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| With just eight sitting days left, Labor produces its parliamentary bucket list | |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| Cabinet will decide on Monday whether a last-ditch bid to extend federal powers to protect national parks from state government laws will be added to the legislation the government is trying to pass in the final two parliamentary sitting weeks. | Cabinet will decide on Monday whether a last-ditch bid to extend federal powers to protect national parks from state government laws will be added to the legislation the government is trying to pass in the final two parliamentary sitting weeks. |
| With just eight sitting days before parliament rises ahead of the election, the government has produced what amounts to this parliament's bucket list – the things it wants to legislate before time runs out – with changes to school funding and the requirements for employers wanting to use temporary work visas at the top. | With just eight sitting days before parliament rises ahead of the election, the government has produced what amounts to this parliament's bucket list – the things it wants to legislate before time runs out – with changes to school funding and the requirements for employers wanting to use temporary work visas at the top. |
| But with the Queensland government now allowing starving cattle into some national parks during the drought and the controversial decision by the NSW government to open some national parks for recreational shooting, the environment minister, Tony Burke, is considering adding national parks as another "trigger" to push federal involvement into what has previously been a state responsibility. | But with the Queensland government now allowing starving cattle into some national parks during the drought and the controversial decision by the NSW government to open some national parks for recreational shooting, the environment minister, Tony Burke, is considering adding national parks as another "trigger" to push federal involvement into what has previously been a state responsibility. |
| Burke told Guardian Australia conservative state governments were reversing what had always been understood as the purpose of national parks, something he believed was "appalling vandalism and wrong" | Burke told Guardian Australia conservative state governments were reversing what had always been understood as the purpose of national parks, something he believed was "appalling vandalism and wrong" |
| "I never thought any major political party would look at national parks and instead of seeing nature, see farms, rifle ranges, mine sits and logging coupes," he said. | "I never thought any major political party would look at national parks and instead of seeing nature, see farms, rifle ranges, mine sits and logging coupes," he said. |
| Legislation adding the impact of coal seam gas mines on the water table to the list of matters that trigger federal government involvement under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act is already before the Senate, and the government is considering whether to add a national parks trigger to that bill. | Legislation adding the impact of coal seam gas mines on the water table to the list of matters that trigger federal government involvement under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act is already before the Senate, and the government is considering whether to add a national parks trigger to that bill. |
| The final rush of legislation comes as Labor is again considering whether it should replace Julia Gillard as prime minister with the former leader Kevin Rudd to improve its chances at the 14 September election – a decision the Greens leader Christine Milne suggested they should hurry up and make. | The final rush of legislation comes as Labor is again considering whether it should replace Julia Gillard as prime minister with the former leader Kevin Rudd to improve its chances at the 14 September election – a decision the Greens leader Christine Milne suggested they should hurry up and make. |
| "I wish they'd get on with it because I think the country would like to actually debate some issues leading into the election," Milne told Sky News on Sunday. | "I wish they'd get on with it because I think the country would like to actually debate some issues leading into the election," Milne told Sky News on Sunday. |
| Environment groups have been desperately lobbying for the national parks change and time has now run out for Burke to reactivate an earlier plan to regulate for increased federal control. Other matters of federal environmental significance include world heritage areas, the Great Barrier Reef, nationally threatened species, wetlands of international importance and commonwealth marine areas. | Environment groups have been desperately lobbying for the national parks change and time has now run out for Burke to reactivate an earlier plan to regulate for increased federal control. Other matters of federal environmental significance include world heritage areas, the Great Barrier Reef, nationally threatened species, wetlands of international importance and commonwealth marine areas. |
| There are still 111 bills before the House of Representatives, but most are likely to expire with the parliament. | There are still 111 bills before the House of Representatives, but most are likely to expire with the parliament. |
| Those the government is determined to pass are the crackdown on temporary 457 work visas, a bill changing the financial arrangements to lock in the Gonski school funding changes and a bill to provide extra help for students studying in Asia from 2014. | Those the government is determined to pass are the crackdown on temporary 457 work visas, a bill changing the financial arrangements to lock in the Gonski school funding changes and a bill to provide extra help for students studying in Asia from 2014. |
| The Greens have said they will try to change the 457 visa laws so that employers would have to test the local labour market not only for unskilled foreign temporary workers but also for skilled workers such as nurses, engineers and IT experts. | The Greens have said they will try to change the 457 visa laws so that employers would have to test the local labour market not only for unskilled foreign temporary workers but also for skilled workers such as nurses, engineers and IT experts. |
| Senate debate is likely to be dominated by the school funding bills, as Gillard continues her pitch to win state government support for the Gonski funding changes. | Senate debate is likely to be dominated by the school funding bills, as Gillard continues her pitch to win state government support for the Gonski funding changes. |
| The Senate bucket list is longer, with much of the government's legislation yet to pass the upper house. | The Senate bucket list is longer, with much of the government's legislation yet to pass the upper house. |
| The upper house will this week consider: | The upper house will this week consider: |
| • a bill requiring public and private projects worth more than $500m to produce a plan to show they are trying to buy from Australian suppliers | • a bill requiring public and private projects worth more than $500m to produce a plan to show they are trying to buy from Australian suppliers |
| • the government's aged care reform package | • the government's aged care reform package |
| • proposed changes to the fair work legislation on industrial relations | • proposed changes to the fair work legislation on industrial relations |
| • the legislation setting up the local government referendum being held in conjunction with the September poll | • the legislation setting up the local government referendum being held in conjunction with the September poll |
| • a bill to give the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority more powers to compel co-operation with its investigations | • a bill to give the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority more powers to compel co-operation with its investigations |
| • bills to save money by changing the indexation of the private health insurance rebate and to remove the private health insurance rebate from the Lifetime Health Cover loading component of private health insurance premiums | • bills to save money by changing the indexation of the private health insurance rebate and to remove the private health insurance rebate from the Lifetime Health Cover loading component of private health insurance premiums |
| • bills to stop tax minimisation by profit shifting | • bills to stop tax minimisation by profit shifting |
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