17 March 2010: Committees: Primary Industries and Resources Committee; Report
Janelle Saffin: I rise to speak in support of the report, Farming the future, and particularly the 15 recommendations. I was very pleased that the Standing Committee on Primary Industries and Resources took up this issue, which is about helping farmers with adaptation to climate change. It puts the farmers front and centre stage, as they need to be, as we as a nation grapple with the impact of climate...Read More

15 March, 2010 Constituency Statements: Page Electorate: Campaigns
Janelle Saffin: I represent the electorate of Page, and the active communities across my electorate regularly raise a number of issues and priorities with me. Today I take the opportunity to put on the record issues impacting and affecting my electorate. The community's priorities are my priorities. I may not be able to mention all them that I want to in three minutes, but I will see how I go. There...Read More

11 March, 2010 Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2010; Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Safety Levies) Amendment Bill 2010: Second Reading
Janelle Saffin: I speak in support of the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2010 and the accompanying Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Safety Levies) Amendment Bill 2010. The government is establishing a national offshore petroleum regulator to operate from 1 January 2012, and it is important to have the legislation passed to get... Read More

Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Close of Rolls and Other Measures) Bill 2010: Second Reading (9 Mar 2010)
Janelle Saffin: I will start by responding to some of the comments that the honourable member for Lyne just made. He posed the question: is it a scramble for power or is it long-term parliamentary democracy building? I have to say to him that it is not a scramble for power for people in this chamber, but it is about empowering the community, empowering the voters, empowering the people who have the right to...Read More

Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Close of Rolls and Other Measures) Bill 2010: Second Reading (9 Mar 2010)
Janelle Saffin: I hear ‘Hear, hear!’ from the other side. I think there is a lot of agreement on this particular issue, which is good to see, and I understand a lot of the recommendations from the joint standing committee do have bipartisan or multipartisan support. The provision is around the issue of ID and it is good to see that it will be picked up. I turn to that specifically. The Howard...Read More

Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Close of Rolls and Other Measures) Bill 2010: Second Reading (9 Mar 2010)
Janelle Saffin: Five per cent? I read 15 per cent. That is large. It is a significant amount of the community that are casting their votes in that way. If you have been scrutineering in a polling booth on an election night, you will know that prepoll votes normally do not get counted with the votes on that night—they go off and are counted elsewhere. That can slow down the count in seats. It is...Read More

Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Close of Rolls and Other Measures) Bill 2010: Second Reading (9 Mar 2010)
Janelle Saffin: The honourable member for Mackellar says they could be fraudulent. There are ways of determining whether they are fraudulent. That was an absolute cut-off. If people turn up to exercise a provisional vote, they are entitled to cast it and then we have a process in place where they can have that checked. This bill implements a 2007 election commitment by the Australian Labor Party to repeal...Read More

Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Close of Rolls and Other Measures) Bill 2010: Second Reading (9 Mar 2010)
Janelle Saffin: We certainly shall discuss that later, as the honourable member for Lyne says. It is an inclusive process, and it is about making sure that voters have every opportunity to exercise their constitutional right. The Electoral and Referendum Amendment (Close of Rolls and Other Measures) Bill 2010 gives them that right. I rise to speak in strong support of the bill for the compelling reason that...Read More