Tuesday, 20 June 2023
Business of the house
Program
Program
That, under standing order 94(2), the orders of the day, government business, relating to the following bills be considered and completed by 5 pm on 22 June 2023:
Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Authorising Pharmacists) Bill 2023
Mental Health and Wellbeing Amendment Bill 2023.
It is the last sitting week of this session, and it is fitting that we end this session debating two very important bills – bills that demonstrate very clearly to this house and indeed to the people of Victoria the values that this Labor government brings to this house every single day. We made a commitment to the people of Victoria to establish Australia’s first royal commission into mental health. We were very clear with the people of Victoria that our mental health system was broken and it needed to be rebuilt from the ground up. We have committed to delivering on every single one of the recommendations of that royal commission, and the Mental Health and Wellbeing Amendment Bill 2023 is one of the ways in which we are delivering on that very significant, important commitment that we made to the people of Victoria – a commitment, I might say, that we made with a funding mechanism that was opposed by those on the other side. This is a mechanism that understands that the investments that are needed in mental health have not always been what they need to be and that only this government has a clear plan and, what is more, the will, the commitment and the strength of conviction to see it through to full implementation.
The second bill on the business program for this week is of course one of my own bills and indeed delivers on a very important election commitment. We took to the people of Victoria a commitment that we would work to authorise pharmacists to deliver repeat prescriptions of the contraceptive pill, to be able to treat uncomplicated urinary tract infections and skin infections and to be able to deliver travel medicines. I am obviously not going to debate the bill, because that would be inappropriate. However, it is important to note that quality and safety for consumers is always at the forefront of every decision that we make in health and in every bill that we bring to this place, and of course there are a range of ways in which this initiative will be overseen.
This is about delivering particularly for women of Victoria, because what we know is that for too long women’s health needs and women’s conditions have been seen as niche issues. It is only our government that is ensuring that we are giving women’s health the focus that it needs and that we are delivering on the commitments made to the people of Victoria – including 20 women’s health clinics, including an expansion to 20 sexual health and reproductive hubs and including a pain management inquiry, more laparoscopic surgery procedures for women suffering from endometriosis and of course a commitment to a women’s health research institute, because we know that for way too long the body of medical research and knowledge that is out there has been built over time on research into men yet we know that many common conditions impact women so much differently, and they present differently in women than they do in men. Women’s health is impacted by our sex and gender expression and identity, and it is important that we deliver health services that are inclusive and deliver services to all those who need them.
These are two very important bills before the house this week. I know that many members on this side of the house are obviously anxious to get their opportunity to speak on the budget – a budget that delivers every single one of our election commitments to the people of Victoria. I know many members will want to talk about how those commitments are delivering in their own electorates. Indeed they may well have electorate-specific initiatives that are in the budget papers and will want to speak on those too. As always, we come to this place with a full agenda, an agenda that is driven by our values, and our values are very clear for everyone to see – unlike, I might say, with those on the other side, who flip-flop and hang out with the far right when it suits them.
James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, I understand that the Leader of the House has run out of things to say, but that should not lead her to stray.
The SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the House’s time has expired.
James NEWBURY (Brighton) (12:28): The coalition will oppose the government business program, and I will explain why in a moment. Can I start by picking up where the Leader of the House ended, and that was on values. What the house did just prior to this debate was, with the government using its numbers, vote down the introduction of a bill which we could have considered this week and which we should have considered this week. In fact had it not been for the vote that just took place, the government would have been debating better standards in Victoria.
Mary-Anne Thomas: On a point of order, Speaker, of course the government business debate is an opportunity to talk about the government business program, and I ask that you call the Manager of Opposition Business, who should know better than that, to actually talk to the government business program instead of using the opportunity to sledge the government.
James NEWBURY: On the point of order, Speaker, it is entirely within order to talk about the proposed business of the house this week, and that is what I was doing.
The SPEAKER: I would encourage members to speak to the government business program without any additional comments around the government business program.
James NEWBURY: Thank you, Speaker. Had we had the opportunity, we would have been dealing with that bill tomorrow. This government business program displays what the government has been doing over recent weeks and has been called out for, and that is mismanaging the house. We, the coalition, contacted the government and sought an opportunity to talk about the Mental Health and Wellbeing Amendment Bill 2023 in detail, which was an opportunity for the house to go into the detail of the bill – look at each clause and work through the mechanics of the bill, for those that are watching. That is the process of consideration in detail in this place. The government declined to provide the opposition with that opportunity despite clearly not being able to fill its week with its government business program. This term the coalition has not had an opportunity to go into consideration in detail, and to be fair, going into the detail of a bill is something that this government is not known for providing time for in their program. In fact it is effectively as rare as hen’s teeth for this chamber to –
Danny O’Brien: Twice in my time, I think – three times in my nine years.
James NEWBURY: Three times in nine years the house has been provided with an opportunity to look at the detail of a bill through a consideration-in-detail process. So for that reason alone we will be opposing the government business program. The government business program more broadly speaks to the mismanagement of the house – the government’s lack of control of its time and also its legislative program. Controlling a legislative program is one of the most important things that a government does – works out how they turn an idea into reality through law. That does require several steps – through cabinet, through internal processes, through Parliament – and what we are seeing is that there has been a go-slow on what the government is doing. We are seeing this chamber filled with debates around motions, debates that frankly have no meaningful impact on the way this state is legislated.
Mary-Anne Thomas interjected.
The SPEAKER: Leader of the House!
James NEWBURY: I understand that the Leader of the House is embarrassed about being called out. I understand that. But this debate is an opportunity to shine a light on the government’s mismanagement of this place. We are seeing that on a daily basis. We are seeing that in the way the government is not allowing debates on items on the notice paper, and we are seeing both the coalition and the Greens regularly now get up and speak to their frustrations about the Parliament not being given an opportunity to debate matters of importance.
For example, I just raised a number of matters in the education portfolio that the house should be considering – but they are not the only ones. There is an important motion that the Nationals have put on the notice paper in regard to a regional sitting, a very important motion – that the Assembly should be taking itself out into the regions to speak to the broader community beyond Melbourne. These issues are not being debated in this chamber, and of course on that basis we will be opposing the government business program and calling on the government to do a heck of a lot better with managing this place.
Nina TAYLOR (Albert Park) (12:33): I am very pleased to speak on the government business program. Certainly values underpin everything we do, and it is almost laughable that those opposite are querying our capacity to deliver. We have done nothing but deliver constantly. The Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, which has been spoken to already, is certainly a matter of pride but also a matter of ethics and strength and a connection amongst all Victorians. We have absolutely backed it in and are delivering on all the recommendations, and you can see the benefit of that through the Mental Health and Wellbeing Amendment Bill 2023, which we will be debating in the chamber. You are welcome to turn up; you are welcome to debate the bill; we invite that –
The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Albert Park will not refer to ‘you’.
Nina TAYLOR: Pardon me for that indiscretion there. I take that on board. Members of the opposition are welcome to speak to the bill. We welcome that; this is a chamber of democracy. I am not sure – maybe they are shy about speaking on this bill. Certainly it is us on this side who have absolutely led when it comes to mental health reform. Indeed there is probably not a Victorian who is not in one way or another touched by issues of mental health or does not know of someone who has experienced significant challenges in that space, and hence we have taken it on 100 per cent and are therefore absolutely delivering when it comes to these critical reforms for our state.
I did not really appreciate the lecture on how to put together a bill. I found that a little bit extraordinary. I am not sure why the opposition think we do not know how to put together bills. We have put together many fine bills and many, many wonderful reforms since we have been in government, whether it be on wind farms, renewables, mental health or otherwise or whether it be in terms of delivering on level crossings and the like. So if you want to take us on when it comes to delivering, we will have that debate any day of the week.
James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, just on standing order 108, I would ask if you would remind the member to not keep using the word ‘you’, as it is a reflection on you, and to speak appropriately throughout the debate.
The SPEAKER: I have reminded the member for Albert Park to not refer to ‘you’.
Nina TAYLOR: Yes, Speaker, and I apologise for using that terminology. Now, to continue on the government business agenda, we also have the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Authorising Pharmacists) Bill 2023. This is certainly bringing about some very important reforms that we have promised to deliver on as we do continually deliver. I will not debate the bill proper itself, but I will take up a particular point when it comes to a focus on women’s health, because we know that for many decades unfortunately it has been seen as a niche issue, when we know that very much it deserves the investment in research, which we are absolutely committing to, but also in terms of having accessible women’s health clinics around the state. I know that everyone has a friend or a mother or otherwise who has experienced all sorts of vicissitudes of health issues that do happen to be specific to women, and it is great to see that as a collective – and it probably it may even have to do with having quotas and having such great representation of women in our government –this also helps in terms of backing in these wonderful reforms and bringing them forward.
There are more laparoscopy surgeries; they are certainly welcome. I have been talking about these reforms with people in my electorate, and I tell you they are welcome and it is certainly timely. I think this is what Labor is all about, because we are values based. We are also delivering on all our election commitments, and I am really, really pleased about that, because we respect our electorates and we know how important it is to be able to on the one hand deliver great policy and then implement legislation which is underpinned by great values.
So I think that it is going to be a fantastic week in Parliament. There will be plenty of opportunity to debate these important reforms, and I encourage the opposition to take their opportunity to speak on the Mental Health and Wellbeing Amendment Bill and the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Authorising Pharmacists) Bill 2023 and enjoy.
Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (12:38): I am pleased to say a few words on the government business program this week, and I am sure I will be taking up the offer of the suggestion of the member for Albert Park and making contributions on the two bills that are on the business program this week, the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Authorising Pharmacists) Bill 2023 and the Mental Health and Wellbeing Amendment Bill 2023. I can say from my own perspective I have probably spent enough time in this place in the last couple of weeks, and I am sure maybe the member for Point Cook would also agree that we would like something exciting and interesting to keep us awake this week –
Mathew Hilakari: I’m excited.
Danny O’BRIEN: You are excited? Okay. Well –
The SPEAKER: Through the Chair.
Danny O’BRIEN: It is good to hear that the member for Point Cook is excited. It has been a long couple of weeks through the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) hearings, and we have been exercising the great democratic tradition of a bit of accountability and transparency. But unfortunately with respect to the government business program we are seeing again the government not continuing that in this particular chamber, because once again the opposition has requested to go into consideration in detail on some legislation and once again we have been rejected – not only rejected, this time it is a flat out rejection as I understand it. With the former Leader of the House there used to be a bit of a ‘We’ll see. We’ll see if we’ve got time. There might be an opportunity.’ But I think we have just been told this time that, no, we cannot have consideration in detail. And that is why we object to this government business program –
Mary-Anne Thomas: On a point of order, Speaker, it might be a small thing but it is important that I correct the member for Gippsland South. In fact I did have a conversation – the member is misleading the house. In fact the –
The SPEAKER: Order! That is no point of order.
Danny O’BRIEN: Well, I wonder, then, from the contribution just made by the Leader of the House, if we are going to go into consideration in detail on Thursday. Is that with the plan is? Because it has certainly not been mentioned to those of us on the side. It would have been –
Mary-Anne Thomas: I have considered it.
Danny O’BRIEN: Considered it and it was –
The SPEAKER: Order! I would ask the member for Gippsland South to address his comments through the Chair.
Danny O’BRIEN: Well, it is a little bit difficult because –
The SPEAKER: It is not that hard.
Danny O’BRIEN: The Leader of the House is interjecting repeatedly, and I am not quite sure what the situation with the government business program is, because –
The SPEAKER: The member for Gippsland South will ignore interjections and speak through the Chair.
Danny O’BRIEN: They are disorderly, Speaker. Thank you for correcting me. The point that I was getting to, though, is that we are trying to actually have open and transparent debate in this place, and we have already seen just now the Public Administration and Planning Legislation Amendment (Control of Lobbyists) Bill 2023 coming from the upper house also rejected, not to be debated here.
I have also spent the last couple of weeks sitting next to the member for Melbourne. The member for Melbourne and I do not agree on a lot of things, but she has just moved the motion about bringing in non-government business, which we on this side have supported of course in the past. That is something that we should be able to do in this chamber – to have some debate on things that are not just the government’s plan, things that the Parliament, that the people of Victoria, would actually like us to be talking about. We do not have to agree on them. We do not have to have a debate and then all vote in favour of them – we do that every week with the government’s agenda – but it would be nice to be able to actually, firstly, bring up other things in a non-government business debate and, secondly, on the government’s legislation actually get into the weeds of it, firstly to find out if the minister knows what they are talking about and secondly to actually interrogate the important things in legislation, which should be done to ensure that legislation is improved. Nobody is perfect, and there should be the opportunity for the government to be scrutinised, for legislation to be scrutinised and for the opposition to be able to ask questions on those things, just as we have done for the last couple of weeks in the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee.
On a positive note, I do note that, thanks to the budget take-note motion, there is no additional motion this week to fill in time, to allow government members to get up and rehearse their lines from the Premier’s private office, so they have just got the lines from the PPO for the budget this week. I look forward to the opportunity to get into some of the detail of the budget, having spent that last couple of weeks on PAEC, but it is disappointing that once again we are back to this government program with no opportunity to go into consideration in detail, to actually do the job of parliamentarians – not just as members of Parliament but actual parliamentary work – and get into the detail, line by line, of legislation. Those opposite do not want to hear it because they have never done it – because it has been done three times in nine years. (Time expired)
Will FOWLES (Ringwood) (12:43): It is my pleasure to make a contribution on the government business program. We have heard a lot about things that are not on the government business program from those opposite today, who have in fact almost exclusively devoted their 15 minutes here to matters that are not on the government business program. I guess I just want to bring the house back very specifically to the two matters that are on the government business program, the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Authorising Pharmacists) Bill 2023 and the Mental Health and Wellbeing Amendment Bill 2023. These are very important bills. They warrant the full attention of this house. We are back to the sort of game playing and time wasting that has become a feature of these sitting weeks as those opposite seek to deflect from their own substantial problems internally.
James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, the government business program debate is not an opportunity for the government to sledge, and I would ask you to bring the member back to the program itself.
The SPEAKER: Order! The member was straying a little from the government business program, and I do ask him to come back to the government business program.
Will FOWLES: Thank you for your guidance, Speaker. I would agree that it is not that hard for members opposite to confine their comments to the government business program as well, and they perhaps ought to have a crack at that every once in a while. I think we have spent most of this debate thus far talking about other things – and that is a direct quote; not me saying ‘other things’ but them talking about other things: ‘We want to do other things.’ Perhaps the member for Gippsland South can lobby his great friend the member for Brighton for those matters –
James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, with respect, the member is now defying your ruling, and I would ask you to bring him back to the motion.
The SPEAKER: I ask the member for Ringwood to come back to the government business program.
Will FOWLES: Thank you very much, Speaker. There are those two very important bills. I was endeavouring to respond to matters raised in the debate by those opposite, but I will crack on. The drugs, poisons and controlled substances bill is a very important bill. Without in any way anticipating the debate, we know that the bill has at its heart matters regarding travel vaccinations, the contraceptive pill and being able to access medication for urinary tract infections. As I said, I do not offer a view about whether it is a good or bad thing – that is for later in this day – but for travel vaccinations in particular, I know some in this chamber might be contemplating a trip to Ghana and it would be very, very useful to have access to those travel vaccinations via a pharmacist.
These are very important bills, and they are bills that reflect the government’s progressive agenda when it comes to women’s health. These are very, very important matters, and women’s health is something that we have put front and centre. We put them front and centre throughout the course of the 2022 election campaign, in which we were resoundingly re-elected, and we will continue to put those matters front and centre when it comes to determining the business of this government both inside and outside of this chamber.
The mental health and wellbeing bill similarly advances the government’s agenda. Specifically, that bill will amend the act in order to ensure there are, for example, clear powers to detain and transport security or forensic patients who are absent without leave from a designated mental health service. These are clearly important matters that ought to be addressed by way of substantive changes to the legislation. This is an emerging area and an area in which the Labor government has a very, very proud record. Only Labor accepted every single recommendation of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, only Labor is getting on with the job of delivering a brand new mental health system built from the ground up and only Labor is making sure that the critical piece that sits between primary care and acute care is addressed right throughout the mental health system. These are very, very important matters, and they are particularly important matters to constituents in the Warrandyte area. I have spoken in recent days with members of the Warrandyte Cricket Club as they deal with their very, very difficult circumstances post the Hunter Valley bus crash.
James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, these issues are important – and I acknowledge they are important – but they are not related to the motion before the house.
The SPEAKER: The member for Ringwood to continue on the government business program.
Will FOWLES: I commend the program to the house.
Bridget VALLENCE (Evelyn) (12:48): When the government likes to talk a big game on doing what matters, this is a very narrow government business program with only two pieces of legislation. You have really got to ask the question: what has the government been doing all of this time? It is a tired government, and after eight, nine years in government it has very limited legislation to put before this house. This is the Parliament, and the Parliament should be respected, and to have only two pieces of legislation before the house I think is pretty underwhelming. The Victorian people know that this is a tired government that often regurgitates legislation that it could not get passed in the last Parliament. Indeed one of the pieces of legislation that is on the government program today is the Mental Health and Wellbeing Amendment Bill 2023, which is coming back so very soon after it was introduced by this government because there were issues. The mere fact that this government cannot even get spelling, syntax and grammar correct in their pieces of legislation that they put before this house and that it is a reason for them to come before the house, to have those things fixed, is astonishing and embarrassing, quite frankly, and I am embarrassed for the government.
What has the government got wrong here in relation to transparency and integrity? This government does not have one iota of care or responsibility when it comes to transparency. They do not value this Parliament and they do not value the institution of this Parliament – particularly on the bill on the government business program, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Amendment Bill. Just to preface this I will say that the Liberals and Nationals fully support all of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, but what we would like to do with this particular bill is to go into consideration in detail. The member for Ringwood is casting aspersions that we do not fully support all recommendations of the royal commission – it is rubbish. I think that he is doing himself a disservice to say so, because that is absolutely wrong and we are on the record for saying so.
With this bill we would like to go into consideration in detail. What is the government hiding? Why doesn’t this government want scrutiny? Why doesn’t this government want this piece of legislation to be improved? This is already the second time that this piece of legislation is coming back before this chamber, because they got things wrong last time. We want to work together. The Victorian community expects us to work together on something of such significance and importance as mental health and the mental health and wellbeing of Victorians. We want to work together to make sure that this bill is solid going forward, and unfortunately this government will not open it up to scrutiny so that we can go into consideration of several clauses that we have concerns about within the bill.
In terms of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Authorising Pharmacists) Bill 2023, this is an interesting one in terms of pharmacies and pharmacists being able to prescribe certain drugs, including but not limited to the oral contraceptive pill. This is another example of the government being slow to act. This was in fact an election commitment of the Liberals and Nationals in the 2018 election. We took this to the election, and finally the Andrews government is coming to the party and looking to allow the oral contraceptive pill to be prescribed at the pharmacy.
But there is something, in the short time I have remaining, that is not on the government business program that should absolutely be on the government business program, and that is notice 19 given on 31 May, particularly:
That this house:
notes allegations of unworked or partially worked ‘ghost shifts’ being invoiced to Victorian taxpayers by labour hire firms on government infrastructure projects; and
calls on the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure to comply with all independent investigations into corruption that has allegedly occurred on her watch …
on the watch of the minister. This is on the government’s signature infrastructure programs, which I might add are billions of dollars over budget and years behind their agreed schedules.
Mary-Anne Thomas: On a point of order, Speaker, the member has strayed from the government business program.
The SPEAKER: The member’s time has expired.
Assembly divided on motion:
Ayes (52): Juliana Addison, Daniel Andrews, Colin Brooks, Anthony Carbines, Ben Carroll, Darren Cheeseman, Anthony Cianflone, Sarah Connolly, Chris Couzens, Jordan Crugnale, Lily D’Ambrosio, Daniela De Martino, Steve Dimopoulos, Paul Edbrooke, Will Fowles, Matt Fregon, Ella George, Luba Grigorovitch, Bronwyn Halfpenny, Katie Hall, Paul Hamer, Martha Haylett, Mathew Hilakari, Melissa Horne, Natalie Hutchins, Lauren Kathage, Sonya Kilkenny, Nathan Lambert, Gary Maas, Alison Marchant, Kathleen Matthews-Ward, Steve McGhie, Paul Mercurio, John Mullahy, Tim Pallas, Danny Pearson, Pauline Richards, Tim Richardson, Michaela Settle, Ros Spence, Nick Staikos, Natalie Suleyman, Jackson Taylor, Nina Taylor, Kat Theophanous, Mary-Anne Thomas, Emma Vulin, Iwan Walters, Vicki Ward, Dylan Wight, Gabrielle Williams, Belinda Wilson
Noes (25): Brad Battin, Jade Benham, Tim Bull, Martin Cameron, Annabelle Cleeland, Chris Crewther, Wayne Farnham, Sam Groth, David Hodgett, Emma Kealy, Tim McCurdy, Cindy McLeish, James Newbury, Danny O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, Kim O’Keeffe, John Pesutto, Richard Riordan, Brad Rowswell, David Southwick, Bill Tilley, Bridget Vallence, Peter Walsh, Kim Wells, Jess Wilson
Motion agreed to.