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senate vote 2021-08-09#10
Edited by
mackay staff
on
2021-08-27 08:45:11
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Title
Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill 2021 - in Committee- Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill 2021 - in Committee - Schedule 2
Description
- The majority voted in favour of an amended amendment. In other words, they were voting for a [Government amendment](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?gid=2021-08-09.178.2) (namely, amendment (1) on sheet RS134), which amended an original [Labor amendment](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?gid=2021-08-09.184.1) (namely, amendment (2) on sheet 1354).
### Original (Labor) amendment- ### Text of original (Labor) amendment
- > *(1) ...*
- >
- > *(2) Schedule 2, page 25 (line 1) to page 38 (line 8), to be opposed.*
### (Government) Amendment to the original (Labor) amendment- ### Text of (Government) amendment to the original (Labor) amendment
- > *(1) Schedule 2, item 55, page 37 (after line 16), at the end of Part 10.56, add:*
- >
- > *1683B Review of operation of laws*
- >
- >> *(1) The Minister must cause a review of the operation of the amendments made by Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 2 to the amending Act to be conducted by an independent expert within 6 months after the second anniversary of the commencement of this section.*
- >>
- >> *(2) The person who conducts the review must give the Minister a written report of the review.*
- >>
- >> *(3) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the report is given to the Minister.*
- >>
- >> *Recommendations*
- >>
- >> *(4) The report may set out recommendations to the Commonwealth Government.*
- >>
- >> *(5) If the report sets out one or more recommendations to the Commonwealth Government, the report must set out the reasons for those recommendations.*
- >>
- >> *Government response to recommendations*
- >>
- >> *(6) If the report sets out one or more recommendations to the Commonwealth Government, as soon as practicable, and in any event within 3 months, after the report is first tabled in a House of the Parliament, the Minister must cause:*
- >>
- >>> *(a) a statement setting out the Commonwealth Government's response to each of the recommendations to be prepared; and*
- >>>
- >>> *(b) the statement to be published on the Department's website.*
- >
- > *1683C Amendments made by Schedule 2 to the amending Act cease to have effect if review of operation of laws is not conducted*
- >
- >> *(1) This section applies if the Minister:*
- >>
- >>> *(a) fails to cause a review to be conducted in accordance with subsection 1683B(1) within the period required by that subsection; or*
- >>>
- >>> *(b) is given a written report of a review conducted in accordance with subsection 1683B(1), but fails to cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament within the period required by subsection 1683B(3); or*
- >>>
- >>> *(c) is given a written report of a review conducted in accordance with subsection 1683B(1) that sets out one or more recommendations to the Commonwealth Government, but fails to cause a statement to be published on the Department's website within the period required by subsection 1683B(6).*
- >>
- >> *(2) This Act and the ASIC Act have effect, on or after the day mentioned in subsection (3), as if the amendments made by Parts 1, 2 and 4 of Schedule 2 to the amending Act had not been made.*
- >>
- >> *(3) The day (the sunsetting day) is:*
- >>
- >>> *(a) the day after the end of the period referred to in the applicable paragraph of subsection (1), unless paragraph (b) of this subsection applies; or*
- >>>
- >>> *(b) if there is more than one applicable paragraph in subsection (1)—the earliest day determined under paragraph (a) of this subsection for each of those paragraphs.*
- >>
>> *(4) To avoid doubt, nothing in this section affects the validity of anything that is done, or not done, in reliance on this Act or the ASIC Act as in force before the sunsetting day.*- >> *(4) To avoid doubt, nothing in this section affects the validity of anything that is done, or not done, in reliance on this Act or the ASIC Act as in force before the sunsetting day.*
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senate vote 2021-08-09#10
Edited by
mackay staff
on
2021-08-27 08:44:31
|
Title
Bills — Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill 2021; in Committee- Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill 2021 - in Committee
Description
<p class="speaker">Katy Gallagher</p><p>by leave—I move amendments (1) and (2) on sheet 1354 together:</p><p class="italic">(1) Clause 2, page 2 (table items 3 and 4), omit the table items.</p>- The majority voted in favour of an amended amendment. In other words, they were voting for a [Government amendment](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?gid=2021-08-09.178.2) (namely, amendment (1) on sheet RS134), which amended an original [Labor amendment](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?gid=2021-08-09.184.1) (namely, amendment (2) on sheet 1354).
- ### Original (Labor) amendment
- > *(1) ...*
- >
- > *(2) Schedule 2, page 25 (line 1) to page 38 (line 8), to be opposed.*
- ### (Government) Amendment to the original (Labor) amendment
- > *(1) Schedule 2, item 55, page 37 (after line 16), at the end of Part 10.56, add:*
- >
- > *1683B Review of operation of laws*
- >
- >> *(1) The Minister must cause a review of the operation of the amendments made by Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 2 to the amending Act to be conducted by an independent expert within 6 months after the second anniversary of the commencement of this section.*
- >>
- >> *(2) The person who conducts the review must give the Minister a written report of the review.*
- >>
- >> *(3) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the report is given to the Minister.*
- >>
- >> *Recommendations*
- >>
- >> *(4) The report may set out recommendations to the Commonwealth Government.*
- >>
- >> *(5) If the report sets out one or more recommendations to the Commonwealth Government, the report must set out the reasons for those recommendations.*
- >>
- >> *Government response to recommendations*
- >>
- >> *(6) If the report sets out one or more recommendations to the Commonwealth Government, as soon as practicable, and in any event within 3 months, after the report is first tabled in a House of the Parliament, the Minister must cause:*
- >>
- >>> *(a) a statement setting out the Commonwealth Government's response to each of the recommendations to be prepared; and*
- >>>
- >>> *(b) the statement to be published on the Department's website.*
- >
- > *1683C Amendments made by Schedule 2 to the amending Act cease to have effect if review of operation of laws is not conducted*
- >
- >> *(1) This section applies if the Minister:*
- >>
- >>> *(a) fails to cause a review to be conducted in accordance with subsection 1683B(1) within the period required by that subsection; or*
- >>>
- >>> *(b) is given a written report of a review conducted in accordance with subsection 1683B(1), but fails to cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament within the period required by subsection 1683B(3); or*
- >>>
- >>> *(c) is given a written report of a review conducted in accordance with subsection 1683B(1) that sets out one or more recommendations to the Commonwealth Government, but fails to cause a statement to be published on the Department's website within the period required by subsection 1683B(6).*
- >>
- >> *(2) This Act and the ASIC Act have effect, on or after the day mentioned in subsection (3), as if the amendments made by Parts 1, 2 and 4 of Schedule 2 to the amending Act had not been made.*
- >>
- >> *(3) The day (the sunsetting day) is:*
- >>
- >>> *(a) the day after the end of the period referred to in the applicable paragraph of subsection (1), unless paragraph (b) of this subsection applies; or*
- >>>
- >>> *(b) if there is more than one applicable paragraph in subsection (1)—the earliest day determined under paragraph (a) of this subsection for each of those paragraphs.*
- >>
- >> *(4) To avoid doubt, nothing in this section affects the validity of anything that is done, or not done, in reliance on this Act or the ASIC Act as in force before the sunsetting day.*
<p class="italic">(2) Schedule 2, page 25 (line 1) to page 38 (line 8), to be opposed.</p><p>I am moving these amendments as flagged in my second reading contribution and to mirror what the member for Whitlam in the other place did. These amendments are very simple. They remove schedule 2 from the Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill 2021. Labor does not support the weakening of continuous disclosure rules and damaging corporate transparency. The measures contained in schedule 2 would make it easier for companies and company directors to get away with withholding information or providing misleading information to shareholders. Without corporate disclosure rules, dodgy directors can get away with not releasing crucial information to shareholders, and the overwhelming majority of good directors know that this is not in anyone's interests. I went through this in more detail in my second reading contribution. Labor strongly supports this amendment and we would urge the Senate to support it as well.</p> <p class="speaker">Jane Hume</p><p>The government opposes these amendments.</p> <p class="speaker">Rex Patrick</p><p>I didn't do a second reader on the Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill 2021. I do support the electronic meetings that have been proposed by the government. Schedule 1 is good. However, I won't be supporting schedule 2, for similar reasons as Senator Gallagher mentioned. It allows the possibility for directors to withhold information, in some way mislead or just not have to be careful about what it is that they provide to the stock market. I can see Senator Hume shaking her head.</p><p>It's funny: the laws that we had prior to COVID worked. They worked for some considerable period of time. I'll use a simple example of responsibility that contrasts what's happening here. It turns out that, if you're an individual without many resources and you fill out an insurance form and you make one mistake when you fill out that insurance form, then, guaranteed, the insurance company will not meet its obligations or will decline the insurance, through one error. Yet, when you've got a team of people supporting you in a corporation and you make a mistake—you somehow put something out to the market that is wrong or you mislead by omission—that's deemed to be okay. There's a huge contrast here in the way we treat a corporation versus a person. The laws that we had in place prior to COVID worked well, and we shouldn't seek to change them.</p><p class="italic">The CHAIR: The question is that amendment (2) on sheet 1354, moved by Senator Gallagher, as amended by government amendment (1) on sheet RS134, be agreed to.</p>
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