PROOF ISSN 1322-0330

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS (HANSARD)

Hansard Home Page: http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/hansard/ E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (07) 3406 7314 Fax: (07) 3210 0182

Subject FIRST SESSION OF THE FIFTY-SECOND PARLIAMENT Page Tuesday, 12 February 2008

ASSENT TO BILLS ...... 1 Tabled paper: Letter, dated 21 November 2007, from Her Excellency the Governor to Mr Speaker advising of assent to bills on 16 November 2007...... 1 Tabled paper: Letter, dated 22 November 2007, from Her Excellency the Governor to Mr Speaker advising of assent to bills on 22 November 2007...... 1 APPOINTMENTS ...... 1 Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Party ...... 1 Tabled paper: Letter dated 22 January 2008, from Mr Springborg to the Speaker advising appointment of Leader of the Opposition...... 2 Tabled paper: Letter dated 8 February 2008, from Mr Springborg to the Speaker advising of Mr Springborg’s resignation from the Members’ Ethics and Parliamentary Privileges Committee...... 2 Tabled paper: Letter dated 6 December 2007, from Mr McArdle to the Speaker advising appointment of Leader of the Liberal Party...... 2 SPEAKER’S STATEMENT ...... 2 Broadcast of Parliament ...... 2 Tabled paper: Document titled ‘Audio visual broadcast of proceedings of parliaments in Australia’...... 2 MOTION OF CONDOLENCE ...... 3 Baldwin, Mr EA ...... 3 ORDER OF BUSINESS ...... 5 APPOINTMENTS ...... 5 Opposition ...... 5 Tabled paper: Document detailing Coalition Members appointments and shadow portfolios...... 5 SPEAKER’S STATEMENT ...... 5 Photographs in Chamber ...... 5 PETITIONS ...... 5 TABLED PAPERS ...... 6 MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS ...... 14 Opposition Appointments; East Timor ...... 14 Floods ...... 14 Water Supply, Fluoridation ...... 15 Tabled paper: Six folders containing a non-conforming petition relating to Queenslanders in favour of fluoridation...... 15

L J OSMOND N J LAURIE CHIEF HANSARD REPORTER CLERK OF THE PARLIAMENT Table of Contents — Tuesday, 12 February 2008

Her Excellency the Governor, Appointment Extended ...... 15 Tabled paper: Correspondence relating to the extension of the appointment of Ms Quentin Bryce as Governor of Queensland until 29 July 2010...... 16 Indigenous Roundtable, Cairns ...... 16 Tabled paper: Report dated 2007 by the Department of Communities titled ‘Review of alcohol interventions in Queensland’s remote Indigenous communities, Progress Report’...... 16 Urban Congestion ...... 16 Water Supply, South-East Queensland ...... 17 Queensland Economy ...... 18 Water Supply, Fluoridation ...... 19 Real Property Constructions ...... 19 Sexual Offences, Cape York ...... 20 Tabled paper: Letter dated 11 February 2008, from Peter Davis SC to Mr Shine relating to a review of Cape York Sentences...... 20 Tabled paper: Letter dated 11 February 2008, from the Solicitor-General of Queensland, Walter Sofronoff QC to Mr Shine relating to a report by Mr Davis SC...... 20 Police Operations ...... 20 2008 School Year ...... 21 Labour Market ...... 21 Floods ...... 22 East Coast Inshore Finfish Fishery ...... 22 MOTION ...... 23 Amendments to Standing Orders ...... 23 NOTICE OF MOTION ...... 26 Economic and Social Growth ...... 26 MOTION ...... 26 Suspension of Standing and Sessional Orders ...... 26 PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES ...... 26 Membership ...... 26 PERSONAL EXPLANATION ...... 26 Broadcast of Parliament ...... 26 SCRUTINY OF LEGISLATION COMMITTEE ...... 27 Report ...... 27 Tabled paper: Scrutiny of Legislation Committee Alert Digest No. 1 of 2008...... 27 REPORTS ...... 27 Annual Reports ...... 27 Tabled paper: Magistrates Courts of Queensland, Annual Report 2006-07...... 27 Tabled paper: District Court of Queensland, Annual Report 2006-07...... 27 Tabled paper: Supreme Court of Queensland, Annual Report 2006-07...... 27 Tabled paper: Guardianship and Administration Tribunal, Annual Report 2006-07...... 27 Tabled paper: Misconduct Tribunals, Annual Report 2006-07...... 27 Tabled paper: National Australia Trustees Limited, Annual Financial Report 30 September 2007...... 27 Tabled paper: Commercial and Consumer Tribunal, Annual Report 2006-07...... 27 QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE ...... 27 Electricity Prices ...... 27 Public Sector Salaries; Kaiser, Mr M ...... 28 Water Supply, Fluoridation ...... 29 Health System ...... 29 Water Supply, South-East Queensland ...... 30 Government Advertising ...... 31 Recycled Water ...... 31 Transit Authority ...... 32 TravelSmart Communities Project ...... 33 Kingaroy Base Hospital ...... 33 Crime Statistics ...... 34 Tabled paper: Document detailing crime rates on the Sunshine Coast...... 35 Accountability in Government ...... 35 Renal Dialysis ...... 35 Child Protection ...... 36 Asbestos in Schools ...... 37 Government Borrowings ...... 37 MOTION ...... 38 Economic and Social Growth ...... 38 MATTERS OF PUBLIC INTEREST ...... 54 State of Queensland ...... 54 Climate Change Conference ...... 56 Emergency Services, Floods ...... 56 Youth Violence ...... 57 Fibre Composites Industry ...... 58 Table of Contents — Tuesday, 12 February 2008

Child Safety ...... 59 Fuel Prices ...... 60 Racing Industry ...... 61 Equine Influenza ...... 62 National and Liberal Parties, Electoral Redistribution ...... 63 Springfield Parklands Project ...... 64 ICONIC QUEENSLAND PLACES BILL ...... 65 First Reading ...... 65 Second Reading ...... 65 TRANSPORT (RAIL SAFETY) BILL ...... 67 First Reading ...... 67 Second Reading ...... 67 LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AMENDMENT BILL ...... 68 First Reading ...... 68 Second Reading ...... 69 PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL ...... 70 First Reading ...... 70 Second Reading ...... 70 WATER FLUORIDATION BILL ...... 71 First Reading ...... 71 Second Reading ...... 71 EDUCATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL ...... 75 Second Reading ...... 75 Tabled paper: Copy of a submission, undated, by Glenn Scarffe, Maths/Physics Teacher, Tully State High School, to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Vocational Training Inquiry into Teacher Education...... 77 Consideration in Detail ...... 103 Clauses 1 to 12, as read, agreed to...... 103 Third Reading ...... 103 Long Title ...... 103 GAMBLING LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL ...... 103 Second Reading ...... 103 Tabled paper: Photograph of gaming machine ...... 107 Tabled paper: Photograph of gaming machine ...... 107 ADJOURNMENT ...... 115 Mackay Base Hospital ...... 115 Aspley Electorate ...... 115 Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary ...... 116 Gracemere Ambulance Service ...... 116 Queensland Budget ...... 117 Parliamentary Internship Program ...... 117 Tabled paper: Document by Jonathon Scott, dated 16 November 2007, titled Legal, Ethical and Social Challenges posed by Genetic Testing...... 117 Cardwell Shire Council ...... 118 Edwards, Mr R ...... 118 Goprint ...... 119 Queensland Rhythmic Gymnastics Association Summer Cup ...... 119 ATTENDANCE ...... 120 12 Feb 2008 Legislative Assembly 1 TUESDAY, 12 FEBRUARY 2008

Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly met at 9.30 am. Mr Speaker (Hon. MF Reynolds, Townsville) read prayers and took the chair. Mr Speaker acknowledged the traditional owners of the land upon which this parliament is assembled and the custodians of the sacred lands of our state.

ASSENT TO BILLS Mr SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have to report that I have received from Her Excellency the Governor letters in respect of assent to certain bills, the contents of which will be incorporated in the Record of Proceedings. I table the letters for the information of members. The Honourable M.F. Reynolds, AM, MP Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Parliament House George Street BRISBANE QLD 4000 I hereby acquaint the Legislative Assembly that the following Bills, having been passed by the Legislative Assembly and having been presented for the Royal Assent, were assented to by the Deputy Governor, The Honourable Chief Justice Paul de Jersey, AC in the name of Her Majesty The Queen on the date shown: Date of assent: 16 November 2007 “A Bill for An Act to facilitate a restructure of the water industry in south east Queensland, and for other purposes.” “A Bill for An Act to amend the Water Act 2000, and for other particular purposes.” These Bills are hereby transmitted to the Legislative Assembly, to be numbered and forwarded to the proper Officer for enrolment, in the manner required by law. Yours sincerely Governor 21 November 2007

The Honourable M.F. Reynolds, AM, MP Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Parliament House George Street BRISBANE QLD 4000 I hereby acquaint the Legislative Assembly that the following Bills, having been passed by the Legislative Assembly and having been presented for the Royal Assent, were assented to in the name of Her Majesty The Queen on the date shown: Date of assent: 22 November 2007 “A Bill for An Act to make provision for indigenous regional councils and for other purposes.” “A Bill for An Act to amend the Local Government Act 1993.” These Bills are hereby transmitted to the Legislative Assembly, to be numbered and forwarded to the proper Officer for enrolment, in the manner required by law. Yours sincerely Governor 22 November 2007 Tabled paper: Letter, dated 21 November 2007, from Her Excellency the Governor to Mr Speaker advising of assent to bills on 16 November 2007. Tabled paper: Letter, dated 22 November 2007, from Her Excellency the Governor to Mr Speaker advising of assent to bills on 22 November 2007.

APPOINTMENTS

Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Party Mr SPEAKER: Honourable members, I wish to advise that I have received correspondence from the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Lawrence Springborg MP, advising that he was elected Leader of the Opposition on 21 January 2008 and that he resigned from the Members’ Ethics and Parliamentary 2 Speaker’s Statement 12 Feb 2008

Privileges Committee on 8 February 2008. I have also received a letter from the Leader of the Liberal Party, Mr Mark McArdle MP, advising that he was elected Leader of the Liberal Party on 6 December 2007. I table a copy of the correspondence. Tabled paper: Letter dated 22 January 2008, from Mr Springborg to the Speaker advising appointment of Leader of the Opposition. Tabled paper: Letter dated 8 February 2008, from Mr Springborg to the Speaker advising of Mr Springborg’s resignation from the Members’ Ethics and Parliamentary Privileges Committee. Tabled paper: Letter dated 6 December 2007, from Mr McArdle to the Speaker advising appointment of Leader of the Liberal Party.

SPEAKER’S STATEMENT

Broadcast of Parliament Mr SPEAKER: Honourable members, the issue of television cameras filming in the parliament has been widely reported in the media. The important message that the proceedings of this House in their entirety are broadcast uncensored and unedited perhaps has been lost in the debate. The television media in the main have given this matter, I believe, disproportionate airplay. The message is often distorted when the messenger has self-interest in the message. My aim as Speaker has been to give the best possible service to Queenslanders. I have been trying to take an uncensored, unedited transmission of the Legislative Assembly to all Queenslanders regardless of whether they live in Thargomindah, Barcaldine, Normanton or Proserpine. I have been trying to achieve a modern, open parliament utilising the latest technology. I know that new technology and new mediums threaten older regimes and work practices. However, I have been astounded at the reaction of the older mediums to the new technological advances I wish to introduce. I have also been amazed at the television media’s response to the threat that these new technologies pose to their outdated work practices. The concept of the Queensland parliament having its own in-house camera system capable of being televised dates back to the early 1990s. Regular television filming of the Queensland parliament first commenced in 1996. Speaker Fouras allowed this on the condition that once the parliament installed its own fixed cameras in the Legislative Assembly chamber the TV cameras would leave, mirroring the situation in other parliaments. Television media organisations were fully aware of and agreed with this condition. No parliament in Australia that has its own broadcast system still allows the television media’s cameras on the floor of the House. I table a schedule demonstrating an analysis of the situation in other jurisdictions which proves this point. Tabled paper: Document titled ‘Audio visual broadcast of proceedings of parliaments in Australia’. For the last 12 years the TV stations have been free to film in the chamber all day and all night. There are important speeches, debates, votes and decisions affecting the people of Queensland occurring throughout each parliamentary sitting day. However, the television media have chosen in the main to only film for two hours each morning between 9.30 and 11.30, focusing on ministerial statements and question time. With only two hours of footage to choose from and with the restricted use of two pool cameras for all the four stations, it is little wonder that the television media’s stories on parliament are virtually identical regardless of the television channel. As Speaker I am overseeing unprecedented public access to the proceedings of the Queensland parliament. As Speaker I am attempting to ensure an unparalleled openness for the activities of the parliament. The fact is it is the parliament through its broadcast of proceedings that is presenting uncensored, uninterrupted coverage of the parliament to the world every minute of every hour of every sitting day. I repeat: it is the parliament through its broadcast that is sending uncensored, uninterrupted coverage to the world every minute of every hour of every sitting day. The Parliamentary Service working with the Department of Public Works and the Department of Housing has taken every effort to ensure that the broadcast is of sufficient quality for the media’s use. In early design, the television media suggested high-definition cameras at greater expense to the parliament to future-proof the vision for high-definition replay by TV. The parliament conceded the media’s requirement, even though the media’s technology that they use now is old technology and cannot reproduce and broadcast that high-definition vision. Later, the television media raised the lack of streams which limited their production techniques such as cut-aways. Three additional cameras and a second feed were installed to meet the television media’s requirements. The television media were concerned at the tightness of the shots taken of members with the call. I have relaxed the rules to enable wider shots. The television media were concerned at the lack of reaction shots. I have relaxed the rules to enable reaction shots. Despite listening to feedback from the television media and, I believe, responding well, it seems that they continue to remain dissatisfied. It has always been my aim for the television media to make a positive choice to use the parliament’s modern broadcasting facilities as they do in other jurisdictions such as the Commonwealth, Western Australia and New South Wales. 12 Feb 2008 Motion of Condolence 3

I have never wanted any lesser quality than what is available to other media in other Australian jurisdictions. The television media have steadfastly refused to accept the parliament’s broadcast. There are reasons for me to doubt the television media’s stated reasons about the quality of the parliament’s broadcast being insufficient for their commercial purposes. The television media agreed with me to trial the Queensland parliament’s broadcast and provide feedback during a trial from June last year. The parliament’s film was in fact already used on broadcast television during this trial. It is of great concern to me, and it should be of great concern to all members of this House, that the television journalists agreed on the one hand to a trial in good faith but on the other hand entered into a secret boycott of the parliament’s footage. It should be of greater concern to those interested in public sector ethics that a reporter who did use the footage from the parliament’s cameras last year was sanctioned by other members of the television media gallery for breaking their secret boycott. As Speaker of this parliament, I do not want this issue to become partisan and I have passed on those comments to both the Premier and the opposition leader. To avoid such an outcome and to ensure that the quality of the Queensland parliamentary broadcast is no less than what is available to other media in other Australian jurisdictions, I will write to the Leader of the House later today requesting that the government consider a motion to establish an all-party parliamentary select committee. The purpose of the committee will be to assess the parliament’s broadcast system and ensure that the quality of material is sufficient for the television media’s commercial purposes. In doing so, the committee should examine the broadcast systems in the other jurisdictions and the use of those broadcasts by local media and take expert advice. I will attach more precise terms of reference in my letter to the Leader of the House. I caution that further alteration to the broadcast system may also be significantly more expensive. In the interim, the current rules relating to the media’s access to the precinct and filming in the chamber will apply. To put it clearly, the two television pool cameras will remain. The nine fixed cameras operated by Hansard staff will be fully operational, and every minute of every hour of every sitting day will be available to the television stations and to every Queenslander. The footage from the parliament’s cameras will be for the entire proceedings and will be uncensored and unedited. I look forward to the work of the parliamentary select committee proceeding.

MOTION OF CONDOLENCE

Baldwin, Mr EA Hon. AM BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Premier) (9.41 am): I move— That: (1) this House desires to place on record its appreciation of the services rendered to this state by the late Edgar Allan Baldwin, a former member of the parliament of Queensland; and (2) that Mr Speaker be requested to convey to the family of the deceased gentleman the above motion, together with an expression of the sympathy and sorrow of the members of the parliament of Queensland, in the loss that they have sustained. Edgar Allan Baldwin, better known as Ted Baldwin, was born on 25 September 1922 in Oak Vale, Moregatta and was educated at Brisbane State High School and the University of Queensland, where he completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education. Mr Baldwin started his working career undertaking various jobs, including on a milk run, as a carter and woodcutter, as a factory worker, as a fitter and turner and as a seaman and radio technician for the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve from 1942 to 1946. Mr Baldwin graduated from the Queensland Teachers College in 1950 and was the head teacher at various state schools from 1951 to 1959. He was a science and maths teacher from 1959 to 1969. Mr Baldwin became an official in the Queensland Teachers Union, serving as president and general secretary, and was granted life membership of that organisation. In 1965, he became a member of the Australian Labor Party State Council and served as the party’s state president from 1968 to 1969. In 1973, Mr Baldwin was an Australian Labor Party delegate to the Australian Constitutional Convention. He was elected to this House in 1969. He served as the member for Logan from 1969 to 1972 before becoming the member for Redlands from 1972 to 1974. In his maiden speech on 2 September 1969, Mr Baldwin focused on various education issues, including the condition of state schools in the Logan electorate. He also addressed policy issues regarding the training of teachers, nurses and police officers, together with a call to rebuild and re-equip the facilities at Parliament House. Mr Baldwin also discussed matters relevant to primary producers and called for higher royalties from foreign companies for some of our minerals to help the better establishment of Queensland’s primary and secondary industries—all of which are issues that continue to concern members and the public today. A service for Ted Baldwin was held on 4 January 2008. I take this opportunity to extend my sympathy and that of the entire House to his family. 4 Motion of Condolence 12 Feb 2008

Mr SPRINGBORG (Southern Downs—NPA) (Leader of the Opposition) (9.44 am): I join with the Premier in expressing condolences on the occasion of the passing of Edgar Allan—otherwise known as Ted—Baldwin, teacher and parliamentarian. Ted Baldwin made his mark in teacher union politics as an organiser with the Queensland Teachers Union in the late 1940s. He was a member of the union’s South Brisbane branch and became known as ‘Red’ Ted for his outspoken and militant approach to union organising. He took over as president of the Teachers Union in 1968. Ted Baldwin was a committed unionist and also served for a year as state president of the ALP in 1968-69. He won the state seat of Logan in May 1969 and later held the seat of Redlands before losing in the landslide against Labor in 1974. Ted Baldwin returned to teaching and taught at several schools, including the Secondary Correspondence School and Wondai State School, before retiring in 1984. Ted Baldwin was awarded the Commonwealth Centenary Medal in 2001 for services to education. Ted Baldwin was born in Moregatta on the Atherton Tableland into a dairy farming family. The family later moved to Cairns and then to South Brisbane, where Ted won a scholarship to Brisbane State High School. He later became an apprentice fitter and turner in a press tool and munitions factory and he studied at night for an engineering diploma. Ted Baldwin joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1942 and served as a wireless mechanic. He married in 1943 and after his discharge from the Navy in 1946 resumed his studies, this time at the University of Queensland, where he gained a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education. He then taught maths and science at a number of schools across the state, including at Colinton in the Brisbane Valley, at Sunnyside, which is near Sarina, and at Balmoral State High School in Brisbane before entering parliament. Ted Baldwin passed away in Brisbane on 1 January of this year. Opposition members offer their condolences to his wife, Reeva, their family, and to their extended family. Mr McARDLE (Caloundra—Lib) (9.46 am): I join with the Premier in supporting the motion moved by her in relation to the death of Edgar Allan Baldwin, known as Ted Baldwin, who was born on 25 September 1922 and who passed away on 1 January 2008. During World War II, Ted was a seaman and a radio technician with the Royal Australian Navy Volunteer Reserve. In 1943, he married Reeva Clements and had four children: Ron, Frank and Carole, who survive him, and Eugene, who predeceased him. Ted also leaves behind 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. In 1950, Ted graduated from Queensland Teachers College and commenced a long career both as a teacher and as an official in the Queensland Teachers Union. Ted became a member of the ALP state council in 1965, he was state president between 1968 and 1969 and was a delegate to the Australian Constitutional Convention in 1973. Ted entered state parliament as the member for Logan on 17 May 1969 and remained so until 27 May 1972. He was then the member for Redlands until 7 December 1974. In 1985 he was awarded life membership of the Queensland Teachers Union. In 2001 he received the Commonwealth Centenary Medal for his services to education. To his widow, Reeva, and his children, Ron, Frank and Carole, and to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, on behalf of the Liberal Party I offer our sincere condolences. Hon. RE SCHWARTEN (Rockhampton—ALP) (Minister for Public Works, Housing and Information and Communication Technology) (9.48 am): I first met Ted Baldwin in about 1968 or 1969. Mr Speaker, I am sure you would have met him at around about the same time because he was a well- known person who was active in Labor politics at that time. He is credited with putting the Queensland Teachers Union on the map as a formidable political force in this state. Prior to his election as the president of that union, every president became a school inspector. Ted led a South Brisbane secondary school revolt against that notion and as a result earned the title of ‘Red’ Ted. He revolutionised many of the things that the Teachers Union did. When I first met him, he had come to Rockhampton with a group of Teachers Union officials. They had a mobile classroom, in other words, a futuristic looking classroom. It had in it, of all things, a white board. I remember very well the impression that made. He was truly outstanding, as the Teachers Union General Secretary, John Battams, said at his funeral when he eulogised him. He said, ‘He made a turn in the bend of teacher unionism in this state.’ That, of course, predated his time in this parliament. He was a committed member of parliament. He worked hard in his electorate. If members read the speeches he made in this parliament they will see that he never lost any passion for the labour movement or for Labor principles. It was a shame that he was washed out in the tide that washed Labor out in 1974 never to return to this parliament. He remained active in the Teachers Union after that period. He was rewarded with his life membership. I was at the council meeting where he was bestowed life membership. I remember him saying how he came from a poor background and the best place in town that he could go to was a school. He sat at a beautiful polished desk. The thought of him scratching his initials or anything like that into it—something that was far superior to the dirt floor that he came from—remained with him, I have no doubt, until the day he died. I will miss the annual get-togethers with Ted at the life members’ functions. He certainly earned his Centenary Medal as an educator. But he also deserves to be remembered in this House as a committed, decent, loyal, true-blue Labor bloke whose passing should be well recorded by those who value the principles of the Labor Party. Rest in peace, Ted. 12 Feb 2008 Petitions 5

Mr SPEAKER: I add a couple of words with regard to the death of Edgar Allan Baldwin. I say his name in that particular way because describing Ted Baldwin as Edgar Baldwin is very different to the character we all knew of as Ted. When I heard of Ted’s passing and when I look around the parliament today I realise that there are probably only a few of us who knew Ted well. Ted was a distinguished man. He was a very dignified man. He came from the position of fitter and turner to become a teacher. He was very well respected. He was highly honoured by that life membership for the work that he had done in teaching. I would also like to say that Ted was no stranger to Townsville. He travelled the state as a parliamentarian as well. The Leader of the House has alluded to the fact that Ted was defeated in 1974 after the then Leader of the Opposition, Perc Tucker, challenged the then Premier, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, to bring on an election. We then saw the routing of the Labor Party to a group of 11. I also extend my very sincere condolences to his wife, Mrs Baldwin, and their family. He played a great contribution as a unionist, as a teacher and as a member of this parliament. Will honourable members indicate their agreement to this motion of condolence by standing in silence for one minute. Question put—That the motion be agreed to. Motion agreed to. Whereupon honourable members stood in silence.

ORDER OF BUSINESS Mr SPEAKER: Honourable members, in accordance with sessional order No. 4, the order of business will now resume and question time will commence one hour from now at 10.53 am.

APPOINTMENTS

Opposition Mr SPRINGBORG (Southern Downs—NPA) (Leader of the Opposition) (9.53 am): Following my election on 21 January as Leader of the Opposition and Fiona Simpson’s election as Deputy Leader of the Opposition, I wish to table the full list of opposition appointments, including shadow ministers and shadow parliamentary secretaries, for the advice of the parliament. Tabled paper: Document detailing Coalition Members appointments and shadow portfolios.

SPEAKER’S STATEMENT

Photographs in Chamber Mr SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise that in 2005 the then Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the Hon. Tony McGrady, did make a ruling with regard to print photographers being allowed in the chamber. I indicate today that I am going to go along with the ruling that was made by Speaker McGrady in that print photographers will request permission from me as Speaker to enter the chamber and take photographs. That permission will be granted by me as Speaker. I wish to inform honourable members that the Courier-Mail photographer will be present in the chamber between now and the end of question time. An AAP photographer will also be present in the chamber to take photographs from now until the end of question time this morning.

PETITIONS

The Clerk presented the following paper petitions, lodged by the honourable members indicated—

Bruce Highway Upgrade Project Mr Cripps, from 817 petitioners, requesting the House to include the Lentini Road connection from Silky Oak to the realigned Bruce Highway in the highway upgrade project.

Performance Vehicle Display Facility Mr Moorhead, from 399 petitioners, requesting the House to fund the construction of a facility to allow car enthusiasts’ performance vehicles to display and operate without causing inconvenience to members of the public.

Pine Mountain Road, Mt Gravatt Mr Fenlon, from 121 petitioners, requesting the House to ensure Brisbane City Council pays proper compensation on the land at 292 Pine Mountain Road, Mt Gravatt. 6 Tabled Papers 12 Feb 2008

South East Queensland Water Grid Northern Pipeline Mr Wellington, from 761 petitioners, requesting the House to, re-route the South East Queensland Water Grid Northern Pipeline adjacent to the Bruce Highway and roadways.

Eudlo, Rail Services Mr Wellington, from 595 petitioners, requesting the House to advise the Minister for Transport of the importance the community places on the town of Eudlo retaining a railway station.

Eudlo, Rail Services Mr Wellington, from 546 petitioners, requesting the House to ensure the Minister for Transport gives full consideration to the option of the Eudlo to Palmwoods rail line upgrade to follow the existing corridor. The Clerk presented the following e-petitions, sponsored by the honourable members indicated—

‘Legs and Kegs’, Trading Hours Mr Choi, from 16 petitioners, requesting the House to refuse extended trading hours to ‘Legs and Kegs’, Capalaba, for liquor licensing.

Queensland Ambulance Service Mr Malone, from 1,694 petitioners, requesting the House to overturn Queensland Ambulance Service management’s 12 hour roster ballot and allow QAS officers the right to work 4 on / 4 off rosters without diminishment of working rights.

Supply of Alcohol to Under 18s Dr Flegg, from 946 petitioners, requesting the House to legislate to prohibit the supply of alcohol to under 18s unless they have their parents/guardians express permission.

Mental Health Services Mrs Pratt, from 493 petitioners, requesting the House to address the needs of people with severe mental illnesses who are unable to find effective treatment.

M1 Resurfacing Mr Langbroek, from 420 petitioners, requesting the House to resurface the M1 from Smith Street to Pimpama with asphalt/ bitumen.

Bethania, Railway Crossing Mr Moorhead, from 61 petitioners, requesting the House to ensure emergency vehicles are provided with a second rail line crossing on or close to the Bethania Railway crossing.

Roma, Flying Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Mr Hobbs, from 748 petitioners, requesting the House to ensure no reduction of services provided by the Flying Obstetrician and Gynaecologist operating from Roma.

Toowoomba, Senior Breast Care Nurse Mr Hobbs, from 358 petitioners, requesting the House to ensure Toowoomba Health Service honours the in-principle agreement to fund the full time Senior Breast Care Nurse position. Petitions received.

TABLED PAPERS

PAPERS TABLED DURING THE RECESS The Clerk informed the House that the following papers, received during the recess, were tabled on the dates indicated— 16 November 2007— • Response from the Minister for Main Roads and Local Government (Mr Pitt) to two paper petitions (879-07) and (880-07) presented by Mr Nicholls from 216 petitioners and 124 petitioners respectively regarding the Nielsons Road Interchange and the Exit 75 Elysium Road on the M1 respectively • Report by the Treasurer (Mr Fraser), pursuant to s 56A(4) of the Statutory Instruments Act 1992, in relation to the Financial Administration and Audit Regulation 1995 • Report by the Treasurer (Mr Fraser), pursuant to s 56A(4) of the Statutory Instruments Act 1992, in relation to the Financial Management Standard 1997 19 November 2007— • Response from the Minister for Main Roads and Local Government (Mr Pitt) to a paper petition (897-07) presented by Mr McArdle from 67 petitioners regarding crash and noise barriers on Caloundra Road, Little Mountain Home Park 20 November 2007— • Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland—Annual Report 2006-07 • Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland—Financial Report 2006-07 • Late tabling statement from the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister Assisting the Premier in Western Queensland (Mr Shine) regarding the 2006-07 Annual Report of the Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland • Government response from the Treasurer (Mr Fraser) to Public Accounts Committee Report No. 76 Review of Auditor- General Report 2 for 2006—Results of Performance Management Systems Audit of Government Owned Corporations’ Performance Reporting • Land and Resources Tribunal—Annual Report 2006-07 12 Feb 2008 Tabled Papers 7

21 November 2007— • Darling Downs-Moreton Rabbit Board—Annual Report 2006-07 • Late tabling statement from the Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries (Mr Mulherin) regarding the 2006-07 Annual Report of the Darling Downs-Moreton Rabbit Board • Response from the Minister for Main Roads and Local Government (Mr Pitt) to an e-petition (816-07) sponsored by Ms Lee Long from 25 petitioners requesting that a road tunnel, rather than a four-lane road, be constructed on the Smithfield to Kuranda section of the Kennedy Highway • Professional Standards Council—Annual Report 2006-07 22 November 2007— • Legal Practitioners Admissions Board—Annual Report 2006-07 • Late tabling statement from the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister Assisting the Premier in Western Queensland (Mr Shine) regarding the 2006-07 Annual Report of the Legal Practitioners Admissions Board • Response from the Minister for Health (Mr Robertson) to a paper petition (910-07) presented by Mr Langbroek from 574 petitioners and an e-petition (850-07) sponsored by Mr Langbroek from 112 petitioners regarding the needle exchange program at Burleigh Heads • Response from the Minister for Child Safety and Minister for Women (Mrs Keech) to paper petitions (896-07 and 908-07) presented by Mrs Stuckey from 3462 and 31 petitioners respectively and an e-petition (885-07) sponsored by Mr Purcell from 1104 petitioners regarding proposed changes to fees relating to the intercountry adoption process 23 November 2007— • Report on the Operation of the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Act 2005—Annual Report 2006-07 • Queensland’s Category 2 Water Authorities—Summary of Annual Reports and Financial Statements 2006-07 • Queensland’s River Improvement Trusts—Summary of Annual Reports and Financial Statements 2006-07 • Government response from the Premier (Ms Bligh) to Public Accounts Committee Report No. 74: Review of Auditor- General Report 6 for 2006—Results of Performance Management Systems Audit of Workforce Planning at Departments of Education and Health • Response from the Premier (Ms Bligh) to an e-petition (851-07) sponsored by Mr Moorhead from 103 petitioners regarding the Service Delivery and Performance Commission review of Goprint 26 November 2007— • Mental Health Review Tribunal—Annual Report 2006-07 • Health Quality and Complaints Commission—Annual Report 2006-07 • Erratum to the 2006-07 Annual Report of the Health Quality and Complaints Commission • Late tabling statement by the Acting Minister for Health (Mr Fraser) regarding the 2006-07 Annual Report of the Health Quality and Complaints Commission 27 November 2007— • Response from the Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation (Mr McNamara) to a paper petition (811-07) presented by Mr Gibson from 3033 petitioners regarding vehicular access to Hook Point Beach on Fraser Island • Queensland Gaming Commission—Annual Report 2006-07 29 November 2007— • Letter dated 28 November 2007 from the Premier (Ms Bligh) to the Clerk of the Parliament indicating the approval of an overseas visit by the Speaker (Mr Reynolds) to the People’s Republic of China between 5 and 19 December 2007 and attaching relevant information from the Speaker to the Premier regarding the visit 3 December 2007— • Response from the Minister for Health (Mr Robertson) to a paper petition (921-07) presented by Ms Lee Long from 2950 petitioners regarding mental health care arrangements • Overseas travel report—Report by the Minister for Natural Resources and Water and Minister Assisting the Premier in North Queensland (Mr Wallace) on a Cleantech and Water Trade Mission to Israel and a coal and mining trade mission to China from 26 October to 8 November 2007 • Report of the Queensland Ombudsman titled The Councillor Code of Conduct Report: An investigation into the Redland Shire Council’s management of a complaint against a councillor, December 2007 • Report of the Board of Inquiry into the Marine Incident involving the Ship Wunma in the Waters of the Gulf of Carpentaria on 6 and 7 February 2007, pursuant to s 132(3) of the Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Act 1994 4 December 2007— • Local Government Remuneration Tribunal Report 2007 • Public Works Committee Report No. 97—The Tugun Bypass Project 6 December 2007— • Service Delivery and Performance Commission report titled Report on Review of Goprint in the Department of Public Works, August 2007 • Scrutiny of Legislation Committee Report No. 35—Transport Operations (Road Use Management-Driver Licensing Transitional) Regulation 2007, Subordinate Legislation 2007 No. 227, December 2007 7 December 2007— • Legal, Constitutional and Administrative Review Committee Report No. 62, December 2007—Meeting with the Queensland Ombudsman on 13 November 2007 8 Tabled Papers 12 Feb 2008

• Legal, Constitutional and Administrative Review Committee Report No. 63, December 2007—Meeting with the Acting Information Commissioner on 13 November 2007 • Legal, Constitutional and Administrative Review Committee—submissions received by the Committee in relation to The Accessibility of Administrative Justice: Supplementary Issues • Annual Report of Daily Travelling Allowance Claims by Members of the Legislative Assembly for 2006/2007, pursuant to Section 1.3.1 of the Members’ Entitlements Handbook 10 December 2007— • Queensland Integrity Commissioner—Annual Report 2006-07 • Service Delivery and Performance Commission report titled Report on Review of QFleet in the Department of Public Works 11 December 2007— • Service Delivery and Performance Commission report titled Report on the Review of the Department of Housing 12 December 2007— • Response from the Minister for Main Roads and Local Government (Mr Pitt) to an e-petition (814-07) sponsored by Mr Hobbs from 10,311 petitioners regarding local government council amalgamations • Response from the Minister for Main Roads and Local Government (Mr Pitt) to a paper petition (969-07) presented by Miss Simpson from 223 petitioners regarding local government reform 13 December 2007— • Response from the Minister for Public Works, Housing and Information and Communication Technology (Mr Schwarten) to a paper petition (970-07) presented by Mr Dempsey from 67 petitioners regarding a proposed public housing development at Hillvue Crescent, Bundaberg 14 December 2007— • Response from the Minister for Natural Resources and Water and Minister Assisting the Premier in North Queensland (Mr Wallace) to a paper petition (936-07) presented by Mr Weightman from 969 petitioners regarding environmental protection for Stradbroke Island • Childrens Court of Queensland—Annual Report 2006-07 17 December 2007— • Interim response from the Minister for Main Roads and Local Government (Mr Pitt) to a paper petition (946-07) presented by Mr Nicholls from 46 petitioners requesting that the noise barriers along the Gateway Motorway be extended • Trust Company Limited—Consolidated Financial Report for the financial year ended 28 February 2007 • Government Response to the Select Committee on Travelsafe Committee Report No. 50: Report on the investigation into child deaths and injuries from low speed vehicle run-overs • ANZ Executors & Trustee Company Limited and its Controlled Entity—Financial Report for the year ended 30 September 2006 18 December 2007— • Response from the Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation (Mr McNamara) to a paper petition (945-07) presented by Mr Dempsey from 1009 petitioners requesting the acquisition of the land known as the Miara Properties for inclusion in the National Estate and dedication as a national park • Response from the Minister for Health (Mr Robertson) to a paper petition (940-07) presented by Mr Pitt from 7592 petitioners requesting the establishment of a cardiac surgical facility in Cairns • Response from the Minister for Health (Mr Robertson) to a paper petition (911-07) presented by Ms Lee Long from 3196 petitioners regarding appropriate care from doctors and nurses in public hospitals 19 December 2007— • Response from the Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation (Mr McNamara) to a paper petition (944-07) presented by Ms Stuckey from 522 petitioners and an e-petition (938-07) sponsored by Ms Stuckey from 422 petitioners regarding the employment contract of the Chief Executive Officer of the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary 20 December 2007— • Overseas travel report—Report on an overseas visit by the Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry (Ms Boyle) to Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, China and Hong Kong, 19-27 November 2007 • Response from the Minister for Main Roads and Local Government (Mr Pitt) to a paper petition (894-07) presented by Ms Lee Long from 262 petitioners requesting a cycle track be included in the upgrade of the Gillies Highway, between Yungaburra and Lake Eacham • Response from the Minister for Main Roads and Local Government (Mr Pitt) to a paper petition (923-07) presented by Mr Wellington from 33 petitioners regarding the need to upgrade sections of the Nambour-Mapleton Road and prioritise the upgrade of an unofficial pull-off lane • Response from the Minister for Main Roads and Local Government (Mr Pitt) to a paper petition (924-07) presented by Mr Wellington from 34 petitioners regarding the condition of the Eumundi-Kenilworth Road 21 December 2007— • Townsville Hospital Foundation—Annual Report 2006-07 • Late tabling statement from the Minister for Health regarding the Townsville Hospital Foundation Annual Report 2006-07 • Bundaberg Health Services Foundation—2006-07 Annual Report • Late tabling statement from the Minister for Health regarding the Bundaberg Health Services Foundation Annual Report 2006-07 • Financial Statements for the Legislative Assembly relating to the Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to Section 105Q of the Financial Administration and Audit Act 1977 12 Feb 2008 Tabled Papers 9

24 December 2007— • Whole-of-Government response from the Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations (Mr Mickel) to Parliamentary Select Committee on Travelsafe Report No. 47—Report on the Inquiry into Q-Ride • Response from the Premier (Ms Bligh) to an e-petition (931-07) sponsored by Mr Stevens from 77,074 petitioners requesting a referendum to introduce daylight savings 2 January 2008— • Response from the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister Assisting the Premier in Western Queensland (Mr Shine) to paper petitions (927-07 presented by Ms Male and 907-07, 925-07 and 935-07 presented by Mr Purcell) from 68 petitioners, 11,509 petitioners, 786 petitioners and 1,229 petitioners respectively, regarding the capping of interest rates 3 January 2008— • Queensland Tertiary Education Foundation—Final Report to the Honourable the Minister for Education and Training and Minister for the Arts 7 January 2008— • Mental Health Court—Report 1 July 2006—30 June 2007 8 January 2008— • Response from the Minister for Education and Training Minister for the Arts (Mr Welford) to an e-petition (815-07) sponsored by Ms Stone from 450 petitioners in relation to recognition and funding for Dyslexia • Overseas travel report—Report on an overseas visit by the Minister for Mines and Energy (Mr Wilson) to Canada and the United States of America from 28 November to 9 December 2007—Report on the delegation to Canada and the United States of America • Murray-Darling Basin Commission—Annual Report 2006-07 • Overseas travel report—Report on an overseas visit by the Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Sport (Ms Spence) to Christchurch, New Zealand from 20 to 22 November 2007—Report on the Ministerial Council on the Administration of Justice meetings 10 January 2008— • Response from the Minister for Main Roads and Local Government (Mr Pitt) to a paper petition (867-07) presented by Mr Cripps from 154 petitioners requesting an upgrade of the Kirrama Range Road 14 January 2008— • Response from the Minister for Natural Resources and Water and Minister Assisting the Premier in North Queensland (Mr Wallace) to a paper petition (947-07) presented by Ms Nelson-Carr from 200 petitioners requesting that the Townsville Showgrounds be retained at its present location 15 January 2008— • Report by the Service Delivery and Performance Commission on the Service Delivery and Performance Management Review of the Department of Local Government, Planning, Sport and Recreation, July 2007 • Report by the Service Delivery and Performance Commission on the Service Delivery and Performance Management Review of the Department of Tourism, Fair Trading and Wine Industry Development, August 2007 • Response from the Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations (Mr Mickel) to a paper petition (942-07) presented by Mr Moorhead from 451 petitioners requesting a second railway line crossing close to Bethania Station • Erratum to the Legal Aid Queensland Annual Report 2006-07 • Response from the Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning (Mr Lucas) to a paper petition (876-07) presented by Mr O’Brien from 504 petitioners requesting that the Port Douglas and District Combined Clubs be saved 16 January 2008— • Response from the Minister for Health (Mr Robertson) to a paper petition (943-07) presented by Mrs Stuckey from 111 petitioners regarding oncology services at the Gold Coast Hospital • Overseas travel report—Report on an overseas visit by the Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation (Mr McNamara) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change—Conference of the Parties, Bali 2007 from 12-16 December 2007 23 January 2008— • Overseas travel report—Report on an overseas visit by the Speaker (Mr Reynolds), titled Report to Parliament on an Official Visit to the People’s Republic of China in response to an invitation from the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress from 5-19 December 2007 24 January 2008— • Final Report of the Rail Safety Investigation QT2027 into the Near Miss with Track Maintenance Workers, Train EG53 at Peak Downs, Queensland on 20 July 2007 • Amendment to Schedule G of the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement entitled ‘Proposed Amendment to Schedule G of the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement’, as approved by the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council on 2 December 2007 • Amended Schedule G of the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement entitled ‘Schedule G—Effect of the Snowy Scheme’ 25 January 2008— • Response from the Acting Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries (Mr Fraser) to an e-petition (930-07) sponsored by Mr English from 652 petitioners regarding the impact of the equine influenza outbreak and cost sharing the financial assistance towards veterinary care of infected horses 10 Tabled Papers 12 Feb 2008

1 February 2008— • Response from the Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations (Mr Mickel) to a paper petition (929-07) presented by Mr Malone from 548 petitioners requesting crossing supervisors for students crossing the Bruce Highway, before and after school, at Sarina State School • Response from the Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations (Mr Mickel) to a paper petition (890-07) presented by Ms Male from 1206 petitioners regarding the development of a rail overpass in Beerwah 5 February 2008— • Bundaberg Port Authority—Final Report for the period ended 30th September 2007 STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS The following statutory instruments were tabled by the Clerk— State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999— • State Penalties Enforcement Amendment Regulation (No. 4) 2007, No. 276 Plant Protection Act 1989— • Plant Protection (Asian Sugarcane Planthopper) Quarantine Notice 2007, No. 277 Lotteries Act 1997— • Lotteries Amendment Rule (No. 3) 2007, No. 278 Urban Land Development Authority Act 2007— • Proclamation commencing certain provisions, No. 279 Building Act 1975— • Building Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 280 Water Act 2000— • Water Amendment Regulation (No. 3) 2007, No. 281 State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999, Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994— • Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) and Another Regulation Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 282 Child Protection Act 1999— • Child Protection Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 283 Fisheries Act 1994— • Fisheries Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 2007, No. 284 Mineral Resources Act 1989— • Mineral Resources Amendment Regulation (No. 4) 2007, No. 285 Land Court Act 2000— • Land Court Amendment Rule (No. 1) 2007, No. 286 Community Services Act 2007— • Proclamation commencing certain provisions, No. 287 Wild Rivers Act 2005— • Wild Rivers Regulation 2007, No. 288 Environmental Protection Act 1994— • Environmental Protection Policies Amendment Policy (No. 1) 2007, No. 289 Marine Parks Act 2004— • Marine Parks (Moreton Bay) Amendment Zoning Plan (No. 1) 2007, No. 290 Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000— • Police Powers and Responsibilities Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 291 and Explanatory Notes for No. 291 Education (General Provisions) Act 2006— • Education (General Provisions) Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 292 Local Government Act 1993— • Local Government Reform Implementation (Transferring Areas) Regulation 2007, No. 293 Judicial Remuneration Act 2007— • Proclamation commencing certain provisions, No. 294 Justice and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2007— • Proclamation commencing certain provisions, No. 295 Magistrates Act 1991— • Magistrates Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 296 Land Sales Act 1984— • Land Sales Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 297 Water Act 2000— • Water Resource (Burnett Basin) Amendment Plan (No. 1) 2007, No. 298 and Explanatory Notes for No. 298 12 Feb 2008 Tabled Papers 11

Forestry Act 1959, Nature Conservation Act 1992— • Forestry and Nature Conservation Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 4) 2007, No. 299 Nature Conservation Act 1992— • Nature Conservation (Estuarine Crocodile) Conservation Plan 2007, No. 300 and Explanatory Notes for No. 300 Nature Conservation Act 1992— • Nature Conservation Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 2007, No. 301 and Explanatory Notes for No. 301 Consumer Credit (Queensland) Act 1994— • Consumer Credit (Bill Facilities) Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 302 and Explanatory Notes and Regulatory Impact Statement for No. 302 Fair Trading Act 1989— • Interim Prohibition Order pursuant to s85A(1) prohibiting the supply of dangerous goods or undesirable goods (plastic novelties or toys which in their original form have at least two dimensions each measuring less than 45 millimetres and which expand in volume when immersed in water, gastric juices or other liquids) Queensland Building Services Authority Act 1991— • Queensland Building Services Authority Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 2007, No. 303 Public Health (Infection Control for Personal Appearance Services) Act 2003— • Public Health (Infection Control for Personal Appearance Services) Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 304 Chiropractors Registration Act 2001, Dental Technicians and Dental Prosthetists Registration Act 2001, Medical Radiation Technologists Registration Act 2001, Osteopaths Registration Act 2001— • Health Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 5) 2007, No. 305 Tow Truck Act 1973, Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995— • Transport Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 3) 2007, No. 306 Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Act 1994, Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994— • Transport Operations Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 307 Transport Legislation and Another Act Amendment Act 2007— • Proclamation commencing certain provisions, No. 308 State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999, Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995— • Transport Operations Legislation and Another Regulation Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 309 Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995— • Workplace Health and Safety Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No.310 Local Government (Community Government Areas) Act 2004— • Local Government (Community Government Areas) Amendment Regulation (No. 5) 2007, No. 311 Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004— • Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 312 Mining and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2007— • Proclamation commencing remaining provisions, No. 313 Electricity Act 1994— • Electricity Amendment Regulation (No. 4) 2007, No. 314 Supreme Court of Queensland Act 1991— • Uniform Civil Procedure Amendment Rule (No. 4) 2007, No. 315 Supreme Court of Queensland Act 1991— • Uniform Civil Procedure (Fees) Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 316 Magistrates Courts Act 1921— • Magistrates Courts Regulation 2007, No. 317 Land and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2007— • Proclamation commencing remaining provisions, No. 318 Forestry Act 1959— • Forestry Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 319 Nature Conservation Act 1992— • Nature Conservation Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 3) 2007, No. 320 Nature Conservation Act 1992— • Nature Conservation (Protected Areas) Amendment Regulation (No. 4) 2007, No. 321 Parliamentary Service Act 1988— • Parliamentary Service Amendment Rule (No. 1) 2007, No. 322 Exotic Diseases in Animals Act 1981— • Exotic Diseases in Animals (Equine Influenza) Amendment Notice (No. 2) 2007, No. 323 Nature Conservation Act 1992— • Nature Conservation (Macropod Harvest Period 2008) Notice 2007, No. 324 12 Tabled Papers 12 Feb 2008

Public Service Act 1996— • Public Service Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 2007, No. 325 Building Act 1975, Child Care Act 2002, Fire and Rescue Service Act 1990, Integrated Planning Act 1997, Pastoral Workers’ Accommodation Act 1980, Residential Services (Accreditation) Act 2002— • Building and Other Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 3) 2007, No. 326 Water and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2007— • Proclamation commencing certain provisions, No. 327 Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997, Plumbing and Drainage Act 2002— • Plumbing and Drainage and Other Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 328 State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971— • State Development and Public Works Organisation (Water Infrastructure Project Board) Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 329 Queensland Building Services Authority and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2007— • Proclamation commencing certain provisions, No. 330 Racing Act 2002— • Racing Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 2007, No. 331 Health and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2007— • Proclamation commencing certain provisions, No. 332 Health Act 1937— • Health (Drugs and Poisons) Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 333 Health Services Act 1991— • Health Services Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 2007, No. 334 Community Services (Torres Strait) Act 1984— • Community Services (Torres Strait) Amendment Regulation (No. 5) 2007, No. 335 Local Government and Other Legislation (Indigenous Regional Councils) Amendment Act 2007— • Proclamation commencing remaining provisions, No. 336 Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002— • Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 337 Rural and Regional Adjustment Act 1994— • Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 7) 2007, No. 338 Sugar Industry Act 1999— • Sugar Industry Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 339 State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999— • State Penalties Enforcement Amendment Regulation (No. 5) 2007, No. 340 Legal Profession Act 2007— • Legal Profession (Transitional) Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2007, No. 341 Fair Trading Act 1989— • Fair Trading Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 2007, No. 342 Water Act 2000— • Water Resource (Mary Basin) Amendment Plan (No. 1) 2007, No. 343 and Explanatory Notes for No. 343 Water Act 2000, Fisheries Act 1994— • Water and Other Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 2) 2007, No. 344 Water and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2007— • Proclamation commencing certain provisions, No. 345 Casino Control Act 1982— • Casino Gaming Amendment Rule (No. 1) 2007, No. 346 Nature Conservation Act 1992— • Nature Conservation (Macropod Harvest Period 2007) Amendment Notice (No. 1) 2007, No. 347 Fair Trading Act 1989— • Fair Trading (Bindeez) Order 2007, No. 348 Nature Conservation Act 1992— • Nature Conservation (Macropod Harvest Period 2008) Amendment Notice (No. 1) 2007, No. 349 Fisheries Act 1994— • Fisheries (Asian Bag Mussel) Disease Declaration 2007, No. 350 Exotic Diseases in Animals Act 1981— • Exotic Diseases in Animals (Equine Influenza) Amendment Notice (No. 1) 2008, No.1 12 Feb 2008 Tabled Papers 13

Electrical Safety Act 2002, State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999, Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003— • Electrical Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2008, No. 2 State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999— • State Penalties Enforcement Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2008, No. 3 South East Queensland Water (Restructuring) Act 2007— • South East Queensland Water Restructuring (Staff Support Framework) Notice 2008, No. 4 Professional Standards Act 2004— • Professional Standards (CPA Australia Ltd (Queensland) Scheme) Notice 2008, No. 5 and The CPA Australia Ltd (Queensland) Scheme for No. 5 Professional Standards Act 2004— • Professional Standards (Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (Qld) Scheme) Notice 2008, No. 6 and The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (Qld) Scheme for No. 6 Disaster Management Act 2003— • Disaster Management (Extension of Disaster Situation—Rockhampton) Regulation 2008, No. 7 Major Sports Facilities Act 2001— • Major Sports Facilities Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2008, No. 8 Health Services Act 1991, Pest Management Act 2001, Physiotherapists Registration Act 2001, Public Health Act 2005— • Health Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2008, No. 9 Local Government (Community Government Areas) Act 2004— • Local Government (Community Government Areas) Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2008, No. 10 Public Trustee Act 1978— • Public Trustee Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2008, No. 11 Jury Act 1995— • Jury Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2008, No. 12 Environmental Protection Act 1994, State Penalties Enforcement Act 1999— • Environmental Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2008, No. 13 Environmental Protection Amendment Act 2007— • Proclamation commencing remaining provisions, No. 14 Rural and Regional Adjustment Act 1994— • Rural and Regional Adjustment Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2008, No. 15 Hospitals Foundations Act 1982— • Hospitals Foundations Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2008, No. 16 Plant Protection Act 1989— • Plant Protection Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2008, No. 17 Mineral Resources Act 1989— • Mineral Resources Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2008, No. 18 Aboriginal Land Act 1991— • Aboriginal Land Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2008, No. 19 Building Act 1975, Fire and Rescue Service Act 1990— • Building Fire Safety Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2008, No. 20 Environmental Protection Act 1994, Nature Conservation Act 1992— • Environmental Protection Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2008, No. 21 PAPERS TABLED BY THE CLERK The following papers were tabled by the Clerk— Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer and Member for Mt Ommaney (Mrs Attwood)— • Overseas travel report—Report on an overseas visit by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer and Member for Mt Ommaney (Mrs Attwood) to the United Kingdom, 22-23 November 2007—Report on Liquor Licencing, Gambling and Racing Issues in the UK • Overseas travel report—Report on an overseas visit by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer and Member for Mt Ommaney (Mrs Attwood) to the CPA-UK Climate Change Conference, London, 26-30 November 2007 • Attachments 1-11 to Report on an overseas visit by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer and Member for Mt Ommaney (Mrs Attwood) to the CPA-UK Climate Change Conference, London, 26-30 November 2007 14 Ministerial Statements 12 Feb 2008

MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS

Opposition Appointments; East Timor Hon. AM BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Premier) (9.58 am): Before I go to my first ministerial statement, I take this opportunity to congratulate the member for Southern Downs, Mr Springborg, on his election as opposition leader. I also congratulate the member for Caloundra, Mr McArdle, on his election as Leader of the Liberal Party. I know both people understand that, in a healthy and thriving democracy, these are very important positions with serious responsibilities. I wish them both well in these new positions, although perhaps not too well. East Timor has many friends in this chamber. Many members of parliament from both sides have links through personal visits to East Timor or through the church, community or aid agencies in their electorates. In July 2001 I visited East Timor and, like other members of this chamber and many Queenslanders, I have keenly watched the struggles of this fledgling democracy close in our region. Yesterday’s events were a shocking attack not just on the leadership of East Timor but also on the hopes and dreams of the East Timorese people and their many supporters around the world. I am sure that I speak for all members of this House when I say that today our thoughts are with the East Timorese President, Jose Ramos Horta, as he struggles with the results of yesterday’s attack, and with the people of his country and, of course, his family. Floods Hon. AM BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Premier) (10.00 am): While the recent rain has been most welcome, subsequent flooding has impacted on much of our state and for many people has caused a lot of difficulties with their homes, businesses and properties. Overnight the situation has worsened in the Mackay, Whitsunday and north Queensland regions. Overnight there was major rain, with up to 400 millimetres falling in the Townsville region and 230 millimetres falling in Mackay. High wind gusts of up to 90 kilometres per hour have also been recorded. In these regions the SES was called out on a total of 16 jobs to, among other things, tarp leaking roofs and assist householders with minor flooding. As we speak, a dramatic rescue mission is underway to rescue 37 passengers and crew from a yacht that has been holed on rocks in the Whitsundays. Under natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements, in the past two months 71 local government areas covering more than 80 per cent of the state have been activated due to flooding. In fact, since December our Department of Emergency Services has been conducting continuous operations in response to severe weather events. Some of the figures are staggering. More than 2,700 people have been evacuated from their homes, including 1,280 people from outlying rural properties. More than 5,000 livestock have been killed and the repair bill is well over $100 million and still climbing. The Minister for Emergency Services, Neil Roberts, and I have travelled to a number of areas in Queensland affected by the floods. Talking with people in Charleville and Emerald as the flood waters were rising, I could not help but be touched by the irony that only days earlier those areas had been drought declared. Time and again I was impressed by the positive attitude of people in the face of such hardship. Of course I must also acknowledge and applaud the work of the many volunteers who assisted with the flood response. Those workers are local volunteers who work to help their own communities while others came from far beyond local areas. Indeed, volunteers have travelled from all over the state. Today those volunteers remain available to assist others, even though in some cases they are also facing the same challenges. I would also like to acknowledge the tireless efforts of the many state and local government officials who form the state, district and local disaster management organisations. Their resources were seriously tested during some of those events and they came through with flying colours. Additional members of Emergency Management Queensland and the Queensland Police Service were also deployed to assist communities, and they did an outstanding job. Together they all did a wonderful job, working as a team to respond to the impacts of the floods. Today I also recognise the response of the member for Gregory. It is at times like these that everyone needs to pull together, and he showed real commitment, joining me on the ground from day one. He did not wait for a media opportunity; he simply rolled up his sleeves and offered great support and assistance to local residents in their time of need. Now my government is working with the federal government, local councils in the affected areas and many non-government organisations to assist recovery, to support those in hardship and to help people return to their normal lives. A massive clean-up job is being undertaken and much work is yet to be done. 12 Feb 2008 Ministerial Statements 15

During the past few weeks the spirit of those communities has been tested and they have passed with flying colours. However, their patience is due to be tried even further as people go through the heartbreaking task of repairing their homes. So far, the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal has raised more than half a million dollars, including a contribution of $100,000 from my government. Major donations have been made by the coal companies, the employees of which live in affected communities, and I thank them for that. The priority is to assist individuals and families affected by the floods and I encourage everyone to give what they can. The road to recovery will be long. However, I am certain that by working together we can restore our communities, homes and livelihoods, allowing people to take advantage of some of the many long- term benefits of this rainfall. Water Supply, Fluoridation Hon. AM BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Premier) (10.04 am): Last year when I became Premier, I made a commitment to Queenslanders that I would work to better prepare us for the future and that I would be a Premier for all of Queensland. In my view this means taking issues out of the too- hard basket and making tough decisions that will benefit not only all of us but also future generations of Queenslanders. My government is making those tough decisions. On 5 December last year we committed $35 million to fluoridate our drinking water supplies over the next four years. This will become one of the state’s most important investments in the future health of our children. It will reverse a trend that has resulted in Queensland kids having the worst teeth in the country, and it is time that we put a stop to that. It will deliver to future generations dental health benefits that other Australians have been enjoying for up to 40 years. From the moment fluoridated water starts flowing from our taps, it will work immediately to combat tooth decay. Today the Minister for Health will introduce the Water Fluoridation Bill 2008. The government has not taken lightly the decision to do this. The decision is backed by an overwhelming amount of scientific evidence and long-term use around the world. Fluoridation is endorsed by the World Health Organisation, the American Medical Association, centres for disease control and the British Medical Association. It is also supported by a number of Australia’s peak health bodies including the Australian Medical Association, the Australian Dental Association, the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Public Health Association of Australia. Fluoridation is a safe, effective and proven preventative against tooth decay. However, I recognise that not everyone agrees with this decision. This afternoon health minister Stephen Robertson and I will meet with representatives of groups against fluoridation to listen to their concerns. This morning we spent a little time at the protest at this decision that is being held in front of Parliament House. I know that many members from both sides of the chamber will be receiving questions and concerns from their constituents. I reassure them that the office of the Minister for Health has material that members can provide to their constituents. I encourage them to seek assistance in answering any questions that they may receive, so that members of the public are well informed on this issue. Governments are elected to govern in the best interests of the community. I will not sit back and let a widespread health problem spiral out of control when a safe, reliable and proven prevention exists. There has been overwhelming support for the fluoridation of Queensland’s water supplies. This morning, health minister Stephen Robertson and I accepted a petition from the Australian Dental Association of Queensland, signed by more than 25,000 supporters. I seek leave to table the petition for the information of members. It is contained in these large blue folders. Leave granted. Tabled paper: Six folders containing a non-conforming petition relating to Queenslanders in favour of fluoridation. I am committed to rolling out the government’s delivery program for this initiative, which will ensure that 50 per cent of all Queenslanders will be drinking fluoridated water by the end of the year, 80 per cent by the end of 2009 and 90 per cent by 2012. I hope that members on both sides of this House support this important public health policy. Her Excellency the Governor, Appointment Extended Hon. AM BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Premier) (10.07 am): Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has agreed to my request to extend the current five-year term of the State Governor, Her Excellency Quentin Bryce. Her Excellency Quentin Bryce, our 24th Governor, continues to be an outstanding role model. Before taking on her present role she was a community leader fighting for the changes necessary to make life better for many, especially women and children. In her present role she has continued to set an excellent example for all and she continues to be an inspiring leader. I believe that she has done a great job, travelling to all parts of Queensland and paying particular attention to western Queensland. I applaud her for that. 16 Ministerial Statements 12 Feb 2008

The two-year extension approval means that Her Excellency the Governor can plan to play an active role in next year’s 150th anniversary of statehood celebrations. The extension means her term, which was to have ended in July this year, has been extended to 29 July 2010. I table a copy of the correspondence about this matter between Her Majesty the Queen and me. Tabled paper: Correspondence relating to the extension of the appointment of Ms Quentin Bryce as Governor of Queensland until 29 July 2010. Indigenous Roundtable, Cairns Hon. AM BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Premier) (10.09 am): Tomorrow the Prime Minister will make an historic apology to members of the stolen generation. Members of this House have been invited by the Speaker to a breakfast beginning here at 7 am to celebrate this important step in reconciliation with members of Queensland’s Indigenous community. I applaud the Speaker and the parliamentary staff who have facilitated this event. I endorse the federal government’s approach in this matter, but I also understand that a formal apology is merely one step along the road to improving the lives of Indigenous Queenslanders. We must do better. Alcohol abuse is at the core of much of the dysfunction, poverty, disease and violence which continue to blight our Indigenous communities. This Friday I will sit down in Cairns with the mayors of the 19 Indigenous communities to hammer out a new way of addressing alcohol abuse. Alcohol management plans have helped in some communities, but we must do more and we must do it urgently. Despite significant efforts by the Queensland government, by many in the communities and by other organisations, previous approaches simply have not produced satisfactory results to date. The Queensland government’s first baseline report tabled in this place one year ago found that health and social wellbeing indicators in our Indigenous communities are deplorably low. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to have higher rates of hospitalisation and incarceration. They are more likely to be abused or neglected and they are six times more likely to have a sexually transmitted disease than children in the general population. The review of the alcohol management plans provided to me at the end of last year found that, while there had been some initial improvement in communities immediately after the plans were introduced, the situation has deteriorated. In the 12 months to the end of 2006 the report found that there was nearly a 14 per cent increase in hospital admissions, a 15 per cent increase in reported offences against the person, and a 12 per cent increase in breaches of domestic violence orders and 73 per cent of those breaches were found to be alcohol related. A sense of urgency and priority is essential. To help drive this change I have moved the state’s key coordination unit on Indigenous issues into my department for an initial period of 12 months. The relocation of the Indigenous Government Coordination Office into my department will ensure that we make the necessary changes as soon as possible by working with all other government agencies. This reflects my personal commitment to improving the lives of every community member in Indigenous communities, especially women and children. The transfer will help improve coordination of government activity and investment across all of these areas. The portfolio responsibility for Indigenous issues, including the implementation of Partnerships Queensland five-year action plan, will remain with the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships. Little children should be safe at home. They should be cared for by parents sober enough to ensure that they are protected. They should be well fed and they should be getting enough sleep and going to school. Until the vast majority of adults in our Indigenous communities are sober this will simply never be a reality. Friday’s meeting is about changing that reality, and I look forward to updating the House on outcomes. I seek leave to table for the information of the House the progress report on the review of alcohol interventions in Queensland’s remote Indigenous communities. Leave granted. Tabled paper: Report dated 2007 by the Department of Communities titled ‘Review of alcohol interventions in Queensland’s remote Indigenous communities, Progress Report’. Urban Congestion Hon. AM BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Premier) (10.12 am): By the end of today another 200 people will be calling Queensland home. Our population is growing by almost that number each and every day of the week each and every week of the year. In fact growth in Queensland is so strong that by the time a baby born today reaches adulthood they could be living in the second most populous state in this country. There is no doubt that this growth brings opportunity and prosperity. However, it also brings challenges. I want to signal today that my government will be undertaking a major push to specifically tackle one of these challenges—and that is urban congestion. 12 Feb 2008 Ministerial Statements 17

Anyone who drives to work, particularly here in the south-east, knows that our roads are getting more and more congested as thousands of new residents join us on the daily commute. The equation is simple: more people simply means more cars on the road. In Brisbane alone the economic cost of congestion is predicted to grow to $3 billion by 2020. Since I became Premier late last year I have moved quickly to try to address this problem. In the past five months we have announced funding for 90 new buses in Brisbane as part of an annual $13 million boost in funding for new bus services from our government. We have introduced the implementation of free flow electronic tolling on the Gateway Bridge and Gateway upgrade project by mid-2009—two years earlier than originally planned—ensuring much faster flows across that major arterial road. We are also establishing the TransLink Transit Authority to better coordinate and schedule public transport. In addition, we are building major new infrastructure including the $1.9 billion Gateway Bridge duplication, $565 million to purchase 44 new trains to run on the Citytrain network and the $1 billion Springfield road and rail corridor. However, a massive building program for projects like this takes time. We are not going to simply stand around and wait for those projects to bring their benefits. In the meantime we will pursue policies that will ease the pressure in the short term while this work is underway. I am determined to tackle the congestion hot spots. One of our worst hot spots is the Airport Drive interchange. Anyone flying in and out of Brisbane, as many regional members do on a regular basis, knows this only too well. Since 2005 there has been a 25 per cent increase in peak hour demand by vehicles using this area. In addition, due to safety concerns we needed to install traffic lights on the roundabout. The net effect has been a build-up of pressure on the road system surrounding the airport. Drivers are simply waiting too long at peak periods at the airport roundabout interchange. In the long term the Gateway Motorway duplication will greatly ease this pressure. In the short term we have listened to community feedback about short-term solutions. I am pleased today to announce that we will allocate approximately $12 million to implement one of the short-term solutions identified by the Minister for Main Roads late last year. This $12 million will see the installation of traffic lights at the Sugarmill Road and Kingsford Smith Drive intersection to improve access to the airport and make it easier for motorists accessing the precinct to find alternative access points to the airport via Sugarmill Road and Lomandra Drive. We will also enhance public transport services to the precinct through TransLink and we will implement public information activities to raise community awareness of travel options into and out of the precinct. There is simply no silver bullet, but there are things that we can do to ease the pressure and this $12 million will be money well spent. We estimate that it will take roughly 330 vehicles off the roundabout each and every hour, greatly easing congestion and improving the drive in and out of the airport. It will help to ease the pressure but it is not enough. That is why I have asked the Department of Main Roads to continue to monitor the operation of the roundabout and to make a further assessment of any other measures that might help to alleviate this choke point on our road network. I want to exhaust all possible options in helping motorists at the airport hot spot. Confronting the problems of urban congestion will be a major challenge and a major priority for my government. Today I have outlined one initiative to tackle growth areas and hot spots, and I will continue to outline plans and actions for the future and detail how we can all play a part in managing the challenge of urban congestion. We must confront this challenge because it is bad for business, it is bad for the environment and at the end of the day it robs commuters of precious time with their families. Water Supply, South-East Queensland Hon. PT LUCAS (Lytton—ALP) (Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning) (10.17 am): I am proud that the first action I can take in parliament this year is to congratulate south-east Queensland residents for the role they have played in improving the region’s water supply situation. Understandably there has been a lot of talk on how much recent rains have boosted dam levels and the decision by the Queensland Water Commission to ease restrictions once dam levels reach 40 per cent. But it is not just the rain that has made that possible. Mums and dads, kids and grandparents, sporting clubs and community groups are the real heroes behind this decision to ease restrictions, not the rain. SEQWater estimates households and businesses have saved more than 15 months’ worth of water supplies over the past two years. Combined with the extra supplies from the $9 billion water grid at the end of this year and the recent rain, the QWC is confident that it will be safe to allow a small increase in the level of efficient use of outdoor water. However, I must stress that south-east Queensland remains in a water crisis and still needs more rain. Since parliament last sat, much of the state has received heavy rainfall and there has been widespread flooding. Here in the south-east, the region’s main dams have risen from a combined level of 20 per cent to over 35.8 per cent. Even so, Professor Roger Stone, Director of the Australian Centre for Sustainable Catchments at the University of Southern Queensland, has calculated that the south- 18 Ministerial Statements 12 Feb 2008 east still needs a further 400 to 600 millimetres of rain before the drought will be officially broken. What is more, he has established that there is only a 40 per cent chance of this occurring over the next five months. The decision to ease restrictions once dam levels reach 40 per cent would not be possible without faith that residents will not go back to the water-wasting ways of the past and the extra security provided by the water grid. The wet season so far has proven beyond doubt the value of having a water grid connecting dams spread across different catchment areas. While the level in Wivenhoe Dam, the south-east’s largest dam, has increased by only 3.3 per cent since mid-December, the level in the Hinze Dam on the Gold Coast went up by around 40 per cent and the dam continues to overflow. Dams on the Sunshine Coast were already near or at full supply. And further north, just downstream from the site of the proposed Traveston Crossing Dam, flows peaked at 22,400 megalitres per day last week. That is enough to fill over six Olympic swimming pools per minute. Mr Springborg: What about the Wolffdene site? Mr LUCAS: This is a dam that would have filled five times since 2002 despite drought conditions and would be full and overflowing right now. I do not think it is productive to take water policy advice from a person whose greatest concern about water recycling was changing the sex of fish. That is the scientific rigour we get from the Leader of the Opposition—change the sex of fish; be very careful of vegetables. Mr Springborg interjected. Mr LUCAS: It is interesting to note, too, that he starts off being impolite in the chamber. The Bligh government will continue to deliver the largest urban drought response in Australian history so that we can cater for growth and any future droughts that affect the region. Miss Simpson interjected. Mr LUCAS: We will talk about you later. A number of the larger grid projects scheduled for practical completion include the entire Western Corridor Recycled Water Project, the southern regional water pipeline, the eastern and the first stage of the northern pipeline interconnector, and the Gold Coast desalination plant. Construction of the south-east Queensland water grid is set to reach 50 per cent completion, with 225 kilometres of pipe physically in the ground, in coming days. This milestone is significant as more than 3,800 workers on the collection of water projects continue to charge towards project completion later this year. Last Friday the projects reported their respective efforts and collectively more than 220 kilometres of pipe was in the ground at that time. In a little over a year, this grid has gone from plans on paper to work on and in the ground. The Bligh government is getting on with job, and we will continue that work to back up the hard yards south- east Queenslanders have done to meet and beat Target 140 for more than eight months in a row. They are the true heroes. Queensland Economy Hon. AP FRASER (Mount Coot-tha—ALP) (Treasurer) (10.21 am): At the outset of 2008 the global outlook for 2008 and beyond is anything but certain. I warned last year it was our view that the music had not yet stopped on the US subprime mortgage fallout. Volatility on the share market has in fact worsened, with the market sitting 13 per cent below its opening for the year. With the Reserve Bank again forced to take punitive action on interest rates as it attempts to slay the dragon of inflation, governments around Australia need to adopt a strict discipline in their budgets. Despite this, we remain confident in Queensland that we have the ability, on the back of strong underlying fundamentals, to absorb and ride out the storm gathering globally. Inflation is not only the enemy of sustainable future growth within the national economy but also the enemy of working families across the state. As Queenslanders sat around their kitchen tables during the last week to once again rejig their family finances, the government is also undertaking a concerted program of efficiency gains. We are targeting savings of $200 million over the next two budgets to ensure that every single dollar of taxpayers’ money is being spent where it should be. We were not happy to find the results from our forensic audit of the Ambulance Service last year which identified $12 million that could be redirected towards the front line—towards purchasing ambulances and employing paramedics—but we are determined to root out soft padding wherever it resides. This will be achieved through efforts led by the Treasury and will apply across-the-board. If there are ‘nice to haves’ or excess capacity identified, we will act to free up that money and redeploy it to the front line. This will be achieved in accordance with relevant industrial agreements and there will not be any need for forced redundancies. While we need to be cautious, we can be optimistic. If you take the pulse of the Queensland economy, all the vital signs remain robustly strong. The alarm bells are sounding in other quarters, but we should be confident of our position and of our fiscal strategy. The upcoming state budget will be one of the most challenging the government has delivered and we stand ready to take the decisions to keep Queensland growing. 12 Feb 2008 Ministerial Statements 19

Water Supply, Fluoridation Hon. S ROBERTSON (Stretton—ALP) (Minister for Health) (10.22 am): Later today I will introduce the Water Fluoridation Bill 2008, replacing the Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies Act 1963. Under this legislation a statutory duty will be placed on public water suppliers servicing over 1,000 people to add fluoride to the public water supply. Within two years 80 per cent of Queenslanders will have access to fluoridated water, increasing to more than 90 per cent by 2012. A project of this size and scope will require close cooperation, consultation and collaboration with a number of key stakeholders across government. My department and the department of local government have already met with the Local Government Association in the first of regular meetings to discuss the practicalities of fluoridating water supplies. The planned rollout will begin with an audit of all eligible water treatment facilities soon to clarify infrastructure requirements and bulk purchasing of plant equipment. A high-level water fluoridation steering committee involving several agencies and chaired by Queensland Health also started meeting last month to establish clear roles and responsibilities across government to implement the fluoridation program. As health minister I am proud of this landmark initiative. It has been supported by a publication this month on Choice magazine’s web site stating— • There’s now solid scientific evidence that fluoride added to drinking water helps to protect your teeth from decay • The claims of those who oppose fluoridation are often based on outdated information, questionable research and selectively picking studies that support their case. • There’s no convincing evidence for harmful effects from fluoride at the levels used in our water supply. The most recent investigation by the respected National Health and Medical Research Council last year found no connection between water fluoridation and ill-health effects. Last week new scientific cancer research by the University of New South Wales investigating the causes of cancer ruled out fluoridated water as a cancer risk. Also, in contrast to claims that cities and countries around the world are getting rid of fluoridated water, just last week there were reports in the UK that the Brown government plans to spend over 42 million pounds to add fluoride to more water treatment plants. Its health department has reported that children in non-fluoridated Manchester are twice as likely to have tooth decay as those in Birmingham, where fluoride has been added for over 40 years. This finding is commensurate with those comparing the health of teeth of children in Townsville with the rest of Queensland. The savings on our investment of $35 million will be recouped by Queensland families many times over. For every dollar invested in fluoridation, the estimated saving per person is between $12 and $80 in dental treatment costs. Fluoridation is safe and it works. Combined with a good diet and good oral health practices it means fewer visits to the dentist, fewer fillings required, less pain and suffering for our kids and improved overall health and less damage to the hip pockets of Queensland families.

Real Property Constructions Hon. RE SCHWARTEN (Rockhampton—ALP) (Minister for Public Works, Housing and Information and Communication Technology) (10.26 am): Last Friday I wrote to some members in the areas of Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and Hervey Bay to advise that the Queensland Building Services Authority had withdrawn the licence of builder Real Property Constructions Pty Ltd, owned by Dennis Musca. The BSA was forced to take this action after RPC failed to meet a deadline to inject capital into the business to keep it viable. Despite the best efforts of the BSA in trying to assist Mr Musca it was clear that there was no chance of this business remaining viable, and as a result some 233 homes have been left uncompleted. While no-one can deliver guaranteed payment for commercial businesses like subcontractors and suppliers, we are fortunate to have a unique home warranty insurance scheme which will ensure deposits are repaid and help consumers get their homes completed. Over 160 consumers contacted the BSA over the weekend, and I congratulate the BSA for its initiative in making this after-hours service available. As of today, face-to-face meetings will take place with those who have issues regarding this closure of business. I might point out that it was this government which prevented this unique insurance scheme from privatisation. As far as I know, it is the only government owned scheme in the world. The BSA will do all it can to help subcontractors and suppliers to get paid, but it is worth noting that no complaint from any subcontractor had been lodged with the BSA prior to last Friday. The BSA has done all that it could to avert this disaster. I am advised that as early as September last year the BSA posted warnings on this company and in October forced RPC to not accept any more contracts. This action followed an audit that commenced in March 2007. I congratulate Ian Jennings and his team at the BSA and will keep the House informed. 20 Ministerial Statements 12 Feb 2008

Sexual Offences, Cape York Hon. KG SHINE (Toowoomba North—ALP) (Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister Assisting the Premier in Western Queensland) (10.28 am): Yesterday I received from Mr Peter Davis SC his report into the review of sentences handed down for sexual offences committed in Cape York over the last two years. I asked Mr Davis to conduct the review at the same time as I appealed the sentences given to nine offenders who pleaded guilty to the rape of a young girl in Aurukun. My appeal against the sentences handed to those nine offenders is scheduled to be heard in the Court of Appeal tomorrow. As the appeal is yet to be heard, I have received correspondence from Mr Davis and from the Solicitor-General, Walter Sofronoff QC, who will conduct the appeal on my behalf, asking that the details of the report not be made public until after the Court of Appeal has handed down its decision. I table that correspondence. Tabled paper: Letter dated 11 February 2008, from Peter Davis SC to Mr Shine relating to a review of Cape York Sentences. Tabled paper: Letter dated 11 February 2008, from the Solicitor-General of Queensland, Walter Sofronoff QC to Mr Shine relating to a report by Mr Davis SC. Messrs Davis and Sofronoff have asked that I do not release the report so as to not jeopardise the appeal through the release of information which may impact upon it. Regrettably, this means that the details of the Davis report will not be released until after the decision of the Court of Appeal is given. This government has been very open and accountable throughout this process. We quickly implemented a three-tiered response to the Aurukun case after hearing of the sentences given to the offenders. As Attorney-General I appealed the case and also sought and received a commitment from the Director of Public Prosecutions that her office’s handling of the case would be reviewed. The government also ordered a review of sentences handed down in the cape for sexual offences over the previous two years. I later asked Mr Davis to conduct that review. We have no interest in withholding details of the Davis report for any longer than they need to be. They will be released at the first opportunity available. However, there is a very important appeal before the court and we do not wish to imperil the hearing of that appeal in any way. Police Operations Hon. JC SPENCE (Mount Gravatt—ALP) (Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Sport) (10.30 am): Since parliament last sat police have been extremely busy and I would like to update the House on some of the major operations conducted in the last few months. Topping the list, police officers are to be commended for their work responding to the flooding that affected many parts of Queensland. Nowhere were police needed more than the town of Emerald with more than 1,300 people evacuated by 21 January. In the days following police dealt with a potentially explosive situation when looting was discovered and emotions were running high. Police stepped up patrols and four males were charged— two 15-year-olds, a 17-year-old and a man aged 30. There were significant concerns for the safety of those charged and they were removed from the community and are now before the courts. My thanks go to the police not just in Emerald but in all flood affected areas who worked long hours in very challenging conditions to protect and assist the public. Police in the Gold Coast district did a great job managing the challenges of the busy events season. There were 119 arrests on the Gold Coast during New Year’s Eve, 27 arrests among the 30,000 people at Summafieldayze and 99 arrests at the Big Day Out festival which was attended by 53,000 people. In the Cairns division police had major success targeting break-and-enter offences and the unlawful use of motor vehicles. Through saturation policing of target areas there was a 40 per cent reduction in unlawful entry offences for December 2007 compared to December 2006. The southern region’s Dial-in-a-druggie campaign in Roma, Warwick, Toowoomba, Dalby, Charleville and Ipswich provided nearly 60 useful leads. These are being followed up but already there have been arrests with one person facing 780 charges of supplying a dangerous drug. In the past week police conducted operation Golf Nitrous on the Sunshine Coast—a high-visibility operation targeting drug, property, traffic and public order offences. This resulted in 139 people charged with 282 offences, 30 search warrants executed, more than $24,000 in drugs seized and more than $60,000 in property seized including 47 firearms. Over the weekend police from the metropolitan south and north regions conducted 17,157 random breath tests in Brisbane on Friday and Saturday nights. Police detected 284 people drink- driving and six drivers drug-driving. It is a shocking result and proves that if people drink- or drug-drive they will be caught. In the early hours of this morning three officers from Whitsunday Police were called to the Coral Sea Resort after concerns were raised that a yacht containing six people, including four young children, had slipped its mooring. When police arrived the yacht was 10 metres from the rock wall and getting 12 Feb 2008 Ministerial Statements 21 pounded by extreme seas and gale force winds. In extremely dangerous conditions, police entered the water from the rocks to assist the young children aged 10, seven, four and two and their parents. All people on board were helped to safety in extreme circumstances just as the yacht was completely destroyed by rocks. Also this morning police have been involved in an operation to winch passengers and crew to safety from a stricken vessel in the Whitsundays. The 18-metre yacht, with 32 passengers and five crew, had struck rocks off Hook Island and was taking on water. All have been successfully rescued. I take this opportunity to thank all Queensland police for their excellent work over the Christmas holiday period.

2008 School Year Hon. RJ WELFORD (Everton—ALP) (Minister for Education and Training and Minister for the Arts) (10.34 am): I am delighted to report a successful start to the 2008 school year as the government continues to deliver quality education services to our Smart State. Schools opened in late January with more than 700,000 students enrolled in state, Catholic and independent schools, including around 480,000 in state primary, secondary and special schools. About 54,000 young Queenslanders took giant steps into educational history this year with our first full prep intake. Mr Reeves: My daughter was one of them. Mr WELFORD: I take the interjection from the honourable member and congratulate his daughter on her graduation to prep. An opposition member interjected. Mr WELFORD: At least she is free of her father’s influence. The Premier and I were at Kelvin Grove State College on the first day of school to welcome students into prep and mark this significant occasion. More than 37,000 prep students are in state schools, which is about 14,000 more than last year. To support this increase the government allocated 644 additional full-time equivalent prep state school teachers and allocated additional funding of approximately $7.7 million to employ more teacher aides in state primary schools. Prep promotes social and emotional growth, develops communication and other essential skills and encourages a life-long love of learning. It provides a head start for students in literacy and numeracy. Prep offers a great start to the education of young Queenslanders. To top off the big start to the school year, on 30 January the Premier and I officially opened the new $35 million Queensland Academy for Health Sciences at Griffith University on the Gold Coast with around 170 year 10 and 11 foundation students. Students at the academy can fast-track their studies and combine senior schooling with tertiary studies as they prepare for careers in the growth industries of science and medicine. They will gain research experience through the academy’s partnership with Griffith University, accessing facilities like the university’s Institute of Glycomics. Graduates will also gain the world recognised preuniversity qualification, the international baccalaureate diploma. This magnificent Academy for Health Sciences offers students the opportunity to realise their dreams and to ultimately help thousands to better health. The Queensland Academy for Health Sciences joins our other two academies—the Academy for Creative Industries at Kelvin Grove and the Academy for Science, Mathematics and Technology at Toowong—in providing outstanding opportunities for our best and brightest students in their senior years. The milestones of 2008 reflect our government’s dedication to delivering the very best education services to help all young Queenslanders realise their potential.

Labour Market Hon. RJ MICKEL (Logan—ALP) (Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations) (10.37 am): One of the most critical issues facing Queensland business large and small and the Australian economy in general today is the shortage of both skills and labour. Regrettably, warning signals to the previous coalition federal government largely went unheeded which means that skills shortages now being faced by industry around the country are far worse than they need to have been. The good news is that the federal government sees skills development as one of its priorities. I am pleased to report that the Australian government acknowledges that Queensland has led the way nationally in the provision of skills and jobs for those most disadvantaged in the labour market. These include Indigenous people, people from a non-English speaking background and people with a disability. Our experience in delivering jobs and skills through the Breaking the Unemployment Cycle initiative and more recently the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative has positioned Queensland strongly to play a lead role in the creation of a unique partnership between the Commonwealth and the states. 22 Ministerial Statements 12 Feb 2008

We can and I am confident will work together to deliver jointly funded outcomes and integrated levels of support to job seekers, particularly those marginally attached to the workforce. Australia, including Queensland, is facing reduced labour supply growth because of the ageing population and skill shortages. In Queensland, for example, we are projecting growth in the labour supply over the next five years of 2.2 per cent or 239,000 people. This compares with growth of 3.7 per cent or 370,900 over the past five years. The danger if we do nothing about improving participation in the workforce is that the economic growth Queensland has experienced over the past five years could be constrained in future years. I look forward to working with the federal government to address this issue in a cooperative spirit. We want to ensure that disengaged and disadvantaged people have the best opportunity of getting work and access to work in the future. Floods Hon. N ROBERTS (Nudgee—ALP) (Minister for Emergency Services) (10.39 am): Already this year floodwaters have inundated and isolated hundreds of properties and many communities across Queensland. Emergency Management Queensland has worked with local and district disaster management groups, the Bureau of Meteorology and other agencies to anticipate rising floodwaters and make the necessary and early preparations. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the member for Gregory and also the new member for Flynn, Chris Trevor, for their ongoing support for those communities in Charleville, Emerald and the gem fields. Emergency Management Queensland’s efforts included establishing almost 400 metres of temporary levy in Charleville, deploying flood boats and crews to affected areas throughout the state, moving around 30,000 sandbags to areas of need and coordinating 13 helicopters for counterdisaster operations, which included fodder drops to stranded cattle. I also want to pay tribute to members of all government agencies, of which there were many, the SES, voluntary organisations such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army, and also local council employees and members of the community for their tireless efforts throughout these flooding events. I also want to acknowledge the swift response from the federal government in helping to deliver the temporary levy to Charleville and also the Black Hawk helicopters which were used in and around the Emerald area to drop fodder to stock. However, as the Premier has indicated, the job is not over. Heavy rain, wind gusts and flash flooding overnight have kept SES crews busy across the state. Indeed, there was a dramatic rescue of 37 people from a yacht off Hook Island in the Whitsundays which has been underway since this morning. I can update the House and advise that Emergency Management Queensland informs me that the 32 passengers and five crew from the Hook Island yacht have now been rescued. The Emergency Management Queensland rescue helicopter based in Townsville and the Mackay based central Queensland rescue helicopter were both involved in airlifting those stricken crew and passengers. They have been flown to nearby Hayman Island, where they are being attended to by onboard paramedics and doctors, so that is good news. A severe weather warning is current for most of Queensland and flood warnings remain in place for a number of major rivers. But it is important to recognise that the drought is not over. Some parts of Queensland have been bone dry for so long and are now saturated and the ground cannot absorb much more water. Indeed, I received an email from a family member of mine in the Longreach area, which has been inundated with rain and floodwaters. Despite all of that rain, they have received only four millimetres of rain. We need to remember that, while there is a lot of water about, there are still a lot of people in rural communities doing it tough through drought. I advise that the potential for further flooding as a result of recent rains is very strong, but we are well prepared for that eventuality. To that end, I am pleased to announce that the government is continuing to deliver on its commitment of $24.5 million over five years for more equipment and training for the SES. Key equipment initiatives to date have included disaster management stores in Cairns, Townsville and Rockhampton and the purchasing of more than 4,000 kevlar helmets and a similar number of lightweight two-piece overalls for our SES volunteers. Late last year I announced the purchase of 10 new flood boats for the SES, and the department has invited offers from suppliers for up to another 19 flood boats depending on their size and configuration. Overall, our disaster management system has worked well during these recent extreme weather events. I again thank all of our professional and volunteer emergency service workers for their grand efforts. East Coast Inshore Finfish Fishery Hon. TS MULHERIN (Mackay—ALP) (Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries) (10.43 am): Thousands of stakeholders, including commercial and recreational fishers, have voiced their opinions on new rules proposed for the largest and most diverse fishery in this state. Fishers from across the state have attended public meetings to provide feedback on proposed rules for the Queensland East Coast Inshore Finfish Fishery which were released for public consultation in December. They have had their say on issues ranging from size, bag limits and netting to dugong protection areas. Public 12 Feb 2008 Motion 23 consultation meetings will continue for a further four weeks, and I fully expect these to be well attended. I know that some people have been very vocal about certain proposals. I would strongly encourage these stakeholders to submit their feedback at the meetings and through the response form. More than 400 responses have already been received by DPIF and are currently being analysed. These responses will be critical when reviewing the feedback on the proposals. I strongly emphasise that these proposals are not set in stone. The stakeholder meetings are a continuation of the comprehensive consultation period being undertaken on this fishery. All feedback will be considered, and the responses will help us to further refine the rules before they are implemented. Stakeholders need to keep in mind that the goal is to develop rules which are fair and equitable to those using this resource as well as ensure the fishery is protected and sustainable for future generations to enjoy. The proposals were developed following extensive preliminary consultation conducted throughout the state in late 2006. My department also worked closely with the Finfish Management Advisory Committee and its working groups. Queensland’s East Coast Inshore Finfish Fishery stretches from Cape York to the Queensland- New South Wales border. Being the largest fishery in the state means that it is one of our most valuable assets, with more than 750,000 recreational fishers and approximately 500 commercial operators accessing this resource. Full details of these proposals are available on the DPIF web site— www.dpi.qld.gov.au—or by contacting the department. Responses to the regulatory impact statement close on 17 March. I urge all stakeholders to have their say.

MOTION

Amendments to Standing Orders Hon. RE SCHWARTEN (Rockhampton—ALP) (Leader of the House) (10.46 am), by leave, without notice: Mr Speaker— Mr Johnson: Did you get a short one to the ribs, did you? Mr SCHWARTEN: You might laugh, but it is not very funny actually. It’s not very funny at all. Grow up. Mr Johnson: Have you lost your sense of humour? Mr SPEAKER: Order! Member for Gregory, would you mind interjecting from your seat, which you are quite capable of doing. Mr Johnson: I’ll go back there now, Mr Speaker. Mr SCHWARTEN: I’m in much better condition than the coalition is. I move— That the Standing Rules and Orders of the Legislative Assembly be amended in accordance with the amendments circulated in my name— 1. Part 1, Chapter 4— Omit, Insert— “CHAPTER 4 THE RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS, NOTICE PAPER AND TABLED PAPER DATABASE1 21. Record of Proceedings (1) An official record of the debates and proceedings of the House (to be known as the Record of Proceedings) is to be made.2 (2) The Record of Proceedings shall include a transcript of debates in the House and a record of the proceedings of the House. (3) The Record of Proceedings shall include the following procedural matters: (a) The names of the members present at each sitting of the House, or, if there is no quorum present at the time appointed for the meeting of the House, the names of the members then present; (b) All questions moved and debated; (c) All amendments moved and debated; (d) All questions put and the result; (e) The division lists and the results of all divisions; (f) All documents tabled; and (g) Any other matters determined by these Standing Orders, the House or the Speaker. (4) Every member shall be provided with a proof copy of the Record of Proceedings for each sitting day as soon as practicable. (5) The Speaker, the Clerk and the Chief Reporter shall sign and publish the Record of Proceedings. (6) Unless otherwise ordered by the House, the Record of Proceedings shall be published in accordance with and subject to rules approved by the Speaker or the Clerk acting on the Speaker’s authority. (7) If an error in the Record of Proceedings is reported, the Speaker shall direct the Record of Proceedings to be corrected. 22. Committee transcripts (1) A committee may determine that a transcript of its proceedings be made. 24 Motion 12 Feb 2008

(2) A transcript of the proceedings of a committee shall be published (or not published) in accordance with orders of the committee or the House. (3) If an error in a committee transcript is reported, the Committee Chair shall direct the transcript to be corrected. (4) A committee may order that material be incorporated in a transcript of its proceedings. 23. Notice Paper (1) The Clerk shall after each sitting day and before the commencement of the next sitting day publish a Notice Paper. (2) The Notice Paper shall contain: (a) All items of business currently before the House awaiting further debate including Bills, notices of motion and notices of revocation; (b) Questions on notice asked the previous sitting day; and (c) A list of all committees of the House, their membership, current inquiries and reports tabled during the current Parliament. 24. Copies of documents for members (1) The Clerk shall on request provide each member with one copy of each document published under the Standing Orders. (2) The Speaker may direct the Clerk to supply additional copies of documents to members. (3) Ministers shall ensure that adequate copies of documents tabled by them are supplied to the Clerk. 25. Incorporation of material in the Record of Proceedings (1) Unless otherwise provided by these Standing Orders, material may only be incorporated in the Record of Proceedings by the leave of the House. (2) A member shall only seek leave to incorporate material in the Record of Proceedings if the member has first shown the Speaker the material sought to be incorporated and obtained the Speaker’s consent. (3) The Speaker may issue guidelines about incorporating material in the Record of Proceedings. 26. Tabled Paper Database (e-papers) (1) The Clerk shall maintain an electronic database upon which the Clerk shall cause to be published electronic copies of tabled documents, as far as is practicable or convenient. (2) The Clerk shall not publish on the electronic database any report or other tabled paper where: (a) publication of the tabled document would offend another Standing Order; (b) publication of the tabled document has been restricted by an order of the House; or (c) publication of the tabled document would jeopardise the tabled paper database due to its size, content or some other matter. (3) Ministers shall direct those entities for which they are responsible to assist the Clerk to maintain the database by providing suitable electronic copies of tabled documents to the Clerk.” 2. Standing Order 31(4)— Omit, Insert— “(4) The details of all documents tabled and the day they are received by the Clerk during a recess must be included in the Record of Proceedings on the next sitting day.” 3. Standing Order 32(3)— Omit, Insert— “(3) The details of all documents tabled must be recorded in the Record of Proceedings.” 4. Standing Order 125(5)— Omit, Insert— “(5) The details of all ministerial responses to petitions received by the Clerk and deemed to be tabled and the day they are received by the Clerk must be included in the Record of Proceedings on the next sitting day.” 5. Standing Orders 128(6) and (7)— Omit, Insert— “(6) A member who has presented a Bill may move that their explanatory speech or part thereof be incorporated in the Record of Proceedings. (7) During or after such explanatory speech, the member who has presented a Bill may table any explanatory information to assist in the understanding of the Bill and, with the consent of the Speaker first being obtained, move that such information be incorporated in the Record of Proceedings.” 6. Standing Order 158(2)— Omit, Insert— “(2) The Clerk shall report any amendments made to a Bill under this Standing Order to the House on the next sitting day and the amendments shall, where possible, be included in the Record of Proceedings.” 7. Standing Order 183— Omit, Insert— “183. Availability of transcripts and tabled documents (1) The Chief Reporter is authorised to release the transcript of an estimates committee hearing as it becomes available, subject to any other express direction of the committee. (2) A Minister or the Speaker or any witness may only table a document at an estimates committee hearing with the leave of the committee. 12 Feb 2008 Motion 25

(3) Any document tabled at the hearing, by leave of the committee, is deemed to be authorised for release by the estimates committee unless the committee expressly orders otherwise.” 8. Standing Order 215— Omit, Insert— “215. Tabling of committee reports or other documents when the House is not sitting If the House is not sitting when a committee has prepared a report for tabling or has authorised for release any other documents (including documents prepared by the committee, submissions received by the committee or the transcripts of any hearings conducted by the committee), the committee may provide the report or any other documents authorised for release by the committee to the Clerk, and, in that event: (a) the report or any such document shall be deemed to have been tabled in the House on the date it is received by the Clerk; (b) the publication of the report or the publication of any such document is deemed to be ordered by the House; and (c) the tabling shall be included in the Record of Proceedings on the first sitting day after receipt by the Clerk.” 9. Standing Order 216— Omit, Insert— “216. Presentation of committee reports or other documents after dissolution of the House If a committee which has been specifically authorised by statute to continue in existence after the dissolution of the House, has prepared a report for tabling or has authorised for release any other documents (including documents prepared by the committee, submissions received by the committee or the transcripts of any hearings conducted by the committee), the committee may provide the report or any other documents authorised for release by the committee to the Clerk, and, in that event: (a) the report or any such documents shall be deemed to have been tabled in the House on the date it is received by the Clerk; (b) the publication of the report or the publication of any such documents is deemed to be ordered by the House; and (c) the tabling shall be included in the Record of Proceedings on the first sitting day after receipt by the Clerk.” 10. Standing Order 218(2)— Omit, Insert— “(2) The day of receipt and tabling of the ministerial response shall be included in the Record of Proceedings on the first sitting day after receipt by the Clerk.” 11. Standing Order 260(3)— Omit, Insert— “(3) The member’s declaration shall be included and indexed in the Record of Proceedings or the minutes of proceedings of the committee and in any transcript of those proceedings of that division.” 12. Standing Order 280(1)(b)— Omit, Insert— “(b) requesting that the person be able to incorporate an appropriate response in the Record of Proceedings or the relevant committee report.” 13. Standing Order 283(b)— Omit, Insert— “(b) that a response by the person who made the submission, in terms specified in the report and agreed to by the person or corporation and the ethics committee, be incorporated in the Record of Proceedings.” 14. Schedule 1 (Dictionary)— Insert in the alphabetical order the following definitions— “ “Record of Proceedings”—an official record of the debates and proceedings of the House that includes both a transcript of debates in the House and a record of the proceedings of the House. From (DATE TO BE ADDED), the Record of Proceedings replaced and incorporates two earlier official records, the Votes and Proceedings and the record of debates (Hansard). A reference to either the Votes and Proceedings or the record of debates (Hansard), is now a reference to the Record of Proceedings. “Votes and Proceedings”—an official record of the proceedings of the House. The Record of Proceedings replaced the Votes and Proceedings on (DATE TO BE ADDED). A reference to the Votes and Proceedings from (DATE TO BE ADDED) is now a reference to the Record of Proceedings. “Record of debates (Hansard)”—an official record of the debates of the House. The Record of Proceedings replaced the record of debates (Hansard) on (DATE TO BE ADDED). A reference to the record of debates (Hansard) from (DATE TO BE ADDED) is now a reference to the Record of Proceedings.” 1 Chapter 3, part 3 of the Parliament of Queensland Act 2001, which deals with parliamentary papers, operates so as to ensure that the publication of parliamentary documents such as records of proceedings and the Notice Paper are privileged and able to be published. 2 Section 57 of the Parliament of Queensland Act 2001 provides that (1) Reports of the debates in the Assembly published in printed form under the authority of the Assembly may be received in evidence as an accurate record of what happened in the Assembly. (2) Evidence must not be admitted contradicting, adding to or otherwise impugning the accuracy of the reports. Question put—That the motion be agreed to. Motion agreed to. 26 Personal Explanation 12 Feb 2008

NOTICE OF MOTION

Economic and Social Growth Hon. AM BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Premier) (10.47 am): I give notice that I shall move— That this House: 1. notes that Queensland is the fastest growing state in Australia and that this presents unique challenges and opportunities; 2. recognises that realising the potential of this economic and social growth requires a committed program of action to deliver significant infrastructure and growth in service delivery; and 3. notes the response by the Government and Opposition to meeting these challenges and maximising these opportunities to benefit Queenslanders.

MOTION

Suspension of Standing and Sessional Orders Hon. RE SCHWARTEN (Rockhampton—ALP) (Leader of the House) (10.47 am), by leave, without notice: I move— That notwithstanding anything contained in Standing and Sessional Orders that the order of business for this day’s sitting be altered: (a) to enable the Premier to move the Motion of which she has just given notice, immediately following Question Time, with time limits for speeches and debate of the motion as follows: Premier and Leader of the Opposition—10 minutes maximum each Other Members—5 minutes each Total debate time before question put—1 hour and 30 minutes (b) matters of Public Interest debate to follow the debate of the Premiers’ motion; and (c) the House is not to break for the luncheon adjournment until the Premiers’ motion is completed. Question put—That the motion be agreed to. Motion agreed to.

PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES

Membership Hon. RE SCHWARTEN (Rockhampton—ALP) (Leader of the House) (10.48 am), by leave, without notice: I move— The Member for Southern Downs, Mr Springborg, be discharged as a member of the Members’ Ethics and Parliamentary Privileges Committee and the Member for Callide, Mr Seeney, be appointed as a member of that Committee. The Member for Callide, Mr Seeney, be discharged as a member of the Standing Orders Committee and the Member for Southern Downs, Mr Springborg, be appointed as a member of that Committee. Question put—That the motion be agreed to. Motion agreed to.

PERSONAL EXPLANATION

Broadcast of Parliament Mrs PRATT (Nanango—Ind) (10.49 am): Recently, I was contacted by the media’s Madonna King of ABC Radio about the intention of Mr Speaker to remove the media’s television cameras from the parliamentary chamber and ban their use except on special occasions. It was the first time I had heard of the ban and the alleged reason behind the ban, that being the health issues of some MPs. Sleep apnoea and MS were specifically mentioned. Although Mr Speaker did not mention my name, the fact that I am, to my knowledge, the only MP with MS in the parliament and subject to scrutiny by the media makes it fairly obvious to all to whom Mr Speaker was alluding. In 2001 I was diagnosed with MS and, after coming to terms with that diagnosis, I let it be known to my constituency and to the people of Queensland generally through interviews with the media. I have not made a secret of my condition, the aim being twofold: firstly, to give hope to those diagnosed with this condition and, secondly, so that my constituents could judge my performance with that knowledge so that my opponents could not make a big issue of it at election time. If anyone assumes that Mr Speaker has outed my condition, then I seek to remove that assumption from their minds. 12 Feb 2008 Questions Without Notice 27

Since Madonna King’s phone call Mr Speaker has informed me of his strong belief in his obligation for the pastoral care of the MPs of this parliament—an obligation, he informs me, he takes very seriously. I thank him sincerely for his consideration of my condition. However, I wish it to be on record that at no time prior to Madonna King contacting me had I made any representation to Mr Speaker with concerns about the way the media had portrayed me in the past or would possibly portray me in the future, nor had Mr Speaker contacted me or asked me if I had any concerns of that nature and nor did Mr Speaker ask me for an opinion about the removal of the cameras. It is my belief that I have, on entering politics, entered a public arena and all that goes with it. This is the people’s parliament—a forum for open, honest and forthright debate—where the words and actions of the participants demand to be scrutinised by the people by whatever means are available through the technology of the day. I was not consulted about the removal of the television cameras. I do not support the removal of the cameras from the floor of parliament and I most definitely do not appreciate being used as a pawn to cover the real reasons—whatever they might be—for the removal of the television cameras. If my welfare and the welfare of other MPs was the reason for the proposed ban, then I thank you, Mr Speaker, for your concern. But for me, in this instance that concern is not warranted. I have never used my condition to stop me from doing anything. I have not hidden behind it and I do not expect Mr Speaker or any other person to do so—whatever they might be trying to do. I am concerned that Mr Speaker has found no better excuse for choking media scrutiny than members’ conditions. I find the highlighting and using of my condition, and that of other people, in such a manner discriminatory and a retrograde step in the work being done with the disabled in the workplace.

SCRUTINY OF LEGISLATION COMMITTEE

Report Mr WELLINGTON (Nicklin—Ind) (10.52 am): I table the Scrutiny of Legislation Committee’s Alert Digest No. 1 of 2008. Tabled paper: Scrutiny of Legislation Committee Alert Digest No. 1 of 2008.

REPORTS

Annual Reports Hon. KG SHINE (Toowoomba North—ALP) (Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister Assisting the Premier in Western Queensland) (10.53 am): I lay upon the table of the House the Magistrates Court annual report 2006-07, the District Court annual report 2006-07, the Supreme Court annual report, the Guardianship and Administration Tribunal annual report 2006-07, the Misconduct Tribunals annual report 2006-07, the National Australia Trustees Ltd annual financial report 2006-07, and the Commercial and Consumer Tribunal annual report 2006-07. Tabled paper: Magistrates Courts of Queensland, Annual Report 2006-07. Tabled paper: District Court of Queensland, Annual Report 2006-07. Tabled paper: Supreme Court of Queensland, Annual Report 2006-07. Tabled paper: Guardianship and Administration Tribunal, Annual Report 2006-07. Tabled paper: Misconduct Tribunals, Annual Report 2006-07. Tabled paper: National Australia Trustees Limited, Annual Financial Report 30 September 2007. Tabled paper: Commercial and Consumer Tribunal, Annual Report 2006-07. Mr SPEAKER: I welcome to the public gallery today teachers and students from Brisbane Boys College in Toowong in the electorate of Mount Coot-tha, which is represented in this House by the Treasurer, Andrew Fraser.

QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Electricity Prices Mr SPRINGBORG (10.55 am): My question without notice is to the Premier. When the Premier became Premier, Queenslanders had hoped that when she gave her word it would be carried through. In 2005, when the Premier spoke in favour of full retail competition for electricity, she said— Most importantly, it does not matter where you live, nobody—not one Queenslander—will be worse off under the government’s proposal. With an 11 per cent hike in electricity prices already and another seven per cent increase on its way, does the Premier stand by her promise that no Queenslander will be worse off? 28 Questions Without Notice 12 Feb 2008

Ms BLIGH: I thank the honourable member for the question. Let me make two points in relation to this question. Firstly, in relation to increases in the cost of electricity, members should be aware that the Queensland Competition Authority—and it was a determination of a piece of legislation in this House that the QCA should govern this matter—has recently issued what is called a draft determination in relation to electricity pricing. There is now an opportunity for the government and other organisations to make submissions on that draft determination. It needs to be understood that the draft determination was made on 7 February and could take into account only the circumstances that prevailed at that time. One of the most critical circumstances facing our electricity generators at that time was that they had serious water restrictions placed on them. Those water restrictions on our generators were all lifted by the Water Commission today. So as of today, no electricity generator in south-east Queensland is facing water restrictions. Opposition members interjected. Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is a fair bit of audible mumbling from the opposition frontbench. I ask you to desist while the Premier speaks. Ms BLIGH: We will be working with the Department of Mines and Energy and it will be putting forward a submission on the draft determination and drawing all of those changes to the attention of the commission. Frankly, I hope the commission revisits its draft determination and we see some reduction in that price increase, because I do not think that it is warranted if we can move away from water restrictions. Let me say this about the question that the member opposite has asked: the member for Southern Downs has come back into the leadership promising a breath of fresh air for conservative politics in Queensland. What we have seen from his very first question here this morning is not a new approach to his responsibilities; he has dragged out the same old tired, recycled, dirty kitbag of tricks from the last century. Miss Simpson: You still can’t answer the question. Ms BLIGH: If the member had listened she would know that the question has been answered. Let me make this point: this morning the member opposite has dragged out the same tired old tricks, because what we have heard this morning is the half-truth. The member is the master of the half-truth. Mr Horan interjected. Mr SPEAKER: Order! I warn the member for Toowoomba South. Ms BLIGH: If members look at the context of the comments that I made which he quoted this morning, they will see that they were made in relation to the application of the uniform tariff, not the cost of electricity. So what we get is the half-truth. What we get is the taking of something out of context and misquoting it for a dishonest purpose—same tired, old, last-century National Party. Public Sector Salaries; Kaiser, Mr M Mr SPRINGBORG: The Premier said that things would be different when she took over from Peter Beattie. Can the Premier explain why teachers cannot be paid the same as their interstate counterparts, why doctors and nurses cannot be paid the same as their interstate counterparts, why police cannot be paid the same as their interstate counterparts, and why the only public servant in Queensland who can be paid the same as their interstate counterpart is her chief of staff and Labor operative, Mike Kaiser, who is now pocketing over $200,000? Ms BLIGH: I thank the member for the question. It came in two parts and I will answer them separately. First of all, in relation to the wages of Queensland public servants, I am very pleased to stand here and give a firm commitment to Queensland’s nurses, teachers and police officers that we will not be lowering their salaries to match those of their counterparts in other states. As a result of wage increases in each of these areas of employment in the last four years, we are now paying our teachers, our doctors and our nurses wages that are paid in the top two or three states of Australia. Sure, in one or two states there might be some marginal differences, but we are not going to be dropping the salaries of those professions down to the lowest common denominator. The member for Southern Downs might think that uniformity down to the lowest common denominator is a way to recruit the best people; we do not. We want the salaries of our teachers, our nurses, our doctors and our police officers to be right where they are—up in the top two or three states in the country. We make no apology for it. It helps us to recruit. It helps us to retain people. Any suggestion from the member for Southern Downs that we should be dropping the salaries of those people is nothing more than foolishness. Let me say this in relation to the second part of the member’s question. I am very pleased to have an opportunity to put on the record of the parliament this morning how pleased I am that Mike Kaiser, my chief of staff, accepted my constant persuasions to return to Queensland. I note the complaints from the member opposite with regard to his salary. Again, Mr Kaiser took a salary cut to come to Queensland, and I think that indicates his commitment to this state. I suspect— 12 Feb 2008 Questions Without Notice 29

Opposition members interjected. Mr SPEAKER: I say to members of the opposition: I will warn you and then you will be out of the chamber. Ms BLIGH: I would suggest to the members in the chamber that the Leader of the Opposition can only dream about having someone of the calibre of this person. In the coming months and weeks we will see in evidence the kinds of people that he is able to attract into his office. We will see the sorts of people who go to work for the coalition in the hopelessly disunited state that it is in as it continues to disappoint the people of Queensland. Water Supply, Fluoridation Ms MALE: My question without notice is to the Premier. Can the Premier advise the House of the benefits to be delivered by fluoridation of our water supply? Ms BLIGH: I thank the honourable member for the question. This is a very important policy and I would encourage every single member to embrace it for the benefit and the health of our children, now and well into the future. Our six-year-olds here in Queensland have nearly 30 per cent more decay in baby teeth than the national average. A similar result is seen in the permanent teeth of our 12-year-olds. Every year, 2,000 Queensland children under the age of four need surgery to remove rotten teeth. I am committed to keeping ahead of these sorts of problems and my government is acting. We have committed $35 million to rolling out a capital program to ensure that more than 90 per cent of Queenslanders will be drinking fluoridated water by 2012. The majority of the south-east will be drinking water with fluoride by the end of this year and 80 per cent by the end of 2009. I do understand that people will have questions about this, and I indicated this morning that members should make it their business to find out more about this issue. I would say to those who have concerns that this is not an area of uncharted territory. Here in Queensland, people in Townsville have been drinking fluoridated water for more than a decade—30 years. In other states of Australia we see water supplies that have been fluoridated for 40 years. So we have had ample opportunity here in Queensland to see the results and to examine them across the country, and the science underpins that. When you have not moved on an issue for 40 years I do not think you can be reasonably accused of rushing it. I was very disappointed, therefore, to hear from the Leader of the Opposition this morning that he is starting to get a bit concerned about fluoride. He is starting to worry that we have not consulted enough. He is starting to get worried that we have not been out there giving people a say. Then I see reports in the Courier-Mail saying that he cannot get unity in the coalition party room on this issue. Four years ago the member for Surfers Paradise introduced a private member’s bill that mandated fluoride, provided no referendum— Miss Simpson interjected. Mr SPEAKER: I warn the member for Maroochydore. Ms BLIGH:—and both the government and the National Party opposed that legislation for what I believe was a sound reason at the time, and that is that it proffered what could only be described as an unreasonable and onerous burden on local government. The difference between the legislation of the member for Surfers Paradise and the government’s legislation is that this time we are in a position to pay for it. That is the only difference: we are paying for the costs of introducing fluoride. An amount of $35 million will underpin this initiative. So we have the Liberal Party, which voted for it last time and I presume will be consistent and vote for it again, and we have the National Party, whose members are already calling across the chamber and do not know where they stand on their very first issue. Health System Mr McARDLE: My question is to the Premier. The Premier said that things would be different when she took over from Peter Beattie. In particular, Queenslanders had hoped she would have learnt the lessons from the Morris and Davies inquiries. However, the government is now running an expensive, new, glitzy television advertising campaign which states, ‘If you are sick and you need us you will get the best of health care.’ At the same time the government’s figures show that more than 35,000 Queenslanders are on waiting lists— Mr SPEAKER: Member for Caloundra, I am asking you to get to the point of the question. Mr McARDLE: I will—and another 144,000 Queenslanders are waiting to get on waiting lists. Given these horrendous figures, will the Premier now order the withdrawal of this ad and apologise to Queenslanders for spending their money on propaganda instead of providing an effective healthcare system, as she is required to do? Ms BLIGH: I thank the member for Caloundra for his first speech to the parliament as the Leader of the Liberal Party. 30 Questions Without Notice 12 Feb 2008

Mr McArdle: Give an answer that makes sense. Mr SPEAKER: I am saying to the member for Caloundra that I would like you to act with decorum. You have asked the question. Hear the answer before you start yelling across the chamber. Ms BLIGH: I thank the member for the question. On the day that I was sworn in as Premier of Queensland I outlined that my commitment is to plan for the long term. It is to see over the horizon as far as possible and identify problems that can be fixed before they roll over the top of us. If the member opposite wants to do that—if he wants to support a health initiative that will take considerable pressure off the health budget and make a dramatic improvement to the health of Queenslanders—I would suggest that he gets unity in the party room on the issue of fluoride. If he cannot deliver all of his team on fluoride, then his credibility on health and preventive health is simply non-existent. Mr McArdle interjected. Mr Copeland interjected. Mr SPEAKER: Member for Caloundra and member for Cunningham! Ms BLIGH: Let me go to the question of advertising in Queensland Health. Like every other organisation, Queensland Health has an advertising budget. The current ads that people are seeing on television are about ensuring that people understand what kind of organisation Queensland Health is and what kind of organisation it would be to work for. I applaud the health minister’s efforts over the past couple of years to recruit doctors, nurses and allied health professionals to our system. I will be honest: when we put in place the Health Action Plan, the health minister outlined to the Cabinet Budget Review Committee what it would take to get the staff numbers up to the kinds of levels that would be needed to meet the service needs of Queenslanders. He very courageously set those targets in the Health Action Plan. I will be honest in that I thought they were stretched targets. I thought he was being very courageous because I was nervous that it would be difficult to recruit people because there is a high skills shortage around the world and Queensland Health at the time was not enjoying the most easy reputation. The Queensland health minister deserves our best congratulations because he did not just meet those targets, he did not just barely get over the line; he exceeded every single one of them by, frankly, an astonishing level. What we have seen is more doctors, more nurses and more allied health professionals in every single hospital in Queensland. He did that within his allocated advertising budget. He did it as a recruitment campaign both here in Queensland and in other states of Australia. I hope he keeps it up. Mr SPEAKER: Before I call the member for Ashgrove, I welcome to the public gallery today teachers and students from Ipswich Grammar School in the electorate of Ipswich, which is represented in this place by Rachel Nolan MP. Water Supply, South-East Queensland Ms JONES: My question without notice is to the Premier. Can the Premier update the House on the Queensland Water Commission’s decision to ensure that water supplies in south-east Queensland remain secure for the future? Ms BLIGH: I thank the member for the question. Along with my colleague the Deputy Premier, I was very pleased to welcome yesterday’s announcement by the Queensland Water Commission in relation to what it is calling a drought exit strategy. I think that is a very apt way of capturing the challenge that the Water Commission and the people of south-east Queensland have in relation to this issue. As we went into drought we learned a lot about how to better manage our water and about the trigger points that were used to impose levels of restrictions. Frankly, if all of us—including the mayors of south-east Queensland who were managing the issue at the time—were honest we would accept that, had we put harsher restrictions in place earlier, our water supplies would have lasted longer and we would not have found ourselves in the situation that we did. Therefore I am very pleased to see the Water Commission taking a very cautious approach to moving out of those water restrictions. I put on record my congratulations to the people of south-east Queensland who have done nothing short of an outstanding job. Initially our water usage was an average of 330 litres per person per day and it dropped to an average of under 140 litres per person. That was a magnificent achievement. It is one of the most outstanding and comprehensive examples of a change in human behaviour that I have seen locally in my lifetime. I take my hat off to every single person in my region who has been part of delivering that change. We have to accept that we need to manage water not just for now and not just for the population that we have today but for the population and the population growth of the future. We have to do that in the context of understanding that climate change means we are seeing rain falling into different catchment areas and we need to accept that we are going to face longer, hotter and drier periods. In that context, today I reassure the House and the people of south-east Queensland that, despite all the 12 Feb 2008 Questions Without Notice 31 rain of the past few weeks, our commitment to building the Traveston Dam is as strong as it has ever been. This dam is as necessary as it has ever been. It is not a short-term solution; it is part of our long- term planning. I note that in the last few days some what I would call very irresponsible mayors, joined by the Leader of the Opposition, have called for the lowering of water restrictions to occur more quickly. It is important for people to understand that the most serious water restriction that the people of south-east Queensland could face would occur if we do not build the Traveston Dam. The architect of the policy to stop that project is the new Leader of the Opposition. He wants to deprive the people of south-east Queensland of water security. He believes that the way forward is to build a couple of small rural dams to service local communities. We are going to build a dam for south-east Queensland. Government Advertising Miss SIMPSON: My question is to the Premier. The Premier said that things would be different when she took over from Peter Beattie. We thought that that would mean she would put an end to splurging taxpayer funds on self-promotion. However, in the weekend media the Treasurer was quoted as saying that he was about to take the knife not just to hundreds of Public Service jobs but also to government advertising. I refer the Premier to this full-page, full-colour advertisement appearing in the weekend Gold Coast media. I ask: what was the cost of this advertisement? Did it have to be a full page and in full colour, and is this the sort of self-promotion advertising that will be cut? Ms BLIGH: I thank the honourable member for the question. This weekend I will be very pleased to take my entire cabinet to the Gold Coast. We will be meeting with all local members. My parliamentary secretaries will be joining us and we will be doing what we have been doing since we were elected as the government of Queensland: we will be sitting down and talking to real people— Mr Springborg: Are you going on the train? Mr SPEAKER: Order! I warn the Leader of the Opposition. Ms BLIGH: We will be sitting down and talking with people from the Gold Coast about issues that affect them. Obviously different parts of the state have different population levels and it changes from community cabinet to community cabinet, but on an average Sunday afternoon at a community cabinet my ministers can meet between 400 and 1,000 people. In my view, in one Sunday afternoon my ministers meet more people than the member for Southern Downs saw on a 30-day tour of Queensland to have a conversation with himself about himself. Mr Springborg interjected. Mr SPEAKER: I have indicated to the Leader of the Opposition that I have warned him. If he wants me to go to the next step, he should keep on interjecting. Mr Lucas: I hope he didn’t do it over the ironing. Mr SPEAKER: Order! Deputy Premier, I am asking for less interjection between the two front benches. Government members interjected. Mr SPEAKER: Order! We are not going to have a debate about that. Ms BLIGH: Thank goodness. I think there would be 89 votes in opposition to that. Community cabinets are a very critical part of how this Queensland government does business. People say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. In that respect I welcome the decision of the new federal Rudd Labor government to adopt the idea of community cabinets and to take the federal cabinet to the people of Australia. Hopefully we can look forward to having them here. I look forward to real people from all of our electorates taking advantage of the opportunity to talk to ministers about things that really matter to them. I am unaware of any advertising for the Leader of the Opposition in any towns he visited. I do not know of any public meetings being called or any opportunities being made available for real people to meet with him and talk about his ideas and policies. As I said, he was running around Queensland having a conversation with himself about himself. Mr SPEAKER: Before calling the member for Yeerongpilly, today I again welcome to the gallery a group of teachers and students from the Brisbane Boys’ College at Toowong in the electorate of Mount Coot-tha, represented in this House by the Treasurer, Andrew Fraser. Recycled Water Mr FINN: My question is to the Deputy Premier. What is the state government doing to ensure the safety of purified recycled water for use in south-east Queensland and can he also advise the House of statements made about the effects of recycled water? 32 Questions Without Notice 12 Feb 2008

Mr LUCAS: I thank the honourable member for his question. Like others from this side of the House, the honourable member supports an integrated and sensible policy when it comes to providing for the water future of south-east Queenslanders. This government believes not only in water recycling but also in coastal dams, the water grid and demand-measurement matters. We believe in a comprehensive policy to deal with water issues. The Western Corridor Recycled Water Project includes a seven-step barrier system to manage the quality of purified recycled water. It includes treatment to remove organic materials, micro-filtration, reverse osmosis, advanced oxidisation, and release into a natural environment to allow effects such as sunlight to play a role before final treatment at a water treatment plant in the same manner as is currently undertaken, before entering into drinking supplies. The Queensland Water Commission is developing a detailed recycled water regulatory framework which will be enacted in the middle of this year. We also have an expert panel chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queensland, Paul Greenfield. We are taking a responsible approach to water quality and informing the public about these important issues. Of course, that is entirely different to the position of the Leader of the Opposition when it comes to recycled water. On 31 July 2006 the opposition leader erroneously indicated to the AAP that recycled water changes the sex of fish and could have similar effects on humans. I hope that they change the sex of crabs from female to male, because then I might be able to catch some more to eat. On 1 August 2006, Mr Springborg said of recycled water, ‘There are unanswered questions about it.’ He went on to say, ‘This is particularly with female hormones, both artificial and also natural ...’. We put more females into this House by electing them in preselection; we do not need recycled water to help us. He went on— Research into hormones and the effect that is having on the feminisation of fish and other animals that actually drink water—and also potentially humans—it is a highly emotion-charged debate. On the Madonna King radio program he was asked if he would eat food made with recycled water. The Leader of the Opposition said— No, I won’t because I’m not comfortable with it. Based on all the research which I have read and even the stuff from people saying that it’s, they don’t believe there’s a problem, they’re saying we need more research. I will tell that to everyone in the Lockyer Valley, the salad bowl of south-east Queensland, who needs water. Given that the member for Gympie describes the Leader of the Opposition as a recycled leader, it is no wonder that people are confused about the stance of the Leader of the Opposition on recycled water. He is an amateur astronomer and he is very keen on science. Perhaps he should look a little more into the science of water recycling, because it is critical to the people of south-east Queensland. We recycle water; those opposite recycle leaders. We make a positive difference to south-east Queensland water; they do not. On this side of the House we can agree on policy. We do not have different versions. We are not like the member for Noosa, who does not want desalination or the member for— Time expired. Transit Authority Mr NICHOLLS: My question is to the Premier. The Premier said things would be different when she took over from Peter Beattie. Last October the Premier announced that a new Transit Authority, based on the Transport for London organisation, would be up and running by 1 July this year, with full public consultation beforehand. When will this process begin? Can the Premier guarantee that she will meet her deadline or is this just more of the same old spin? Ms BLIGH: I thank the honourable member for the question. Our determination to improve our performance in relation to public transport remains as strong as it was when I announced this authority last year. I am pleased to advise the House that the minister for transport is well on track in the drafting of the legislation necessary for the establishment of this authority. It will be in the House, debated and passed well in time for it to be fully operational by July. In that process I understand there have already been some discussions with the operators of a number of public transport facilities, whether it is the Brisbane City Council or some of the other operators. We believe on this side of the House that you cannot stand still when it comes to these sorts of issues. I know that there is a lot of scepticism from those on the other side about whether or not an authority of this nature will make a difference. I believe that we have an obligation to continue to look for new ideas, to continually search for better ways of doing things, and that is what this authority is about. It is about bringing together the passenger services of Queensland Rail, which for all of its history has been part of a large conglomerate of services as broad as running coal trains not only in Queensland but in other parts of Australia, right down to whether or not the train on the Ferny Grove line is on time. What we need is a CityRail system where people only have one priority and that is the rail passengers. We need to work very hard on improving that passenger focused culture in Queensland Rail, and that is 12 Feb 2008 Questions Without Notice 33 what this authority is about. Equally it is about recognising that with 17 operators across the network there needs to be a much stronger centralised position in relation to timetabling and maximising all of the resources that are out there. I am very happy to have an opportunity this morning to recommit to the development of the TransLink Transit Authority. What this authority will do is deliver significant improvements. Will it happen overnight? No, of course it will not. This is about a significant improvement in culture that matches the significant new dollars we are putting in—90 new buses announced by the minister for transport since we last sat; three million extra passenger trips. We will see the completion this year of the Inner City Busway that will take substantial buses off the road and see them go underground, making a huge difference to inner-city travel by cars on the roads. Are these projects on time? Yes, they are. Is the authority on time? Yes, it is. I am happy to have a chance any time any day to stand up here and tell the House about how well my ministers are doing on these issues. TravelSmart Communities Project Ms GRACE: My question is to the Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations. I refer to the TravelSmart communities project that was conducted in Brisbane’s northern suburbs, including much of the Brisbane Central electorate, to promote the use of more sustainable methods of transport than the private car. What were the results of that project? Mr MICKEL: I can say to the House that the TravelSmart Brisbane north project was one of the largest such projects undertaken, I am advised, in the world. It was jointly funded by Queensland Transport, the Commonwealth department of the environment and water resources, the Australian Greenhouse Office and the Brisbane City Council at a total cost of $4.2 million and was conducted over 18 months from May 2006. The project contacted 75,000 households in Brisbane’s northern suburbs and it extended from Strathpine and Brighton, east to Nudgee and Banyo, and west to Bridgeman Downs, Keperra and The Gap. Some of the results were interesting. Those residents who participated reduced their private vehicle usage by an average of 13 per cent. It resulted in a 22 per cent increase in public transport usage among participants. That is why, as the Premier just said, we are announcing, developing and finalising projects such as the Inner Northern Busway at a total cost of $333 million. That will be done by mid-2008. That is why we are duplicating lines to the Gold Coast, to Ferny Grove in the northern suburbs and to Kuraby in the southern suburbs. That is why we are purchasing 44 new three-carriage trains for the suburban network. That is why since 1 July 2004 we have put an extra 500 buses on the road across south-east Queensland. That is why next Monday we will be rolling out new and extra services to help the Brisbane City Council, which is failing under the current lord mayor. We have had to prop him up because he had poor financial advice from the member for Clayfield. I do not want people to think that we are just south-east Queensland centric. Recently I asked the member for Cairns to announce the new air services for people in far-northern Queensland. Ms Boyle: Very well received. Mr MICKEL: Well received. Recently I announced the new services and bus contracts for people in western Queensland making their way to central and northern Queensland. One of the things I will not take up is the advice from the member for Clayfield, the shadow transport minister, who last year enjoined us to shut down passenger rail services in regional Queensland. We will not be doing that. We recognise that people in regional Queensland deserve a level of service and a level of competition. This would not have happened if tradition had been followed in the leadership team of the Liberal Party and it had in its Nos 1 and 2 positions a shadow Treasurer. If he were politically alive today the honourable member for Moggill would be whirling in his grave knowing that he is not part of a leadership team yet he is the shadow Treasurer. If we go back through the history of the Liberal Party to Hiley, Munro and Chalk, they were all shadow Treasurers or Treasurers in their day, not so you. Kingaroy Base Hospital Mrs PRATT: My question is to the Minister for Health. At a recent union meeting of Kingaroy Base Hospital nursing staff the following concerns were raised in relation to why standards appear to be falling (1) the lack of a medical superintendent and lack of leadership; (2) failure by doctors to fill in paperwork appropriately—that is, noting medication, dosage and times required, the reason being perhaps that of the five doctors only one is permanent and the other four are locums. Other concerns raised were that the demand on local GPs is so great that they have had to close their books to patients and in so doing the growth of the community is impacting heavily on the demands of the local hospital staff. The Premier stated this morning that staffing in all hospitals has improved. When will this improvement be seen in Kingaroy Base Hospital and what plans does the minister have to resolve the current situation confronting staff? 34 Questions Without Notice 12 Feb 2008

Mr ROBERTSON: The member makes a number of useful observations, including the shortage of GPs in the community and the impact that that is having on hospital emergency departments in particular. It is not just in relation to Kingaroy that we see those pressures arising. This is a point that I have been making quite often around the place. I released just last week the last hospital performance report for the December quarter, and what we see compared to the December 2006 quarter is an increase statewide of some 9.5 per cent in presentations to public hospital emergency departments. In the case of the Gold Coast that increase is around 35 per cent. In the case of Cairns it is around 18 per cent. Those increases are of course way above population growth and we need to ask the question: why is that the case? One of the real reasons is that we actually suffer from a shortage of general practitioners in this country. If you cannot access a GP where do you go? You end up in public hospital emergency departments. That is why I have been keen to discuss these issues with the new federal government. The previous Howard government just ignored that very simple fact: if you do not supply enough GPs, they end up in hospital EDs. I am pleased to say that that is one of the issues we will be increasingly bringing to the attention of Canberra this year in the discussions to form a new Australian Health Care Agreement. There is no point continuing to expand hospitals, as we are doing with some $5 billion worth of capital works underway—seven emergency departments being expanded as we speak; two already having come online—if you do not look at controlling patients coming in through the front door or, indeed, managing patients at the point of discharge. Last year I released figures that showed over 400 hospital beds each and every night in Queensland are occupied by the aged and frail. They are people who would be better off in aged-care facilities who had already spent 35 days in a hospital bed. If we can free up those 400 to 450 hospital beds a night, then that is an immediate five per cent increase in the number of beds that we have available for acute patients. Whilst I appreciate the frustrations expressed by the staff at Kingaroy hospital, I think they, as do all Queensland Health staff, understand that we need to take a more holistic approach to the delivery of health services in this country. That requires not just having our hospital sector properly resourced but our primary healthcare sector and our aged-care sector as well. Once you get those three areas working in concert, you can make a real difference in reducing the frustrations that the staff at Kingaroy have expressed.

Crime Statistics Ms STONE: My question is directed to the Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Sport. Like many people, I enjoy going up to the Sunshine Coast. If we listened to the member for Noosa we would think we were going to the crime capital of the world. He is saying that there are not enough police. Can the minister please inform the House about the latest information from senior police on the Sunshine Coast? Ms SPENCE: I thank the member for Springwood for the question. Under the National Party governments of the seventies and eighties, Queensland had the worst police to population ratio in Australia and the poorest paid police in Australia. Under this government we have a police to population ratio that is above the Australian average and we have amongst the best paid police in Australia. The member for Noosa is not alone in wanting more police in his electorate. I think most members of parliament share that desire. However, the member for Noosa is alone and quite unique in wanting to portray his electorate as a crime capital, as a lawless place without police. I find that interesting given his electorate relies on tourism as one of its major industries. I would like to take the opportunity this morning of congratulating the member for Gregory on resuming his position as shadow minister for police and corrective services. I think, finally, he will bring some common sense to this position, and I know that the police are happy to sit down and discuss matters with him. Hopefully he can use that common sense to persuade the member for Noosa of some facts about this portfolio. The first fact is that I do not allocate police in this state. That is a job that is done by senior police. They make the decisions about where police are going to be stationed in Queensland. The fact is that in an Aboriginal community in Queensland you might have a police to population ratio of one officer for every 100 people. In other parts of the state, like my own electorate, there might be one police officer for every 800 people. Mr Elmes interjected. Ms SPENCE: The police to population ratio in Noosa is decided on the amount of crime. I arranged for the member for Noosa to sit down with senior police officer Assistant Commissioner Graham Rynders and the district officer up there who apprised him that crime has reduced in most categories over the last 12 months. Mr Elmes interjected. 12 Feb 2008 Questions Without Notice 35

Ms SPENCE: I would like to table those wonderful statistics that show a 29 per cent decrease in rapes, a 17 per cent decrease in sexual offences, a 15 per cent decrease in property offences—and it goes on and on. Tabled paper: Document detailing crime rates on the Sunshine Coast. I do not think anyone seriously believes that Noosa is an unsafe place to live or work, but that is what the member for Noosa continues to want to portray it as. I sat down with those senior police officers yesterday morning and they told me that they were satisfied with the police to population ratios in the Noosa area. They also told me how they felt well supported by groups like the tactical crime squad, the CIB, the child protection unit and the traffic branch. They were delighted to tell me of the good crime figures in their area. Accountability in Government Mr LANGBROEK: My question without notice is to the honourable the Premier. I refer her to her statement that things would be different when she took over the premiership from Mr Beattie. I refer her to two different versions of the public hospital performance report her government released last week. One was released on Monday and then withdrawn. It was doctored up and released three days after its extreme makeover. I ask the Premier: is this a demonstration of her much-vaunted new, honest, transparent and accountable approach? Ms BLIGH: Firstly, in relation to any suggestion that any report has been doctored or is in any way attempting to hide the facts, you would have to concede that this government is, I think, the most open and transparent government in the country on health data. I would be very surprised if the framework of reporting every single quarter on all major indicators in every single hospital is not the basis on which we will see a national model requiring every hospital in this country to do the same. What I would expect to see is continued work by Queensland Health to ensure that every single piece of data that the public are well and truly entitled to see is put out there—like it does now and as it has done for years—so that we can monitor the performance of our hospitals. Now, of course every hospital is going to have different levels of performance in different quarters and across a 12-month period depending on their circumstances. Some will have very high rates of admissions during times when there are, for example in winter, a lot of people suffering flu. There may be very big pressures on an emergency service in a smaller region if there has been a critical incident in that region. So I would expect to see monthly and quarterly fluctuations, but what the presentation of this data does is allow everybody—the opposition, the public, the media and local communities, because we do not just put it out in Brisbane; it is put out in every single community across the state—to know what is happening in their hospitals. This was something that was started under the former Premier. In fact, I think he may have even committed to it when he was the health minister prior to coming into the leadership. It has been one of the hallmarks of the way this government deals with health. That is something that is not going to change under my leadership. We will not only be putting out the data that we put out now. But if under the new national plans that have been developed through the Council of Australian Governments there is an agreement nationally that there are additional indicators that should be reported, then we will be fully cooperating and assisting in that national effort. I believe that these things should be open. I believe that, whatever the difficulties contained in the information, they should be presented, they should be explained and, most importantly, they should drive government decision making. Where we see, through the release of that data, hospitals that are facing particular challenges, that is of assistance to not only the minister but also the Cabinet Budget Review Committee, the policymakers and the people who are making recommendations to the minister. That is what we should be doing: not just being transparent but also using that information and that data to drive good, effective government investment decisions and government policy positions. I am again very pleased—and I thank the opposition for giving me the opportunity—to outline to the parliament our commitment as a government to the full and transparent release of health data. Renal Dialysis Ms CROFT: My question is to the Minister for Health. The minister will be aware that the number of Queenslanders diagnosed with severe kidney disease is growing by about six per cent every year, and I ask: what is the Bligh government doing to deliver better renal dialysis services for kidney patients living on the Gold Coast? Mr ROBERTSON: I thank the member for Broadwater for that question, because I have very good news for sufferers of kidney disease living on the Gold Coast. From today the number of renal dialysis treatment chairs available for patients at the Gold Coast Hospital will nearly double. This service expansion results from the Bligh government’s $1.8 million investment in a new renal building at the hospital plus an upgrade of the existing 12-chair renal ward. Our ongoing annual $2.6 million investment in renal services at the Gold Coast Hospital will ensure we continue to deliver quality care to renal patients living on the coast. 36 Questions Without Notice 12 Feb 2008

The number of dialysis chairs available for patients at the Gold Coast Hospital will jump from 16 to 25 immediately today, with capacity to increase this to 30 chairs as demand increases. This is in addition to the new 14-chair renal unit we opened at Robina in October last year as part of the $40 million stage 1 redevelopment. Importantly, the nine extra chairs at the Gold Coast Hospital will alone allow up to 108 additional dialysis treatment sessions each week for patients. It also means we can deliver new and improved outpatient services to kidney patients living on the Gold Coast. The new renal outpatient centre at the hospital incorporates nephrologists, renal registrars and other health professionals, offering patients chronic kidney disease, dietetic, psychiatric and vascular outpatient clinics. Clinical staff have been closely involved in the planning and structure of the new renal unit to ensure that the models of care and patient services being introduced are based on the latest evidence. The expansion of renal services on the Gold Coast delivers on this government’s commitment to improve renal services throughout Queensland. The number of Queenslanders diagnosed with severe kidney disease is estimated at 13,400 and is growing at around six per cent every year. Queensland Health is progressing a new statewide renal service plan to address this increase in demand. We are investing in new and improved renal dialysis services at hospitals throughout Queensland. For example, we have already opened a new 12-chair renal dialysis unit at Redlands Hospital and we are delivering a brand new 12-chair dialysis unit at Caloundra Hospital as part of its current $27 million redevelopment. The expansion of renal services on the Gold Coast comes a week after we opened an additional 60 beds for patients on the Gold Coast at a new facility at Carrara. In turn, this will free up additional beds at Southport Hospital. This is proof positive of our ongoing commitment to keep pace with ongoing population increases and the increase in demand on the Gold Coast in the lead-up to the opening of the $1 billion University Hospital at Parklands in 2012. Child Protection Mrs STUCKEY: My question is to the honourable Premier. The Premier said that things would be different when Mr Beattie gifted her the premiership. I therefore refer her to the words of a former Speaker of this House and Labor Party stalwart, the Hon. Jim Fouras, who said— Nothing highlights the low priority of child protection in Queensland more than the tardiness of a number of ministers. Premier, in 2008, with three ministers in 14 months, what has changed? Ms BLIGH: I thank the honourable member for the question. It must be very embarrassing over there having to read those questions out, mustn’t it, Mr Speaker? It is very embarrassing. What has changed about child safety in Queensland since Jim Fouras made those comments? They were good comments at the time and they were made very appropriately. I will tell members what has changed. When I became the minister for family services in 1998 Queensland was spending less than half the national average on the area of protecting our children. Today, Queensland now spends above the national average on looking after our children. That is what has changed. What has changed since the times Jim Fouras was commenting on is that Queensland has a Labor government—a Labor government that cares about vulnerable children, a Labor government that cares about families who need support and a Labor government that understands that we have to resource these areas. We have systematically improved the investment in this area each and every budget. What we have seen is that the budget is now three times the budget that I inherited from the member for Beaudesert in 1998. Let me tell members what I inherited. In the 1995-96 budget the then Goss government identified an additional $8 million for child protection. Do members know what happened to it? The member for Beaudesert gave it back to the then Liberal Treasurer Joan Sheldon as a savings measure. He gave back $8 million. Shame! The first real increase in money that the Goss government was able to put into this area was taken out and given back. That is what happened. Mr Johnson: He was a good minister, though. Ms BLIGH: I will not even comment on that nonsense. Mr Johnson: He was well regarded. Mr SPEAKER: Order! Member for Gregory. Ms BLIGH: As we all know, the minister who was given the responsibility for this issue when the Leader of the Opposition was in cabinet last time was someone who was too busy going out to lunch to execute his portfolio responsibilities. I would suggest to the— Mr Hobbs interjected. Mr SPEAKER: Order! Member for Warrego. Mr Malone interjected. Mr SPEAKER: Member for Mirani. 12 Feb 2008 Questions Without Notice 37

Ms BLIGH: I would respectfully suggest to the member for Currumbin that the history on this shows that it is the Labor Party in Queensland that has delivered in this area. It is a very complex area. It is a very difficult area in which to get results. Mr Copeland interjected. Mr SPEAKER: I warn the member for Cunningham. Ms BLIGH: We have increased funding. We have increased staff. Importantly, we have increased the support and resources that go to our foster-carers and we are going to keep doing it. Asbestos in Schools Mr GRAY: My question without notice is directed to the Minister for Education and Training and Minister for the Arts. I refer the minister to the completion of the Asbestos Roof Replacement Program last year, and I ask: what is the government doing to ensure the continued safety of our students where products containing asbestos are used in schools? Mr WELFORD: I thank the honourable member for his question and his interest in this important issue. As the member is aware, last year we completed the Asbestos Roof Replacement Program 7½ years ahead of schedule and $8 million under budget. A total of 919 roofs were safely replaced at schools across the state—a tremendous achievement. This was achieved through the cooperation of my department and the Department of Public Works. I thank the minister for public works for his assistance. As part of our ongoing maintenance program relating to school floors containing asbestos, principals were asked before the summer school holidays to review the building management plan for their school and identify any vinyl flooring in their schools that might require attention. Some vinyl flooring contains asbestos and some does not. Some floors contain asbestos in the backing material or it is bonded into the tiles themselves. Following identification by the principals, Q-Build attended some 640 schools over the school holidays to seal any splits, cracks or holes in vinyl or lino flooring materials. I should emphasise that not all of those floors necessarily contain asbestos. This is in line with the maintenance program I instigated last year that where schools identify damage to flooring that may contain asbestos immediate steps are taken to seal or replace flooring to ensure that all classrooms are safe for students and staff. Student and staff safety remains my highest priority which is why maintenance work is only undertaken on weekends or at times when staff and students are not present. I would like to thank principals for helping to accelerate this program and Q-Build for promptly attending to these floors to ensure the continued safety of our staff and students. Where necessary we will now put a range of longer term solutions in place such as providing new floor coverings or removing the floor entirely. It is important that parents, students and staff are assured that our schools are safe places in which to work and learn. Our ongoing floor maintenance program will ensure this. Most of the asbestos remaining in schools is bonded into materials and, as members are aware, as long as the materials are not disturbed school classrooms and spaces in schools are all safe. As the Leader of the Opposition himself said in parliament on 9 November 2004— I have asbestos in my ceiling at home. There are many people who live in public houses across Queensland—tens of thousands—who have asbestos in their roofs and their ceilings, but asbestos when not disturbed is not a health threat whatsoever. Everyone knows that. I concur with the opposition leader’s views. Government Borrowings Dr FLEGG: My question without notice is to the Treasurer— Mr Rickuss: The only person in Queensland more hated than the Emerald looters. Mr SPEAKER: Before the member goes on with his question, I note that he has one of his opposition members stopping the question. Can I say to the member for Lockyer that you usually mumble your statements. You have said that fairly loudly. Please desist, if you do not mind. I call the member for Moggill. Dr FLEGG: My question without notice is to the Treasurer. Given that the borrowings in the forward estimates have now blown out by a further $3 billion to $55 billion, can the Treasurer explain to the House how a mere $200 million spending cut will help fight inflation when the interest bill on the additional $3 billion of borrowings accounts for more than that alone? Mr FRASER: I was sure, but I was not quite sure at first, that I spotted the shadow Treasurer up the back. I am glad that I have noticed that he is on his feet and asking a question. The simple fact is this: when over the Christmas holidays the coalition saw fit to recycle the new but old opposition leader and come up with a shiny new Liberal leader they promised that things would be different but, as it happens, they are same. 38 Motion 12 Feb 2008

One thing that is, however, different is that for the first time in living memory it is not the Leader of the Liberal Party who is the shadow Treasurer, and this is of course a matter of some curiosity to all of us. One of the real challenges that we have at the moment is to deal with some uncertain global economic times arising particularly from the fallout from the US subprime mortgage failures. When the new but old opposition leader got to his position and looked around the room to find out who should be the shadow Treasurer, he had a Leader of the Liberal Party who in fact knew a fair bit about mortgage schemes. But, unfortunately, what the Leader of the Liberal Party knows about mortgage schemes does not actually equip him to be able to be shadow Treasurer, let alone the Treasurer of this state. The answer to this question is very simple, and the answer is this: the interest expense that the Queensland government has over its borrowings as we undertake the most ambitious Capital Works Program to build our infrastructure is 1.2 per cent. Every family, every business and every corporation I know and have met would love to have an interest expense of 1.2 per cent, and yet the shadow Treasurer walks in here and wrings his hands and says, ‘We’re a little bit worried about this.’ The fact is that if those opposite want to retard in any way that Capital Works Program then they need not walk in here and ask a question about interest expense at 1.2 per cent; they need to come in here and list the schools, the roads and the hospitals that they are not going to build as we build the productive capacity of this state, and that is exactly what the Reserve Bank said yesterday. The Governor of the Reserve Bank put it starkly. He said that the way out of long-term inflation is to build productive capacity in the economy, and that is exactly what this government has been committed to doing. We are on that path; we are on that strategy and we are going to stick to it. I know that the shadow Treasurer gets frightened about these matters because all members of the Liberal Party cannot get past the number four. They get to four and they get stuck. They got stuck for two weeks, but the member for Kawana wants to bail out so they will not have that problem anymore. They will get stuck at four or three, but let me tell them this: they might be scared of four and they might be scared of five, but 1.2 per cent ain’t a figure they need to be scared of. Mr SPEAKER: The time for question time has expired.

MOTION

Economic and Social Growth Hon. AM BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Premier) (11.51 am): I move— That this House: 1. notes that Queensland is the fastest growing state in Australia and that this presents unique challenges and opportunities; 2. recognises that realising the potential of this economic and social growth requires a committed program of action to deliver significant infrastructure and growth in service delivery; and 3. notes the response by the Government and Opposition to meeting these challenges and maximising these opportunities to benefit Queenslanders. This year my government will work hard and it will work smart to deliver for Queenslanders, and this morning we have an opportunity for me to outline some of those priorities and for my ministers to do the same. The origin of this motion lies in the tradition that this parliament has upheld for many years of having a valedictory speech at the end of the year where the parliament contemplates what has occurred in the previous 12 months and the achievements that it has seen during that year. We have not had a similar tradition of outlining at the beginning of the year the priorities and where we believe as a government and where the opposition believes as an alternate government Queensland should be heading and how we should be moving in that direction and the things that we commit ourselves to in order to achieve those aspirations. We have as a government a huge task before us. As the motion indicates, we have both challenges and opportunities. Today I set the Queensland ministry and the directors-general and their senior staff across government and of course I set myself to the tough and unrelenting pursuit of a detailed and practical plan to improve the lives of Queenslanders during 2008. There are some who would say that to put in place such a detailed plan today and commit ourselves to achieving some of these things by the end of the next 12 months is courageous. Well, the times that Queensland is experiencing require that kind of courage. We cannot afford to take our foot off the pedal for one second and we need to set ourselves targets, we need to monitor them and I will be enforcing them. We are ready for the challenges that confront us. We are ready for the known challenges, including population pressure, which is both our biggest challenge and our greatest opportunity, and others like climate change and the world economic conditions which are harder to predict. Since September I have met thousands of Queenslanders right across the state. This year I will drive myself, my ministers and government agencies to do better for each and every one of them. I set myself the following goals: first, as a government we will be more accountable. By the end of 2008, the tired and complicated Queensland FOI system will be completely overhauled. We will have new legislation and we will be in the process of establishing the new system to administer that legislation. We 12 Feb 2008 Motion 39 will tackle the issues that matter to people on an everyday basis, and chronic traffic congestion will be one of our priorities. There are no silver bullets on this issue, but we must do better. Too many of us, particularly here in the south-east corner, are spending too long trying to get to work, to school, to home and other destinations. In 2008 we will deliver better roads, more buses and trains and smarter ways of getting out and about in our cities and towns. We will see the Inner Northern Busway completed which will take hundreds of buses off our inner-city streets. We will add another 148 new buses and 9,000 extra seats to the network. More than 8,000 seats will be available on the Gold Coast rail line alone from March this year. We will introduce our go card—that is, we will bring our public transport system to the cutting edge of technology not only here in Australia but in an international context. We will open our minds to new ideas and new ways of doing things in relation to traffic and public transport. I commit myself to drive investment, opportunity, employment and infrastructure development in regional and rural Queensland. That is why when I became Premier I reintroduced a minister for regional development. By the end of this year I will require my minister for regional development to outline to the regions of Queensland some of our ideas about how we can ensure that they have a share in the prosperity that Queensland is experiencing. By the end of this year I want many of our primary producers to be reaping the benefits of the substantial rain that we have seen across the state. I expect the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries to have helped put cattle farmers and citrus growers back on their feet after the floods that many have experienced and to have overseen the recovery of our horse industries in the wake of the equine influenza outbreak. In 2008 vital SEQ water grid projects will be putting water into our system. The entire Western Corridor Recycled Water Project and the southern regional pipeline will be complete, the eastern and the first stage of the northern pipeline interconnectors will be complete and the Gold Coast desalination plant will be putting water into the taps of south-east Queensland. In addition, I expect further progress from the relevant ministers on all of the water projects that were promised during the election campaign, including the business cases and feasibility projects as committed on the timetable that they were committed. The skills shortage continues to challenge us in Queensland. This year we will educate and train for a smarter state and our schools will benefit from the greater consistency in what is taught across years 1 to 9 and $445 million will see new schools, new facilities and new classrooms. During this year people living in south-east Queensland will benefit from fluoride in our water supplies and work will begin on the necessary arrangements for that initiative to be rolled out across the regions of Queensland by the end of 2009. We will provide more than 300 additional hospital beds and we will begin building three major new tertiary hospitals. I do not believe there has ever been any jurisdiction in Australia during the history of this nation that has built three tertiary teaching hospitals in the same five- year period. It is a very tall order, and the Minister for Health is more than up to it. We will ensure that Queensland remains a safe place for everyone. Police will be recruited at record levels, with a further 200 new officers joining our service, and they will be well resourced as they have been in the past. Today my senior ministers will outline to the House the key priorities and projects that they will oversee this year. I will be relentless in my efforts to ensure that we deliver on each and every one of these projects and priorities. Even in the best of times, many Queenslanders are finding it harder than ever to make ends meet. We are not seeing an equal share in the prosperity that we are seeing in the data. I set myself the following goal, and that is to never lose sight of the pressures on families. Rising inflation is not just putting up interest rates; it makes the costs of groceries and essentials higher. Housing prices for both buyers and renters are on the rise and driving the family car is costing more. The federal Rudd government has vowed to help families. I give Queenslanders this commitment: we will work in a cooperative way wherever the opportunity presents itself. We will seize the opportunity that is now there through the Council of Australian Governments to really make a difference. The Prime Minister wants COAG to be the engine room of Australia and in its policies and programs Queensland will be one of the most important cogs in that engine. Every one of my ministers will be working hard to make that a reality. Our first priority will be to ensure that all four-year-olds have access to 15 hours a week of high- quality early childhood education by 2013. This priority will include more intensive educational assistance for the most disadvantaged three- to five-year-olds. Queensland and Commonwealth officials will meet again tomorrow as we work to make this plan a reality by next month’s COAG meeting. I commit myself to having an explicit proposal for consideration by the Queensland people by the end of this year. We commit to help address the housing shortage. In this year alone we will build another 500 units of public housing—the first that we have seen for many years. In 2008 we will do more to protect vulnerable children. We will recruit more child safety officers and foster-parents. We will introduce a new intervention force as part of the $12 million One Chance at Childhood strategy. Thirty-one early childhood officers, specially trained and working from next month, will assess 200 of the most vulnerable babies and toddlers in the first six months of operation. 40 Motion 12 Feb 2008

Our children deserve the basic right of a safe home free from violence and abuse. This Friday I will meet with the state’s Indigenous mayors to make the changes that we need to make in these communities to protect Indigenous children. In 2008 we will begin the welfare reform trial in four Cape York communities. This trial represents a revolution in policy thinking on this intractable social issue. Finally, I turn to a worldwide issue that each of us must address: climate change. Climate change will be a particular priority for my government. We will ensure that every member of our community knows about the changes that they can help to make. We will continue to make the big decisions that are necessary to make an impact. Our gas scheme is expected to save approximately 1.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2008. The Gas Installation Rebate Scheme will save around 2,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2008. The reality is that we have much more to do, but we are getting on with delivering what Queenslanders need to get the job done and live well here in the Smart State. We will be renewing our commitment to our Smart State agenda. By the end of 2008 I will publish for the people of Queensland our Smart State III proposals. Queenslanders want a government that plans for the future and a government that delivers on the plans that it makes. I look forward to working hard and smart this year to deliver on those plans. I will be watching each and every one of the portfolios to ensure that, at the end of the year, every commitment that is made in this debate will be delivered on. During the valedictory this year we will be able to look Queenslanders in the eye, look across to the other side of the chamber, and say: ‘This is where we started the year. This is where we finished it. We have delivered.’ Hon. AP FRASER (Mount Coot-tha—ALP) (Treasurer) (12.02 pm): I second the motion moved by the Premier. As we move into 2008 we are in the midst of unprecedented economic expansion across Australia. Here in the state of Queensland we enter the 12th year in which our state economy has outgrown its national counterpart. In order to continue this expansion and to continue this prosperity against the increasingly negative indicators across the globe, the Queensland government needs to ensure that our budget strategy and our fiscal strategy is aimed very much at the long term. Our challenge in these circumstances is to stay the course. This government needs to, and it will, ensure that we meet the challenges so starkly reported on by the Reserve Bank in its statement on monetary policy yesterday and so vividly evidenced in the action that it had to take last week when it was forced to raise interest rates once again for Australian families and mortgage holders as it attempts to slay the dragon of inflation. The challenge for the Queensland and national economies is very similar. We need to invest in infrastructure and human capital to provide for increased productive capacity in the economy. The Reserve Bank made this point succinctly in its statement yesterday. It said— Domestic demand and activity have remained strong and capacity usage is high after a long period of economic expansion. These conditions have been associated with a rise in inflation. The Reserve Bank stated further— The latest national accounts showed growth of more than 4 per cent over the year to the September quarter, with domestic demand expanding by 5½ per cent, well in excess of the trend growth in the economy’s productive capacity. The Reserve Bank continued— The high levels of business investment now underway will undoubtedly assist in alleviating bottlenecks over time and hence adding to the growth of the economy’s productive potential. That means that the course of action that the Queensland government embarked upon in undertaking the most ambitious capital works program and infrastructure build in the history of Queensland is absolutely the right course of action to take. Our single biggest challenge in 2008 will be to stay the course and continue to provide for that infrastructure and execute that program as we face more uncertain times on the global stage. It is an effort that the Queensland government will not achieve alone. The private sector is also contributing to record expenditure and future infrastructure and productive capacity. The Access Economics investment report which was released earlier this week identified $112 billion worth of committed projects across Queensland. We are second only to Western Australia in terms of the value of the committed projects and the capital expansion out there at the moment. In those circumstances it is worth noting also that, although we are second to Western Australia in terms of projects and capital expansion, 70 per cent of Western Australia’s future committed investment is, in fact, related to mining. In Queensland that figure is 30 per cent. That evidences that we have a diversified and strong economy that is prepared to grow and one in which people are prepared to make investment decisions across the breadth of the economy. We should make no mistake about the challenge ahead. Inflation is the single biggest problem facing the Queensland economy, the national economy, the Queensland government, and families sitting around their kitchen table who are coping with the interest rate rise that occurred because of pent-up demand and inflationary pressure that the former federal government chose to do nought about. 12 Feb 2008 Motion 41

It is clear to us all that the challenge in 2008 has become that bit harder. The market is that bit tougher and framing the budget is that bit more uncertain. But Queenslanders can be assured that this government has the economic and fiscal track record and the economic and fiscal wherewithal to be able to meet these challenges and continue to invest in the future of the Queensland economy and our growing state. This government is focused absolutely on not taking the tunnel vision, short-term view, but instead looking at the long term and over the horizon. This government is not focused on an election. It is not focused on the next election; it is focused very much on the next 10 years. As the Premier outlined today, this government is focused on a long-term view. In that regard our single biggest challenge as a government, as a community and as a generation, in fact, is climate change. It is not just an environmental challenge; it is the single biggest economic challenge for us all. It will be front and centre of the policy work that this government undertakes over the coming year. Queensland Treasury analysts are contributing to the Ross Garnaut led report. We look forward to working closely with them as we seek to get the policy settings and those parameters right. We also have the opportunity to finally work with a federal government which is interested in investing in infrastructure, which is interested in making sure that it plays its part in lifting the capacity of the Australian economy, and which recognises that its best approach is to do the hard yards with governments that are committed to building infrastructure and not take pot shots from the sidelines. As we work with the federal government, we are also there to work with some of the ills of our federalism, which has been front and centre of debates about the long-term tasks that need to be addressed in the coming year. There are many warning signs out there on the global stage but in Queensland, where we have strong underlying fundamentals, we have great cause for optimism. Mr SPRINGBORG (Southern Downs—NPA) (Leader of the Opposition) (12.07 pm): It is indeed true that it is important to hold debates such as this in the parliament. I must admit that the other day I concurred with the new Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, when I heard him indicate that parliament should be a place in which we discuss the bigger issues more often and try to take some of the political argy-bargy out of it. Some of us may wish to question his motivation, but let us deal with the principle that he threw down at us—and I suspect that is some of the motivation that has underpinned the government moving this motion in this place. I am concerned that the government’s motivation may be a little bit more than that. Only last week this government held a two-day caucus retreat. We also saw the government meet in caucus until five o’clock last night, which is an extraordinarily late meeting of caucus. When we put that together with the desperation that we have seen from the government today, that indicates to me that the government is worried about something. The government is clearly worried about its record—it is worried about a whole range of things—and it is worried about the conversation that we are having with Queenslanders. We do not have to place a $30,000 ad in the Gold Coast Bulletin to get people to come and talk to us; we go where they are and we talk to them. We go on the ‘Bombay Express’ and talk to people. They are there in the morning and in the afternoon trying to get to work and home again. When the government goes out and engages with people, it structures it in such a way that it invites people in and it sanitises that process. In my conversation with Queensland and in the conversation which my colleagues are having with Queenslanders I am finding that people have a real feeling that they have been neglected and that the issues which fundamentally concern them have not been properly addressed by the government. I wish the new Premier well in turning over a new leaf in this parliament. I wish the new Premier well in turning over a new leaf in the government. I hope she is sincere and I hope she can achieve that which she aspires to achieve or which she says she wishes to achieve. In this parliament this morning— and I will have some more to say on this in the matters of public interest debate later today—all we heard from the government, unfortunately, was the same sort of stuff; we heard sledging and personal attacks on the opposition rather than an outline of what the government is doing and what the government is actually achieving in Queensland. I do not doubt the Premier’s motivation. Things keep going wrong in Queensland notwithstanding the best efforts of the Premier and her government. However, it is a little bit like turning up to a job interview and saying, ‘Here’s my resume, but don’t look at the last 50 years. Don’t look at my record in Child Safety. Don’t look at my record in accruing a record debt in Queensland which is now moving up towards $55 billion. Don’t look at my record when it comes to removing asbestos from school roofs in Queensland,’ which could not be done by the now Premier but, I will acknowledge, the current Minister for Education actually came in and proved that to be a fallacy. It is a case of, ‘Don’t look at our record, just put that behind us, look at the future and look at the promises.’ If I recollect rightly, year after year in this place and also publicly I have heard the then Premier saying in this place and in the media, ‘I am setting a very tough task for my ministers. We are setting very tight time frames. We are going to be moving around the state. We are going to be doing this.’ However, things did not get better. In actual fact, they got worse. They got worse in relation to child safety, health, educational standards and traffic gridlock. People ran out of water. All of these problems 42 Motion 12 Feb 2008 just got worse. Notwithstanding that fact, the government and the then Premier would come in the next year and promise that it would be different the following year. I hope when it comes to the current Premier that will change. When it comes to addressing the fundamental issues, it seems to me to be a reversion to the same tried, tested and, in the case of this government, failed policy. I also believe that one of the real motivations for the Premier coming into this place is that she and her government do not have a mandate of their own. They are trying to craft and construct a mandate themselves. We have a government which came to power last year promising to do many things. There was no mention of fluoride then. There was no mention of taking away people’s right to have a say in a referendum relating to local government amalgamations. There was no mention of any of those things. So it is trying to create its own mandate for the future and to actually live up to that. There are many very important issues. No-one should doubt that. No-one should doubt that, where possible, there should be a bipartisan approach to fixing them. I remind all members of this House—and those who have been in this place for a long period will understand this—that nine out of 10 pieces of legislation and decisions of this parliament have absolute bipartisan support. That is the way that it should be and that is the way it will continue to be because that is the way that a constructive democracy should work. If this government believes that that equates to the opposition signing a blank cheque for it to do what it is required to do in areas where it is failing Queenslanders, that is not the case. The government does need to do more to fix our sick and failing health system. We keep hearing from the government, ‘We’re making it better,’ but now we have a record 35,000 people on the waiting list and over 100,000 people, as I understand it, on the waiting list to get on to the waiting list. We also have a crisis in housing affordability. We have the issue of climate change. No-one is arguing against that. Regardless of whether it is anthropogenic, that is man made, or whether it is natural—and I suspect it is a bit of both—we have to deal with this issue. As human beings continue to evolve, we have created a situation where we are incapable of being able to adapt day to day to the climate crisis around us. Years ago people used to move to where it would be greener or the climate was different. That is when we did not have things such as fixed assets. We did not own our own home. When it comes to the issue of sea level inundation and its impacts, as well as the impacts of worsening drought in certain places, people used to be able to move. But we cannot do that anymore because of the way in which our community and our society have evolved. Whilst we need to have solutions to reduce our carbon footprint, we also need to realise that, whether it be man made—anthropogenic—or the natural processes of climate change that have marched on, we need to be able to adapt to the new reality of human civilisation. Let us look at public transport, and this is going to be one of our priorities. We have not seen any great or significant change to the suburban rail network in the last 30 years and the population then was probably half what it is today. We have issues with extending the line down towards Springfield. We have congestion issues to the Gold Coast. We have the north coast issues. What we have seen has been an investment in the public transport system—the urban train network—which has not been up to the mark. Let us look at some of the responses we have seen from the government in recent weeks as I have continued my conversation with Queensland. I was in the community of Yarrabah trying to understand the issues for Indigenous communities on the ground. It is very important to understand the issues of abuse, alcoholism and alternative drug abuse in the community. Do honourable members know what those people said? They said, ‘We don’t mind the mutual obligation but the government should not fit us up. We have to have proper government services.’ If the government is going to address the issue of alcohol then it needs to make sure that there are diversion facilities, that adequate drug and alcohol rehabilitation does exist and that there is appropriate intervention in the area of child safety. The government has been letting people down in those areas and that will be a focus for us on this side as we go forward. What was the response from the government? After my conversation with the people of Yarrabah we had an announcement from the Premier that she was going to take over responsibility from the Indigenous partnerships minister in Queensland. We went to Mackay to look at the issue of its hospital system and the fact that the government was not engaging the community. After we flushed the government out, the next day there was a panicked statement from the minister that he was going to be visiting there very soon. We went on the ‘Bombay Express’, and I would urge the minister for transport to do that. It would be very good for him to talk to those people travelling on it and to understand that some people who have been travelling on it every day since October last year do not even get a seat. It was interesting that at the end of that day the minister for transport came out and said that there was a commitment of 8,000 extra seats. This government is following in our wake, and it is going to do a lot more of it. The shadow ministers who will be contributing to this debate during the course of the day will be outlining their priorities and the areas on which they will be concentrating as we go forward. Queenslanders want a different approach; there is no doubt about it. They do not want excuses. They want a different approach to this continuous crisis management, and that is what we are going to give them. 12 Feb 2008 Motion 43

Mr McARDLE (Caloundra—Lib) (12.17 pm): When we read the motion before the House today one word that strikes me is that there is a clear need for a ‘vision’—a vision for Queensland. That is what this side of the House is committed to developing: a vision for the whole of Queensland, a vision for the growth of this wonderful state in this great nation so that in time to come we can pass to our children and our grandchildren an economy, a transport system and a health system that they can be proud of. They can then look back and say, ‘These men and women did the right thing by us’. That is what we are going to do. The word ‘vision’ does not appear once in this document—not once—but we are committed to making certain that happens. When we talk about a vision, we have to understand the values that underpin that vision. The first one is that we believe in the freedom of the individual. On this side of the House the individual is paramount. They have the right within the confines of laws that are just and equitable to live their lives to their satisfaction and to ensure their families also live in a similar state. We believe in the constitutional framework of law and order in this state and to ensuring that citizens do live within the confines of law and order. We also believe in social and economic progress so that we work together to ensure that all who come with us and after us grow individually and grow on an economic base. That forms, in part, the vision that we are going to drive in this state, and we are going to drive it day in and day out. We work for freedom, and our vision incorporates freedom from insecurity and want. We want no person in this state to go hungry. We want no person in this state to be sexually abused. We want no person in this state to suffer the outrages of poverty and degradation. Those are the values that we hold. We also hold dear the principle of the responsibility of the individual, so that people do take responsibility for their actions and their inactions. Again, that is a value on which we base our future vision for this state. We believe that Queensland’s role is paramount in the construction of Australia and also the development of the whole globe as we know it. I turn to individual portfolios. The other shadow ministers will outline their aspirations in greater detail. First and foremost, in relation to transport, we believe that equitable and equal access to transport systems throughout the state is the right of every Queenslander and that infrastructure needs to be put in place to ensure that occurs. As far as we are concerned, that is an absolute golden rule. In relation to health care, we believe that people should have a genuine choice between private and public health care and that equitable and equal access is given to all Queenslanders, not just for now but also into the future. In relation to the economy, we strongly believe in the minimisation of the burden that this government has imposed upon all Queenslanders. We should minimise borrowings and undertake investment to ensure sustainable long-term growth for the future. In relation to water, we need a continual investment in infrastructure that accounts for the long-term security of Queenslanders, the government and, importantly, the environment. We are strongly committed to ensuring that the environment is sustained for future generations and future growth. These are some of the issues that we take on board. This is the vision we are going to carve out. Our shadow ministers will be working day by day to ensure Queenslanders understand exactly what we stand for and exactly where we are headed. We are going to set goalposts, we are going to set indicators and we are going to require our people to measure up to the standards that we set for them. These things are simply too imperative to leave to a Labor government. I turn to the justice system. I want to ensure that every Queenslander has safety and security and the freedom to live their own life free from interference and with the knowledge that there is protection for children, families and every person who resides in the state. In 2008, Queensland must have a strong and resilient system of justice that is both fair and accessible. The courts must be well resourced and staffed to ensure that justice is not delayed. That is a priority when one considers the pathetic vision outlined by this government, which in the past five years has failed to establish any credibility in delivering justice to the people of Queensland by significantly underspending and undercatering for the needs of Queenslanders. When one goes to Aurukun and talks to the people there, one begins to understand very clearly the degradation that those people live in because of a system of government that has no vision for them. They have been ignored. Their social issues have been completely thrown out the window. Mr O’Brien interjected. Mr McARDLE: We have been to Aurukun— Mr O’Brien interjected. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Hoolihan): Order! Mr Johnson: Pull together boys. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Member for Gregory! Mr Johnson: I didn’t see you on your feet, Mr Deputy Speaker. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Gregory was aware that I was on my feet. 44 Motion 12 Feb 2008

Hon. RE SCHWARTEN (Rockhampton—ALP) (Minister for Public Works, Housing and Information and Communication Technology) (12.23 pm): After 15 minutes of negative diatribe with not one plan or policy outlined, I will try to be positive. The next 12 months will see the portfolio of Public Works, Housing and Information and Communication Technology getting on with the job of delivering projects and services to Queenslanders. I will provide the House with a brief snapshot of some of those. On its books the Department of Public Works has major projects amounting to $7.5 billion either underway or planned to commence over the next 12 months. Those projects are located right across Queensland and range from the new hospitals outlined by the Premier this morning to police stations, prisons and community infrastructure. Work has already commenced on the $63.3 million Tank Street Bridge, the new pedestrian and cycle link across the Brisbane River. By the end of this year, it is expected that two-thirds of the bridge will be in place over the Brisbane River. Project Services has recently awarded a $10 million contract for a new government office building on Palm Island. I am pleased to announce that, as at 31 December 2007, the department funds and owns close to 66,000 units of accommodation and I anticipate that this will increase by at least 500 units of accommodation by the end of 2008. The department’s effort to increase the supply of social housing has been boosted by a $500 million, five-year injection of funding from the Queensland Future Fund. As I said, social housing is targeted at those with the greatest need. Therefore, this year stage 3 of the Department of Housing’s ongoing eligibility policy will be phased in with the goal of identifying tenants who could support a tenancy in the private market and helping them to make that transition. I also look forward to working with the federal Labor government on boosting the supply of affordable housing in the private rental market, as well as tackling the issue of homelessness. The crisis in the private rental market and the absolute need to ensure that those renting have surety and security will make 2008 another busy year for the Residential Tenancies Authority. The RTA is currently drafting new tenancy laws that will be introduced into the House later this year. They will ban rent bidding and include new provisions for tenants to challenge excessive rent increases. It is no secret that the Queensland building and construction industry is booming. The Building Services Authority currently insures more than $10.5 billion worth of building projects statewide. During 2008, the BSA will continue to closely monitor the state’s building and construction industry. I will also be asking the BSA to look at ways that we can highlight builders who are subject to possible failure and alert the general public to that without pushing the builder over the edge. On the ICT front, CITEC will commission a floor of the new Polaris Data Centre at Springfield later this year or early in 2009. This $9 million investment will give government agencies access to state-of- the-art, high-security data storage. Importantly, CITEC can then begin the task of reducing the number of smaller, less efficient data centres currently in use around the state. CITEC will also continue to expand the whole-of-government internet service provision arrangement, which will increase eventual annual savings from $1.4 million to around $6.5 million. On behalf of the Queensland Police Service, the Department of Public Works is project managing and redeveloping the Ayr and Yeppoon police stations. Construction is forecast for completion by November in Ayr and January in Yeppoon. The $52 million Queensland State Archives extension at Runcorn will be completed in the middle of the year. The $101 million Brisbane and Arthur Gorrie correctional centres redevelopment will be completed by May, and our future Pat Rafters will be on court at the new $82 million State Tennis Centre by the end of the year. Q-Fleet will continue with the task set by the government to reduce the number of gas-guzzling vehicles in the passenger fleet and replace them with vehicles with lower emissions. This year, 2,200 shared service agency staff will deliver services across 33 locations statewide to cover 73,000 customers and 29 client agencies. It will process nearly 2.5 million accounts payable— Time expired. Miss SIMPSON (Maroochydore—NPA) (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (12.28 pm): Listening to Queenslanders is vitally important and the conversation with Queensland that the Leader of the Opposition, Lawrence Springborg, has outlined is a key in our performing as an alternative government, and in listening to people and giving them what they want and need to secure Queensland’s future. In the next few months my colleagues and I look forward to outlining not only what we have heard from Queenslanders but also the answers to the issues that they are raising. What I have heard to date from people who have spoken to me about infrastructure issues is that they do want government to plan for growth but they are sceptical about what they are seeing currently with an infrastructure program that is more about catch-up than it is about building for the future. We see catch-up going on with our roads, which are so badly congested that one government study estimates that avoidable traffic congestion is causing a huge impact on the economy of Brisbane of upwards of $7 billion in annual costs. We see a situation in Queensland where, despite the rain of recent times, there are still water restrictions because this government failed to plan for timely water infrastructure in Queensland. Queenslanders know that their roads are congested and they are concerned that tomorrow they will still be gridlocked on our roads, despite the Premier’s assurances that the congestion is being fixed. 12 Feb 2008 Motion 45

Queenslanders know that there is still a water crisis. And what is the solution of this government? A major piece of infrastructure that is still more than six years away in terms of delivering meaningful yields to Queensland. In fact, the lie of the Traveston Dam as being an emergency drought response was laid bare particularly in the last few weeks when the Deputy Premier and minister for infrastructure announced that the government might be short in the water grid and was planning another $0.6 billion in contingency programs if it did not rain. As we know, there has been rain but it has not been sufficient to relieve the water crisis. So this government’s plan had been for Queenslanders to be under harsh water restrictions until 2013 before an alternative major bulk supply came into the system. The state opposition, the National-Liberal coalition, has supported the concept of a water grid, but we have asked for value for money, for scrutiny and for some honesty from this government about the fact that there is a need for a climate independent source beyond what is currently supplied by the government. It is clear that the $1 billion overspend due to the way the government has designed the water grid is money that is not going to deliver a secure water system in time for Queensland. More than $1 billion has been wasted in the way that this government has contracted work and poorly scoped its projects. That is more than $1 billion that will not be available for other infrastructure, not just in south- east Queensland but throughout the rest of Queensland. Queenslanders understand that. They know that this government failed to plan for growth and it is now playing catch-up. Queenslanders are being asked to pay through their taxes for a gold-plated system which actually delivers a bronze-plated result. We have seen a cost blow-out of more than $600 million for the western recycled water pipeline with lower yields than anticipated. As our shadow Treasurer has explained, we have seen infrastructure borrowings rise by another $3 billion to $55 billion for Queensland. We support money being spent on infrastructure but we know that, if there is to be sustainable growth in this state, the government has to do a little bit better in how it applies those infrastructure dollars. We want to see a situation where all of Queensland benefits and not just the first few projects that are in the chute and are so badly scoped and badly planned that their costs are blowing out by literally hundreds of millions of dollars. The cost of the upgrade to the Houghton Highway has also blown out by more than $300 million and the list goes on. Let us have a look at another example where the government promised to build new infrastructure in a timely way—much-needed infrastructure to relieve congestion, such as the railway to Springfield. The government promised it by 2011 at a cost of $840 million. It has now announced a blow-out in costs and only half of it will be done by the due date— Time expired. Hon. JC SPENCE (Mount Gravatt—ALP) (Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Sport) (12.33 pm): In 2008 this government will continue to deliver on law and order for Queenslanders. Our plan is to deliver and enhance greater community safety through fresh ideas and state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure. This financial year the government is going to inject over $100 million in planning, building and refurbishing 47 police stations and establishments. It is the biggest capital works program any Queensland government has ever undertaken. This government is delivering for all Queenslanders in 2008. Some of these projects we are undertaking are at Ayr, Fortitude Valley, Kawana, Port Douglas, Surfers Paradise, Yeppoon, Beenleigh, Holland Park, Upper Mount Gravatt, Mount Morgan, Reedy Creek, Wujal Wujal—all over the state of Queensland. As well, we are commencing works on both the $450 million Queensland Police Academy 2012 project and the Gatton prison precinct. It is ridiculous for the opposition to try to portray this government as a government catching up on infrastructure. Clearly we are planning for growth; we are planning for the future. In 2008 we will commission the new Brisbane Correctional Centre at an investment of $110 million; new cell blocks at Arthur Gorrie at $55 million; a refurbished Townsville men’s prison at a cost of $142 million; a brand new Townsville women’s prison for $130 million—in fact a total investment of over $400 million in 2008 for an increased prison capacity of almost 700 cells. In 2008 we will provide police with the police numbers needed to further drive down crime. In 2008 we will deliver on police numbers to have a record number of almost 10,000 police in Queensland. In this year’s budget we are allocating 200 new police positions, and our Police Academy will train and recruit at least 700 police to account for retirements and separations. Enhancing community safety is paramount for this government, and that is why we are ensuring that police have not only the police numbers to do their job but also the tools to do their job. That is why in 2008, as part of this government’s goal to keep the Queensland Police Service at the cutting edge of technology to ensure that police can keep both the community and themselves safe, the government has committed to support the police by rolling out tasers. The trial to ensure appropriate policy and procedures around the use of tasers has been a success so far and when the trial concludes at the end of June I know that the police will use the results of this trial to deliver yet another technological advancement to all police to put them at the forefront of law enforcement technology. 46 Motion 12 Feb 2008

Mr Speaker, 2008 marks the year that our police become some of the best paid in Australia, and I know that this government’s support of police means that we will attract and recruit the best people in Australia. In terms of getting police out from behind desks and back on the road, in 2008 we are committed to ensuring that police have appropriate civilian support so that police can focus on the real job at hand—keeping Queensland safe. We are going to civilianise 167 police positions, and this is just the start. Our goal is to continue to do this in the following year as well, thereby freeing up police to do their core duties. Our police and corrective services officers are only as effective in keeping our communities safe as the legislation we pass in this place allows. That is why in 2008 I am reviewing Queensland’s Weapons Act and the backbone of police in this state, the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act. The community and interest groups are already involved in the Weapons Act review, and I know that soon, when phase 2 of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act commences in 2008, the community will have their say on this important plank for law and order in Queensland. This government’s vision for law and order in Queensland encompasses bricks and mortar, legislation and the all important police numbers. Through our vision we will ensure that our goal of delivering and enhancing greater community safety through fresh ideas and state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure will continue to be a reality for all of Queensland. Finally, as sports minister, 2008 will deliver the new $160 million sports stadium at Robina. Government members: Hear, hear! Ms SPENCE: Hear, hear—upgrades to Dairy Farmers Stadium; the new $80 million tennis centre at Tennyson, as well as $10 million being spent on five regional tennis centres throughout the state; and next month I am going to be very pleased to open the new $10 million rehabilitation and recovery centre at QSAC in my own electorate. As it is an Olympic year, I am very pleased that we will be supporting our Olympic athletes as well. Mr Nicholls: What about the $25 million for Ballymore? Ms SPENCE: I take the interjection of the member opposite about Ballymore. I was pleased to see former Minister George Brandis acknowledge in the paper this morning how shamefully the Howard government had neglected Queensland in terms of major sporting infrastructure over the years. Mr NICHOLLS (Clayfield—Lib) (12.58 pm): I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on this ‘state of the state’ speech that follows a practice that was introduced by the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Campbell Newman, to outline the agenda of the government of the day for the next 12 months. Obviously there is a need for that to occur in this place because the government of the day and the Premier of the day is doing things without a mandate, having been handed the plate of the premiership from the previous Premier. In her attempt to achieve legitimacy, she manufactures the motion that we have here today. When I say ‘manufactures the motion’ one only needs to look at the first paragraph where a blinding glimpse of the obvious is stated: that Queensland is the fastest growing state in Australia and that this presents unique challenges and opportunities. One has to ask: where has the Premier been for the last 10 years? Is this some blinding glimpse that she has only become aware of? Is this something that the Australian Bureau of Statistics has not been telling us about for 10 years: that we have been receiving 1,500 people each week in the south-east corner? What have they been doing for those 10 years? I will come back to that point in a little while. Government members interjected. Mr NICHOLLS: I know they are waiting for the faults and failures to be recited, and I will do it. There is a challenge that we face in south-east Queensland and it is a challenge being faced by Queensland and Queenslanders. I look forward to contributing to meeting that challenge by applying the values and principles of the Liberal Party. Mr Lawlor interjected. Mr NICHOLLS: Those values and principles are things that my friend the member for Southport probably does not have much call for in his life, but they are something that we are going to apply in terms of delivering policy outcomes and policy options for Queenslanders. They include respect for the freedom of the individual, the freedom of Queenslanders to choose what they want to do and how they want to do it—subject, of course, to the laws of the state. Government members interjected. Mr NICHOLLS: If they just settled down and listened they would learn some things on the way through. Something those opposite desperately need to learn is the principle that government ought not tax its residents more than is necessary to carry out the minimum functions of the state. We have gone from being a low-tax state to what the Premier euphemistically calls a ‘competitive tax state’. State taxes have gone up year after year after year to meet the burgeoning costs of a government that only knows the principle of spend, spend, spend. 12 Feb 2008 Motion 47

There is the principle of the rule of law and the rights of ownership of private property. Government exists not to replicate what private enterprise can do but to undertake only what government ought to do. Government and government policy is not an end in itself but a means to an end to empower people to achieve the best they can for themselves. Families are the foundation of our society, and families need to be nurtured, encouraged and supported. Economic prosperity is valuable not for its own end but for what it allows us to achieve for those who do deserve our support and assistance and who do it tough for no reason other than accidents of fate. There is the principle to see the value in everyone, although with the member for Southport occasionally it is difficult, and to do all we can to develop that value—not to do it for them but to encourage them to do it for themselves. These, then, are the principles that we will apply to our policy and our policy development in the portfolio areas of transport, trade, employment and industrial relations. In the area of transport we acknowledge that there is no single project that will solve our traffic congestion problems in the south-east corner—congestion that has been ignored for far too long by previous Labor governments. I am passionate about providing a workable public transport system not only to address the issues of climate change and greenhouse but also to make life better for the citizens of the south-east who commute regularly into and out of the city, into and out of the university at St Lucia, and around the south-east for work and for leisure. This is something that, unfortunately, the current government has been unable to achieve. Over the last five years, public transport on Brisbane City Council buses has increased to more than 64 million while the entire south-east Queensland passenger Citytrain network has only been able to achieve 54 million. Smart card and go card—call them what you will—are synonymous with debacle in commuters’ minds. Some 170 card readers fell over the day after the infrastructure minister and the transport minister proudly waved their new go cards around and said, ‘The future of public transport is here now.’ What did commuters going to work the next day have to face? A system in complete failure. There are other issues, too, such as the safety of people catching trains. There are up to 350 missed train services a day— Time expired. Hon. RJ WELFORD (Everton—ALP) (Minister for Education and Training and Minister for the Arts) (12.44 pm): Investing in learning is investing in the future. Education is the cornerstone of the Smart State agenda and the Bligh government is building dynamic education and training sectors to ensure Queenslanders have the right skills and knowledge to drive prosperity in an ever-changing global economy. Having a skilled and motivated workforce will support our economic growth, maintain our standard of living and encourage future economic expansion. The year 2008 is going to be an important year for education and training—important in our state and important for the nation. That is why I am committing our government to working closely with the Rudd government to implement the education revolution—computers for students, trade centres in schools and universal access to early childhood education to give our kids an even better start. This year the Bligh government will continue to roll out our major education reforms to ensure the state’s 700,000 school students follow a smart path of learning from prep year through to flexible senior schooling and on to post school vocational and academic education or employment. The first full cohort of the prep year will be delivered across the state this year to some 54,000 students. At the other end of the spectrum, this year’s year 12 graduates will be the first to receive the new Queensland Certificate of Education, which replaces the Senior Certificate. The QCE recognises a range of achievements by students from year 10, including school based academic performance as well as workplace, university and community achievements. It also requires that literacy and numeracy standards be met. The focus on literacy and numeracy for all students and teachers will continue this year. Teachers and teacher aides will benefit from professional development programs to improve the literacy and numeracy outcomes of students. Our government is investing $35.6 million over four years to provide intensive literacy support to upper primary school students identified through the year 5 national benchmark tests as needing help. There will also be greater consistency in what is taught in our schools, ensuring all students in years 1 to 9 learn the essentials no matter where they go to school as part of our Queensland curriculum assessment and reporting—or QCAR—reforms. Our government is investing $445.5 million in new educational facilities this financial year, and we are employing more than 480 graduate teachers to meet enrolment growth in our Queensland schools. This year we will also have three new schools open, including the third of our academies, the Queensland Academy for Health Sciences. Our $1 billion Tomorrow’s Schools program is giving Queenslanders unprecedented opportunities to shape the future of education in their local communities. In focusing on modernising clusters of schools in need of major renewal, we are currently working on four major projects in south-east Queensland and one in Innisfail that will deliver state-of-the-art school facilities in areas where they are needed most. 48 Motion 12 Feb 2008

Finally, I would like to talk about the importance of developing the whole person in our education system. As members may be aware, I have declared this year the Year of Physical Activity in Queensland schools. This Year of Physical Activity is about encouraging more young people to make regular activity a natural part of their daily lifestyle. This year we will also see all primary school students participating in at least 30 minutes of physical activity each school day with the introduction of the Smart Moves—Physical Activity Program in all state schools. Education is an integral component of the Bligh government’s agenda this year. We have set ourselves a number of projects, as I have just outlined, which I will continue to drive throughout this year to ensure that our investment in education not only benefits Queensland’s economy but benefits the many thousands of young people who will represent our future. They are our future and our investment in it is the most important investment our Queensland community and our government can make on behalf of the community. Dr FLEGG (Moggill—Lib) (12.48 pm): I am pleased to speak in this debate today, because I think at the beginning of the year it is appropriate to have a look at where we stand. It is appropriate to have a look at the state of the state, if you like, and have a look at how we can move it forward and make it better. One part of this motion that comes up in this House time after time and year after year is Queensland’s rapid population growth. There is no doubt that Queensland is the most rapidly growing state. This government uses population growth as an excuse. Population growth is the government’s excuse for not being able to move on our roads, for not having enough public transport, for hospitals being overcrowded and so forth. I am sure every member reads the Queensland Economic Review document, which has just come out. Over the past 20 years a net 623,000 people have arrived in Queensland from the other states. What might surprise members from that review is that 363,000 of those people came not in the last decade and not in the time when this government used population growth as an excuse for failure but in the decade before. Of the 623,000 people who came to Queensland in the past 20 years, almost two-thirds of them came not in the last decade but in the decade before. Yet Queensland governments, even with much smaller population bases and much smaller budgets, have managed to provide for people up until the time of this government. The story of this government is not just one of growth in population but also one of astronomical growth in debt over a short, four-year period. Debt was recently revised up to $55 billion. I note from the Treasurer’s comments that, of the $55 billion in the forward estimates over the next four years, $20 billion will roll over and have to be renewed in the market at prevailing and likely higher interest rates. One thing that invariably follows a crippling debt burden is debt-servicing charges, otherwise known as interest. I heard the Treasurer, who cannot get his facts right, who is going to play around with the accounting system yet again to make everything glossy, say today, ‘Only 1.2 per cent of the budget goes in interest expenses. It does not really matter; it is insignificant.’ The Treasurer has just put out the midyear budget and economic review. If we turn to page 11 we find that the interest burden on this government is going to rise from $1.78 billion to $3.19 billion in just four short years. If the Treasurer thinks that an almost $3.2 billion annual interest bill is only 1.2 per cent of his budget, I think he had better go back and read his midyear economic review yet again. This is the background of a government that has little opportunity to expand services and infrastructure in this state. This was confirmed by Standard and Poor’s, which recently released a review which shows that in just four years the government’s liabilities will go from 17 per cent of its annual budget to 86 per cent of its annual budget. If we have a look at its figures for infrastructure we see that it is not the current spending on infrastructure that jumps out at us from the figures; it is the low base from which that infrastructure came. We on this side of the parliament have a commitment and a belief that the government should be economically responsible. We have heard a lot the expression ‘being fiscally conservative’. It is a bit late for that in Queensland. Kevin Rudd managed to inherit a pretty strong borrowing position federally. Time expired. Hon. S ROBERTSON (Stretton—ALP) (Minister for Health) (12.54 pm): Last week’s release of the Quarterly public hospitals performance report again highlighted the significant increases in public health services demand brought about in part by our growing and ageing population in Queensland. Queensland’s population is growing at approximately two per cent a year. Yet compared to the December 2006 quarter, the December 2007 quarter experienced a 9.7 per cent increase in presentations, nearly five times population growth. As a result of increasing ED presentations, overall hospital admissions increased nearly three times Queensland’s annual population growth. Given that surgeons who work in Queensland’s public hospitals provide both elective and emergency services, it is little wonder that, despite significant increases in our clinical staff numbers, elective surgery activity has not increased to the same extent. 12 Feb 2008 Motion 49

Faced with these significant increases in the number of people being treated and admitted to hospital through our EDs, it cannot be seriously suggested that we are not responding. Our $10 billion Health Action Plan is proof positive of our commitment to build a sustainable public health system here in Queensland. There are a number of priorities that must be addressed in 2008 if we are to consolidate and build on the gains made over the past few years. The first priority is to negotiate with the new Commonwealth government a new national healthcare agreement that will respond to the following reform agenda. The first is a fair share of funding. The Commonwealth funding of Queensland’s public hospitals stands at about 35 per cent. We need the Commonwealth to restore that level as close as possible to 50 per cent for public hospitals and share the risk of funding demand growth with the states and territories. The second is prevention is better than cure. Prevention is a smarter approach to health care for people and the economy in the longer term. The third is the right care in the right place. We need to create the right incentives for GPs to move beyond individual episodes of care and instead manage long-term health plans for patients with chronic disease and keep people out of hospital. The fourth is to reduce red tape. This is about simplifying the current maze of Commonwealth funding and accountability arrangements to improve accountability and reduce health resources being diverted to endless reporting requirements. The fifth is one system for specialist access. This is about reforming payment for specialist outpatient services. The current systems reflect history—that is, pre 1998 and post 1998 services are funded separately. This leads to site-of-care decisions being driven by funding responsibility, not patient need. The sixth is patient access to travel. We need to improve the ability of rural and regional patients to access services that often require long travel distances and extended periods of living away from home. Priority No. 2 is to progress the fluoridation of Queensland’s drinking water supplies. The Bligh government has targeted 2008 as the year that fluoridated water will be delivered to south-east Queensland, representing approximately 50 per cent of the population. Priority No. 3 is specialist outpatient reform. In 2007 we commenced a significant reform program to improve access to outpatient services in Queensland. We did so not only acknowledging the impact this would have on increasing elective surgery waiting lists but also acknowledging that this is the right thing to do to ensure we maximise the number of Queenslanders who receive not just quality but also timely treatment. Priority No. 4 is elective surgery relief. Record and rocketing emergency department presentations are pressuring our ability to increase elective surgery output. We will continue to find new and innovative ways to increase the number of Queenslanders who receive their elective surgery in a clinically appropriate time. Priority No. 5 is to improve mental health services across the state. For too long hospital based and community mental health services have been underfunded. The significant increase in funding over the next five years provides us with the resources to address historical negligence. The challenge is to now use this extra funding to make a real difference. Priority No. 6, which I will highlight today, is our ambitious $5.1 billion capital works program that will deliver more beds, expanded emergency departments and community health facilities throughout Queensland. The challenge for the Commonwealth, states and territories is to approach the provision of health services in a holistic manner. Unless all components of the healthcare continuum work in cooperation and collaboration then long-term improvements in how we deliver services and how the health of Australians can improve will remain a challenge. Mr COPELAND (Cunningham—NPA) (12.38 pm): Last year the government-appointed Smart State Council delivered a number of reports to the parliament. In one of those reports it referred to the need for the Smart State to be more than just a political slogan. That is something that we see regularly in this parliament. ‘Smart State’ is a political slogan in this state; it is a political slogan across Queensland. However, we need to ensure that we do everything we possibly can to improve the educational outcomes and the educational opportunities in Queensland to underpin a future growing and modern economy. Every dollar invested in the early years of education is said to save $17 in the future. That is a well-known statistic in education circles and one that is probably true, and this year Queensland has seen the rollout of the first full cohort of the full-time prep year. We supported the implementation of the prep year. We see it as a good and obvious reform to be made in Queensland. However, time and again we have raised the requirement for the government to provide all of the resources in order to make prep work properly. We need to ensure that there is a full-time teacher aide in those classrooms. The coalition went to the last state election with a fully funded policy of $20 million last year for a full-time teacher aide in prep for the half cohort and $40 million for a full-time teacher aide for the full cohort this year, and the minister has in fact confirmed those figures as the amount required. That would be money well spent. After talking to prep teachers and parents right around Queensland, there is still a 50 Motion 12 Feb 2008 critical need to have two full-time adults in a classroom with 4½-year-old children. I was talking to a teacher friend of mine just last week who has a colleague who is a prep teacher. The prep teacher had 26 children in her class and one did a runner, which is not uncommon in prep classrooms when one talks to prep teachers. She could not leave that classroom unattended. She rang the office and said, ‘I need help. I need someone to go and get this student.’ The office was not able to provide that extra person. They are the sorts of practical realities that arise with regard to the prep year implementation, and we remain committed to that reform. The Smart Moves program will be rolled out in Queensland this year, and I will watch that with interest. I have welcomed the minister’s introduction of the Smart Moves program, which is very similar to the Healthy Kids, Clever Kids policy that the coalition took to the last two state elections. However, I am very pleased to see that rollout. It is a good initiative and it will have a meaningful result for Queensland students, and I will be watching with interest how that is implemented into the curriculum this year. One of the most important things that parents feel needs more focus in the Queensland education system is the need to reinforce and improve the standards of our education system—literacy, numeracy and the basics of our education system, or the building blocks. We need to ensure that our teachers are the highest quality that they possibly can be and we need to provide every opportunity for those teachers to continue to improve their skills and the outcomes that they are able to achieve in their classrooms. I am pleased that there have been moves towards a national curriculum that started with the former federal government and which is being continued by the new federal government. That is a sensible move in a modern country like Australia with such a small population but a highly mobile population. We need to ensure that that national curriculum raises every state in Australia to the highest possible level and does not bring it down to the average or below average of any individual state. There are some very worthwhile changes that can be made to the curriculum. It needs to be clear, concise and measurable so teachers know what is expected of them, teachers know what they have to teach and students can benefit from the outcomes. The working environment and learning environment for teachers and students is another very important area that needs a lot of focus from this government. We have seen the billion-dollar Tomorrow’s Schools program that the minister outlined in his contribution. Again, we supported the allocation of that money because it is long overdue and much needed. With regard to the way the program is being run, the axe hanging over school communities and the almost blackmail of them being forced to choose from options provided by this government or not get any money for their schools is simply not acceptable. Those school communities deserve better and we need to make sure that we continue to improve those school communities. We need to recognise that schools are an absolute pivot to a local community and to close them down has very severe ramifications for those communities. The roof replacement program has been— Time expired. Hon. RJ MICKEL (Logan—ALP) (Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations) (1.03 pm): This is a very interesting debate. What we have is a government that has policies and ideas taking us forward throughout this year and, in contrast, from the opposition we have the rewriting today of the conversation with Queensland. The conversation with Queensland originally started out as a conversation about a new conservative party. Do members remember that—a new conservative party? But what happened was that the Liberal Party gave it the thumbs down and now it has shifted across—because it knows it is a dead duck—to a conversation about services. That is why today what members have seen is this contradiction in speakers. We have heard contributions from the Leader of the Opposition and the shadow Treasurer—in the case of the Leader of the Opposition the need for more infrastructure and in the case of the shadow Treasurer the fact that we are spending too much money on infrastructure. They have not got their story right. The opposition spokesman, the member for Clayfield, was in the city council under Lord Mayor Newman and his great contribution to transport was to flatline it—no growth in services whatsoever. So if someone is in Brisbane watching a bus travel past them, the member for Clayfield was the architect of that policy! In the face of that growth, he flatlined the amount of money. It has been our government that has had to fund the new bus services, and I notice that the other day the Lord Mayor said that in his time patronage has gone up 30 per cent. It has gone up 30 per cent because we funded it! We funded the 300 buses; otherwise on a flatline the people of south-east Queensland would all be standing there watching the Liberal Party buses just roll by while they stood there being late for work! The member for Clayfield has as many different policies on go card as there are days. The point is this: since we rolled it out on the Sunshine Coast and Strathpine north, as of yesterday there have been 2,056 cards issued and 14,000 journeys. When I roll it out, as we will, after the services delivery next Monday in Brisbane and Logan City with the extra buses that are coming on stream next week, then I hope and trust that that will see a great uptake in that area as well. It is a 50 per cent discount after six trips in any one week. It is an incentive, but it is not instead of paper tickets. Paper tickets will exist alongside the go card, but we will progressively roll it out through south-east Queensland. As I 12 Feb 2008 Motion 51 have indicated, the last unit that will have it will be Surfside buses, and that is because I did not want to inconvenience people on the Gold Coast who travel into northern New South Wales. In actual fact, New South Wales will benefit by having the go card. It does not even have integrated ticketing right. We fixed that up years ago. So some people in New South Wales will have the go card. The other thing we are doing on infrastructure is working on the Inner Northern Busway. That will mean that 300 buses an hour will be loaded with passengers underneath the city, relieving congestion in that way. I expect that that project will be delivered by the middle of this year. The other thing we are doing for the Gold Coast is rolling out those extra services in March on train travel. That is why we are triplicating the track at Salisbury so we can have express lanes, and that is why further down the coast we are duplicating the line. Wouldn’t it have been much easier if we could have poured that money into services from Robina to Varsity Lakes instead of having to buy the corridor that the previous National and Liberal Party government not only ripped up but sold off? Its commitment to infrastructure and growth was to sell up the corridor and sell out the people of the Gold Coast. It is up to Labor and it has been up to Labor to put it back in. In terms of port infrastructure, we are enlarging the ports in those great coal port facilities. We are also attracting international investors. Hutchinson from Hong Kong has now invested $500 million in the port of Brisbane. It is and will become a significant player. In the last few moments I want to talk about trade and simply say this: it is our commitment to the business community—and I was pleased that business representatives were on the selection panel to appoint the new general manager for Trade— that we will work in conjunction with the business community to build our overseas trade offices and also relocate our resources to the growing markets and the growing opportunities in Queensland. Time expired. Mrs CUNNINGHAM (Gladstone—Ind) (1.09 pm): In this debate members have outlined the direction of the current government and also the aspirations of the opposition. They have also talked about their view of community expectations. Certainly, in the discussions that I have had with people— not only in my own electorate but also generally—they have said that they expect governments to be honest, irrespective of their political persuasion. They expect them to be truthful, they expect them to be transparent and they expect them to be responsible in their administration of the funds that are available. I have heard a lot of concern expressed in my electorate about the recent spate of ads that have appeared in relation to health. In those ads, people who purport to be doctors and nurses talk up the Health budget. The comments that people have made to me—and I raise this for the information of the minister if he is interested—are that they would rather see the money that is being spent on TV ads in which people talk about health actually go into health. Queensland is a growing state, and not just in the south-east corner. My electorate is growing exponentially. A number of other places, particularly on the coast heading north, are experiencing the same sort of growth. For the people in those areas, a few core portfolios contribute to, or fail miserably at, confirming and assuring quality of life. I have raised these issues before, but they are certainly worth raising again in the context of this debate. Health services for rural and regional Queenslanders continue to be one of the primary issues considered by residents in relation to their view of the government’s stewardship of the state. There is a recognition of the tyranny of distance in rural and regional Queensland but, as much as it is possible, people want health services in proximity to where they live. For people living in Brisbane, travelling for an hour to receive health services—that is the case for people living in Gladstone who have to travel to Rockhampton to receive services—does not represent a very great distance. But many people in my electorate, unless they are able to administer their own renal treatment, have to travel to Rockhampton to receive renal treatment. A growing number of women have to travel to Rockhampton to have their babies. I am not criticising the staff at Gladstone Hospital in any way, because they do a brilliant job, but it is felt that the risk is so great given the Gladstone Hospital facilities that many mothers now are being referred to Rockhampton Base Hospital. That places a significant impost on parents not only prior to the birth but also at the time of birth and afterwards, when people want to get together and introduce the new member of the family to other members of the family. Other people in Gladstone have to travel to Rockhampton to receive other specialist services. More recently, an issue that has come to light and into sharp focus is mental health and the need for a secure ward at Gladstone Hospital. In this debate many ministers have risen to talk about this government being a government for the whole of the state. I believe that means not only recognising the distances people have to travel in Queensland to receive services but also making an investment in infrastructure to ameliorate the impacts of the distances that people have to travel. I believe that the member for Rockhampton, the minister for housing, is a man who is greatly interested in affordable housing. Over time it has been my experience that one of his keen interests is to see people being able to access appropriate housing. In Gladstone and Calliope, owing to increased industry investment, the need for affordable housing is continuing to rise. I have to put on the record that the industries that are coming to or expanding in the district have expressed an intent to address the 52 Motion 12 Feb 2008 affordable housing issue. But those industries addressing the impact that they are having on the area only partially addresses the problem. I look forward to working with the minister to achieve more affordable housing for those in our community who have invested a lot of years and a lot of effort into the area but who may not be receiving the high wages. Nonetheless, they deserve to be able to afford to live in a community that they have helped to build. I have found it deplorable that there are plans by WorkCover to close the Gladstone office—not immediately but as soon as the three staff who are there resign, retire or move to other work. When that occurs, that office will be slowly starved to death. In an area with a high degree of industry, in an area with a growing population, I believe that decision—and it is purported to have been made by the WorkCover board—is reprehensible and needs revisiting. The community deserves better. Mr LANGBROEK (Surfers Paradise—Lib) (1.14 pm): It is my pleasure to rise to speak to this motion, which I note other opposition members have called the ‘state of the state’ motion. In terms of looking at what politicians should be doing, it is important to have a vision. I think this government seems to be looking back with hindsight when it talks about growth. I take the point that was made by the member for Moggill, who said that the Electoral Commission reports show that Queensland experienced great growth in the 1980s, yet suddenly the government seems to be saying that great growth is happening now. I think that, in the past, there really has not been the vision that people expect of their politicians. In this ‘state of the state’ debate, when we talk about what we are hoping to achieve in the future I think it is also important that we look at what we might have achieved over the past year or year and a half. On behalf of the coalition, as the opposition health spokesperson, I would like to say that the amendment to the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act that banned ice pipes is something that we certainly welcomed and championed. Originally the amendment was rejected by the government, but that amendment has now been accepted. I understand that a review of the act is being undertaken. That is very important. It is important that, as has occurred in other states, we ban smoking in cars when there are children present. Currently we have legislation that says that people cannot smoke in a business car if there is more than one person present, but that legislation is not actually enforced. I encourage the government to amend that legislation for the safety of our children. Following concerted efforts by the member for Currumbin and me, an independent review of the needle and syringe program has been announced by the minister. We welcome that. We also welcome the appointment of oncologists at the Gold Coast Hospital, because Gold Coast patients were having to travel to Brisbane to receive their cancer treatments. We also welcome something that the minister rejected originally because there was not a budget for it, and that is the new children’s hospital. During the last election campaign and in debate in this House the minister had ruled that out, but now it is part of forward planning. Members of the opposition certainly welcome that. I listened with interest to the Minister for Health speak about forward plans for health over the coming year. I did not hear the words ‘Forster’ and ‘Davies’ once. Yet I can tell members quite unabashedly and unequivocally that when I consider forward health planning I look at the Forster and Davies reviews to see what their recommendations were. We all know that the Forster and Davies reports recommended a focus on clinical services, not on the budget. Yet we hear the health minister saying that hopefully he will get some more money from the federal government. Of course, already the federal government has flagged that its budget will be tighter, not more generous. The health minister also did not mention safe working hours for doctors. The minister referred to doctors back working in the system. The minister always trumpets massive increases in staff numbers, yet we do not see that massive increase reflected in the number of elective surgery procedures carried out. In July to September 2005, 28,230 elective surgery procedures were carried out. In the quarter just finished, 28,579 were carried out. So there is an inconsistency in terms of the increase in the number of staff and what they are actually doing. I share the concerns of other members of the Queensland community about that issue. I note that in his contribution the health minister mentioned 12 priorities, the last of which was opening more beds. Queensland is only back to the number of beds that it had about 10 years ago. Changing the culture of Health is important. I keep getting emails from people at Queensland Health that always state, ‘When raising this matter with the appropriate parties I appreciate you not revealing my name. Retaliation in Queensland Health is swift and severe. I am concerned that, in providing this information to you, there may be attempts by Queensland Health to identify me and punish me. Please contact me.’ Forster and Davies identified changing the culture of Queensland Health as being very important. The member for Gladstone referred to the government spending money on advertising telling us how well Queensland Health is doing. At the PA Hospital four spinal injury beds are closed, yet this government is spending $350,000 on this advertising. There is a three-year waiting list for spinal injury beds at that hospital. The minister mentioned that prevention is better than a cure. I note that the annual performance report refers to maternity care. Certainly, we should help to prevent mothers of newborns suffering from depression, but only 45 per cent of those mothers are receiving advice about settling their 12 Feb 2008 Motion 53 babies. Surely, those mothers should be receiving that advice. Thirteen per cent of mothers did not receive advice about feeding their baby. A health department should be giving that advice. I will be working hard to make sure that such services are delivered. I welcome the fluoridation debate back into this parliament, but I say to the government that fluoridation is one element of oral health care. Currently, we still spend more money than any other state, yet Queenslanders have the worst teeth in Australia. Whilst fluoridation will help kids in the future, it will not help those people who are on waiting lists that are up to seven years long now. I think that is a smoke-and-mirrors trick by the government. Time expired. Hon. PT LUCAS (Lytton—ALP) (Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning) (1.19 pm): As the Premier has indicated, the state of Queensland in 2008, while not without its challenges, is a positive one. As previous ministers have indicated, we are delivering on the economy, on education and learning, on health, on transport, on policing and on public works. There will be challenges in 2008, but the Bligh government is energised and ready to tackle them. We will deliver. I am proud to report that 2008 is the year of infrastructure delivery. This financial year alone the Queensland government will spend $14 billion on capital works—$100 million a week on transport and main roads alone. By the end of 2008, Queenslanders will be able to drive on the Tugun bypass, take a bus on the inner northern busway extension, travel on stage 1 of the eastern busway, watch or play tennis at the $77 million Queensland Tennis Centre at Tennyson, watch or play football at the $160 million Gold Coast football stadium or keep healthy at the $134 million upgraded Prince Charles Hospital facilities. By the end of 2008 south-east Queensland residents will have more water security with the completion of several major projects including stages 1B and 2 of the $2.4 billion Western Corridor Recycled Water Project, the $1.2 billion Gold Coast desalination facility and the $901 million southern regional water pipeline. We will also know the preferred bidder for the $2.5 million Airport Link northern busway project by mid-year. In north Queensland we will provide better peace of mind and more security by completing the Townsville Women’s Correctional Centre and the refurbishment and expansion of the Townsville Correctional Centre. We will have a regional plan to manage growth in far-north Queensland over the next 20 years. Clearly, this is a government that is energised about getting on with the job of delivering in this state. What has the opposition delivered us today? A trip back in time. Today was the opportunity for the opposition to get out there and spell out its plan. We have seen the new opposition leader go out there and have a conversation with Queensland. What is crystal clear is that he has not heard one thing from the people of Queensland. Other than criticising and saying he is going to eliminate debt without saying what projects he wants to cancel, he has not been out there clearly enumerating what he wants to do. Where have his other shadow ministers been out there saying, ‘This is our alternative path for Queensland’? I have a lesson for the Leader of the Opposition and it is that he cannot win government unless he has a plan. He cannot win government when he dismantles water assets and then says that he has nothing in response to it or has different shadow ministers saying different things, which is what the opposition does at the present time. All we can do is look at the past of the Leader of the Opposition to see how he will approach the future. Let us have another look at his past. His own party described the member for Southern Downs as a recycled leader—the member for Gympie said that—but he does not believe in recycled water. He does not believe in watering crops with recycled water. But does he believe in life from outer space? Indeed, he told the Australian Financial Review in February 2006— My view is that there is life out there. If you work on the law of averages there’s got to be life out there. The problem is that there is no policy life in the opposition at all. It is totally bereft of a vision and a plan. We are a government who will deliver on infrastructure. People can see the bricks and mortar and the concrete being poured throughout Queensland at present. This year will be the year of infrastructure delivery from a government that is committed to dealing with growth in Australia’s most dynamic state. I hope the Leader of the Opposition finds life out there soon because the backbench sure does need some blood on his side of the House. The Leader of the Opposition said he was concerned about the level of debt Queensland was facing. If he was so concerned he would tell us what projects he wants to cut. As the Treasurer said today, it is about 1.2 per cent of our budget expenses. That is hardly a large figure. However, like any young economy, we are borrowing for our future. We are providing the infrastructure. If the economic Luddites in the opposition say they want to wait until the future to build it, how will we cope with growth now? The Leader of the Opposition said he was concerned about rail transport and particularly mentioned problems at Springfield and the Gold Coast. Who, of course, ripped up the Gold Coast rail line in 1965? But worse than that, they sold off the right of way in an act of economic vandalism. We are there now building that extension to Varsity Lakes. The dirt is being pushed around. As people drive around the M1 they can see it there. 54 Matters of Public Interest 12 Feb 2008

The Premier announced the other day the extension of the Springfield rail line—first stop off to Richlands. That is physically under construction. We have the Ferny Grove duplication physically under construction and almost finished. Recently I was with the minister for transport under King George Square in that wonderful busway that is almost finished. The other day the minister for main roads was in Redcliffe with two great members—the members for Sandgate and Redcliffe—officially announcing the sod turning on the Houghton Highway. These are real projects. We funded the Hospital Bridge in Mackay—another great project. The problem that we have from the other side of politics is that they can agree on nothing. So much for a merger! So much for a unified party! It still has a Deputy Leader of the Opposition who is a National Party member, not a Liberal. Question put—That the motion be agreed to. Motion agreed to. Sitting suspended from 1.24 pm to 2.30 pm.

MATTERS OF PUBLIC INTEREST

State of Queensland Mr SPRINGBORG (Southern Downs—NPA) (Leader of the Opposition) (2.30 pm): This morning in question time the opposition pursued the government on a number of very important issues of public policy for the state of Queensland. We sought from the government, and the Premier in particular, a commitment on issues that have been troubling many Queenslanders. Certainly as I have travelled around the state having my conversation with Queenslanders those issues have been reinforced to me. The people want this parliament to seek out answers and the government to respond accordingly. One thing that worries me greatly is the response of the government this morning to the whole issue of retail contestability or electricity competition in Queensland. Not much more than two years ago when the state government announced that it was moving towards full retail competition for electricity in Queensland, we will all remember very clearly that it stated that electricity prices would not get any dearer. Indeed, at the time all the inferences were that electricity prices would actually go down. Let us look at some of the statements that were made at the time because they are very salient and relevant to what the community is experiencing today. What did we hear from Anna Bligh? When commenting on this issue she said that, most importantly, it does not matter where you live as nobody—not one Queenslander—would be worse off under the government’s proposal. That is what the then Deputy Premier said. What did Premier Beattie say at the time? He said, ‘We can guarantee no-one will pay any more.’ That quote is taken from the television news of 9 May 2007. However, what happened when the price of electricity actually went up? The Acting Premier of the time, Anna Bligh, indicated that there would be a slight increase in electricity costs. I am not sure that the average Queenslander believes that an 11 per cent increase in electricity prices is a ‘slight increase’. On top of that, the other day it was implied that there would be an additional seven per cent increase, although now the government says that that might not necessarily happen because there may be some relaxation of the water restrictions that the power stations in Queensland have been subjected to. However, let us keep in mind that the drought did not begin a few months ago. The drought and the shortage of water have been ongoing for some time. Let us step back a little further in time when looking at some of the other issues that we discussed earlier today, and I turn to the matter of growth in Queensland. Queensland has been growing at a significant and exponential rate for a long period, to the extent that there have been extraordinary impacts upon our basic infrastructure and service delivery, and most notably our water supplies. The water supplies currently servicing south-east Queensland were put in place between 20 and 30 years ago when our population was slightly more than half of what it is today. We have known about all of these issues for some time. The government completely misled Queenslanders when it took them into its confidence and said that electricity prices would not go up. It is not right to now try to blame that increase on the drought or something else. The government simply was not truthful with the people of Queensland. At the very least, the former Premier and the current Premier should have said, ‘We are hoping that this will drive electricity prices down; we are hoping that electricity prices will not go up.’ Instead, they told Queenslanders point-blank that electricity prices would not go up and that no Queenslander would be worse off. In addition, many pensioners across Queensland are facing increases in the price of retail gas, and I understand that in some cases for pensioners the increase has been up to 350 per cent. The honourable members opposite cannot come in here promising to address these issues for the working mums and dads, pensioners and other members of the Queensland community, paraphrasing former 12 Feb 2008 Matters of Public Interest 55 federal leader Mark Latham by saying that they will do what they can to ease the squeeze and deal with these issues, while at the same time compounding the problem for Queenslanders, whom they have a responsibility to represent. Under this government, by design, accident or osmosis Queensland is seeing an insidious increase in service fees and a whole range of taxes and licensing fees which are just going up and up beyond the increases in the CPI. If Wayne Swan and company want to talk about these issues insofar as they relate to average Australians, maybe they need to have a conversation with the state government about the impact of the cost increases that it is forcing upon Queenslanders. For Queenslanders the most important things are actions and not words. In a previous debate in this place today we heard a whole lot of words from the government, but Queenslanders want to see some concrete action. What were some of the other issues raised in parliament today? One related to our famous Labor mate, Mike Kaiser. A number of years ago Mike starred in a particular vote rorting scandal. Do honourable members remember what the former Premier said with regard to people who were implicated in or admitted to involvement in that scandal? He said that they should not be in this place; in actual fact they should be in jail. One has to wonder why we this Premier advocates such a different standard to that of the previous Premier. A much greater issue that has been raised with me during my conversation with Queenslanders is why we can have salary parity—amongst the best in Australia—for the Premier’s new Chief of Staff Mike Kaiser, yet a whole range of other public servants who are front-line troops for the government, whether they be police, doctors, nurses, teachers and so on, still fall below parity with their interstate colleagues. Quite clearly we have one rule for friends of the Labor Party and another rule for people who serve on the front line every day. Queenslanders are justifiable in their concerns about a government that says it wants to trim the fat, so to speak, but is not prepared to trim its exuberant spending on advertising. Only last week a report was released that showed a weakening position in the Queensland public health system, with a record 35,000 people on our waiting lists and, from memory, about 114,000 Queenslanders waiting to get on the waiting lists. On the one hand, honourable members opposite were prepared to hide this report—they took it down, sanitised it and put it back up later knowing full well that many people in very difficult circumstances are waiting for surgery—and on the other hand they put out an advertising campaign that cost Queenslanders $350,000 but did not tell them the truth about what is going on. Queenslanders are very cynical when it comes to this sort of government advertising. What of the new state public transport authority that has been talked about in recent times? For how many years have we heard this government promise a new smart card system, which I think is now called go card, or an integrated ticketing system? It seems to be imbued with problem after problem. In their conversation with me, Queenslanders are wondering about this and certainly I had experience of this just the other day on the so-called ‘Bombay Express’ to the Gold Coast. Ms Croft interjected. Mr SPRINGBORG: People are wondering why in other places around the world the infrastructure, the carriages, the capability and the integration can be provided on time, yet in Queensland, the so-called smart state, we are not seeing that. Honourable members opposite might carp in indignation and shame, but that is the reality of what many Queenslanders—and some of them are their constituents—are experiencing today. I want to finish by touching on the issue of this government’s $55 billion state debt. This is something with which we should all be greatly concerned. I heard the Treasurer stand up in here this morning and say, ‘It is really not that bad. It is only costing us 1.5 per cent of our asset and cash base each year to service this.’ About $10 million to $12 million a day in interest only payments are being made courtesy of the Queensland taxpayer in servicing this debt, which has been built up in order to plug holes because the government has not invested in sufficient infrastructure on time. There is no capital repayment; it is an interest repayment. The Queensland budget is around $33 billion. The interest component alone is getting up towards $3 billion that will be required to service this debt. You cannot talk about 1.5 per cent; you have to talk about the reserves available to you. You cannot sell schools, you cannot sell roads, you cannot sell bridges—you cannot sell essential government infrastructure in order to service that debt. Queenslanders are justified in their concerns about this debt spiral and these are issues that we will be continuing to advocate on their behalf. Time expired. 56 Matters of Public Interest 12 Feb 2008

Climate Change Conference Mrs ATTWOOD (Mount Ommaney—ALP) (2.41 pm): I rise to draw to the attention of the House the important matter of climate change and to discuss the findings of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK sponsored International Parliamentary Conference on Climate Change, which I attended on 26 November last year. Climate change is at the top of the political agenda worldwide, and at the start of the UK conference there was a broad recognition that it has been caused by human activities. Over 80 parliamentarians from both developed and developing countries heard expert speakers to learn about and discuss the biggest challenge our civilisation has had to face up to. The poorer countries, children and the elderly, and underprivileged groups are the most affected by the climate change dilemma. However, rich countries produce higher levels of CO2. Mitigation, the cutting of emissions to reduce the impacts of climate change combined with adaptation, and preparing for the effects of climate change are the appropriate responses. At the conference governments were encouraged to set up standing committees for the environment and a communique was discussed and drafted to send to the executive of the then forthcoming Bali conference. Climate change is the apparent result of our high economic growth, specifically originating from energy manufacture emissions from developed countries. We need solutions to cope with energy growth, and the need for action is very urgent. Emissions are continuing to increase already and are approaching dangerous levels. Most emissions come from the developed world and are on course to increase by 57 per cent by 2030. There is a mood amongst industry and global organisations to support the mitigation processes that governments put in place. However, these must be supported by all legislators and society. We can do this by articulating the importance and threats of climate change to begin a cultural shift in society to that of a low carbon emission economy. This means having appropriate infrastructure in place so that people do not need to travel great distances to get services. We should be focusing on a local way of living where low carbon emission transport systems meet the needs of locals while maximising accessibility for people. Continuing use of petroleum products has resulted in a peak oil situation where supply does not match demand. The UK parliament has introduced the first climate change bill, which was debated during the conference. However, there are still concerns that it may not be ambitious enough. Some organisations believe that it is imperative to control emissions from cars through higher taxes for higher emissions et cetera. A number of organisations believe that education is a means of changing the behaviour of the very young and that governments legislate to ensure that schools, for example, achieve energy-saving targets. They also consider that government could provide accreditation for energy sustainable schools and sustainable school buildings as an example to private industry. The way of the future is to learn how to prosper in a much more equitable, very low carbon, water scarce, oil limited, hyper efficient, closed loop world. This can be done in small ways by banning incandescent light bulbs, retrofitting all existing housing to bring it up to a minimum low carbon energy consumption standard et cetera—some countries have subsidies for this to occur. Some short-term measures to make a difference in the next 10 years are to focus on efficiency, heat exchange, all large- scale renewables, micro-generation, carbon capture and storage. Commonwealth leaders have an important and increasing role in developing a shared understanding of the long-term goals for climate policy and can add to the momentum towards effective international collective action on climate change. Here in Queensland, however, there are a number of concerns that impact upon our state when addressing greenhouse and climate change issues. Those concerns include: an economy built on abundant natural resources and the development of fossil fuels and minimal resources; an anticipated population growth of over 20 per cent by 2020; the decentralisation of Queensland’s cities, meaning greater reliance on transport than in some other states that have a more centralised population; a large quantity of Queensland exports comprise products that are responsible for greenhouse gas emissions; and the volume of greenhouse gas emissions coming from the energy sector even though we are leaders in clean coal power generation. The government regards these constraints to be important considerations in formulating and implementing its current policies and strategies so that Queensland interests, jobs and industry will not be adversely affected. Government activity on climate change will create numerous and diversified business opportunities as the demand rises for ecologically sound goods and services. New markets will be created in low carbon energy technologies, and their introduction across numerous sectors will create significant opportunities for employment, processing and manufacturing in a smart state. Emergency Services, Floods Mr HOOLIHAN (Keppel—ALP) (2.45 pm): We heard from the Premier and other ministers this morning about the damaging flooding in many parts of Queensland and an outline of the work being undertaken to assist people suffering from the effects of that flooding, more particularly in my own area including the Fitzroy River. But there are some other matters that I would like to draw to the attention of this House in relation to the people who assist with recovery. 12 Feb 2008 Matters of Public Interest 57

Thankfully all the floodwaters did not reach Rockhampton at the same time, so the flood peak in Rockhampton was not as high as originally calculated. The Capricorn Coast in my electorate does not escape the downstream effects of flooding from the second largest river system in Australia. Our beaches receive the detritus from as far away as the Drummond Range, and the resultant dangers, both physically and to health, are met by emergency service workers. The people in Emergency Management Queensland and the disaster management teams plan for as many contingencies as they can, but who can really plan for a major dam filling to almost twice its capacity and releasing water into a system that does not have the capacity to absorb that amount of water? We must also bear in mind that the Fairbairn Dam and the full water system for the Fitzroy River has not had a major flood for approximately 17 years and some of the difficulties experienced by our emergency workers have never arisen before. I would like this House to take note of and to recognise the quality of the government employees as well as the emergency service workers and other volunteers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty and will continue to do so. It is just as well that we have the great band of Queensland emergency workers, both paid and volunteers, who can swing into action when the need arises. The criticism of our fire, ambulance and police services pales into insignificance when we see them working in water where it would never usually go and where there are all sorts of dangerous life forms, such as snakes, and in the lower reaches of the Fitzroy even crocodiles. Their work is very often at night and recently in heavy rain. The magnificent volunteers, particularly those in the orange overalls of the SES, who put in such long hours to care for their own and other communities, also deserve all the accolades they get. Sometimes the great people in our emergency services are even put in danger by the thoughtless actions of some idiots who take risks with their own lives and expect to be protected from their own stupidity. I know that our local Livingstone SES group provides assistance as far away as New South Wales but recently it has also provided assistance in the Emerald area. On Australia Day it provides crowd assistance on the Capricorn Coast. I had reason to speak to Eddie Cowie, who is the leader of our local SES. He had returned from Emerald only the previous evening and had worked there for a number of days and quite honestly looked washed out. He also has a young family from whom that work took him away. I wonder whether the average citizen is aware of the many hundreds of other unheralded people who assist in recovery and get very little support—the people from Queensland Rail who provided trains and crews to get across flooded creeks and rivers and now have to rebuild and re-lay many kilometres of track that has been washed away; the people from Main Roads who undertake repairs to road infrastructure but who are criticised for protecting the roads which must be dried out before traffic can travel on them; the people from Q-Build and Public Works who provide emergency accommodation and mattresses for displaced people; and people from primary industry dealing with agriculture and animal husbandry. One of the things that people seem to forget is the council workers who are very often part of the volunteer organisations and work during a major emergency and who then become part of the overall clean-up in their day-to-day jobs. There are also unsung heroes, many of whom are very often the people next door, who provide food and support for the emergency workers and care for displaced people and who then fade into the background, but they also need to be recognised. Substantial funding from state and federal governments will be necessary to allow these people to rebuild our infrastructure and to help people, some of whom turned out to help others, to re-establish their shattered lives. When we realise that this emergency occurred quite close to Australia Day, it should reinforce our deep commitment to the welfare of all Australians. The concept of a helping hand for our neighbours and other members of our community is alive and well in Queensland, and that concept is supported by all those wonderful people, both in and out of government service, who just got in and helped.

Youth Violence Mr McARDLE (Caloundra—Lib) (2.50 pm): We need to adopt a zero tolerance approach to youth violence and aggression in our schools and in our communities. Young people have a right to enjoy life, but they also have a responsibility to ensure the way they enjoy life does not diminish somebody else’s. It is in our long-term best interests to protect our young people from harm and create an environment that harnesses their dynamism and passion and channels it into making a productive resource. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr O’Brien): Order! Is this not the subject of a private member’s bill that is currently before the House—Criminal Code (Protecting School Students and Members of Staff from Assaults) Amendment Bill? Mr McARDLE: No. I can assure you, Mr Deputy Speaker— Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: It sounds very similar. I will listen to you a bit longer. 58 Matters of Public Interest 12 Feb 2008

Mr McARDLE: Most Queenslanders have little sympathy for aggressive and violent people, whether they are young or older. I make no apologies for wanting to come down hard on aggressive youth to stop their appalling behaviour. I am, however, concerned that locking them up or sending them back to the same conditions which encouraged their destructive behaviour simply grows the problem in too many cases. It is for this reason that I will propose an early intervention, if you like—a boot camp that may well help break the cycle by providing the frustrated and angry young person with some discipline and structure to their lives as well as a whole new set of life skills. A Queensland juvenile boot camp could mean the courts ordering trouble-making juveniles to enter into a compulsory long work stay at an outback Queensland property. This would remove young troublemakers from their peers while providing a highly disciplined and unforgiving work environment that delivers a whole new set of life skills. Doing more of the same will just mean more Queenslanders will become victims but the crimes will become more serious, and the cost of trying to manage an increasingly complex mixture of antisocial and criminal behaviour will just increase. Doing nothing is not what Queenslanders expect of their government or other elected representatives sitting in this House. Younger Queenslanders under the age of 24 committed 6,415 assaults, or about 47 per cent of all assaults recorded by police, last financial year, and those under 17 years old committed 2,300 assaults last financial year, or about 17 per cent of assaults. Alarmingly, about 80 per cent of juvenile detainees end up in the adult prison system. The lack of adult supervision or self-discipline becomes an easy excuse for a lifetime of increasingly reckless and destructive behaviour. This is a major crisis in community safety that needs to be knocked on the head now, before it spirals into further social decay and gets even further out of hand. Most of us have been shocked by the mind-numbing and escalating youth violence problem. Rocks have been dropped into busy traffic from road bridges. Groups of young thugs have violently attacked people and recorded their appalling behaviour as a trophy. Graffiti tags and stencils stain people’s fences, bus stops, train lines and other property. Intoxicated youth have wreaked havoc in our neighbourhoods and terrorised good people on the Sunshine Coast on Australia Day. Everything is a target for the youth protest—from the back of a bus seat to the person sitting in it. The law and all the interests it is designed to protect—rights and responsibilities—demand a stop to the lawless activity of miscreant youth. We do not accept violent, aggressive and intimidating behaviour in our workplaces and there should be a zero tolerance of it in schools, neighbourhoods and public spaces. The consumption of alcohol by minors, or drugs for that matter, is against the law. The fact that Australian teenagers spend $200 million on alcohol each year is evidence of a serious failure by all Australian and territory governments. It is simply not good enough for any government to blame parents or hoteliers. If the law has been broken or abused, it must be fixed. Queenslanders are rightfully questioning whose interests our laws serve. Our streets, neighbourhoods and public spaces are fertile ground for misguided young people on a mission to be remembered for being a public nuisance. Add alcohol, drugs and bravado and it is a toxic battleground where respect for law and order and the rights and liberties of innocent people become the target of violent confrontations. The fact that minors have access to alcohol and drugs also reflects a major situation where some parents and the government are failing Queensland children. It is simply not good enough for any government to spin its social contract to keep its citizenry safe into a debate about generational change. More and more Queenslanders are becoming fed up with the government’s siding with troublemakers to advance civil rights and arguments to excuse bad and often dangerous behaviour. It is not surprising that more and more people are beginning to realise that the justice system is failing them as well as countless lost young Queenslanders. Reckless behaviour and lawlessness in any form needs to be firmly stopped and systematically turned inside out. It is for this reason that a Queensland-style boot camp may well provide lost young troublemakers the self-discipline and skills to become more productive members of our community. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I do apologise for jumping the gun.

Fibre Composites Industry Ms JARRATT (Whitsunday—ALP) (2.55 pm): As Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry, I have been privileged to learn more about some of Queensland’s Smart State industries that are helping to grow our regions and boost our economy. Last week I visited Toowoomba to learn more about the exciting fibre composites industry and to chair the Queensland Fibre Composites Forum. While there is no doubt that much of the fibre composites industry involves the use of cutting-edge 21st century technology, I also discovered that the principles underpinning the manufacture of fibre composites are not new or unfamiliar to most of us, because materials like fibreglass have been used for around 30 to 40 years to make all sorts of products including boats, eskies and surfboards. 12 Feb 2008 Matters of Public Interest 59

Fibre composites consist of a polymer or resin added to a reinforcement material, usually some type of natural or manufactured fibre, which provides form and adds strength to the product. Fibre composites have a range of benefits compared to more traditional materials depending on the purpose for which they are created. For example, the benefits of fibre composites in boat building include their weight to strength ratio. Other desirable qualities of the products also include the fact that they are non- corroding, non-magnetic and can be located to provide strength, stiffness or flexibility where needed to meet nearly any specific engineering requirement. Naturally, fibre composites have a range of applications in the marine and aviation sectors, and their potential is also being recognised in areas such as advanced manufacturing, building and construction, mining, transport and even in the defence forces. I was privileged to see firsthand a range of fibre composite products which were on display in Toowoomba including part of the Collins class submarine, a lightweight Kimberley caravan and automotive parts that reduce the overall weight of a vehicle without compromising strength. Indeed, I am reliably informed that the use of fibre composites is set to revolutionise the sport of motor racing, much as it has already done for the sport of yacht racing, by enabling vehicle design to achieve the desirable combination of reduced weight and increased strength. The Gold Coast company Firewire was also showcasing its award-winning surfboards that are now used by many of the biggest names in international surfing. The advantage of the Firewire boards is their incredible strength combined with increased flex capacity that gives them outstanding manoeuvrability. The use of innovative fibre composite technology has enabled this Queensland company to go from a small production base of around 17 staff and 10 surfboards a week in 2006 to 89 staff and around 400 boards each week. This is a great local success story and it epitomises the potential that fibre composites hold for revolutionising even the most traditional areas of design and manufacturing. The other great benefits delivered through the fibre composites industry sector are that these materials potentially use half the energy of the production of materials such as concrete and steel and may generate less than half the emissions and waste of the more traditional materials. In a time when governments around the world are beginning to look to lower greenhouse emissions, a smart industry being developed right here in Queensland has the potential to deliver this outcome. And wait, there is more good news on the enviro front. Fibre composites also have the potential to replace timber in many instances, thus reducing our reliance on native hardwoods. This is a smart industry in so many ways, and I welcome the opportunity to chair the Queensland Fibre Composites Forum so that I can play an active role in its further development. The Queensland Fibre Composites Forum was formed in 2006 to assist the state government implement its fibre composites action plan. Forum members come from a range of backgrounds and regions across the state, and they meet quarterly to discuss issues affecting the industry’s performance and prospects and to identify ways in which to further refine the government’s action plan. I have said it before: fibre composites are a Smart State industry and Queensland is at the forefront of global development in fibre composites technology. Little wonder the state government has invested more than $15 million in the sector in recent years. This includes $7½ million to the University of Southern Queensland for the development of the Centre of Excellence in Engineered Fibre Composites. Additionally, the government has funded organisations like the CSIRO and Australian Aerospace to assist them to advance the development and application of fibre composites technology. In a more practical sense the Department of Tourism, Regional Development and Industry is supporting this industry sector through funding to support industry peak body Composites Australia to host its 2009 conference right here in Queensland. This will be a great opportunity for local businesses to showcase the benefits of setting up shop in the Smart State where the government has a plan to support the fibre composites industry and is working proactively to ensure that this sector is part of Queensland’s continuing success story.

Child Safety Mrs STUCKEY (Currumbin—Lib) (3.00 pm): The summer break not only brought much needed rains; it also unfortunately brought to light shocking stories of child abuse, murder, rape and neglect of Queensland’s children. It is fitting on the first sitting day of the 52nd Parliament of Queensland for 2008 to speak on a matter of public interest that this government refuses to acknowledge and therefore refuses to rectify. I refer to the increasing number of children needing out-of-home care who are being placed in commercial accommodation. Children who have been removed from their families because of proven child abuse or the child is at such high risk of abuse that a court felt it necessary to put in place a protection order are being placed into substandard commercial accommodation such as motels and caravan parks with little supervision and, in some cases, are being exposed to extreme risk of harm. 60 Matters of Public Interest 12 Feb 2008

Over the past week two Queensland cases have been reported nationally. One highlighted a male teenage child who was shut away in a motel in Cairns with no support despite the fact that he suffers schizophrenia and has attempted suicide three times, the first at the tender age of nine. This boy is due to turn 18 soon and has been shut away by a government that does not care and is willing to keep him in inferior accommodation probably until he is no longer under state care. Then despite having few skills to cope he will be forced to fend for himself unless this government provides some support for him. Responding to question No. 1,958—a question that was over two weeks late being answered— the government trawled out its usual line that commercial accommodation is a ‘last resort’ placement option. Yet 2006-07 figures supplied by the minister showed that there were 365 children placed into this type of accommodation. This relates to a 25 per cent increase compared to the year prior. In monetary terms this is a huge jump from $2.4 million in 2005-06 to over $4.5 million in 2006-07. It is almost a 50 per cent increase and would strongly suggest that children are spending longer periods in this type of care. The minister stated that the longest period a child was placed in commercial accommodation during 2006-07 was 72 days. Whilst this figure is no doubt correct, stays longer than this do occur. But by breaking the data into financial years, data on children who were kept in motels after 30 June 2007 was, of course, not included. I raised a case in parliament last year where it was revealed that a group of five young siblings had been in motel style accommodation for up to six months before being placed in foster care. During this time there were reports of children’s fingers and ribs being broken and another with pneumonia that required hospitalisation. It has become blatantly clear to me and many other observers that the minister is not up to speed on the goings on in her own department. The minister claimed that children placed into commercial accommodation are given individual care plans that meet the needs of the young person. Mr Deputy Speaker, through you I ask the minister how she can assure the people of Queensland that these care plans are working when there is minimal contact with the Child Safety department, no schooling, no structured psychological support and a room with an Xbox for company together with a babysitter as is the situation with a 17-year-old boy in Cairns. Let us look at Brisbane where it is reported that a 14-year-old girl, as quoted by social workers, is at the ‘dumping place’, the derogatory name given to a motel in Brisbane’s south-west. It has since been confirmed by workers that this particular girl spent close to six months at this motel despite government guidelines saying that commercial accommodation, a ‘last resort’ practice, should not exceed 72 hours in urban regions and 96 hours in rural and remote areas. Fed an inadequate diet from local fast food outlets for the duration of her stay, this girl received no counselling and was babysat by a rotation of youth workers who are not equipped to deal with her complex needs. Is this what the minister means by an individual care plan? Similar to the young male in Cairns, this young girl’s life comprised playing computer games and watching movies with little or no effort by the department to assist her with education and other therapies. The minister has a lot to explain about this practice and her government’s approach to the warehousing of children in this manner without the provision of adequate care or attention to their wellbeing. Instead of ignoring this growing problem the minister must order an audit of all children currently in commercial accommodation, requesting that all case plans for these children be produced along with documentation of all contact visits that are made with them. Horrific cases of abuse, rapes and murders across Queensland highlight the fact that the current system is failing. I urge the minister to address the situation immediately and consider setting up specialised models of closely monitored group housing with experienced workers trained to manage children with complex needs. This Labor government is not serious about protecting children with three ministers appointed in 14 months. Four years have passed since the CMC inquiry and the Bligh Labor government has gone backwards, not forwards, when it comes to protecting children in its care. Increasing the use of commercial accommodation across the state with increased funding, high-risk children are being put in the too-hard basket because the Bligh government is abrogating its responsibility with, I say again, alarming regularity. Fuel Prices Mr MOORHEAD (Waterford—ALP) (3.05 pm): With rising house prices and rising grocery prices the increasing cost of petrol is bringing pressure to bear on the daily lives of Queensland’s residents. Those pressures are particularly significant in the outer suburban areas where daily life depends on driving—driving to school, to sport, to the shops and, most importantly, to employment opportunities. The Bligh government understands this. The report into Queensland’s vulnerability to rising oil prices examines the implications of rising petrol prices on our state well into the future. I must pay tribute to the minister for sustainability and climate change for his vision on this issue. This report gives the state government a key opportunity to continue to help families deal with rising petrol prices into the future. 12 Feb 2008 Matters of Public Interest 61

But the message is stark. All levels of government must continue to plan for a life with petrol becoming less affordable. Cities must be designed to be less reliant on private transport. Public transport must continue its stellar rate of growth. Whilst it is important that the community reconsiders its current use of petrol, government policy must ease the squeeze on our suburban areas and their residents. South-east Queensland’s history of urban development is one of cities designed around motor vehicle usage. As we built cities during the 20th century we assumed that petrol would be cheap forever. More and more of the residents of my electorate are travelling to Brisbane and the south side for work every day. For many they could not work close to their home even if they wanted to. Many families have moved to outer urban areas because housing is relatively more affordable only to find that they must pay more every week in transport costs. The state government’s South East Queensland Regional Plan looks to the future and limits urban sprawl and promotes the location of homes and jobs in proximity to each other. But councils also have their role to play. Town planning must consider the decline in affordability of transport and build a future on that basis. The people of Logan and Beenleigh are voting with their feet when it comes to higher petrol prices. As petrol prices rise and the state government provides more and more convenient public transport passenger numbers are skyrocketing. Since 2004 public transport patronage in the Logan area has increased by more than 119 per cent. But there is always more to do. As the state government continues to roll out more and more services residents will look more and more to public transport as a convenient and affordable alternative to private transport. But the government must continue to ensure that the fuel tax rebate goes back into the pockets of motorists. The recent commission has explored some options. I hope that soon we will have measures in response to that report to ensure that the fuel tax subsidy goes to motorists and not to retailers or distributors of petrol. Residents in outer urban areas want to know that their political leaders are planning for transport into the future. As it is, rising petrol costs are eating away family budgets at the same time as housing is getting beyond the reach of many. Better planning and better public transport will mean a reduced reliance on petrol into the future. While the road is long and we must plan for the long road ahead, the Bligh government is supporting the families living in outer suburbs in the face of rising petrol prices. We are ensuring that there are employment opportunities in their local area so they can live in suburbs that are not sprawling further and further away from the jobs and services that they deserve. This is a key issue for the government into the future, and I hope that we can continue this progress in supporting families suffering from petrol price increases.

Racing Industry Mr HORAN (Toowoomba South—NPA) (3.09 pm): Three years ago the Queensland Labor government supported the cutting of 200 race meetings out of 480 race meetings in country Queensland—that is, the cutting of non-TAB race meetings. The government is now supporting the cutting of a further 47 race meetings from the state, including non-TAB meetings and TAB meetings. Probably nowhere in the state has been savaged more than north Queensland, with seven races lost from Townsville, nine from Rockhampton, four from Mackay, one from Home Hill and one from Charters Towers. This callous government is standing by while Queensland Racing systematically destroys one of the few pleasures of people in rural, regional and remote areas of the state—their race meetings. Many of these race meetings, if not all of these race meetings, are operated by voluntary committees and by voluntary staff. What can be more callous than the cutting of race meetings from Mount Isa—a remote, hot and difficult area of the state that has contributed so much to the wealth, industry and employment in this state? What does that great city get for that? It gets its race meetings cut. More than that, everybody knows that if you cut back the core business of country racing it will not survive, because if there are not enough meetings in a regional circuit then you do not get the jockeys, the trainers, the owners and the bookies and it dies by natural attrition. That is what is systematically being done by Queensland Racing Ltd and supported by this government to all areas of rural and regional Queensland. There are eight country racing associations and they are probably all going to disassociate themselves from this proposal. They have been offered the carrot of an extra $1,000 per race and in return they are going to have race meetings slashed in some areas and a number of them go altogether in other areas. They know that without the core business and enough race meetings they will not survive. They know that the money that is being offered in return is less than what they will lose. For example, if an area has five races totalling $20,000, the offer from Queensland Country Racing of an increase in prize money for the various areas is far less than that. However, the loss will be far greater if there are more than five races in those cancelled meetings. 62 Matters of Public Interest 12 Feb 2008

I and all of the people involved in racing know about the importance of a good balance between TAB meetings and non-TAB meetings. Under the agreement when the TAB was sold, seven per cent of the product fee that comes from the TAB to racing in Queensland must go to non-TAB race meetings and that must be maintained. But with this we will see a cut in the number of races and a cut in the administration subsidy currently provided by Queensland Racing by $250 per race for every race held in the country. Queensland Racing says that it will find the $350,000 to cover the funding shortfall, and I am quite certain that that funding shortfall is partly because there will be 17 extra races on the new cushion track at the Sunshine Coast. I come to this point: I think it is highly unethical for Queensland Racing Ltd to be the major owner via the trust of the Sunshine Coast racetrack. It has the cushion track. That cost around about $8 million and now it has these 17 extra race meetings. If we are going to have ethical and fair treatment of racing throughout Queensland, we cannot have Queensland Racing Ltd owning one of the major tracks in south-east Queensland. I have spoken about balancing the business side of it with regard to the seven per cent that must go to non-TAB racing, but what about the social responsibility for Queensland? What about sport and recreation opportunities for people who live outside the south-east corner of the state? That is something that is important for government. We have a minister for sport and for racing, and I call on them to stand up strongly for these people and to stop this ridiculous attrition by Queensland Racing. Queensland Racing’s profit went up from $3.4 million in 2005-06 to $8.4 million in 2006-07 and it reported in last year’s annual report a record year—record wagering turnover, record attendance figures and the best and most successful year ever for racing in Queensland. So we ask: why in the face of those figures does it want to go and cut the legs from under country racing? It is akin to not having junior Rugby League and not having country Rugby League. Where would we be if feeder— Time expired.

Equine Influenza

Mr WENDT (Ipswich West—ALP) (3.14 pm): I want to take this opportunity to inform the House of the latest developments in relation to equine influenza and particularly how it has affected my area of Ipswich West. I think it is important to announce up-front that there have been no new cases of EI reported in Queensland since 25 December last year, and has that not been a great Christmas present for us all? I know that it is too early just yet to say the disease has been beaten, but there is cautious optimism that the strategy of containment and eradication developed by the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries has been successful. The three key factors operating in favour of eradication at present are containment to the south-east region; the very low number and density of susceptible horses remaining, as the majority of horses are now recovered or vaccinated; and the current climatic conditions—that is, the hot and humid weather which does not favour survival of the virus outside of the horse. The success of the response to date provides a very real opportunity that the Queensland horse industry will be able to return to normal business earlier than had originally been expected. With this in mind, the current disease situation has allowed the introduction of relaxed movement conditions since 11 January. In that regard, ‘on hoof’ movements are now possible without the requirement of permits while the introduction of multimovement permits for travel by vehicle are available—all of which I can report have been welcomed by the industry, particularly in my area. It is also pleasing to note that the performance and pleasure horse industry commenced events on the weekend of 19 January, with a large event in the amber zone and two smaller events in the red zone. They were reported as being highly successful. I am also told that a significant number of applications to hold events in the red and amber zones have recently been lodged for the January to June period. But where to from here? Consistent with national views, the Queensland government’s priority remains the drive towards proof of eradication of this disease. This will mean accelerating the surveillance program to facilitate changes to the zone status as soon as possible. With this in mind, I am advised that the current amber zone is expected to turn to white and the present red zone to amber by the 22nd of this month. I should also take the opportunity to congratulate the DPIF over its handling of this disease during this difficult period. As many would be aware, there has been unprecedented contact with the department’s business information centre by members of the public, with over 79,000 phone calls and 506,000 web site visits having been recorded since the disease commenced. To bring this back to a local context, I can report that the community resource centre based at Rosewood in my electorate has proved to be an outstanding success. As members will remember, these centres were set up to encourage involvement by local communities and to increase communication with the industry and local horse owners. Contact figures for the Rosewood community resource centre from October 2007 through to mid-January 2008 indicate that there were 1,149 inquiries, 77 organisational visits, 10 public and industry meetings, and 13 events and displays. 12 Feb 2008 Matters of Public Interest 63

What this displays is that we all have a wonderful opportunity now to clean up this problem once and for all. However, we must all continue to play our part. As such, I am advised that the DPIF will be putting in a big effort in the coming weeks and I would encourage everyone else to assist us in eradicating equine influenza from our shores once and for all. Before I conclude, I want to pass on my thanks to Minister Tim Mulherin, who has provided first-class leadership during this difficult time. I also want to give special mention to Mr Brian Timms from the minister’s office who provided tremendous support and advice to me personally and to my constituents when it was most needed.

National and Liberal Parties, Electoral Redistribution Ms LEE LONG (Tablelands—ONP) (3.18 pm): I rise to highlight the extreme hypocrisy of the National and Liberal parties with regard to representing rural and regional Queenslanders and in particular the submissions they have made to the Queensland state redistribution process now underway. Their submissions have left me and, I believe, most tablelanders gobsmacked at their callous arrogance. The Nationals, who claim to be for rural and regional Queenslanders, want to scrap two rural and regional seats including Tablelands, which is in the second fastest growing area of this state. The Liberals have gone further and want to strip three seats out of the bush. The ALP, born in the bush and nurtured by pioneers in my electorate, has made recommendations that I believe could also lead to a similar result. This betrayal by the Nationals, along with the Liberals’ arrogant disregard for the bush, is only to be expected. It is a path they have walked for a long time now and they have been a great disappointment to so many. Both parties have recommended specifically that the rural seat of Tablelands be abolished and its constituents hived off in bits and pieces to neighbouring seats that have nothing in common and have centres that are physically up to 400 kilometres further away. This proves that the Nationals have lost all grip on reality. Apparently, the National Party believes that there is a community of interest between the tablelands, the Wet Tropics dairy farmers and the Charters Towers graziers and miners, because that is where it thinks its representation should come from. That is completely mind boggling, especially from a party that is claiming to have at heart the interests of the bush. The Liberal Party believes that the cohesive Tablelands electorate should be torn apart and scattered, with its representation divided up between Cape York, Ingham and Mulgrave. It is just bizarre stuff. The ALP, which rammed through local government amalgamations, including the arbitrary abolition of the four tablelands councils in favour of a single local government identity, is now suggesting that that constituency can be chopped and changed willy-nilly. We must remember that it was an ALP government that hamstrung the redistribution process by refusing to increase the number of parliamentary seats. It has insisted on keeping representation at 89 members, knowing full well that that means country Queenslanders, already ignored in favour of the crowded south-east, would lose even more of their voice. Yet one vital factor has been ignored by all of these major political organisations in their desperation to pander to the urbanites. Far-north Queensland is second only to the south-east in population growth. Cutting any seats from far-north Queensland to create more in south-east Queensland is madness. The population growth rates in far-north Queensland are likely to mean that the area will soon require more representation, not less. The Tablelands electorate is one of the growth areas. Currently, there are over 27,000 people registered to vote in the tableland shires in the up-and- coming local government elections. The ECQ invited comments on suggestions made to it about the redistribution process. Of the responses received from across the state, more than half were from Tablelands constituents and every single one was in favour of continuing to have their own electorate and representation. I firmly believe that the tableland needs its own individual voice. It is a vital and vibrant area with a large and unique cross-section of interests, industries and issues. I believe that the National and Liberal contributions were hypocritical and contradictory at best. On the one hand, they argued against some suggestions because they would break up a local government area, but they have no problem ignoring local government areas in their desperation to destroy the Tablelands electorate. With all the coalition infighting, conniving, backstabbing, political bed hopping and renewal going on in those organisations, perhaps logic is too much to expect. Of the seats of Tablelands, Cook, Mulgrave, Barron River and Cairns, three are already within the margin of tolerance for the new electoral quota. Tablelands and Cook are outside that range by only 3.8 per cent and two per cent respectively, with large growth rates in the electorates of Barron River, Mulgrave and Tablelands. With the far north enjoying an annual conservative growth rate of three per cent, all seats can be expected to meet quota requirements in the very near future. But that seems to escape the notice of our major political parties. In the far north, only the Hinchinbrook electorate is severely under the quota and the Thuringowa electorate is severely over the quota. But the obvious synergies of that situation seem also to have escaped the attention of the party machines. 64 Matters of Public Interest 12 Feb 2008

I am sure that the Electoral Commission of Queensland committee will perform its duties without fear or favour within the confines it has been given. I have highlighted here the massive disrespect that the major parties, especially the Nationals and the Liberals, have for the far north, as shown clearly in the submissions and suggestions that they have made to this redistribution process. It is to their enduring shame that they so clearly look only to their own self-gain rather than what is best for the people of Queensland. Springfield Parklands Project Mrs MILLER (Bundamba—ALP) (3.23 pm): For the electorate of Bundamba, 2008 has got off to a great start with the announcement by the Bligh Labor government of significant funding for the Springfield parklands project. Last Sunday the Premier, Anna Bligh, and I announced our Labor government’s contribution: $5.9 million in cash with a $5 million interest-free loan to Ipswich City Council to enable this project to be delivered. The cost of the project overall is $45 million. It is understood that the Springfield Land Corporation has entered into a partnership with the council to deliver this project. The company has gifted the land, valued at approximately $20 million, and there will be at least an initial $10 million in capital funds provided in an agreement between the council and the company. It is understood the council’s current contribution is approximately $4.2 million. People in the Bundamba electorate know that I am dedicated to improving their environment, their lifestyle and their health and welfare. I hope that this project will go a long way towards meeting those goals. These parklands will be built over 24 hectares of land. In comparison, the hugely successful Roma Street Parkland is built on 16 hectares. So this land is larger in size and gives us a great opportunity for innovative design. The parklands will not be just for the people in Springfield or Springfield Lakes; the parklands will be for all the people who want to go there, whether that be for formal occasions or simply to have a family barbecue. I am sure people from Goodna, Redbank Plains, Blackstone, Bundamba, Collingwood Park and suburbs in Brisbane and Logan will come to these new parklands to enjoy the ambience, the peaceful places and the play areas. In all respects it is a people’s park where people of all ages from all walks of life at any time of the day or night can enjoy its facilities. This parkland is so important when we consider the lifestyles of the people in the electorate. Thousands of shiftworkers live in the community and thousands of families have both parents working trying to pay off in some cases absolutely horrendous mortgages and have very limited time for family get-togethers. More older people are retiring to the area and they enjoy parks, beautiful gardens and water features. This park—the people’s park—will cater for people from all walks of life and on all budgets. Of course, it is a free park. However, those who may want to purchase a meal or coffee will be able to go to a kiosk, which is planned. Also, if they have different desires they can go over to the Orion Shopping Centre. Barbecue and picnic areas are planned. So the park will be a family-friendly venue. The planning documents that our Labor government has considered include in the design and construction delivery stages of the project a task force that will include Councillor David Morrison, me, and user groups representing children, youth, families, older persons and cultural groups, among others. Councillor Morrison and I have had initial discussions about the design and input from all community groups is sought. As I said, after all, it is a people’s park. In my many discussions with people two suggestions have been made that I would like to see incorporated in the planning design. One suggestion is for a memorial to our returned service men and women who fought in the wars to protect Australia. It should be noted that many families in the community have members who are serving in the defence force, especially at the Amberley Air Force base. The other suggestion is to have in the parklands a wedding chapel or a chapel for important ceremonies in people’s lives, such as christenings. There are no church buildings in the Springfield area. The churches meet at Woodcrest State College, Springfield Lakes State School and the University of Southern Queensland. Couples who want to marry generally get married out of the local area and I know that many christenings take place in people’s backyards. I am sure that brides and families with babies would be grateful for the inclusion of a chapel in these parklands. I suggest that local churches be consulted on these matters. The Bundamba electorate is a vibrant community—a community of people trying to get on with life, paying off their houses or renting, trying to get the best education for their children, struggling to pay household debts and also even to pay for petrol, like many other communities across Queensland. The Bundamba community is different in the sense that it has a rich and vibrant multicultural community. Therefore, it is important that the Aboriginal and Islander communities of the electorate are consulted, that the Samoan and Pacific Islander communities of the electorate are consulted and that the Vietnamese, Laotian and South American communities, among others, are consulted. These parklands 12 Feb 2008 Iconic Queensland Places Bill 65 will be enriched by their contribution to the planning and design process. Of course, we need the green groups involved. They have a genuine desire to be involved in the planning, particularly of the fauna and flora, to make these parklands an outstanding success. I have noted in the community infrastructure application to our Labor government a statement that by 2010-11 passenger rail services will connect Springfield to central Brisbane. This is possible only if the Springfield Land Corporation provides the bring-forward costs. Yes, it is technically possible to build the rail line by 2011, but only if the corporation sits down with our government and provides the bring- forward funding. The community wants the corporation to fast-track this funding. If not, the rail connection will be provided by 2015, funded by our Labor government. As the member for Bundamba, I am pleased that I am able to deliver this substantial funding on behalf of our Labor government into my area. It is funding not only for our generation but also for future generations that will leave a legacy for the people of Ipswich.

ICONIC QUEENSLAND PLACES BILL

First Reading Hon. PT LUCAS (Lytton—ALP) (Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning) (3.29 pm): I present a bill for an act to protect particular places in Queensland with iconic characteristics or qualities. I present the explanatory notes, and I move— That the bill be now read a first time. Question put—That the bill be now read a first time. Motion agreed to. Bill read a first time. Second Reading Hon. PT LUCAS (Lytton—ALP) (Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning) (3.29 pm): I move— That the bill be now read a second time. The introduction of the Iconic Queensland Places Bill 2008 is an important measure in protecting the characteristics and qualities which contribute to Queensland’s iconic status. Queensland is renowned for its character and beauty, and it is a priority of this government to ensure that Queensland’s distinctive characteristics will remain for future generations. Noosa and Port Douglas are certainly amongst those communities that automatically jump to mind when considering iconic characteristics in Queensland. That is due in no small part to the efforts of the communities through their councils to recognise and protect what makes them iconic places. These councils have taken significant steps to preserve these qualities in their own planning schemes and this bill protects those efforts by recognising Noosa and Douglas shires as iconic. This government is pleased to respond to the concerns raised by both communities as part of the consultation on local government reforms. In August 2007, this government made a commitment to prepare new legislation to give greater protection to the state’s nationally and internationally recognised icons. The introduction of the Iconic Queensland Places Bill will have a positive impact on communities and maintain the unique features that make Queensland famous. The bill provides assurances to communities that feel that distinguishing characteristics of local government areas may be overlooked by larger regional councils post amalgamation. Planning is an important foundation in shaping our communities and furthering their sustainability. The government has in place a planning and development framework, particularly through the Integrated Planning Act 1997, that promotes sustainability through good planning outcomes. The planning and development framework recognises the key role that the community has in determining its own sense of place by ensuring there is community engagement that informs decision making for planning outcomes at the local level. The bill seeks to protect iconic values in the natural and built environment by preserving key elements of a community’s decisions that are reflected in its current pre-amalgamation planning scheme and local laws by identifying those current policies and modifying decision-making processes to ensure the iconic values are taken into consideration in future decision making. The key decision-making processes modified by the bill relate to laws and procedures about local law development, planning and development assessment and policy making by local governments. These modifications complement existing planning and development assessment arrangements under the Integrated Planning Act 1997 and local law development under the Local Government Act 1993. The act provides for declarations of iconic places, which are made by the minister once they are satisfied that certain criteria have been met. 66 Iconic Queensland Places Bill 12 Feb 2008

A declaration of an iconic place ensures that decisions by regional local governments take into consideration the distinctive values of unique communities which contribute substantially to Queensland’s character.

In considering whether or not to make a declaration, specific criteria to be considered include pressure from population growth and new development that will impact on the iconic nature of the area; demonstrated threats to the characteristics or qualities intended to be protected; and support of the community for the declaration. To trigger the mechanisms in the bill that serve to protect the iconic characteristics of a place, the minister’s declaration must be published. The declaration identifies the iconic place, its iconic values and the provisions in the local planning scheme and the local laws that protect those iconic values. Publication of the declaration ensures the community is informed of its iconic status.

As part of a declaration, local laws that are considered to contribute to the iconic nature of the area are identified. To ensure that the iconic values that are protected by those local laws are considered in further local law development, the bill modifies the requirements for changing or extending those identified local laws. If changes are proposed to those local laws, the local government is required to prepare an impact report which evaluates these effects and must consider the effect the changes will have on the place’s iconic value.

To further protect iconic places, the process for local governments to make or amend a planning scheme has also been modified. If a local government proposes to make or amend a planning scheme, the local government must prepare an impact report evaluating the proposal’s effect on the place’s iconic values. The minister will consider if the action will be inconsistent with protecting the place’s iconic values and whether state interests are adversely affected. If it is deemed that a scheme proposal would be inconsistent with the iconic values, the minister must impose conditions on the scheme notification to preserve the iconic values. If the proposal is for an amendment of a scheme, the minister must either impose conditions or notify the local government that it may not proceed with the amendment.

The bill also establishes an independent development assessment panel for each declared iconic place. Panel membership consists of people who have expertise or experience in various fields including technical expertise and community or environmental interests. This ensures an independent perspective when considering whether any development applications may adversely affect a place’s iconic values. The panel has the ability to decide whether or not it will decide a development application relating to the iconic place instead of the local government. If the panel chooses to decide the application, the panel is the assessment manager for the application. However, the local government must continue to decide the application under the stages of the Integrated Development Assessment System up to, but not including, the giving of the decision notice.

These modifications are intended to enhance community confidence in the further development of planning instruments, development assessment processes and local law making in such a way to be consistent with the protection of the character of their iconic communities. The modifications do not compromise existing rights or responsibilities of landholders in iconic places and establish transparent processes for the consideration of the impact of the proposed law on the iconic place’s values.

To effect the legislation as quickly as possible, I have put a process in place to identify potential iconic places that may be suitable for declaration under this legislation. Based on a consultation draft of the bill circulated in early December 2007, I have asked all current local governments affected by the amalgamations to express to me their interest in being declared as an iconic place under this legislation. They must advise me of their interest prior to the local government elections, that is, provided the bill is passed by parliament and assent is subsequently given, between the date of assent of the bill and 14 March 2008. Even though local governments are currently in caretaker mode under the Local Government Act 1993, I am advised that the caretaker mode does not prevent local governments from meeting between now and the elections on 15 March, and they are still able to make a decision to submit an expression of interest up until that time.

Many councils have town planning schemes that are designed after consultation with communities to protect values that residents have fought hard for and they consider important, but there have been many instances in the past where good-quality planning schemes have been honoured in breach rather than in observance by council development assessment committees. In iconic areas, this bill provides for an independent development assessment panel that will be a defender of community interests and the principles reflected in local planning schemes. This is a fair dinkum watchdog to protect fair dinkum iconic values. I commend the bill to the House.

Debate, on motion of Miss Simpson, adjourned. 12 Feb 2008 Transport (Rail Safety) Bill 67

TRANSPORT (RAIL SAFETY) BILL

First Reading Hon. RJ MICKEL (Logan—ALP) (Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations) (3.36 pm): I present a bill for an act to provide for rail safety, and for related purposes. I present the explanatory notes, and I move— That the bill be now read a first time. Question put—That the bill be now read a first time. Motion agreed to. Bill read a first time. Second Reading Hon. RJ MICKEL (Logan—ALP) (Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations) (3.36 pm): I move— That the bill be now read a second time. The Queensland government is committed to the effective management and control of risks in order to further improve the safety performance of the state’s diverse and growing rail operations. The government also places great importance in promoting public confidence in the safety of transport on and around Queensland’s 9,800 kilometres of rail corridor. This bill, based on the national model Rail Safety Bill 2006, will further strengthen existing rail safety legislation, regulatory processes and safety outcomes. In view of the time, I seek leave to have my speech incorporated in Hansard. Leave granted. National approach The Council of Australian Governments has long recognised the need for rail safety reform, including legislative reform, to improve the national consistency of rail safety regulation. Such consistency provides the platform for increased efficiencies by the nation’s rail operators, particularly for those that operate across jurisdictional boundaries. Of even greater importance, however, are the potential improvements to safety outcomes that nationally consistent legislation, regulation and operational practices will provide. The need for further improvements are underlined by the tragic consequences of past fatal rail incidents, such as those that occurred at Waterfall and Glenbrook in New South Wales, and more recently at Kerang in Victoria and Mindi in central Queensland. The model Bill, an integral component of an overarching rail safety reform package, was developed by the National Transport Commission, in consultation with rail safety regulators, industry, rail unions, and other stakeholders, and approved by Transport Ministers through the Australian Transport Council in 2006. Safety regulation of the rail industry by Australian State and Territory governments is based on the co-regulatory model. Rail infrastructure managers and operators are required to gain accreditation from a State or Territory rail safety regulator before they can operate in that jurisdiction. Development of Transport Rail Safety Bill 2008 Development of Queensland’s Bill has involved extensive consultation with the rail industry, including commercial and not-for- profit rail transport operators, rail and associated unions, and relevant state and Commonwealth government agencies. Government has committed to further consultation with industry, unions and other stakeholders on the supporting Transport (Rail Safety) Regulation, which will also be based on the national model, following Parliamentary approval of the Bill. I acknowledge and commend the efforts of all who have contributed to this process to date. Objects of the Bill The Bill sets out the legal duties and operating requirements to provide for the improvement of the safe carrying out of railway operations, the management of risks associated with these operations and the promotion of public confidence in the safety of transport of passengers or freight by rail. The Bill builds on the co-regulatory approach through the implementation of a number of regulatory best practices. The Bill’s co- regulatory approach incorporates the core principles of shared responsibility; integrated risk management; transparency and consistency; participation; consultation and involvement; and proportionate, consistent and fair enforcement. Importantly, the Bill forms part of a system of nationally consistent rail safety laws which are intended to assist in the delivery of a higher degree of regulatory harmonisation across Australian States and Territories. Impacts of the Transport Rail Safety Bill 2008 As highlighted in the model Bill’s Regulatory Impact Statement, jurisdictional legislation based on the model Bill should further refine and improve the existing co-regulatory structure, as well as its efficiency and effectiveness. The Regulatory Impact Statement also indicates that many of the new provisions should result in a reduction of business compliance costs, with some other provisions contributing to, at most, only minor or modest cost increases. The largest impact of the Transport Rail Safety Bill will be the further improvements to rail safety through the implementation of key provisions. Under the new Bill, rail transport operators will continue to require accreditation before they can operate. Mr Speaker, it is worth noting that there are 29 accredited railways operating in Queensland including Queensland Rail, Pacific National and the Airtrain, as well as 13 tourist and heritage rail operations, of which a number of you are avid patrons. This Bill clarifies the criteria for, and purpose of such accreditation, which is to attest that an operator has demonstrated the competence and capacity to manage risks to safety associated with its railway operation, as opposed to the current requirement to demonstrate competence and capacity to comply with certain administrative standards. 68 Local Government and Industrial Relations Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008

The Bill also legislates the requirements for a rail transport operator’s Safety Management System, the majority of which currently exist as administrative requirements under the National Accreditation Package for rail safety. Such requirements include specific plans and programs for security management, emergency management, health and fitness management, alcohol and drug management, and fatigue management. There are specific provisions within the Bill, however, to complement the requirement for alcohol and drug management plans. These provisions incorporate the power, if considered necessary by the rail safety regulator, to undertake random testing or require rail transport operators to randomly test their workers for the presence of alcohol and drugs. Another change to the current requirements will be the need for operators to consult those persons who are intending to work on or at their railway premises, both during the initial development of their Safety Management Systems and in the ongoing process of maintaining and updating those systems. The Bill will also provide for related compliance codes and associated national guidelines currently being developed, which will guide rail safety regulators’ requirements and behaviour and provide rail transport operators with a nationally consistent set of expectations regarding the processes to be followed. It should be noted Mr Speaker that rail transport operators will have 12 months from the Bill’s enactment date to make any required changes to their Safety Management Systems and associated practices as a result of the new legislation. An important highlight of the Bill is the inclusion of ‘general safety duties’ that require all rail transport operators and contractors who undertake rail safety work, for specific prescribed railway operations, to ensure the safety of their railway operations, ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’. These statutory duties of care define the required level of safety, make clear which parties have accountabilities for rail safety and are designed to increase the regulatory reach of the Rail Safety Regulator. The prescribed operations to which these duties relate primarily encompass the movement of rolling stock on a railway and activities that affect the safe operation or movement of that rolling stock. Such prescribed operations generally take place on or within the immediate vicinity of a railway track and do not include operations which take place in workshops or other workplaces away from the immediate vicinity of the track. The general safety duties provisions have been developed to complement Queensland’s other safety legislation, particularly the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995. An existing Memorandum of Understanding between Queensland Transport and the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations regarding rail safety will be enhanced upon the introduction of the new rail safety legislation to take into account any resultant changes. Queensland’s rail safety regulator does possess a full range of audit, inspection and enforcement powers. The Bill will further enhance these powers. However, it will also put in place an array of checks and balances to ensure that regulatory decision- making processes continue to be timely, transparent and nationally consistent. The Bill also requires rail transport operators to ensure that each rail safety worker, who is to carry out rail safety work, possesses the relevant competencies to carry out such work. Such requirements are designed to ensure that rail safety workers are appropriately trained and skilled before undertaking work associated with specific safety risks. The Transport Rail Safety Bill, as in the model Bill, includes for the first time a requirement for private sidings to be registered with the rail safety regulator. Private siding managers must also have in place interface coordination plans with the accredited rail transport operator who manages the railway to which the private siding connects, and comply with any conditions attached to the registration of the siding. As private sidings are currently not required to be registered, a period of three years from when the Bill is enacted has been incorporated as a transition period for this provision. The Transport Rail Safety Bill, in conformity with the model Bill, also replaces the current mechanism for assessing rail transport operators who wish to be accredited to operate in more than one jurisdiction. The current mechanism, Mutual Recognition, will be replaced with Uniform Administration, which will require rail safety regulators to coordinate decisions on such applications for accreditation and variations to existing accreditations. The Transport Rail Safety Bill does make a significant variation to the model Bill in regard to the rail-related operations it applies to. A ‘railway’ as per the model Bill also includes monorails, sugarcane railways and a surface railway that is used solely for a mining operation, such as that at Weipa in the state’s far north. These operations are specifically excluded under Queensland’s current rail safety accreditation requirements as they are being regulated under existing Workplace Health and Safety and Mining Safety legislation. In this regard, the status quo will remain and these operations will be exempt from rail safety legislation under the Bill. Mr Speaker, this Bill has been developed over 18 months and, as previously mentioned, has involved extensive national and intra- state consultation with interstate rail regulators, rail operators, unions and associated central agencies. I wish to thank my department of Transport for the work done to date. I commend the Bill to the House. Debate, on motion of Mr Nicholls, adjourned.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AMENDMENT BILL

First Reading Hon. RJ MICKEL (Logan—ALP) (Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations) (3.39 pm): I present a bill for an act to amend the Industrial Relations Act 1999 and the Local Government Act 1993 and to make consequential amendments of other acts. I present the explanatory notes, and I move— That the bill be now read a first time. Question put—That the bill be now read a first time. Motion agreed to. Bill read a first time. 12 Feb 2008 Local Government and Industrial Relations Amendment Bill 69

Second Reading Hon. RJ MICKEL (Logan—ALP) (Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations) (3.40 pm): I move— That the bill be now read a second time. Prior to WorkChoices becoming effective on 26 March 2006, employees of local governments in Queensland and their unions had a choice of which industrial relations system should regulate wages and working conditions. Some employees were covered by the federal system for many years and had federal awards and enterprise agreements. Others were covered by the Queensland system. WorkChoices changed that with the stroke of a pen. The former Howard government radically changed the face of industrial relations. The Federal Workplace Relations Act was amended to exclude state laws with respect to the regulation of working conditions for the employees of certain employers. The most significant group was the employees of ‘constitutional corporations’. It did not matter if employees of a constitutional corporation had been covered by a state award or agreement, they were dragged into the federal system. The Local Government and Industrial Relations Amendment Bill 2008 before us remedies this situation. In view of the time, I seek leave to have the rest of my comments incorporated in Hansard. Leave granted. Mr Speaker, since the introduction of WorkChoices, the biggest issue facing local government industrial relations arrangements is the continuing uncertainty about which jurisdiction applies. The most contentious issue for local government has been whether or not they met the definition of a constitutional corporation. That definition relied on the source of income for each individual council and whether that income was the result of trading activity or from grants and other forms of revenue. Therefore, the fear has been that the status of each council could potentially become subject to contradictory legal opinion and even court action. Indeed, the Queensland Government is currently awaiting the outcome of its case in the Federal Court seeking to prevent Etheridge Shire Council from utilising a federal workplace agreement. Even Joe Hockey, the previous Minister for Workplace Relations in the Howard Government, conceded that it was not clear if a local government authority was a constitutional corporation. It will take time for the new Federal Labor Government to reform federal workplace relations laws because the Rudd Government, unlike the Howard Government, will reform workplace relations in consultation and collaboration with the states and all stakeholders. Mr Speaker, in 2007, Queensland local government boundaries were reviewed by the Local Government Reform Commission. The Local Government Reform Implementation Act 2007 restructured local governments and the new boundaries take effect on 15 March 2008. When the Minister for Local Government, Planning and Sport introduced the reform Bill in August last year, he said that the Queensland Government would do everything in its power to ensure that council workforces are not considered constitutional corporations and subject to the laws of the former Howard Government. The Queensland Government also gave a commitment that employees affected by the reforms would have their terms and conditions and accrued entitlements protected and transferred to the new local government authority employing them, and that there would be no forced redundancies. Those commitments are embodied in the Local Government Workforce Transition Code of Practice made under the Local Government Act. Despite these precautions, the fact is that the courts can never be second guessed as to which way they may rule in a matter. For this reason, and because the Government is so concerned for worker rights, it believes the only way to truly guarantee its commitments to employees is to make sure the federal laws can’t apply. The Bill before the House today is the final step in meeting our commitment to ensure that council workforces are covered by the state industrial relations system. The simplest and most effective way to achieve this is to remove the single feature of local governments that may put them into the federal domain namely, the fact that they are corporations. Therefore, the Bill before the House provides that local governments are not corporations. It sets them apart as statutory entities with their own legal personality and with all the powers normally exercisable by a legal person. Local governments will continue to exist, but not as corporations; instead they will be constituted by the councillors. When there are no councillors, such as between the 2008 poll and the declaration of the poll for new local governments, the chief executive will constitute the local government entity. Local governments will be able to execute documents such as contracts, by the signature of the mayor, without use of a common seal. Legal proceedings must be started by, or against, a local government in their name. Councillors, in constituting a local government, are protected from individual liability for the honest actions of the entity of the local government. The amendments before us will not affect any existing rights, obligations or arrangements of local governments. All existing contracts will still be enforceable by or against the local government that entered into them. This is specifically provided for in the Bill. These amendments will apply to all local governments other than Brisbane City Council. The Brisbane City Council is excluded because it was outside the reform process. 70 Professional Engineers and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008

The amendments will also not apply to any corporations established by local governments nor to the Townsville-Thuringowa water supply joint board, which will cease to exist on the day the local government reforms commence. The process of merging local governments is not intended to affect any of the current terms and conditions of employees who are transferred. Employees will have their terms and conditions recognised and protected, as well as their continuity of service and their accrued and accruing leave entitlements. The Industrial Relations Act 1999 already contains provisions to ensure continuity of service for these employees. The Local Government Workforce Transition Code of Practice will protect the job security and current terms and conditions of employment of local government employees affected by the reforms. And the Local Government Reform Implementation Regulation 2008 will ensure that an employee’s service is recognised for leave purposes by the merged local government. The amendments in the Bill complete the necessary arrangements by clarifying how the industrial instruments of local governments are to be recognised in the state system. Generally, this is achieved by deeming a federal industrial instrument to be an instrument made under state law. The proposed amendments will ensure that local government employees are covered by the Queensland industrial relations system and remove the jurisdictional confusion that has plagued local governments since WorkChoices commenced. Employees will have more job security since they will be certain of their access to the state’s unfair dismissal laws which were removed by WorkChoices for organisations with fewer than 100 employees and were reduced for organisations with more than 100 employees. AND they will have stronger protections under the state system to negotiate their workplace agreements collectively, rather than having individual agreements imposed upon them by WorkChoices. Ensuring local governments are in the state system benefits local government employers as well as their employees in that it finally puts an end to legal uncertainty over their industrial relations jurisdiction. Council employers and employees will now also be able to take their disputes to an independent tribunal for resolution, which was discouraged under WorkChoices in favour of private mediators. Now local government can again utilise the expertise and proficiency of the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) which has had years of experience in resolving industrial disputes fairly, quickly and effectively. Mr Speaker, in addition to the amendments already noted, the Bill also amends the Local Government Act 1993 to facilitate the local government reforms and support implementation of the new Local Government Remuneration Tribunal remuneration schedule for councillors in all local governments. It also clarifies councillor expenses, including applying a transitional expenses remuneration policy and requiring chief executive approval of a local government’s proposed policy. To support particular local governments after 15 March 2008, the Bill includes a regulation-making power, and allows new local governments to defer some of those national competition policy obligations which result directly from amalgamation. Mr Speaker, the Rudd Labor Government is bringing to an end the divisive WorkChoices era. While the Queensland Government supports the new Federal Government in making these changes, this process will take time because of the commitment to co-operate with the states and territories. The Federal Government has stated that the main body of the legislation may not take effect until 2010. That’s why the Queensland Government is pressing ahead with this Bill. Local government needs an end to the uncertainty of the previous Federal Government’s ideological industrial laws and employees and their families need an end to WorkChoices. Debate, on motion of Mr Nicholls, adjourned.

PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL

First Reading Hon. RE SCHWARTEN (Rockhampton—ALP) (Minister for Public Works, Housing and Information and Communication Technology) (3.40 pm): I present a bill for an act to amend the Professional Engineers Act 2002 and other acts. I present the explanatory notes, and I move— That the bill be now read a first time. Question put—That the bill be now read a first time. Motion agreed to. Bill read a first time. Second Reading Hon. RE SCHWARTEN (Rockhampton—ALP) (Minister for Public Works, Housing and Information and Communication Technology) (3.40 pm): I move— That the bill be now read a second time. Today I am pleased to introduce amendments to the Professional Engineers Act 2002 and the Public Records Act 2002. One of the key initiatives of the bill is to introduce a simplified coregulatory scheme under which professional engineering assessment bodies will be approved to assess the qualifications and competency of professional engineers. The Board of Professional Engineers of Queensland will continue to assess fitness to practise and register engineers. 12 Feb 2008 Water Fluoridation Bill 71

Currently the Professional Engineers Act 2002 requires the development of detailed qualifications and competencies in the practice of engineering which are then to be prescribed by regulation. Qualifications and competencies applicable to professional engineering are developed on a national basis by Engineers Australia. In view of the time, I seek leave to have the remainder of my speech incorporated in Hansard and I commend the bill to the House. Leave granted. The Board has advised that the replication of these matters in a regulation as currently required by the Act would be a major undertaking, requiring significant and ongoing resources that the Board does not possess. It would also duplicate what is already being done by professional engineering bodies. The simplified co-regulatory scheme introduced by the Bill will allow the Board to continue doing what it does best in assessing engineers’ fitness to practise, registering engineers and carrying out disciplinary processes while using the experience and expertise of professional engineering assessment bodies to assess the qualifications and competencies of engineers. In order to gain approval, assessment schemes will need to be consistent with national and international standards for the recognition of professional engineers, with assessments of applicant engineers carried out independently and professionally for a reasonable fee. Assessment schemes will also need to have adequate programs for continuing professional development and audit of these requirements. The new registration procedures will take effect from 1 July 2008. The Bill also broadens the fitness to practise provisions in the Professional Engineers Act 2002 by enabling the Board to request a registered professional engineer to undergo a health assessment if the Board reasonably believes that the registered engineer may be physically or mentally impaired and cannot therefore carry out their duties competently and safely. The amendments will also provide further assistance to the Board when assessing an applicant engineer’s criminal history by enabling the Board to undertake criminal history checks, if considered necessary. The Bill will also introduce a further ground for cancelling registration in situations where a registered professional engineer has been removed from a register, including a non-government register, or a register in another Australian or overseas jurisdiction. Additionally, the Bill introduces a range of miscellaneous amendments to the Professional Engineers Act 2002 on matters such as the powers of the Board in the registration process, staffing of the Board, disciplinary and penalty provisions, clarification of supervision requirements, and disciplinary provisions relating to formerly registered professional engineers. The amendments relating to professional engineers focus on protecting the public by ensuring professional engineering services are provided in a professional and competent way. There has been wide consultation on the amendments with the engineering profession and other stakeholders and I believe there is support for their introduction to the House. Finally, the Bill makes amendments to the Public Records Act 2002 so that records created or received by Parliamentary Secretaries are treated in the same manner as ministerial records. The effect of this amendment is that all documents created or received by a Parliamentary Secretary as part of their official duties will be public records under the Act. Any records relating to the personal or party political activities of the Parliamentary Secretary in their capacity as a member of the Legislative Assembly will not be considered as public records under the Act. Mr Speaker, I commend this Bill to the House. Debate, on motion of Mr Stevens, adjourned.

WATER FLUORIDATION BILL

First Reading Hon. S ROBERTSON (Stretton—ALP) (Minister for Health) (3.44 pm): I present a bill for an act to provide for the fluoridation of public potable water supplies, and for related purposes. I present the explanatory notes, and I move— That the bill be now read a first time. Question put—That the bill be now read a first time. Motion agreed to. Bill read a first time. Second Reading Hon. S ROBERTSON (Stretton—ALP) (Minister for Health) (3.44 pm): I move— That the bill be now read a second time. I am extremely pleased and proud to introduce this bill to the House. The bill repeals the existing Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies Act 1963 and replaces it with a legislative framework for the comprehensive fluoridation of drinking water in Queensland. This bill represents one of the most significant public health initiatives of this government. The bill will enable government to work with local councils and water suppliers to provide fluoridated water to up to 80 per cent of Queenslanders within two years and more than 90 per cent of Queenslanders by 2012. This will bring Queensland into line with other states that have had widely accessible fluoridated drinking water for many decades. The bill will do this by imposing an obligation on all water suppliers who supply drinking water to the public to add fluoride to water supplies for populations of greater than 1,000. 72 Water Fluoridation Bill 12 Feb 2008

It is unacceptable that Queenslanders have some of the worst rates of tooth decay in Australia. According to an Australian Institute of Health and Welfare study, Queensland’s children have close to twice the number of fillings of Victorian children. Our five- to 12-year-old children have more decay than their peers in any other state. This is despite the fact that Queensland has spent more than any other state or territory on oral health—over $145 million in the 2007-2008 financial year. Untreated oral disease has long-lasting effects beyond tooth cavities. Untreated oral disease disrupts eating, sleeping, work and socialisation. It can be a precursor to other medical conditions or exacerbate existing chronic disease. The financial burden on the community of tooth decay is so significant that oral disease now incurs greater economic impact than mental disorders, cancers and diabetes. Queensland’s appalling rate of tooth decay cannot be ignored. It has got to a stage where many dental patients who have come to Queensland from other states will verify that the first conclusion their dentist draws after looking at their teeth is that they are not from Queensland. Many Queensland dentists when they see an adult with no fillings automatically ask where they are from. Children are often being treated for horrendous teeth under general anesthetic in major Brisbane hospitals. Every year 2,000 Queensland preschoolers are hospitalised for pain from severe tooth decay and associated infection. The worst cases involve every tooth being extracted from the child’s mouth. This is occurring in Queensland in 2008 even though tooth decay is mostly preventable. Research shows that dental decay rates can be reduced by up to 40 per cent through good oral hygiene, diet and nutrition and water fluoridation. Exposure to fluoride helps to repair minor dental tissue damage and promotes enamel resistance against tooth decay, benefiting both children and adults. Queensland Health has been extremely active in improving Queensland’s oral health through the expansion of its various public programs and has been extremely successful in improving nutrition. However the key difference between Queensland and the rest of the nation, the missing link to-date, is water fluoridation. Only 5 per cent of Queenslanders currently have access to fluoridated water. Brisbane is the only Australian capital city that does not fluoridate its water supply. Across Australia between 75 per cent and 100 per cent of state and territory populations have access to fluoridated water. These other jurisdictions are recording an overall decline in tooth decay over two generations. On 5 December 2007, the Premier and I announced that the government would introduce measures to fluoridate the state’s public water supply. This bill gives effect to this commitment by placing a statutory duty on all water suppliers who supply drinking water to over 1,000 persons to add fluoride to the public water supply under their control or management. The bill defines the entities upon whom the obligation will lie as either the owners of water treatment plants, or in water supplies without treatment plants the owners of the water reticulation equipment. In most cases, local councils and the Queensland Bulk Water Supply Authority will be the responsible entities for ensuring public water supplies are fluoridated. The population number will be determined by reference to the most recent Census of Population and Housing published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, rather than the actual number of members of the community who are being supplied with drinking water at any particular time. In addition, water suppliers that supply drinking water to less than 1,000 people may add fluoride to the water supply but it will not be mandatory to do so. All water suppliers that add fluoride will be required to comply with requirements prescribed by a regulation. The requirements will mirror those in the current Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies Regulation 1998. It is essential that water suppliers only add fluoride in accordance with the regulatory requirements to ensure that the level of fluoride in drinking water is adequate and appropriate. The amount of fluoride needed to top up the natural levels of fluoride already present in water is very small, only between 0.6 and 0.9 parts of fluoride per million parts of water. This roughly equates to one drop of fluoride in a bathtub of water. Added correctly, fluoride will not change the colour, odour or taste of drinking water. The bill will also place a requirement on water suppliers to notify the chief executive of health and to publish a notice at least once in a newspaper with local circulation at least 30 days before adding fluoride to the water supply. This notification will ensure the public is informed of the impending fluoridation. The timeframes for compliance with the obligation to fluoridate will also be prescribed by regulation. There will be a transitional implementation period for all relevant water suppliers to comply with the obligation to fluoridate. Part of that implementation period requires appropriate training of personnel of water supply operators to safely add fluoride. Many water supply operators already undergo TAFE training in the management of water supply infrastructure. One option being considered is the development of a new module which meets national requirements for training in the operation of fluoridation systems for inclusion in this existing training package. It would be directed at those employees of water supply operators with responsibility for the addition of fluoride to the water supply. This will be staggered across a four-year period from 2008 to 2012. 12 Feb 2008 Water Fluoridation Bill 73

Population growth in communities has also been taken into account and any new water suppliers or water suppliers whose relevant population reaches 1,000 after the end of the four-year period will have 12 months to comply with the requirement to fluoridate. To ensure the maximum number of Queenslanders have access to fluoridated water as soon as possible, the government’s implementation plan will ensure that by the end of 2008 the major south-east Queensland water treatment plants will be adding fluoride to the water supply of approximately 54 per cent of Queenslanders. By the end of 2009, it is anticipated that other major water suppliers such as those supplying water to the cities of Cairns, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton and Toowoomba will be close to completely fluoridating their water supplies, bringing the total of Queenslanders with access to fluoridated water to approximately 80 per cent. By 2012 it is expected that 90 per cent of Queenslanders will have access to fluoridated water. On 5 December 2007 we announced a fund of $35 million to roll out the capital program needed to meet these targets. Nominal increases in water rates will be needed to cover ongoing operational costs. However, these increases are estimated at approximately $1.50 per person per year in south- east Queensland. This is less than the cost of a toothbrush and could result in significant savings for families in dental bills. The Australian Council of Social Services estimates that fluoridation of water supplies can save up to $80 per person in dental bills. Unfortunately, not all drinking water supplies will be suitable for fluoridation. Consequently, the bill will provide that, upon application from a water supplier, the Minister for Health must grant an exemption from the obligation to fluoridate if one or more of three situations occurs. Firstly, the minister must grant an exemption if the minister is reasonably satisfied that there is naturally occurring fluoride in the water at an average concentration that is within the prescribed limits or above the maximum prescribed limit. Secondly, the minister must grant an exemption if the minister is reasonably satisfied that the natural water chemistry is such that the fluoride is unable to be maintained in the water supply within the prescribed limits. This may occur, for example, if the naturally occurring mineral content of the water is so high that the fluoride will not dissolve in the water. Lastly, the minister must grant an exemption if the minister is reasonably satisfied that the addition of fluoride is unlikely to result in a substantial ongoing oral health benefit and less than 1,000 people consume water from the water supply. For example, this may occur where the ‘town’ water is bore water which has a pungent or overpowering taste and odour making it unpleasant rather than unsafe to consume, resulting in the community consuming water from other sources like tank water. In such a situation addition of fluoride to the water supply is unlikely to provide any benefit to the population as it will not be consumed. An exemption will be valid for five years. A water supplier must either apply for a new exemption prior to the expiry of the five-year period or fluoridate the water supply. When deciding whether to grant or not grant an exemption, the minister must seek and consider advice from the Queensland Fluoridation Committee. The Queensland Fluoridation Committee will be an expert committee established by the bill to advise the minister about the safety and efficacy of fluoridation of drinking water supplies. The committee will also advise the minister in relation to the merits of an application for an exemption from the requirement to fluoridate. While there are proven benefits to fluoridated water, there may be water suppliers who, for a variety of reasons, do not meet their duty to fluoridate. In such cases the bill will provide for the minister to issue a show-cause notice. A show-cause notice will propose that action be taken to cause the relevant drinking water supply to be fluoridated. The water supplier will be given the opportunity to ‘show cause’ within 28 days why the proposed action should not be taken. In order for the minister to end the show-cause notice without taking action to cause the fluoridation of the water supply, the bill will require the minister to be satisfied that: • the water supplier has made reasonable progress towards complying with the obligation to add fluoride; and • there have been extenuating circumstances preventing the water supplier complying with the obligation. However, if the minister is not satisfied that these conditions have been met, the bill provides for the minister to take the necessary action to cause the fluoridation of the relevant water supply. Costs of such action may be recovered from the water supplier. Actions that may be taken include the minister authorising a person to do the things that are reasonable and necessary such as: • entering the place that contains the water supply and accessing any infrastructure connected with the water supply; and • taking onto the place any persons, equipment or materials the authorised person reasonably requires to fluoridate the water supply. 74 Water Fluoridation Bill 12 Feb 2008

It will be an offence for a person to obstruct the minister or a person authorised by the minister from taking action to fluoridate a public drinking water supply. The maximum penalty under the bill will be 100 penalty units or $7,500. The bill provides powers for the issuance of a remedial notice where suppliers do not comply with the requirements prescribed in regulation in relation to adding fluoride. The bill will enable an authorised person—for example, an environmental health officer—to issue a remedial notice if the authorised person reasonably believes that a water supplier is contravening the bill and that the matter can be remedied. The remedial notice gives the supplier an opportunity to fix the problem. For example, a remedial notice may be given to a water supplier where the authorised person reasonably believes that the incorrect amount of fluoride is being added to the water supply. A remedial notice will state the time period in which the supplier must remedy the contravention. The notice may also specify the steps the authorised person considers necessary to remedy the contravention. If the water supplier does not comply with the remedial notice, action may be taken by the chief executive to remedy instead. It will be an offence to obstruct the chief executive or delegate from taking action to remedy the contravention. The bill confers certain powers on authorised persons to conduct investigations of possible contraventions of the bill. The powers conferred in the bill are consistent with similar powers in the Public Health Act and the Food Act and include such powers as the power to require documents and enter public places. The bill also allows for samples to be taken and tested if a contravention of the bill is suspected. It is important that drinking water suppliers are able to fulfil their obligations under the bill free from fear of litigation. Accordingly, the bill provides protection from civil liability for acts or omissions made honestly and without negligence under the bill. I believe this bill will deliver tangible benefits for the health of Queenslanders. However, I acknowledge that there may be some in the community that, either through a lack of information or for other reasons, are concerned by the prospect of fluoridated water. Mr Deputy Speaker, I can assure you that any issues around the health and safety of water fluoridation have been dispelled with credible scientific evidence. The most recent investigation by the National Health and Medical Research Council found no connection between water fluoridation and allergies, hypersensitivity, cancer or other ill-health effects. Only last week, media reported on the results of an extensive study by the University of New South Wales into the causes of cancer that found that fluoridated water does not cause cancer. The only identified detrimental effect associated with fluoride is dental fluorosis, which is a relatively harmless discolouration of teeth caused by inappropriate use of fluoride toothpaste and fluoride supplements. The risk of fluorosis is less than the risk of tooth decay and is unlikely to result from the fluoridation of drinking water supplies. It is also important to note that there is still a choice for those that elect not to drink fluoridated water. These options include bottled water, tank water and reverse osmosis water filters. Queensland Health has created an information package to inform Queenslanders of the benefits of fluoride and the role of fluoridated water in good oral health. For more information I encourage individuals to access this information through the Queensland Health web site. The development of a bill such as this involves extensive consultation with stakeholders. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those stakeholders who were involved with the development of the bill. In particular, I would like to thank the ongoing cooperation and support of: • the Australian Medical Association, Queensland; • the Australian Dental Association, Queensland Branch; • the Local Government Association of Queensland; • the Pharmacy Guild of Australia; • the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia; • the Australian Dental and Oral Health Therapists Association; • the Dental Hygienists Association of Australia, Queensland Branch; • the Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council; • the University of Queensland Dental School; • the Queensland University of Technology School of Public Health; • the Griffith University School of Oral Health; and • the Queensland Nurses Union. This initiative will go down as one of the most important health measures ever undertaken in Queensland. We have taken it out of the too-hard basket and made a decision that will not only benefit all of us but also benefit future generations of Queenslanders. Over time I expect Queensland to look back at this decision as a landmark development towards improving our population’s health. I commend the bill to the House. Debate, on motion of Mr Langbroek, adjourned. 12 Feb 2008 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 75

EDUCATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL

Second Reading Resumed from 30 October 2007 (see p. 3859), on motion of Mr Welford— That the bill be now read a second time. Mr COPELAND (Cunningham—NPA) (3.58 pm): I rise to speak on the Education Legislation Amendment Bill 2007, which was introduced into the parliament on 30 October last year. It is not the biggest bill that I have ever seen introduced into the parliament but it certainly has an effect on the outcomes hopefully for schoolchildren right around Queensland, and indeed Australia, with the introduction of national testing. This bill has two main objectives. Firstly, it proposes to amend terminology so it more accurately reflects the types of activities and learning that teachers are now involved with. This means replacing the term ‘professional learning’ with the term ‘professional development’, as outlined in the Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Act 2005. In addition, the bill proposes to amend the Education (Queensland Studies Authority) Act 2002 by giving the QSA functions in relation to the administration of common national tests in literacy and numeracy. I am happy to say that the coalition will be supporting this bill, but as the shadow minister I would like to talk about several issues relating to the professional development of teachers as well as the importance of school literacy and numeracy tests. As members of parliament, we have a responsibility to push for the best possible education system for each and every student in Queensland. Education is, after all, one of the most important and influential building blocks in life and success in life as well as the economic prosperity of our state. We have an opportunity to improve the education standards of our state, and this can be achieved with the proper resourcing and the most effective personnel. Teachers play an integral role in the learning development of students. If we do not have knowledgeable, competent and skilled teachers then we cannot expect that our students will be provided with the best possible learning environments. Professional development is an important term. It is more accurate than the previously used phrase ‘professional learning’, as outlined in the Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Act 2005. Professional development plays a significant role in a teacher’s life and it is through this process that Queensland teachers are continuing to build on their skill sets. This ultimately benefits the students and the school learning environment. With the proper professional development, it is highly likely this ongoing education will keep teachers enthused and inspired and avoid the hurdle of career burnout. The coalition recognises the importance of professional development in the framework of teaching and consequently supports the updating of terminology as set out in this bill. We expect a lot from our teachers. Apart from parents, teachers are the people who spend the most time with our children. There are a number of challenges for teachers. I know from talking to teachers at various schools around the state that at times they feel under siege from some of the criticisms made of the education system. I think we should put on record the value that we do place in our teachers and the requirement that we get the very best teachers that we possibly can. We need to encourage high- achieving students to go into teaching and to recognise that teaching is a valuable career. We need to make sure that the best possible students enter the teaching profession. We need to make sure that we get the gender balances as right as we possibly can. It is a rapidly changing world for teachers to operate in. I know a lot of teachers feel they are like social workers in a lot of cases. They are not just teaching reading and writing or other things in the curriculum but also having to take on roles that traditionally a family unit and a community would be picking up. Having to feed children breakfast, for example, is something that I do not think any of us would have expected our teachers would have to do in a modern society of 2008 in Queensland. But they are the sorts of things that teachers are having to provide for a lot of our students. They are faced with violence in some cases. They are faced with abuse. It is a very difficult area for people to work in. In the main most of them do a very good job and it is something that we should value. There has been some focus in recent times on the qualifications and the OP scores that are required to enter teaching at an undergraduate level at some of our universities. I think that is a debate that we need to have and continue to focus on. As the OP scores have decreased, there has been some concern raised about the ability of graduate teachers coming out and entering our workforce and our schools. That is not to denigrate any of those teachers, but it is a recognition that we must face that it is part of the ongoing process of examining whether we do have the right people teaching and entering teaching as a career in the long term. Another issue that is very concerning and a growing problem is teachers teaching out of their speciality. Having to teach, particularly at a high school level or a secondary level in senior years, in areas where they have not had any training at all let alone specific training I think is of concern. That is not an easily addressed issue. It is something that will take some time to address. The ongoing 76 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008 professional development of teachers is a very important aspect—to equip teachers as best we possibly can to be able to address the challenges in a rapidly changing school environment. Like all of modern society, the changes are getting more and more rapid, whether it is with technology or with the changing dynamic of the demographics in which we operate. The second part of the bill gives new powers to the Queensland Studies Authority—the QSA—in regard to the administration of national literacy and numeracy tests. This year will mark the first time that the common national tests will be held across the country for students in grades 3, 5, 7 and 9. This will take place in May 2008 as part of the national assessment program of the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs. The QSA will be involved in the development stage of the national tests and in the administration and delivery of them. Results from these national tests will assist in providing an accurate snapshot of schools across the country and how students are performing in the areas of reading, writing, spelling and numeracy. This will allow each state to monitor student progress and compare their standings to other states and territories across the nation. Benchmark tests have previously been conducted for grades 3, 5 and 7, but this year grade 9 students will be included as well. Being able to compare education systems around the country will be advantageous, and it will help indicate what is working and what areas require more attention. I think there is a further debate that can be had regarding national testing and the comparisons that are able to be made. The government has moved to allow the publishing, for example, of the OP 1 to 15 scores that schools receive. I think that has been a significant step, and I think we need to have a debate about the publishing of all the test results in our schools from these national tests. That is a very contentious issue, and I know that a number of people in the teaching profession are very opposed to it even though there has been some movement by, for example, the federal government to recognise that it may be something that needs to be done. I do agree that there is some difficulty with the publishing of league tables, as they are called, because there are schools in areas with severe disadvantage that will find it very difficult to perform well for a whole range of reasons, and we have to recognise that. But there are other countries that do publish as a matter of routine these sorts of tables and swear that they do help to improve the performance of all schools in their system. I think it is something that we need to have a look at. We need to continue to discuss this issue, because I think there are some opportunities to improve the education system as a whole as we move forward. The QSA has been given the power in this legislation to report to a number of people including the minister, the chief executive, the QCEC and independent schools. I think we need to examine whether we should also give them the power to report publicly the results of the tests. It is an ongoing debate and I think it is a worthwhile one. It must be remembered that benchmark tests provide minimum standards. Education systems should be aiming well beyond these levels if we want our students to be the best that they possibly can be. In recent years benchmark testing in reading, writing and numeracy has not shown the Queensland education system in the most favourable light. The latest results indicate that one in four Queensland students, for example, in year 7 failed to meet the national benchmark for numeracy. Just 76.2 per cent of students met the benchmark, which was down from 80.3 per cent in the previous year. More than 95 per cent of year 7 students met the national writing benchmark and 83 per cent met the reading benchmark. In the same lot of results but this time for grade 3 students there was a similar trend. Benchmark tests from 2006 reveal reading and writing levels were just above the national average. However, numeracy was still the main concern. The below-average scores saw Queensland grade 3 students ranked fifth out of the eight states and territories. Grade 5 students did not fare much better either. Reading benchmarks were well below the minimum standard, as was numeracy. It should also be noted that similar worrying trends have appeared in previous benchmark testing carried out in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. The Queensland government cannot proclaim that we are the Smart State if we cannot get the basics right in our education system. If there are low standards in the grade 3 benchmark tests, then it can be expected that if things are not rectified this trend will continue through in grades 5, 7 and 9 testing as well. If we are to be the Smart State, then we do need to take action to address these issues. While a few positives can be drawn from the latest results of the benchmark testing, it also underlines the fact that there is always room for improvement. I hope the common national benchmark tests will give Queensland the inspiration to turn these things around, address the areas where there are problems and lift standards to create an education system whereby students are able to master the basics and then build on the knowledge by progressing to higher levels. Having these benchmark tests, having these results at a whole-of-state level and even a whole- of-nation level should give us the tools and opportunity to be able to address issues as they appear at the school level as well as at a systemic level across Queensland. I think it is an important step forward. I think it is going to be a useful tool for us when we are analysing how we can better improve our education system. I think it will be a valuable step in conjunction with a number of other steps that are 12 Feb 2008 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 77 being taken nationally to create a better education system, to better equip Australian and Queensland students for the future and to really provide an economic basis for the development of our society well into the future. I commend the bill to the House. Mr CRIPPS (Hinchinbrook—NPA) (4.10 pm): I rise to make a contribution to the debate on the Education Legislation Amendment Bill. I believe the bill is fairly uncontroversial in its intent in so far as the two main objectives of the bill are to amend the Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Act 2005 to replace the term ‘professional learning’ with the term ‘professional development’ and to amend the Education (Queensland Studies Authority) Act 2002 to give the Queensland Studies Authority functions in relation to the administration of common national tests in literacy and numeracy. The Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Act 2005 requires the Queensland College of Teachers to develop a continuing professional learning framework for the continuing professional learning of registered teachers. The term ‘professional learning’ as it is used in ‘continuing professional learning’ is no longer considered to accurately reflect the type of activities and learning that teachers are required to achieve under the act. As such, it is proposed to change the terminology from ‘professional learning’ to ‘professional development’. The term ‘professional development’ is used widely in other professions and more accurately describes the types of skills enhancement activities that are undertaken by teachers under the continuing professional learning framework. It is opportune during a debate such as this one to reflect on how our teachers are trained to teach. It is a question that has been contemplated recently in the Commonwealth parliament by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Training. Its report entitled Top of the class was tabled in the Commonwealth parliament on 26 February 2007 and proposed a requirement for student teachers to sit a literacy and numeracy test when starting their university course. It further proposed a requirement for teachers to undertake continuing education to qualify for registration and higher rates of pay. The committee further recommended, amongst other things, that a national accreditation system of university teaching courses be established with accreditation made a condition of receiving federal funding and for national teacher registration to be introduced with the system to be administered by individual states. The report also calls for an increase in funding for education students while at university and when undertaking their practical component and a one-year induction program for beginning teachers. It also recommended that overall funding for teaching courses be increased by about $1,800 per full-time student. It makes sense to assume that an increased investment in teacher education will ultimately result in better outcomes for every other dollar of funding in the education system complementing spending on facilities and resources. Certainly if our students have the benefit of being taught by better trained teachers, skilled in the art of teaching and not just in the subject matter being taught, the outcomes will be better for students. The obvious question to be asked in conjunction with this recommendation is: how effective is the current regime of teacher training in Australia? I strongly believe that the quality and effectiveness of the classroom teacher is one of the most important determinants of successful learning. That was certainly my experience when I was a student, particularly at a secondary level but also at a tertiary level. The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Training report to which I refer found that the current system of teacher education was sound. But contrary opinions were put in a number of submissions made to the committee during its inquiry. Formal teacher education is a requirement for entering the teaching profession. Some have espoused the view that it is a weakness of the system for universities to have a monopoly over all aspects of teacher training—that is, being responsible, as they are, for the selection, training, assessment and certification of graduates as competent to teach. One such submission to this inquiry into teacher education by the Australian Secondary Principals Association cited results from a questionnaire of new teachers where the respondents indicated that their more experienced colleagues in the workplace itself had provided the most worthwhile support and advice with relatively little value being given to that provided by university personnel. So there is some criticism of the institutions delivering teacher training. I am pleased to say that the educators in my electorate of Hinchinbrook took an interest in this inquiry and made a submission to the committee. Mr Glen Scarffe, formerly a maths and physics teacher at Tully State High School in my electorate, made a detailed and thoughtful submission for which I commend him. I table a copy of his submission to demonstrate that practising educators in the system are thinking critically about their profession, are concerned about its reputation and believe that there are a range of changes that could be made to improve the skills of teachers. Tabled paper: Copy of a submission, undated, by Glenn Scarffe, Maths/Physics Teacher, Tully State High School, to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Vocational Training Inquiry into Teacher Education. 78 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008

Mr Scarffe’s submission is constructive and innovative and deserves to be considered by the Queensland minister for education. I urge him to obtain a copy of Mr Scarffe’s submission to see what grassroots teachers are thinking about their profession in Queensland. As part of its national assessment program the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs has agreed that common national tests in literacy and numeracy will take place for the first time across Australia in May 2008 for students in years 3, 5,7 and 9. Prior to this occurring the Australian government will make a regulation specifying common testing standards which will include the common national tests. The results from the national literacy and numeracy tests will provide a measure of how Australian schools and students are performing in the areas of reading, writing, spelling and numeracy. The results will be used for individual students, reporting to parents, schools reporting to their communities and aggregate reporting by states and territories against national standards. The Queensland Studies Authority, which is established under the Education (Queensland Studies Authority) Act 2002, will be involved in the development of the common national test. It will also have a role in the administration and delivery of the tests in Queensland. The functions of the authority, as outlined in the QSA Act, do not cover those proposed roles. The bill will amend the QSA Act to allow the authority to fulfil its role in relation to common national tests. This move towards common national tests has been inspired by widespread concern about basic literacy and numeracy standards in young people as well as the perception that basic core subjects have been neglected in schools. What should be taught in schools? It is a perennial question. At this time, it is probably worthwhile to reflect on recent comments by the minister for education who has expressed a view that there is a widespread problem of parents doing a poor job of raising their children and that school teachers ought to undertake more of a parenting role in the classroom. I understand the minister’s view and, like him, I lament a growing trend in our community where many parents are abdicating their core responsibilities of raising their children to meet the challenges, practical and social, that they will face in their everyday adult life. I think we would be letting underperforming parents off the hook by expecting school teachers to shoulder more of a burden as far as parenting is concerned. Indeed, a substantial amount of time is already allocated inside school hours for life skills classes and the established personal relationships curriculum as well as practical subjects such as woodwork, metal work, manual arts and home economics. This is not to mention the everyday efforts of schoolteachers to maintain discipline in the classroom to facilitate a good learning environment for all students. On many occasions these efforts are considerable, ongoing and achieved with great difficulty. Reports of increased behavioural problems in our schools are very widespread and are becoming increasingly serious. It has inspired the Queensland coalition to introduce the Criminal Code (Protecting School Students and Members of Staff from Assaults) Amendment Bill. I congratulate my colleague the shadow minister for education, the member for Cunningham, on that initiative. I would expect the state government— Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Moorhead): Member for Hinchinbrook, be careful that you do not pre-empt debate on the Notice Paper. Mr CRIPPS: Understood. But on that point I would expect the state government to support that private members’ bill. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Hinchinbrook, please refrain from discussing that issue. Mr CRIPPS: Understood, but one would hope that there would be general support for such a bill which looks to provide teachers with a safe working environment and assist the majority of students who are well behaved and deserve to attend school and be educated in a conducive learning environment. I do not believe teachers should be expected to replace the role of parents as being the primary source of information about life skills for our young people. Our schools should not be seen as tools to address the widespread problem of parents not taking full responsibility for supervising the social and emotional growth of their children. I understand that the minister for education has indicated the focus of the new initiative would be on prevention and early intervention and that the need to pursue this program was a result of a changing society where there is an increase in the number of single parent families or situations where there are two parents working full time. These are indisputable trends in modern society. Perhaps a more effective strategy would be to address the causes of the increase in single parent families and to pursue policies that might make it a financially viable proposition for one parent not to work full time. This might address the root cause of the problem, which the minister for education has correctly identified, and would be more effective than asking schoolteachers to take on even more of a parenting role. I feel this would be more of a proactive rather than a reactive policy and would perhaps more effectively address the problem at hand. The answers to such fundamental problems as the durability of the family unit do not lie principally in the Education portfolio. The minister for education is deserving of some recognition for at least being determined enough to raise the issue. The solutions do not necessarily reside with any number of 12 Feb 2008 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 79 portfolios or with any number of bureaucracies at any level of government but with a more widespread social and community challenge to parents to take responsibility for raising their children—a relatively simple concept, seemingly, that is increasingly and regrettably being abandoned by more parents in recent times. Asking teachers to accept the additional responsibility of delivering social and emotional guidance could be counterproductive and might encourage parents who are already failing to provide this basic pastoral care to their children to be comforted in the knowledge that teachers will be picking up the slack. Good teachers have always contributed positively to the development of young people by being good role models and doing their job properly. I agree that this is not always confined to the academic instruction of students in the classroom, but we ought not make schoolteachers take responsibility for parenting—a role which should be properly undertaken by parents. If parents are not taking responsibility for raising their children properly, we as a community and perhaps even as a parliament ought to insist that they do so, because parenthood ought to be considered to be a privilege and, like all privileges, it is accompanied by both rights and responsibilities. Lastly, on the issue of common national tests in literacy and numeracy, I am pleased to support these initiatives in the core subject areas across and between all schools. However, in achieving standards and benchmarks, it is important to recognise the individual circumstances and learning environments of individual schools and allow schools to achieve those targets, as long as they are achieved, in different ways. I certainly want to recognise and support a number of schools in my electorate of Hinchinbrook and acknowledge the way in which they achieve high standards of education in different environments. I want to recognise the varied subject areas in which they specialise and excel outside of the core numeracy and literacy curriculum and how those subjects provide unique opportunities for their students, and I want to encourage those schools to continue to pursue and improve in those areas. With those remarks on the record, I am happy to support the bill. Ms BARRY (Aspley—ALP) (4.23 pm): I, too, rise to support the Education Legislation Amendment Bill 2007. But before I do that, today I want to place on record my sympathy to my electorate officer and more importantly my friend Kerry on this sad day in her and the Hackett family’s life. Kerry lost her beloved sister today and I want to send to her my love and support and I know that many people in this parliament and across our electorates would also wish their sympathies to be sent to her today. The bill before the House today does a number of things. Firstly, it amends the authority under the Queensland Studies Authority to cover the development and administration of national testing in the literacy and numeracy program and, secondly, it replaces the term ‘professional learning’ with the term ‘professional development’. It is a minor word change but a significant one which will more accurately reflect the real change in teacher learning and development—a change that in my view will be one of the most significant drivers in improving student learning outcomes for a generation. I want to talk about that a little later in detail. The education of our young people and the continued professional development of our workforce is a priority for the Bligh government. In fact, it is the foundation of ‘smart’ in the Smart State agenda. Budgets in every year that I have been in this House have reflected a record expenditure in the area of Education, and this year has been no exception. Recurrent investment in state and non-state schooling and the training sector has increased by 7.2 per cent on the 2006-07 budget to a record of $6.484 billion. This financial year in the area of education and training, over $527 million is committed statewide to school and TAFE infrastructure. This includes a range of new schools, prep facilities and new TAFE projects. In fact, there are eight schools in the electorate of Aspley which have funding that amounts to $1.8 million. My constituents in Aspley also benefit from the $35 million that has gone to the Queensland Academy for Health Sciences that has been established on the Gold Coast and the $43.3 million Creative Industry Academy which will have its home at the Kelvin Grove campus. Funding is available to improve literacy and numeracy for all students from prep to year 12 through a $1.5 million program for a new numeracy initiative which will help build teacher capacity through professional development programs and the development of teacher resources and training packages. There is $35.6 million over the next four years to improve literacy for students in all schools, with intensive literacy support being offered to upper primary students identified through the year 5 national benchmark tests as needing assistance. In addition, there will be another 437 full-time equivalent employees to meet new growth, with 192 of those positions being in teachers and teacher aides to support enrolment growth and to support students with disabilities. The government will invest $2.5 million a year to provide professional support teachers and learning support teams throughout the state at schools with high numbers of Indigenous students. In state schools and TAFE institutes, teachers will benefit from the budget’s provision of $70 million over four years to supply them with laptop computers. Teacher professional development and access to the many learning tools and information through the provision of laptops for teachers is at the centre of this minister’s strategy for improving both student learning and teacher capacity. I understand that it is the classroom teacher who remains the most significant influence on an individual student’s performance. 80 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008

Whilst specialist teachers are a critical element in developing student learning and in providing an important partnership with all teachers, it is the classroom teacher who is the pivotal point of student learning—predominantly because they are the people who spend the most time with students but also importantly they are the people who have the greatest influence on that student. Capacity building of classroom teachers and indeed of all teachers is something that should be and is a priority of this government. It is what both teachers and students deserve. The changes in this bill reflect a real commitment to teachers and their professional development by this government—well beyond the minor word changes that we see in the bill today. Whilst the bill allows for the QSA to administer and develop the issue of national testing—and I confess that I am still a little bit ambivalent on national testing in terms of its very strategic assistance for students at an individual level—I have to say that the most important and exciting news in education this year in my humble opinion is the QCAR Essential Learnings program to be introduced across Queensland from January of this year. As the minister’s parliamentary secretary and a mum of four young people who have been through the Queensland school system, I have to say that I am incredibly impressed with the work that I have seen done by Education Queensland on the Essential Learnings package. Simply put, it is a comprehensive document that identifies what are the key areas of learning that each student should be taught from years 1 through to 9. It allows teachers, parents and indeed the public to see what it is that their young people are required to understand in each level. It allows for a teacher or a parent to see where their student or child is at in terms of expected knowledge while ensuring that how that child learns and is taught remains where it should—in the hands of the individual teacher dealing with each student as an individual. This is, in my view, so much more meaningful for our young people. I do not want to say very much more, other than I am incredibly impressed by the efforts that Education Queensland has put into another exciting year in education. I congratulate the minister and the department on their work. I look forward to being part of the improvements to education again in 2008. Ms van LITSENBURG (Redcliffe—ALP) (4.29 pm): I rise to speak in support of the Education Legislation Amendment Bill 2007. This bill makes important changes to the Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Act 2005 by replacing the term ‘professional learning’ with the term ‘professional development’. The bill also proposes amendments to the Education (Queensland Studies Authority) Act 2002 to enable the Queensland Studies Authority to develop and administer common national tests in literacy and numeracy. The amendments in this bill will enable teachers to gain the development that they need to continue their personal development throughout their career. It is the latter part of the bill that I wish to focus on today. The Queensland Studies Authority was established in 2002 to develop relevant and engaging curriculums from preschool to year 12. Since then, the Queensland Studies Authority has developed a reputation for being the guardian of quality education. It has been very active in encouraging the work of schools at the cutting edge of curriculum development and in working with educators to develop best practice outcomes in education. As a practising teacher, I have been involved with the Queensland Studies Authority as I worked at the cutting edge of behaviour management models and curriculum development. In this way, over the past few years the authority has undertaken significant work on behalf of the Queensland government to oversee a range of important educational reforms. That range includes the new prep year curriculum and finalising QCAR, which is a comprehensive curriculum renewal program that will unclutter the curriculum and provide focus for teachers on the essential skills that students need, such as literacy and numeracy. That has been vital, because with all the goodwill in the world the curriculum had become so broad that teachers found it difficult to encompass all learning goals in the timetable. I am pleased that I have in my electorate a group of very effective schools that demonstrate best practice in education. The QSA has also worked hard to finalise the creation of the new Queensland Certificate of Education and to design a new system to bank the learning that students undertake throughout their senior studies. With that track record, the QSA has been able to provide input into and exert influence on the common national testing development process to ensure that the tests and the protocols for the administration of the tests suit Queensland’s context. That will enable Queensland students to be compared equally with their counterparts in other states. It will show Queensland students’ achievements of literacy and numeracy at their true levels, which I do not believe was the case when these tests were developed initially. The amendment will enable the QSA to maintain best practice in Queensland education through its administration and monitoring of the national testing program. That will achieve better outcomes for Queensland children. I commend the minister and his department for minimising the amendments to the acts while maximising the benefits for students and educators on the ground. I commend the bill to the House. Mrs ATTWOOD (Mount Ommaney—ALP) (4.33 pm): I rise to speak in support of the Education Legislation Amendment Bill and to praise highly the work and commitment of teachers in both the public and private schools in the Mount Ommaney electorate. The bill before the House will assist schools to maintain the focus on the essential skills of literacy and numeracy. Without these basic skills, progression to higher studies for chosen careers is difficult, if not impossible. 12 Feb 2008 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 81

The Queensland government wants every child to develop excellent literacy and numeracy skills during their time at school and has committed over $200 million in 2007-08 to achieve this aim. This investment in the future of our children is money well spent. We recognise that literacy and numeracy are key pillars of learning and an essential part of our school curriculum. That is why the Queensland government has invested heavily in rolling out comprehensive new blueprints to boost student literacy and numeracy skills in Queensland’s state schools. The Numeracy: Lifelong Confidence with Mathematics—Framework for Action sets out a range of actions that will improve a student’s confidence to choose and use the mathematics skills that they learn at school in everyday life. Numeracy skills apply right across the school curriculum. For example, numeracy is used in science class when students independently interpret a graph. Teachers have the greatest impact on student learning and shape our nation’s future through influencing and inspiring young people. On 26 October last year as part of the celebrations of World Teachers’ Day 62 teachers shared more than $400,000 worth of professional development awards to honour their outstanding commitment, achievement and innovation. I am very proud to say that Jill Wells of Jindalee State School was one of those successful recipients. I visited a number of schools in my electorate on World Teachers’ Day to pay tribute to their great contribution and the significant role that they play in influencing the future of our young people. The Literacy—The Key to Learning: Framework for Action recognises that quality teaching can make the single biggest difference to students’ literacy outcomes. It ensures that every classroom teacher from years P to 9 is intensively trained in the teaching of literacy, including the teaching of reading, grammar and spelling. Literacy skills are not just the responsibility of English teachers. Literacy is integral to every subject that is taught in our schools, including mathematics, science and technology. In today’s society, young people have a deeper engagement with new and emerging information and communication technologies than had previous generations, so it is important that our teachers are kept up to date with these technologies to best support the learning needs of students. Over the past 9½ years in the Mount Ommaney electorate I have worked hard to ensure that children in my area have the facilities to match their learning expectations. Some schools have new performing arts facilities while others have new or expanded school halls and assembly areas, state-of- the-art sports facilities, upgraded libraries and tuckshop areas to name but a few. I congratulate the minister on giving every student from prep to year 12 the best chance to master literacy and numeracy so that they can meet the challenges of 21st century life. Mr BOMBOLAS (Chatsworth—ALP) (4.37 pm): One of the objectives of the Education Legislation Amendment Bill is to amend the Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Act 2005 by replacing the term ‘professional learning’ with the term ‘professional development’. As most of us are aware, teachers now have to renew their registration every five years. To gain renewal teachers are required to show that they have maintained their professional skills through ongoing professional education and recent teaching experience. The term ‘professional development’ more accurately reflects the types of activities that, under the act, teachers are required to undertake as part of this registration process. The term ‘professional development’ is widely used within the teaching profession and this amendment to the terminology merely reflects what is already understood at a school level. The change in terminology will not affect the legislative requirements for the Queensland College of Teachers to develop a continuing professional development framework and neither will it alter teachers’ obligations to comply with the framework. Queensland teachers undertake a range of professional development activities to ensure that they can continually provide our students with the most up-to-date curriculum through innovative teaching practices. I must say that we are blessed with some wonderfully talented and dedicated teachers in Chatsworth. They help educate, nurture, guide and inspire our most precious commodity: our children. At this stage I congratulate the hardworking teachers based in the schools in the Chatsworth electorate, those being Tingalpa, Belmont, Camp Hill, Gumdale, Carina and Mayfield state schools, Whites Hill State College, St Martin’s, San Sisto and Moreton Bay College. Some examples of professional development activities that teachers undertake include conferences, seminars and external workshops; school based and QSA based inservice activities; moderation meetings; and individual studies such as masters and doctorate level university study. The Queensland government continues to support the professional development needs of our teachers and is providing a range of resources and professional development opportunities for teachers through initiatives such as QCAR, the literacy and numeracy strategies and the Year of Physical Activity. If we are to continue to improve the quality of education available in Queensland schools, then ongoing professional development for our teachers is essential. I take the point made earlier by my colleague from Mount Ommaney that we, as local members, strive to give our students every opportunity to fulfil their dreams and potential by championing for essential things, for updating facilities at schools and for giving those teachers and those who educate our children the best opportunity to provide that service. In an ever-changing world which is embracing 82 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008 and updating technology constantly, it is imperative that we give those educating our youngsters the paths for professional development they need to best carry out their jobs. I commend the bill to the House. Mr MALONE (Mirani—NPA) (4.40 pm): It is a pleasure to rise to speak briefly on the Education Legislation Amendment Bill. We all recognise that, right throughout our electorates, education is one of the most important services that a government can provide for its citizens. It is becoming more and more difficult to provide the opportunities for our students to excel at school because of the pressures that we see in our daily lives of increasing costs and employment difficulties in terms of actually providing a livelihood. We also see that, in many cases, children’s lives— and I am not saying in all cases—are becoming more complex due to relationship breakdown and those sorts of things that occur in our modern society. It is disappointing to hear that more and more we are calling on our teachers to fulfil the role of parent. Quite frankly, I do not believe that is the right direction to take. At the end of the day, there is a real need to provide some leadership for some of our children attending school. I am very careful when I speak on an education bill because I actually married a teacher. So this speech will be looked at. I have a very close and strong connection to the 32 schools in my electorate and it obviously takes a fair bit of effort to maintain that connection. I feel a great sense of achievement when I am able, in some small way, to help out through the education system. I believe I have been instrumental in progressing that to some extent in a number of cases. I have spoken previously in the House about the Kickstart program at the Mirani State High School. That was a very innovative federal government program that allowed students from the cluster schools to attend a central workshop at Mirani State High School under the direction of three very dedicated teachers. Ultimately, they put together a program, mainly for boys although there were some girls involved, in which students would strip down motors and rebuild equipment. That encouraged those students to become involved in downloading the manuals on computers, measuring the motors and equipment, and finally realising that in order to live their life they will have to engage in education to a greater extent. Many students who were selected for these programs were disconnected back in primary school. The change in those students, even in just a few months, was absolutely phenomenal. It was indicated to me by the principal of one of the smaller schools that this particular lad was almost out of control and was disconnected from the school. He was ultimately selected to go into this program. In one year he was at the bottom of that class and in the following year I actually pinned the leadership badge on that student. That was an amazing turnaround. We have obviously had others with a lesser achievement but every one of those students—the boys in particular who went through that program—got an apprenticeship in their final years. It was a marvellous achievement and the program continues to work well. It has tremendous support from the engineering firms around Mackay, and their sponsorship is amazing. The second initiative I wish to speak about—and I have spoken about this before—is the Sarina Skills Centre that has been established with the support of many organisations around Sarina. It started with a donation of land by CSR Sugar Mills. There was funding available from the state government under the School Renewal Program. The shadow minister for education looked at the development of that very early in the piece when the facilities were just being built. They were able to buy a house adjoining the block of land and, through the CJP program, it was stripped out and made into a classroom. Internet connections were installed wirelessly and the computers were then connected to the high school server across the railway lines. Areas within that house were made available for an office facility. A 45-metre by 20-metre shed was built. It is a huge shed that now accommodates lathes, welders and all the equipment that is required to educate those students to a very high level in cooperation with the TAFE colleges in Mackay. So we can actually produce students from the Sarina State High School who are work ready and are ready to move into education and training opportunities within all of the firms in the Mackay district. Most members would realise that this secondary industry in Mackay is a very buoyant and huge industry. The skills shortages in the Mackay district are astronomical. We have set up a Sarina Skills Centre board. It is very fortunate that Max Wilmot, who was a past Sarina CSR plant manager, has come on as the chairman of that board. Karen May, the current mayor of the Sarina shire, is also attached to the board. Also on the board are Bill Pickering, the principal of the Sarina State High School, and Ashton Solli, who is a student representative. The deputy chairman is Ron Gurnett, who is a canefarmer but also an Army training provider who travels regularly to Townsville to train Army cadets. He has a real connection with training. We have Royce Bishop, who is an ex-CSR engineer. He is semi-retired and is chairman of the Mackay Whitsunday Natural Resource Management Group, and Jon Eaton, who is the head of department and a supervisor at the skills centre. I believe there are opportunities for the board to progress the development of the skills centre. There will be a real need in the future to look at accessing extra land to provide more scope for the students in the skills centre. 12 Feb 2008 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 83

I did not mention Shelley Lewis, who is the principal of Mirani State High School. She has with her Ray Clark. Last week when I was there for a presentation of badges to the students Ray Clark was presented with the 25-year service level. He has done that in a terrific manner. Ray is a great guy and does a great job as deputy of Mirani State High School in conjunction with Cath Jeffrey—and I am sure the minister recognises the name from the many awards she has received through Education Queensland. I would like to quickly mention Laura Smythe, who is the principal of St Lawrence State School. Honourable members may remember that towards the end of last year the St Lawrence State School was burnt down. I really have to congratulate Education Queensland and Q-Build. Those students lost only one day of school. Within 24 hours there was a new building on site. Q-Build was in there establishing the paths and all the ancillary systems that go with the school. That was a magnificent effort and I offer my congratulations to Laura. Unfortunately, she lost a lot of her personal teaching aids in the fire. They were not covered by insurance and she has struggled to replace those items. The Marion State School is quite a new school within the beautiful Pioneer Valley. A lot of people have moved into the valley and the growth in that school has been unprecedented. It will be a real challenge to get extra facilities at the school. Principal Daryl Argue does a great job there. Melody Hughes has moved from Glenden State School to be the principal of the Sarina State School. I look forward to Melody making a real change at that school. She is an excellent principal and I wish her well. With those few words, I congratulate all the teachers in my region. They do a wonderful job. I am only too pleased to give them whatever support I can. Mr FENLON (Greenslopes—ALP) (4.50 pm): It is with pleasure that I rise to speak in support of the Education Legislation Amendment Bill 2007. This bill has two main aspects: changing terminology in relation to professional development and various issues relating to registration and professional development; and the functions of the Queensland Studies Authority in relation to common national tests. Both of these are important initiatives. The amendments relating to professional development are apposite to changes to the standards required of the teaching profession. As a registered teacher I must declare a vested interest, although I have not taught a great deal in schools, except during my sabbatical from this place from 1995 to 1998, and have otherwise taught in universities. It is important for teachers to always keep in perspective the issues of professional development, ongoing learning et cetera. In one sense we should consider professional development and ongoing learning a natural part of any profession. It is a responsibility of the profession to do all of those things in order to stay up with the latest readings, philosophies and developments of a technical nature within the profession. There is always a danger that the state may become a nanny state by going too far with this and being too prescriptive with a lot of things. However, I would always advocate the professional, no matter what the profession, taking responsibility for themselves by maintaining registration with their professional association to ensure that they keep up with current standards. On the other side of the coin, as a government we have an enormous responsibility to ensure that people who walk in front of a classroom are indeed operating at the highest reasonable expected level and we must endeavour to make sure that that happens. That is the backdrop to the legislation. These are important measures. Of course, the other side of the issue is the importance of ensuring that the state maintains the infrastructure within the department and supports the wider community by ensuring that private school teachers have access to professional development courses, materials et cetera. We are seeing a revolution in this respect in terms of the internet and data that can be conveyed electronically. Only yesterday I visited Education Queensland’s Coorparoo Education Precinct on Old Cleveland Road in my electorate. Those premises have various facilities for educating remote and distant students all over Queensland via the internet and other electronic means. In addition, professional and corporate libraries for Education Queensland are now housed there. I was there to witness a great movement of boxes and materials involved in the transferral of old video material to a digital format to allow easy transmission of professional materials to teachers. Great changes are taking place in this area. With increased access to the internet, teachers will have a greater and more immediate capacity to undertake professional development and keep up with developing standards. I hope we keep the focus on this readiness and the capacity to allow teachers to update themselves via the internet. As I indicated earlier, the other aspect of the legislation relates to the Queensland Studies Authority and the testing of children on a national basis. This is a very important area that raises a couple of issues. One is that it presupposes that the educational curriculum and standards that we are imposing are sound across the nation, and we must be eternally vigilant on this point. In the past the minister has commented on the area of critical literacy and, in relation to English communications subjects, we really need to continue to revisit this area. I sometimes wonder if critical literacy is a foundation for our education philosophy in English, but the difficulties that that area of education method creates and the testing that might flow from it could be problematic. I, for one, have a great deal of difficulty in understanding a lot of the critical literacy terminology and the apparent discipline, even 84 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008 though I have had some background in sociology type studies. I wonder where people are going with this particular area of study and how it can possibly be seen as a sound discipline to teach when it is so hard to convey the basic principles and terminology across generations. When we look at literature for example, we would hope that one generation could talk to the next. I think that critical literacy and the way that it is currently being taught across the country is certainly an impediment to that. I am left to wonder what impact that might have ultimately on the testing of students across this area. Speaking of simply understanding what is being taught let alone what is tested, I think we have to be very vigilant in the future about how these particular tests are reported. One of the fundamentals of reporting test results is that they must stand the test of the common person in the street—the parent at the kitchen table or at the local P&C meeting or wherever trying to read this information and get an assessment of how their kids are going. The data on a school basis or an individual basis must be meaningful. I urge the minister—and I am sure he shares my views on this—to be vigilant about making sure that this data is accessible and capable of ready communication to all parties who are affected by it. I commend the minister for bringing this bill before the House. Mr REEVES (Mansfield—ALP) (5.00 pm): It gives me great pleasure to rise to speak on the Education Legislation Amendment Bill. It is probably very appropriate that on our first day of sitting for 2008 the very first bill we are debating is an education bill because I think 2008 promises to be a great year for education not only in Queensland but also in Australia. For a number of years now we have had a state government, a state minister and a state Premier who are focused on education, and now finally we have a federal minister for education, who also happens to be the Deputy Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister of Australia who are focused on education and have the correct belief that education, more than anything else that we can do, can actually change people’s lives for the better. Often the saying is that the best thing to do is to give someone a job. But without having a good education first the chance of people improving their lives and their lifestyles is non-existent. It is with a great deal of optimism that in 2008 we finally have a state and federal government that are focusing on education and the need for education. This government—and I am proud to have been a part of it over the last nine years—has had a focus on education. It took about 50 years but we reintroduced the prep year. As a father of a student who is now going to prep, I can see the benefits of this for the future. While she no doubt would love to have started preschool last year, under the new system she started prep this year. By the time she finishes school I have no doubt about the benefit attending prep will have been for her and her classmates. I congratulate the state on reintroducing the prep year. As I said, I look forward with a lot of optimism to 2008 and beyond because finally we now have a federal government that is focused on education, unlike the previous federal government that just talked and bagged state governments about its backward view of education. Members only have to listen to one of the final speeches made in the great debate before the federal election by the former Prime Minister—the defeated Prime Minister—about his education revolution. All his education revolution was about was going back to the past. I think it is an absolute fallacy that the education our young people get today is second rate, which is the claim of many media people as well as some politicians who want to go back to the past. I have visited many classrooms in the last 9½ years and listened and talked to students, and no-one can tell me that the students of today are not better educated and of a more worldly nature than the students of 10 years ago. Their problem-solving ability and their skill set today is much more sophisticated, much more analytical and— Mr Weightman: Holistic. Mr REEVES: Holistic. It is a much better and more rounded education. It does not mean that we cannot do better, and we need to do better. We will do better with both levels of government working together and achieving that goal. The legislation refers to years 3, 5, 7 and 9 testing. That is one part of our working together towards a national framework. Replacing the term ‘professional learning’ with ‘professional development’ emphasises what it is all about. If we want to do better, we need to be ahead of the game. This government is ahead of the game, particularly in the area of professional development. The one thing that will improve the professional development of teachers is the introduction of laptops for all teachers. That will help in their professional development not just in the classroom but at home. I know from being a state member myself that members have improved output and learning from being provided with laptops, let alone teachers who have the very important role of teaching our young people. I congratulate the minister for education not only on adopting the recommendations of the review that I had the great pleasure of chairing with regard to physical activity in schools but also on implementing the Smart Moves strategy and designating 2008 as the Year of Physical Activity in Queensland schools. I had the pleasure of attending Ironside State School last week with the minister, the Premier and the member for Indooroopilly, whose electorate the school was in, for the launch of the Year of Physical Activity. I am looking forward to seeing all of that coming to fruition. I think it is really important. 12 Feb 2008 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 85

There are some sections of the teaching community that have frankly missed the boat. They think that having physical activity in school is about PE lessons. It is not about that; it is about the integration of physical activity in lessons—maths, English, drama, you name it. You can integrate physical activity into anything. But how teachers get to know that is through professional development. That is why the professional development component of the Smart Moves strategy is important. It is vitally important not only so that we make sure that our young people have integrated lessons where physical activity is a normal part of them but also because it will change some of the cultures within our teaching community and it will get them more focused. As the minister often says, the component of having a healthy body and a healthy mind really helps one’s ability to learn. I congratulate the minister on this initiative. As I said, I really look forward to 2008 being the Year of Physical Activity. But, more importantly, I look forward to 2008 bringing fundamental change in this country and in this state. Having education as a focus is important because that will fundamentally change the lives of people not this year, not next year but in years to come. It will really improve the lives of this nation’s people for a long time to come. I commend the bill to the House. Ms GRACE (Brisbane Central—ALP) (5.07 pm): I rise to support the Education Legislation Amendment Bill 2007. The bill before the House will amend the Education (Queensland Studies Authority) Act 2002 to enable the Queensland Studies Authority to develop and administer common national tests in literacy and numeracy. The common national tests will be a positive step forward in creating greater consistency across all state jurisdictions, and I believe that achieving greater consistency across all states will be of great benefit for all school students in Australia. The results will provide us with more meaningful comparisons when looking at how Queensland performs against other states but, more importantly, how Australian students perform as a whole, as a nation, using comparisons that have more meaning for educational professionals. The common national test will be held in May of each year, and for the first time year 9 students will be included. Previously in Queensland the tests were conducted in the latter part of the school year in August. However, testing students in May makes a lot of good sense as it will give schools greater opportunity to use the results of the tests to assist students who demonstrate a need for additional support with their literacy or numeracy skills and help them achieve better outcomes during the year. Having a daughter in year 9 this year who will be tested in May for the first time, I believe that any additional support required during the remainder of the school year based on her results would be most welcome and a most productive way of achieving a better learning outcome, which I believe every parent would applaud. The common national tests have been developed with regard to a set of nationally agreed statements of learning for English and mathematics—two important subjects during the school learning period of our lives. The literacy assessment task will cover students’ achievements in reading, writing and language conventions which are solid, basic learnings that are essential to our everyday and working life. For reading, students will be required to read a range of texts similar to those used in their classrooms and to answer questions of varying difficulty to show their understanding of the material. This assists obviously with analytical and comprehension skills which are most useful and essential during any successful working career. For writing, students will be required to write a narrative in response to stimulus material. This writing task will be assessed in terms of how well students can demonstrate their ideas, organise their writing and use their vocabulary. Students’ skills in sentence structure, spelling and punctuation will also be assessed. These are basic writing skills which also form part of essential needs in our working lives. With respect to language conventions, students will be required to identify and correct spelling errors, and answer multiple-choice questions on aspects of grammar and punctuation. This will demonstrate the practical way of using the knowledge and skills that are being taught in our schools not only in Queensland but throughout Australia. The numeracy component of the test will cover numbers, algebra, function and pattern, measurement, chance and data, and space. Questions will require students to apply mathematical knowledge, skills and understanding in a variety of contexts. I am positive that these national tests will be put to good use where the results will be used in a more meaningful way to assist students further with their learning and to assist Queensland and Australia in ensuring that our students achieve the best possible education. As we all know, education and ongoing learning are key to a quality working life and successful career. I am happy to support the amendment bill. Mr WEIGHTMAN (Cleveland—ALP) (5.12 pm): I rise to support the Education Legislation Amendment Bill 2007. The Education Legislation Amendment Bill will amend the Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Act 2005 to replace the term ‘professional learning’ with the term ‘professional development’. As members are aware, teachers now have to renew their registration every five years as a matter of process. To gain that new registration, teachers are required to show they have maintained their professional skills through ongoing professional education and recent teacher experience. 86 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008

The term ‘professional development’ more accurately reflects the types of activities that teachers are required to undertake on a daily basis as part of the registration process for this act. ‘Professional development’ is more of a comprehensive, holistic term which reflects the enormous importance of Queensland teachers and the broad range of skills our teachers possess. As a result of their commitment to professional development, Queensland teachers are better equipped to handle the enormous yet rewarding challenges of preparing our young people for the future. I also take this opportunity to recognise the dedicated and talented teachers I have in my electorate. The teachers from Ormiston, Wellington Point, Birkdale, Cleveland and Dunwich employ a high level of enthusiasm and commitment to provide their students with every opportunity to learn and succeed at a time when there are higher expectations on both the teachers and the students. This is why I believe that professional development for teachers is becoming more important in terms of achieving the required outcomes to satisfy the community expectations. This is something that is happening not just in Queensland; this is something that is happening throughout the whole of Australia. The term ‘professional development’ is widely used within the teaching profession and this amendment to the terminology will merely reflect what is already understood at the school level. The change in terminology will not affect the legislative requirements of the Queensland College of Teachers to develop a continual professional development framework, nor will it alter a teacher’s obligation to comply with that framework. Queensland teachers undertake a range of professional development activities to ensure they can continue to provide our students with the most up-to-date curriculum through innovative teaching practices. Some of these things include undertaking moderation meetings, conferences, seminars, external workshops, school based and QSA based in-service activities including professional development days, and individual studies such as masters and doctorate level university study. I am personally committed to the principles of lifelong learning and believe in the importance of taking proactive steps to improve the way we do our job. In fact, I am currently looking for ways in which I can undertake further education to better serve the people of Cleveland as their local member. In my time in the Queensland Police Service, I undertook a huge range of training courses in order to develop new skills and become a better police officer. Further, since I became a member of this House every day has taught me new things about the human spirit, the power of cooperation and the importance of lifelong education. I am proud to be part of a government that continues to support the professional development needs of our teachers. The Queensland government is providing a range of resources and professional development opportunities for teachers through initiatives such as QCAR, literacy and numeracy strategies and the Year of Physical Activity, which the member for Mansfield mentioned in his speech. I congratulate the minister and his department for their commitment to ensuring a high standard of education for our teachers, which of course will flow on to the young people of Queensland. I commend this bill to the House. Mrs MILLER (Bundamba—ALP) (5.16 pm): The Education Legislation Amendment Bill will enable the Queensland Studies Authority to deliver and administer common national tests. I am very pleased that this work has been undertaken by the Queensland Studies Authority because I was actively involved in setting up the QSA initially when I was parliamentary secretary for education. I would like to place on the record that I believe the QSA does an excellent job. Everyone in my community knows that I am absolutely dedicated to education and having great educational outcomes for all students, particularly in the areas of literacy and numeracy. In my electorate it is important that our students have good literacy and numeracy skills so that they have the opportunity to go to TAFE, to go to university and also to get a job. I would particularly like to thank the QSA officers who I know have been working day and night to develop the Queensland curriculum assessment and reporting framework. This framework is a key component of the second stage of the Smart State Strategy 2005-2015, which will improve student learning and achievement as well as increase comparability of assessment in reporting across all Queensland schools. A set of essential learnings has been created. These essential learnings identify what should be taught and what is important for students to have opportunities to know and to be able to do. The essential learnings have been developed for the key junctures of years 3, 5, 7 and 9. This matches the year levels at which the national statements of learning are to be specified for English and mathematics as well as national literacy and numeracy tests. All Queensland schools, including Catholic and independent schools, will begin using these essential learnings in their classrooms from this year. The introduction of essential learnings follows successful teacher trials in 2006-07 and strong support from state and non-state schools. QCAR is a key government strategy, with a commitment of over $5 million in 2007-08, that will enhance the literacy and numeracy skills of Queensland students. By giving our teachers a clearer focus and guidelines on the essentials that students need, we will ensure students continue to improve. 12 Feb 2008 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 87

Now I would briefly like to turn to schools in my electorate. Everyone knows in this House that I am very proud of all of our schools and our teachers and the students who attend our schools. People here know that the electorate of Bundamba is growing fast. There are many people moving to the area. The majority of these families want a state school education. I would like to place on record my personal thanks to Al Wagner and Bob Bristow and his team for their tireless work in planning new state schools in the electorate of Bundamba, including primary schools and possibly a high school. They are actively looking for sites for these schools and are keen to include the most up-to-date architecture and technology in these new schools. A great example is the new Springfield Lakes State School which Minister Rod Welford came to open last year. This school is led by its fantastic principal, Tom Byrne. Tom and his team have provided an excellent example of how to create a new community school, how to harness the energy in a new and emerging community and how to manage the energy, vitality and commitment of a great P&C. The school is growing so fast that they had to bring forward stage 2 of the school—a new two-storey block which was opened this year. Woodcrest College is another great school in our area. It was known as Woodcrest College but now we are calling it Woodcrest State College. I thank the minister for approving the inclusion of the word ‘state’ in its name. For many years I have campaigned to have ‘state’ included in the name as new residents did not know that it was a state school. It was embarrassing for them and for me when they would ring up and say, ‘I want to enrol my children at this school but could you please tell me how much it costs to send them there,’ when it is a free school—it is a public school. I am delighted that the college is finally known as Woodcrest State College. I would also like to talk about the Redbank Plains State High School, a terrific high school in my area. We are very pleased that the number of children going on to gain OP scores has increased by 12 per cent over the last three years. We are delighted that 90 per cent of those getting OPs are getting their first preferences for university. This is really good for our local area. Enrolments are growing over time at Redbank Plains State High School. The commitment of the principal, Mark Breckenridge, and the teachers is phenomenal. We are very pleased by the VET commitment at the Redbank Plains State High School. Over 70 per cent of students at Redbank Plains State High School are getting VET certificates. We would like that to improve over time. In the next couple of weeks I will be launching a new bus for Redbank Plains State High School. This has been a partnership between Investa and their estate which is called Brentwood, the school, the P&C and me. I can certainly remember a few years ago ringing Investa and saying, ‘Redbank Plains State High School needs to have a bus because they need to be able to transport the students from Redbank Plains State High School over to the Bremer Institute of TAFE and other providers in the areas so that they can get VET training.’ We believe that with this bus miracles are going to happen at Redbank Plains State High School and we will be able to physically transport our students to these VET institutions to get them the wonderful opportunities in VET training that I believe they deserve. Kruger State School is growing at a rapid rate. This Friday I will be at Kruger State School for the school captain ceremony. We are looking forward to being there and seeing the innovation over recent years at Kruger State School. It is growing at such a rate that we might have to put new school buildings in there to be able to cope with the demand. That is good news. Bundamba State Secondary College is growing as well. Bundamba State Secondary College is known for its wonderful Indigenous and Pacific Islander programs. It is actually a state school of choice for many Indigenous and Pacific Islander peoples in our area. I would like to place on record our thanks to Mrs Klotz, the principal of Bundamba State Secondary College, who has done a marvellous job in relation to our Indigenous and Pacific Islander community programs. I thank the minister, the QSA staff and everyone who works in Education Queensland. They really do a wonderful job. They are committed to making students’ lives better. In my community a few years ago schools used to be a babysitting place. Our students used to go there and learn the basics. We have turned that around in our community over recent years. More students are doing OP subjects and going to local universities such as the University of Southern Queensland and the University of Queensland Ipswich campus. Many students are also enrolled in the QUT campus at Gardens Point. We have been able to open up their eyes and give them opportunities that they never thought they would be able to have in years gone by. For those who want to do trades and work in hospitality areas I am very grateful to our trade unions who support them through such things as prizes. I thank the AMWU, the CFMEU Mining and Energy Division, the CFMEU Construction Division, the LHMU and the other unions which provide prizes for our students at awards nights. This makes them feel special. I thank our unions for supporting our area as well. I thank the minister and his staff for everything they do for the people in my community. Mr WELLINGTON (Nicklin—Ind) (5.25 pm): It gives me a great deal of pleasure to rise to participate in the debate on the Education Legislation Amendment Bill 2007. It is timely that we are speaking to this bill so soon after the start of our school year. I have also had the opportunity to visit 88 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008 many of my schools during this very busy time of the school year. I am very proud of the efforts that the many teachers, principals and support staff are putting into ensuring that our students get the best possible education. The component of the bill that I wish to speak to relates to the amendment to the Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Act 2005 which, in effect, is about replacing the term ‘professional learning’ with the term ‘professional development’. I certainly see the important role that professional development has for our teachers. But I also believe we need to ensure at all times that there is a balance between the professional development, the courses and the training that our teachers and principals undertake and stability in our schools and classrooms. What concerns me more than anything in education is what appears to be an accepted policy that teachers and principals spend time acting in other positions. In my electorate on the Sunshine Coast we have had teachers acting and acting and acting. Through my contribution to this bill I would urge the minister to see whether that system of acting in positions can be reduced so that where possible we have teachers acting in full-time positions and not acting in acting positions. In some of my schools we have certainly seen some challenges because of the level of acting. We have principals and acting teachers in these roles. I personally believe that we need to ensure as much as possible that our teachers do not act in a position but fulfil the role of a full-time position. This year a number of teachers and principals have taken on full-time positions. That is certainly appreciated in my school communities. I note that over the weekend the Treasurer spoke about the need to ensure that there are cost savings across all departments. That will certainly be a matter that he will be focusing on in this year’s budget. But I take this opportunity to make sure that he is aware that in growth areas like the Sunshine Coast, and especially my electorate of Nicklin, we need to ensure that there are proper staffing levels and facilities to match the growth that we are seeing. I know that in his press release on Sunday the Treasurer was focusing on ensuring that the dollars really get to the coalface. I put on the record that I hope the departments in their endeavours to save dollars in their budgets focus on what the Treasurer did say, which was that the dollars have to reach the coalface. I take this opportunity to indicate that we have real growth pressures on the Sunshine Coast. I know that a number of my schools are currently under investigation for additional resources and facilities. I hope that there will not be any hindrance in this regard as a result of the Treasurer’s recent announcement about cost savings, because we certainly need those new facilities and we certainly need those upgraded facilities. I congratulate the minister on this bill. He certainly has my support. I hope that there is a real balance between the professional development that our teachers and principals undertake to ensure real stability in our schools. I commend the bill to the House. Mrs SCOTT (Woodridge—ALP) (5.29 pm): It is education that will determine the future for young people in the Woodridge electorate and it is education that will give them opportunities and choices throughout their lives. It is a real privilege to once again stand in this place to speak on the Education Legislation Amendment Bill 2007. This bill will link our Queensland schools to national literacy and numeracy tests which, in May of 2008, will test all students in years 3, 5, 7 and now in year 9. I believe that it is important to be able to benchmark progress and these tests, developed and administered by the Queensland Studies Authority, will provide valuable information to our educators right from the minister through to every classroom teacher as well as to parents and carers and, of course, the students themselves. Knowledge about how our students are going in the classroom can then inform educators about where they need to concentrate future efforts. It can indicate to parents where they may be able to assist their children in the home, as well as giving students a sense of how they are measuring up. Information is a very useful tool. It is vital that teachers have the tools and skills to be able to develop in our children a love of learning, then to impart the basic tools to be able to take in information and apply it and to nurture in them a curiosity about the world around them. I have been very pleased to hear how high a value our minister places on professional development for all of our teachers. The early years are so important and this year, of course, marks the first year of full prep in all of our schools. There has been high praise for this year of play based learning and I am sure that future testing will bear this out. While students from our schools in the Woodridge electorate can now be found in all professions and many and varied positions in the workforce, there is still an unacceptably high number of students who are disinterested and disruptive who may come from homes where they are given no encouragement—some of our parents have had negative experiences themselves at school—or those with language barriers or learning disabilities or some other reason. We desperately need to connect with these students to ensure that they reach their potential and are able to fully engage in community life. I look forward to any initiatives to work more effectively with these students and I wholeheartedly support the bill before the House. 12 Feb 2008 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 89

Mr HINCHLIFFE (Stafford—ALP) (5.32 pm): I rise in support of the Education Legislation Amendment Bill and in particular to note the effect of the bill in amending the Education (Queensland Studies Authority) Act 2002 to enable the Queensland Studies Authority to develop and administer common national tests in literacy and numeracy. The common national tests will be a positive step forward in creating greater consistency across all state jurisdictions. The results will provide us with more meaningful comparisons when looking at how Queensland performs against other states. I believe that consistent comparisons between education systems and indeed schools are very necessary for the improvement of the education of all Queenslanders and Australians. However, comparison between schools is meaningless unless a level playing field exists. On that point I must place on record my very real concerns about the lack of a genuine level playing field for schools. My concerns are the result of a decade of inappropriate policies foisted upon our nation by the Howard government. While that page has been turned, as a number of my colleagues have already mentioned, I am concerned that an education revolution will not necessarily deliver a level playing field for schools. My concerns and thoughts on these fundamentally important issues were encapsulated by one of my great local educational leaders. I have had reason in the past to quote the principal of Mount Alvernia College, Mrs Vicki Ward, in this place, but on this occasion I will not be referring to the leader of that particular school with its great Franciscan tradition but will be referring to the principal of our largest state high school, Wavell State High School. At last year’s Wavell State High School speech night, Mr Jeff Major made some very astute remarks about the funding of our education system. He noted that the community finds the split funding arrangements between state and federal governments very confusing. He noted further— Unlike the United Kingdom and the USA, Australia has no truly independent schools which are fully funded by parents. We have government schools like Wavell and government funded private schools. He continued— The checks and balances placed on the government school sector ensure quality curriculum and transparent and accountable outcomes while the non-government sector has limited accountability and often no transparency. This will continue to ensure that the community rely on the quality of schooling provided by public schools like Wavell. He critiqued the approach of the Howard coalition when he commented generally— Government policies and grotesque non-government school funding allocations have allowed open slather on opening non- government schools with little in the way of accountability. Most significantly, Mr Major highlighted that— There is no social or community obligation attached to the funding provided to these non-government schools which enables selective intake and rejection of resource intensive enrolments, including those students with disabilities and challenging behaviours. My electorate is served very well by a variety of outstanding schools, both government and non- government, that provide tremendous educational opportunities for local students, but broadly across the system state schools are not on a level playing field. Locally my experience is that state schools are providing equal quality education with the broad offer of non-government schools on the north side of Brisbane. In that context it makes one wonder about the efficiency of some of these non-government schools which clearly have more educational resources and fewer educational challenges. I would implore the education minister and the new federal Deputy Prime Minister to consider some form of community service obligation as a component of future funding regimes for non- government schools. However, these funding issues are quite socially marginal in comparison with the biggest concern that Mr Major identified. His biggest concern is the effect of segregating students into a range of different categories from a variety of religious and other special interest groupings. This compartmentalisation is already occurring, he says, in some southern states. The effect of an open- ended schools policy has the high probability of creating a class compartmentalised society which, in the long run, will breed contempt and intolerance. I concur with Mr Major’s comments when he asks is this the sort of Australia that we want, is this the sort of Australia that our egalitarian society has traditionally encapsulated and encouraged— particularly in the context of the need to maintain a diverse multicultural society that lives in harmony in a prosperous, peaceful society? I call on the education minister and, indeed, the Deputy Prime Minister to consider these issues in the context of future discussions around the funding proposals and support for education. I most particularly commend the bill to the House to support the amendment of those areas to allow for good, solid, national testing to allow our education systems to be compared appropriately. Mr MOORHEAD (Waterford—ALP) (5.39 pm): I am delighted to rise to speak in support of the Education Legislation Amendment Bill 2007. Providing the children of our community with a quality education is one of the most important tasks of government, if not the most important. Whether directly through government schools or indirectly through non-government schools, investing in our children will reap rewards for generations to come. The bill delivers two important reforms to ensure a high standard of education for the children of Queensland. Firstly, the Queensland College of Teachers, the body responsible for overseeing the teaching profession, will focus on the continuing professional 90 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008 development of the teaching profession. In exercising its role to register and deregister teachers, continuing professional development will be a key consideration for the Queensland College of Teachers. The second reform is to implement the state government’s commitment to common national tests in literacy and numeracy. This bill will empower the Queensland Studies Authority to undertake the independent and transparent administration of the common testing for students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9. This testing regime will provide parents, teachers and policymakers with clear comparisons of the progress of students. In backing these reforms to the quality of our education system, the state government has also put its money where its mouth is with a budget of more than $6 billion this financial year, including more than $500 million to modernise and build schools and training facilities, the recruitment of more teachers and a $1.5 million commitment to drive high-quality numeracy programs in state schools. Every cent we spend on education is money well spent. Education is the greatest opportunity for the young people of Queensland to access personal, economic and social development. Whether a person wants to access university, TAFE, apprenticeships or other employment, they will need the support and development of our education system. As our economy continues to change, the minimum educational requirements for jobs are increasing. Jobs with minimal educational requirements are becoming rarer and rarer in modern Australia. As governments, we should be promoting higher skilled and better paid jobs in our economy. The bill changes the provisions of the Queensland College of Teachers legislation to change the terminology to one of continual professional development. A continual professional development framework is nothing new. The teaching profession has continually been evolving for many years. Pedagogical techniques have developed so significantly in the last decade that many teachers have to train continually to keep up with the reforms. In my view, there are three key factors in the education outcomes for our children. The first has to be the quality of the classroom teacher. Teachers stand in front of our children every weekday morning from nine o’clock until three o’clock in the afternoon. Teaching is a challenging job and, frankly, not one that I would do. But it is the most important profession in our society. Teachers are the people to whom we entrust the future of our children. When seeking their five-year registration, teachers will have to show that they have updated their professional skills and participated in professional development. As I said, teachers have a tough job. They must teach the curriculum in a way that engages students as well as make sure that their behaviour management strategies ensure that the behaviour of some students does not disrupt the learning of others. Behaviour management is a difficult task for teachers because it often detracts from their ability to provide engaging teaching strategies. But teachers are talented people and they deal with those challenges every day. I know that the education minister is committed to professional development for teachers and in supporting teachers not only to deliver engaging curriculum but also to ensure that behaviour management priorities are met. The professional development of teachers will also be supported by the rollout of laptops to Queensland teachers. That means that teachers can prepare lessons on their laptops and, with technology, deliver lessons through their laptop and data projectors, if they have them available. Through the use of laptops, teachers can keep pace with the technology that they should be teaching their students. The second key factor is the role of principals and the leadership that they provide to their schools. Principals have a difficult job in balancing the teaching requirements with the facilities requirements. In many cases they operate with a budget of some millions of dollars. Principals do a great job and are often unrewarded. I think we should recognise the great job that they do in bringing together students, parents, teachers and local people to build a strong community that supports our young people. The third key factor—and probably the most important—is the support that children get from home. Without a supportive home environment, children will find education difficult. Children need the support of a home environment that values education and the outcomes that it offers. As I have heard other speakers say, we should be careful in our modern community that we are not putting teachers in a position where they are not supported by parents and, when parents are not doing their job, actually becoming the parents of students. Teachers have to be de facto parents during the day. They are in loco parentis, but they cannot teach without the support of parents. Teachers have those children for seven hours of the day. For the remaining 17 hours of the day, those children are in the hands of parents. The new QCAR Essential Learnings program will enable those three elements to come together, giving parents a clearer understanding of what their child will be learning in school, regardless of which school they go to. Often children will change schools and have difficulty readjusting to different curriculums across schools. The QCAR Essential Learnings program will mean that parents, teachers and principals will have a clearer understanding of what children should be learning at a particular age and it should provide greater consistency across schools. This bill implements Queensland’s commitment to national tests in literacy and numeracy for students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9. The bill gives the Queensland Studies Authority the power to develop and administer national tests in literacy and numeracy consistent with federal regulations giving effect to 12 Feb 2008 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 91 the national scheme. At the outset, I should declare my clear view that governments, politicians and communities need to be careful when drawing conclusions from national testing. We need to be careful to ensure that we are not labelling schools or students unfairly. We must analyse critically what the results mean and the factors that contribute to those results. The introduction of common national tests is a positive step towards creating greater consistency of outcomes across state jurisdictions. There is no reason students in my own electorate—or in any other electorate for that matter—should not receive the same standard of education as that which is provided to children anywhere else in the country. The outcomes of national testing will provide governments with meaningful comparisons of the performance of our education system against the education system of other states and the performance of each of our schools. These reports will be an important factor of policy development in education. They are a key opportunity to find out what is working and what is not and to make improvements to our education system accordingly. The common national tests will be undertaken across all schools in May of each year. May 2008 will be the first year that year 9 students will undertake testing. The moving of testing from August each year to May will mean that testing results can feed into classroom teaching for those children who are found to be in need of further support. Those children who demonstrate a need for additional support with their literacy or numeracy skills will be provided with a hand up to help them achieve better outcomes for the remainder of the year. The common national tests have been developed with regard to a set of nationally agreed statements of learning for English and mathematics. Literacy assessment tasks will examine students’ achievement in reading, writing and language conventions. For reading, students will be required to read a range of texts similar to those used in their classrooms and to answer questions of varying difficulty to show that they understand the material. When it comes to writing, students will be required to write a narrative in response to stimulus material. Students will be given an opportunity to show how they can demonstrate their ideas, how they can organise their writing and how they use their vocabulary. This assessment of writing will also assess the fundamental skills of sentence structure, spelling and punctuation. Students will also have to display their knowledge of language conventions by answering multiple choice questions on grammar and punctuation as well as being asked to correct spelling errors. Used properly, as I am sure it will be, common national testing will ensure that students are not falling through the cracks and those children who need support are identified and provided with the requisite support. Policymakers can ensure that they are aware of what outcomes are coming from the classrooms around our state. I commend the minister for bringing this legislation before the House. I think it is an important step in continuing to support our children in their development as future leaders, workers and community members. I commend the bill to the House. Ms STONE (Springwood—ALP) (5.50 pm): I am very happy to stand before the House and support this bill. I want to take this opportunity to welcome back staff and students to all the schools in the Springwood electorate. I also want to welcome back the hardworking members of the P&Cs and P&Fs. I look forward to working with them throughout the year. When visiting schools, the major topic of conversation of parents is always the focus of education being on the basics: reading, writing, spelling and maths. I am pleased to inform parents that the bill before the House will assist schools in maintaining a focus on the essential skills of literacy and numeracy. One such program that will help deliver better literacy and numeracy skills is the prep year. It has been recognised that prep children, parents and teachers gain enormous benefits from the prep program, which was introduced last year to replace the part-time preschool year. An independent review of the prep year trial in 2003 found that prep children did better in literacy and numeracy than children who attended the previous preschool program, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds made the greatest gains. I was very pleased to hear the positive feedback from the prep year students and parents of students in schools in the Springwood electorate. It was very pleasing to hear just how much they are looking forward to this year. The Queensland government has demonstrated very clearly that it wants every child to develop excellent literacy and numeracy skills during their time at school. It has clearly demonstrated this by committing over $200 million in the 2007-08 budget to achieve this aim. The state government, like parents and teachers, recognises that literacy and numeracy are the key pillars of learning. Education empowers individuals to secure a better life, and it is the most effective tool for overcoming poverty and disadvantage. The benefits of a well educated and skilled population flow beyond the individual to the wider community. I want to acknowledge the great work being done in the area of literacy and numeracy by Kimberley Park State School. Its hard work was recognised last year when the school won a $5,000 highly commended national numeracy award. Kimberley Park State School was one of only nine schools throughout Queensland to receive this award. I have been told that it is through the good work of their teacher aides that numeracy skills of students are definitely improving. I believe that Vickie Jaenke, a learning support teacher, was the developer of the award winning program. I congratulate all those staff involved in that program on their dedication and commitment. 92 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008

Good literacy and numeracy skills are something we need in everyday life. They are needed in classrooms right around the country and, indeed, the world. It does not matter if it is a science classroom, a technology classroom or a cooking class, literacy and numeracy skills apply. They are an essential part of our school curriculum and I am very pleased to see the Queensland government investing heavily in rolling out comprehensive new blueprints to boost student literacy and numeracy skills in Queensland state schools. This is preparing students for lifelong learning. It is preparing students for the challenges of the future and it is giving them the skills they need to secure a great life. This bill will amend the Education (Queensland Studies Authority) Act 2002 to enable the Queensland Studies Authority to develop and administer common national tests in literacy and numeracy. These national tests will definitely be good management tools for teachers but, just as importantly, they will also be good tools for parents to assess their child’s progress. I commend the bill to the House. Mr LANGBROEK (Surfers Paradise—Lib) (5.53 pm): It is my pleasure to rise, as many members have before me, to speak to the Education Legislation Amendment Bill. I note that the shadow minister, the member for Cunningham, has indicated our support for the bill. This bill amends the Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Act 2005 to replace the term ‘professional learning’ with the term ‘professional development’ and the Education (Queensland Studies Authority) Act 2002 to give the Queensland Studies Authority functions in relation to the administration of common national tests in literacy and numeracy. Any of us with children at school compare and contrast what teachers have to do now with what they did when we were at school. The demands placed upon them have increased immeasurably. When I look at the report cards and the various other reports that I receive about my children at a Catholic school on the Gold Coast and the other state schools in my electorate, and I look at the various reporting measures that teachers have to provide, it is very different to the little 7.5 centimetre by 10 centimetre report that I received at Burleigh Heads State School in the sixties. They are the report cards we had then. We also see that many teachers start with a lot of enthusiasm. I have seen teachers come through who are young and keen when they are fresh out of teachers college or university and then after a couple of years they feel like they are doing the same old thing. Many of them have trouble maintaining their enthusiasm. That is why professional development is such an important part of the profession, as it is for any of the professions. My father was a teacher librarian in the public system until he retired. He did his masters degree and became a teacher librarian and he was always big on ensuring that he maintained his skills and improved them. That is a very important thing and an aspect of the ‘development’ terminology change from ‘professional learning’. I also want to speak briefly about the changes to the functions of the Queensland Studies Authority. I note what the shadow minister had to say about the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs agreeing that there would be common national tests in literacy and numeracy. That is going to occur in May 2008 in years 3, 5, 7 and 9. I understand that the functions of the QSA as outlined do not cover these proposed roles. So this bill amends the QSA act to allow the QSA to fulfil its role in relation to the common national tests. I see that clause 10 of this bill inserts proposed new section 10A, which expands the authority’s functions to enable it to perform a number of functions related to common national testing in literacy and numeracy. These new functions include participating in the development or revision of the tests; implementing procedures for administering the tests by schools or authorities; marking the tests; analysing systemic information about the performance of persons who undertake the tests and reporting the results of this analysis to the minister, the chief executive, AISQ and QCEC; giving the principal of a school individual results of the school’s students who undertake the tests; and giving a person who undertakes the tests their results in the test. As I say, it is commendable that these changes are coming in. I noted on the front page of The Australian newspaper yesterday a column headed, ‘Students trailing those of the 60s’. I think it is important for those of us from that era and later to read this article by Justine Ferrari and James Madden. It states— Teenagers’ reading and maths skills have declined over the past four decades, despite education spending per student more than doubling. Most members here would be surprised to hear— A study by Australian National University economists released yesterday suggests 14-year-olds today are, in learning terms, about three months behind their counterparts in the 1960s. They suggest that— ... the piling of resources into creating smaller classes, at the expense of paying more for better teachers, could be to blame. Andrew Leigh and Chris Ryan say the fall is not due to demographic changes, such as an increase in non-English-speaking migrants. In fact, the decline is even more marked after those changes are taken into account. 12 Feb 2008 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 93

If there were other examples in our education system where we did not see an improvement following an increase in expenditure of 258 per cent—and that is what the study estimates; that real spending in schools rose 258 per cent—we would all be questioning how we were spending the money. That is why these new tests will hopefully lead to improvements in the system. The article goes on— If productivity in schools is estimated as the money spent for each point on the literacy and numeracy tests, the researchers estimate that their productivity has fallen up to 13 per cent between 1975 and 1998 and by 73 per cent since 1964. ...

Dr Leigh said the findings suggested the boost to school funding over the past 40 years had been misdirected. ...

‘I was surprised to see test scores haven’t risen. There’s a whole lot more money put into Australian schools and we don’t seem to be getting more out of them in terms of literacy and numeracy.’ The newly announced head of the National Curriculum Board, Barry McGaw, agreed that trading teachers’ salaries for smaller class sizes across the board was not the best decision. As this article states, it is time that the education debate focused on improving the skills of our teachers and lifting the academic calibre of the profession. A better system of rewarding quality is part of the solution, as is better training and support for beginning teachers. As other members have said, if we keep supporting our teachers they will stay motivated and we will end up with better students and better members of the community. I commend the bill. Mrs CUNNINGHAM (Gladstone—Ind) (5.59 pm): I rise to support the Education Legislation Amendment Bill 2007 and to put on the record my appreciation for the teaching staff in my electorate, both in the state school sector and in the independent and church school sectors. I believe that it is always encouraging to visit schools as members of parliament and see the enthusiasm that teachers demonstrate towards their students and their continual attempts to motivate and educate the students in a positive learning environment. The bill gives the Queensland Studies Authority the ability to develop and administer common national tests in literacy and numeracy. When I was a young child I can remember my mother, who is now in her 86th year, lamenting the fact that not only did educational standards change from school to school, but more importantly in her mind was the fact that they changed between states. If you transferred a child, not only did the uniforms change but often the placement of the student in terms of age and grade would differ markedly. I can recall her saying on a number of occasions how good it would be if they were at least vaguely similar across the state and across the nation. Our community has certainly become more mobile in recent years. Many have travelled to and are finding a place in the Gladstone electorate. This legislation will mean that those who have to move across states are better able to educate their children. The national test in literacy and numeracy will not achieve that, but as the minister’s second reading speech outlines it will give an indication of how Queensland schools and school students are performing in the areas of literacy and numeracy. I place on the record my congratulations and recognition of Gladstone South State School under the leadership of principal Leanne Ibell. Last year the school won an award for a program that it runs in partnership with Hibiscus Gardens. Geographically the school is quite close to Hibiscus Gardens and the students walk or are transported from the school to Hibiscus Gardens, which is a senior citizens home. A number of the residents sit with the students, almost like adopted grandmas or granddads. The student reads a chosen book to the older person and the older person helps them with any language problems that they may have. I have attended a number of those programs and I have seen the evident enjoyment on both sides. The older people love the fact that there are young ones around and that they are able to constructively help those young children. As I am sure many here would understand, it adds a glint to the eyes of the older ones to have the young ones there. They share a great deal of enthusiasm not only in terms of exchanging the story that is being read but also because the young people can develop their language skills by telling their mentors what they have been doing through the week. It was appropriately recognised as a very successful program and one that I believe will continue for some time. A number of our teachers have been specifically acknowledged for their ability in teaching. Teachers who can ignite the imagination and enthusiasm of young students are particularly gifted. We need to hang on to them and in some way emulate their skills and their enthusiasm in all of our teachers. I believe that some teachers lose a little bit of that sheen, simply because they have large class sizes and they can have a huge mix of student abilities. Some teachers deal with students with very specific and high needs. Without appropriate support, including teacher aide hours, those teachers are very quickly burnt out. Often that is not the teacher’s fault; the system should better support them. Whilst it is lovely to have students integrated into a mainstream school, a decision to integrate has to be based on the ability of the student and the system to achieve a better outcome for the student than an alternative. 94 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008

In this place it has often been said that our children are our greatest asset, and that is meant in the best possible way. I believe that the best foundation that we can give to children is a sound family with parents who love, nurture and care for them. The second best gift we can give them is an inquiring mind and an education to address that. I commend the minister for the changes introduced by this bill. I trust that they will achieve positive results not only for the students but also for the teachers who do such a brilliant job in our educational system. I support the bill. Mrs MENKENS (Burdekin—NPA) (6.05 pm): I rise to support the Education Legislation Amendment Bill 2007. The two main objectives of the bill are to replace the term ‘professional learning’ with the term ‘professional development’ in the Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Act and to give the Queensland Studies Authority functions in relation to the administration of the national tests in literacy and numeracy. The amendments within this bill seem to be very straightforward and do not appear to be contentious in any way. On reading the explanatory notes of the bill it seems to me that the change of terminology from ‘professional learning’ to ‘professional development’ accurately reflects the program in place currently for teacher education but does not create any necessary new process. It is important that teachers who are applying for registration or re-registration with the Queensland College of Teachers are proven to be competent and that their skills are current. To that extent, the changes outlined do make common sense. As a result of federal legislation, for the first time in Queensland national tests for primary schoolchildren in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will be undertaken in May this year. It is a significant first and I have no doubt that the results from those tests are going to prove beneficial. They should prove beneficial for teachers, parents and of course the most important people, the students. The tests will measure levels of reading, writing, spelling and numeracy which should provide comparative measure across schools, across the state and across the nation. Therefore, I would ask the minister how the results will be made available. Are they going to be made available publicly school by school and class by class, or will they only be made available to school principals or teachers to disseminate? I have no doubt that there will be and there should be many positive flow-ons from the testing. Of course, much will be made of the competitive levels involved—better state averages, better schools et cetera—but at the end of the day I really hope that each individual student will really benefit. A recent article in the Courier-Mail caused some concern as it talked about Queensland falling short in literacy and numeracy. The article stated that Queensland is struggling to improve literacy and numeracy in the middle years of primary school as figures show that almost one in five of the state’s 10- year-olds fails to achieve minimum standards in reading. While Queensland year 5 students recorded improved results from the previous year, only 81.2 per cent of them achieved the national benchmark for reading and 85.4 per cent achieved the numeracy benchmark. These figures were lower than the results achieved by both New South Wales and Victorian students. That is disturbing and it is commendable that the department is taking note of it. I certainly hope that, as a result of these amendments, improvements will be made. However, I am concerned about the strategies that will be put in place to address the situations where testing results are low. What resources and extra assistance are going to be given to schools and staff to really address these areas of need? Teachers are currently coming under more and more pressure to deliver, and to find more time in their busy curricula is going to be extremely difficult and I have no doubt will create more stress in many areas. As we know, teachers are mentors. They are mentors of the future adults in our state, and students look up to them as role models. Teachers are now expected to take on the role of parents. These are comments that have been made by the minister, but teachers have been doing this for years. They are taking on the role of parents—they nurture them, feed them, encourage them and teach them life skills as well as actually educating the children of today. There are not enough hours in the school day for what teachers are expected to impart to children, but literacy and numeracy must be given the highest priority, particularly at the primary school level. It is important that the education department gives teachers the support that they need to do this. I was reading Literature futures this morning, which was a report of the literature review for Queensland state schools in the year 2000. That may be eight years ago, but I doubt very much whether those issues have changed significantly. The opening statement of that document outlined that strategies for strengthening the organisational capacity of schools and the competencies of teachers were at the heart of what that report recommended to Queensland Education to assist students in developing their literate futures, and could I suggest that that is what is going to have to be implemented to assist literacy training following the results of Queensland state testing. Also mentioned in that report is a discussion on the priority areas for action that arose from the review. There is a very interesting set of statements in the report that capture some of the dominant perceptions of current literacy practices and issues. I would like to share some of these particular points 12 Feb 2008 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 95 with members. The first is that the early years of schooling are foundational for literacy development. I think that is fully agreed in all areas. I think it has always been noted that very young children will learn languages very easily. Under five-year-olds will pick up a new language very easily. So to that extent it is common sense that the earlier literacy in all forms, particularly the basis of it, can be imparted the better. Another point was that literacy develops via a sequence of speaking, reading and writing modes and another was that schools have to cope with many complex social issues that are masked as literacy problems. At the end of the day, they are social issues and not literacy problems. Another point was that early literacy identification and intervention are crucial for many children. I have seen many really successful situations where intervention in the early stages of a child’s education has proved so beneficial. In fact, I can even outline that one of my sons went on to do very well at university but in year 3 he was classified as having major reading problems. Another point was that meeting diverse student needs requires specialised packages and training, and another was that whole school planning is essential to meet the diverse literacy learning needs. These are only some of the literacy issues that were presented, but they are very relevant. I know that testing of students has Australia-wide support, but how the education department handles the results of that testing is what Queensland parents will be watching for and monitoring—and so they should, because Queensland deserves the highest levels of teaching. I spent several years teaching business language modules to business management and office studies students in prevocational courses in earlier years. This involved teaching students how to write a business letter and report writing and so forth, but a very important part of the course was teaching the basic structure of language—grammar. The first question I would ever ask at the commencement of the course to students was: what is a sentence? It was very obvious time and time again that students could not answer that question. Younger students were always searching for some sort of answer, but the mature students always came up with a sensible answer or quickly worked out what a sentence was. Similarly, when asked such questions as ‘What is a noun? What is a verb? What is an adverb?’ in many cases younger school leavers were totally perplexed. When asked about terms such as tenses of verbs as in ‘What is the past tense of a verb?’ or the case of nouns as in ‘What is the nominative case or the subjective case?’ or clauses as in ‘What is an adjectival clause?’, they were totally perplexed. They did not know what I was talking about. Mature students could drag out answers from their memories or at least know what I was talking about. They had been taught the basics of grammar. It was also very interesting to note in teaching basic grammar that newer Australians who had learnt English as a second language had a very good grasp of grammar. How can one learn a new language if one does not have a knowledge of grammar? My memories of learning grammar at school are not exactly exciting. I have to say that I did not particularly enjoy learning it at all—in fact I think I hated it. But we did learn it and it is indelibly imprinted on the memories of those students. I believe that it is very sad now that we have several generations of English educators who have not been taught the basics of grammar. Most people will tell you that they only gained a grasp of basic grammar when they had to learn in depth another language. Of course there are lots of warm, fuzzy words used in primary school to describe the structure of language, or grammar, but it is at a very gentle level. Basic grammar has not been picked up and taught at university level to trainee primary and English teachers either, and I believe this is an area that really should be addressed. How can teachers be expected to impart basic grammar that they have a very sketchy knowledge of themselves? However, to that extent I really do applaud the efforts that our wonderful primary teachers are putting into the teaching of literacy to children. Much of teaching or learning is of course by actually doing. To that extent, to actually engage students in reading and writing skills involves developing their interest in reading. How this extra work and pressure is going to fit into teachers’ curricula I really do not know. Children are now given a far broader education than in previous years—they are taught to reason, they are taught to search for knowledge, they are taught to argue. They really are taught lessons across an enormously broad area, but results are showing that they are missing the building blocks of literacy. I would particularly like to recognise the staff and students of the 32 schools in my electorate. I was at a school the other day and a student asked me what I enjoyed most about being a local member. I had to say that visiting schools is probably one of the most enjoyable and rewarding tasks that I do. I have no doubt that all other members here would agree. We love visiting schools and seeing what is happening there. To that extent, I would like to make special mention of Home Hill State School—a primary school in my electorate. Every year I am invited to participate in the book fair and each year I am truly amazed at the ideas, imagination and inventiveness that the staff and wonderful parents and volunteers come up with. The librarian is Mrs Karen Sorbello, and her energy and enthusiasm are an example to all. Karen will say that her efforts are only a result of teamwork—wonderful teamwork from staff, students and parents. I have no doubt that that is true, but each year I continue to be amazed at the exciting new ideas that are created. They have wizards, wild animals, fairies and dinosaurs—anything that could 96 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008 capture a child’s imagination. The children love it. It is exciting, it is exhilarating and it must encourage children to want to read. However, it is the teachers who are responsible for all of this. I would really like to put on record my greatest admiration for the efforts of so many teachers in this state. I commend the Education Legislation Amendment Bill to the House. Mr HORAN (Toowoomba South—NPA) (6.19 pm): In speaking to the Education Legislation Amendment Bill, I would like to commend my colleague the member for Burdekin for a speech that I think shows a great understanding of education, particularly of language, vocabulary, the construction of sentences, grammar and so forth. I think her words were very wise and should be taken note of. We are facing a very rapidly changing society, particularly for young people. I think it is absolutely essential in supporting this bill to stress the importance of literacy and numeracy and that these national tests be undertaken in a standard way. It is important to stress that, whilst this deals with national testing, the preparation and the teaching of the children have to be absolutely spot on so that they can pass at each of these levels. Importantly, if there are any failures in children who are not reaching those standards they need to be brought up to that standard as quickly as possible. I think it is good that there are four levels of teaching so that children cannot slip through the cracks or get behind, because once they do it is very hard to ever catch up. The whole purpose of education—the physical and intellectual effort, the rigour and professionalism of the teachers, the government funding for the provision of schools, the private schools and so forth—fails if we cannot give children these basic things. They need to be able to speak well, they need to develop their trades or their degrees, and they need to handle money and understand numbers and use their numeracy skills in trades and other types of work. I join with our shadow minister in supporting this bill because I think it is excellent. However, I repeat that caution. We need to ensure the absolute number of children pass each year. There needs to be remedial work if they do not meet the particular standard. Let us hope that by the time they get to years 7 and 9 the failure rate is minimal and that this brings about the improvement that everybody who has spoken in this parliament hopes for. One of the important things with literacy is the provision of adequate speech therapy services. It is very hard for a young person who has a difficulty in this area and who slips behind to catch up. One of the important things about literacy and speaking up is to have an inner confidence. If a young person lacks that confidence because of a speech difficulty, they can slip behind very quickly. Particularly in some of the rural areas in Queensland it is essential that we give young people every chance to benefit from the professional teaching they receive from their teachers so that a modest or small difficulty that they have can be rectified by a speech therapist. The other day I visited St Xavier’s Primary School in Toowoomba. It is a highly successful corridor school which is bursting at the seams. It is almost right in the middle of the CBD. Unlike other schools in CBD areas that sometimes dwindle in enrolment numbers, this is expanding because of the quality of the school. The minute you walk through the gate of that school you can sense the happiness, safety, professionalism and learning that is occurring. That is why, unfortunately, it has had to refuse some admissions because it is bursting at the seams. One of the comments that the teachers made to me— and I am thinking of one teacher in particular who has returned to teaching; this teacher had been teaching grade 3 and now has come back to teaching grade 1—is how well prepared and ready for grade 1 the children are who have done the prep year. They spoke very strongly in support of the prep year. The children are six months older or more mature, but they have had 12 months of preparation and they are really ready for grade 1. I think we will see a benefit from that. I know that this side of the House has always supported a prep year. All the teachers at the Rangeville Primary School in my electorate are behind the scheme but there is one teacher in particular who very much pushes the love of reading. The teachers get people to come in and read stories to the children and also talk about what books they have read and what they enjoyed when they were young themselves. It is important to promote within families the importance of parents reading a story to their children at night. They should start that at a very early age, whether it is out of a book or out of their head. It not only settles the children and allows them to go to bed in a happy environment but also develops within them a liking of stories and a liking of reading. I think that is a very important part of family life. I wanted to mention in this debate—because it is on education and literacy and numeracy— Harristown State High School, which is one of the larger high schools of Queensland in my electorate. It is embarking on a very exciting development of two academies. These academies are for children who are identified in the first half of year 8 as having real ability in academia and real ability in trade skills. They will go through an academy as they progress through the school which will provide them with extra training. For example, those children at the University of Southern Queensland who have been selected in the academic stream and in the trades stream will almost have completed an apprenticeship by the time they finish grade 12. It will probably be another six months and they will be there. I think that is making good use of the school time for those who have exceptional talent, in the same way that we take those with sporting or musical skills to an elite level. 12 Feb 2008 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 97

For young students in year 8 to be able to achieve those levels they need to have behind them right from the start literacy and numeracy so they can reach their maximum potential. When I visit schools today I compare the rooms to when I went to school, which were fairly stark. It was a different time and a different era. Now one can see the mobiles hanging down, the colour, the paintings and the activities that are undertaken. The participation and involvement of the teachers is quite amazing. I visited a Christian Brothers school last week which I attended in grades 6 and 7. We had 114 in our class. How difficult it was for that young brother who was only 20 years of age to teach 114 boys from the south side of Brisbane. But that is how education has moved on. I often look back and remember how every Friday we had an exam and on Monday we were sat in order from 1 to 114 depending on how we went in the exam the previous Friday afternoon. I remember the last row was always older than us. They obviously had difficulties but those difficulties were not attended to because there were too many kids to attend to and there was not the ability within the school to provide for that, particularly in terms of financial ability. That is what I hope would never occur now. Mr Lawlor: Where did you used to come? Mr HORAN: Somewhere between one and two. I give that example because I do remember the difficulty those fellows had. Some of them tried to run away from school and all sorts of things. But they never got the chance to achieve those levels that we are trying to achieve through this legislation today. Finally, I want to say that Toowoomba’s secondary schools are quite unique. For a city of about 92,000 plus some surrounding shires, we have 15 secondary schools. We have three excellent state schools and three Christian schools. Then we have St Xavier’s and St Ursula’s Fairholme, which is the largest girls boarding school in Australia. We have Glennie, Concordia, Downlands, St Mary’s, St Joseph’s and Toowoomba Grammar School. Out of that has come a real coalition of education within the city and there is a wonderful sharing of ideas. There is strong competition. There are moves to update the academy at Harristown. Other schools are looking at the development of middle school systems. Those sorts of innovative but practical systems of improving the opportunities for young people are to be commended. All of it breaks down if there is no literacy and numeracy. That is why this bill is good. That is why I say we must ensure that the tests are acted upon. I have pleasure in joining with my shadow minister in supporting this bill. Sitting suspended from 6.30 pm to 7.30 pm. Ms JONES (Ashgrove—ALP) (7.30 pm): I am pleased to support the Education Legislation Amendment Bill. We have already heard this afternoon and tonight about the two primary objectives of this bill. One is changing the term ‘professional learning’ in the current act to ‘professional development’. This reflects the holistic and ongoing approach to teacher training in Queensland and the ongoing skill advancement that we see in Queensland. The second is to allow the Queensland Studies Authority the capacity to administer the common national tests in literacy and numeracy. As we are all aware, this change is due to the national assessment program. The Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs agreed that common national tests in literacy and numeracy will take place for the first time across Australia on 13, 14 and 15 May this year for students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9. The results from the national literacy and numeracy tests will be used for individual student reporting to parents, schools reporting to their communities and aggregate reporting by states and territories against national standards. The reason I felt compelled to speak to this bill tonight is to acknowledge the work of the minister and the Labor government in Queensland. Our commitment to education is second to none. I support the views mentioned earlier by the member for Mansfield concerning the relief that all of us on this side of the House feel now that we finally have an education minister in Canberra who is as committed to education as we are in Queensland. We often cop a lot of criticism from those opposite about our Smart State agenda. They make a mockery of it. They say it is all words, it does not mean anything and what are we babbling on about. The Smart State agenda is about investing in education and investing in our kids’ future. That is exactly what this minister has done and that is exactly what this government has done. More than a quarter of the state budget is allocated to education. We are basically putting our money where our mouth is. Smart State policy is more than words and it is more than a mantra. It is about upgrading facilities in schools like those in my electorate—the Gap State High School, Enoggera State School, Payne Road State School, Hilder Road State School, Ashgrove State School and the Gap State School. The Gap State High School is a good example of how the Beattie Labor government turned a school around. In the just over nine years that we have been in government, the population of the Gap State High School has gone from around 500 to 960 this year. We will have to look at putting in place an enrolment management scheme. The facilities at the Gap State High School today compared to when this government was first elected are unrecognisable. That is reflected not only in student enrolments but also in the way the school is performing. I would like to acknowledge the great results of the Gap State High School recently. It actually had six OP1s. That is much higher than other schools in my electorate. That is due to the great resources it has at that school. In fact, 31 per cent of students at 98 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008 the Gap State High School got OPs between 1 and 5. That is way above the state average. In addition, 84 per cent of students got OPs of 1 to 15. That is a credit to the principal, Russell Pollock, and the teaching staff. It really upsets me when I hear members of the opposition criticise the state government for its Smart State policy. The Smart State policy is about schools. It is about investing in infrastructure. It is about teacher training. It is about teacher development. This is what this bill will help facilitate. I support the bill before the House. Ms MALE (Glass House—ALP) (7.34 pm): I rise this evening to add my support to the Education Legislation Amendment Bill 2007. This bill will amend the Education (Queensland Studies Authority) Act 2002 to enable the QSA to develop and administer common national tests in literacy and numeracy and will also amend the Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Act 2005 to replace the term ‘professional learning’ with the term ‘professional development’. I am quite excited about the national testing of literacy and numeracy. I am not so much excited about the thought of the extra tests—and I am sure lots of students would agree with me there—but what I am excited about is the outcomes that will occur once the results of the tests are available. It means that individual students will be aware of their performance, as will their parents, and schools can then actively target individuals and groups of students with additional assistance and that means improved educational outcomes for all of our students. As a qualified secondary teacher I understand that the professional development of teachers is one of the most significant measures a government can take to optimise the quality of education services delivered in our schools. That is why I am pleased to report that the Queensland government is focused and committed to continuing to enhance the professional development available for both teaching and non-teaching staff. As part of the 2007-08 budget, the Bligh Labor government committed over $40 million towards professional development. In addition, the minister has created a professional development institute. The institute assists state school teachers and school leaders to meet the department’s aims for excellence in education. It is the ‘go-to place’ for all professional development information and advice, providing regular updates on the range of professional development activities available across the state. The institute liaises with principals, professional associations, Education Queensland business units, universities and other government organisations to confirm priorities and to provide the most up-to-date and relevant information. It is also responsible for the coordination of the new professionalism scholarships and awards for high-performing school leaders and teachers. This government continues to demonstrate its commitment to professional development through the Literacy—The Key to Learning: Framework for Action 2006-2008 and the Numeracy: Lifelong Confidence with Mathematics—Framework for Action 2007-2010 which both focus strongly on the professional development of teaching staff. In 2007-08 the government has allocated around $13 million for the rollout of these important initiatives, and we are seeing the results. This focus on professional development can only continue to improve the quality of education that our students receive and therefore boost their literacy and numeracy skills. Many people have spoken in this debate today about their individual schools. With 23 state and non-state schools in my electorate, I could spend a great deal of time talking about them and reporting on all of them. Mr Reeves: But you won’t. Ms MALE: No, I will not, not this evening. I will save that for another time. From all of the reports that I have received back to date, it has been a relatively smooth start to the school year. In my electorate there are several acting principals who have settled in very quickly to their new roles and the community is supporting them very well. I understand that Education Queensland is working towards minimising the disruption to schools when promotional opportunities for principals has a knock-on effect for acting roles throughout the system. I encourage it to keep the acting stints to a minimum where possible so that communities can have surety of who their principal is and the way forward for their curriculum and the work that they do with their students and the community as a whole. I congratulate Queensland Transport and Education Queensland for working together to provide a new bus service for Elimbah students who are travelling to Beerwah State High School. The community and I have campaigned for this service—proving how necessary it is—and I am pleased that our voices were listened to. It is a good result for the students, who now have a dedicated school bus service. I am also looking forward to the many leadership ceremonies that are occurring in schools over the next couple of weeks and the opportunity that it will afford me to meet with parents and teachers to discuss their views on education. As you would know, Mr Deputy Speaker English, I am also looking forward to my daughter’s leadership induction on Friday when she will become the school captain of Caboolture State School. As I have previously said, education is a combined effort between government, schools and the community. I am pleased that we can continue to bring forward legislation that has positive outcomes on the learning of our students. I commend the bill to the House. Ms PALASZCZUK (Inala—ALP) (7.39 pm): I rise to speak in support of the Education Legislation Amendment Bill. Quoting the minister in his second reading speech, the purpose of this bill is to amend the Education (Queensland Studies Authority) Act 2002 to enable the Queensland Studies Authority to develop and administer common national tests in literacy and numeracy. 12 Feb 2008 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 99

Early this afternoon the member for Woodridge referred to the fact that it is education that will determine the future of our young children. I strongly believe in what the member said. I believe that education is about opportunity. I have said in this House and to people in my electorate that it is about giving the children in Inala the exact same opportunity through education that the children in Clayfield, Cairns, Mount Isa, Mount Gravatt or Sandgate have. It is about giving everybody the same chance in education. The member for Woodridge and I both share very similar electorates. I agree with her that education needs to respond to the students in each area. Our areas are somewhat unique in that we have a very large multicultural group of children. We also have a large number of children who have disabilities and learning problems and those children who just have problems with day-to-day coping as a result of issues such as domestic violence in the home. We need to make sure that education is for all, not just the brightest kids. I take this opportunity to congratulate the minister on his vision and commitment to the $1 billion Tomorrow’s Schools initiative. In my electorate of Inala this means that around $50 million will be spent locally modernising five local schools: Durack, Inala, Serviceton South, Richlands East and Glenala State High School. Everywhere I go in my electorate people are coming up to me and telling me that they are extremely grateful for the minister’s commitment to this funding in the area. It will modernise our schools and transform the Inala electorate. This money gives us the unique opportunity to respond to the needs of our local students. One opportunity we do have is to make Glenala High School a skills centre of excellence. Already the task force that is looking at the Tomorrow’s Schools of the Inala cluster is looking at the future of Glenala High School. It is coming out very, very strongly that they do not want it just to be a skills based centre of excellence; they also want it to have a strong academic stream. They want children to have a choice as to whether they go into academia—go to university—or go into a TAFE course which means that they will end up having a job. This, of course, will help the very high youth unemployment that we have in our local area. One of the local teachers from Glenala mentioned to me that as soon as they stopped offering physics in our local high school all of the science students stopped going to Glenala. What we saw was a mass exodus of students to Corinda State High School and also to Forest Lake State High School. We need to make sure that we offer those core academic subjects so that the students do come back to that high school. At the end of last year when I attended several year 7 graduations I was concerned that when students were asked what school they will be attending for high school only four out of 10 were saying they were going to the local high school. They were just bypassing it. We need to make sure that when we rejuvenate our high school they all start attending Glenala. Earlier the member for Bundamba was talking about a unique initiative that was happening in her area. That initiative involved running a bus from the Redbank Plains State High School to Bremer TAFE. What a great initiative. This is actually taking the students to the TAFE. The problem that I have in my area is that the local students when they graduate will not go to Bremer TAFE because it is just too far. It would mean catching a bus, hopping on a train and then walking to the TAFE. We need to start offering the courses offered at TAFE at the local high school and open it up to the adults who are living in the area as well who are unemployed. It is not just about giving the schoolkids opportunities; it is also about giving adults opportunities. I hope to have a forum later this year in my local area to actually talk about this issue a lot more. I am pleased to report that Michael Knox has been appointed locally as the principal of Glenala State High School. I am sure that his leadership will move the school forward. I will read out to the House an article which appeared in today’s Satellite titled ‘Glenala on its way to top school’. This also addresses some of the issues that the member for Nicklin raised earlier about how it can impact on a local community when there are a number of principals going through a school. We must ensure that the school has stability. The article states— Glenala State High School is not only welcoming their year eight students, but also a new principal and vice principal. Principal Michael Knox and vice principal David Newman are already tackling issues at the school head on. Mr Knox came from Cleveland High where he was acting principal for 15 months. ‘The job here was advertised and I applied for it’, he said. ‘I was keen to go to a smaller school, and there are a lot of proactive programs here’. After 25 years in the education field, Mr Knox is well equipped to guide the school through 2008. Students and teachers at the school can expect a bit more stability from last year, when the school went through five principals. When questioned about the number of principals the school had gone through recently, Mr Knox said he planned to be around for a while. ‘I’m planning on staying as long as it takes me to do what I want to do,’ he said. ‘I want to make it the first choice school for the area.’ I agree with Michael Knox, the new principal, and I commend the bill to the House. Ms STRUTHERS (Algester—ALP) (7.45 pm): A number of members have made very profound statements about the purpose of education, so let me continue that fine tradition and say that education is not just learning for learning’s sake; it is really about how well we equip young people to act in the world—that is, acting in their own lives to be confident, self-sufficient, good people and it is taking action to make the community a better place. We all know that some kids do not get much of an opportunity or 100 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008 much of a start to take much action in life at all. They are really struggling to just get ahead in their own life or they are actually kids who go off the rails because they do not have good numeracy and literacy skills. I know some adults who as kids hid their literacy and numeracy problems because they were very embarrassed about it. It has been so important over the last decade or so that Labor governments under Premiers Goss, Beattie and now Bligh have given a very, very strong commitment to improving the literacy and numeracy standards of students in Queensland. Minister Rod Welford is to be commended for continuing that good work. I support this bill because it enables the Queensland Studies Authority to develop and administer common national tests in literacy and numeracy and is part of our ongoing action, both within Queensland and nationally, to improve the levels of literacy and numeracy for students. Great things are happening in Queensland schools. In my local area, Watson Road State School and Serviceton South State School—both in disadvantaged, low socioeconomic areas—are doing really good stuff with students to improve their literacy and numeracy, and I commend their efforts. As the member for Inala said, Serviceton South can look forward to a very bright future as it is one of the schools under the Tomorrow’s Schools programs that will be completely rebuilt. It has great leadership with great teachers doing really good work with the kids and I commend those efforts. The national results for Queensland school students show that we are holding our own, but as the minister has acknowledged publicly there is still lots of work that needs to be done. The 2006 year 3, 5 and 7 test results released by the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs showed that young Queenslanders’ literacy and numeracy skills were generally consistent with the rest of Australia. Even in Indigenous literacy and numeracy test results Queensland seems to be a little ahead of the pack, but there is nothing to be proud of there for any state or territory in Australia because the literacy and numeracy skills of Indigenous kids are tragically very low. That is an area that this government has given a lot of attention to. There is a lot of effort going in from a range of educationalists and educational organisations and we have to continue working together to give that priority. One of the great problems that people are acknowledging is that we can have all the best teachers and programs in the world but we have to get kids to go to school and stay at school. That issue is getting a lot of attention and I hope that we can make some headway there because, as we all know, if those kids do not get that good education, they will not get much of a start in life. I do not want to say too much more. Members have covered this issue well. I am pleased that we are giving attention to improving literacy and numeracy. I am pleased that this minister has made it very clear that his intention in his reign or his leadership in education is to focus on the most disadvantaged schools, the most disadvantaged students across-the-board in education, not just in relation to literacy and numeracy. He is certainly targeting the lowest five per cent of schools, those schools that are in the low socioeconomic areas. I urge the minister to continue that emphasis, because it is those kids who we really need to focus on. Lots of other kids will do well in whatever environment they are in but, as we know, there are a lot of kids whose home life, whose situation in the world means that they do not get a great start. That focus is very important. So I certainly commend the minister’s efforts and I commend this bill to the House. Hon. RJ WELFORD (Everton—ALP) (Minister for Education and Training and Minister for the Arts) (7.49 pm), in reply: I thank all honourable members, in particular those members of the opposition and members of the government who have indicated their support for this amending legislation to two education acts. First of all, I congratulate the shadow minister for education on his appointment to the position of Leader of Opposition Business. It is a welcome and meteoric rise. Presumably he will do better than emulate his predecessor in that role. It will take him a long while before he can catch up with the number of golf games that I understand his predecessor has enjoyed. The member’s role as Leader of Opposition Business will keep him well and truly occupied for the foreseeable future. In the time that I have been the minister and the member for Cunningham has been the opposition spokesperson I have appreciated the opportunity to engage with him on education issues. I think he takes a relatively sensible approach to debating these issues. Of course, he is perfectly entitled to hold the government to account and to hold me to account in the implementation of our government’s education policies. I know that from time to time the member, as he did in the chamber this afternoon, has raised the issue of teacher aides in prep classes. That is a matter of public policy that I think can be debated legitimately in terms of its merits. It is an issue that I am keeping under review. At the moment, the position I am taking in relation to that matter is that I would like to give it some time to see how teachers and schools systemically settle into the management of prep within the primary school system before finally determining whether additional resources are required. I suspect there is a large amount of experience factor rolled up in whether the existing allocation of resources is adequate or not. Because the play based curriculum and its implementation is relatively new, I think it needs a couple of years for teachers to get into the rhythm of implementing the prep programs before we can truly make an accurate assessment. 12 Feb 2008 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 101

Of course it is going to be more difficult in the early stages, which is why people might initially be more inclined to feel that they need extra resources than they otherwise might. So I am taking a wait- and-see approach. If additional resources are required, then we will allocate them. But we have already provided a great deal of flexibility in the system, including the additional 10,000 hours of teacher aide time and the extra resources that have been applied this year. In relation to the bill, I thank the member for Cunningham and the opposition for their support for the bill. The member made a number of points, some of which I would like to comment on. I share his view that we need to ensure that we attract the best-quality teachers into our education system that we can. I should mention that, probably in the past 12 months especially, I have been working closely with the universities. In my meetings with the deans of the education faculties of those universities I have impressed upon them what I regard to be the key challenges in our modern education system and the importance of our universities preparing graduates for those challenges—not for some abstract academic experience around what education is or what philosophically education is about, but in particular preparing teachers for the challenges that they face in the classroom. I am sure that all honourable members have spoken at some time or other with a teacher who has commented on how ill prepared they were for the classroom by their university studies. So I have been working with the universities around that. I think there is a growing awareness and understanding by the deans of education that they need to adapt their courses in a number of ways to deal with the changing social environment, the changing social psychology of young people and the types of demands that they make upon authority compared to a generation or two ago—the social and emotional development imperative that increasingly schools are playing a role in, even without choice, in a sense. I note that the member for Hinchinbrook made a comment in relation to my recent public remarks about the role of teachers in relation to the role of parents. I did not actually say that I wanted teachers to take on the role of parents, although I understand that is how ultimately it was reported. The point I was making was that the changing social climate of families was now such that teachers were, in a sense, forced to take on more of those quasi-parental functions that have to do with the social and emotional development of young people, because children are not receiving the same level of direct parental engagement that they once received prior to coming to school. As excellent as some preschool facilities might be, whether they be child care, or C&K, in terms of the social and educational experience that kids receive, they do not get the same level of intense, one-on-one adult engagement in those environments as perhaps children of a generation or two ago received from parents who were less stressed by work or when one parent was more able to take on full-time parental responsibilities. I do not make a value judgement about that, of course. In our education system we simply have to deal with the world in which we find ourselves and deal with it as best we can. The member for Cunningham raised issues around teachers teaching outside their speciality areas. This was an issue that I picked up very early on in my time as minister. I have undertaken detailed surveys, in particular in relation to special education and the number of teachers without specific special education qualifications working in that field. Of course, we need more teachers in a number of other specialities, such as manual arts, maths and science. Again, I have been talking with the universities about prioritising and attracting students into the fields where there is a high need rather than simply churning out large numbers of students with general educational qualifications. For example, currently in primary education we have about 5,000 unemployed primary teaching graduates. Many of them are getting some part-time work, but there is a surplus of primary teachers whereas there is a shortage of teachers in those specialist areas that I mentioned. The member for Cunningham made comments in relation to national testing, how we report that testing and the extent to which we expose the literacy and numeracy tests to OP style reporting. I think that is an interesting issue to be considered and canvassed. We just need to be careful on a number of fronts. The rationale for making OP scores 1 to 15 available is that, generally speaking, that is the cohort of students—between 1 and 15—who will get access to tertiary education. The only purpose of OP scores is to give people access to tertiary education. We would not want an OP score for any other reason. If people are going to get a job, they do not need an OP score. If they are going to pursue vocational educational pathways, they do not need an OP score. There is a large proportion of students who do not register for an OP score at all. While much emphasis is placed on the OP score in the statewide reporting, it is not the be-all and end-all. I report what is relevant to report. People would like more defined lead tables than that because they would like to know who is getting the OP1s and who is getting the OP1s to 5s. At one level, as the opposition member mentions, these things are reported in more detail in other places. That is something that I am obviously still giving thought to. At the moment I am reporting it for what I think is a valid purpose—that is, to report by school what proportions of students are getting OP scores that would enable them to get access to tertiary education. I think that is a legitimate basis for doing so. I think the reporting of school based outcomes in relation to the years 3, 5, 7 and now 9 literacy and numeracy tests is even more problematic in a way. It is problematic in this sense: the tests are very narrow tests of the broad range of skills that a student might have at any of those year levels. The more 102 Education Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008 narrow and more focused the testing, the less accurate or indicative it is of how a school is performing generally. For example, if we did a test of every primary school, for example, on algebra alone—one aspect of mathematics—and then reported that, what would be the point? I frankly do not see the point. It is a purely academic interest only in a sense because it says nothing about the broader capabilities of individual students or the school or the cohort in that particular year. That is why I say the more narrow the testing focus, the more risk there is of the results misleading people about generalised statements about students of that year, students in that year compared with other states or students in that school compared with other schools. So going from very specific results to making generalised statements is fraught, in my view, with misrepresentation. So I have some concerns about that reporting and I am happy again to discuss them in the public forum in a spirit of genuine and open debate. The latest available national literacy and numeracy results in 2006 showed that Queensland students are generally performing pretty well. The member for Cunningham reported some of those results. If honourable members look at the results that the member for Cunningham reported, they will see that they fluctuate from year to year and within years according to different things. For example, I find it interesting that in one of the years that the member mentioned there was a very high level of performance above the benchmark or achieving the benchmark in writing but then a purportedly significantly lower performance—85 per cent as against 95 per cent—in reading. One would think that if students are writing well their capacity to read would be pretty good. I am not sure that many people can write well unless they know how to read. There are anomalies thrown up by some of the results which I think are often a little difficult to understand. So long as we do not see a significant trend of decline over a long period, then fluctuations from year to year are probably things that are not very informative. Ironically, for me the value of these tests has nothing to do with what we report. It has nothing to do with what other states get in their tests. The value of these tests, particularly now that we are moving towards a national test, is the diagnostic value of the individual student’s performance across different elements of the test that the teacher can then use to strengthen the weaknesses of that student. That is where the focus should be. I am deeply concerned to know whether, in the formulation of the national test, those people who are currently in the process of designing the national test are in fact designing a test for the purpose of it being a diagnostic tool for teachers or whether they are doing it for some other purpose. If all we want to do is develop any old test that we then use to compare one state with another or one year of students with another or one school with another, I think we are completely missing the point of these tests. The whole point of the tests should be to aid teachers in improving the performance of students in subsequent years. I am going to be active in the ministerial council in advocating the approach that we have in fact taken with our year 3, 5 and 7 tests in the past. Those tests have been designed by the QSA as a diagnostic tool—not just as a benchmark test—to see who performs above or below a certain level. It is a test that helps teachers flush out the weaknesses of their students in order to address them. In relation to professional development, I thank honourable members for their support for this change in terminology. It might seem like a relatively insignificant thing. Contrary to the perception of the member for Hinchinbrook, the truth is that while it is true that ‘professional development’ is the terminology used in many professions the predominant terminology used in teaching is actually ‘professional learning’. This is something of an idiosyncratic crusade of mine to change the terminology for this reason: to me the emphasis in any professional vocation should be on the development of professionalism. What developed in the education community a number of years ago was a focus on this whole concept of lifelong learning. I think all of that is true for any person, not just professionals. For me, learning is the primary focus that students in the system have. It is almost trite to say that teachers are learning. What is more important in the context of teachers is for them to actually be developing their professional capabilities. So it is the development of professionalism rather than the focus on professionals who happen to be learning that I am wanting to emphasise in the language around this. Last year I established for the first time in state education a Professional Development and Leadership Institute within the department of education to give special focus and statewide coordination to the professional development activities available to teachers across our system. Lastly, I might just comment further on the issue surrounding social and emotional learning. The member for Hinchinbrook raised it, and I thank him for his supportive comments in relation to some of the issues I raised. As I say, while the report in the Sunday Mail may not have been accurate in terms of what I was saying, I was actually most grateful to have the issue publicly canvassed. There has been a lot of debate. One cannot say there has not been some good debate around it. It does focus our attention on how education is not just about the three Rs, as some people might pine for in terms of their past experience. Education is about developing the whole person. In fact, education develops a whole range of skills and capabilities. The best teachers have always been those who are mentors and pastoral carers who focus not just on the academic knowledge and skills of students but also on their broad capabilities to succeed in life. That is what I want our education system to focus on. I want our education system to provide every student in every school the opportunity and skill set to have a successful, satisfying and fulfilling life after leaving school. This legislation is one small contribution to that. It lays the foundation 12 Feb 2008 Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 103 for the national testing regime that will come into play in May this year—the first truly national tests of literacy and numeracy will be undertaken by Queensland school students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9—and will introduce some other minor amendments. All in all, I think the contribution of members, and in particular the very genuine and committed contribution of government members, shows why for the Labor Party the education revolution is the main economic gain for Queensland and Australia. I commend the bill to the House. Question put—That the bill be now read a second time. Motion agreed to. Bill read a second time. Consideration in Detail Clauses 1 to 12, as read, agreed to. Third Reading Hon. RJ WELFORD (Everton—ALP) (Minister for Education and Training and Minister for the Arts) (8.11 pm): I move— That the bill be now read a third time. Question put—That the bill be now read a third time. Motion agreed to. Bill read a third time. Long Title Hon. RJ WELFORD (Everton—ALP) (Minister for Education and Training and Minister for the Arts) (8.11 pm): I move— That the long title of the bill be agreed to. Question put—That the long title of the bill be agreed to. Motion agreed to.

GAMBLING LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL

Second Reading Resumed from 22 August 2007 (see p. 2765), on motion of Ms Bligh— That the bill be now read a second time. Dr FLEGG (Moggill—Lib) (8.12 pm): At the outset I make it clear that the opposition will be supporting the Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 2007. However, in saying that, I will make remarks in relation to the bill because it raises some of the serious issues that confront us in relation to gambling and particularly gaming machines in our community. Many of those issues get wide mention within the press, as they have in recent days. There are four main tenets of the bill, all of which we support. The first relates to the clauses that enhance the accountability and conduct requirements of individuals and organisations involved in art unions. Often the area of art unions is of concern to people. I am sure that some members would be familiar with the Kids at Sea art union. Fortunately that was not a Queensland based art union, but it showed what can go horribly wrong if there is inadequate supervision of large sums of money. We support the measures in relation to art unions. Secondly, there are clauses within the bill that improve consistency with other Australian states. There is an increasing trend along this principle that variations between the states should not be arbitrary. Thirdly, we support the adoption of a licensing regime for evaluators or testing facility operators and, fourthly, we support the measures contained in the bill that impose higher penalties and new offences relating to minors and casino gambling. Early exposure to gambling can lead to learned gambling patterns. The instant results that poker machines provide are known to be more addictive than other forms of gambling that involve greater patience and effort. Gambling research by Dr Sue Fisher shows that controlling one’s response to gambling requires certain life skills which are likely to be underdeveloped in children and young people. Dr Fisher’s research found an association between problem gambling and exposure to gambling at the age of 14 or younger. The Gatehouse survey published by the University of Melbourne Problem Gambling Research Program in 1999 examined the impacts of gambling on adolescents and children. In 1997 2,788 adolescents in year 8 were surveyed and estimates of gambling patterns were obtained. The participants were asked if they had gambled in the last year with money or possessions for five 104 Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008 types of gambling: card games, lottery tickets, racing or sports, poker machines or video games, or on the internet. Forty-one per cent of year 8 adolescents had gambled on at least one of the five types of gambling covered in the survey. Eight per cent had engaged in three or more different forms of gambling in the preceding year. The survey found that young people with greater breadth of experience of gambling—that is, those who gambled more than three ways in the previous year—also suffered from early disengagement from school, poverty and depressive symptomology and engaged in antisocial behaviour, drugs, alcohol abuse and deliberate self-harm. There is a connection between an exposure to under-aged gambling, particularly habitual gambling as demonstrated by three or more forms of gambling, and a whole range of highly undesirable outcomes for young victims of under-aged gambling. Early exposure to gambling can lead to learned gambling patterns. We support the amended penalties for allowing minors to gamble in casinos as contained in clause 4. I note that three clauses of the bill refer to the definition of a problem gambler. I had a very close look at the definition of a problem gambler because it is pivotal to our efforts to address problem gambling. It is the first time in many years that the definition of problem gambling has been varied. In fact, the same definition is repeated within three clauses of the bill. While I doubt that that was done for emphasis, it does lend emphasis to the importance of adequately defining problem gambling when studying and dealing with the problem. I do not have a problem with the way that ‘problem gambler’ is defined. I looked at it from a point of view of whether it would alter statistics or whether in fact there may be a political benefit—and honourable members must pardon my cynical mind—in redefining it. I do not believe that is the case. I think it is a genuine and workable definition of a problem gambler. The definition has been developed and endorsed at a national level. It states— ‘problem gambler means a person whose behaviour relating to gambling— (a) is characterised by difficulties in limiting the amount of money or time the person spends on gambling; and (b) leads to adverse consequences for the person, other persons or the community.’ Clearly changing a definition is not enough. The previous definition of a problem gambler, which had stood in place for many years, was a person whose behaviour indicates a compulsion to gamble, an addiction to gambling or an inability or disinclination to make rational judgements about gambling. I turn to the issue of problem gambling. On the jail sentence of three fraudsters using stolen funds for gambling in September, one District Court judge described gambling as ‘becoming a very significant problem’. In years gone by, as a student I had a part-time job in my medical school holidays working in the poker machine section of a registered club. My duties in the poker machine room—back in the old days, before we had the electronic poker machines that we have today, we had levers to pull and wheels that went around—involved changing cash into coins and attending to various maintenance requirements of the poker machines if they malfunctioned or started paying out too much money or something along those lines. I was very young at the time but I remember very distinctly the range of people in the gambling hall of the registered club in which I worked who were clearly displaying compulsive behaviour. I remember one elderly war widow very well—it was an RSL club I worked in—who progressively, over a relatively short period, managed to put her entire family home through a 10c poker machine. I remember that this elderly widow would come down and change what in those days for a war widow would have been a very substantial sum of money every day and put it through exactly the same 10c machine night after night, week after week until she had lost her home. Sadly, that is the situation that can confront people who have this sort of problem in our community. I do not make a judgement about those people. People within our community can suffer a whole range of problems of compulsions. I think it is an issue that we need to be cognisant of, study and attempt to deal with. In Queensland we have undertaken a gambling survey to determine the extent and the impact of problem gambling. It was quite a revealing survey. The most recent survey showed that Queensland had an estimated 16,000 serious problem gamblers—gamblers potentially like the old war widow who I saw put her home through a 10c poker machine. But there were in addition almost 60,000 people at moderate risk of gambling. So these are people who are perhaps functioning at a better level but who are fighting a very difficult battle in their own lives and in their own mind and whose families and careers will be on the line if they are unable to control the gambling urges that can impact upon them. Of the 16,000 hard core or clearly defined problem gamblers in Queensland, 28 per cent reported that gambling meant that they did not have enough time to look after their families—that is over 4,000 Queenslanders did not have enough time to look after their families; 22 per cent, or just under 4,000 people, reported a break up of an important relationship because of gambling; 18 per cent of problem gamblers obtained money illegally to gamble; and 17 per cent seriously thought about or had attempted suicide because of gambling. That is 3,000 Queenslanders who had either stolen money in order to feed a gambling habit or had considered or attempted to take their own life because they could not escape from it—3,000 Queenslanders! 12 Feb 2008 Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 105

This should underscore for us the importance of coming to grips with this issue, and it should particularly underscore for us that we cannot continue in this state to view gambling as a cash cow for government. In particular, we cannot continue to view wagering machines as a cash cow to provide— Mr Reeves: So what would you do? Dr FLEGG: We will get to that. He is not in his seat either, Mr Deputy Speaker. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I am running the House. Mr Reeves: So what would you do? Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Moggill. Dr FLEGG: In response to the member for Mansfield, perhaps the first question ought to be: what is his government doing about it? I can tell you what his government is doing about it. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Member for Moggill, please direct your comments through the chair. Dr FLEGG: I can tell the House what this government is doing about it. This government is installing nearly 2,000 additional gaming machines to increase the exposure of this at-risk community to the risks of problem gambling. This government’s response has been to treat poker machine revenue as a cash cow: when the government needs some more money in the budget, it rolls out some more poker machines. That is not supposition on my part; that is exactly what the now Premier said when she approved the additional gaming machines—‘It was because we did not have enough money in the Health budget and we had to use increased numbers of gaming machines in order to raise money for the Health budget.’ That is a very short-sighted vision of the world because, while the government is rolling out more machines and more money is rolling in, other parts of the community are paying, from crime to family breakdown and a whole range of other problem gambling areas. Since 1998 the number of poker machines has risen to around 18,000, and the government is in the process of rolling out more to the point where we will have 20,000 poker machines. That is 2.6 poker machines per problem gambler in Queensland and rising. The state government’s poker machine revenue amounted to $180 million in 1997-98, and it is now 200 per cent higher at $550 million. Rumour has it around Brisbane that the government is contemplating an increase in the taxes on gaming as part of its deliberations for the next budget. So whether that rumour is correct and whether it ultimately comes to pass in this budget I do not know, but that is certainly an issue that has been raised around Brisbane as the government looks for sources of revenue for its budget. There is also the issue of providing a small disproportionate return to address problem gambling—which is not enough funding to deal with it—out of the large amount of money that goes to the government. The Responsible Gambling Fund provides around $10 million to fund responsible gambling programs that enhance the quality and quantity of gambling related research and contribute to the development of gambling policy in Queensland. The Queensland government also funds a network of treatment and support programs to help problem gamblers—so it is not all negative. But, in terms of the problem, it is still a small amount, and we would be urging the government to review its commitment to problem gambling programs and, where possible, expand and target them better. We also acknowledge the responsible gambling community awareness campaign team that conducted the first campaign in Australia to adopt an early intervention approach to gambling, and we call on the state government to widen and add to this initiative and provide more balance to gambling revenue and problem gambling. Community Benefit Fund grants, totalling $39.9 million, were provided to more than 2,300 community projects last financial year. Again, this is a positive spin-off from a small proportion—about five per cent—of the revenue from gambling. That is of significant benefit to some of these community organisations. I notice that over the last few days the Prime Minister, Mr Rudd, has waded into the poker machine argument. We on this side of the House have opposed the increase in the number of poker machines. We have expressed concern repeatedly about the government’s lack of control within that area. I thought Mr Rudd’s comments were particularly insightful, and they are certainly at great odds with what this government has been saying. Mr Rudd expressed his concern about the number of poker machines, and he expressed his intention to look at ways of reducing the proliferation of poker machines within Australia and therefore within Queensland. That is at considerable odds to what the now Premier has said repeatedly about the increasing number of poker machines. The current Treasurer, the minister who has brought this bill before the House, has been on record in the media saying that the government could not afford to lose the revenue from gaming and that we were dependent on the revenue from gaming to fund schools and hospitals. But I notice on the Courier-Mail web site—and I have not seen anything from the minister to contradict the report from 10 February—it says that Treasurer Andrew Fraser said the state could sustain the losses. What an amazing backflip because Treasurer Andrew Fraser, to adopt the terminology of the Courier-Mail, is the one who a very short time ago said that we could not cut revenue from gaming; that we could not be 106 Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008 more responsible with exposing people to gaming machines. What an amazing backflip! Perhaps the short-sighted approach of the Queensland government has now had some pressure brought to bear on it by a new Labor federal government. I notice within the community a growing concern over poker machines. I noticed in the media the proprietor of the Scarborough Hotel in Redcliffe withdrew his poker machines so that his clientele, many of whom in Redcliffe would not be from a high socioeconomic group, would not be constantly exposed to poker machines when they came to his hotel and that other guests who wanted to come for leisure activities would not have to put up with the noise and so forth. I notice that some clubs in Sydney are taking the same approach. They are reassessing the impact of poker machines not just on their revenue. Poker machines are not just about revenue. Mr Reeves: It is one of them. Dr FLEGG: Yes, revenue is one aspect of it. Mr Reeves interjected. Dr FLEGG: But there are a number of areas that are reassessing them because it is not just about revenue. It is also about the broader impact, particularly in a club setting where that club has a membership base and a responsibility beyond simply raising money as you might if you were treating people as a business proposition or as a customer. The same Courier-Mail article went on to state— Mr Fraser said, ‘Frankly, we’re happy to cop that hit to the budget when it’s in the best interests of the community because that’s what the No. 1 task for us is. I have not heard the minister contradict that. He might like to have a word with the member for Mansfield, whose repeated interjections suggest that he thinks poker machines are just about revenue and that the government and clubs should be maximising the revenue that they raise from them. Mr REEVES: Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise to a point of order. The member’s statements are misleading in that they are untrue and I ask that they be withdrawn. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Would you withdraw? Dr FLEGG: If you are asking for a withdrawal, certainly, Mr Deputy Speaker. I think it does underscore the fact that the Premier of this state has done a backflip. In her previous role she approved nearly 2,000 more poker machines in order to raise revenue, allegedly, for the Health budget. The now Treasurer, who is sitting opposite, only weeks ago said on radio that we could not afford to reduce the revenue received from gaming. He has now been reported some days ago—and he has not contradicted it—as saying that he is happy to cop the hit to the budget when it is in the best interests of the community because that is what their No. 1 task is. That certainly says a great deal about what was lacking in the attitude of this government and what will continue to be lacking in the attitude of this government until such time as we see some sort of hard evidence that there are more than words behind that. There are a number of non-government organisations within Queensland that have made valuable contributions in the area of problem gambling. Relationships Australia provide a range of counselling services and support to problem gamblers and their families. Gamblers Anonymous provide help to people through their meetings. The Salvation Army bridge program is a long-term residential treatment program for problem gamblers in Queensland. There is Centacare, Lifeline and Community Care. Turning Point operates a gamblers helpline in Queensland. I think there are many Queenslanders who have battled with their issues related to problem gambling who would be very grateful for the services that they have received from these non-government agencies. The Treasurer has stated that the $550 million annual revenue from gaming machines is enough to build maybe three good sized schools a year. I think that was part of the quote. I noticed the bemused look on the Treasurer’s face when I pointed out the enormous backflip that he has made from his radio comments that he could not afford to lose the revenue and his Courier-Mail comments where he said that he is willing to cop the loss to the budget. Maybe he did not see the inconsistency of those statements, but I am sure everybody else looking at them would. By 2010-11 the Treasurer’s interest bill on state government loans will be something like five times the amount that is being raised from gaming machines. The Treasurer has also claimed that $517 million coming from poker machine revenue is needed for the state omnibus account. We do need schools and we do need hospital beds, but at the end of the day this matter must be considered as something more than just raising revenue. I hope and trust that his most recent comments indicate a change of heart and that we do see a new and more enlightened approach and a more holistic view of the consequences of raising revenue from gaming. We call upon the government to be responsible about its growing addiction to gambling revenue and to make sure that we receive support for those sorts of programs. We support this bill. It does not contain some of the measures that I suggested the opposition would like to see relating to more extensive care for problem gamblers, the restriction on, rather than an increase in, the number of poker machines and a range of other measures that have been discussed publicly. It does not contain any of those measures but the approach it contains, if carried through by the 12 Feb 2008 Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 107 government to new measures that do take a holistic approach to the impact that gaming revenue raising has on our community, will be measures that Queenslanders will welcome and will have a potential benefit to the state. Mr Reeves interjected. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Wendt): Order! Member for Mansfield you will have a chance shortly. Mr Reeves: He promised a plan. Dr FLEGG: I detailed for the member for Mansfield some of the things the opposition would like to see but he was too busy interjecting to listen to them. However, hopefully gone are the days where we saw the now Premier claim on 29 April 2006 that a 1.4 per cent increase in the number of poker machines statewide was acceptable and moderate. She was quite content to see some communities around Brisbane, including her own electorate of South Brisbane, and other communities like Townsville and Bundaberg, significantly increase their number of poker machines. This was regarded as acceptable. We are hoping to see a new attitude to this from the government. Mr ELMES (Noosa—Lib) (8.41 pm): Can I say at the outset that my position on poker machines and gambling generally is very clear. Whenever gambling is promoted and is easily accessible it swiftly becomes a danger to the individuals who get hooked on its various forms. In my opinion, poker machines themselves, while providing a substantial revenue stream to clubs and pubs, do not provide any real social benefit to the people who use them but rather place the vulnerable in our society at great risk. That this Labor government has allowed itself to become so dependent on revenue from gambling is a disgrace. When the current Prime Minister exerted great influence over the then Queensland government the decision was made to bring poker machines into Queensland. Kevin Rudd and Wayne Goss knew that they would need the revenue that poker machines and other forms of gambling bring to help balance their books. Labor got Queensland hooked on poker machines and the current Labor government has continued by increasing the number of machines. It should be held accountable for the social damage it has caused. I hope that the new Premier will show some leadership on gambling generally and start a process that will tighten the availability of gambling and afford more protection and support to those who suffer from its addiction. There is one section in this bill that demonstrates very clearly the government’s attitude towards gambling. It concerns me that we are presented with a bill that penalises cheating or defrauding a gaming host with a fine five times greater than that levied against the same host in the event that a child were to play a poker machine. This shows where the government’s priorities lie. They lie not in the protection of children from gambling but in the protection of revenue for clubs and pubs. For example, the penalty for cheating under this bill is increased to $37,500 or five years in jail whereas the penalty for a casino that allows a minor to gamble is in comparison a paltry $7,500. This fivefold difference clearly demonstrates that this government has its priorities upside down. It should be protecting people first from the dangers of gambling but instead it is more interested in protecting its revenue stream. I would also like to draw the House’s attention to the atmosphere around playing keno in licensed venues. To play keno one does not necessarily need to sit or play in a special area. Quite often the TV monitor and the keno materials are on or near the restaurant table. It would be impossible to police whether a child is filling in a keno entry as well as the adults who happen to be sitting at the table. On the other hand, poker machines by their very appearance are immensely attractive to children. It is in this situation where a mum or dad might come into a hotel for an afternoon session on the poker machines with the kids in tow where the kids from a young age are exposed to that initial attraction of bright lights and sounds and what seemingly is an easy way to make money. On top of that, even when a relatively small payout is collected the sound effects of the machine and the coins tinkling into the tray are clearly heard by everyone in the vicinity. In other words, to children and others it means bright lights, lots of movement and easy money. Through my research into this I came across some photos which I would like to table. I did seek permission from the Speaker’s office to table them. Tabled paper: Photograph of gaming machine Tabled paper: Photograph of gaming machine They are photos of machines that are currently in use in pinball, arcade type amusement venues and so forth. These particular machines are in a business known as Kapow, a children’s arcade in the Hyperdome shopping centre in Tanah Merah located in the electorate of Springwood. The fact that they are in Springwood— Ms Stone: It is not Springwood. Mr ELMES: Where is it then? Ms Stone: Tanah Merah is not in Springwood. Get your facts right. 108 Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008

Mr ELMES: Wherever Tanah Merah happens to be, I am sure it is a very attractive place. These machines are in the Hyperdome shopping centre in Logan. The fact that they are there means that they are also located in many other businesses across Queensland. In this particular business 18 children at a time can play these particular machines. For these particular machines they buy either a 50c token or a dollar token. They put them in the machine and by adjusting a tray they can get a payout of around $20. If that is not kiddie poker games I am not quite sure what is. If there is a message that has to come out of this debate—and I hope the government takes me up on the offer—it is that machines like that should not be available to children. Children as young as five or six visit those particular establishments. I would hope that the government would see the sense in making sure that those machines which are poker machines by any other name are removed from businesses such as those. We have all seen news reports where children, sometimes small children, are left outside places in the car. I refer to instances that we have all seen reported with gusto in the national media. It beggars belief that any responsible adult could see this as effective child minding. If it does not represent an outstanding example of the actions of problem gamblers I do not know what would. The users of poker machines are typically those who are most vulnerable to exploitation. This government’s own Queensland Household Gambling Survey 2003-04 found an overrepresentation of Indigenous, undereducated and underprivileged Queenslanders in the survey of gaming users. These people are the least able to afford the huge expense associated with gambling losses. I know that this government should be doing more to protect these people especially when the government’s own research tells them who was abusing the use of poker machines. The Long-term Study into the Social Impact of Gaming Machines in Queensland, a report dated 1996, found that nearly 10 per cent of Queenslanders used poker machines regularly or at least once a week. It also found that the average users of PubTAB in an Indigenous community were spending over 25 per cent of their weekly income on gambling. Compared to the statistical averages for New South Wales or Victoria, this is a fivefold increase in gambling in Queensland Indigenous communities. It has been said that Indigenous people are the litmus test of our society as they are usually our most vulnerable. If they are not protected then all of us are exposed. This survey showed that the Queensland government is failing vulnerable Queenslanders by not protecting them from exploitation. There have been numerous other studies performed in Queensland and around the world that prove the unarguable link between problem gambling and crime. Of note is the report Want to a make bet? Gambling and crime in Australasia by the Australasian Centre for Policing Research, which concluded that there was a clear and concrete link between problem gambling and the damage to mental health, relationships both with partners and with their children, employment and finances. Finally, the Queensland government’s own Problem gambling and criminal behaviour in Queensland: a report of the second year of the study into the social and economic impact of the introduction of gaming machines to Queensland clubs and hotels stated that there is a clear nexus between problem gambling and criminal behaviour. These negative statistics should be of great concern to the Bligh government. Firstly, these figures indicate that the people who suffer the most from gambling are the low socioeconomic status individuals who most need the support of government. Secondly—and this should be of great concern to those opposite—the very presence of these gaming outlets in our communities leads to the self-destruction of some of the users with the increased negative impact on other members of the community who suffer from crimes committed in relation to those supporting gambling habits. Quite often the greatest impact is not on the gamblers themselves but on the families and loved ones who have to watch the gamblers self-destruct. Reports show that the majority of thefts to support gambling habits are committed against family members and go unreported. The fact that the families of those afflicted suffer in silence for their loved ones only implores us in this place to ensure that much more is done to prevent ordinary Queenslanders from being caught in the trap of gambling addiction. The coalition has for a very long time said that this government does not pay sufficient attention to the negative impact of poker machines and gaming in our community. A government, especially a Labor government that claims the moral high ground on social justice issues, would be expected to limit the damage caused and spend proceeds on projects that actually provide benefits to the community. The Treasurer has confirmed in this parliament that the majority of revenue from gaming simply goes into general revenue. This means that people suffering from problem gambling are paying for this Labor government’s financial whims. Let me share with this House how addicted this government is to gambling revenue. Last year the government received three times more from gambling revenue than from vehicle registrations. To compare gambling revenue to land tax, this government received over 1½ times the cash from afflicted gamblers than from householders who paid land tax last year. With the exceptions of payroll tax and transfer duties, gambling revenue is the greatest source of income to this government raised by its own initiative. Yet out of the $520 million in royalties received by this government last year, just $35 million 12 Feb 2008 Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 109 was returned to the community through the Gambling Community Benefit Fund. But—and this is the worst part—only $9 million was returned to problem gamblers in the form of assistance and prevention against others becoming problem gamblers. This shows that the Queensland government needs gambling revenue just like an addict needs their next fix. I think this government should do more to reduce the prevalence of gambling in our society and dramatically reduce its dependency on revenue from poker machines and other forms of gambling. So I welcome the increased regulations that make gambling in Queensland more restricted. I welcome higher responsibilities on licensees and the management of venues that allow children to play on or near poker machines. But I leave the government with this message: do not dismiss comments made in this House tonight out of hand. There are many thousands of Queenslanders and their families who are suffering because all forms of gambling are just far too accessible. This government—all governments—have a duty of care and at this time I do not see any response from the Labor Party to help those in need. I say to the minister responsible that gambling is a scourge on our society. It has destroyed and does destroy the lives of people and families, and the fact that this government is so reliant on income from gambling is not in the best interests of our community. The government owes a duty to the people of Queensland. While I and the coalition support this bill, there are many questions and many problems left unaddressed and I, for one, look forward to seeing some action that starts to address the problem of gambling effectively. Mrs ATTWOOD (Mount Ommaney—ALP) (8.53 pm): I rise to speak in support of the Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill and to address some of the issues raised by opposition members in relation to problem gambling faced by young people. Turning first to the bill, a major component of this bill is amendments to the Charitable and Non-Profit Gaming Act 1999. Queensland is well known for its regulatory framework and integrity of gaming in this state. While the government acknowledges that some third-party operators are more equipped than some charities to market and sell tickets in major art unions, the proposed amendments reinforce the act’s objectives in preventing individual gain and maintaining public confidence and trust in buying art union tickets. The primary purpose of the amendments is to ensure that the association remains in control of the conduct of the art union, costs for third-party services are reasonable and the agreement with the third-party provider is in the best interests of the association. The provisions for third-party operator agreements do not apply to employees of an association or a commission agent engaged to sell art union tickets only. These new provisions are good news for Queenslanders as they strengthen the government’s commitment to ensure charities and other non-profit organisations continue to maintain appropriate standards and a level of accountability so that the public receives reasonable net benefits from the conduct of charitable and non-profit gaming. It is important to maintain public confidence and trust in the integrity of charitable and non-profit gaming so that the general public will continue to support these organisations to raise funds for their worthwhile purposes. The Queensland government recognises the important role that charitable and non-profit organisations play in our community and that the continuing success of these organisations is strongly reliant on good fundraising skills. The conduct of art unions is an important fundraising mechanism for many hardworking charitable and non-profit organisations in Queensland. We need to look after these organisations. It is also important that members of the public who purchase these tickets have confidence in the conduct of the art union, especially as these category 3 art unions usually involve highly valued prizes such as cars, homes or land. Queenslanders purchase art union tickets for worthy causes as they are conducted by our major and well-known charities. To maintain confidence in art unions, checks need to be in place to ensure that the use of third-party operators is not unduly impacting on the profitability of the art union to raise funds for the intended cause. The amendment further enhances the government’s commitment to ensuring that appropriate standards and levels of accountability are in place so that the public receives reasonable net benefits from the conduct of charitable and non-profit gaming. In relation to the opposition’s comments on problem gambling, I think that most people would agree that predominantly responsible gambling starts and ends with young people. Gambling as an adult entertainment is well entrenched in the Australian culture and it is part of our social ethos. In such a gambling-friendly social climate, it would be irresponsible for us to bury our heads in the sand and ignore the likelihood that more and more young Queenslanders will absorb gambling culture from an early age. The state government recognises that education is the key and that school based responsible gambling education programs are integral to our strategies to prevent and minimise the harm caused by problem gambling. With this in mind, in 2004 the government released the Queensland Responsible Gambling Teaching Resource Kit and provided it free of charge to all schools in Queensland. The kit was specifically designed to promote responsible gambling education across a range of subject areas and grades; to provide ideas that could be integrated into existing courses of study from years 1 to 10 and senior; to give students the opportunity to investigate materials from everyday life and to explore the wider environmental, political and legislative context of gambling; and to give teachers a model based around the idea of balance and to provide a wide range of stimuli, learning materials and classroom activities. An evaluation conducted in 2005 found that it had hit the mark and really filled a gap in the 110 Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008 knowledge market. Teachers who used the kit found it to be a comprehensive, high-quality and valuable resource. They appreciated a resource that helped their students to make responsible and informed decisions about gambling. In 2006 six mathematics modules were added to the kit for primary and secondary students, as well as the dial-a-debt resource to help build the student’s financial literacy and understanding of the costs associated with gambling activities. In 2007 a free professional development program was added for all teachers across the state to raise awareness about the kit and the risks faced by the current generation of young people. On top of these formal education materials, our responsible gambling web site continues to provide practical resources and strategies for young people over the age of 18. The site includes links to resources and budgeting tools to help young people gain an appreciation of their financial position. The state government also understands the need to undertake rigorous research to make sure that we fully understand young people’s experiences of gambling. The Queensland Young Adults Longitudinal Survey will provide an invaluable insight into many issues surrounding gambling and young people, covering both under-age and legal-age gambling behaviour. The beauty of longitudinal studies such as this survey is that they map changes in gambling participation over time among individuals and groups of individuals and provide a rich source of data with which we can guide our thinking and inform public policy. The scope of the study and the fact that it will gather information over time and not give just a brief snapshot makes it unique in Australian gambling research. In conclusion, there are many other initiatives from the state government as well as other bodies such as the Australian Gaming Council which are ultimately building strong, healthy lives rather than trying to mend broken adult ones. I commend the bill to the House. Mr REEVES (Mansfield—ALP) (9.00 pm): It gives me great pleasure to rise to speak in support of the Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill. If we ever wanted an example of the hypocrisy of this new, fresh opposition, tonight’s debate on this bill is an example. Where was the opposition’s policy? The member for Moggill is supposedly supporting the bill, yet he spent 30 minutes talking about what is wrong with the government’s policy on gambling. He was asked several times—before I got chipped— about the opposition’s policy. It was not forthcoming. The member for Noosa was asked what the opposition’s policy was. The members opposite were all talk but offered no plan. That showed the opposition’s complete hypocrisy. The other hypocrisy is that, under the Borbidge government, hotels were allowed 20 poker machines. The Borbidge government wanted to totally deregulate the gambling industry. The Borbidge government was going to allow the hotel industry to have 45 poker machines. The Beattie government changed that level to 40 machines. So the members opposite should not come into this place and say that we have allowed the growth in the number of poker machines. The coalition wanted to take the industry further. The fundamental point is that the member for Moggill said that, by his calculation, there are about 7,692 problem gamblers in Queensland. Dr Flegg: Sixteen thousand, and you weren’t listening to that, either. I said it about three times. Mr REEVES: When I went to school, 20,000 machines divided by 2.6 was 7,600. Anyway, South Australia is a prime example. That state cut back the number of poker machines by 20 per cent because of the efforts of that gentleman who is now a member of the Commonwealth Senate. But the problem gamblers could still access 80 per cent of gaming machines that were still available. If the number of poker machines was cut back by 50 per cent, the problem gamblers would still find poker machines. If gaming machines were banned totally, problem gamblers would go somewhere else to gamble. In these days with modern technology people can go on the internet 24 hours a day, seven days a week and gamble. There is nothing that this parliament or, in fact, the federal parliament can do to stop that. It is most important that there be programs in place to help that small minority of people who have a problem. Recently we have heard the opposition talk about the need to support country racing. To use the opposition’s argument, let us ban country racing. The people in the country go along to have a great day at the country races, and guess what they love to do? They love having a punt! They love having a gamble and they love having a drink and socialising. So to use the opposition’s argument, let us ban country racing. Let us ban the Melbourne Cup. We hear the argument from the racing industry that it is the second biggest industry in Queensland, which is actually not correct. But people can have addictions to a range of things. People can be addicted to alcohol. What do we need to do? We need to put programs in place to combat that or, using the model argued by those sitting on the opposition benches, let us ban it. There are many addictions that create problems in people’s lives. Gambling is one of them. The most important thing is to have the counselling programs in place. Queensland’s counselling service is recognised as the best counselling service for problem gamblers in this country bar none. The member for Noosa talked about the government spending only $35 million from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund, $9 million on the counselling service, and whittling away the rest. But the rest of the revenue is going into hospitals, into educating people about problem gambling, into 12 Feb 2008 Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 111 the Department of Communities so that we can support families, and into the Department of Housing so that we can provide public housing for people. The revenue is not being whittled away. What would the opposition rather have us do? Gamble that money away? It is a ridiculous argument to say that the funds are just going into general revenue. General revenue pays for our schools. It costs $10 million a year to run Mansfield State High School. That is what general revenue pays for. The opposition’s argument is just garbage. Previously in this place the member for Moggill has bagged gambling and bagged anyone who gambles. He just says, ‘It’s a bad habit.’ Guess what? The majority of people go into clubs or hotels to buy a meal, have a drink and have a little punt, whether that is on the poker machines, on keno or on the horseraces. Guess what that is? That is entertainment. The member opposite can go to any club in my electorate at 11 o’clock and talk to little Joan Smith from Upper Mount Gravatt who goes to the club to socialise with her friends and put $10 into the poker machines. She might even have a game of bingo at the Southside Sport and Community Club. The member opposite should go and tell her that she has a gambling problem. That just proves how out of touch the member is. We have to have the programs in place to look after the people who have a gambling problem. But we are talking about a small minority. We do not just ban activities or cut them back because of a small minority. Let us look at the great things that are happening in our clubs and hotels. Clubs and hotels, particularly in country Queensland, are very much part of our social fabric. They have been so for a number of years and will be for a number of years to come. The Southside Sport and Community Club— and the Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Sport knows this club only too well—is made up of 12 community groups, including two P&Cs, the blind association, the Sunnybank Rugby club, Brothers Rugby Union club, and the YMCA, and Wests Rugby League club is involved in it as well. The money that that club has ploughed into those organisations over the years and the continuing support that it has provided to the local community are just amazing. That club is a model for any club in Australia. It is involved with the Mount Gravatt Bowls Club, the Mount Gravatt Soccer Club and the Mount Gravatt Aussie Rules club. The work that club does is just sensational. But there is no way in the world that that club could provide the services it does if it did not have a revenue stream from gaming machines. I was involved in the club industry as a volunteer before gaming machines were allowed. I saw what happened to the Rugby League club that I was involved in because it did not have gaming machines. Why did that club not have gaming machines? Because the government of the day was in the back pocket of one arm of the industry that did not want to introduce them. As a result, that club went broke and many young people missed out on the chance to play sport. The club industry—and the hotel industry for that matter—plays an enormous part in our social fabric. It also makes contributions to organisations that cannot fundraise in other ways. Clubs with a very small membership can receive grants from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund. They would not be able to survive if they did not have that. About seven years ago the Mansfield Cricket Club was going to fold if it could not get some equipment. It got about $3,500 from the Gambling Community Benefit Fund. I am proud to say that in a couple of weeks time I will be there at its presentation day. It would not exist today if not for the Gambling Community Benefit Fund. What about the employment that is created by the hotel and club industries? We would not have that today if not for the poker machines. What about the construction industry? Honourable members can see the amount of money that has gone into clubs and hotels. Yes, a minority of people do have a problem and we need to keep those gambling programs up and running to the best standards. However, at the end of the day we should not throw out a great industry like the club and hotel industry and all it does for the social interaction of many people in our electorates for the sake of a small minority who have a problem. We have to help those people. If the opposition wants to cut 10 per cent or 20 per cent, they should go and have a look at what happened in South Australia. The number of problem gamblers did not decrease. We need to have the right programs in place. In fact, Queensland does have the lowest percentage of problem gamblers in the country because we have the right programs in place and we have started the education at the school level. It is an absolute furphy for the opposition to bag the club and hotel industry and the gaming industry. That shows me that it is totally out of touch with what most people are thinking. As I said, in the past pubs and clubs have made up the social fabric of the local community, particularly in country Queensland, and they will do so in the future. I salute all the pioneers in the club and hotel industry—families like the Fitzgibbon family and the Maguire family in the hotel industry—and the great clubs such as Southside Sports and Community Club, Carina Leagues Club, Brothers Leagues Club Ipswich, Greenbank RSL, Logan Diggers Club, Kedron Wavell Services Club and the Caloundra RSL Club—and I was up there on the holidays. They do great work for the community. I salute their contribution and I look forward to continuing to support the great work they do for the community. I commend the bill to the House. Mr LANGBROEK (Surfers Paradise—Lib) (9.12 pm): It is my pleasure to rise in support, as the shadow minister has mentioned, of the Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 2007. The bill amends seven gaming acts: the Casino Control Act 1982, the Charitable and Non-Profit Gaming Act 1999, the 112 Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008

Gaming Machine Act 1991, the Interactive Gambling (Player Protection) Act 1998, the Keno Act 1996, the Lotteries Act 1997 and the Wagering Act 1998. I want to thank the Treasurer for the briefing that I attended along with the shadow Treasurer. Before I turn to the rest of my contribution I want to refer to some of the comments of the member for Mansfield and the member for Mount Ommaney. I do not think that anybody on this side of the House is arguing for prohibition or for getting rid of poker machines completely. However, we have serious concerns about the social aspects—which aspects of society, which elements of society, which parts of our community are being affected by poker machine problems. Those concerns are shared by the members’ federal leader, the new Prime Minister. I think he said that he wants to do something about it. I look forward to those opposite taking the contrary position to the new Prime Minister. I note that here in Queensland the Treasurer is considering cutting back the hours that pubs and clubs are open. Why would he be considering cutting back the hours unless social concerns have been revealed throughout the community in relation to people who, for some reason, find poker machines a real problem? We know that traditionally Australians love to gamble. However, I know from personal experience that some people, for some reason, find poker machines mesmerising. They do not know why they get addicted to them from a very young age, but they do. I also want to correct something that the member for Mansfield said. He said that the lowest percentage of problem gamblers in Australia is in Queensland. However, it is not; it is in Western Australia. Do honourable members know why? Because they only have poker machines in the casino; they do not have them everywhere. A government member interjected. Mr LANGBROEK: They might have them there, but they do not have them everywhere, which is what the member for Mansfield was advocating when he said, ‘If we get rid of them, then they will just go somewhere else’, as they clearly did up to 1989 when we had Twin Towns and Seagulls over the border in New South Wales. Sure, they were booming, but go and have a look at them now. The business was going over the border. I am not advocating a return to that time. I am saying that there was not the same amount of revenue that was able to go over to Twin Towns and Seagulls as is currently coming to the government in terms of the revenue that it now garners because of the expansion of the poker machine industry, as we have seen in the last couple of years with the numbers going up to over 20,000. Mr Reeves: Tell us what you’re referring to. Mr LANGBROEK: I am referring to the arguments put forward by the member for Mansfield. The member for Mount Ommaney also said that we are going to have a longitudinal study. I will give the House the results of a longitudinal study. If there are more machines we are going to end up with more problem gamblers. That is a longitudinal study. It is all very admirable to have a web site and the gambling resource kit for problem gamblers but, seriously, we need to do something because poker machines affect people differently. Whilst we are not talking here about our policy—we are talking about a government bill—we on this side are saying that there are problems within this industry. They are problems that all of us on both sides of the House should be concerned about because of the community ramifications. As I say, no-one is advocating prohibition, no-one is advocating getting rid of them, but when the government is receiving over $500 million worth of revenue and returning $9 million to problem gamblers in the form of programs, clearly there is an inequity. This is something that was evidenced in the last South Australian election a couple of years ago when Nick Xenophon received two quotas in its upper house. The second person on his one-issue ticket was elected to the South Australian upper house. Australians are concerned about this particular matter as evidenced by the fact that he is now going to the Australian Senate on this issue. As I say, I share the concerns. I would think that most members of this House do not have problems with this particular issue. Many of us go into clubs and we enjoy the various aspects of the clubs, and most would say that the poker machine revenue that the club is receiving is not coming from those of us who go in there to enjoy the entertainment or a meal. It is a similar situation at the casino on the Gold Coast. Many of us who live there, thankfully, do not fall prey to the temptation of losing control over gambling. That is the difference. It is a big difference. I know there are problems with horse race betting. The member for Robina and I like to have a bet, but it is a matter of maintaining control. It seems to me to be very evident with poker machines—and I do not understand why it is; obviously studies need to be done—that there is a problem. It seems to be a temptation that leads to people falling prey in a much worse way than other forms of gambling. I want to go back to the objectives of the bill which are to strengthen the government’s stance against minors entering and gambling at casinos. It also provides for a review of agreements between third-party operators and eligible associations in the conduct of more significant art unions. The bill will introduce a licensing regime for those people who test gaming equipment and will implement certain recommendations arising from a review of the gaming machine operating authority reallocation scheme for hotels. There will be higher penalties and new offences relating to casino gambling by minors. I note 12 Feb 2008 Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 113 that the penalty increases for a casino operator, employee or agent who allows a minor to enter or stay in a casino will be increased from $1,500 to $7,500 for the operator and $3,000 for the employee or agent. I support this initiative because I know people who love to tell stories about when they were very young and were first taken to the races by their father or whomever, and for some reason they had a lucky win. That could lead some people to believe that it is an easy way to make money and they end up losing a lot of money. Obviously, we need to enforce as much as possible the regulations involving minors entering casino or gambling establishments. Other amendments relate to the enhancement of the accountability and conduct requirements of those involved in art unions, and obviously we support that. The legislation also allows for the adoption of a licensing regime for gambling equipment evaluators. I would be interested to know whether the revenue that is obtained from the heavier fines will be invested in gambling addiction programs. In conclusion, the opposition does not want to get rid of poker machines carte blanche, but we definitely believe that there needs to be some restriction on the government’s ability to say, ‘We need this revenue and we will do whatever we can to get more of it.’ This concern is shared by the new Prime Minister. I look forward to hearing what he has to say and seeing what he does about the issue. I wonder whether the government members will abide by what he recommends, given the mandate that he has been given and its claim for everything since he has been elected. I commend the bill. Mr MESSENGER (Burnett—NPA) (9.20 pm): I rise to offer my support for the Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill because one of its main policy objectives is to strengthen the government’s stance against minors entering, remaining and gambling in casinos. As policy makers we cannot underestimate the effect that problem gambling has on our communities. We must always err on the side of caution when it comes to allowing access by minors to any form of gambling. Therefore, I congratulate the government on the legislation before the parliament today. I have never seen the value in the pokies. I do have the occasional flutter. Like the member for Surfers Paradise, I prefer to have a bet on the horses or enjoy a game of blackjack. However, I acknowledge that many people get enjoyment from the pokies. I remember going to the club to catch up with mum. She would have a game of bingo and if she had a bit of a win she might put $20 through the pokies. She would have a great afternoon. As the member for Mansfield said, it is a social time when you can catch up with friends, maybe win a couple of dollars and hopefully break even for the day. However, I have also seen what happens when the pokies take over a person’s life, and the misery and addiction that follows for them and their families. I take the point made by the member for Surfers Paradise that the pokies seem to have a particular attraction for people. It is the lights and the spinning wheels. As he pointed out, the machines were designed by a combination of psychologists and technicians. A number of years ago on a flight between Brisbane and Bundaberg I sat beside a poker machine technician. I chatted to him about gambling and the pokies. He said that to solve the problem of people gambling too much on the pokies they should not be able to put cash into the machines. Instead, they should have a card with a limit on it. Therefore, they could not keep dipping into their wallets and putting money through the machines. I have not played a poker machine recently so I am not quite sure of the procedure, but maybe if one could buy a card with a credit limit on it and that is it for the evening, it might be a compromise between prohibition and managing the risks properly. We need balance, but I do not believe that there is balance when it comes to the distribution of funds from pokie revenue. I believe that the regions are missing out. Probably about four months ago the Bundaberg newspaper News Mail published a story about poker machines as a local club was planning on expanding its business and adding additional poker machines to its venue. This caused a bit of a stir in the community. Most communities are very sensitive about the introduction of additional poker machines because most people realise the dangers associated with them. The club’s co-owner argued that the new poker machines were good for the community as they provided employment for around 20 local jobseekers. One cannot ignore that issue, either. Plenty of people owe their livelihoods to poker machines. The News Mail article quoted Bundaberg City Councillor Mary Walsh as saying that she did not oppose the new poker machines but expressed concerns with regard to the amount of money Bundaberg was receiving from gambling taxes. That also applies to clubs within the Burnett area, such as the Bargara Hotel. Councillor Walsh claimed that in the last three years the state has taken $30.3 million in taxes from the Bundaberg community and returned just $1.8 million, which she worked out equates to 16c in the dollar being returned to the community through the Gambling Community Benefit Fund, while 84c in the dollar has been retained by the state government. Councillor Walsh noted the impacts on local businesses, not-for-profit and charity organisations. The article also voiced the opinion of Matthew Rockloff, who is currently undertaking a study into what makes people gamble. Dr Rockloff claimed that every community has a saturation point in relation to gaming machines and that once a community hits that saturation point gambling is so readily 114 Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 12 Feb 2008 available that the number of machines in the community would not matter. Dr Rockloff indicated that Bundaberg has perhaps reached that saturation point. I think there should be a debate within the community, and indeed within this House, about whether there is such a thing as a saturation point when it comes to poker machines and whether there are signs and signals that indicate that point. Last month the Wide Bay Gambling Help Service reported a drop in people seeking assistance for problem gambling since the introduction of the antismoking laws. If there is one thing that I could congratulate former minister Nuttall on it is the way that he progressed the antismoking laws. That is to his credit. The help service’s coordinator, Nathan Beel, claimed that it is now more difficult for heavy smokers to gamble since smoking was banned inside licensed premises. Furthermore, Mr Beel stated that pubs and hotels have also noticed a decrease in people putting money into poker machines. In terms of problem gambling help services, I have previously mentioned the extraordinary work that Lifeline carries out in the Bundaberg-Burnett region. I feel it is necessary to reiterate how invaluable that work is. The gambling help services Lifeline offers are free and confidential assistance is provided either by face-to-face, appointments or by phoning 41532000. The services provided include individual counselling for gamblers and their partners, relationship counselling for couples and their families, community education information and referral to a range of other support services if required. Some interesting statistics involving gambling have been collected. As of September this year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics there were 132 sites—that is, pubs, clubs and hotels— with poker machines in the Wide Bay-Burnett district alone, and a total of 3,151 actual poker machines at those venues. The metered win calculated over the last year equalled $113 million. So far the state government has fed problem gamblers’ addiction by introducing legislation early last year to increase the number of poker machines in Queensland. Again the point was made by the member for Surfers Paradise that if there is an increase in machines there will be a corresponding increase in gambling numbers. We have to work out the saturation point. This government is profiting from the promotion and approval of gambling outlets. I believe that the government is making poker machines far too accessible to problem gamblers, although I acknowledge that they make up a small proportion of the overall number of users. This is evident in a survey released last year which found that there are at least 16,000 problem gamblers throughout Queensland. However, as I said, last month the Wide Bay Gambling Help Service reported a drop in the number of people accessing its services. According to Lifeline Bundaberg, there are a number of indicators that a gambler may have an addiction. They include having difficulty in controlling gambling, hiding how much time and money is spent on gambling, gambling to win back losses and gambling to avoid thinking about or dealing with difficult issues. In my circle of friends I have spoken to people who have had those sorts of addictions. Whether there are family pressures at home or work pressures, they use gambling like self-medication. They get the 50 bucks and put it through the pokies and zone out for a while and get that relief. I understand that, but that is a danger sign. There are other signs of course. The worst sign is when one starts borrowing money or selling goods to assist in paying household bills and of course committing unlawful acts to finance gambling. There are a number of interesting statistics. In the Courier-Mail on 28 August 2007 there was an article by John McCarthy. He said— Queenslanders have ploughed $14.4 billion—or $18 million a week—into poker machines in clubs and pubs in the past 15 years. Of that, only $340 million has been returned to the community through grants to sporting clubs and associations, while $4 billion has been collected in taxes by the State Government. The staggering totals show not only how popular poker machines have become since introduced in 1992, but also how effective they are in generating new revenue for the Government. ABS statistics also show Queenslanders bet about $850 each a year and one poker machine can generate as much as $40,000 a year. There are a number of odds. He continues— • The odds of getting five symbols in a row ranges from one in 9.7 million to one in 52.5 million. • That’s nearly five to 25 times tougher than winning a Gold Lotto first division prize with a minimum entry. • About $18 million a week is poured into poker machines. There is also the extraordinary amount of money that the state government takes from poker machines, which this financial year will be about $548 million. A young lass called Casey wrote a letter entitled ‘Dear poker machine’. She writes— Why am I addicted to you? Why do I give you all my money? Why do I allow you to make me feel so bad? Why do I think you are the answer to my problem? What is the answer? To me there is no definitive answer—no definitive why. Oh yes, it would be so easy to say I gamble because my parents did; or because they were alcoholics or because I had an abusive childhood; or because of any excuse I can possibly think of; but none are valid except when I am with you. You are a metal trap that eats money and you do it so well. But it is not just money you eat—no—you eat a part of me. You take away my self-esteem; you cause arguments in my household; you prevent me from having the little things in life that I used to cherish so much. But is it you that is doing this ... It’s me. I have allowed you to do all these things to me and more. I have given control over to you—a piece of metal, void of all feelings. Doesn’t that tell me I have a problem? 12 Feb 2008 Adjournment 115

Well, Pokie, I’m going to beat you and not in the way you think. I’ve taken the first step and admitted I have a problem and now I’m taking counselling at Lifeline. In closing, once again I offer my support for the Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill because one of the main policy objectives will be to strengthen the government’s stance against minors entering, remaining and gambling in casinos. Debate, on motion of Mr Messenger, adjourned.

ADJOURNMENT Hon. RE SCHWARTEN (Rockhampton—ALP) (Leader of the House) (9.33 pm): I move— That the House do now adjourn. Mackay Base Hospital Mr MALONE (Mirani—NPA) (9.34 pm): Tonight I rise on a very important issue in my electorate— that is, the issue of the new hospital in the Mackay region. The Premier is well aware of the situation regarding the urgent need for a new hospital in Mackay. As the government knows only too well, the resources boom in central Queensland has brought a great deal of wealth to this state. A large percentage of that wealth is generated by the people who live and work in the Mackay region. They all need, and deserve, a fair share of that wealth returned to our communities for improved health services, education, water, roads and other infrastructure. The population explosion within the Mackay region, which has come about as a result of the mining boom, has only served to highlight and exacerbate the deficiencies which have existed at the Mackay Base Hospital for many years. The provision of a free public hospital system that delivers timely and quality patient care and invests in the training and retention of Queensland doctors and nurses at the Mackay Base Hospital is not only a privilege but a right. It is the right of people who live and work here in Mackay to expect to be treated in Mackay at their base hospital and not be sent to Townsville or Brisbane for treatment at a time in their lives when they need the support of their loved ones. This is not a new issue. It has been known and ignored by successive Labor governments over many years now, and the time for procrastinating and drawing out the process is well past. There are challenges involved in the building of a new hospital, and no-one is disputing that. However, there is no obstacle that cannot be overcome once the Premier, as the leader of the Queensland government, commits to building a new hospital for the people of the Mackay region. Any commitment must also carry with it the Premier’s assurance that a new hospital will be built within a very reasonable period of time. I note that the health minister is now coming to Mackay and will be attending a public forum on this issue being hosted by the Daily Mercury on 19 February. If the Premier is not planning to be at that forum also, I implore her not to send the minister there without the authority to make that commitment to the people of Mackay on behalf of the state Labor government. This is a huge issue for the Mackay region. It is noteworthy that the member for Cairns has raised an issue in her region that she wants two new hospitals in Cairns. I have to say that the people of Mackay have been screaming out for better health services for many years. All we want is one new hospital. Aspley Electorate Ms BARRY (Aspley—ALP) (9.37 pm): This Sunday marks my seven-year anniversary as the state member for Aspley and, as I have done in the past, I would like to use this date as a time to set out to the people of Aspley what the coming year holds for them. The coming of Anna Bligh to the premiership has, in my view, heralded a new vitality for the state Labor government. I am convinced of that by a number of important announcements made by the Premier recently that I believe will have incredibly important benefits for the people of my electorate. The first is the fluoridation of our drinking water—a decision that I applaud fulsomely and one that I know will make the single most significant healthcare advancement for our kids that has been introduced in Queensland for decades. The second announcement has been the Premier’s commitment to the tackling of the problem of road congestion— an issue that affects my constituency every day. I welcome her announcements today in the House on a range of measures to alleviate trouble spots, such as Airport Drive, sooner rather than later. Both of these announcements are proof that the Bligh government will be one that will tackle long-term problems with decisive actions that benefit many people in the electorate of Aspley. So what can we expect in 2008? We can expect a considerable number of projects to improve education, health, policing, community and disability funding, as well as tackling the problem of road congestion in Aspley. Many of these projects are well underway and, in the case of the Inner Northern Busway, ahead of schedule. Many capital improvement works are underway in our schools. They include the construction of an administration block and relocation of the special education unit at Pine Rivers Special School. Craigslea State School—I know that that school is important to the member for Stafford—will get an amenities upgrade and repainting and re-roofing. There has been maintenance and 116 Adjournment 12 Feb 2008 re-roofing already done at Aspley State High School and repainting and re-roofing at Pine Rivers State High School. I will be talking to our newly elected federal MP, Yvette D’Ath, about the Rudd government’s commitment to trade centres in my high schools and in particular the priority at Aspley High. Aspley shares in the government’s $50 million injection into the Ambulance Service. There is $2.15 million this year to begin construction of the new Carseldine Police Station, and the Strathpine Court House is well on its way to completion. There are many road transport projects, but in particular the upgrade of Strathpine-Bald Hills Road intersection is well underway. There are funds to construct a bus bay at Aspley High; $200,000 to complete concept planning at Gympie Arterial; $1.38 million to resurface Gympie Road; and we can certainly expect announcements on the second car park at Bald Hills Railway Station. In relation to sporting and rec clubs, I recently turned the sod on the new facility for Hornets Football Club and went to the opening of the clubhouse at Ridge Hills United Football Club. The Pine Rivers Shire Council gets $250,000 to help with the performing arts venue in the Pine Rivers Park. The Prince Charles Hospital continues to grow as one of the state’s most important public hospitals. I look forward to 2008, and I am sure the people of Aspley will, too. Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Mrs STUCKEY (Currumbin—Lib) (9.40 pm): Last October the Gold Coast community was shocked to learn of the summary dismissal of CEO of the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Michelle Monsour, despite her success in bringing it back from the edge of financial disaster. Countless efforts by community members to have this decision explained by the National Trust of Queensland and reversed were unsuccessful. CWS was gifted in deed of trust to the people of Queensland under management of NTQ in 1976 by founder Alex Griffiths for the enjoyment of all. In some opinions, it has operated in a manner to benefit the NTQ to the detriment of the CWS. This latest arbitrary action by the NTQ is the last in a long litany of well-documented complaints by the community and prominent persons over the 32 years that it has ‘managed’ the CWS. Records demonstrate that NTQ has used money from the CWS for its own benefit despite CWS needing every penny for its operations and facilities. Alex Griffiths lived to regret his choice of giving control of CWS to the National Trust. I am informed that NTQ has been lobbying the state government for five years to have itself separated from it and that CWS should be restructured as either a statutory body of the government or a private company limited by guarantee. This has not been made public despite intense community interest and support for CWS. This agreement is alleged to be contingent on NTQ receiving a consideration of some type. Further, it is alleged that a partnership between an unknown investor and the CWS is underway, and the investor will also have some type of lease or management rights for development over CWS lands. Rumours abound that the NTQ is seeking a payout of some $5 million from a commercial venture partner who will manage and develop the sanctuary in return for separating from government. Rumour has it that the deal has been done. On behalf of residents I ask the minister to reveal the current status on attempts to separate NTQ from CWS. Is NTQ set to gain financially from this outcome? Is Currumbin sanctuary being ‘sold off’? Why is the community being ignored and not included in any consultation? Now yet another community based group—Sanctuary Friends—has formed, seeking a better future for the CWS without the influence of the NTQ. It has requested an urgent meeting with the minister. Hopefully, he will listen to their genuine concerns and allow community input into the direction of our sanctuary. The assets must be protected and allowed to be used in ways that align with Alex’s vision. Our community wants the focus placed back on conservation, education and research, and the controlling body or advisory group to have local representation to support the sanctuary’s management. What faith can we have in a trust that removes an entire page of its 2007 financial report that states ‘likely developments in the operations of the sanctuary and the expected results of those operations have not been included in this report as the councillors believe, on reasonable grounds, that the inclusion of such information would be likely to result in unreasonable prejudice to the sanctuary’? I remind people again that this was gifted in deed of trust by Alex Morris Griffiths so that the sanctuary ‘could be preserved and continued in perpetuity, or so long a period as the circumstance shall allow, for the benefit, welfare and education of Queenslanders and other persons’. Gracemere Ambulance Service Mr PEARCE (Fitzroy—ALP) (9.43 pm): Earlier today I tabled a petition on behalf of Gracemere and district residents concerned about the lack of full-time paramedics and an ambulance vehicle at the Gracemere Ambulance Station. The petition urges the government to appoint to Gracemere suitably qualified QAS officers with an appropriately equipped ambulance vehicle to meet the needs of local residents. I commend the Gracemere Pensioners League, whose members collected more than 800 signatures on the petition I tabled. The number of signatures collected highlights the breadth of concern in the local community about this issue. Gracemere is a rapidly growing town. It stands adjacent to the busy Capricorn Highway, which connects Rockhampton to the mining towns in central Queensland, and 12 Feb 2008 Adjournment 117 is only minutes from the bustling Bruce Highway. The 2006 census confirms that more than 5,600 residents now call Gracemere home. With 1,300 and 500 residents respectively in the neighbouring communities of Bouldercombe and Stanwell, it will not be long before the Gracemere district is supporting a 10,000-strong population. Gracemere currently has 12 new housing estates with hundreds of homes recently completed or under construction. The town supports three primary schools, a major nursing home complex and retirement villages. Several major commercial projects are in the pipeline including a new tavern and two new shopping complexes. In fact, groundworks have now commenced on the first of these—a $30 million complex which will house a national chain supermarket and up to 30 speciality stores. There is also potential for multimillion-dollar industrial investment in the area. All of these projects will attract further investment to the town and point to a continuing population boom for Gracemere. Gracemere is no longer the sleepy satellite suburb of Rockhampton. The time has come for the town to have its own ambulance service. Currently the town’s needs are met by Rockhampton, with ambulances dispatched from either the Rocky CBD or, on occasion, the city’s North Rockhampton station, which lies on the northern outskirts of the city. Distance, traffic and time of day can cause vital minutes to be lost for anyone needing urgent assistance, especially for the elderly, the very young, or for an accident victim on the busy Capricorn or Bruce highways. Gracemere is well placed to support its own ambulance service. We already have a joint urban fire and ambulance facility in the town. What we now need is to have this facility permanently staffed with qualified officers and an ambulance vehicle. Over the years my calls for permanent staffing have been brushed aside, but the needs of Gracemere can no longer be ignored. I urge the minister to give serious consideration to the petition I have tabled today, and I look forward to his advice in response to the same.

Queensland Budget Mr WELLINGTON (Nicklin—Ind) (9.46 pm): On the weekend our Treasurer was reported in the Sunday Mail as saying that he will go to war against soft padding in our departments to make sure that the government can satisfy itself that every last dollar goes to the front-line workers. I must say, Minister, what a wonderful picture! What a wonderful photo! I put on the public record that I certainly support the Treasurer in his endeavours and I hope that he is able to ensure the relevant directors-general make proper provisions for funding important front-line services in the growth areas, especially on the Sunshine Coast. Workers in the child safety department and the department of communities on the Sunshine Coast certainly are in need of additional resources. Our ambulance officers and the department of transport staff at our local centre in Nambour are under significant pressure on a regular basis. Staff needs at our Nambour Hospital also need to be recognised in this year’s budget. Even our one-man police station at Kenilworth is in need of funding for a permanent part-time secretary to assist him in being able to spend more time in the community doing the policing work that is so important. On the issue of education, additional classrooms are certainly needed because of the rapid growth in schools like North Arm, Palmwoods and Woombye. The Nambour Fire Station is in need of replacement, and we also have significant pressures for more funding for public housing on the Sunshine Coast. Our roads and rail services also need to be upgraded. I wish our Treasurer well in his prebudget deliberations in trying to find the right balance between department cuts and department growth funding, especially for growth regions on the Sunshine Coast. I look forward to the Treasurer bringing down his budget in a few months time.

Parliamentary Internship Program Hon. DM WELLS (Murrumba—ALP) (9.48 pm): The Parliamentary Internship Program, which allows students to work on some area of policy or on some issue with a member of parliament and write a research paper on it, has produced some significant and valuable pieces of work. I table an outstanding example by Jonathon Scott, who has recently completed his internship with me. Tabled paper: Document by Jonathon Scott, dated 16 November 2007, titled Legal, Ethical and Social Challenges posed by Genetic Testing. His subject is genetic screening. Last year I drew the attention of honourable members to the issues that would arise in the insurance industry from the growth of genetic testing. Given that in the very near future medical technicians will be able to predict with a high degree of accuracy what diseases individual human beings are likely to contract, and indeed the diseases they are likely to die of, the basis of the insurance industry which involves shouldering a risk is being undercut. Because this area of our communal life is governed by economic self-interest, we are not far, I argued, from the point where individuals will only be interested in insuring themselves against illnesses they know that they have and insurance companies will be prepared to insure people only for illnesses they know they do not have. The market left to its own dynamic will deliver insurance only to those who do not need it and refuse it to those who do. 118 Adjournment 12 Feb 2008

My iteration of these issues was, given factors of time and place, necessarily brief and rhetorical. Jonathan Scott’s paper is a scholarly examination of issues that I raised at that time. Honourable members who read the facts and figures and discussion in Jonathan’s paper will be surprised at how close we are to having to make the policy decisions which the development of biotechnology will thrust upon us. This is a rapidly evolving area of science. Probably a number of future parliamentary interns will work in this area and use Jonathan’s paper as a springboard and take-off point for their research. As we get more science we will get more policy issues. For example, if it became possible to determine by genetic screening at birth that a child was highly likely to develop sociopathic or gravely antisocial tendencies, would society be entitled to intervene with prevention programs? Should our criminal justice system become predictive or does justice require that we wait until the harm is done? I recommend Jonathan’s paper to all honourable members. Here in the Smart State we should not wait for events to overtake us. We should mould the future before it moulds us. Cardwell Shire Council Mr CRIPPS (Hinchinbrook—NPA) (9.50 pm): At midnight on 15 March 2008 the Cardwell Shire Council will cease to exist following the decision by the Beattie-Bligh Labor government to impose a forced amalgamation on the people of the Cardwell shire and the Johnstone shire to form the Cassowary Coast Regional Council. Tonight, I would like to place on the record a brief history of the Cardwell shire to ensure that its existence is recorded in the same parliament controlled by the Australian Labor Party that voted to abolish it. The township of Cardwell was the first point of European settlement north of Bowen, established in 1864 and initially the main seaport for north Queensland. In the fledgling colony of Queensland, Cardwell was the most northern seaport on the east coast and was closely associated with most of the expansion and settlement of far-north Queensland during that time. In 1866 the province of Cardwell was proclaimed and five councillors appointed, although no records of meetings exist. Cardwell was the original focus of the local government authority from 1884 when the Cardwell Divisional Board was proclaimed. The board had six members in two divisions which increased to three in 1887. James Thorn Sr was the first chairman of the Cardwell Divisional Board in 1884, while Peter Smith was the divisional boards’ last chairman in 1902. The operations of the local authority were based in the township of Cardwell until 1902 when the divisional board became the Cardwell Shire Council. Council meetings continued to occur in Cardwell until 1929 when council relocated to Tully following the growth in the population of that township as a result of the establishment of the Tully sugar mill in 1924. The first Cardwell Shire Council meeting held in Tully occurred on 27 June 1929. In 1930 a new office building in Tully was occupied by the Cardwell Shire Council. This is now the Tully library. In 1978 the present council chambers were opened. Currently, there are 10 councillors, three councillors elected from three divisions and a mayor elected at large. Many distinguished citizens of the district have served as councillors on the Cardwell Shire Council. The first chairman of the Cardwell Shire Council was Johann Hubinger, who served as chairman between 1903 and 1904. The last mayor of the Cardwell Shire Council will be Giuseppe Galeano, known as Joe, who has served as mayor since 2004 and will complete his term on 15 March 2008. The first ever woman elected to the Cardwell Shire Council was Mrs Gladys Henry, who served as a councillor from 1976 to 1982. The first and only woman elected as chairman of the Cardwell Shire Council, before they became known as mayors, was Mrs Atte Raccanello, who served between 1985 and 1991. The Cardwell Shire Council has a tremendously proud history of achievement over its 106 years as a shire council, in addition to its 18 years as a divisional board and 18 years as a provincial entity. In all, 142 years of local government will come to an end on 15 March 2008, I believe to the great regret of the vast majority of local residents and ratepayers who strongly believe that a referendum should have been held about the question of amalgamation. Edwards, Mr R Mr WETTENHALL (Barron River—ALP) (9.53 pm): Tonight I wanted to inform the House of the remarkable life of a much respected constituent, Mr Ron Edwards, who passed away in Cairns on 5 January 2008 aged 77. Ron moved from Melbourne to Cairns with his wife Anne and their children, Lee and David, in 1959 and for the last 25 years lived in a mud brick house at Fairyland near the Barron River at Kuranda forgoing modern luxuries such as running water. For over 50 years Ron was Australia’s foremost collector and publisher of folk songs, yarns and bushcraft. He has too many achievements to chronicle in the three minutes I have tonight, but they include establishing Rams Skull Press and publishing 200 Years of Australian Folk song: Index 1788- 12 Feb 2008 Adjournment 119

1988, which gives complete bibliographical details for every Australian folk song. Next came the Overlander Songbook with several later expanded editions. He was also the lead singer on the first 12- inch folk music album recorded in Australia—the Wattle album Australiana Goldrush Songs. In 1976 he published the Big Book of Australian Folk Song, which to this day remains the largest collection of Australian folk songs. Then in 1977 came the Australian Yarn, which is still today the standard work. In 1975 he published the first of 10 volumes of Australian Traditional Bush Craft. He is perhaps best known for this series and indeed the first three found their way into my Santa sacks at that time—and I have them to this day. He was an artist of skill and insight and beautifully illustrated most of his publications as well as painting naked women, horses and landscapes for tourists. One of his paintings, Start of the Yacht Season 1975, hangs in my room in the Parliamentary Annexe and is always a reminder of home. The scene is of some youngsters launching their craft at the Cairns Yacht Club, soon to be demolished as the waterfront is redeveloped by the Cairns Port Authority and the yacht club relocated to newer facilities. I know Ron, like many people in Cairns, was saddened by the imminent end of the old yacht club. In 2006 Ron used the same subject in Memory of the Cairns Yacht Club, which is painted in a more subdued manner than his usual impressionistic style. Happily, Cairns Regional Gallery has acquired this picture. In the late 1990s Ron and his wife Anne travelled to the Torres Strait and collected hundreds of traditional songs and stories from the people of Stephen Island and returned them in the form of songbooks. Rams Skull Press produced more than 350 titles and 400,000 copies were printed. In 1992 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia and in 2000 Swinburne Institute of Technology awarded him an honorary doctorate for eminence in folklore and publishing. On behalf of the people of Barron River, I extend my condolences to Ron’s wife, family and friends and our gratitude for the treasures he has collected, created and passed on.

Goprint Mr STEVENS (Robina—Lib) (9.56 pm): I would like to bring to the attention of the House the totally inept mismanagement by the Labor Party of one of the state government’s corporatised businesses—namely, Goprint. The recent release of the Queensland Service Delivery and Performance Commission report has highlighted the government’s inadequacies in managing this printing business while the minister has continued to defend it over many years. In many speeches Minister Schwarten has defended the government’s ‘brave’ management of Goprint in such a volatile business environment. I think the real situation is that the government had no idea of how to run this business at a profit—or, for that matter, any other business, including the state’s finances. Over the last seven years Goprint has performed at a loss, losing $37 million over that period. This is absolutely amazing considering the annual print bill for Goprint has only been about $10 million a year for the last seven years. When the government knew about Goprint’s financial situation it should have corrected it immediately and implemented strategies to change the direction of the business into a more profitable entity of the government. It should have reduced the drain on taxpayers’ funds but instead injected another $3.9 million of capital last year into a business that was bleeding money. This highlights the Labor government’s philosophy that when a business is going bad the simple solution is to throw more money at it. This has not worked for Queensland’s infrastructure and it will not work for Goprint. The government’s responsibility as elected by the people of Queensland is to spend taxpayers’ money appropriately and it should aim to balance the books and make a profit for future years to allow for growth of the business. The financial and administrative mismanagement of Goprint that we have seen has resulted in a financial loss for the government but it will also lead to many future job losses. There is $70 million worth of printing business available throughout all government departments and I find it incredible that the government’s own printing business has swallowed up taxpayers’ funds trying to compete with private enterprise competitors when it is obvious that Goprint is inefficient, not competitive with the private sector and an outstanding example of Labor government mismanagement. We can now add Goprint to the ever-increasing mismanaged areas of health, water, infrastructure, power supply, ambulance services and roads that this Labor government has been responsible for as the government of the state of Queensland. It is an absolute blot on the record of the Labor government in this state and for Goprint to be continually supported just shows how badly organised this government is.

Queensland Rhythmic Gymnastics Association Summer Cup Ms JONES (Ashgrove—ALP) (9.59 pm): I am pleased to advise the House that last Sunday I attended the Queensland Rhythmic Gymnastics Association Summer Cup. This was actually the second time I have had the opportunity to officially open their afternoon session which features the most elite gymnasts in the country. 120 Attendance 12 Feb 2008

Ms Male interjected. Ms JONES: I take that interjection. I actually used to do gymnastics when I was a girl. That might come as a surprise to many members. It was actually in the honourable Treasurer’s electorate at the Western Districts Athletics Club right next to the soccer club. Mr Fraser: I know it well. Ms JONES: I got up to level 4. Then I did Irish dancing. I competed in the Australian championships. Anyway, enough about me. On the weekend I had the pleasure of officially opening the cup. What was very delightful for me was that I actually got to meet Queensland’s very own Naazmi Johnston, who is currently the national champion and will be representing Australia at the Olympics in Beijing this year. In addition to that, there was also the shadow Olympian, Kimberley Mason, from New South Wales. Danielle Prince and Keziah Oliver, the gold medal winning team at the Youth Olympics, were also there. It demonstrates the high calibre that we were able to attract from around the country to compete in this Queensland event held at our own old Queensland Museum. The reason I was invited to attend was that a couple of years ago I first met Scarlett Harkins, who lives in my electorate. She competed in the junior elites and finished second which was a great improvement on her position last year. It really shows what dedication and hard work can do. I take this opportunity to congratulate the coach, Merrill Papas, who has done an absolutely fabulous job. I also want to make a few comments about the commitment that the state government has made to gymnastics here in Queensland. The Queensland government has invested more than $35 million in the past decade to gymnastics and this investment has reflected in significant growth in the sport. In the past three years alone more than 10,000 new young people have signed up to gymnastics, meaning that now more than 27,000 young Queenslanders participate in the sport. Gymnastics Queensland is a clear leader in the development and provision of quality programs. One program that the sports minister will be very familiar with is the Active Bods program, which was launched in 2005. I take this opportunity to wish Olympic competitor, Naazmi Johnston, all the best in Beijing and I am sure that everyone in the Queensland parliament will be cheering her on. The rhythmic gymnastics—all of the gymnastics events—are my favourites in the Olympics and I watch all of them. Question put—That the House do now adjourn. Motion agreed to. The House adjourned at 10.03 pm.

ATTENDANCE Attwood, Barry, Bligh, Bombolas, Boyle, Choi, Copeland, Cripps, Croft, Cunningham, Darling, Dempsey, Dickson, Elmes, English, Fenlon, Finn, Flegg, Foley, Fraser, Gibson, Grace, Gray, Hayward, Hinchliffe, Hobbs, Hoolihan, Hopper, Horan, Jarratt, Johnson, Jones, Keech, Kiernan, Knuth, Langbroek, Lavarch, Lawlor, Lee Long, Lee, Lingard, Lucas, McArdle, McNamara, Male, Malone, Menkens, Messenger, Mickel, Miller, Moorhead, Mulherin, Nelson-Carr, Nicholls, Nolan, O’Brien, Palaszczuk, Pearce, Pitt, Pratt, Purcell, Reeves, Reilly, Reynolds, Rickuss, Roberts, Robertson, Schwarten, Scott, Seeney, Shine, Simpson, Smith, Spence, Springborg, Stevens, Stone, Struthers, Stuckey, van Litsenburg, Wallace, Weightman, Welford, Wellington, Wells, Wendt, Wettenhall, Wilson