amendments. But it is important, I think, to again reiterate that the Regional Investment Corporation is a poor piece of public policy. It was driven by politics, rather than the interests of our farmers. How else would you explain the decision to locate it in Orange, the place where the National Party lost a local seat for the first time in 69 years? The former agricultural minister, Mr Barnaby Joyce, wants to spend $28 million of taxpayers' money to administer loans already administered by the states. He has offered no acceptable rationale other than to criticise the states. At the same time we know that he is asking the states how to do the job. We know that. We've heard that in contributions last year on this bill.</p><p>The fact that the RIC is just a shocking pork barrel is not our only concern. There are a number of governance deficiencies in this bill. The lack of transparency and accountability should be of concern to every senator. They were certainly matters of concern to the Senate's Scrutiny of Bills Committee. These deficiencies are not drafting errors; they are a deliberate attempt to keep secret the work of the RIC and to give the minister extraordinary powers to maximise the pork-barrelling opportunities. As I said last year when we were first debating this bill, Labor remains opposed to the RIC and we will remain opposed while ever the government is unable to provide a cogent reason for its establishment. But we are pleased by Minister Cormann's statements here today. We are pleased the government has finally been dragged into at least accepting some of the amendments which address some of the governance, accountability and transparency issues.</p><p>Senators need to be reminded that most of these amendments were put to the Senate last year. They were rejected by the government at that time but lost very narrowly—in one case, on a tied vote. The main effect of the amendments is to allow the parliament to scrutinise and monitor the ministerial direction. This will reduce further political exploitation of the RIC. The RIC's mandate will be disallowable, as will set rules and criteria. The location of the RIC will now be based on a recommendation from the RIC board, rather than ministerial edict. Of course, the board will be appointed by the minister, which, sadly, softens the impact of the measure. However, we believe it has the potential to bring some proper public guidance to the process, and we will put pressure on the board to justify its choice. We know that no other regional areas were given the opportunity to bid for this agency, and the future board should take this into account. Further, agreements entered into with state governments will, at the appropriate time, be made available to the parliament. Finally, the CEO of the RIC will now be required to declare any pecuniary interest. This is surely standard and good practice. The case for the expenditure of tens of millions of dollars on a new Regional Investment Corporation has not been established, and Labor continues to reject what we believe is a political stunt, but we are pleased that, if this bill does pass, people can at least have faith in its governance arrangements and that there are a few safeguards against the political abuse of the new entity.</p> <p class='motion-notice motion-notice-truncated'>Long debate text truncated.</p>-
- The majority voted in favour of a [motion](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?gid=2018-02-06.12.3) that the bill as amended by agreed to. This vote ends the in Committee stage of considering the bill, which is the stage when senators propose and vote on possible amendments. Now the senators will decide whether to read the bill for a third time, which is parliamentary jargon for agreeing to pass the bill.
- ### What does this bill do?
- The bill will deliver on a [2016 election commitment](http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2016-06-23/barnaby-joyce-agriculture-election/7535450) by creating the Regional Investment Corporation. The Corporation will, among other things, *"administer farm business loans and financial assistance granted to states and territories in relation to water infrastructure projects"*.
- Read more in the [bills digest](http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd1718a/18bd013).
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