Questions On Notice

Questions on Notice
Senators may, at any time, address written questions on notice to ministers and other senators. As soon as practicable, questions are forwarded to the appropriate ministers’ offices and to the relevant departments where replies are drafted for consideration by the minister. When a reply is approved by the minister it is delivered to the senator who asked the question and both question and reply are printed in Hansard.

Questions without Notice
Question time in the Senate is scheduled to begin at 2.00 p.m. on each sitting day and usually continues for an hour. The President asks if there are any questions without notice and senators wishing to ask questions rise in their places. After the question has been asked the President calls on the appropriate minister to answer.

Land for Telecommunications

Question | Spokesperson Scott Ludlam

Thursday 25th February 2010, 7:25pm

(Question No. 2414)
Senator Ludlam asked the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, upon notice, on 16 November 2009:
Has a land acquisition activity notice ever been issued by a telecommunications carrier under the Telecommunications Act 1997 on a private residential dwelling in Australia; if so: (a) where; and (b) when.

Veterans’ Affairs: Clarke Review

Question | Spokesperson Scott Ludlam

Thursday 25th February 2010, 7:20pm

(Question No. 2497)
Senator Ludlam asked the Minister representing the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, upon notice, on 21 December 2009:

(1) With reference to the review announced on 9 September 2008 to revisit the Clarke Review recommendations which were rejected by the then Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, has it reported; if not, when will this review be completed.

Defence: Pine Gap

Question | Spokesperson Scott Ludlam

Thursday 25th February 2010, 7:14pm

(Question No. 2495)
Senator Ludlam asked the Minister for Defence, upon notice, on 11 December 2009:
(1) Can the Minister confirm that deployment of elements of the United States of America's missile defence system is progressing at Pine Gap.

(2) What steps have been taken toward replacement of the Defence Support Program satellite system with a Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS).

Radiofrequency Spectrum

Question | Spokesperson Scott Ludlam

Thursday 25th February 2010, 7:12pm

Radiofrequency Spectrum
(Question No. 2494)
Senator Ludlam asked the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, upon notice, on 11 December 2009:

(1) With reference to Very High Frequency (VHF) radio frequency regulation: Can a self-regulatory system be supported by the expansion of the radio class licence system.

(2) How does the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and its responsibility to promote self-regulation apply to the operation of the Citizen Band Radio Service (CBRS) which operates on the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) waveband.

Question on Nuclear Waste Dump

Question | Spokesperson Scott Ludlam

Tuesday 23rd February 2010, 3:50pm

Nuclear Waste

Senator LUDLAM (2.26 pm)-Mr President, my question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Resources and Energy, Senator Carr. Today Minister Martin Ferguson announced that fairness had been restored to the process for selecting a national radioactive waste dump site. Can the minister confirm that the nomination of Muckaty Station as a site for the dump was only possible under the Radioactive Waste Management Legislation Amendment Act 2006, which the ALP opposed and described at the time as a major attack on the rights of traditional owners and an abuse of power? How can the government continue to progress the nomination of Muckaty while claiming to repeal the act that made it possible?

ASNO

Question | Spokesperson Scott Ludlam

Thursday 14th January 2010, 11:22pm

Senator Ludlam

A. Has ASNO been requested by the WA government to provide briefings or information or any kind of support, formally or informally, regarding safeguard to non-proliferation measures, given that there is a proposition to introduce uranium mining in WA?

B. Are you in regular contact with the relevant departments in the WA government or was that a one-off event?

Tibet

Question | Spokesperson Scott Ludlam

Thursday 14th January 2010, 10:58pm

Question No. 14

Page: 47-48

Senator Ludlam

A. Was advice sought from DFAT on the advisability of meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama later this year?

B. Do the Chinese object in those dialogues to the stance taken by Australia on what they term the ‘territorial integrity of China'? Are we asked to back off on issues such as autonomy for Tibet?

Answer

A. DFAT provided advice to the Minister for Foreign Affairs on the Dalai Lama's visit to Australia.

B. China's view, as put to Australia, is that both countries should respect and accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns so as to safeguard the overall interests of bilateral cooperation. The Tibet issue is one such concern for China. The position of successive Australian governments since 1972 has been to respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, including over Tibet.

Environmental activists Sun Xiaodi and Sun Haiyan

Question | Spokesperson Scott Ludlam

Tuesday 12th January 2010, 12:00am

Senator Ludlam

Can the department provide the status of an environmental activist, Sun Xiaodi, who was sentenced in July 2009 to two years of re-education through labour? His daughter, Sun Haiyan, was sentenced to one and a half years of re-education through labour. These are two environmental activists who raised very serious concerns about radioactive contamination of Chinese uranium mines. They have not been heard from since their imprisonment, and I am wondering whether the department has made any representations or whether the department is aware of the status of either of those individuals?

Stern Hu

Question | Spokesperson Scott Ludlam

Tuesday 12th January 2010, 12:00am

Senator Ludlam

A. When did the Prime Minister last discuss Stern Hu's case with somebody?

B. Can the department confirm whether the Prime Minister met with Mr Hu Jintao and spoken to him about the subject?

C. Has the Foreign Minister made any representations on this matter?

D. Is the Australian government in contact with Rio Tinto about the case on a regular basis?

Human rights abuses in Burma

Question | Spokesperson Scott Ludlam

Tuesday 12th January 2010, 12:00am

Senator Ludlam

Can the department advise what information gathering is undertaken on human rights abuses in Burma, past and present? What do we actually do to inform ourselves?

Answer:

The department informs itself about human rights abuses in Burma from a range of sources. The department monitors open source material, including from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar/Burma, and other United Nations specialist bodies. The department also consults international non-government organisations focusing on human rights issues, as well as Burmese community groups in Australia.

The Australian Embassy in Rangoon gathers information from sources inside Burma, and the Australian Embassy in Bangkok also monitors the situation on the Thai-Burma border.