It is Country Liberal Party Senator Nigel Scullion, with his safari hunting plan for the Northern Territory, who is running feral not the crocodiles, Greens animal welfare spokesperson Senator Lee Rhiannon said.

"Minister Scullion should be pulled into line by the Environment Minister Greg Hunt who rejected safari crocodile hunting in the Northern Territory last year," Senator Rhiannon said.

"What Mr Scullion is touting is not about ‘science'. Having amateurs shoot wild animals is not an evidence based approach to wildlife management.

An independent Office of Animal Welfare is needed now more than ever, given the Abbott government's support for legislation that will prosecute vets, journalists, animal protection groups and other members of the public who uncover and expose animal cruelty, Greens spokesperson for animal welfare Senator Rhiannon said.

Off the back of the savage TAFE cuts in the NSW budget, the Greens are calling on the Abbott government and the Labor opposition to agree to rewrite COAG agreements so TAFE can again be a well-resourced public vocational education and training provider.

"News that NSW TAFE numbers have plummeted in the past three years, a trend occurring around the country, highlights the need for the federal government to urgently change the federal rules TAFE operates under," Greens technical and higher education spokesperson Senator Lee Rhiannon said.

Senator RHIANNON (New South Wales) (12:40): I rise to speak on the Airports Amendment Bill 2015. The Greens do not oppose this bill as we are supportive of measures designed to limit the authority of the privatised Sydney Airport Corporation to dictate transport policy in New South Wales.

Senator RICE (Victoria) (12:30): I rise to speak on the Airports Amendment Bill 2015. This bill goes some of the way to clarifying the process around the construction of a new airport in Sydney and removes the veto that the Sydney Airport Corporation, which runs the existing airport, currently has over the construction of a new airport.

Senator RHIANNON (New South Wales) (00:24): On another matter, when I visited Alice Springs earlier this year I witnessed apartheid. The first time was outside a local bottle shop. I was with colleagues from the Alice Springs Greens; we were walking across town to the venue for our evening event. As we cut through a shopping centre we saw the Northern Territory apartheid laws in action: two men were stopped by police just as they came out of the shopping centre's bottle shop. I was with my colleague, Greens member and former federal candidate Barbara Shaw.

I am pleased to introduce the Greens' Voice for Animals (Independent Office of Animal Welfare) Bill 2015, which establishes the Office of Animal Welfare as an independent statutory authority - with its CEO responsible for reviewing and advising upon the protection of animal welfare in Commonwealth regulated activities.

Senator LUDLAM (Western Australia-Co-Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens) (12:38): I, and also on behalf of Senator Rhiannon, move: