Tuesday, 26 November 2024
Business of the house
Program
Business of the house
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 28 November 2024:
Justice Legislation Amendment (Committals) Bill 2024
Budget papers – motion
Nuclear power – motion
Parliamentary apology to Victorians who experienced historical abuse and neglect as children in institutional care – motion
Inquiries Amendment (Yoorrook Justice Commission Records and Other Matters) Bill 2024
Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Paramedic Practitioners) Bill 2024.
What an important government business program to spend the last sitting week of this year with our focus on. Late last week, indeed on Thursday, I had the great honour of joining the Premier, the Deputy Premier and so many other ministers and caucus members from this side of the house at a special celebration to mark the commencement of treaty negotiations. This was a really important milestone in our state’s history. As members of this house know, when it comes to truth, justice and treaty, it is only this side of the house, a Labor government, that will deliver that for our First Nations people. So it is important that this bill be considered by the house this week. The legislation builds on our commitment to truth-telling, because unless you have a record of the truth you cannot move forward. We have an invitation from First Nations people to listen and understand the story of our nation and the impact of colonisation and to learn from that and to move forward.
I had an extraordinarily profound experience. I was called to Yoorrook, and I had to face in to the many harms that have been caused in our health system to First Nations people as a result of both conscious and unconscious bias. While we talk about the importance of cultural safety in our health system it is really vital to me that we call out what is happening for what it is, and it is racism that is having the impact on First Nations people. It is simply unacceptable to me as health minister that the health outcomes for Aboriginal people are so much worse still than they are for non-Aboriginal people. The stories that are being shared – the stories of discrimination, the stories of babies being born on verandahs because Aboriginal women were not allowed inside a hospital –
The SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the House, I ask you not to anticipate debate.
Mary-Anne THOMAS: As you can tell, this is a topic which I feel really strongly about, and this is really important legislation. Quite frankly this is legislation that provides those on the other side of the house with an opportunity to demonstrate that they have the courage to stand on the side of First Nations people and stand on the right side of history. Indeed it will be a test for the new Leader of the Nationals, because the Nationals represent a number of seats –
James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, I am loath to take a point of order on relevance, and I would say that you have advised the Leader of the House to come back to the motion. I believe the Leader of the House is straying somewhat.
The SPEAKER: Leader of the House, I ask you not to anticipate debate. Also, Leader of the House, can you clarify for me that at the commencement of your contribution you referred to the legislation and the motions on the paper?
Mary-Anne THOMAS: Yes, I did, Speaker.
The SPEAKER: Thank you. Can you table it?
Mary-Anne THOMAS: Yes. That is my contribution in relation to the Inquiries Amendment (Yoorrook Justice Commission Records and Other Matters) Bill 2024. In terms of the Justice Legislation Amendment (Committals) Bill 2024, this bill is about making careful changes to modernise Victoria’s committals process. These changes will preserve the important benefits that the committal process provides while minimising duplication of processes in the trial court.
Finally, the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Paramedic Practitioners) Bill 2024 is an important enabling step on our government’s election commitment to implement Australia’s first paramedic practitioners by amending the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 to enable paramedic practitioners to prescribe scheduled drugs within their scope of practice. This is a really important bill. It means that our hardworking paramedics – our advanced life support paramedics, our MICA paramedics – will continue to have pathways to grow their careers that are on-road pathways, that are pathways that are focused on the delivery of patient care. As I said, this is commitment that was given to the people of Victoria and one that this bill will help acquit. I commend this program.
James NEWBURY (Brighton) (12:22): I rise to speak on the government business program, and in doing so if I may just take a moment to acknowledge that it is the last sitting week before Christmas, and this Parliament operates because of wonderful people around the building who do incredible hard work to keep this place going. The clerks provide us with advice all the time and do an incredible job to make sure the house and the traditions of the house hopefully continue over time. Also, the staff around the building do an incredible job: the cleaners, the cooks and the staff out the back who look after us and make us coffees. I know Jacquie and her team, and Alex, who makes a mean coffee, do an incredible job out there and look after us. In the spirit of Christmas, I think it is important to acknowledge them, but also our broader staff on all sides of the chamber. We are only what we are because of the support in the teams around us, and our staff work tirelessly for us and for the community – they work incredibly hard for the local communities. I know in my team Elouise Ager, Victoria Morgan and Edward Bourke are working in my office, and we miss Allie Amey, my office manager who has had twin boys Jack and Luke. We miss her, and we know that she has got two wonderful boys to keep her very, very busy.
In terms of the government business program, the coalition will be opposing it. As the Leader of the House said, this business program includes three bills and three motions. Most noteworthy – and I have spoken about this in previous sitting weeks – is one of the motions is the budget motion, and roughly speaking this motion on the budget will be acquitted at the end of this week, which means that the chance for members in this place to speak about the budget will conclude. The opportunity provided by the government for members to speak on their own budget will no longer be the case after that motion is dealt with at the end of the week.
And what is so notable about that is that about a third of this chamber has not been given an opportunity to speak. There are lots and lots of members in this place who have not been given an opportunity to speak. To have the government’s budget motion being effectively moved on by the government at the end of this week while a third of the members of this place have not had an opportunity to speak on it is something that I do not think anyone in this chamber has ever seen – a government killing its own budget debate. It just goes to show, frankly, how bad the budget was – that a third of the members in this place are being denied that opportunity. I know that there are many members on this side who have not had the chance to yet speak about the budget, and so ending their opportunity to speak about the budget is really, really wrong.
There are a number of other motions on the government business program to be dealt with, one of which of course we support and another which is, frankly, nothing more than a sledge motion. The government is using the government business program to play politics, not deal with legislative changes to this great state. It is using it as an opportunity to try and wedge, in some hollow attempt to dredge up a political issue to try and seek political advantage, and you can see that it does not work. You can see that Victorians have seen through this government’s games, which is why we obviously are opposed to the manner with which the government business program has been designed. I hear the Leader of the House sighing across the table. That is why I started with some Christmas cheer, Leader of the House, before getting onto our position on the government business program.
But I do note that there is one motion on the program which will stop members speaking about the budget, and that in principle is wrong; all members should at least have an opportunity to speak about the budget no matter how much of a dud budget it was, and to stop a third of the house is wrong. So the coalition will wholeheartedly be opposing the government business program and the political gamesmanship from the government in using the motion for that purpose.
Daniela DE MARTINO (Monbulk) (12:27): In the spirit of Christmas, I too would like to acknowledge the fabulous staff in Parliament, in this place, and echo the comments made by the Manager of Opposition Business in acknowledging the fantastic efforts from the clerks through to all the attendants, to the smiles they greet us with when we come along, to the coffees that they make – it keeps us going, that is for sure, and they are fantastic. I do wish them a wonderful break from the hurly-burly of our attendance when we are here in this place. I extend Christmas wishes to everyone: electorate office staff, ministerial staff and all staff out there who work tirelessly in the background, making sure that the wheels turn for all of us.
It is actually my pleasure to discuss the government business program (GBP). This is actually often a hotly contested speaking spot on this side of the house. I like to put myself down for it. I do not always get a guernsey, because there are quite a few of us who like to get up on this side of the chamber and extol the virtues of the government business program that lies before us for the week ahead. We are pretty keen, and this is the final one for the year. I am quite surprised that it has flown so quickly. It has been quite the year. In fact our government’s business across 2024 has seen such important legislation put through this house, including an amendment to the constitution of this state to actually enshrine the SEC, so we have had a ripper of a year. We have got another great week to come, and I am really looking forward to debating the legislation before us, because we are a serious government, and we do not waste a day. We are always seeking to improve the lives of Victorians through policies being put into action via legislation.
So there are three important bills that we are debating this week, and the Leader of the House went into quite some detail about the Inquiries Amendment (Yoorrook Justice Commission Records and Other Matters) Bill 2024; this is quite an important piece of legislation. She spoke very passionately about that, and I have to echo her comments. Hearing the truth is absolutely the only way to be able to move forward and to heal, and that is what this legislation works towards.
I am looking forward to speaking on the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Paramedic Practitioners) Bill 2024. It is quite an important one; I think it could be a real game changer. I think there will be some really good debates held here in the chamber. Obviously, as the title of the bill gives away, it is seeking to introduce paramedic practitioners, and this is actually a national first. They do not exist elsewhere. Once again we are pioneering something entirely new and shaking things up a bit to bring in best practice and to basically do what we are all here to do, which is to try and make this a better place for everyone, to leave it better than we found it. I know that that is why I am here, and I know that is why basically we are all here. That is a fantastic reason to actually be in this place, to stand up and have robust debates and discuss the finer details of legislation and hopefully come to as much agreement as we possibly can, where we can.
As I have said before in my GBP contributions, everyone in here brings their own story into this chamber, and they bring their constituents’ stories into this chamber. Sometimes the emotions in this chamber can be quite raw, and we work very closely together. It is funny: sometimes I have people commiserate to me that I am an MP. That is their first reaction when I tell them what I do for a living. I ask them why; it is because they think this place is just about negativity. When I tell them how much humanity can actually be displayed in this chamber, they are often surprised. I wish they could see it a little bit more.
We have got a great program ahead of us this week. It is disappointing that the opposition will not be supporting it – disappointing but unsurprising – but that is okay, because we will forge ahead. We will be ensuring that we tackle three pieces of legislation. I have mentioned two. The third is the Justice Legislation Amendment (Committals) Bill 2024. This one is actually close to my heart, because this one deals with trying to streamline our committal proceedings to minimise trauma for victims and witnesses. When one has been involved in a trial as a witness, whatever we can do as a government to make that burden less for witnesses and for victims is a worthy cause indeed. It is not an easy process to go through. Wherever we can allay the difficulties there for them, it is absolutely something that we ought to do and that we are seeking to do. I commend our program to the house.
Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (12:32): I too rise today to speak on the government business program. As the member for Brighton pointed out, we are opposed to the government business program this week given that there will be several members in this place that will remain unable to speak on the government’s budget. I know on this side of the house particularly the member for Morwell, who has waited most of the year to give his contribution on the budget, is eagerly awaiting his chance to contribute. I understand those on the other side may not want to contribute on this dud budget, which is fair enough. There are also many speakers on this side of the house that already have contributed and some that still wish to contribute on the nuclear motion.
The point is that it is the last sitting week before Christmas, heading into a Christmas where cost of living is going to hit families really hard this year, and I am hearing it from constituents every single day – people coming into my office. There could be some things on the legislative agenda to help alleviate the cost-of-living pressures – the pressures on our rural and regional roads perhaps. There could be some legislative change on the agenda this week from the government so that Victorians have some hope leading into Christmas time, but it looks like that hope will remain – two years ago to the day, in fact, it being 26 November.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Deputy Leader of the Nationals and member for Lowan on 10 years in this place – her 10-year anniversary. That is an extraordinary contribution. She is a member full of integrity, full of credibility, incredibly smart, and I have enjoyed every minute of being in this place with her. While we are talking about anniversaries, I also congratulate my colleagues to my left the member for Shepparton, the member for Morwell and the member for Euroa on two years in this place, which is perhaps cause for celebration a little bit later on.
However, before we get there, of course it has been noted that there are three pieces of legislation on the government business program this week, including the Justice Legislation Amendment (Committals) Bill 2024. I have been speaking to the member for Malvern about this at length after a ministerial briefing, and hopefully this bill will alleviate some of the reliving of trauma and streamline that process.
There are many members from the Nationals holding up the business program. I think every member of the Nationals will be speaking on a bill, including members of the shadow cabinet, who will also be speaking on bills. So everyone gets a chance to contribute during the last week heading into Christmas.
Jade BENHAM: That is the MO for the Nationals, isn’t it, member for Mordialloc? The Nationals are always holding up their end of the bargain when it comes to the speaking program, and that is what we do here because we are a cohesive team.
The Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Paramedic Practitioners) Bill 2024 is a good one, and I know the Minister for Health was present while we had the community health alliance in Parliament talking about the community paramedics program. Our paramedics are such an amazing cohort of people. I was actually out with a couple of my dear friends who are paramedics earlier in the week and had some paramedics come into the office to talk to some graduates wondering about pathways and looking to get a job, get into it. The community paramedics program is just wonderful. I am hoping the minister will commit to keeping funding, along with the paramedic practitioners, the community paramedic program at Sunraysia community health. Travis Coombes is the community paramedic. He does a magnificent job, and he raves about the program, and that continuity of care, that relationship with patients, has been brilliant. But the program gives no hope to Victorians leading into Christmas.
Dylan WIGHT (Tarneit) (12:37): It gives me great pleasure this afternoon to rise and speak in support of the government business program. There is absolutely one thing that the member for Mildura and I can agree on, and that is that the Nationals are holding up their end of the bargain when it comes to making contributions in this place. In fact I think that they may be the only ones holding up their end of the bargain in that coalition agreement when it comes to making contributions in this place. There are many, many members of that Liberal party room who I would be surprised to hear have made any contributions in this term, and if they have, those have been few and far between.
This government business program this week is all about making Victoria a better place to live, and it does that by keeping people safe and by improving the lives of some of those people in Victoria that need it most. We are all here, in my opinion – and I said it in my first speech – regardless of which side of the chamber you sit on, to make Victoria a better place. We may from time to time disagree on the best way to do that, but I truly believe that that is the purpose that everybody is here for. I truly believe that that is exactly what this government business program goes to this week, which makes it such an incredible disappointment that the opposition have decided to oppose it. It is a disappointment, but as the member for Monbulk said, it is not a surprise. Week after week, time after time we come in here and the opposition have opposed the government business program.
To go to the content of the program for a moment, the member for Mildura and the member for Brighton spoke about the budget motion and how those opposite would like to make a contribution on the budget halfway through the fiscal year. I would not mind hearing it, to be frank. They could talk about all the fantastic things included in the budget for Tarneit. They could talk about the brand new Tarneit West station – $145 million worth of transport infrastructure that is going to allow my community to move from Tarneit into the city or Geelong for work or recreation.
The SPEAKER: I remind the member for Tarneit to not anticipate debate.
Dylan WIGHT: Of course. Thank you, Speaker. As I said, this government business program is all about helping Victorians that need it most and making Victoria a safer place. The Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Paramedic Practitioners) Bill 2024 does exactly that. It introduces an Australian first which is going to help keep Victorians safe and in doing so make Victoria a better place to live.
There is also, very importantly for my community, the Justice Legislation Amendment (Committals) Bill 2024, which will modernise and streamline Victoria’s committals process by abolishing duplicative tests and reducing retraumatisation of victims. Justice legislation, as I have spoken about in this place before, is always incredibly important to my community. Going through, doing some of the consultation with some of the stakeholders that I have in Tarneit and Hoppers Crossing, they could not be happier with the suite of reforms that we have made in justice legislation during this term, indeed during this year. We are the first state to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12, an incredibly important step.
Then there is the Inquiries Amendment (Yoorrook Justice Commission Records and Other Matters) Bill 2024. We know how important that is. We know how incredibly important continuing the reconciliation process with our First Nations people in Victoria is, unlike those opposite, who have shamefully walked away from their commitment to treaty in previous months. I commend the government business program to the house.
Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (12:42): Thank you, Speaker. Can I begin by wishing you a merry Christmas. I have not done my Christmas cards, but I will thank you for the one last year and anticipate one this year. Can I pass on my merry Christmas to everyone in the chamber but particularly to the clerks and all the people who work so hard behind the scenes, helping us ensure that a fair and equitable process occurs so people’s voices in Victoria can be heard through our contributions, so my sincere thankyou for all you do to support us. I would also like to say merry Christmas to all the constituents of South-West Coast, who support me throughout the year and who I hopefully am representing with a strong voice here in the Parliament on South-West Coast’s behalf.
Let us hope we all have a very joyful Christmas and that many visitors come to South-West Coast and enjoy our beautiful coastline, our beautiful countryside. We have everything to offer from the South Australian border through to the Great South West Walk, the Tower Hill area, the beaches – they are just too numerous to mention given what beauty we have to share. But please be mindful of our treacherous roads as you venture out of the city. It is hard to navigate roads that are full of potholes, and I genuinely extend my thoughts to make sure you take heed and travel carefully. I will continue my plight here in the chamber of fighting on behalf of South-West Coast to get those roads addressed.
You might want to come by train. The government have been boasting about the upgrade to VLocitys that we have seen recently on the track. Unfortunately we are not going to see the same amount of seats that we had in the past, so just be mindful that if you are going to use the train, you might be standing for considerable parts of the journey. People are complaining left, right and centre, but do not let those things stand in your way. I will be submitting a parliamentary petition this week and letting the government know that this upgrade that has turned out to be a downgrade is not acceptable. I will continue to give people the opportunity over the summer period to add their voice to a petition, and I will share more of that with the constituents later.
Coming to the government business program, we do have on the program an opportunity, perhaps – we have had it suggested before that these opportunities will happen – for us to speak on the budget, as one-third of the people in the chamber have not had the opportunity yet to speak on this budget, and this budget was handed down in May. It is actually the last sitting of the parliamentary year, and no opportunity has been given to one-third of the chamber to speak on the budget. I am not surprised, because the budget is such a bad budget. The government is intent on hiding it, as it does many things it does not like. It is secrecy, it is the way it hides things and it is just the way this government operates. But when you have got a state like we have now in Victoria, where we as Victorians are taxed more than any other people in any other state in this nation, it is no wonder that the government is ashamed of the fact that despite all those taxes, a terrible budget has blown the debt out to over $200 billion in the very near future, with a $25 million interest bill per day in this state. It is no wonder that the government want to hide that and do not want to debate it.
We also have on the government business program a bill that will improve the skills of some of the ambulance officers. This is a bill that I think will do something, but it will not do a lot to actually improve the health situation. With the government’s waste and mismanagement, our health system is in crisis. Rather than building hospitals in South-West Coast, where they were promising us that they would build a hospital to scope, we are now in the midst of redesigning that hospital because the government will not give the extra money required to meet the increased costs of construction. This is an opportunity, though, for us to rethink what the needs are. There should be a helipad for South West Healthcare, so during that redesign phase I urge the government to consider a helipad for South West Healthcare so that ambulance officers’ time is not taken up going back and forth between the airport and the hospital, which can take several hours. Their time is better spent looking after patients, so it is an opportunity the government should take up.
Assembly divided on motion:
Ayes (50): Juliana Addison, Jacinta Allan, Colin Brooks, Josh Bull, Anthony Carbines, Ben Carroll, Anthony Cianflone, Sarah Connolly, Chris Couzens, Jordan Crugnale, Lily D’Ambrosio, Daniela De Martino, Steve Dimopoulos, Eden Foster, Matt Fregon, Ella George, Luba Grigorovitch, Katie Hall, Paul Hamer, 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, Meng Heang Tak, 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, Roma Britnell, 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, Kim Wells, Jess Wilson
Motion agreed to.