Parliament

The Australian Greens Leader, Senator Christine Milne, uses Question Time in the Senate to ask the Minister representing the Prime Minister about his remarkable claim the previous evening that Australia has "too much locked up forest".

Christine Milne asked a question in Question Time - when will we have an inquiry into the Iraq war?

Christine Milne asked Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Joe Ludwig, whether he has referred to the Australian Federal Police the National Audit Office's assessment that millions of dollars in funding was misused in the Voluntary Exit Grants Program for forestry contractors.

NOTICE OF MOTION

I give notice that on the next day of sitting I shall move that the findings of the Auditor General's Audit Report No. 22 2012-13, Administration of the Tasmanian Forest Intergovernmental Agreement Contractors Voluntary Exit Grants Program, are referred to the Senate References Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and transport for inquiry and report by  12 April 2013:

Senator Christine Milne

Leader of the Australian Greens

Senator MILNE:  I seek leave to move a motion to take note of the ministerial statement regarding Afghanistan.

Leave granted.

Senator MILNE: I move: 

That the Senate take note of the document. 

I note with interest that the minister says: 

Australia must continue to be clear-sighted about our objective in Afghanistan. 

But that is the problem: Australia has not been clearsighted about our objective in Afghanistan for quite some time. 

Leader of the Australian Greens (Senator Milne): To move-That the Senate-

(a) notes that off-shore tax havens are a vehicle for international corruption with a current value of at least $21 trillion globally;