Parliament

Senator DI NATALE:  I, and also on behalf of Senator Lazarus, move the motion as amended:

That the Senate—

(a) expresses concern at the proposed sale of the $29 billion Medicare payment system, which will put thousands of jobs at risk and compromise service;

(b) notes That the sale will open the door for further privatisations within the Department of Human Services and other federal government agencies, including the Australian Taxation Office; and

Senator Di Natale to move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) freedom of the press is an important element of any functioning democracy, and

(ii) access to Papuan provinces by foreign journalists has been tightly restricted by the Indonesian Government;

The Senate voted in favour of a Senate motion moved by Greens Senator Richard Di Natale that called for the cuts to CSIRO and the Australian Animal Health Laboratory to be reversed.

The text of the motion is as follows: