Parliament

I move: That the Senate— (a) notes that:

(i)   today is the 15th annual International Overdose Awareness Day, commemorating all those who have died or been seriously injured due to drug overdose, and

(ii)   six people lose their lives to preventable overdose in Australia each day; and

(b) calls on the Government to address the rising rates of harm associated with drug use by implementing and appropriately resourcing evidence-based harm reduction policies, including:

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land that we are meeting on, the Ngunawal people, and I want to pay my respects to their elders past and present. I want to acknowledge that their land was stolen and never ceded, and I look forward to a respectful dialogue in the 45th Parliament to achieve a just settlement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in this country.

Our Constitution says:

… the Senate shall have equal power with the House of Representatives in respect of all proposed laws.

Senator DI NATALE

I move:

That there be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Prime Minister (Senator Brandis), no later than 3 pm on Wednesday, 4 May 2016, all documents created between October 2013 and May 2016 relating to the funding of hospitals in regional Victoria, and, in particular, the funding of Wangaratta hospital, including the withdrawal of $10 million, and any commitments made to the former Member for Indi (Mrs Mirabella) in relation to such funds.

Question agreed to.

The Leader of the Australian Greens (Senator Di Natale) moved—That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Attorney-General (Senator Brandis) to a question without notice asked by Senator Di Natale today relating to the offshore processing of asylum seekers.

I rise to take note of an answer given to a question I asked of Senator Brandis, the Minister representing the Prime Minister. It relates to the great tragedy that is our offshore detention centre network, and the deaths that are occurring in those prison camps offshore.

Richard Di Natale

My question is to the minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Brandis, and relates to offshore processing. I refer to Omid, the case of the young man who self-immolated on Nauru and later died in a Brisbane hospital who was denied adequate medical care, including immediate access to health professionals to adequate pain relief. It is a case that mirrors the tragic situation of Hamid Khazaei on Manus Island, who died after a simple cut on his leg became infected. There were extensive delays in receiving adequate medical treatment.

I move, That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency: The record-breaking coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef and Kimberley reefs and the choice between the Adani coal mine and healthy reefs.