PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA

PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES

(HANSARD)

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

FIFTY-NINTH PARLIAMENT

FIRST SESSION

THURSDAY, 4 FEBRUARY 2021

Internet: www.parliament.vic.gov.au/downloadhansard

By authority of the Victorian Government Printer

The Governor The Honourable LINDA DESSAU, AC The Lieutenant-Governor The Honourable KEN LAY, AO, APM

The ministry

Premier ...... The Hon. DM Andrews, MP Deputy Premier, Minister for Education and Minister for Mental Health The Hon. JA Merlino, MP Attorney-General and Minister for Resources ...... The Hon. J Symes, MLC Minister for Transport Infrastructure and Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop ...... The Hon. JM Allan, MP Minister for Training and Skills, and Minister for Higher Education .... The Hon. GA Tierney, MLC Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development and Minister for Industrial Relations ...... The Hon. TH Pallas, MP Minister for Public Transport and Minister for Roads and Road Safety .. The Hon. BA Carroll, MP Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, and Minister for Solar Homes ...... The Hon. L D’Ambrosio, MP Minister for Child Protection and Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers ...... The Hon. LA Donnellan, MP Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services and Minister for Equality ...... The Hon. MP Foley, MP Minister for Ports and Freight, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, and Minister for Fishing and Boating ...... The Hon. MM Horne, MP Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice and Minister for Victim Support ...... The Hon. NM Hutchins, MP Minister for Local Government, Minister for Suburban Development and Minister for Veterans ...... The Hon. SL Leane, MLC Minister for Water and Minister for Police and Emergency Services .... The Hon. LM Neville, MP Minister for Industry Support and Recovery, Minister for Trade, Minister for Business Precincts, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, and Minister for Racing ...... The Hon. MP Pakula, MP Assistant Treasurer, Minister for Regulatory Reform, Minister for Government Services and Minister for Creative Industries ...... The Hon. DJ Pearson, MP Minister for Employment, Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy, and Minister for Small Business ...... The Hon. JL Pulford, MLC Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Community Sport and Minister for Youth ...... The Hon. RL Spence, MP Minister for Workplace Safety and Minister for Early Childhood ...... The Hon. I Stitt, MLC Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Regional Development ...... The Hon. M Thomas, MP Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, Minister for Women and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs ...... The Hon. G Williams, MP Minister for Planning and Minister for Housing ...... The Hon. RW Wynne, MP Cabinet Secretary ...... Ms S Kilkenny, MP

OFFICE-HOLDERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY FIFTY-NINTH PARLIAMENT—FIRST SESSION

Speaker The Hon. CW BROOKS

Deputy Speaker Ms JM EDWARDS

Acting Speakers Ms Blandthorn, Mr J Bull, Mr Carbines, Ms Connolly, Ms Couzens, Ms Crugnale, Mr Dimopoulos, Mr Edbrooke, Ms Halfpenny, Ms Kilkenny, Mr McGuire, Ms Richards, Mr Richardson, Ms Settle, Ms Suleyman, Mr Taylor and Ms Ward

Leader of the Parliamentary Labor Party and Premier The Hon. DM ANDREWS

Deputy Leader of the Parliamentary Labor Party and Deputy Premier The Hon. JA MERLINO

Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition The Hon. MA O’BRIEN Deputy Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party The Hon. LG McLEISH

Leader of The Nationals and Deputy Leader of the Opposition The Hon. PL WALSH Deputy Leader of The Nationals Ms SM RYAN

Leader of the House Ms JM ALLAN

Manager of Opposition Business Mr KA WELLS

Heads of parliamentary departments Assembly: Clerk of the Legislative Assembly: Ms B Noonan Council: Clerk of the Parliaments and Clerk of the Legislative Council: Mr A Young Parliamentary Services: Secretary: Mr P Lochert

MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY FIFTY-NINTH PARLIAMENT—FIRST SESSION

Member District Party Member District Party Addison, Ms Juliana Wendouree ALP Maas, Mr Gary Narre Warren South ALP Allan, Ms Jacinta Marie Bendigo East ALP McCurdy, Mr Timothy Logan Ovens Valley Nats Andrews, Mr Daniel Michael Mulgrave ALP McGhie, Mr Stephen John Melton ALP Angus, Mr Neil Andrew Warwick Forest Hill LP McGuire, Mr Frank Broadmeadows ALP Battin, Mr Bradley William Gembrook LP McLeish, Ms Lucinda Gaye Eildon LP Blackwood, Mr Gary John Narracan LP Merlino, Mr James Anthony Monbulk ALP Blandthorn, Ms Elizabeth Anne Pascoe Vale ALP Morris, Mr David Charles Mornington LP Brayne, Mr Chris Nepean ALP Neville, Ms Lisa Mary Bellarine ALP Britnell, Ms Roma South-West Coast LP Newbury, Mr James Brighton LP Brooks, Mr Colin William Bundoora ALP Northe, Mr Russell John Morwell Ind Bull, Mr Joshua Michael Sunbury ALP O’Brien, Mr Daniel David Gippsland South Nats Bull, Mr Timothy Owen Gippsland East Nats O’Brien, Mr Michael Anthony Malvern LP Burgess, Mr Neale Ronald Hastings LP Pakula, Mr Martin Philip Keysborough ALP Carbines, Mr Anthony Richard Ivanhoe ALP Pallas, Mr Timothy Hugh Werribee ALP Carroll, Mr Benjamin Alan Niddrie ALP Pearson, Mr Daniel James Essendon ALP Cheeseman, Mr Darren Leicester South Barwon ALP Read, Dr Tim Brunswick Greens Connolly, Ms Sarah Tarneit ALP Richards, Ms Pauline Cranbourne ALP Couzens, Ms Christine Anne Geelong ALP Richardson, Mr Timothy Noel Mordialloc ALP Crugnale, Ms Jordan Alessandra Bass ALP Riordan, Mr Richard Vincent Polwarth LP Cupper, Ms Ali Mildura Ind Rowswell, Mr Brad Sandringham LP D’Ambrosio, Ms Liliana Mill Park ALP Ryan, Stephanie Maureen Euroa Nats Dimopoulos, Mr Stephen Oakleigh ALP Sandell, Ms Ellen Melbourne Greens Donnellan, Mr Luke Anthony Narre Warren North ALP Scott, Mr Robin David Preston ALP Edbrooke, Mr Paul Andrew Frankston ALP Settle, Ms Michaela Buninyong ALP Edwards, Ms Janice Maree Bendigo West ALP Sheed, Ms Suzanna Shepparton Ind Eren, Mr John Hamdi Lara ALP Smith, Mr Ryan Warrandyte LP Foley, Mr Martin Peter Albert Park ALP Smith, Mr Timothy Colin Kew LP Fowles, Mr Will Burwood ALP Southwick, Mr David James Caulfield LP Fregon, Mr Matt Mount Waverley ALP Spence, Ms Rosalind Louise Yuroke ALP Green, Ms Danielle Louise Yan Yean ALP Staikos, Mr Nicholas Bentleigh ALP Guy, Mr Matthew Jason Bulleen LP Staley, Ms Louise Eileen Ripon LP Halfpenny, Ms Bronwyn Thomastown ALP Suleyman, Ms Natalie St Albans ALP Hall, Ms Katie Footscray ALP Tak, Mr Meng Heang Clarinda ALP Halse, Mr Dustin Ringwood ALP Taylor, Mr Jackson Bayswater ALP Hamer, Mr Paul Box Hill ALP Theophanous, Ms Katerina Northcote ALP Hennessy, Ms Jill Altona ALP Thomas, Ms Mary-Anne Macedon ALP Hibbins, Mr Samuel Peter Prahran Greens Tilley, Mr William John Benambra LP Hodgett, Mr David John Croydon LP Vallence, Ms Bridget Evelyn LP Horne, Ms Melissa Margaret Williamstown ALP Wakeling, Mr Nicholas Ferntree Gully LP Hutchins, Ms Natalie Maree Sykes Sydenham ALP Walsh, Mr Peter Lindsay Murray Plains Nats Kairouz, Ms Marlene Kororoit ALP Ward, Ms Vicki Eltham ALP Kealy, Ms Emma Jayne Lowan Nats Wells, Mr Kimberley Arthur Rowville LP Kennedy, Mr John Ormond Hawthorn ALP Williams, Ms Gabrielle Dandenong ALP Kilkenny, Ms Sonya Carrum ALP Wynne, Mr Richard William Richmond ALP

PARTY ABBREVIATIONS ALP—Labor Party; Greens—The Greens; Ind—Independent; LP—Liberal Party; Nats—The Nationals.

Legislative Assembly committees

Economy and Infrastructure Standing Committee Ms Addison, Mr Blackwood, Ms Connolly, Mr Eren, Mr Rowswell, Ms Ryan and Ms Theophanous.

Environment and Planning Standing Committee Ms Connolly, Mr Fowles, Ms Green, Mr Hamer, Mr McCurdy, Mr Morris and Mr T Smith.

Legal and Social Issues Standing Committee Ms Couzens, Ms Kealy, Mr Newbury, Ms Settle, Mr Southwick, Ms Suleyman and Mr Tak.

Privileges Committee Ms Allan, Mr Guy, Ms Hennessy, Mr McGuire, Mr Morris, Ms Neville, Mr Pakula, Ms Ryan and Mr Wells.

Standing Orders Committee The Speaker, Ms Allan, Mr Cheeseman, Ms Edwards, Mr Fregon, Ms McLeish, Ms Sheed, Ms Staley and Mr Walsh.

Joint committees

Dispute Resolution Committee Assembly: Ms Allan, Ms Hennessy, Mr Merlino, Mr Pakula, Mr R Smith, Mr Walsh and Mr Wells. Council: Mr Bourman, Ms Crozier, Mr Davis, Ms Mikakos, Ms Symes and Ms Wooldridge.

Electoral Matters Committee Assembly: Ms Blandthorn, Mr Guy, Ms Hall and Dr Read. Council: Mrs McArthur, Mr Meddick, Mr Melhem, Ms Lovell, Mr Quilty and Mr Tarlamis.

House Committee Assembly: The Speaker (ex officio), Mr T Bull, Ms Crugnale, Ms Edwards, Mr Fregon, Ms Sandell and Ms Staley. Council: The President (ex officio), Mr Bourman, Mr Davis, Mr Leane, Ms Lovell and Ms Stitt.

Integrity and Oversight Committee Assembly: Mr Halse, Mr McGhie, Mr Rowswell, Mr Taylor and Mr Wells. Council: Mr Grimley and Ms Shing.

Public Accounts and Estimates Committee Assembly: Ms Blandthorn, Mr Hibbins, Mr Maas, Mr D O’Brien, Ms Richards, Mr Richardson, Mr Riordan and Ms Vallence. Council: Mr Limbrick.

Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee Assembly: Mr Burgess, Ms Connolly and Ms Kilkenny. Council: Mr Gepp, Mrs McArthur and Ms Patten.

CONTENTS

ANNOUNCEMENTS Acknowledgement of country ...... 211 BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE Orders of the day ...... 211 PETITIONS Vasey RSL Care ...... 211 DOCUMENTS Judicial College of Victoria ...... 211 Report 2019–20 ...... 211 Department of Premier and Cabinet ...... 211 Victorian Government Annual Report 2020: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse ...... 211 Documents ...... 212 BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE Adjournment ...... 212 MEMBERS STATEMENTS Werribee electorate level crossing removals ...... 212 Princes Freeway, Tynong North ...... 213 Donato Polvere ...... 213 Wire rope barriers ...... 214 Euroa electorate power outage ...... 214 Nicolas Abouzeid ...... 214 Hillview Quarries ...... 214 Serrated tussock control ...... 215 Taylors Lakes fire ...... 215 Environment policy ...... 215 Duck hunting ...... 216 Altona electorate schools ...... 216 Australia Day awards ...... 216 Australia Day awards ...... 216 COVID-19 ...... 216 Ahmadiyya Muslim Community ...... 217 Sole Trader Support Fund ...... 217 Northcote electorate creative industries ...... 217 Gippsland East electorate boat ramp funding ...... 217 Roadside vegetation ...... 218 Bass electorate community awards ...... 218 Hastings electorate police resources ...... 218 Water safety ...... 219 Cranbourne electorate community awards...... 219 Cranbourne electorate sporting clubs ...... 219 Andisha Community Language School ...... 219 Sikh Sewaks Australia ...... 219 Yvonne Giltinan ...... 219 Carrum electorate schools ...... 220 Australia Day awards ...... 220 South Barwon electorate surf lifesaving clubs...... 220 Australia Day awards ...... 221 BILLS Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020 ...... 221 Second reading ...... 221 MEMBERS Minister for Child Protection ...... 231 Absence ...... 231 QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE AND MINISTERS STATEMENTS COVID-19 ...... 231 Ministers statements: COVID-19 ...... 232 COVID-19 ...... 233 Ministers statements: COVID-19 ...... 234 COVID-19 ...... 234 Ministers statements: COVID-19 ...... 236 Family violence ...... 237 Ministers statements: Big Housing Build ...... 238

Justice system ...... 238 Ministers statements: family violence ...... 239 CONSTITUENCY QUESTIONS South-West Coast electorate...... 240 Bass electorate ...... 240 Ovens Valley electorate ...... 241 Tarneit electorate ...... 241 Hastings electorate ...... 241 Geelong electorate ...... 241 Brunswick electorate ...... 242 Hawthorn electorate ...... 242 Polwarth electorate ...... 242 South Barwon electorate ...... 242 BILLS Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020 ...... 243 Second reading ...... 243 MOTIONS Budget papers 2020–21 ...... 272 BILLS Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Provisional Payments) Bill 2020 ...... 288 Second reading ...... 288 Third reading ...... 288 Summary Offences Amendment (Decriminalisation of Public Drunkenness) Bill 2020 ...... 288 Second reading ...... 288 Third reading ...... 290 Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020 ...... 290 Second reading ...... 290 Third reading ...... 290 ADJOURNMENT Swan Hill hospital ...... 291 Bayswater Primary School ...... 291 Cardinia Reservoir Park public toilet facilities ...... 291 Berry Street child protection program ...... 292 Suburban Rail Loop ...... 292 Elements estate, TRUGANINA ...... 293 Shepparton bypass ...... 293 Nepean electorate bus services ...... 294 Police resources ...... 294 Yan Yean electorate mental health services ...... 295 Responses ...... 296 MEMBERS STATEMENTS Hillview Quarries ...... 297

ANNOUNCEMENTS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 211

Thursday, 4 February 2021

The SPEAKER (Hon. Colin Brooks) took the chair at 9.37 am and read the prayer. Announcements ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY The SPEAKER (09:37): We acknowledge the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land on which we are meeting. We pay our respects to them, their culture, their elders past, present and future, and elders from other communities who may be here today. Business of the house ORDERS OF THE DAY The SPEAKER (09:38): I wish to advise the house that general business, order of the day 1, will be removed from the notice paper unless the member wishes their matter to remain and advises the Clerk in writing before 2.00 pm today. Petitions Following petition presented to house by Clerk: VASEY RSL CARE To the Legislative Assembly of Victoria The Petition of the residents of Vasey RSL Veterans Village Cheltenham Victoria Draws to the attention of the House the imminent sale of the assets of Vasey RSL Care. The petitioners therefore request that the Legislative Assembly of Victoria intervene to protect and preserve the unique organisation and culture that is Vasey RSL Care. Vasey RSL Care provide care and homes for 700 War Widows and Veterans. There is no other Veteran/War Widow centric organisation in Victoria that prioritises us and the proposed sale prejudices the aged care future of every single Veteran and War Widow’s access to quality Veteran friendly aged care. The combined lessons of two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East conflicts have directed the evolution of Vasey into what it is now. Victoria cannot afford to lose this priceless and sacred Veteran asset. Thank you. By Mr RICHARDSON (Mordialloc) (67 signatures). Tabled. Ordered that petition be considered next day on motion of Mr RICHARDSON (Mordialloc). Documents JUDICIAL COLLEGE OF VICTORIA Report 2019–20 Ms HUTCHINS (Sydenham—Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (09:39): I table, by leave, the Judicial College of Victoria report 2019–20. DEPARTMENT OF PREMIER AND CABINET Victorian Government Annual Report 2020: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse Ms HUTCHINS (Sydenham—Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (09:39): I table, by leave, the Victorian government report 2020 on the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE 212 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021

DOCUMENTS Incorporated list as follows: DOCUMENTS TABLED BY COMMAND OF THE GOVERNOR—The Clerk announced that the following documents had been lodged for presentation by Command of the Governor: Children’s Court of Victoria—Report 2019–20 County Court of Victoria—Report 2019–20 Magistrates’ Court of Victoria—Report 2019–20 Ordered to be tabled. DOCUMENTS TABLED UNDER ACTS OF PARLIAMENT—The Clerk tabled the following documents under Acts of Parliament: Coroners Court of Victoria—Report 2019–20 Courts Services Victoria—Report 2019–20 Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981—Documents under s 12H: Notice of preparation of amendment to the Poisons Code Parts of the Commonwealth standard that the Poisons Code incorporates by reference Judicial Commission of Victoria—Report 2019–20 Public Prosecutions, Office of—Report 2019–20 Sentencing Advisory Council—Report 2019–20 Victoria Police—Report 2019–20 under s 133 of the Criminal Organisations Control Act 2012 Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)—Report 2019–20 Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission—Report 2019–20—Ordered to be published Victorian Law Reform Commission—Report 2019–20—Ordered to be published Victorian Professional Standard Council—Report 2019–20, together with an explanation for the delay. Business of the house ADJOURNMENT Ms ALLAN (Bendigo East—Leader of the House, Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop) (09:41): I move:

That: (1) the house, at its rising, adjourns until Tuesday, 16 February 2021, or an earlier day and hour to be fixed by the Speaker; (2) if, in the opinion of the Speaker, the next scheduled sitting or a rescheduled sitting should not proceed on the basis of health advice, the Speaker will consult with the Leader of the House and the Manager of Opposition Business to delay the next meeting and set a future day and hour to meet; (3) the Speaker will notify members of any changes to the next sitting date. Motion agreed to. Members statements WERRIBEE ELECTORATE LEVEL CROSSING REMOVALS Mr PALLAS (Werribee—Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Industrial Relations) (09:42): It gives me great pleasure to update the house on the recent milestone achieved by the Andrews Labor government in my electorate of Werribee: removing the state’s 45th most dangerous and congested level crossing. I welcomed the Minister for Transport Infrastructure recently—indeed last week—to announce that the boom gates at Werribee Street are gone for good, making it the first of three level crossings to be removed in my electorate. Not only does this removal boost safety for commuters and reduce time waiting behind the boom gates for motorists, it allows for

MEMBERS STATEMENTS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 213 future rail services without added congestion. We also announced the design for the open space under the new elevated rail bridge. That will feature a new skate park and fantastic artwork and design based on a traditional Wathaurong story. A pair of giant emu feet will be placed at the base of two bridge columns, the creation of Indigenous artist Vicki Couzens. Works are well ahead of schedule at the Cherry Street level crossing, which will be removed by Easter, while major construction will begin this month at the Old Geelong Road level crossing, which is set to be removed in 2022. Werribee’s CBD will soon be level crossing free, and I am very pleased that Wyndham residents will benefit from improved safety and less congestion on our roads because of the removal of these level crossings. PRINCES FREEWAY, TYNONG NORTH Mr BLACKWOOD (Narracan) (09:43): On Monday, 25 January, there was a tragic accident on the Princes Freeway at the Gumbuya World intersection at Tynong North. After spending a family day at the theme park a young family—father, mother and daughter—were involved in a collision with a truck heading east on the freeway. Tragically, the father was killed, leaving a young girl without a father and a young mum without a husband. This intersection has been a major concern since the activities at Gumbuya World have been expanded. I have been working with Regional Roads Victoria for some time now about this blackspot and one further west at Tynong North Road. Regional Roads Victoria has been very responsive and has committed to investigating both sites for solutions both short and long term and getting back to me by the end of this month. I particularly pay tribute to David Young and his daughter Olivia, who were following the truck that was involved in the accident and were first on the scene. Olivia rang 000, and David assisted them until emergency services arrived. Two off-duty nurses also stopped to help and were able to advise 000 via Olivia’s phone of the condition of the injured. The reports I have received from David Young indicate a tremendous response from those first on the scene, and he was amazed at the ambulance arriving in less than 15 minutes and all emergency services being on the scene very quickly. I commend and thank our emergency services for their rapid response and also the two off-duty nurses who pulled over in separate cars to assist. I also thank and commend the actions of David and Olivia Young, particularly Olivia, who removed the young girl from the car and comforted her while her parents were attended to by paramedics. DONATO POLVERE Ms D’AMBROSIO (Mill Park—Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Minister for Solar Homes) (09:44): I rise to pay tribute to my friend and local resident, the late Donato Polvere, who sadly passed away on 21 January, aged 84. I would like to share with members in this house the outstanding volunteer contribution of Donato Polvere, who 44 years ago initiated and then continued to organise the highly successful San Donato festival at St Luke’s church in Lalor. Since its inception the festival has brought together tens of thousands of people from across Victoria and from diverse backgrounds—multifaith, multicultural, all abilities and cross generational. Donato and his wife, Maria, lived a happy life, fulfilled by their genuine interest in and passion for community and cross- cultural sharing and learnings. Donato was born on 9 August 1936 in Pago Veiano, Benevento, near Naples, and at the age of 20 years joined the mass wave of migration to Australia from southern Europe in 1956. Two years later he married the love of his life, Maria, and their daughter, Lina, was born in 1965. As with many migrants, Donato was employed in the industrial sector, and the family settled in Gunbower, running a tobacco farm. The Polveres then moved to Melbourne, where they lived in Lalor for 56 years, running a small family business—a greengrocer store in Reservoir. Donato will be remembered for his kind, gentle and friendly nature and exemplary citizenship. He will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him. My condolences go to Maria and Lina and the entire San Donato community right across the state.

MEMBERS STATEMENTS 214 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021

WIRE ROPE BARRIERS Ms RYAN (Euroa) (09:46): I am deeply concerned about the government’s failure to slash grass along the Hume Freeway this season. Wire rope barriers have very clearly impeded the slashing efforts. There is the very real risk of a grassfire as a result of that. In some places along the Hume, the grass is so high that you can barely see the wire rope barriers, and I know that brigades are very, very concerned by that stretch of the freeway. It is impeding motorists’ vision, but as I said there is a very real risk of a grassfire. I have been contacted by the Boho CFA. They have written to VicRoads highlighting the issue. They have not received a reply. It seems to me that there is a dispute going on among the agencies, where TAC funded this work, VicRoads delivered the project, but no-one is willing to pay for the ongoing maintenance, and it is creating a great safety risk for the community. EUROA ELECTORATE POWER OUTAGE Ms RYAN: On Australia Day, Avenel, Nagambie and Mangalore were once again affected by a summer power outage lasting for hours on a very, very hot day. There is a real issue, where changes resulting from Black Saturday now mean that it is taking much longer for the power companies to switch the network back on, and we need to look at the availability of solar generators or diesel generators in communities that have no access to air conditioning. NICOLAS ABOUZEID Mr PEARSON (Essendon—Assistant Treasurer, Minister for Regulatory Reform, Minister for Government Services, Minister for Creative Industries) (09:47): It is my privilege to honour the life of Nicolas Abouzeid, a very special person in my electorate of Essendon, who passed away in November 2020. Nicolas was born in Machghara in Lebanon in 1930, and migrated to Australia with his wife and children in 1981. A retail butcher in Lebanon, Nicolas established the family’s first food business in Collingwood. The Collingwood business was the foundation of Moonee Ponds food institution Fresh on Young, established in 2007. Nicolas worked side by side with his family until only a couple of years ago. Nicolas’s family describe him as a proud, dignified man full of kindness and goodwill. His family always came first, but he made time for God and his beloved work. Dinners with the whole family under Nicolas’s roof occurred every single Saturday night. He was their much-beloved patriarch, and at the age of 90, he is the first family member to be buried on Australian soil. Nicolas was a man of the community. He made sure the family business gave fresh fruit and vegetables to schools, community centres and anyone in need. No-one ever went hungry around Nicolas. He instilled that generosity of spirit in his family and leaves them a grand legacy of his kindness and love—giving and never taking, always giving. Today Fresh on Young is a pillar in my local community, regularly donating to local organisations. Food is about people and community, and Nicolas understood the absolute essence of family, people and community, and he showed that in every single interaction he had with those fortunate enough to cross his path. Nicolas is very much missed by his wife, Souad, and his children, Lee, Tony, David and Amal, and their families. He had a special connection with each of his grandchildren—Nicolas, Sandra, Jean Paul, Jessika, Sylina, Charbel, Anthony, Michael, Alannah, Joshua, Tiana, Nicolas, Emilio and Luciana. Thank you, Nicolas, for the gift you gave to our community. HILLVIEW QUARRIES Mr R SMITH (Warrandyte) (09:49): Before I begin, I just seek leave to incorporate some students’ pictures into Hansard. Leave granted; see page 297. Mr R SMITH: Thank you very much, and I thank the minister for his indulgence.

MEMBERS STATEMENTS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 215

Today I want to raise for the house’s attention the need to save Arthurs Seat by ensuring that the planned Hillview Quarries extension is scrapped by the Andrews Labor government. With this area being a focal point of the Mornington Peninsula, attracting thousands of tourists each year to enjoy the natural bushland, views and beauty, it is hard to believe that the Andrews government would even be considering a 107-acre quarry on Arthurs Seat, resulting in bushland and thousands of trees being bulldozed. The proposed quarry would be the largest on the peninsula, being only 800 metres from the boundary of the Red Hill Consolidated School. It would cause chaos on local roads, dust throughout the area and disruptive noise to both the school and local residents. In early 2020 I attended a local public meeting, with 350 residents strongly voicing their opposition to the quarry and the negative effect it would have on their local community. The member for Nepean was notably absent from this meeting. As the local member, attending a community meeting should be the minimum expectation, particularly as he said in the lead up to the 2018 election:

I am absolutely against this proposal. I would certainly do everything I can to work against this project as the MP no matter which political party is in government, and I’ll work to see no further mining is done in and around our part of the Mornington Peninsula. Yet now, when his community is seeking his support, he is silent. Many of the local kids have expressed their opposition to the quarry through drawings and letters, and I appreciate again the minister allowing me to incorporate these into Hansard to highlight their desire for the quarry to be stopped and the pristine environment saved. When I was environment minister I was proud to stand with the Arthurs Seat community in stopping the then disused quarry from becoming a landfill, and now, devoid of any support from government, I am proud to stand with the community again. SERRATED TUSSOCK CONTROL Ms HUTCHINS (Sydenham—Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (09:50): I rise to speak about a major environmental pest that has been plaguing my electorate over the last few months, serrated tussock. You no doubt saw the images on the news in early December, where the hairy weed itself had impacted so many residents that they could not get in their front doors. As well as creating an ongoing nuisance, residents were very concerned—and rightly so—at the potential that this poses for a serious fire risk. Whilst Brimbank and Melton councils have assisted in the clean-up with residents, there is more work to be done to take to task the private landowners who continue to ignore this issue and to hold them to account. I look forward to working with councils and all levels of government to fix this issue. TAYLORS LAKES FIRE Ms HUTCHINS: Unfortunately on 12 January a fire did result after it was deliberately lit in Taylors Lakes, and properties were damaged in Railway Place. CCTV captured an unidentified person on a bike in the vicinity immediately after the sighting of smoke. Police are still investigating this. Several properties lost their fences, with an elderly couple losing their beautiful garden, which they had worked on for 20 years. A timely response from the local fire rescue, who got there in only 6 minutes, prevented this situation from being even more fatal and worse than it was. At the peak of the fire there were more than 50 firefighters on the scene. I thank every single one of Victoria’s firefighters for putting their own lives on the line every day to protect our communities from fires like this. ENVIRONMENT POLICY Mr HIBBINS (Prahran) (09:52): Joe Biden’s recent election was a welcome rejection of Trumpism in the United States, which unfortunately has become a feature of politics here at home, but what have also been welcome are the steps he has taken to address climate change and justice in the US. I thought it would be good to do a bit of a comparison about what has been announced in the US and what we have here in Victoria.

MEMBERS STATEMENTS 216 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021

On energy he has promised a carbon-free energy sector by 2035 and is actually prepared to name the fossil fuels that need phasing out. You rarely hear this government actually name the need to get out of coal or gas, and by all accounts we are due to continue burning coal for decades to come, which is our biggest source of emissions. On gas they have suspended drilling for oil and gas on federal lands. Here in Victoria we are opening up our state for offshore oil and gas drilling in the Otway Basin. On EVs they have announced plans to replace their entire fleet of over 600 000 vehicles with electric cars and trucks, yet Victoria only has five electric vehicles and 29 plug-in hybrids out of a fleet of 10 000, no plan to increase it and a plan to make EVs more expensive. When it comes to justice, we are actually phasing out private prisons. In Victoria we have got three private prisons housing around 40 per cent of the prison population, and their licences have been extended during this term of government. So there is a lot more we can be doing here in Victoria to prevent the climate crisis and to improve justice, and we see it in the United States. DUCK HUNTING Mr HIBBINS: The state government will soon decide on whether to proceed with this year’s duck shooting season. If you ask me, killing and maiming native animals for sport should not go ahead this year. It should be banned outright, just like in WA, New South Wales and Queensland. ALTONA ELECTORATE SCHOOLS Ms HENNESSY (Altona) (09:54): I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to all of our teachers and local parents in the constituency of Altona, as they have done such a fantastic job on the return to school. There have been some challenges, and I would like to acknowledge some of those challenges, matters that I have had the opportunity to raise with both the Minister for Public Transport and the office of the Minister for Education. Last year we opened the fantastic new Homestead Senior Secondary College in Point Cook. It is a really wonderful vertical school. It is an important part of education provisioning in Melbourne’s western suburbs. One of the challenges, as we have experienced with the commencement of the school year this year, is issues of access, and first and foremost the ability to get a direct bus route from those who live west of Point Cook Road has proved to be very, very challenging for the local community. Also the lack of footpaths has been an issue around parents trying to pick up kids. It is always a horror time, the end of school and pick-up time, but for the ability to have sheltering I am very grateful for the interest that both the Minister for Education and the Minister for Public Transport have shown when I have raised this issue. AUSTRALIA DAY AWARDS Ms HENNESSY: I also want to acknowledge the Hobsons Bay citizens of the year. I had the wonderful opportunity of sharing in their celebration. My hearty congratulations to those and all the community that celebrated with them. AUSTRALIA DAY AWARDS Mr ANGUS (Forest Hill) (09:55): I congratulate all the civic award recipients recognised at the recent City of Whitehorse Australia Day event. The recipients had all been involved in volunteering in the community in various roles and organisations over many years. Congratulations also to the residents who became new Australian citizens on this very special day. COVID-19 Mr ANGUS: The second minority report contained in the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee report on the inquiry into the Victorian government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic tabled this week should be compulsory reading for all Victorians. It exposes the scandal that surrounds

MEMBERS STATEMENTS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 217 the Labor state government’s hotel quarantine debacle and contact-tracing failures. This mismanagement resulted in the deaths of more than 800 Victorians, the loss of many hundreds of thousands of jobs and the destruction of many thousands of small businesses, as well as the harsh lockdown of millions of Victorians. The so-called independent inquiry instigated by the government was nothing more than a cover-up which achieved the government’s predetermined objective of being a political whitewash. All Victorians should read this minority report as it provides many telling insights into the greatest public policy failure in Victoria’s history and the monumental and scandalous cover-up that followed. AHMADIYYA MUSLIM COMMUNITY Mr ANGUS: I was pleased to attend the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Victoria’s annual Australia Day dinner last weekend. There were a number of speakers, including some children, who gave their perspectives on Australia Day, which were very insightful. I congratulate the Ahmadiyya community for hosting this event and for its ongoing support of and involvement in the local community. SOLE TRADER SUPPORT FUND Mr ANGUS: The lack of support from the state government for small businesses is now very obvious to all Victorians. This is evidenced by the fact that only $12 million from the $100 million COVID Sole Trader Support Fund has been allocated. The government must genuinely assist the thousands of small businesses that are continuing to struggle rather than merely paying lip-service to them. NORTHCOTE ELECTORATE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES Ms THEOPHANOUS (Northcote) (09:57): The electorate of Northcote is deeply proud of our live music scene and our creative industries. Our area is filled with talented artists, musicians, actors, teachers and businesses that have coloured our community, making it an incredible place to live. They are a big part of our social and economic life in Northcote. But as we know, the creative industries were among the hardest hit during the pandemic. Left behind by the federal government, many of these workers and businesses really struggled as the year progressed. That is why our creative industries support has been so vital. Last year alone 110 local artists, musicians and venues across Northcote shared over $1.3 million in creative industries funding through programs like our Sustaining Creative Workers scheme and our music industry recovery program, and many of the recipients are iconic to Northcote, like the Northcote Social Club, the Wesley Anne, Open Studio and the Thornbury Theatre. I know from speaking to them that this funding has made an incredible difference. Of course yesterday the Minister for Creative Industries announced another $5.6 million in grants for the creative sector, and I encourage my community to check them out and to apply. But most of all as we kick off 2021 I want to thank and congratulate all our local creative industry workers for your perseverance and for what you contribute to our community. Here’s to a bright and musical 2021. GIPPSLAND EAST ELECTORATE BOAT RAMP FUNDING Mr T BULL (Gippsland East) (09:58): I want to highlight the state government’s discrepancy in boat ramp funding between city and country shires. I asked a question to the minister on this and was advised that Frankston council, which has two boat ramps, is going to receive $112 000 per annum for maintenance. East Gippsland Shire Council, which has 24 boat ramps, will receive nothing, and the reason behind this is this government has decided to knock out or replace the ramp and car parking fees that councils charge for maintenance at their boat ramps in the inner-city areas. But rural councils, who want to be attractive to tourists and visitors to the region, who did not charge these fees, get nothing. So a council with two ramps is getting over $1 million over 10 years; my council with 24 boat ramps gets nothing. I ask the minister to review this great discrepancy and correct it.

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ROADSIDE VEGETATION Mr T BULL: I also want to urge this government to reassess its views on roadside clearing. I wrote a letter to the minister about this following the fires, and the response I got back was that roadside trees could be removed in relation to road safety but that vegetation was very problematic to remove in relation to community safety in times of fire. We need to revisit this, and it is time we stopped putting wildlife corridors first and put community safety first in relation to these matters. BASS ELECTORATE COMMUNITY AWARDS Ms CRUGNALE (Bass) (10:00): The year 2020, with all its stress and hardship, also saw beautiful acts of kindness, thoughtful gestures and new connections which made our hearts sing. In December I put a call out, wanting to hear of those living amongst us who had shown their true community colours. I want to thank them too. The response was overwhelming. From Pakenham to Clyde, through to Lang Lang and down to Inverloch, the Community Gems nominations spoke of amazing people with exceptional stories of service to their fellow citizens. Highlighting two gems today, Sunday Chak from Pakenham’s Konnext RightNow helped deliver over 2000 masks to families in the Casey-Cardinia area, facilitated a virtual youth mental health forum, organised funeral prayers online, produced a COVID-safe video and so much more—all while finishing her nursing degree. Loran McKean moved to Wonthaggi four years ago with a car seat, a suitcase and a daughter on her hip. With sleeves rolled up and a grow and give back attitude, she reinvigorated and replenished the Bass Coast Adult Learning garden project, building garden beds from found materials and growing produce from gifted seeds. Loran donates the produce to the local Salvation Army for families in need. By her own admission, plants withered as she approached; however, time and perseverance brought change. The horticultural students now practise building irrigation systems and growing plants, all on her supportive watch. Thank you, Sunday and Loran, and all our gems, for being in the world and for having our community at heart. HASTINGS ELECTORATE POLICE RESOURCES Mr BURGESS (Hastings) (10:01): Labor state governments have been trying to close the Hastings police station, the only police station on the Western Port side of the peninsula, for more than a decade. The Hastings community has fought hard to retain this crucial service, including with a community protest march down the Hastings high street to send a message to the government about how important this facility is to the people of my area. Shortly after the start of the pandemic, in April last year, police were quickly whisked away from an already under-resourced Hastings police station, and along with other stations across the state the Hastings police station was closed—and it remains closed today. Unfortunately taking police resources from local communities has been a feature of the Andrews government, as has closing local police stations. It has been a consistent theme of this government’s neglect of law and order and the safety of Victorians. My constituents, when seeking police assistance, are no longer able to go to their local police station and now often have to wait for help from police from other areas. That is just not good enough. Hastings was an active 24-hour police station; however, successive Labor governments have tried to downplay its important role in protecting our local community by continually reducing its officers and hours. And of course there is the purpose-built Somerville police station, which this government played politics with for more than five years, refusing to allow it to open and do its job of protecting local families and businesses, for no reason other than that it was built by a Liberal government. All of this is against a background of escalating crime rates. It is time this government stops treating the Western Port community like second-class citizens, opens the Somerville police station, reopens the Hastings police station and provides the police resources that my community needs and deserves.

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WATER SAFETY Mr FOWLES (Burwood) (10:03): I rise to speak on the alarming spike in drownings and required water rescues that we have seen during the Victorian summer. Earlier this week I received the tragic news that one of my constituents, a young woman from Ashwood, just 20 years old, drowned while snorkelling at Altona Beach. My heart goes out to her family. I simply cannot imagine the scale of the grief and the loss that they are now facing. I am sure that I can speak on behalf of everyone in this house when I express my sincere condolences to the family of that young woman. Her tragic death has raised the toll of Victorian lives lost to drowning since 1 July of last year to a total of 43—43 tragic and avoidable deaths. A further 396 people have required rescue in that time—396 people who, but for the outstanding work of Victoria’s emergency services workers and volunteers, may have perished as well. It is a crushing toll, and these tragedies affect communities right across our state, not just along our coastline. Indeed 12 of these fatal drownings occurred in the home. Eight drownings were children aged under four years old—eight dead children under just four years of age. These are not just numbers; each one is a harrowing story that has left behind a family racked by unspeakable grief and racked perhaps by guilt as well. Supervising children around water is just so important. It only takes 20 seconds for a young child to drown—20 seconds that can define or destroy a family. Water safety is important to all Victorian communities, and I call on Victorians to always be vigilant around water. CRANBOURNE ELECTORATE COMMUNITY AWARDS Ms RICHARDS (Cranbourne) (10:04): The last year has given me many reasons to be proud of my community. At a time when the current health crisis has touched the lives of everyone and brought with it unprecedented challenges, there is always an opportunity to be optimistic. As we do around this time of year, we reflect on the contributions made by members of our community and honour them for their services. Today I wish to talk about some of the members of the Cranbourne community who I recently nominated for the Holt awards. I am honoured to represent a community that includes great healthcare workers: GP and South Sudanese leader, Dr Bol; nurses Liz Barton and Machid Ali; aged-care sector leader and community worker, Marie Garcia, all of whom used their many years of healthcare experience to bring together community groups during lockdown, distribute health advice and translate material saving lives. CRANBOURNE ELECTORATE SPORTING CLUBS Ms RICHARDS: Cranbourne is home to a diverse range of sporting clubs, and they here for everyone’s enjoyment. I acknowledge the Pacific Pearls netball club and the Casey Warriors Rugby League Club for their role during the pandemic. I am honoured to have seen the terrific leadership of clubs who raise funds for charity and battle the scourge of antisemitism and racism in all its forms, including the Cranbourne Golf Club. I acknowledge the hard work and dedication of two long-time volunteers at the Casey Comets Football Club, Dawn Stone and Rab Best. Rab and Dawn pour their hearts and souls into this club, and we are very lucky to have them. ANDISHA COMMUNITY LANGUAGE SCHOOL Ms RICHARDS: I am thankful for the work of Mrs Rabia Safa of Andisha Community Language School and Mr Hamenth Kumar, both outstanding educators who during the pandemic made sure that their communities had everything they needed. SIKH SEWAKS AUSTRALIA Ms RICHARDS: Finally, I acknowledge the courageous contributions of Mr Swaran Singh of the Sikhs Sewaks Australia. YVONNE GILTINAN Mr KENNEDY (Hawthorn) (10:06): I have always been proud of the community spirit within Hawthorn. One constituent, Yvonne Giltinan, was recognised by the City of Boroondara for her

MEMBERS STATEMENTS 220 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 contribution to this spirit, receiving both the Citizen of the Year and Outstanding Local Hero awards. Yvonne is the founder and choral director of the Yarra Gospel Community Choir. Seventeen years ago she established the choir with only four members; today it sits at 70. Although COVID threatened the viability of choirs, Yvonne dedicated countless hours to keeping the choir members connected. Yarra Gospel became an online hub for cooking videos, singing videos and interviews with composers. When asked what motivated her to create a community choir from nothing Yvonne responded that she saw an opportunity to bring people together through music. Regardless of your faith Yvonne believes that the gospel speaks to each life in ways we could never imagine, passing hope through generations. The thriving community of Yarra Gospel and its endurance in as trying a year as 2020 demonstrates this. We congratulate Yvonne and thank her for all the work that she does in Hawthorn with her marvellous initiative and hard work. CARRUM ELECTORATE SCHOOLS Ms KILKENNY (Carrum) (10:07): I would like to congratulate a number of this year’s outstanding school leaders. Congratulations to Skye Primary School leaders for 2021, school captains Harli Lennon and Benjamin Clarke, and school vice-captains Katrina Garcia and Toby McCann. Congratulations to Rowellyn Park Primary School leaders for 2021, school captains Talia Shaw and Tamahau Cecil-Daniel. I know these wonderful young people will be exceptional role models who will make very positive and valuable contributions to their schools and who will work hard to make their schools inclusive and welcoming places for all students. AUSTRALIA DAY AWARDS Ms KILKENNY: I am delighted to congratulate a number of really worthy recipients of local Australia Day honours. Congratulations to Yvonne Hong for being awarded Kingston’s Outstanding Citizen Award for her work in running Pets of the Homeless. Yvonne’s charity works hard to keep people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and their pets together. I want to thank her for her tireless work, compassion and support. I know firsthand how much she cares from when she responded directly to a request I made to help Jerry and his Irish wolfhound. Congratulations also to Pantry 5000 for being awarded Kingston’s Community Group of the Year. Last year in particular was a difficult one for families and residents. Throughout 2020 Pantry 5000 continued to support local residents in need with groceries and food goods, even personally delivering items as needed. Congratulations to Robert Thurley for being named Frankston’s Senior Citizen of the Year for his extraordinary contribution over many years, including as Frankston Music Festival director and Kananook Creek Association president. SOUTH BARWON ELECTORATE SURF LIFESAVING CLUBS Mr CHEESEMAN (South Barwon) (10:09): I rise this morning to thank the fantastic volunteers I have with the Torquay Surf Life Saving Club, the Jan Juc Surf Life Saving Club and the Bancoora Surf Life Saving Club. We have some fantastic beaches of course along the Surf Coast and along the Great Ocean Road, and many Victorians have taken the opportunity over the last 12 months to spend time on our fantastic beaches. Unfortunately the fantastic volunteers at these clubs have seen a record number of drownings take place on the Victorian coastline this year. My plea to all Victorians is please enjoy the beach, please swim between the flags and please respect your own abilities within the surf. Victoria’s beaches are fantastic places to visit, but they can be incredibly dangerous. Things can change incredibly quickly, and unfortunately we have seen many men, predominately in their 40s, who have taken too many risks finding themselves in trouble. Please respect our coastline. Please enjoy our beaches, recognise your own ability and swim between the flags. We have fantastic surf lifesaving clubs, who provide a safe place for all of us to swim.

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AUSTRALIA DAY AWARDS Ms WARD (Eltham) (10:10): Congratulations to this year’s recipients of Nillumbik shire’s 2021 Australia Day awards: Peter Talbot, Jan Aitken, Finn Deacey and the Rotary Club of Diamond Creek. Peter Talbot is deservedly Nillumbik’s Volunteer of the Year. Peter is an active member of Community and Volunteers of Eltham (CAVE), a commitment spanning 20 years. He has been liaison officer for Eltham High School for 15 years and has served as the Lions Club president for seven years. Notably Peter helped raise $414 000 for the Eltham Lions Club in March 2020 before the COVID-19 lockdown began. Peter spoke on Australia Day on how the community, particularly in Research, has supported him throughout his life. As a community we are very grateful we have Peter in our community and thank him for all he has done for us. Nillumbik’s Senior Citizen of the Year was Jan Aitken. For 13 years Jan has been fundamental to the development and success of the Nillumbik Reconciliation Group. Jan leads the reconciliation movement in Nillumbik, enhancing and strengthening understanding and actions to advance equality for our First Nations people. Jan is also president of CAVE, helping to provide important emergency relief and support for high school students in our district and surrounding areas. Jan has devoted decades of volunteerism to our community, and we are lucky to have her. Finn Deacey was named Nillumbik’s Young Citizen of the Year for his commitment to volunteering for various community organisations, including Nillumbik Unplugged, Eltham Life 3095, Eltham CFA and Nillumbik’s FReeZA group, all while balancing the completion of his year 12 studies with the current COVID-19 pandemic. I have known Finn since he was in grade 6 at Briar Hill Primary School. I have enjoyed watching him grow, his sense of social justice grow and his wonderful work in our community. Thank you for all you do, Finn. Bills EDUCATION AND TRAINING REFORM AMENDMENT (MISCELLANEOUS) BILL 2020 Second reading Debate resumed on motion of Mr MERLINO: That this bill be now read a second time. Mr HODGETT (Croydon) (10:13): It is a pleasure to rise this morning to speak on the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020. At the outset I just wish to perhaps take a few moments to acknowledge a few people that assisted with the examination, consultation, briefing and preparation for the debate of this bill, because in this place we all know the process of legislation— it is usually quite tight indeed when we sit week on, week off, week on, week off. The process of legislation is that normally a bill is introduced by the minister, then the shadow minister has quickly got to engage in some stakeholder consultation, organise a bill briefing, formulate a bill report or form a view—form a position—and take it through shadow cabinet and partyroom processes, and then it comes up for debate in the government business program. As I said, normally that is a fairly tight process. A bill comes in one week, that has got to run over the course of the next week and then the bill could very well be debated the week later, depending on the government business program. In this case, however—having just taken on the responsibility as Shadow Minister for Education—the Minister for Education introduced a bill, being an education bill, and the academic year was ending, so it was important to quickly get to stakeholders before the end of the year, because we certainly place a high degree of importance, when legislation comes into this place, on going and engaging with stakeholders to seek their views and opinions, or concerns indeed, on the bill. So with the academic year, the school year, coming to an end, it was important to get to stakeholders before the end of the year. So first and foremost I would just like to thank the member for Eildon for helping me with the stakeholders database so that I could quickly engage with them—the member for Eildon of course

BILLS 222 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 being my predecessor as the Shadow Minister for Education. I do take time to thank Paul in the minister’s office for arranging the bill briefing and the department staff who attended and provided detailed information, answering questions and clarifying issues for me. Again, we place great importance on those bill briefings as an opportunity to scrutinise a bill and certainly to have information provided. So I thank Paul in the ministerial office and the department staff, who were indeed very helpful, and Tiffany and Victoria for their terrific work analysing, scrutinising and evaluating the bill. I thank you all. It has certainly made for a smooth process for me in the circumstances that I have outlined. I now turn my attention to the key purposes of the bill, and then I wish to perhaps focus on a number of the main provisions. Turning to the purposes of the bill, a key purpose of the proposed amendments in the bill is to clarify and enhance the powers and functions of the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) in relation to initial teacher education (ITE) programs that lead to qualifications for entry to teaching in schools through amendments to part 2.6 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (ETRA). The main purposes of the bill are:

… to amend the Education and Training Reform Act 2006— (a) to further provide for the duties, functions and powers of the Victorian Institute of Teaching in relation to the approval of a program or course of study that leads to qualifying as a teacher including— (i) the renewal or variation of, and imposition of conditions on, any approval of an initial teacher education program; and (ii) the recommendation of requirements, criteria or standards for approval of an initial teacher education program to the Minister; and (iii) monitoring the compliance of a provider of any initial teacher education program with any standard set in relation to, and condition imposed on, any approval of the program; and (iv) setting requirements, criteria or standards for, and approving, any course or program that offers a pathway to an initial teacher education program or that meets continuing education requirements for teachers and early childhood teachers; and (b) to amend the process for investigating the conduct, competence and fitness to teach of teachers and early childhood teachers, including to provide for the Victorian Institute of Teaching to conduct preliminary assessments of matters; and (c) to make amendments in relation to teacher registration, including in relation to the length of time a teacher may be provisionally registered and to provide for reinstatement of registration in some circumstances; and (d) to further provide for the disclosure and collection of information; and (e) to increase the scope of the delegation powers of the Victorian Institute of Teaching; and (f) to amend the Minister’s powers to issue policies, guidelines or directions to the Victorian Institute of Teaching; and— finally—

(g) to make consequential and other … amendments to that Act. So those are the main purposes of the bill. It is important to get that on the record. I know it is in the bill, but in part of my contribution I want to come back and focus on three main provisions of the bill. There is a lot in the bill. It was important to outline the main purposes. I am sure others on both sides of the house will debate areas of the bill that are of importance to them, but I really just want to focus on three main provisions in my contribution in the time I have available. The bill proposes amendments to part 2.6 and section 5.2.1 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. Part 2.6 of the ETRA establishes the governance framework and the powers and functions of the Victorian Institute of Teaching. The VIT is the statutory authority that regulates the Victorian teaching profession, including early childhood teachers. The proposed amendments clarify the responsibilities and powers of VIT and the Minister for Education in relation to the regulation of ITE

BILLS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 223 programs. This includes program entry requirements, such as a minimum ATAR, and I will come back and speak on that in a moment. The amendments in the bill aim to provide VIT with the ability to implement any future reforms to raise the standard of ITE programs. The bill confirms that VIT has the power to endorse continuing education programs for teachers and early childhood teachers. The proposed voluntary endorsement framework seeks to enable VIT to assure the quality of continuing education programs for registered teachers and early childhood teachers, reinforcing the importance of quality-assured education programs throughout a teacher’s professional life. To put this in layman’s terms, if you like, to become a teacher there are a couple of paths. There is the degree pathway where if you can achieve an ATAR score, which I think is 70 at the moment, you can take the degree pathway to becoming a teacher—becoming qualified and registered and pursuing the profession of teaching. If, however, you do not reach that minimal ATAR score—you might not have quite met that standard—and do not have that pathway into the teaching profession, there are other pathway programs that provide an alternative avenue into teaching. So it does not preclude people. We want to encourage people into the teaching profession, we want to support them in the teaching profession, and this is an alternative pathway. So in accepting people from a wide range of courses at what they see as an acceptable program standard, this provision is attempting to set a quality pathway standard. In the past there were a number of programs that could be taken. Other than just accepting a wide range of courses, this is, I guess, a way of trying to set a quality pathway standard, as I said. We on this side of the house strongly support that. We want to encourage people into the teaching profession. We want great teachers, great principals and great schools, and so this provision is important to set a quality pathway, have those courses assessed and then encourage people to pursue the teaching profession if they are unable to take the first pathway I mentioned into the teaching profession. In addition, the bill makes technical changes to section 5.2.1 of the ETRA to clarify limitations on the powers that the minister may exercise in respect of the VIT. To enable the VIT to deal more efficiently with its case load, it is proposed that the VIT be given the power to dismiss a matter that is vexatious, frivolous, misconceived or lacking in substance. Under the proposed changes, the VIT would undertake a preliminary assessment of each matter and then determine the appropriate action, which may be to proceed to an investigation which could lead to a hearing. Other matters which are less serious could be addressed through an informal hearing. These changes will enable the VIT to deal more efficiently and effectively with teacher serious misconduct and serious incompetence. When I got the bill, read the bill and went to the bill briefing I was quite surprised to learn that the VIT has no power to dismiss a complaint. When we look at complaints mechanisms, usually there is that mechanism. To learn that the VIT has no power to dismiss a complaint was a bit of a surprise. They have to actually deal with it, and I was informed at the briefing that this is a significant drain on VIT resources. The Minister for Education in his second-reading speech stated that the VIT is currently dealing with over 700 complaints, so quite a high number, without the ability to triage or sift through them to work out what are the very serious ones that need to run a full process and what ones may be in that category of being frivolous or vexatious. So with those 700 complaints we support a more efficient and effective way of dealing with them. I did seek assurances at the bill briefing that the most serious matters such as misconduct or those that might meet the threshold of misconduct will follow the full due process, which is as intended. I was assured of that. It is important that both parents and the public have confidence in this, and I accept this bill allows the VIT to deal efficiently and effectively with those matters that are vexatious, frivolous or lacking in substance. So that is an important part of the bill and one that I wanted to highlight. As I said, although I was surprised that the VIT could not dismiss some of those, this will now allow them to do that, so this provision is an important part of the bill.

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The third area I wish to comment on is in relation to teacher registration. The bill provides the VIT with the power to reinstate the registration of a teacher in certain circumstances. A teacher who does not renew their registration by 30 September currently has a deemed period of three months during which the VIT can renew their registration following an application from the teacher. If the teacher does not apply to renew during this period, they become unregistered. The proposed change will provide the VIT with the discretion to grant a reinstatement of a registration following the expiry of the three-month deeming period up to the next registration renewal date—that is, 30 September— where the VIT is satisfied that there are special circumstances. There are proposed changes to limit the length of time the VIT can grant provisional registration. Currently provisional registration is granted for two years, and within that time the teacher will need to achieve the standard of professional practice. If they do not, however, there is currently no provision in the ETRA that enables VIT to refuse a new application for registration from teachers who have previously been provisionally registered and failed to meet proficient teacher standard. This has led to an unintended consequence where teachers who have not satisfied the requirements for full registration are able to continue teaching indefinitely under consecutive grants of provisional registration. The limitation under this bill will now be six years, with exceptions for special circumstances. Again I concentrate or focus on that area of the bill. We believe that is important. We had quite a deal of discussion around that and the importance of having a proper process to go through in teacher registrations and how to deal with that in the circumstances that I have outlined here. Having dealt with the main provisions—and as I said, there is quite a bit in the bill and others will debate areas that are important to them—the other area I just wanted to quickly focus on are a number of things in this bill that came out of the Armytage review, which was conducted in 2017. Despite that review being conducted in 2017 and the government saying that it would introduce legislative changes during 2018–19, some of the recommendations are only being implemented now. We spoke about the Armytage review at the bill briefing: a review of the Victorian Institute of Teaching was conducted in 2017 and the findings are those which have been considered for the bill, but there are a number of recommendations that have not been incorporated into the bill. I think we will see further legislation coming, so we will wait and monitor that with interest. We were informed at the briefing that some changes from recommendations will require further legislation, so as I said, we will monitor where this goes, and obviously with further legislation coming we will assess and debate it and look for those recommendations to be addressed. It goes without saying that we all value the importance of our teachers. We all value the importance of education. In concluding my contribution to this bill, the bill responds to recommendations of the review. It is not opposed by key stakeholders and makes uncontroversial changes, and as such we are not opposing the bill. It was not my intention to continue to speak about other matters. It would be an opportunity for me, of course, to mention the many wonderful schools and principals that I have in my electorate, but in the interests of allowing a number of members that are very keen to make a contribution on the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020 to do so, I will conclude my contribution there and let others highlight parts of the bill that are important to them and make their contributions. Mr RICHARDSON (Mordialloc) (10:28): It is a real honour and pleasure to rise to speak on the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020. In the context of where we find ourselves in education at the moment, it is fitting that we are providing greater quality assurance, care and support for those people looking for pathways into teaching—into one of the most incredible and noble professions. The expertise that teachers in our system have is extraordinary, and we need more of them. We will need more teachers in the coming years like never before, as we grow our school system, as we see more schools being built and as we see our population grow. We saw that last year we tipped over 1 million school students in Victoria—an incredible feat. That means we need many more teachers to meet that growth and demand.

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There could not be a better time than right now to be considering entering the teaching profession. This workforce, supported by the Department of Education and Training, has gone through an extraordinary time in the last 12 months. This time last year we could not have anticipated where we would find ourselves in 2020. It was hard enough fronting up for the 2020 year with all the expectation and all the hope and aspiration that is set down through the amazing milestones of the Education State targets, which set about improving all of our offerings to our Victorian students. From our youngest in the early childhood sector all the way through to our TAFEs, we see our teachers doing an incredible amount of work. But then 2020 hit. The COVID pandemic had a huge impact and really revolutionised our approach to education under extreme duress. But I tell you what, when they write the stories of the response to the coronavirus pandemic in the future there will be a section that is reserved for the incredible work done by our health workers and our professionals who kept Victorians safe, but a very significant part of that reflection will be on the efforts of our teachers, who changed the outcomes for students and who were under a lot of pressure, a lot of stress and anxiety, and made their education journey as best as possible. We saw that reflected in the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee’s work. We saw that reflected in the work that I did for the Minister for Education in reviewing the remote and flexible learning experiences during stage 1 and then into the second phase and how that informed practices as well. It is really fitting, then, that we are setting up our teachers for the future with the greatest quality standards and the greatest assurances, and this is what parts of this bill go towards. It is about making sure that those initial teacher education programs are of the best possible standards and that they align with the vision set down by the education minister and the Premier to make sure that we lift the ATAR, that we lift those education targets and standards and that we give greater assurance to the Victorian people about the quality of teaching going forward as well. It is not to say that that is the only measure; of course there are other pathways if people want to pursue teaching. But they need to be to the highest standards if we are going to deliver on our ambitions as the Education State and also in the context of the challenges that we have faced during the pandemic. I am really pleased to follow the Shadow Minister for Education, because there are some on that side that have reflected on our teachers during that time and said that there was lost education—no less than the federal Treasurer in the commonwealth Parliament reflected on lost education. There was nothing lost here. There was innovation. There was a teaching workforce that innovated, stepped up and put in an extreme amount of hours, from what I hear, across the sector and across my local community—into the early hours of the morning sometimes—to ensure the education outcomes and provide assurance to those students of their mental health and wellbeing. Our teachers, our education support staff and our early childhood educators took on an extraordinary burden to get our kids through, and we all owe them a great debt of gratitude. There was nothing lost; it was different. We needed to innovate, and what we have brought in as a safety net to make sure that all students are supported into the future is the tutor program for our students as well—4100 tutors that will be brought in—to make sure that no student is left behind, because those are the values of the Education State. It is about making sure that regardless of your circumstances, regardless of where you are from, you have the right—indeed a human right—to every opportunity to fulfil your education dreams and aspirations. That is what it is all about, and this bill goes a large way towards the mechanisms that underpin that quality assurance, the training, that is so critical for our teachers and beyond. I reflect on some events I have had the opportunity to participate in at the Bastow Institute—the learning and development opportunities for all our teachers, for our leaders and for our early childhood educators. It is inspiring. It is investing in the profession. It is investing in our teachers and educators like never before. It is quite overwhelming to think that of the 4100 tutors that were put forward as a policy, we had substantial interest—I think there were 15 000—in stepping forward and supporting the next generation of students, the next generation of Victorians who will be leading our state into the future. I think that is a beautiful thing and reflects where people see the high-quality standard in the aspiration to be a teacher. That is what it is about. That is what has changed in the last few years like never before. It is not about cutting down regions or these big super regions, cutting back staff, closing

BILLS 226 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 down schools and cutting funding to education; it is about incentivising and investing in our teachers, our education support staff and our early childhood educators into the future. They deserve nothing less, because they have such a critical role in our communities, and we thank them so sincerely for all that they do, particularly in the context as well of those students that need that additional support. I reflect on the $1.6 billion education package that has been announced for students with additional needs, doubling the number of students who will be supported in the classroom. That is a revolutionary policy. It is one of the best hallmarks not just of this budget but I think of all of the Andrews Labor government budgets. It will change lives for the better. It will change the outcomes for those families who have felt that they had to be lobbyists in their own school communities, not through any fault of their educators, of principal leadership, but just through the challenges that we face with a clinical- based approach, a deficit model rather than a strengths-based approach that really enhances and envelops our students and lifts them up to what they want to achieve, what they aspire to be, with our education system being equipped to deliver those outcomes. In that context the mechanisms that are underpinned by the legends down the road at the Victorian Institute of Teaching are really important. They set the standard, they set the tone and they make sure that the policy outcomes and the administration, oversight and governance are so very critical more broadly in our sector. There are a number of key elements in the bill that have been taken through in the second reading, but one thing I really wanted to highlight is the clarity of policy from the minister— it being clarified that there is no ambiguity between having a lead from policy and that it is set down by the minister that that is implemented. There is the notion as well of those early programs. So you have got initial teacher education, but then you have got those early pathways into that journey as people start, before they get into the teaching education pathways as well—making sure that people who want to come forward for teaching have the greatest comfort and assurance that what they are getting into meets the standards and outcomes as well, clarifying that through professional development and upskilling of our teacher workforce that the Victorian Institute of Teaching has such a critical role in strengthening and enhancing that as well. It is all part of the mechanism of underpinning the Education State targets, the excellence and equity that we strive for in everything that we do in Victorian education. It is an exciting time at the moment, it really is, as we embark on the aspirations of a new year in 2021, when we have gone through such challenging circumstances in 2020. We have a workforce that probably could have dealt with a little bit more of a break during that time, but they are back up and running. At the schools that I visited last week, just to see the hope and aspiration from our teachers, our education support staff and our early childhood educators—they are ready to go; they are happy to be back on site, working through and supporting their students into the future. They know that the Andrews Labor government will back them, will support them, will invest in their profession and will really appreciate each and every thing that they do and the sacrifices they make, because it makes such a difference to the outcomes of our communities and breaks down barriers into the future as well. This is an important bill in a patchwork quilt of reform that carries on across our communities. It is a really important piece of work that has got to this point with the review and the work that has been done. I commend the bill to the house. Mr D O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (10:38): It is a pleasure to also rise to speak on the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020 and, as the member for Croydon indicated, the opposition is not opposing this legislation, which has some useful changes to the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) arising from the 2017 review ordered by the minister at the time, in particular around teacher registration and the teacher pathways. I want to talk a little bit about that and touch on the idea of higher standards for teachers coming into the profession, because I have a serious concern about where we have gone in Australia. This is not a specific criticism of the current Labor government here in Victoria but of governments broadly and us as a nation over the past 20 years. In that time we have put enormous amounts of extra funding into education at primary, secondary and tertiary levels, but the evidence—particularly based on just one factor, the program for

BILLS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 227 international student assessment—suggests that we are actually going backwards. And I think the question of teacher capability, teacher training and teacher standards has to be part of that debate. It is clearly not the only issue. It is not the only issue that we should be concerned about. But if I go to some data on it, in 2019 the Australian Council for Educational Research released a report on education spending in Australia. There had been an 80 per cent increase in relation to 2015, which was the most recent data at the time for the full year. So an increase of 80 per cent from 2000 spending up to 2015. That figure highlights just what has been done from an input side, but as the report found, spending on education increased by 79 per cent between 2000 and 2015. The number of students increased by only 22 per cent, so actually education spending per student increased by 46 per cent over this period. If you want to look at it as a whole-of-economy picture, the spending on education as a proportion of GDP also increased from 5.1 per cent in 2000 to 5.9 in 2015. We would probably all agree that that is a good thing. If you are putting more money into education, in theory that is going to be good for our young people, for their prospects in the future, and more importantly for the whole nation, as we have a more educated cohort coming forward. But the results do not bear that out. I am not going to comment on NAPLAN; I know there is controversy about NAPLAN, as to whether it is the most appropriate way to measure outcomes in student learning performance, and that is a debate that is going to be ongoing. But the PISA results—the Program for International Student Assessment—are the ones that we should be benchmarking ourselves on with the rest of the world. The PISA assessment is done every three years. The last results were in 2018, and Australian students were placed 16th in the world in reading, 29th in maths and 17th in science. There were a number of grouped provinces in China that were the highest performers across all domains, followed by Singapore. Compared to those China provinces, Australian students performed at a level roughly 1½ school years lower in reading literacy, around 3½ school years lower in mathematical literacy, and around three years lower in scientific literacy. This is a situation where for the first time in 2018 we actually fell below the OECD average—I think it was just for mathematics—which was the first time that we had not exceeded the OECD average since the PISA program started in 2000. So we have got a situation where we are spending billions more and many, many more dollars per student on education, but we are not getting the results. As I said, there are probably many, many and varied reasons for that, but it is critical that when we are passing legislation like this today, and I know the minister has talked about increasing ATAR scores for student entry into teacher programs, we actually need to be looking at things like that, because it is a concern that for the extra dollars we are not getting the response we need from an education perspective. That is particularly an issue in the STEM area—science, technology, engineering and maths. We really have an issue there. In the digital century we do not want to be left behind, and unfortunately it appears at the moment that we are. I think that level of entry thing is critical. I remember when I finished year 12 there was a bit of an attitude that, ‘If I don’t get into the other things I want to do, I can go into teaching’. I remember a fellow student in year 12, who had barely passed what was then the VCE, which was different to the ATAR that we have now, and who in his VCE results got about 60 per cent, and he went into teaching because he could not get into anything else. That sort of alarms me that that was happening a long time ago, and I worry that it is happening again now. I know our teachers in the main do a great job. We all discovered last year just how difficult teaching actually is. We probably all have a bit more respect for teachers after the experience of homeschooling last year. I absolutely know that most of our teachers are dedicated and absolutely committed to delivering for their students, but we do need to make sure that we have got the right people in the right roles. I know from doing some research on those PISA results and on the STEM issue that one of the issues is teachers teaching out of their expertise area, and I know that it is a particular issue in regional areas. Talking to some of my secondary colleges, I know they have real trouble getting specialist maths teachers and specialist science teachers to come there, and while the government has tried to address

BILLS 228 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 that through some of the incentive scheme programs, I have serious doubts about how well those actual programs are working. I do support this legislation to give the VIT and the minister some more flexibility, particularly as it comes to ITE, the initial teacher education programs. I think that is critical. I might just add too, speaking of talking to my local schools, the government has spent a lot of money on education capital—and that would go into those figures that I talked about before—and I give it credit for that. In a growing economy, that is needed. What I am concerned about, though, is that that education capital has not been spread around the whole state. I am talking particularly about in my electorate, where I am still fighting for funding to complete the rebuild of Foster Primary School. More importantly, I just want to raise again the need for the government to provide master plan funding for the consolidation of Sale College onto one site. We are currently across two campuses, and I am told that from a pedagogical approach that is not ideal in terms of the teachers having to teach across two different campuses and younger students being unable to have the example provided by the senior students on the same campus. This is not ideal. I have been campaigning for the minister to provide funding. I do not want $30 million or $40 million at this point for a new school; we just need to get a master plan in place so that we can decide whether we consolidate the two campuses onto one existing campus or whether we go onto a new greenfield site. We are lucky in Sale; we actually have a few sites where that could be done. But it is critical for the Sale College cohort. We have got good, high- quality new facilities in the private and independent Catholic schools in the area. Gippsland Grammar and Sale College have both had recent upgrades. We need the public system to be keeping up, and it is important that the government does that right across the state, not just in Melbourne and not just in the growth areas. I am happy to see legislation come forward that addresses many of the outcomes of the review that the minister launched in 2017, but I do hope that the government starts to put more effort into actual student outcomes. I know it is a very crowded curriculum. And indeed for schools it is a very crowded space: we have now got breakfast in schools programs, we have got lunch in schools programs, we have got dentists in schools, we have got doctors in schools. The important thing that we need in schools is to actually lift those educational outcomes, and I hope this legislation will help the VIT and the minister to achieve that. But as I said, I am concerned that we have been dramatically increasing spending and not getting the results. That is not something that we can continue to put up with. We need to get the results both for our children and for our nation’s future. Ms ADDISON (Wendouree) (10:48): I too am pleased to rise to make a contribution on the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020 and to speak about our Education State, the importance of our teachers and the importance of strengthening our Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT). I am very pleased to follow the member for South Gippsland— Mr D O’Brien: Gippsland South. Ms ADDISON: Sorry, Gippsland South—and thank him for his contribution. And I am very pleased that the opposition, including the member for Rowville, is supporting this legislation that will really make our VIT stronger and more effective in our state. Many people in this chamber know that I am a former schoolteacher. I have been a card-carrying member of the VIT for the last 12 years, so when this legislation came up I certainly put my hand up to speak on it. I have a passionate interest in teaching and a genuine and ongoing interest in the teaching profession, the role of our teachers, robust curriculum, the strengthening of quality teaching across our schools and, very importantly, the professional conduct of our teachers and educators. I wish to take this opportunity to thank the Deputy Premier in his capacity as Minister for Education for his strong commitment to the Education State and his strong advocacy that has delivered record investment into new schools, transformative upgrades and redevelopments as well as record spending on our school maintenance program.

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Most recently I was very pleased to announce school funding grants for Alfredton Primary School, Ballarat North Primary School, Black Hill Primary School, Dana Street Primary School and Macarthur Street Primary School. These funding announcements were welcomed by the principals when I got to ring them to share the good news, and I am very much looking forward to seeing the upgrades getting underway. We have also invested record amounts at Mount Rowan Secondary College, which is a magnificent secondary college in the suburb of Wendouree; Ballarat High School; Delacombe Primary School and—I note that the member for Ripon just walked past—we are doing an amazing job at Miners Rest, which is a primary school just out of Ballarat in the electorate of Ripon. Another school that we recently opened in Ripon—12 months ago—was Lucas Primary School, and that is a growing, prosperous primary school just on the outskirts of my electorate in the suburb of Lucas. So I genuinely thank the minister for his commitment to and support for Ballarat schools and the whole of the Andrews Labor government for choosing to prioritise education as something that is so important to this government. Tens of thousands of teachers are probably in the staffroom at the moment—looking at the time, it is probably recess—after teaching some of our littlest learners to our senior year 12s. It is such an important job that they do, educating our children. Teachers are highly regarded and respected members of our community, as they should be. And I would like to acknowledge that my friend the member for Hawthorn is in the house, one of our great educators, a principal who showed such leadership not only in New South Wales but also in Victoria for decades, shaping the minds of young people. It is people like the member for Hawthorn who have done such an exceptional job that really encourages us all to be the best teachers that we possibly can be. Every day parents and carers send their children to school to learn the curriculum, but also to develop social skills, to learn about values, to learn about responsibility, respect, and there is a really strong focus at the moment on resilience. These are really important things that we need our children to learn about, and teaching is one of the most significant professions in our society because teachers are actually shaping our future. Throughout history many of the core elements of the role of the teacher have remained constant. If you look back to the civilisations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, where learning and the quest for knowledge were the foundation of those civilisations, the traditions of Socrates and Plato continue today, with teachers continuing the important roles of mentoring, educating and guiding students to develop understanding and build knowledge. However, the role of teaching is also changing, and we need to ensure that our teaching and learning are innovative, engaging, and relevant for the education needs of students to face the challenges of the 21st century and our rapidly changing world. Those who educate our children are developing the minds and shaping the attitudes and values of future generations, who will be our future leaders of business, of the public service, of our unions, entrepreneurs, our health workforce, academics, engineers, judges, and those who will be future parents, raising their own children. Today’s teachers are even influencing those who will ultimately sit on these benches in the future. I taught for over a decade and found it to be a very fulfilling career. My colleagues were hardworking and committed professionals who cared deeply about their students getting the best outcomes in and out of the classroom. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to teach and learn from students. The benefits of a quality education are well known, not only for individuals, but more significantly an educated citizenry creates a stronger and better society. At the heart of a quality education is effective teaching and learning, and for this to occur we need our teachers to have strong pedagogic training. We place a huge amount of trust in our schools, from principals as leaders to our graduate teachers and even our student teachers on rounds, and the influence that teachers have on students cannot be underestimated. I am sure that despite the decades that may have passed since some members of this chamber were at school, they could recall the names of their best and worst teachers. I know I certainly can.

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We expect our teachers to keep our children safe, and that is the key role of the Victorian Institute of Teaching: to ensure that Victorian schools and early childhood services are safe places for students. From our earliest learners attending kinder to our senior students nearing adulthood, all children and students need to be and must be safe. The top priority of the VIT is the health and safety wellbeing of Victorian students. Ultimately the VIT is responsible for determining who can and who cannot teach in our schools and establishing professional standards for our teaching. The Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill will build upon these reforms of the framework by clarifying and enhancing the role of the VIT, the Victorian Institute of Teaching. This bill follows the milestone Victorian selection framework first introduced in 2017, which put in place minimum standards for entry to initial teacher education programs in order to ensure the continued quality of our children’s education. The VIT plays an integral part in the provision of education in this state, and this bill will allow it to regulate the program which certifies teachers entering our schools as well as confirm its oversight in ongoing education and professional learning programs for both school and early childhood teachers. It will also facilitate the institute’s role in accrediting initial teacher education, or ITE, programs by enabling the VIT to set requirements, criteria or standards for the pathway courses that lead into those ITE programs, therefore ensuring that the institute has oversight of all routes into teaching. These pathway courses allow those unable to directly enter teaching programs to access the support and to develop the skills necessary to go on to a teaching qualification. This amendment will provide for the necessary oversight guarantee that all teaching students in pathway programs can provide a verified high-quality education so that they can go on to better educate their own future students. It will safeguard the quality of our schools by ensuring the education of our teachers. Other additions to this amendment include better facilitating the work of the VIT by clarifying their inquiry and investigation processes, as well as introducing commonsense improvements to the regulation of teacher registration. The institute will be empowered to reinstate expired registrations, when appropriate, over a broader 12-month period, as well as to ensure provisionally registered teachers follow to full registration within a period of six years, with exceptions for special circumstances. The VIT will also be able to delegate responsibilities within the organisation so that these responsibilities can be filled efficiently and effectively. The amendment also further clarifies the power of the minister in relation to the VIT, bringing it in line with other statutory authorities. These improvements will allow the Victorian Institute of Teaching to get on with the job of ensuring that prospective teachers are provided with the highest quality training for their profession and that Victoria’s classrooms in turn are led by qualified and experienced teachers. I wish all the students and teachers a very, very successful 2021. Mr KENNEDY (Hawthorn) (10:58): I appear to be the warm-up for my own speech, which will follow after question time. May I just simply, in the very short seconds available, remind us all of George Bernard Shaw, who said famously said that those who can’t teach—and those who can’t teach, teach teachers. That is the warm-up—back later! Ms McLeish: On a point of order, Speaker, has the member for Hawthorn completed his contribution now, because you have not called for question time to begin. He has sat down. Is his contribution completed? The SPEAKER: Order! The time for questions has arrived, and I ask the Clerk to ring the bells. Business interrupted under resolution of house of 2 February.

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Members MINISTER FOR CHILD PROTECTION Absence Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (11:01): I rise to inform the house that the Minister for Housing will answer questions in the absence of the Minister for Child Protection and Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers. Questions without notice and ministers statements COVID-19 Mr M O’BRIEN (Malvern—Leader of the Opposition) (11:01): My question is to the minister for emergency services. A CFA volunteer who had exposure to the infected hotel quarantine worker was officially informed by the CFA at 3.41 pm yesterday that he needed to get tested. Given the government knew about this positive case and the risk of community transmission before the minister’s 4.00 pm press conference yesterday, why did the government withhold this information from the public until after 10.30 pm? Ms NEVILLE (Bellarine—Minister for Water, Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (11:01): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. Can I just be exceptionally clear about this: I did not know at 4 o’clock yesterday about this case. The reason that the CFA, who also did not tell me until much later, were able to contact volunteers who had attended a social event with the infected person was that when the infected person himself, a very diligent person, received his own positive test result from the community testing—from the pathology, it was not part of the staff testing—he knew first and he contacted his brigade. Members interjecting. The SPEAKER: Order! I just warn members about shouting across the chamber. Again I issue the warning that members will be removed without further warning if they shout. Mr M O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, it is not about what the test case himself did in terms of advising people. This is about the CFA formally notifying a particular CFA volunteer that he needed to get tested. The minister is responsible for the CFA. Is she seriously claiming the CFA did this without telling their minister? Really? The SPEAKER: Order! The minister has been relevant to the question. Ms NEVILLE: Can I be absolutely clear again: the first time that I was aware of this case was in a meeting with COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria executives that occurs every day— Members interjecting. The SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party! Ms NEVILLE: between 5.00 pm and 6.00 pm. So that was the first time I became aware of the case. In fact I did not hear from the CFA at all. Now, you may want to raise that with them, but the CFA did not raise this case with me. In fact it was through a media inquiry. And I then reached out to the CFA to understand what they knew, which was after 6 o’clock. But the reason the CFA knew is that the person, who is a volunteer there—and I just want to say to him, ‘Thank you so much for everything you have done’, not just as a volunteer but through this process—contacted the CFA and said, ‘I have had a positive test, and I hung out with these friends of mine’, the volunteers, and the CFA then acted quickly. I actually acknowledge and thank the CFA for doing that. So this idea that the Leader of the Opposition is trying to perpetrate is wrong, completely wrong and false, and I reject it. Mr M O’BRIEN (Malvern—Leader of the Opposition) (11:05): At 8.00 pm last night Australian Open tennis players and officials attended an official event at the Osborne hotel on Commercial Road.

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Given that the government was aware of this outbreak, according to the minister, at 5 o’clock, why did the government allow this event to proceed, given it involved people who had been at the exposure site of hotel quarantine where this positive case— Members interjecting. Mr M O’BRIEN: I am going to be shouted down, am I? Mr Pearson interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! The Minister for Government Services can leave the chamber for the period of 1 hour. Minister for Government Services withdrew from chamber. Mr M O’BRIEN: Given the government was well aware of an outbreak from hotel quarantine involving tennis players, why did the government allow this event to proceed? Ms NEVILLE (Bellarine—Minister for Water, Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (11:06): Firstly, it was not our event, but secondly, let us be really clear— Members interjecting. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Forest Hill can leave the chamber for the period of 1 hour. Member for Forest Hill withdrew from chamber. Ms NEVILLE: I am just wondering if they would like me to answer the question. As I indicated, I became aware of this case at that point. Then the team at the Department of Health and Human Services, as they do, were off. Their outbreak management team were talking to the person who is positive about where he had been and the exposure sites. The tennis players from the Grand Hyatt are not close contacts, they are casual contacts, and the reason for that— Ms Staley interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Ripon! Ms NEVILLE: For the public health experts over there, Allen Cheng and Brett Sutton are the ones who indicated they are casual contacts. They are today going to get tested and, if cleared, which is most likely, they will be able to compete in the tennis competition. MINISTERS STATEMENTS: COVID-19 Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (11:07): I am delighted to be able to report to the house that despite the inconvenience of going and getting tested and the challenge that that poses to many people in response to announcements we made last night, we have seen a massive response from people right throughout the south-eastern suburbs. It is the community that I call home and that I know very well, and I am very proud today to be from Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs and to think that so many people are out there getting tested. Yes, there will be delays. That is the nature of this. We cannot have this run in any way other than safely and meticulously. We do not want to turn a testing site into a super-spreading site, and that is why we are very, very grateful to the many thousands of people who today are getting tested, just as we have asked them to do. Nothing is more important. If we can find any positive cases that are out there, we can wrap our public health response around those people and protect them, protect their family and protect every family. Victorians know what to do. Victorians know and understand what will be asked of them and the part that they have to play. Can I thank all of those who worked throughout the night: the chief health officer, ministers, senior officials and contact tracers— coronavirus detectives—working as hard as possible.

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We are very pleased that the immediate family close contacts, the people who the 26-year-old individual from Noble Park lives with, have tested negative. We are very pleased to be able to say that as many people are getting tested as we have asked. I think it is also important to acknowledge that this particular 26-year-old has been—and the CCTV footage bears it out—a model employee. He has kept meticulous records and has provided coronavirus detectives with everything that they need. Victorians are equal to this challenge. We have proven it time and time again. But we have all got to play our part, and there is nothing more important than coming forward and getting tested if you have got any symptoms or if you have been to any of the exposure sites for the relevant period of time. If people come forward and get tested, we will get control of this fundamentally and we will defeat this, just as we have many other outbreaks. COVID-19 Mr M O’BRIEN (Malvern—Leader of the Opposition) (11:09): My question is to the Minister for Police and Emergency Services. Residents of south-east Melbourne who live in one of the exposure sites have been instructed that they must now be tested and isolate for 14 days regardless of a negative test result. Why is this requirement not also being applied to tennis players and officials who were quarantined in the Grand Hyatt, where the person who tested positive worked day in and day out? Ms NEVILLE (Bellarine—Minister for Water, Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (11:09): Can I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. Firstly, not being the public health expert that clearly the Leader of the Opposition is, I would say that we take our advice from the public health experts and from the chief health officer. What they have determined is that tennis players are casual contacts. Now, we must also remember that tennis players have already quarantined for 14 days. Those who were positive, the last of which was on 22 January—and all the positives are moved to the health hotel—then did 14 days from the time that they were positive and were tested before leaving. We have one remaining and a coach in a health hotel, and they will be cleared when they have completed their 14 days and a negative test and have no symptoms. That is the procedure. So they have already done their 14 days. That is why they are different. They are being tested today for an abundance of caution. We are doing everything, as we should, following every bit of advice—an abundance of caution, doing the testing that needs to be done. They are being tested today. We will get those results. They are being fast-tracked. Mr M O’Brien: On a point of order, Speaker, I ask the minister to just address the nub of the question though, which is why people who have actually interacted with this positive case at the hotel quarantine site are being treated differently from people who may not have interacted with them at all, simply visiting a shop. There is a clear disparity in treatment, and the people of Victoria want to understand the reason why. I ask you to bring the minister back to answering that question. The SPEAKER: Order! The minister is being relevant to the question that was put to her. Ms NEVILLE: I am glad to also have become the Minister for Health today rather than just the minister for emergency services or the quarantine component. Listening to—and this is what I attempt to do, Leader of the Opposition—the chief health officer and the deputy chief health officer today, and in fact the deputy chief health officer who works in the COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria area, it is clear from their advice that tennis players are casual contacts because they remain in their room isolated. They are not moving between the hotel. So the close contacts are absolutely the other parts of the workforce that this worker has had contact with. That is why the tennis players who have already done 14 days are casual contacts, but for an abundance of caution, based on the advice, they are being tested today and isolating until they get the results. That is why it is different to other community members who may be considered as close contacts. I think it is very clear. If the Leader of the Opposition would like to be briefed, I am sure the Minister for Health would be happy to organise that. Mr M O’BRIEN (Malvern—Leader of the Opposition) (11:13): On 12 January the minister said of the Australian Open quarantine:

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We have put in place the strongest, the strictest rules that apply for tennis across the world. Minister, is the Australian Open safe to go ahead and, if so, under what conditions? Ms NEVILLE (Bellarine—Minister for Water, Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (11:13): Thank you for the supplementary, Leader of the Opposition. Firstly, we have put in place, based on the current infection prevention and control and best practice around the world, the best, most robust quarantine system, being copied by other states and looked at across the world. Recently the Australian Medical Association in Perth called it the gold standard. Do we need to review infection prevention and control? We do it every single day. We have got a team of experts looking at that now. This very contagious virus—the UK variant, the South African variant, the Japan variant—is mutating. It is changing. It has different elements to it, so we need to continue to review, and we will do that. In terms of the tennis, again can I quote the deputy chief health officer, Allen Cheng, rather than me. I am not a public health expert. The public health experts have indicated at this stage that they believe the tennis can go ahead safely, and that is the expectation. MINISTERS STATEMENTS: COVID-19 Ms NEVILLE (Bellarine—Minister for Water, Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (11:14): I want to rise to update the house and provide a bit more information in relation to the positive cases that have occurred in hotel quarantine over the last couple of days. Firstly, I had the opportunity to brief the community on an incident that had occurred at the Parkroyal hotel. This was a mandatory quarantine hotel. It had a family that arrived on 20 January, tested positive on 24 January, and that was a family of five. They were moved to a health hotel. A woman who was immediately across the corridor had been there in fact since 11 January because her husband had joined her, so she had been there quite a while. She then tested positive on the 27th. This is not unusual. These are people coming from overseas, likely to be positive. Unfortunately the genomics have shown that it is identical; therefore it is as if they had been in the same room. So we immediately went into looking at CCTV. We got the 100 resident support officers who had been working in that area stood down to be tested as well and replaced those with other RSOs, and we are doing environmental testing. Again it appears that this is an aerosol spread from an opening of a door. Again this is going to require rethinking about how we do infection prevention and control. Of course the case I have just been talking about, the hotel quarantine worker in the Grand Hyatt with the tennis players, tested negative on 29 January. The last case had been the 22nd in there. He then became symptomatic, got tested and has been incredible in terms of his cooperation. Looking at all the CCTV of that incident, he has been an incredibly diligent worker, following all the rules. So again it does not appear to be a procedure issue here, but this is going to be looked at through environmental testing and genomics testing, and whatever changes we need to make, based on health advice, we will do that. COVID-19 Mr SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) (11:16): My question is to the minister for emergency services. The 26-year-old hotel quarantine worker from Noble Park was tested on Sunday after developing symptoms. If Victoria has the best contact tracing in the country, as the minister has repeatedly claimed, why did it take until late Wednesday for the results to be received and announced? Ms NEVILLE (Bellarine—Minister for Water, Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (11:17): I am really disappointed about this because I think we were really clear last night about this. Let us get our facts right about this; do not confuse the Victorian community. Let us be clear: this person was tested on the 29th as he exited hotel quarantine work. He was negative. It was a PCR test, so the very reliable test—it was not saliva. Negative.

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He then attends a few things over the weekend. On the Tuesday, he goes and gets tested. He gets tested on Tuesday, we get the result yesterday, so in less than 24 hours we get the result. We then go into action. We have got exposure sites up last night. We have got 19 of the 20 primary contacts—and probably by now 20 of them—contacted. We have got 600 of the staff at the Grand Hyatt who all received either an SMS or email to isolate. All are being contacted today; all are being tested. So this system is working, probably even better than the Black Rock process in terms of time. It worked quickly, and I just really think it is important in this situation for the opposition to get their facts right. Mr SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) (11:18): CFA volunteers who attended an event with the hotel quarantine worker on Sunday did their own notification of close contacts because they had not been notified by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). How is this the gold standard of contact tracing and testing, as the minister has repeatedly claimed, that is now in place in Victoria? Mr Andrews: On a point of order, Speaker, the supplementary question bears no relation whatsoever to the primary question, nor is this minister in any way responsible for contact tracing or the public health response—so wrong question, wrong minister. Given the fundamental inaccuracies in the first question, perhaps the shadow minister ought just sit down. Mr Wells: On the point of order, Speaker, this supplementary question is directly related to the substantive question because it relates to the hotel quarantine worker—the same hotel quarantine worker. So I would ask you to rule the Premier’s point of order out of order. Mr R Smith: On the point of order, Speaker, in addition to the Manager of Opposition Business’s statement, the Premier says that the minister is not responsible for contact tracing. The minister has made several comments in the public about contact tracing and about Victoria’s contact tracing being the gold standard and as such should be accountable for those comments here in this chamber. Ms Allan: On the point of order, Speaker, I think it is important in upholding the Premier’s point of order that you do so for all the reasons that the supplementary question was in contravention of the sessional orders and Rulings from the Chair but also because it is important more than ever that the information provided in this house and therefore publicly is factual. The information in the questions that are being put forward by those opposite do not contain fact; they contain conspiracy theories that have been concocted in the opposition room, and it is important that that is stamped out and the minister be allowed to answer questions in accordance with the standing and sessional orders. Ms Ryan: Further to the point of order, Speaker, the supplementary question was directly related to the substantive question. The substantive question said, ‘If Victoria has the best contact tracing in the country’, as the minister has repeatedly claimed, and the supplementary went on to say, ‘How is that the gold standard for contact tracing and testing?’. Both related to contact tracing and testing. The minister was happy to take the substantive question. Because she does not like the supplementary she now cannot claim that she is not the minister responsible. She took the substantive question; she must take the supplementary, which was directly related to the substantive. The SPEAKER: Order! I remind members that supplementary questions must relate to the substantive question—in fact flow from the answer that has been given. In this case I think there is enough— Mr Rowswell interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Sandringham can leave the chamber for the period of 1 hour. Member for Sandringham withdrew from chamber. The SPEAKER: In this case the subject of the question is the 26-year-old CFA volunteer, so I am prepared to allow the supplementary. The issue of ministerial responsibility in answering questions is a matter for the minister who has been asked the question. They can direct it to another minister or

QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE AND MINISTERS STATEMENTS 236 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 simply, as I understand from Rulings from the Chair, direct that that minister is not responsible for answering the question. Ms NEVILLE (Bellarine—Minister for Water, Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (11:22): I thought to assist the house that I may as well continue to answer the question, but I did point out that I was not the health minister. I am not sure I remember the supplementary, but let us be really clear: the CFA volunteer, who also worked in hotel quarantine, goes off and gets his test in the community. I do not know if you have been and had a test, member for Caulfield; I have had a few tests. You get your own SMS to tell you what has happened. He gets his own result. He then rings the CFA—great job; he is very good, he is very diligent—because he knows he has been in that group, and he has let people know. They have then gone off and done that. In the meantime the Department of Health Services are in the process of talking to him. He has got an amazing phone with a map that tells him exactly—and tells us—where he has been, probably better than the commonwealth COVID app. He has been able to give that information, and then DHS have that information. He has rightly done it himself. Mr Southwick: On a point of order, Speaker, if you could bring the minister back to answering the question. Very simply— Members interjecting. Mr Southwick: Very simply it was: DHHS has still not notified the CFA members. Those CFA members have had to do their own contact tracing because DHHS has not notified them. So how is that the gold standard? The SPEAKER: Order! A point of order is not an opportunity to repeat the question. The minister is being relevant to the question that has been asked. Ms NEVILLE: I was going to say I had concluded, but I must take that up because that is so incorrect. The primary CFA contacts—that is only a handful—have been contacted. MINISTERS STATEMENTS: COVID-19 Mr FOLEY (Albert Park—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Equality) (11:24): In the interests of a global pandemic, where facts and evidence and risk are so important to public policy health outcomes, can I share—with particularly the opposition, given the train wreck we just saw in the factually incorrect questions from the opposition—the following with the house and the people of Victoria. Last night we updated the Victorian community that a hotel quarantine worker at the Grand Hyatt tested positive to coronavirus. That individual last worked at that workplace on 29 January and was tested at the end of that shift with a negative result. Subsequently he developed symptoms and was tested on 2 February, as has been made clear in the chief health officer’s reports—a fact on the public record. Our public health response teams then quickly established the individual’s movements—and can I, like the minister for emergency services, thank this individual for the outstanding work he has done in his record keeping and the way he has shared it. That has established 20 primary, secondary and casual contacts, based on risk, based on who he has been with when he has been at the most infectious that he has been and based on evidence and science. Based on that, the two immediate closest contacts, his immediate family, have very fortunately returned initial negative tests. We will continue to isolate those people— Mr Andrews: Last night. Mr FOLEY: Last night indeed. That was reported this morning by the honourable Premier. Eight exposure sites were listed last night at 10.30 pm. A further eight sites have been identified overnight by the work with the gentleman, and these are now all available online. A series of other measures based on risk and based on the context in which a person who has been highly infectious has

QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE AND MINISTERS STATEMENTS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 237 dealt with different cohorts in the community is being responded to by our public health team, and I want to thank our contact— (Time expired) FAMILY VIOLENCE Ms CUPPER (Mildura) (11:27): My question is for the Minister for Community Sport on behalf of Kim O’Reilly, who is watching today. In January 2018 Kim’s partner, Jake Frecker, beat her until she blacked out. When she asked for help to get up, he said, ‘You still have a pulse. You can get up yourself’. Six months later Jake was released on bail and made his triumphant return to the footy field. One club president resigned over the decision to let Jake play, but the new club president allowed it on the basis that Jake’s father was a club great. When asked by a journalist whether the club needed more education on respectful relationships the president said ‘No’ and refused to comment further. At his trial Jake received 31 character references, including one from the club president and a player. Jake’s galling sense of entitlement to bash a woman with impunity does not come out of nowhere; it comes from years of social conditioning by a matrix of enablers. Sporting clubs can be powerful enablers. Not all footy clubs provide a platform for violent men to be worshipped but some do. Kim has some ideas about how we can address this. Minister, will you meet with Kim in Mildura to hear her story and discuss her ideas for change? Ms SPENCE (Yuroke—Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Community Sport, Minister for Youth) (11:28): I thank the member for Mildura for her question. It is a question that I am really sorry to have to answer because the circumstances that have led to this question are quite heartbreaking. Really the question should not have needed to be asked because it should not have happened in the first place. So to Kim can I just say that I am terribly sorry that this has happened to you. Any instance of violence against a woman is completely abhorrent. What we do know, though, is that it happens far too often. This is an issue that has been taken incredibly seriously by this government, and that is why we delivered the Royal Commission into Family Violence and committed to implementing all 227 recommendations of that royal commission. The Minister for Prevention of Family Violence is doing a power of work to that end. To the member for Mildura’s question: I would be more than happy to meet with Kim and hear her ideas for change. I would like to commend the member for Mildura for her advocacy and also look forward to hearing from the member for Mildura and Kim about what we can do working with the community and with sporting groups to get these matters and issues dealt with. Ms CUPPER (Mildura) (11:29): My supplementary question is also for the Minister for Community Sport. In June 2018, while Jake was on bail and playing footy, Kim was in rehab. She was unable to work. For two years she was unable to drive. She still needs assistance to get up a flight of stairs. She is having cortisone injections in her hip every six weeks. She has significant nerve damage on the left side of her face, which means she has no feeling, and her smile droops to one side. She has botox in her cheek every three months to stop her eye from pinching, due to the muscles retracting from the scar tissue under her eye. She has neurological damage which affects her memory. Last month she was diagnosed with PTSD, and titanium plates hold her left eye in place. Dimboola footy club may think it has nothing to learn, but maybe you have a different view. Minister, will you commit to funding a mandatory training program, aimed at changing the culture of enabling that some—not all—footy clubs continue to promote? Ms SPENCE (Yuroke—Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Community Sport, Minister for Youth) (11:30): Thank you to the member for Mildura for her supplementary question. Again, those are absolutely heartbreaking circumstances that the member for Mildura has informed us about today. Sporting clubs can be a really powerful vehicle for change. As well as strengthening communities and bringing people together, they really can be that very important vehicle for change. That is why we established the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation. That body is running out some really important programs that go to that end of creating cultural change. I am really keen to continue that work, and what I will commit to is working with the member for Mildura. I think that

QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE AND MINISTERS STATEMENTS 238 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 those discussions with Kim will also be very interesting—seeing how we can take those views into account as well. MINISTERS STATEMENTS: BIG HOUSING BUILD Mr WYNNE (Richmond—Minister for Planning, Minister for Housing) (11:31): I rise to update the house on the Andrews government’s Big Housing Build, the single biggest investment in social housing by any state government in this nation’s history. The $5.3 billion program will see over 12 000 new social and affordable homes being built and will create 10 000 jobs per year over the next four years, and of course work is well and truly underway. The six fast-start sites that we announced with the package back in November last year are in procurement phase now. We will deliver a total of 1000 new homes, with construction starting on 400 of those in the next couple of weeks. A request for proposals to purchase ready-to-build properties was released immediately, and this has received huge interest from the market, with hundreds of offers now currently being assessed. The spot purchase program has already begun, with 596 new homes set to be purchased by Homes Victoria in the coming months, with many being tenanted very shortly. These homes will change the lives of hundreds of Victorians by giving them somewhere safe, secure and affordable to build a life that they value. We have also released a rapid grants round for the Social Housing Growth Fund, including for community housing agencies to submit proposals for shovel-ready projects that will be ready to commence construction in the second half of this year. We started work right away on these landmark investments because we know we are not only changing people’s lives but giving them a roof over their heads. This will be particularly important in terms of continuing to support the economy going forward. We want to target a number of these projects, particularly to people who are escaping family violence, as the member for Mildura has so eloquently put to us today. JUSTICE SYSTEM Mr SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) (11:34): My question is to the Minister for Corrections. Yesterday when asked if any rapists, murderers or serial killers in Victorian prisons would receive a sentence reduction via emergency management days, the minister stated that ‘the short answer is no’. The Sentencing Advisory Council data confirms that more than 40 per cent of Victoria’s 5000 sentenced prisoners are incarcerated for serious sex, homicide and assault offences. How can the minister claim not a single murderer, rapist or serial killer will receive cuts to their sentences? Ms HUTCHINS (Sydenham—Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (11:34): I thank the member for his question, but I refute the premise of his question in that yesterday he asked me, ‘Would prisoners get a get-out-of- jail-free card’, and that is what I responded to yesterday, that allegation. In fact EMDs— Mr Southwick: On a point of order, Speaker, I ask you to bring the member back to answering the question, and the clear fact of the matter is yesterday it was ‘How many members received emergency management days?’. The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Caulfield will resume his seat. It is not a point of order. Ms HUTCHINS: The act allows for the use of emergency management days when those prisoners who have been sentenced receive harsher penalties than they have been sentenced to, which has been the situation in trying to keep our prisons safe during the COVID lockdown last year, so many prisoners spent additional hours in their prison cells. New entrants to the system spent 14 days in isolation in order to stop the spread of COVID through our prison system to protect our workforce and to protect our broader community. Mr Southwick: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister is not being relevant to the question. The question specifically went to murderers, rapists and sex offenders that have been given emergency

QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE AND MINISTERS STATEMENTS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 239 management days, and we need her to be relevant. Forty per cent of those are in prison, and the minister said yesterday that none of them have received emergency management days. Is that correct: yes or no? The SPEAKER: Order! The minister is being relevant to the question that was asked. Ms HUTCHINS: The commissioner for corrections has the discretion to utilise this legislation to ensure that we keep a safe and calm prison system. We have seen all over the world the spread of the coronavirus through prisons that then leak out into the community. We have been successful in stopping that from happening, and our workforce should be congratulated for that, not attacked. Mr SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) (11:37): It was recently confirmed by acting corrections commissioner Larissa Strong that 4972 inmates have received emergency management days. Will the minister now admit that she misspoke yesterday, stating that not a single murderer, rapist or serial killer has received sentence reductions? Ms HUTCHINS (Sydenham—Minister for Crime Prevention, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (11:37): During the pandemic EMDs were granted by the commissioner on a case-by-case basis. Around 61 per cent of those potentially would have been granted to remand prisoners, and in fact post hearing they may not have even been sentenced. So the figures that those opposite keep peddling are actually not accurate to the data that has been made available by the government. The act allows for— Mr Southwick: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister needs to be factual here. The figures that I have given are specifically for sentenced prisoners, not remand prisoners. I can give another 4000 prisoners— The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Caulfield will resume his seat. There is no point of order. Ms HUTCHINS: I think attacks on our commissioner for corrections for her being able to take up the legislative rights that are there under the act to manage our prison system so that we avert the spread of COVID into our community is abhorrent. I thank the staff of our corrections system for protecting our community and keeping it safe. MINISTERS STATEMENTS: FAMILY VIOLENCE Ms WILLIAMS (Dandenong—Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, Minister for Women, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs) (11:39): I rise to update the house on the Andrews Labor government’s ongoing work to end family violence. The member for Mildura’s earlier question was a sobering reminder of why this work is so very important, and I thank her and Kim for their advocacy. The last year as we all know has been incredibly challenging for everybody but especially for those who have spent every day in fear of being harmed by a person who is supposed to love them. When we came to government we committed to change. We committed to rebuilding a broken system that left many, predominantly women and children, isolated and ignored. This is a big task, a huge task, but the difficulties of the last year have only strengthened our resolve. We have acquitted more than two-thirds of the 227 recommendations of the royal commission, with the remaining recommendations all well underway. We have continued to roll out the Orange Door network across Victoria. Late last year you might remember that we opened two new sites in Ballarat and Bendigo, and I am pleased to say that we will soon have another new site in Shepparton. We have committed to 17 sites by the end of the term so that all Victorians, no matter where they live, can get the support they need closer to home and when they need it. We have so far invested over $3 billion to see this reform through, and there is more to come. But it is not about money and it is not about ticking boxes; this is about saving and changing lives. This is about ensuring that victim-survivors no longer have to retell their stories over and over again across different parts of the system. It is about ensuring they have access to the wraparound services

CONSTITUENCY QUESTIONS 240 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 that they need to be safe and to help them to recover. And it is about ensuring that perpetrators are held to account. We are committed to seeing this challenging reform through—to save lives, to do what is right and ultimately to do what we said we would do and what only a Labor government will do. Ms Britnell: On a point of order, Speaker, I have a number of matters that are yet to be answered by the relevant minister within the agreed time frame, and they are: adjournment matter 4515 to the Minister for Planning, which is now almost three months overdue, and constituency question 4584, again to the Minister for Planning, which is two months overdue. This is the second time I have raised these particular matters for the Minister for Planning with you, and I ask for a swift response so I can then provide answers to my constituents. I also have constituency question 4727 to the Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers and adjournment matter 4806 to the Minister for Health that are both overdue. The SPEAKER: I thank the member for raising those issues. We will take those matters up with the relevant ministers. Mr Burgess: On a point of order, Speaker, I still have not got an answer to my constituency question 4782 asked on 12 December 2020. The SPEAKER: I thank the member. We will raise that matter with the minister as well. Ms Vallence: On a point of order, Speaker, constituency question 5312 to the Minister for Housing in relation to the Homelessness to a Home program was asked back on 9 December, 56 days ago, and my local residents deserve an answer to that question. The SPEAKER: I thank the member. We will follow that matter up as well. Constituency questions SOUTH-WEST COAST ELECTORATE Ms BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (11:42): (5499) My question is to the Minister for Housing, and I seek information on how many new dwellings the government’s public housing program will deliver in Warrnambool and the south-west. The last state budget allocated funding to renew old stock and to build new social housing properties. Local media reported that a minimum $25 million of the funding pool had been allocated to the Warrnambool area but reported no details about how the money would be spent or how many new dwellings would be built. Affordable housing is one of the key issues in my electorate, and Infrastructure Victoria’s 30-year strategy found that the unmet housing demand is estimated at over 1400 dwellings and that just 23 per cent of new lettings in Warrnambool are affordable for lower income households. Minister, how many new dwellings will this planned $25 million deliver in Warrnambool, and what is the expected outcome for access to affordable housing? BASS ELECTORATE Ms CRUGNALE (Bass) (11:43): (5500) My question is to the Minister for Crime Prevention. What opportunities are there for investment through our building safer communities program to help tackle the root causes of crime in my electorate? Cardinia shire has previously had great success in bringing together all parts of the community to tackle crime with their Together We Can program that helps prevent family violence. In response to community concerns over recent incidents I will be participating in a small roundtable hosted by Cardinia shire next week alongside community leaders, representatives, police, safety partners and residents with a focus on how we can build a safer community. Minister, my community has the expertise and passion to tackle the social drivers of crime, and I have heard some excellent ideas already. I was pleased to hear of the recent forums in Brimbank and Craigieburn and the support through the empowering communities grants to develop tailored crime prevention projects and initiatives. We want to stop our young people from getting involved in crime in the first place, and we seek your support to make our community safe.

CONSTITUENCY QUESTIONS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 241

OVENS VALLEY ELECTORATE Mr McCURDY (Ovens Valley) (11:44): (5501) My question is to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety from Malcolm Browning of Yarrawonga and it is in respect to ex-CFA fire trucks that are sold off to local farmers. They are then privately owned and they still are used to protect private and public assets during the summer season. He asks: would the government consider waiving stamp duty costs and government charges for these transactions? These transactions effectively see old, unused and unwanted stock bought from the CFA which is then used for public and private benefit. There is no suggestion that these vehicles bypass roadworthy certificates or Transport Accident Commission premiums, because safety is paramount. However, revenue raising in the form of stamp duty on the back of community spirit seems to be a modern-day backhander. Mr Browning is a longstanding CFA volunteer and wants to ease the burden for farmers who are willing to support the community when disasters hit our community. TARNEIT ELECTORATE Ms CONNOLLY (Tarneit) (11:45): (5502) My question is for the Deputy Premier in his capacity as Minister for Mental Health. In the very near future the final recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System will be tabled in this Parliament. Mental health has seen a huge focus from our government and is a topic that is being discussed widely across Victoria, including in my own electorate of Tarneit. When I have had the opportunity to talk to constituents about mental health locally they are very relieved that our government has acted to see how we can create a strong response to improving people’s mental health, and that is exactly what these recommendations are designed to do. My question for the minister is this: what do the recommendations of the royal commission into mental health mean for my community in Tarneit? HASTINGS ELECTORATE Mr BURGESS (Hastings) (11:46): (5503) My question is directed to the Minister for Education, and the information I seek on behalf my constituents is about his department providing additional funding for the National School Chaplaincy program in Victoria. In December I met with and then wrote to the minister after being advised by Somerville Secondary College that their application to the Department of Education and Training for such funding had been refused. I emphasise to the minister how crucial this particular program is to the school and the particular students. In his written response, the minister suggested alternatives. However, none of those would satisfy the particular need that the chaplaincy program satisfies. It is the most vulnerable students that are in need here, and I ask the minister to make inquiries of his own department regarding these situations so that he can understand the particular children that we are talking about and their circumstances. GEELONG ELECTORATE Ms COUZENS (Geelong) (11:47): (5504) My constituency question is for the Minister for Employment in the other place. My question is: how will the Victorian government support the employment of local Aboriginal people in Geelong through our Barwon region infrastructure projects and across the whole of government? I have recently met with the Wathaurong traditional owner group, G21 and Larrakia man Mathew Stokes of Seeker Global to discuss the need to put mechanisms in place to ensure Aboriginal people in the Barwon region have access to these job opportunities. The Victorian government’s record investment into infrastructure is an important opportunity for us to strengthen economic outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians as employees or as business owners. We are funding important projects in my electorate such as the extension to the Barwon Prison, Geelong Arts Centre, Cardinia Park, the Gordon TAFE and many more in the pipeline. The government has committed to ensuring Aboriginal people and businesses benefit from government investments, and this is an important issue that I ask the minister to address.

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BRUNSWICK ELECTORATE Dr READ (Brunswick) (11:48): (5505) My question is for the Minister for Local Government in the other place. I was recently told by a constituent who is blind that, unlike state and federal elections, there is no legislative provision for telephone voting during local government elections. Braille ballots were difficult to obtain and many blind people do not read Braille. This effectively locks out thousands of people with significant vision impairment from participating in what should be the most accessible level of democracy. In 2021 this is no longer acceptable. So will the Victorian government take action to ensure that by the next local government elections in 2024 telephone voting will be available for people with disabilities? HAWTHORN ELECTORATE Mr KENNEDY (Hawthorn) (11:49): (5506) My question is to the Minister for Small Business. There are many small businesses and sole traders in my electorate of Hawthorn. Quite a few of them have adapted their business model during the coronavirus pandemic and have done extremely well keeping their workers in work while continuing to provide a range of services to my local community. As many know, 2020 was a tough year for small businesses, and I thank them for their resilience during those difficult times. But there are many small businesses that were hit hard and needed support to help them get through to the other side of this pandemic. My question is: how did the government support businesses in my electorate in 2020? I look forward to the minister’s response. POLWARTH ELECTORATE Mr RIORDAN (Polwarth) (11:50): (5507) My question is to the Minister for Education and is on behalf of all my government secondary schools across the electorate of Polwarth. Again this year we have seen that secondary schools across my region are reporting much higher than average absentee and non-attendance rates. This is a trend that has continued now for the last six years of this government. This unfortunate trend in attendance is playing out in results, and we have the unfortunate situation at all my schools across the Polwarth region and in fact right across rural and regional Victoria of students finding themselves in the bottom 50 per cent and in most cases in the bottom 30 per cent of results across the state. This is an unfortunate disadvantage for rural and regional students, who often only have the one school to choose from in their community. I look forward to a prompt response from the government on how they plan to address this issue going forward. SOUTH BARWON ELECTORATE Mr CHEESEMAN (South Barwon) (11:51): (5508) My question is to the Minister for Planning. Over the summer period many of my local residents made an application to the planning process to determine Torquay’s town boundaries and height limits. My question to the Minister for Planning is: what are the next steps and stages in this formal consultation process where the community can express their view about height limits and town boundaries? Torquay has gone through a lot of population growth, and I think it is important that the community is fully aware of how they may engage. My question is very, very important to this community. Ms Kealy: On a point of order, Speaker, the member for Tarneit raised a question today directed to the Minister for Mental Health asking him to provide her with a run-down of the final report of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. I note that the report was not tabled today. There are many, many people who have put in a lot of time and effort—thousands of Victorians who have told their stories and provided evidence to the royal commission. They are also disappointed that the report was not tabled today. It is another delay by this government in acting on mental health. Given that the question specifically went to the minister providing a summary of the recommendations relevant to the member’s seat and that it is actually impossible for the minister to provide that because the report has not been tabled, the question should be ruled out of order.

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Mr Cheeseman: On the point of order, Speaker, I think it is quite appropriate that the member for Tarneit seek from the minister what the royal commission might mean for her constituency. It is an appropriate question, and I think the question is in order. The SPEAKER: I do not uphold the point of order. The Chair is not in a position to be able to determine how the relevant minister responds to the question, and I therefore do not uphold the point of order. Bills EDUCATION AND TRAINING REFORM AMENDMENT (MISCELLANEOUS) BILL 2020 Second reading Debate resumed. Mr KENNEDY (Hawthorn) (11:53): I left with the remark of George Bernard Shaw, who said those who can’t teach—and those who can’t teach, teach teachers. That has always been an issue. Speaking as someone who was for nearly 30 years the founding principal of Loyola College in Watsonia, that was always our biggest task—finding good teachers and the best teachers for all our children. In dealing with lots of different personalities, we recognised that some of the most poorly qualified people could well be the very best teachers in the classroom—I saw that over and over again, and I saw people with PhDs and the old Dip. Ed. who were just appalling. It was a very, very disappointing outcome. Accordingly, then I welcomed the establishment of the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT), and I am delighted that it has not just sat back and reduced itself to a formula but made continuing efforts to improve the quality of teaching. These things here, which are partly administrative, of course all assist in that. They might be very humble points, if you like, but I know from my experience that getting some of that hygiene right, if that is the word—the hygiene of these things—is always very helpful. It will not necessarily change the world. The member for Gippsland South was quite correct, I think, in regretting that Australia, all states, could do better in terms of comparisons with some of the other countries and some of the outcomes that have been reported. So that is a goal for all of us on both sides of the house, to improve those outcomes in all our schools, not just in Victoria but in all states. Accordingly, I am very pleased to speak on this Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020 and proud to be part of a government that has such a strong commitment to education. As will be seen, these changes enhance and build upon Victoria as the Education State. The principal effect of the bill will be to strengthen the role of VIT, the Victorian Institute of Teaching, to better ensure that we have high-quality teachers—bearing in mind my reservations at the very start of this speech—in delivering high-quality education. The amendments proposed by the bill are to part 2.6 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. A key purpose of the bill is to clarify and enhance the powers and functions of the institute in relation to initial teacher education—ITE. There have always been loads of arguments about what is the best way of preparing teachers. Should you have more practice teaching or less? We have seen the one- year Dip. Ed. expanded, combined with other degrees and so on, into something of around two years. So there is more time spent in the preparation of teachers and, I think importantly, more time for teachers to be in schools with practice teaching. It was my experience that it was always preferable if there was a vacancy in a school and you employed a first year out, a so-called graduate, to try and employ them for two years so that they had a year, in one sense, of learning and reflecting on their experience and then in the second year their being able to be given the same classes so that there were not new challenges, and an opportunity to perfect their style and the balance of the curriculum as it is planned and so on.

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I think that these are changes that have occurred in terms of the amount of this ITE, and they are all to the good. But by themselves it is obviously just not enough, and that is where VIT comes in. VIT will be able to effectively implement and regulate compliance with their program requirements and program entry standards. This will ensure that ITE programs conform with the minimum Victorian selection framework standards, including as to the minimum-entry ATAR. The proposed amendments also grant VIT new powers to approve programs which are marketed as providing ITE pathways. In this way the Victorian government aims to ensure that ITE pathways provide an academically sound foundation for prospective teachers to successfully pursue their careers. New powers are also proposed by the bill that will explicitly confirm that VIT is authorised. So that enhances their reputation and their effectiveness, and that to me is also a very important part of this catching up, if you like, that is incorporated in this bill. Not only will the bill result in an improvement in the quality of teachers education, but its efficiency and service provision to teachers will be enhanced, and we have selected five areas that are particularly important. How is it being enhanced? Well, firstly, it is clarifying and streamlining VIT’s inquiry and investigation process, including by giving VIT the power to dismiss a complaint that is vexatious, frivolous, misconceived or lacking in substance. I think that one is really important, because often you have to work through this. Whatever time as a principal you spent on staff, they used to say that you spent 90 per cent of that time on just 10 per cent of the staff, and that is true. The 90 per cent of the staff get on with the job, they have the competence, and really the work is with that 10 per cent that are struggling for one reason or another. And this is the sort of thing that starts to help. It might only be in small, imperceptible ways, but believe me, it does start to help, particularly in terms of having a third party involved in the process. The bill removes a person’s eligibility for provisional registration where the person has previously been provisionally registered for six years, except where there are special circumstances for the teacher not meeting the standard for full registration. It empowers VIT to reinstate a person’s registration within 12 months of expiry and broadens its powers to share information with other regulators, with an interstate teacher registration authority—that is going to actually be really important; I have seen some disasters with a lack of communication between the various authorities. And finally, it removes certain limitations on their powers to delegate. These are really important consequences, I think, of this legislation. It should be noted that there are important privacy implications attached to various provisions of the bill. There are telling public interest considerations, supporting the obligation for those seeking registration to provide personal information. Here again—it is always a challenge, isn’t it?—there are rights to privacy on the one hand but also the rights of the children in the classroom to competent teaching, integrity and relationships. These things are also very, very important. It is a challenge, balancing those two commodities. I would like to just mention finally today clause 24, which inserts a new provision that deals with notifications, complaints and investigations. These are all administrative things, but they are often things that have to be legislated for rather than just changed by an administrator and so on. So it is good to see that people are onto this. These VIT functions are of a serious nature and may affect the employment of one or more teachers, and equally the safety and welfare of children and young persons can be at risk. Mr HIBBINS (Prahran) (12:02): I rise to speak to the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020, which is a bill that makes a number of amendments to the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 relating to the powers and functions of the Victorian Institute of Teaching. These include increasing the duties and functions of the VIT in relation to approving programs of study that lead to qualifying as a teacher; providing the VIT with new powers; revising their processes for investigating conduct, competence and fitness to teach; and making changes to teacher registration.

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Just a bit of background—in 2017 the Victorian selection framework established two core requirements to be used for the selection of candidates for initial teacher education programs. They were around the introduction of a minimum tertiary admission rank for school leaver applicants—that was 65 in 2018 and 70 in 2019—as well as an assessment of the suitability of the candidates’ personal attributes for teaching. The two most significant changes proposed in this bill are that it strengthens the institute’s oversight of the Victorian selection framework by regulating pathways, programs and continuing education programs—it establishes the institute’s power in undertaking quality assurance of pathway programs completed by those seeking to enter initial teacher training programs—and it empowers the institute to endorse through a voluntary framework continuing education programs for teachers. This is aimed at ensuring our teachers have access to quality continued professional development throughout their careers, which is absolutely critical to really both improving teacher quality and keeping teachers in the profession. I want to join with other previous speakers and other members of this house in acknowledging the incredible performance of our teachers at all our schools, our TAFEs and our kinders as well throughout the pandemic, and particularly in supporting students learning from home during 2020. In the conversations that I have had with local principals, teachers rallied to the cause and responded really quickly to adapt their lesson plans and adapt to students learning from home—so a massive thankyou to all our teachers in Victoria and in the Prahran electorate for your dedication, your professionalism and your efforts. What I really hope will come out of this pandemic, and we already see it, is an even greater sense of appreciation for people who work to look after others, for our teachers and our support staff at our schools. I think that is something that is really going to come out of this pandemic. The closure of schools shed a light on a lot of the inequalities in our society and the barriers to quality education, particularly for the most marginalised in our community. Teachers really went above and beyond to meet the needs of those students. In reality we need more teachers and we need more support staff and they need to be better paid, and that is actually the best way that we can demonstrate our thanks for their work over the past year. As a key part of our state’s recovery from COVID, as part of the economic recovery, it needs to involve an investment in the education sector that would increase the number of teachers and increase the number of support staff in our public schools, which would allow class sizes to be reduced and more support for disadvantaged students. I was really pleased to see the government significantly increase funding to support students with a disability, which will also employ more support staff. That is just the sort of investment we need—good-paying government jobs in education but also in health and social services—to recover from this pandemic. One area where we can improve is attracting more people to teaching professions and attracting the best high-performing candidates. I was really interested in the Grattan Institute’s proposal that they put out over the last couple of years about how to attract high achievers to teaching. Their survey of young people with an ATAR of 80 and higher found that more of them would take up teaching if it offered new career paths and higher top-end pay. What the Grattan Institute proposed was the creation of a new level of teacher, masters and instructional specialists within schools, that would be well paid, around $180 000 a year and $140 000 a year, which would be well above the highest standard pay rate for teachers. That would bridge a really important gap between teachers—of course moving beyond that you have got those who move into principal and administration roles—allowing that for those high-achieving teachers to be able to then assist other teachers and be able to improve classrooms. I think that is a really important initiative that should be looked at by the government—you know, attracting the best and supporting them to be the best teachers throughout their career. We know what the power of a great teacher can do to a young person’s education. I have welcomed the increased disability funding, I have welcomed the provision of the allowance of students keeping their laptops and devices throughout the pandemic. That is something I raised with the minister many times at Public Accounts and Estimates Committee hearings, that the pandemic

BILLS 246 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 really exposed a real digital divide of those students who did not have access to a computer or the internet at home. And whilst that was important and of course they had to have them during the pandemic, in reality outside the pandemic we cannot have this divide where some students have access to computers and the internet and some do not. So I would really encourage the government to not just continue on with allowing students to keep the devices that they were loaned but now look at how that can be provided across the entire school system, because we cannot have a situation again where thousands of students are going without access to laptops and the internet at home. On education funding, historically Victoria has actually been the lowest funding state for public education. That is still the case today, even despite the recent agreement with the federal government. We will become one of the last states to reach the agreed funding rate of 75 per cent for states, and at the end of 2028 with that funding agreement we are still going to be short around $1 billion a year for what would be the full Gonski funding. The impact of that underfunding is real. Your local school, no matter where you live, whatever your circumstances, whatever your background, should be a great local public school and should meet the needs of its students. Our schools will not be able to do that until public schools are fully funded to the Gonski student resource standard. It is in particular those extra loadings for disadvantaged students so they can get the individual support they need that will make sure that all schools can meet the needs of their students, which will not occur under the current state-federal deal. Not only is it impacting on the classroom, on our students, but it is also impacting on the cost to parents. The Victorian Council of Social Service recently, as they often do at the start of the school year, pointed out the significant cost to parents of actually sending their child to what should be a free education. Free education is now costing somewhere in the order of about $3000 and $6000 in Victoria. This is on books, on fees, on uniforms and on computers, on top of voluntary fees. State Schools Relief is doing great work in supporting students, but I think we now need to have a commitment from the state government to reaffirm that a public education is a free education, and if we are continuing on the basis that it is costing thousands of dollars to send a student to a public school, that is not a free education. So we need a commitment from the government that public schooling will be actually free, and we can do that by ensuring the full Gonski funding. We can do it by ensuring that students and families have access to laptops and devices that they can use at home. We can look at reducing transport costs and the costs of extracurricular sports and excursions. Just imagine what we can do when we finally get that full Gonski funding that has been talked about for so long—100 per cent of what is required to meet their needs. That will have a massive impact in the classrooms and on educational outcomes but also a really big impact on reducing the costs that parents are facing in sending their child to what should be a free education. With that I will conclude my remarks. I will support this bill. It provides some regulatory and some quality-assurance changes. We support it. We support changes to improve teacher quality. But there is more to be done in Victoria when it comes to education. I note that—and this was discussed in the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee—the initiatives announced in the budget still sit within the envelope of the current Gonski deal that has been done with the federal and state governments, so whilst they are new initiatives, they do not actually add to the current funding envelope. So I would really encourage both the state and federal governments to sit back down together and work out how they can actually get school funding to 100 per cent as soon as possible—not 90 per cent by 2028. As I said, that will leave our school system around about $1 billion short every single year. The benefits that that extra funding can bring for all our schools—you have got a good local school, preferably, hopefully, within walking distance of your house, although that is not always possible— Ms Britnell: Not in the country. Mr HIBBINS: No, not in the country but in many parts of metropolitan Melbourne and in cities. So we need to make sure that funding goes to the needs particularly of those students from

BILLS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 247 disadvantaged backgrounds so they can get the support in the classroom and so our public schools can support all our students. Mr MAAS (Narre Warren South) (12:14): It gives me great pleasure too to rise to speak to and make a contribution in support of the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020. It is tremendous as well to have heard the member for Hawthorn speak and also I think probably correct the record with that George Bernard Shaw quote. Some of us in the chamber would be familiar with the version that Jack Black put forward in the film School of Rock, which went something like, ‘Those who can’t teach, teach PE’. It has been interesting putting some notes together for this bill, because it has enabled me to just reflect on my time as a schoolteacher, which in fact was back in the 1990s. Entering teaching back in the mid- 1990s, it was a pretty tough time. It was a time when public schools were actually being closed in this state, and it was also a time when new teachers, those who were very keen to get their registration and to enter the profession, were being forced to sign up to four teacher contracts per year just to stay at the school. It was a crazy time, and it drove a reduction in teacher numbers and a reduction in the number of schools where they worked. Thankfully that Kennett era is well and truly behind us, and we now have a government in place which is doing investment—as the member for Wendouree said, transformative investment—in our schools, ensuring that we have a system that is fit for purpose and where there is obvious growth. Indeed we are seeing growth in our teacher numbers as well. At the moment I understand there are some 135 000 registered teachers in the state, and that is projected to grow to some 140 000 in just a couple of years time. Teachers are at the very heart of this system, and it is timely that we now put amendments towards this bill. It makes sense that with the body that gives oversight, the regulations there are clarified and bolstered as these changes to policies, programs and infrastructure are made for this growing number of professionals. It also makes sense given the national framework of education standards that has been introduced and improved over the last decade. The Victorian Institute of Teaching is an independent statutory authority for the teaching profession whose primary function is to regulate members of the teaching profession, and it is a legal requirement for all teachers to be registered with VIT in order to be employed in a school or early childhood education and care service or Victorian children’s service. If it is to regulate for a highly qualified, proficient and reputable teaching profession—which is its purpose—then it needs to have the reform that this bill proposes. At present VIT is responsible for accrediting initial teacher education, also known as ITE programs— in essence, school teaching degrees. This ensures that school teaching degrees are compliant with the national standards and that graduates are ready to become classroom teachers for students. That said, there is currently a lack of clarity around VIT’s role and the extent of its powers with respect to the regulation of these ITE programs. The bill addresses this so that VIT is able to regulate compliance with the national standards and the Victorian-specific standards, including the minimum ATAR for teaching degrees. As the member for Hawthorn did say, back in those days I think it was known as the Teachers Registration Board. It was simply a matter of taking your qualification together with your Dip. Ed. and handing that in. You got your registration and away you went. But the system is now a bit more sophisticated than that, and that is a great thing for everyone concerned. That said, the bill introduces new powers for VIT to regulate pathway programs. Typically students enrol in pathway programs in preparation to study teaching, and pathway programs provide students with preparation and an avenue for entry into an ITE program. The proposed amendments will quality assure pathway programs, so students and ITE providers can be confident that these programs will provide adequate preparation for a bachelor-level ITE program. Several areas of ITE operations regarding registration and discipline processes and its powers to delegate will also be improved, enabling VIT to deliver a more efficient and cost-effective service to teachers. The government is committed to raising the standard of those entering the teaching profession and lifting educational outcomes for students. Victoria was the first jurisdiction in Australia to introduce

BILLS 248 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 minimum standards for entry into ITE programs with the introduction of the Victorian selection framework in 2018, so this means that school leavers need an ATAR of 70 or above to enrol in a teaching degree. Changes to this bill will complement and reinforce those entry requirements and continue to raise the quality of school teaching and the status of teaching as a profession. There is currently a lack of clarity in relation to the act and the extent of its powers, and the bill aims to address that issue. Pathway programs are increasingly a feature of the teacher education landscape, and while there are many other elements to this bill, it is the pathway programs that I will focus my contribution on. The bill defines a pathway program as a program or a course of study that is identified or marketed as offering to provide a pathway to entry into an approved ITE program. Typically students enrol in pathway programs in preparation to study teaching. Pathway programs can provide valuable support to candidates who have not achieved the minimum ATAR for direct entry into an ITE program to support them to develop skills to a level preparing them for entry to an ITE program. Providers of ITE programs currently accept candidates into their ITE programs from a broad range of pathway programs. VIT does not currently have the express functions or powers under the act with respect to pathway programs. The bill itself establishes the VIT’s regulation of these programs, and it is intended to extend quality assurance for entry to ITE programs to include those entering from pathway programs. It will set an appropriate quality benchmark and ensure consistency in pathway programs across the sector. Pathway programs can provide valuable support to candidates who have not achieved the minimum ATAR for direct entry to that program to support them to develop skills to a level preparing them for entry into that program. As a result of the proposed amendments the VIT will have the power to set requirements and criterial standards for the approval of pathway programs; approve, vary or renew the approval of pathway programs; impose, vary and revoke conditions on the approval of pathway programs; and monitor compliance by providers of pathway programs with the requirements, criteria and standards for pathway programs and any conditions imposed on the approval of pathway programs. I too would like to take this opportunity to thank our teachers and all teachers in the profession. It is a very noble and very rewarding profession, and I would particularly like to thank the unions as well, the Australian Education Union and the Independent Education Union of Australia, for the work that they do in looking after the profession but also for the work that they did in contribution to this bill. This is a good bill. A lot of work has gone into this bill. I thank the minister and commend the bill to the house. Ms SHEED (Shepparton) (12:24): I rise to make a contribution on the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020. In doing so, I will first of all just set out some of the things that the bill is seeking to do, and that is: to clarify and enhance the existing powers of the Victorian Institute of Teaching with respect to the approval of initial teacher education programs; to grant new powers to VIT with respect to the approval of pathway programs, being programs that are identified or marketed as offering to provide a pathway to entry into an approved initial teacher education program; to grant explicit powers to VIT to endorse continuing education programs for schools and early childhood teachers where the programs satisfy the voluntary standards; to broaden VIT’s information-sharing powers; to improve the efficiency of VIT’s operating processes and procedures with respect to particular teacher registration processes, investigation processes and their ability to delegate powers; and also to strengthen accountabilities to the minister by the VIT. Education is something I have always felt very passionate about, and I used my first grievance debate in this Parliament back in 2016 to point out not only what I felt was the great discrepancy between rural and regional outcomes but what was happening in the Shepparton district, in particular in Shepparton and Mooroopna, in relation to our four secondary schools. There was no secret at that time that we had dramatically falling enrolments across most of the schools and that outcomes were not anything like what we would hope them to be. In this place we spend an enormous amount of time demanding investments in infrastructure, but really the most important capital we can invest in, ever,

BILLS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 249 is the human capital—and that is to equip our children to go forward into their future lives. I have always said that education is the key to freedom, and I truly believe that. And in particular for regional young people, it opens doors that are not otherwise easily accessible. On that note, I would just like to point out that even in today’s Shepparton newspaper there is an article called ‘Encouraging education’, and it is just noted there that in the 2016 census 35.9 per cent of Shepparton’s population had not completed year 12, compared to the Victorian average of 24 per cent. Now, just under 11 per cent of the population had completed a bachelor’s degree or above, while 47.2 per cent had no qualifications. These are really important figures that do show that statewide disadvantage that really gets highlighted in regional areas. The Economics of Education Review, according to their study, found: … students whose families received welfare were 55 per cent less likely to finish secondary school than their classmates whose families did not. Now, these figures really say a lot. In some areas—and in particular an area such as Shepparton- Mooroopna—which do have high levels of disadvantage, the socio-economic indexes for areas for those schools are some of the most significant in the state in terms of disadvantage. It seems to me that it is the role of a local MP to advocate very loudly to improve educational outcomes in our communities, and I have to say I was pretty shocked to see that very little had been done for a very long time in that space. You could go back to the 1990s, when efforts were made to talk about a senior secondary school for the town, and again in the 2000s—probably 15 years ago now—an attempt was made to try and get some improvement in education generally. But it did not happen. So it is very pleasing at this point to have a look at what has been happening since 2016, and I would say to the Minister for Education that it was a great day when he came to Shepparton in 2017 and announced the Shepparton Education Plan. It has caused a lot of confusion for some people and it has been absolutely transformational in so many ways, but I think that the hope for everyone in our community who values education is that it will be a pathway to much better opportunity, much better education and a much broader range of subjects and opportunity—something that was very limited. If you wanted to do physics in year 12, you used to get in a taxi and have to travel to the nearest town to the school that had it. Specialist maths, I am told, was a subject that was simply not available in that district. We are going to do something so transformational, I hope, that we will really change the state of education. I would just like to make the comment that I am not under the illusion that grand new buildings alone will do it. The reason I support this piece of legislation is because it is about standards, it is about teacher professionalism, it is about continuing education for teachers, and it is also about addressing the isolation often that teachers in regional areas suffer from. Often you will find teachers in the same school for many, many years, so the importance of refreshing, of being required to undertake professional ongoing education is something that I think is very important. Teaching is a noble profession. It is a very important profession, and teachers tell us that. We know that in many other professions—law, medicine and the like—there are strict requirements that are enforced in relation to your being required to undertake further education, to keep up standards, to be up to date, to read journal magazines, to go to conferences and to understand what the latest thinking is, what you can do better. It is really important that this happens. I understand teachers do have a requirement to do 20 hours a year of professional training—that is really important—but in other professions your whole registration depends on it. I think that it is really important for the government to be looking at the content of this professional learning, making sure that we are all staying up to date with the latest thinking, the latest neurobiology and the latest ways of learning that we are coming to understand are in fact adopted in our schools, and that our regional schools get the chance of that, because there is very limited choice in regional areas also. I think it is so incumbent upon the schools that are available to provide a high standard of education. Going back to 2016, when I did all that research for my grievance debate, I noted Auditor-General reports, one after the other, talking about the discrepancy in educational outcomes for regional and city people. That was really an instigator for me to start doing something about it. We have now got

BILLS 250 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 the Shepparton Education Plan underway. We have got an outstanding new high school being built, which will be a very large school of nine schools within one campus, each with 300 children and their own leader. Each child will stay in that school the whole way through. It is a model that is considered a good model. So secondary education is going through a major shake-up and change, and that school will open next year. We also have an integrated early childhood centre about to open at the Mooroopna Primary School— a very disadvantaged school again. This is the model that Doveton College have: a wraparound from maternal and early childhood clinics to three-year-old kindergartens, four-year-old kindergartens and then primary schools, all in the one place, all one entrance, capturing people from the very beginning all the way through and making them feel comfortable. We know that attendance is also a significant issue in regional areas. Building relationships within schools, making people feel comfortable about being able to come through the door of their school and be welcomed and feel like they belong, is going to be a really important factor in the success of that. This particular model is a really important one in addressing that in that particular school, and I hope it will be rolled out in many other places across the district when it is shown to be the success we know it will be. The Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership is an organisation that is in existence to help improve teacher quality and teacher learning and keep people up to date. It is located somewhere in North Melbourne. I do ask the government to consider relocating it—not relocating the whole Bastow institute but having an arm of that in Shepparton. We are central; it would carry across the whole Hume region. It would provide that ongoing impetus and enthusiasm among our teachers from the very earliest stages right through to when children finally finish in year 12 and lift the standards. I am so hopeful that this education plan will be supported by this legislation, and I support the bill. Ms HENNESSY (Altona) (12:34): I am delighted to rise to make a contribution on this bill, because at the heart of this bill is a very, very important commitment to improving the quality of the education experience. I have listened quite intently to the contributions from all sections of the chamber in the course of this debate, and I must say that I have been quietly delighted by the very strong commitment that people have articulated about the importance of us working and continuing to focus on how it is that we can reduce inequality of outcome and inequality of experience, which are still too large in this state. I want to begin by commending and acknowledging the incredible and important work that our teachers, that our school leaders, that our departments and that our Minister for Education have done and continue to show, and I know that they are very, very devoted to ensuring that any and all reform of education continues not just to lift our educational performance as a state but also to reduce that inequality of outcome. That inequality is still too stark in my view. Having just listened to the member for Shepparton’s contribution, I feel like I can almost insert the western suburbs where the member for Shepparton talked about Shepparton and the Goulburn Valley region and make the entirely same argument, albeit with very different communities and very different complexities. We still have unacceptable levels of inequality of outcome, and that is not just based around where people live. Those inequalities are sometimes masked if you do not interrogate data. Those inequalities exist within classrooms, within schools and within communities, and whilst we know and understand that the economic status of parents and economically disadvantaged communities are incredibly probative in the impact of negative educational outcomes for children, there are many other important indicators and inputs. I heard some contributions around some of the standards that exist in places like China and Singapore—certainly Finland has one of the best sets of educational outcomes in the OECD countries—and if you interrogate what it is that those countries do and have done and continue to do to improve educational outcomes, it is that they invest very, very heavily in teachers as a workforce, both around their training and their pay and conditions and around the commitment to understanding that we no longer live in a world where you go off to university or to TAFE or do an apprenticeship

BILLS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 251 and that is it. We now live in a world where we have got to be lifelong learners. All of our professions and all of our trades have got to continue to have some form of professional development and education for the entirety of their working life, and that means having the right infrastructure in place. The other thing they all have in common is they heavily invest in early education, and most of the research will tell us, particularly in those communities that have unacceptably low educational outcomes or really significant disparities within their communities about those issues, there must be a very, very strong commitment to and investment in early education and maternal and child health interventions in order to ensure that we are not having disadvantage take root before children go to kindergarten. Most of the research indicates that unless and until we get to children at those early ages there are many challenges, both cognitive and non-cognitive, that take hold, and it is really difficult to sustainably change those, with the best of intentions, later on in life. So I think that this is an incredible obligation and responsibility that we as policymakers have, not just as legislators but as local advocates, for us to continue to understand what general inequality means in communities around those outcomes but what powerful opportunities exist both from early childhood and from primary and secondary and training and university, when you talk about the entire spectrum of education—the powerful opportunities that gives us to intervene. But it does mean that we have actually got to make sure—and I was really delighted to hear this peppered in so many of the contributions—that we continue to be responsive to things like research in the health sector, health and hospitals, as my good friend the Minister for Health— Mr Foley interjected. Ms HENNESSY: the weary Minister for Health well knows—translated and translatable research whilst you are providing care. I would love to see much greater prevalence of translation of research around education more quickly delivered across our national education system. I heard the member for Gippsland South talking about the very important responsibility we have as a country to try and lift some of our performance, as opposed to reducing the inequality. All of these things impact upon each other, but in literacy, numeracy and the scientific fields we are now a nation that seeks to be competitive based upon our knowledge and our capability both domestically and as an export commodity. That means we have got to really continue to be ambitious about these issues, and I know that that is certainly what drives our Minister for Education and our government. I have seen him at very close quarters with a very, very dedicated purpose around reform in the education system. We know it is not just about buildings; it is about workforce, it is about the interventions. I do acknowledge that there is a crowded curriculum, and again I heard a contribution that we have got to be really mindful of crowded curricula. Of course that is a challenging issue. But hungry kids, kids with mental health issues, kids who need primary healthcare support cannot learn unless their basic human needs are being met. One of the important opportunities that the education system gives us is that it provides a universal platform for us to be able to support kids, particularly when they are not getting the support they need at home and/or in community. I also want to emphasise the importance of community. Schools do not live or operate in the abstract. The role of parents, carers and community is something that we have also got to make sure that we get right in our regulatory model. Whilst this is an important part of the general reform to improve the quality of teachers and to ensure that the Victorian Institute of Teaching has the skills, ability and powers it needs to do its job properly and to respond to those that are doing preteacher training, for example, it is also important that we see the context in which quality teaching operates, and that is community and society. Again we have got to make sure that we are never legislating in the abstract. In the short time left I do also want to acknowledge the information-sharing powers in this bill. Whilst they may not capture hearts or minds, unlike some of our loftier education policy ambitions, they are critical to the safety of children. They come off the back of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. It is so important that whilst it is regulated at a state level there is

BILLS 252 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 the national ability to respond to risks and ensure that all relevant jurisdictions have access to that information, so I really commend that part of the bill as well. I do want to acknowledge the extraordinary work that teachers have done, particularly over the past 12 months. It is tough work being a teacher and it is noble work, and we have got to make sure that we are supporting teaching as a profession. We have got to support the professional development of teachers and the pay and conditions of teachers, and also we as a community need to make sure that we do not sit around watching teachers being denigrated and being bullied on social media platforms, which I know is sometimes a really significant issue for many teachers, for their mental health and wellbeing. But we have also got to make sure that we are supporting school leadership and principals to build schools of great capacity, with positive culture, able to respond where we have got low performance in a way that is fair but not in a way that says that our children should bear the brunt of an inability of school leadership to be able to ensure that we have got functional teaching capability. I heard the loquacious member for Hawthorn quote George Bernard Shaw, and unfortunately I think that still is too much of a dominant attitude. I hope that we can change it. I think that this debate has been a really fantastic one, and I wish the bill a speedy passage. Ms BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (12:44): I rise to speak on the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020. This is a bill that has the key purpose of enhancing the powers and functions of the Victorian Institute of Teaching in relation to initial teacher education programs that lead to qualifications for entry into teaching in schools, through amendments to part 2.6 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006. Basically this is a bill that does a number of things, but one of the things that I want to focus on is assisting teachers through different pathways and putting that structure in place into teaching if they are not able to go through the usual pathway. I think everyone so far has agreed that teaching is a very important role and having a passion for teaching is very important to being successful in the role. So if we have got a pathway through to teaching for those people who want to take on the profession, it is something I certainly endorse. Many people have explained the ins and outs of the bill. I am hoping to take the opportunity to discuss some of the issues in my electorate around education and to thank the teachers and parents in the area of education from the point of view of last year and what we went through with the pandemic. Hopefully we will not have to do it again. This is the second week of this school year for many, but for me, my school year this year started on Monday. This is the 28th year that I have taken a child to school and started them on their school year. It is a very auspicious I suppose year for me in that my youngest child has gone off to her last year of school, and my grandchild has started his first year at school, all on the same day. So with 28 years experience in the education system as a parent, obviously I have done my share of reading, and I look forward to doing that hopefully with Archie if I am able to as a grandparent. I have done my fair share of sitting on school council—not so much tuckshop days, because many of the schools my children went to were in country areas where we did not have a tuckshop. But I have certainly watched and seen the education system from a parent perspective for a very long time. I am in absolute awe of what the teachers do. I have always said that I would kill them; I could not do it. If I had a group of students sitting in front of me, I would go completely spare, so I have always really admired the work of teachers. However, as an MP, when I started five years ago now one thing really stood out to me. I thought I had a deep understanding, especially when I had sat on school council and helped to rewrite policies for the school with a couple of other women in the community. But I did not really have that understanding, until I spoke to the 41 schools that are in my electorate, particularly to the principals, of just how hard their role is and how much work they do. The commitment they have is inspiring. So I just want to take the opportunity to thank the teachers. During the pandemic, at the start, I rang the 41 schools. They were amazing. To actually turn around a whole system, a clunky old system—the

BILLS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 253 education department is like the health department; they are big beasts—and to actually turn it upside down was incredible, and that was down to each school. In my electorate the fact that we allowed schools to respond individually was the right thing to do. I was very pleased to be able to advocate for some of the schools who required extra dongles. Obviously being in the country we have not got the same access to the internet that some people in the city would have. Principals—like at Hawkesdale P–12 College under Colan Distel, who is a very impressive team leader out there, and his team are very impressive because they really care about the kids—worked hard, as they did at Panmure Primary School, as did the Warrnambool schools—the primary schools and the secondary schools—the Portland schools, the Heywood schools. They all just pulled together with their teams and did extraordinarily. Whether they got in cars and drove packs around or whether they advocated with me for the government to get some sort of a flexibility around dongles or assistance, they were very impressive. What we need to think about though is why we are not achieving the levels we should with our fantastic teachers and principals. We all agree they are deteriorating, and the evidence in the Productivity Commission’s report on government services released yesterday shows that our standard of education in the state of Victoria is falling, despite the extra spending, and our standing internationally is not where we need to be; it is actually failing. I have certainly noticed in my 28 years a real change in classroom behaviour, and I see that the students are not having the structure at home perhaps, or the parents are under so much stress, or the extended family is not there. So much has changed in society in 30 years. Deputy Speaker, you will recall when we sat on an inquiry together that that was a highlight of what we identified in the particular inquiry— which I cannot recall right now—around extended families needing to be supported to get better starts to education. So we are sort of aware of that, but what are we doing to really support teachers in the classroom with those welfare situations, where they have got to give so much more attention to children when they have got crises going on at home? I see programs in my electorate that just impress me. I remember actually ringing the principal of Hawkesdale one day. He had just come back from a dental appointment with a student, because the student actually was in a lot of pain and did not have the support to be able to do that. So that is the level of input the schools are having now to assist children. Principal Michelle Bickley-Miller out at East Warrnambool took me through the East Warrnambool program, where they have an amazing little program where kids who are traumatised and starting school, clearly in trauma situations, are actually taken to an area and work with a couple of mums. One of them is a girl I went to school with, actually, and an amazingly calm, wonderful person, Tania Carey—I do not know what her married name is. Gosh, it is only 30 years ago, so I should remember. She is just this beautiful, calming woman who was helping the children, and they would go back into the classroom ready to start the day. These are programs that I think we need to really embrace. Standing Tall is another one. Standing Tall started in my region, and basically it really does reflect that need we have—or the loss we have got of extended families. You know, a teenager will often not say to mum what the issues are, but she might talk to an aunt or a cousin or a peer. So what this program does is actually get people from the community—businesspeople, young people, grandparents, whatever—to come into the school 1 hour a week and be matched up with a person so that they can develop that relationship. So they have someone who is outside the family—or they may not even have a support family. So that gives them that person, an adult, that they can connect with and have support. There are so many. There is the A Big Life program. Fifty blokes and women rode from Warrnambool to Melbourne last week or the week before, I think it was, in extreme conditions—and they actually ended up with hypothermia—to raise money to be able to continue this wonderful program that supports children in schools and supports the teachers and the educators. So there are just so many. The Beyond the Bell project is trying to work out why our kids in the regions have a so much lower education attainment rate. We have got to actually review what is happening, because we are not

BILLS 254 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 actually achieving what we need to achieve. There is the Clontarf Academy, where the Aboriginal boys work together in keeping each other supported. The Kalay girls are doing the same thing, and one of the young girls in that group got an award at the Australia Day ceremony I was at the other day, which was just fantastic to see. Then we have got schools like your two specialist re-engagement schools, one in Portland with Katie Kelly at the helm and the one in Warrnambool with Damian Farley. In these schools, these are kids that need to be really engaged. I fail to see why with an 11-year-old kid of 50 kilos of weight we are saying he or she is running rings around our system so much so that they are out of school. I have got 120 kids in my electorate that are not engaged in school that are under 12, and that is just not acceptable. So we can do a lot more. Our teachers need so much more support, and that is what we are calling for, I think, a review of education to get support for our schools— (Time expired) Ms SULEYMAN (St Albans) (12:54): It is an absolute pleasure to rise to speak on the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020, and let me echo the sentiments of the member for Altona in her contribution to this bill. Being one of the western suburbs MPs, one of my roles is absolutely seeing firsthand what our government has achieved since being elected in 2014 and the investment—and, I must repeat, the record investment—that we have made into my local schools and teachers and students, making sure that we are building Victoria into one of the strongest states when it comes to education. Last year we announced over $15 million to fast-track professionals into staff teaching roles, including training, and to employ teachers into areas such as STEM, applied learning, special education and languages. Can I also add: clearly the last 12 months during the pandemic have been most challenging for the education system and our local schools, teachers, students and families, but we have been able to continue to hire over 4000 tutors, supporting over 200 000 students across our state. When we announced that we would be calling on retired, casual, relief and preservice teachers to sign up for the fantastic program that we announced last year, an overwhelming response of over 8000 registered in only 24 hours, and that is just a mammoth effort there. Locally, I am extremely proud that before Christmas I had the opportunity to announce that Furlong Park School for Deaf Children in Sunshine North will be receiving significant funding to update a school building that I would say looks pretty grey and really needs an uplift. This particular school has not seen this sort of significant funding for numerous decades. Also of course one of my special schools, Jackson School, is another one, with close to $10 million from this government that before Christmas I announced together with our fantastic Minister for Education. And Monmia Primary School—I mean, I travel to all of my primary and secondary schools, particularly my primary schools, in St Albans, and let me say we have seen in every school since we have been elected investment of some sort. That is because we made it very clear: regardless of your postcode—whether you live in St Albans, Sunshine, Sunshine North, Kealba, Keilor Downs, Albion, Ardeer or anywhere in the west—you deserve equal education no matter where you are. I was born and raised in the west. Unfortunately, I did not get the best education as I was growing up. You know, I had more life experience rather than education. I really did not get through year 12 either, so I am extremely blessed to be in this place. But that is why I am so committed to making sure that families and students and young ones in my electorate get the best start—the absolute best start. I was absolutely delighted this year when we presented the inquiry report from the inquiry into early childhood engagement of culturally and linguistically diverse communities. That identified that the only way that someone gets an education and the pathways of opportunity is by getting that best start right at the beginning. Regardless of whether their parents speak broken English or no English, children need the best start, and that comes through early childhood development and making sure that the kids are taking part in kindergarten and also other opportunities. I think it is really important that our government has put an emphasis on early childhood development, increasing kindergarten participation—whether it is three-year-old or four-year-old kinder—and making it affordable for families to actually access. Sitting suspended 1.00 pm until 2.02 pm.

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Ms SULEYMAN: As I was saying prior to the break, our teachers in St Albans have done an extraordinary job during the pandemic with the many challenges, including with families, students and the school community. This bill will make sure, as mentioned by previous speakers, that the Victorian Institute of Teaching exists to regulate members of the teaching profession. We are going to make sure that the teaching profession of course obtain the right qualifications and have the appropriate standards when it comes to teaching. We are going to make sure that red tape is actually not part of teachers obtaining the skills and training that are necessary. We all know that the role of teachers is absolutely integral in every student’s journey, and quite frankly they are the foundation of one’s lifelong journey. As I said previously in my contribution, I was not fortunate enough to get, I suppose, a good-quality education in my time, but I look at the schools in my electorate and the fantastic contribution of our local teachers and, most importantly, the record investment by our government in schools that for many, many decades have never even—some schools—got a visit from the Minister for Education. At times I get tears in my eyes to see the absolute delight and joy when I do have the great fortune to announce funding and investments, whether it is for rebuilding or for a school breakfast program, which has been embraced by many schools. It is unfortunate, but that is something that is really integral to my electorate—making sure that our kids have the best start as soon as they get to school. Whether it is their breakfast, their lunch or during the school holidays, we are making sure that we support our kids, their families and the school community through these processes, and again today this bill does exactly that. It is making the changes to ensure that the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) has the proper arrangements in place for teaching, registration and accreditation throughout this state. There is no doubt there is a reason why we call this state the Education State—it is because of our strong delivery and our making sure that the education system has the right investments and the right growth but, most importantly, that it is supporting students from zero all the way through their education journey, as I have just said. It is supporting the families, supporting the students and supporting the teachers. There have been record investments, and I have not touched on the TAFE investment in Sunshine. There has just been an extraordinary turnaround since our government was elected in 2014. Before then TAFE was actually on the verge of closing. We have turned that around and made it the jobs and skills centre in Sunshine, providing those journeys and opportunities for students in secondary college to get into tertiary education, get into trades and get into obtaining skills, because that all equates to a better future and obtaining a job. As I said, I would also like to thank the minister for bringing this bill, making sure that there is appropriate support and making sure that VIT has the appropriate arrangements to be able to administer training for our teachers in our school system. Again I do say the last 12 months have been an absolute challenge for our school community but by working with our government and working with our stakeholders and our communities we have been able to come through some very challenging times. We will continue to work together to deliver the best education outcomes. Of my electorate of St Albans, I am very proud. There are many, many projects in store this year which I am looking forward to seeing, such as the build and conclusion of a number of schools, including Victoria University Secondary College. Mr J BULL (Sunbury) (14:07): I am always very pleased to follow on from the contribution of the member for St Albans, who as a local member is not so far from my electorate and is someone that I know, during the time that she has had the great privilege to be elected to this place, has always put the local schools in her community first. She is certainly a member who has championed the needs of local communities, if Facebook is anything to go by, with visits and through investment. The support for local schools is absolutely fantastic. I am also pleased to have the opportunity this afternoon to speak on the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020. As other members have mentioned, this is just another

BILLS 256 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 opportunity to continue to deliver on the government’s Education State agenda. Other members have said, and I have also said in this place before, that there is no greater way that we can improve the lives of all Victorians than by investing in the education of our youngest Victorians. We know that the Education State is about giving every child every chance and making sure that we are providing the resources, the capital, the training and the support that is needed for schools right across the state. One of the most important things at the start of the life of a child is, as I have said, the quality of their education— an enriching curriculum, inspiring teachers and certainly the support of a government that well and truly understands the importance of that early intervention. Whether it is when our youngest Victorians start at kinder or whether it be through primary school and secondary school and on to tertiary education and other, it is fundamentally important that we are making sure at every opportunity that we are investing in our schools and supporting schools as best as we possibly can. I do want to take this opportunity to speak about the huge range of programs and initiatives that have been offered within schools as a result of the election of the Andrews Labor government. Certainly it is very heartening to know that when we visit schools as local members and we speak to principals, support staff, teachers and of course students themselves about the impact that investments make, whether that is doctors in secondary schools, breakfast clubs, the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund, free eye tests or the rollout of dental vans, all of those wraparound support services are fundamentally critical to making sure that we are giving every child every chance. Now, Acting Speaker Taylor, as you know, many of these programs do not necessarily make the nightly news. Many of these programs are not necessarily spoken about in the mainstream media. But to the life and the opportunity, the deserving opportunity, of that young person that is receiving that support at that point in time these are fundamentally, critically important programs. I do, as other members have done in their contributions this afternoon, want to acknowledge the mammoth efforts of our teachers and support staff, who last year had what has been described by many as the most challenging year that most of us have ever experienced. The way that schools in my electorate and the way that schools in other electorates right across the state responded to the disruption, the difficulties and the immense challenges that were caused by COVID-19 is something I think we should all be very proud of. It is not to say that there were not huge challenges and pressures on home learning, on remote learning and on the way that schools were able to adapt, but fundamentally I am and I know a number of other members are incredibly proud and want to thank our schools and support staff for all of that work. It is certainly also worth noting that this time, the year of 2020, the year of the pandemic, has been particularly challenging for of course those that went through year 12 last year, and I want to once again acknowledge those students and their teachers and parents for all of the work that was done. I am incredibly proud to be able to say that since we have been in office, since we have had that great privilege to come into this place and be on the government benches, we have been able to make some record investments in local schools in the north-west. These are investments, as the member for St Albans said just before, that would not have otherwise happened were it not for the Andrews Labor government. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to go to school in my electorate, both primary and secondary school, and really fortunate to have a public education where I knew in those local schools there were teachers, there were staff and there was support that genuinely cared for my welfare and education. I am very thankful for that and obviously want to see that continue. These are investments that have delivered over $55 million over five years while the Andrews Labor government has been in office to schools in the Sunbury electorate. I can only compare that to the four years that those opposite had the pleasure of being in government for. There was only $2 million in capital provided over those four years, and those figures speak for themselves. Our commitment to the Education State is not just a slogan. It is about real investment when it matters, making the difference to young people in our local communities. There is nothing more heartening, nothing more inspiring, than to walk into our local schools and to be able to see the difference that that investment makes, and that is something that we are very proud of.

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I have got a very long list of local schools within the electorate that have received funding that I might come back to, but I do just want to speak about the specific amendments to part 2.6 and section 5.2.1 of the Education Training Reform Act 2006 in relation to the Victorian Institute of Teaching. Others have canvassed these amendments very well in their contributions, and we certainly know and I have mentioned the importance of teachers, teacher training and registration to those outcomes, those critically important outcomes, of high-quality teaching and learning in this state. As has been mentioned, the VIT exists to regulate members of the teaching profession, and we know that those who want to enter Victoria’s teaching profession must obtain a qualification that the minister has deemed appropriate for entry to the teaching profession or an equivalent qualification appropriate for entry to teaching as determined by the VIT. This bill fundamentally is about beefing up and ensuring that those regulatory protocols that exist around the institute of teaching support our teachers as best they can, and it is about the quality of teaching that we are able to provide in this state. The bill seeks to ensure that the powers of the VIT are clear and robust and enough to ensure that those aspiring to enter the teaching profession are subject to a fair process while obtaining those necessary qualifications to be deemed suitable for and capable of entering the profession. Other members have mentioned the amendments that are contained in this bill, which aim to clarify and provide the VIT with the necessary powers to regulate the initial teacher education program specifically for qualifications for entry into schools. The bill grants new powers to the VIT to oversee the regulation of programs offered as a pathway to entry into an approved ITE program in order to identify the most suitable entrants. The bill also grants new powers to the VIT with the authority to endorse continuing education and professional learning programs for teachers and early childhood teachers. There are of course a number of variations and a number of additions to those amendments, which fundamentally go to ensuring that the VIT can perform its role, which is incredibly important in making sure that our teachers are registered and are the best that they can be and that there is a robust, strong framework around the way that they operate within schools. I certainly know from hearing a number of contributions on this bill that there is indeed a recognition that we need to continue to make sure that the regulatory authority is the best that it can be. We know that there has been extensive consultation with members of the VIT council, the Australian Education Union, the Independent Education Union, the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria, Independent Schools Victoria, the Early Learning Association Australia, the Municipal Association of Victoria and a whole range of other agencies that worked particularly hard to make the support of this bill possible. I will conclude where I started off by saying that this government, the Andrews Labor government, has in record terms in everything that it has done, at each opportunity that it has had, supported our local schools, stood up for teachers and students and made sure that the resources are there for the best quality education. I commend the bill to the house. Mr HAMER (Box Hill) (14:18): It is always a delight to follow the member for Sunbury, not only because he is a great contributor to his electorate but particularly because of his own personal experience in the education space. He did not mention that prior to coming to the Parliament he was a maths and science teacher, along with many other educators on both sides of the chamber. I think there is a lot of experience that is brought into this chamber from the teaching profession, which provides a really strong voice for the education profession and the value of education in this state. I think that is the reason why we are known as the Education State, and we are continuing to reinforce that motto and that creed through the work that the Andrews government has done over six years. Before I get into some of the specifics of the bill that I want to talk about, I also want to pay specific tribute to our local teachers and principals. What an amazing effort they always make, but it was particularly so in 2020. A lot of people have used the word ‘homeschooling’, but I never really liked that phrase. It was more about remote learning; it was about learning in a remote environment. The work that our teachers, principals and all our educators had to do to adapt in a very short time frame

BILLS 258 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 to provide that level of education to our children and to enable them to succeed through what was a very difficult year was nothing short of amazing—the effort that all of our teachers put in. I just want to put on record my thanks and my congratulations for all the work that they did. I see firsthand from my own children the impact that that had and the relationship that they were able to maintain with their teachers through that difficult time. And now, coming back to school in 2021, there has been a seamless transition, at least in my household. I know in some other households that might have proven a little bit more difficult, and that is one of the reasons why this government has invested heavily in the tutoring program, enabling tutors at schools and making sure the students are not falling behind. Now, in terms of the particular details of the bill that we are discussing today, the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020, the overall objectives of the bill are to enhance the existing powers of the Victorian Institute of Teaching with respect to the approval of initial teacher education programs leading to qualifications for entry to teaching in schools; and to grant new powers to the VIT with respect to the approval of programs that are marketed as offering to provide a pathway to entry into approved ITE programs and the endorsement of continuing education professional learning programs for teachers and early childhood educators. I do want to, I guess, focus primarily on the importance of these pathway programs, particularly in an area that is of interest to me, which is STEM learning—science, technology, engineering and maths. There will often be occasions where people from other disciplines want to come into the teaching profession. I know a case in point. There is a local resident, a local branch member in fact, who is a patent attorney. He has a PhD in physics—so very, very highly qualified in the science profession— and he has recently trained to become a teacher. I think it is fantastic that we are bringing these people in, and they are people who want to come in and want to join the teaching profession. Now, the focus of this legislation in terms of creating that pathway program is not probably designed for people such as this person, who is obviously at the very high end of his profession in the science world. It is to enable and encourage people to join the teaching profession and make sure that there are those high- quality standards for anybody who wants to join the profession and become an educator of our children. It is so important that we have that process in place not only to have that encouragement and facilitate those processes and procedures to get in but to make sure that we do maintain that standard that can be clear and well achieved. I think in terms of the broader impact of what our education program is providing, there has been a lot of discussion today about how much of a difference the Andrews government’s programs have made in terms of our local school environment. I have mentioned the tutors in schools program, but particularly going forward this year we are looking at mental health professionals in schools. We were very lucky in Box Hill to have the dental van rollout, which started in 2019. I sometimes get muddled up with the year, but we were one of the early areas to get that. Look, that was such a well-received and important program. Speaking to some of the providers of that program, they were probably not even aware of the level of need and assistance that was required through those programs until it actually started. I noticed also in term 4 of last year and term 1 this year that there are a number of schools in the Box Hill electorate that have been included in the school breakfast program. It goes to show that the importance of these programs is not just isolated to one or two areas of Victoria. There are children in need right across the state, in every electorate, who need the assistance and guidance and supports that we are able to put in place, and the Andrews government has done an amazing job throughout the education sector. I do want to thank the Minister for Education for his longstanding commitment to education in this state. In the last couple of minutes of my contribution I just want to touch on a couple of my local schools and talk about some of the projects that are going on in my neck of the woods and how much of a difference it is going to make to their education curriculum and their learning experiences, particularly at Blackburn High. In the last budget that project was given $9 million to build a new STEM centre,

BILLS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 259 and it is just going to be such a fantastic learning experience for everyone involved in the Blackburn community and all the students at Blackburn High. They already have a very strong reputation in the sciences, along with a fantastic music program, and that community is just so rapt to be able to have this development coming online very, very shortly. The principal herself also comes from a STEM background and is a former maths and science teacher and is just so passionate about teaching STEM and encouraging STEM amongst the students. As I said at the outset, that is something that is a great passion of mine, and any opportunity to encourage STEM education and particularly STEM education amongst the female student population is something that I really strongly encourage. There are a couple of other schools I want to quickly mention, including Box Hill North Primary School. They are looking at an upgrade of their facilities. It has been a long time coming. They are growing, the Box Hill community is growing, and they need those facilities to meet that future demand. So across the spectrum the Andrews government is doing enormous work in the education and training space, and I commend this bill to the house. Mr FOWLES (Burwood) (14:27): It is my absolute pleasure to rise to make a contribution around the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020, because it is an opportunity once again to reflect in this place on the importance and the transformative power of a great education and just how fundamental that is to this government and how fundamental it is to those who sit on this side of the chamber. I do not know how widely known it is that one of the conventions inside the Victorian Labor Party is that if you are given the great privilege of serving as deputy leader of the party you get your own choice of portfolio. You get to select just what portfolio area you will be serving in, and it speaks to the great passion of our Deputy Premier in so many facets of his contribution to public life that he chose education. He chose education right at the outset, so for 10 years now he has either been the shadow minister or the Minister for Education, and he has done an outstanding job in that role. He takes great delight in the role. I know that many members on both sides of the chamber will have seen the education minister at various school events in their electorates, and you only have to be in the same room to see the genuine enthusiasm, excitement and joy that the Deputy Premier takes in his education portfolio responsibilities. He is one of the great enthusiasts for this critical part of government. He brings that energy and that vigour to his role and does an outstanding job, and I am pleased to follow too the member for Sunbury, who I think is one of the only members in this place who actually has the unique privilege of being able to go back to the school he attended—but as the local member. Members interjecting. Mr FOWLES: A few? There you go—I stand corrected. There are probably numerous members who have had that privilege, I guess. It is a very special thing to have grown up in your community, to have been educated in your community and to then go back as a representative of that community. It is a really terrific thing, and I know the member for Sunbury is a great advocate for his community and a very passionate advocate for education. It is a privilege too to follow my friend the member for Box Hill—my neighbour. He is of course something of a rarity in this place in that he is an engineer by training. The passion with which he brings his perspective around the importance of STEM education—science, technology, engineering and mathematics education—is so important, because we know that this particular part of the education world has been sadly neglected in the past. We know that there are some enormous challenges around diversity—gender in particular—when it comes STEM education, and we benefit very much in this place from the member for Box Hill’s experience in the civil engineering universe. But we benefit more particularly I think from his passion around making sure that STEM education is as good as it possibly can be in the public sector. It is very important work, and I thank him for that as well. The Victorian Institute of Teaching is the statutory authority that regulates the profession—it includes early childhood teachers—and this bill that we have before us today makes some amendments to the

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Education and Training Reform Act 2006. Now, a key purpose of these amendments is to clarify and enhance the powers and functions of the VIT in relation to initial teacher education, initial teacher education being of course the foundation of the profession, which in turn becomes the foundation of learning for so many of our kids. So it cannot be overemphasised—the importance of having great education for our teachers themselves in order that they can become great educators. The VIT has a number of functions in relation to the programs that lead to qualification and ultimately entry to the profession as a teacher in our schools. It just bears saying again that good education results in good teachers—sorry, good education requires good teachers, obviously. Ms D’Ambrosio interjected. Mr FOWLES: Well, it is both, isn’t it? This is ultimately a symbiotic relationship we have. In order to get a good education, you need good teachers. Good teachers require good teacher training, and this government, as is evidenced in this bill, is very serious about good teacher training. So it is absolutely the case that yes, good education needs good teachers and good teachers need good teaching education. This bill builds on the Andrews government’s excellence in teacher education reforms, a set of actions going back to November 2016 that improve the quality of that initial teacher education, improve the support and development for teachers early in their careers and increase the status of the teaching profession. By raising the entry threshold for initial teacher education programs we have made the profession better valued, but we have also helped change the perception around teaching. There have been numerous contributions today about teaching having been seen as a fallback career for some or a lesser career option. I think we are happily making some good inroads into that perception and making sure that people understand the importance of teaching and the importance of outstanding teachers. What we are saying is that by raising the entry threshold we require three elements in the selection process: one, that there is a transparent and evidence-based academic capability, including that minimum ATAR—the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank—which rose to 70 in 2019; that there be an assessment of the suitability of candidates’ personal attributes for teaching; and the provision of data on the effectiveness of the selection criteria and the processes for verification. All that just serves to strengthen the gateway into the profession, strengthen the perception that people have about the rigour that goes into teacher training and further strengthen the I think very good perception about the quality of our teaching cohort. So what we are doing is raising the entry standards to the profession in order to attract high-quality candidates and to diversify the backgrounds of those candidates. We know that evidence shows that the quality of teaching—and it is unsurprising, it is intuitive—has one of the biggest impacts on student learning. Building teaching excellence through preservice training is paramount, absolutely paramount, to improving teacher quality and improving teaching quality. The bill also gives the VIT the power to regulate the programs into those teaching degrees—the programs that provide students with the preparation and the avenue of entry. The changes will ensure that those programs properly equip those students and prospective students for a bachelor-level program. Additionally, the VIT under this bill gets explicit powers to endorse continuing education programs—‘continuing education’, of course, being not just one of those phrases that gets bandied about but actually a fundamental component of delivering a successful profession, a fundamental component of delivering ultimately great education. It is making sure that teachers are exposed to the latest thinking, the latest research, the latest in pedagogy in order to be able to ensure that what they are delivering at the coalface, in the classroom, is the very highest quality teaching they can. Again, it is one of those intuitive things. By engaging in continuing education we recognise the importance of education—that education is inherently valuable, that the education of teachers and students is inherently valuable—and the ability for teachers to be outstanding teachers will be reflected in part in their own continuing education.

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Other changes include clarifying and streamlining the inquiry and investigation process. These are largely administrative changes and broaden the powers of the VIT to share information with other regulators. That is an important change in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. They are important changes to ensure that if there are issues within the profession, and we know this happens from time to time, information is shared appropriately across the many government agencies that do interface with education. Nothing is more important than the education we deliver as a society for our kids, and I am delighted that Labor is once again leading the way in improving teacher education. Mr CARBINES (Ivanhoe) (14:37): I am pleased to make a contribution on the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020, and in particular as the son of schoolteachers, both retired now. Time flies, doesn’t it? I certainly have seen throughout my lifetime and growing up not only the value but the dedication and advocacy of teachers in our community and in our families. My parents taught at schools in the electorate that I have the honour to represent, in Ivanhoe, across schools that are perhaps no longer with us or that have merged, including Banyule High School and then further afield at Epping high school and Pascoe Vale Girls College, which my father taught at. My mother taught for a long time at Ivanhoe Primary School and at others in our area nearby, such as Kingsbury Primary School and Merlynston primary school, and over in the member for Niddrie’s electorate at Western Autistic School as well. So for a long time I have had a close association and understanding of the work of teachers in our schools, but also more broadly their determination to work professionally to add to their skills. I remember mum doing her teacher training at what was then, at Preston, the Phillip institute. People were prepared to go back after raising families—having children—to commit themselves to others, to do their studies and to then go and seek work and make a great contribution to education in our state. Not only that but across communities we know the value when we send our own children five days a week for many, many years. We trust teachers for their care, but as importantly for the education of our children in our schools. That is a big commitment that we all make, a commitment of faith and trust that we make for very many years, and we also need to ensure it is held accountable. That is where of course the state plays its role in relation to the Victorian Institute of Teaching, or VIT as it is more commonly known— teachers would know about that. We were talking a little bit about the Victorian Institute of Teaching and some reforms there. I want to just step back briefly in relation to how we have got to this point. I know there have been a couple of reviews into the VIT. The first one was the King review, which reported back in March 2008. I know that because at the time I was working for the Minister for Education in her office as one of her senior advisers and then chief of staff. We had a key role to play in the review of the VIT, making sure out of that work that there were more appropriate governance structures in place for the VIT, which had at that point been in operation for not quite a decade but for some time. So you can see that when in 2017 the Deputy Premier instituted a further review of the VIT, it was quite timely, given it was nearly 10 years on. That review was conducted by Penny Armytage, who was known to me from this place. I certainly had the opportunity to work with her in an earlier role she had as a director in the then Department of Human Services. She, through her work on that review back in 2017—and I quote a note from the Age of 23 March 2018—overhauled the teaching watchdog to keep kids safe:

A scathing independent review of the Victorian Institute of Teaching by former Department of Justice secretary Penny Armytage and KPMG said the regulator needed to be more focused on the wellbeing of children. “There is no object or function which mentions child safety and wellbeing, or that requires the VIT to take into account community expectations,” … So you can see the evolution of the VIT over a long period of time to have checks and balances and accountability for equality and accountability for teachers in the workplace and also the role that we have had to play as a Parliament in making sure that the VIT continues to raise its standards to make

BILLS 262 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 sure that it is providing appropriate regulation and accountability of the workforce but also giving the confidence to families and school communities that is of paramount importance to ensuring that our children are safe, as it is in a safe environment that people will prosper and learn to the best of their abilities. That is not an easy task, as we would know—there are tens of thousands of people with a VIT registration—not only to make sure that people are accountable but also to deal with a range of issues that come before the VIT. We are thankful for the work of the board and the team at VIT. It is not an easy task, but it is a critical and important one. It is also very important that we seek in this bill to improve many of the existing powers of the VIT around initial teacher education programs and qualifications but also to grant some new powers to the VIT around the approval of some of those programs. It also introduces a range of information-sharing powers for the VIT and improves a lot of its efficiencies around investigation processes and the ability to delegate powers. Those are just some of the key points. Can I say also that in a broader sense education, using the Ivanhoe electorate, I suppose, as an example, is a system. It is a system of independent schools, a system of faith-based schools and a system of state and government-run schools as well. There are great choices in the Ivanhoe electorate across all of those, including in the Catholic education system locally, with schools such as Our Lady of Mercy in Heidelberg. There are many others, and I want to also touch on schools like Ivanhoe Grammar and Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School, which provide a different opportunity and choice for parents of families not just in the Ivanhoe electorate but across greater Melbourne. And then of course there are schools such as the one I attended in my own electorate, now Viewbank College, which was Rosanna East High School. Again we have seen significant investment in schools locally in my electorate, which is not just in bricks and mortar but in the workplaces of our teaching and support staff. That is critical to people being able to do their job effectively and efficiently and to enjoy going to work. It is not just about the students, the camaraderie and your commitment to your profession, it is also about being able to go to work in a workplace where you feel valued and where there has been investment from the government and the community to say, ‘Where you work matters to us and making sure you have got the tools to do the job effectively and to build on the capacities that you have to invest and raise, in a knowledge-based sense as well as around a lot of principles and values, our students and our children’. Also I want to just touch on the fact that there has been that very significant investment in the Ivanhoe electorate and give a shout-out to the principal leadership groups across the Banyule area, which covers really the Banyule network and the school principals who have done just a fantastic job. I am in touch with them all the time, as most members of Parliament are with their local schools. Can I also say I saw this on the ground with my own children through last year. This worldwide pandemic has seen teaching really tested, and the capacity to teach our students and keep them informed and engaged was very different in 2020. I just wanted to thank the schools in my electorate for their diligence and the work they have put in to make sure there has been continuity of learning for students. There have been great opportunities for them to engage parents and families and to do things a bit differently. Some things we will want to keep and some things we will be happy to move back to as they were pre COVID, in a way, but there have been some significant challenges. For people in the teaching profession to adapt, to understand that there have been some critical changes that we need to make to continue to engage students and to make sure they are well prepared heading into 2021 and beyond, has been really critical, and I want to thank them. So many parents I think have got a greater appreciation of the work and the commitment of teaching staff right across our communities, given the challenges that they faced across last year and that many continue to face. Can I say we are very much committed and have an understanding and empathy. This is not only through my own experience of being raised by parents who have committed themselves in the workforce throughout their lives as schoolteachers but also as advocates in their workplaces, in the union movement as advocates for their colleagues and certainly as advocates and agents of change to inspire students to be their best and to support their families. There is so much more that we could say

BILLS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 263 in relation to these matters, but I think, as I also outlined earlier, the changes and the reviews into VIT again show how we continue to hold them to account so that they can get the best outcomes and give confidence to the community in their work. Mr BRAYNE (Nepean) (14:48): Thank you, Acting Speaker Taylor, and I will just start by saying how good it is to see you in the chair and happy birthday as well. It is the big 29, I think—not 30 yet. I obviously rise to speak on the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020. I follow a long line of speakers that have spoken on this bill today, many of whom were educators themselves. The member for Hawthorn is a former principal of many years. We have a few teachers, the member for Frankston, the member for Sunbury and the member for Wendouree as well is another one—so many educators in this house. The Andrews Labor government has of course put in the hard yards to ensure that Victoria has the highest quality education system in the nation. Obviously this legislation is no exception. Having a high-quality education system is an ongoing struggle. The constant need to improve our education system is a reality. All too often we demand of our political leaders, ‘What are you doing about education? Why are we falling behind? Are our students getting a world-class education?’. I remember watching former Prime Minister Julia Gillard answering a question from a student who had asked whether we had fallen behind in English, maths science and so on, and her answer was spot on. She said that in our: … performance against the world, we don’t want to talk ourselves up but we don’t want to talk ourselves down. It is not that we have been going backwards in absolute terms. That is not true. We have been improving education but around the world there is a race on … if we are improving steadily and they are improving quickly, they get in front of us. And she is absolutely right. It is true that our students now compete globally for work, for opportunities and for economic success. The constant need to refine our education system and our education standards in the competitive world we clearly compete in today is vital. It is not by coincidence that our numberplates now read ‘The Education State’, given the mass investments which have been made in our schools to ensure Victorian students get the best possible education to succeed in life. I am proud to say of course that since I was elected, over two years ago, the government has made massive investments in education in the seat of Nepean, including more than $30 million in 2020. These school communities—the parents, the kids, the teachers, the principals—are thrilled to see the biggest investment in the school system on the Mornington Peninsula in our history. With these investments in schools such as Rosebud Primary, Dromana Primary, Rosebud Secondary, Red Hill Consolidated and Dromana College, the peninsula’s education is in a much better place than it was only two years ago. It is also crucial that, in addition to essential capital investments in our schools, we have a system which officially approves and regulates teachers in Victoria, ensuring that all students receive high- quality education standards. As the member for Nepean, I have been lucky enough to meet some brilliant teachers across my electorate since I was elected, and because I have worked on the Mornington Peninsula my entire life, when I visit schools I see many teachers who themselves went to school with me and who are now teaching the next generation of Australia. We are blessed to have such great teachers on the Mornington Peninsula, many of whom were raised here but also many who choose to move to the peninsula to begin their teaching career. Additionally, I have greatly enjoyed getting to know so many of the principals of the schools down on the peninsula. When we look back at this time—at the COVID pandemic, at the lockdowns—we will see there were obviously so many people who were part of our effort to get this virus under control, to get keep our community safe. Clearly from a health perspective, our nurses, our doctors and our paramedics—all the health professionals that make up the Australian health community—will stand out for their work, their efforts and their commitment to keeping us safe. But equally so, our teachers bore such huge demands, with the almost instantaneous introduction of online learning. Having to get a grasp on a

BILLS 264 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 new way of teaching via online would have been immediately tough, but even more difficult was the unending task of keeping children engaged and in attendance online, working to see our kids not fall behind in either their grades or their interest in schooling. This is why we are deploying more than 4100 tutors across Victorian schools in 2021—to ensure that no student is left behind in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Yes, there were huge challenges last year, and while teachers brought our kids through the year despite all of the challenges, some kids struggled with the online learning. We cannot allow our students who have fallen behind to take the further step of becoming disengaged from the learning process. That is why we are calling upon pre- service teachers, teachers on leave, retired teachers and casual relief teachers to sign up to be tutors, to get back in the classroom and to get back to supporting our children for a much better 2021. This initiative is going to support over 200 000 children across the state. We owe our teachers such a huge debt of gratitude for being key to getting us through 2020. With the investments made in schools on the Mornington Peninsula during the last two years, there really is no better time to be a teacher or to become a teacher in our community. But with the new teachers comes the need to continue to refine our framework for new teachers. As such, I was extremely pleased to see the Andrews government is delivering key reforms to the governance framework and function of the Victorian Institute of Teaching, or VIT. This will be achieved through the amendment of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (ETRA). These changes will strengthen the implementation of the existing regulatory framework around the extent of the VIT’s powers to regulate initial teacher education programs, or ITE. For example, the amendments provide a clear legislative remit for the VIT to set ITE program requirements such as those in the existing Victorian selection framework for entry to the ITE, which includes the minimum ATAR for entry. The amendments will also provide a clear ability for the VIT to implement future reforms which would raise the standards of ITE programs. This will be facilitated through the provision of new powers for the VIT to approve programs that are identified as a pathway to entry to an approved VIT program. This recognises there are many prospective teachers who have not reached the minimum ATAR for direct entry into ITE programs but who still have the capacity to be fantastic teachers through alternative pathways which can provide them with the skills they need to excel as educators. I know many examples of people who have perhaps worked in hospitality for years or gone into business straight after leaving school or been in the public service—fields completely different to education— and then at a certain point of their life have felt the calling to begin a career in education. It means of course there are clearly different routes to becoming a teacher than by directly entering the teaching profession. By empowering the VIT as the body responsible for setting the quality benchmarks for pathway programs, this will ensure that sound foundations exist for all students studying and teaching through such a program. The bill will also make several changes to improve the VIT’s service provision to teachers by streamlining aspects of the authority’s functions and processes. Firstly, the VIT will be granted the power to dismiss notifications and complaints which are deemed to be frivolous or lacking in substance following a preliminary assessment of each matter against a risk-based framework. Under the current system the VIT receives a substantial number of complaints about teachers, many of which do not reach the threshold of misconduct. This change will see the VIT undertake an initial assessment of the matter and determine appropriate action, with less serious matters being addressed through an informal hearing. This will allow the VIT to more efficiently deal with teacher misconduct, serious misconduct and serious incompetence. This legislation will also see the implementation of several recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse related to the sharing of information across institutions. Currently the VIT is limited in its ability to disclose personal information, sensitive information, health information, because there is no specific clause in the ETRA regarding information sharing. Therefore this legislation inserts a clause into the act which relates to the sharing of

BILLS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 265 information collected by the VIT with other institutions, with other authorities and with agencies which have a legitimate interest in the activities of teachers. Further, the recommendations of the royal commission which relate to the sharing of records Australia- wide will be facilitated by the inclusion of new information collection and disclosure provisions which will allow the Victorian Institute of Teaching to share information about registered teachers with interstate teacher regulatory authorities, police authorities, child safe screening authorities and agencies and employers of teachers. Ensuring our children are protected when attending school is of course vital. Continually reforming to work out avenues where improvement can easily occur, where further crosschecking of new and existing teachers in interstate jurisdictions can occur, is vital. This bill seeks to improve outcomes for teachers and students. With good-quality teachers, our kids on the Mornington Peninsula will flourish. I have heard some opposite note that spending money on schools is not a silver bullet answer to any lingering problems that continue to exist in the education system, but when Rosebud Secondary College begins its $10 million improvement this year this improvement of facilities will see even more teachers want to come down and teach at our schools. Mr Edbrooke interjected. Mr BRAYNE: We did. Good facilities create opportunities to bring in great teachers. On the peninsula we cannot just rely on the beach and the incredible lifestyle to convince great teachers to move down or to remain and teach on the Mornington Peninsula. We should have world-class, modern school facilities on the Mornington Peninsula—like the ones we are developing right now, only two years into my term, at Red Hill Consolidated School, at Rosebud Primary School, at Dromana Primary School—that further entice the very best to teach our children. That said, of course, obviously the beach and the idyllic lifestyle do help. I do commend this bill to the floor, and I hope that the member for Eltham is okay after falling over there. Ms CONNOLLY (Tarneit) (14:58): I too rise to speak on the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020, and it is fantastic to speak just after my colleague and good friend over there, the member for Nepean, because he is 100 per cent right when he says that building state-of-the-art education facilities is not what will give a child the very, very best of education. You need the facilities, but you need something else, and that other bit of magic that gives children a first- class, world-class education is their teachers. It is the person at the front of the classroom. I do have to say it is probably quite an appropriate time of year to be able to stand here in this place and debate this bill as our schools return for their 2021 school year. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all of the amazing kids in the outer west back to school and their very hardworking and dedicated teachers, as they have gone back to school over the last couple of weeks. I know that everyone in this house and in my local community is hoping that this will be a much better year than 2020 was. We faced many, many challenges last year in the midst of a global pandemic, with Wyndham having the highest number of active COVID cases there at the peak, and that presented a lot of challenges for teachers, for students and for local families. So welcome back to all of you, and I hope this year will be a bigger and brighter year. I think it is fair to say—modestly say—that our government has an incredibly impressive track record when it comes to education. Now, I have always said that a person’s postcode should not define their future; it should not define the opportunities that they receive in life. Today I have talked about how it is not just about postcodes; it is about the burbs. It is about the neighbourhoods that kids ride their bikes around. It is about what side of the bridge that you live on and you grow up in. Where you grow up should never define the opportunities and the education that you receive early on in your life. That is why I am really passionate about making sure that kids in my local community have the ability to be able to receive that first-class education in world-class facilities. I have to say, we have been receiving some fabulous, fabulous education facilities in the outer west, but equally important—and I say this not only as the local member for Tarneit but also as a mum of two primary school aged kids—

BILLS 266 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 is the quality and the standard of the teacher, of the adult there at the front of the classroom that our kids are looking up to. Not only are little minds feeding off all the wonderful things that the teachers are able to teach them, teachers also explain a lot of the learnings and the important things in life. What strikes me about the teachers in the outer west—and we have some fantastic teachers; this bill will make the standard and the quality of the education programs that teachers go through in getting qualified even better, but we have some great teachers in the outer west—is that they are not just passionate about delivering great maths and science classes, teaching kids how to read and all of these other wonderful things that we do at school; they are also committed to teaching kids in the outer west some of the basic lessons and learnings of life. Sometimes it is called ‘Tarneit time’ at particular schools. Tarneit time is about learning how to be a good human being, learning how to be a good citizen, learning how to contribute in a meaningful way to our local community, and it is stuff like this that matters. It really matters in areas where there is a lot of social disadvantage. In my community unfortunately there are a lot of families that suffer from generational social and economic disadvantage. There is a circuit-breaker to that generational cycle, and that circuit-breaker is an absolute dynamite of an education. I feel very pleased to be able to say that on Monday I was handing out prep bags after joining the Deputy Premier last week out in our wonderful community of Truganina to open the newest and most amazing school, Garrang Wilam Primary School. I still cannot wipe the smile off my face about how fabulous that school is. It makes me smile because it makes me think about the standard of schools that we are continuing to build in electorates like mine—very fast growing areas in Melbourne’s west. Having spent time with Garrang Wilam’s principal, Natalie Nelson—and I met some of the leadership team there this week as we were welcoming all those little preppies and their families coming through the school gates—I know that those kids at that school will get a first-class education, not because their classrooms are just unbelievably amazing but because the school leadership team and the teaching staff are committed and dedicated to those children’s lives and getting them through that primary school and then into high school. Garrang Wilam is one of 100 new schools that are being built by this government. We know that we absolutely need every single one of them—let me tell you, there are a hundred babies being born in Wyndham every single week. This could not be any clearer than in places out in my patch in Tarneit and the outer west. We need schools, and we need them pretty quickly, but we are also going to need great teachers. We need great teachers to be teaching in those classrooms, standing in front of our kids, helping build that foundation right from prep that will contribute to a wonderful life of learning. This bill does make changes to the powers of the Victorian Institute of Teaching, the VIT, in relation to initial teacher education programs. I am sure I can speak for every family in Wyndham and in my patch of Tarneit: parents want to see the very best teachers there standing in front of the classroom because they know that no matter how glamorous the classroom is, their kids are not going to get that first-class education unless the teacher at the front of the room is of the highest quality and the highest standard—and that is what this bill is all about. Now, a key area of this bill will enable the VIT to have greater certainty on what they can and they cannot regulate when it comes to that initial teacher education program, the ITE. The best example would be minimum entry requirements for ITE courses. This includes minimum ATAR requirements for Victorian universities that administer education courses. The changes in this bill will facilitate the VIT to raise these standards in the future. Our government has a really good record of ensuring that our teaching educators are strong, I am very pleased to say. In 2017 we introduced the Victorian selection framework, which sets out the entry requirements for ITE programs. This included the introduction of a minimum ATAR requirement. I note that in 2019 the minimum ATAR requirement for year 12 students entering an undergraduate teaching program was raised to 70, up from 65 the previous year. For comparison, just five years ago school leavers who scored in the bottom 50 per cent—that is an ATAR of less than 50—made up half

BILLS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 267 of teaching degree offers in New South Wales and the ACT. Victoria can only be the Education State with its first-class facilities, which I am very proud of, with incredible teachers, high-quality, high- standard teachers, teachers that are driven to giving our kids the very best education they can possibly get. So it is very reassuring to see that our government has taken this trend in New South Wales and the ACT very seriously and has made sure that these trends are not replicated here in Victoria. I do talk a lot about our government being determined to deliver that world-class education system for all Victorian students because it matters. It is life-changing for students, for families and for future generations, the future faces of Victoria. It is life-changing for these people. Not only are we investing heavily in making sure that students are learning in first-rate schools, but we are now going to make sure that their teachers are trained to the best and highest possible standard. The changes in this bill will strengthen the VIT in regulating courses for those wishing to seek a career in teaching, and in doing so it will ensure courses properly equip teachers with the skills they need to deliver the education that our kids deserve. I wholeheartedly commend this bill to the house. Mr FREGON (Mount Waverley) (15:08): What a great delight to be able to stand up and talk about education and our teachers again. We do it very often in this house because our teachers and our educator assistants in our schools are such a crucial part of our society—in our lives, in our children’s lives and going on. Investments we make in the education sector, in the quality of our teachers, like this bill goes to, are investments that we will reap the benefit of for generations to come. So when we talk about the billions of dollars that the Andrews government has put into education over the last five years, we know that that is an investment of so many billions of dollars in the future of our state. That is a legacy that I believe we will all be very proud of sitting on the Treasury benches, because we can look back when our time is over and say that we contributed to the beneficial nature of the education of our kids. This bill amends the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 to clarify and enhance the existing powers of the VIT, the Victorian Institute of Teaching, with respect to the approval of initial teacher education programs that lead to qualifications for entry into teaching in schools. I am quite familiar with the VIT—not personally. I am not a member of the VIT and I am not a teacher, but my wife is a teacher. Rebecca is a teacher and has been for years. As I have said before in this house, my mother was a teacher, my mother-in-law is a teacher and my brother-in-law is a teacher assistant. My family gatherings are so full of teachers that I cannot help but learn. A member interjected. Mr FREGON: I am sure they do love me; they tell me so, and I tend to believe them—it is easier that way! But I would say that I think I require that many teachers because I am probably a slow learner. When I get onto something I stick with it, but sometimes it takes me time. On that, it was actually interesting to see the member for Ferntree Gully here; it is good to see him. I grew up in the district of Ferntree Gully, and a school that is in his district is Fairhills High School, which is the high school I went to. When we are talking about teachers and we are talking about teacher quality, as we are today, we all remember that teacher in our life—and if we were lucky there were a few of them—that changed the way we think about the world. Whether it be light-bulb moments on aspects of science, arts, the law or finger painting—it does not matter—there will be teachers that we remember. Now, I remember a certain teacher from Fairhills High School, Mr Henderson. Mr Henderson lived relatively close to us in Ferntree Gully; he was across the park down at Sandgate Boulevard. I was one of those students who spent the first four or five years of high school doing pretty well. I did not really have to work that hard. It sort of just all worked. Then I got to the HSC, which it was at the time, and things got very serious all of a sudden, so it took me a little while to catch up. I remember getting the September tests, as they were then, and my maths B teacher was Mr Henderson. My results were not good. I think I got 22 per cent or something thereabouts—not a great score. So this sort of woke me

BILLS 268 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 up. I do have a feeling that the teachers put this in to wake us up, which is probably a clever idea. Obviously I was a little bit nervous about this. I spoke to Mr Henderson and said, ‘I probably need to lift my game a little bit’. He said, ‘Look, I tell you what, Matt: you come over to my place on Saturday and Sunday at 3 o’clock for the next few weeks; you can run practice exams on my kitchen table while I’m mowing the lawn and working in the garden, and when you’ve finished I’ll come and mark them for you and we’ll go through it’. Now, he did not have to do that, but that is what we did, and it ended up that maths B was my best subject in HSC. So forever I will thank—and Mr Henderson, if you ever listen to this or read this— Mr Henderson for that attention. So many times our teachers go above and beyond the call of duty. It is not just a job, it is a vocation. We all remember the old film, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, and how everyone loved Mr Chips. Well, there are so many Mr or Mrs Chips in the Victorian education system, and we need to back them. And this bill does back them, because what this bill is doing is in part making sure that the qualifications of our teachers are not in doubt. Now, I do not doubt them at all, but sometimes people will wonder, so having these levels that we are talking about in the bill today makes sure that the level of respect that our teachers deserve they will receive. I was delighted to see that Fairhills got some money in the previous budget as well, on the side, and I should also mention the fantastic schools in my area, which also have fantastic teachers—in Mount Waverley—that are also as well deserving of every praise as Mr Henderson and many other teachers that I had are. The Andrews Labor government is further strengthening the regulation of school teaching qualifications to ensure Victorian students get high-quality teachers and a high-quality education. When it comes to learning, as I said, the importance of those great teachers cannot be overstated. A number of us have talked about learning from home. I did hear one of my colleagues—I did not actually see who it was, but I heard while I was in the office—say they were not quite sure about the idea of calling it home learning, and I agree. It was learning from home. Having watched my kids all learn completely differently, I know at times keeping them on track at home was a little difficult. So I put my mind to our fantastic teachers, who have 20-odd of these kids all learning differently in the same classroom, doing a fantastic job of not only keeping them in line but teaching them all the things they need to learn. If there is an easy way to learn that skill, I am in line. That would be good to know. We know intuitively that highly effective teachers can have an enriching effect on the daily lives of children, and I think we are all in this house the product of that. Using data from about 500 000 studies Professor John Hattie, director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute at the University of Melbourne and a lead investigator at the Science of Learning Research Centre, conducted a mirror analysis and ranked various influences on student learning and achievement. He found that the impact teachers have on student learning is greater than other factors that often dominate our public debate, such as class size, technology and individualised instruction. It is the teachers that make a difference, and the influences with the most effect by far are those teacher-related expectations for their students, their level of expertise and their training. We can also—as I mentioned, this was acknowledged by the Minister for Education—recognise the great work of our tertiary sector in preparing our aspiring teachers, and we are looking forward to working with these providers to develop the next generation of teachers for our schools. The next generation— when I think about education, and it is my favourite subject to talk about in this house, it is always about the next generation. What do we leave for them? I would say with this bill and with a series of education measures and investment in our education system year after year from this government I think we are leaving them with some pretty good options, and I commend this bill to the house. Mr McGUIRE (Broadmeadows) (15:18): ‘Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire’: those are William Butler Yeats’s great words of inspiration—yes, Yeats, the Irish Nobel

BILLS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 269 laureate for literature—and he was right. That is really what we need to be doing, and that is what this government is trying to do by building the Education State and trying to actually give greater opportunity to as many children as it possibly can. That is about standards, and that is what is inherent in this bill. This is why I am calling for and will continue to campaign to make sure 10-year-old Australians are not in the criminal justice system but in the education system. Our system has failed if children as young as 10 are in a cell instead of a classroom—that is clear cut. This disproportionately impacts Indigenous children. This bill is about improving standards in education, and a standard Australia must change is raising the age of legal criminal responsibility from 10 to 14. The reason I want to pursue this and I think we need to address it at a national level—and I know there is goodwill from the Victorian government to look at this—is from an understanding of the importance of the social determinants of life. So there should be lifelong learning for skills, jobs and meaning, connecting up through health to make sure that you have better health, better wellbeing and better quality of life and longevity and then making sure you connect the disconnected so people are not left behind in postcodes of disadvantage or because of race or class or these things that we still have to confront, address and change. Contemporary research backs this up. It shows that children’s brains are still developing throughout these formative years when they have limited capacity for reflection before action, and we all know that. If you are 10 years old, do you seriously think you have the understanding and the depth of knowledge that this is a criminal act that could actually put you in jail? Children in grades 4, 5 and 6 are not at a cognitive level of development where they are able to fully appreciate the criminal nature of their actions and the lifelong consequences of being labelled a criminal. This is the point: your life can be defined at the age of 10, and I am sure that is not a consequence that we want to see. Criminalising the behaviour of the young and vulnerable perpetuates cycles of disadvantage and forces children to become entrenched in the criminal justice system. That is the sad reality of what occurs. Studies show that the younger a child has their first contact with the criminal justice system, the higher the chance of future offending—the higher the chance of future offending. So let us stop continuing this system. Children who are forced into contact with the criminal justice system at a young age are also less likely to complete their education and find employment. So this draws it all together. We want to give them education. We want them to get better opportunities in life. So it is critical to ensure that childhoods are not stolen by the criminal justice system. Let us get them in the education system. I want to applaud the research of many organisations from the Human Rights Law Centre to the work of Raise the Age—this is a coalition that has been put together—and all the Indigenous activists who have been calling for this reform. The reason why I do want to address it is that I have always pursued lifelong learning as a critical change that we can make to give people greater opportunity and also my role as Parliamentary Secretary for Crime Prevention. We do not want reoffending; we do not want recidivism. We want to give people greater opportunities in life. So I would like the Australian attorneys-general, when they next meet on this, to consider in a broader perspective what this actually means. So let us not perpetuate disadvantage. Let us give these children the fair go and the opportunity that they can have in this great country that we have. That is what I really want to use this contribution to address, and it goes to another point here in that we are going to improve information sharing. The way that this bill will address it is that it will look at the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and, I would presume, the Betrayal of Trust report that preceded that and was the blueprint for it and also look at the national review on One Teaching Profession: Teacher Registration in Australia, and it will enhance the Victorian Institute of Teaching’s already rigorous processes to ensure child safety in the regulatory context. So it even fits within that part of the bill as well. The other series of initiatives that the Victorian Andrews Labor government has taken is to invest in the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and their Generation Victoria project that the government

BILLS 270 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 has funded over a number of years now. So this is going to be of world standing to actually be able to look at the health determinants of life from babies born throughout the state—it is of international best practice and leadership—and be able to say what are their predispositions for asthma and a whole range of other illnesses that they might confront in life. And we can do this with better information sharing in education as well. We know the tipping points of boys and girls, where they can either get into the criminal justice system or they are more vulnerable. We know how we have provided these systemic changes. To have three- year-old kinder—what a great initiative to be able to do that. Early investment is the best investment in education, so if we can bring all this together and say, ‘This is really how we can give you a better chance in life’—no matter where you come from, no matter what your background is—I think that is really one of the big narratives of this government and what we are trying to do to address these issues. Again, this is a bill that is part of this evolving narrative: how do we actually improve standards for teachers? We know how important that is. The better the teacher, the better the opportunities they will provide. I just want to draw those threads together and really analyse how we can do this. The Broadmeadows model that I am trying to put together with different inputs from a whole range of people is looking at how we give that opportunity. How do you get lifelong learning for skills, jobs and meaning? How do you connect up? How do you then make sure that you have better health? And the pandemic has revealed it. The big impacts that it had are by location as well. Broadmeadows was critical in what happened there. We need to be able to identify how we coordinate our systems and how we actually take care of these communities. I want to commend the minister at the table, the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, for all the work that has been done. The Orange Door model is a fantastic model to help people. If we can get investment in microfinancing, that would be a wonderful thing. Muhammad Yunus won a Nobel Peace Prize for looking at how you actually give loans, particularly to women, to give them a chance to start small businesses. That would be a fantastic investment, particularly in the community I represent, which is virtually a United Nations in one neighbourhood. The common denominator more often than not is people are poor, but this is where you get your start. This is where you get your start in the land of opportunity. They have got the driven gene to actually achieve. If I can make the bold pitch directly to the minister—she has heard me make this before directly to her, so I am not embarrassing her; I know she is supportive of the concept—I really would love to land this concept, because it could actually show what can be done. I think it is the whole thing about just giving women a chance. I mean, what are they asking for? They are asking for a fair go. That is basically and fundamentally the proposition. You can help these women. It is proven internationally. It is in a lot of advanced countries—in the US, in a lot of countries. You help these pockets and these locations that are left behind. How do we actually draw it together and give people the opportunity? That will help them raise their children and give them better chances. That is how you can turn postcodes of disadvantage into postcodes of hope. Ms GREEN (Yan Yean) (15:28): It gives me great pleasure to join the debate on the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020. The Victorian Institute of Teaching is an incredibly important part of the governance framework and the scaffolding around the practice of teaching in Victoria. It regulates the teaching profession, including early childhood teachers. We have seen over the course of 2021 just how important our educators are—our teachers, our early childhood educators. We really saw with the year 12 results how well our educators have supported our students in the most difficult of circumstances, and I really want to put it on the record and congratulate them. I want to just mention a couple of particular schools that I think in such difficult circumstances really stepped up. The first one I want to mention is Hazel Glen College in Doreen. They had their inaugural year 12 graduates last year. For any year 12 cohort it is a really difficult time, but during COVID it was an incredibly difficult time. When you think of the responsibility that would have been on those year 12 students, the first cohort of Hazel Glen College to have completed their VCE under such

BILLS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 271 circumstances, I just think it was amazing. This school is the largest single-campus school in the country. I know you, Acting Speaker Richards, are no stranger to very large populated schools, but it is so impressive to see what Hazel Glen does. One of their assistant principals heads up the early learning area—so from babies to kindergarten to the second year of kindergarten, four-year-old kinder—then into the early years of the school, the middle years and then the senior college. They just do an outstanding job. I have not actually done the final count this year, but I think there are 3500 students on that campus, so it is like a mini city. If you add in all the education practitioners, plus the support staff, plus the ground staff and then you add in teachers, that is a massive number of people in one place, and for them to have been able to get successfully through COVID and the challenges there—the health challenges and education challenges—I really want to pay credit to Anthony Stockwell, the principal of the college, and all his educators and indeed every student in year 12. Of course they were not able to have their usual graduation event; they were not able to have their muck-up day and all of those sorts of things. One of the things that I really loved, the alternative that they did—and they invited me to it—was on the Saturday after the students finished their formal classes and were about to move into exam time. They had a professional lightshow that shone lights all over the college, and members of the community were asked just to walk and drive by, to toot and to wave, to celebrate the achievements of the students. Mernda Central College, similarly, is in the same postcode but an adjacent area, and Anthony Oldmeadow, who was an assistant principal at Hazel Glen College, is now the new principal at Mernda Central College. This year they are going into their inaugural year 12, so they had year 11 students last year and some students doing a couple of year 12 subjects. But I love the fact that this is another large school. I think they have got almost 2000 students this year, and across that one postcode there is a massive number of students and great collaboration between those two colleges and also the neighbouring Lakes school in South Morang. It is also going to have its first year of year 12 this year. When the VCE offer, the years 11 and 12 offer, was being put together, when the Hazel Glen students were in year 10 and the others were in year 9, there was collaborative work done by an amazing education professional in Howard Kelly, who is a dear friend of many people in this chamber and a dear friend of mine and of the member for Eltham. Even though he has retired formally from teaching and from being a principal he is doing a power of work with Melbourne Polytechnic. But also any time I ask him about a school that might need help Howard is always there. It is really down to Howard bringing these three massive schools together, having worked on the collaborative offer for the students across these great schools. I think Whittlesea and Wallan secondary colleges also deserve gongs for what they did last year with their students. In a further out interface area, both still have significant numbers of students that were affected by Black Saturday—as does Diamond Valley College in my own Diamond Creek, where I live and where my son Carlo attended school—and have that additional stress of dealing with students that are still recovering from what happened on Black Saturday. Teachers in primary schools—those that have been teaching all the while in the 12 years since Black Saturday; I note that the 12th anniversary is coming up this weekend—tell me that there are actually more students in education now, in schools, than there were at the time of the fires. What our teaching professionals have been telling me in our primary schools, where affected students attend, is that the most traumatised and affected cohort of students is those that were actually in utero at the time of Black Saturday. Those students are now going into grade 6 or year 7, so that is how long the tail of trauma can last. I think that it is incumbent on all of us in here to note that with the students that have been through the difficulties of COVID it could well be something that lives with them for a long time. It will be difficult for them in a depressed job market, and I know that our teachers understand that. Despite the great teaching workforce that we have, we do see that the VIT, the Victorian Institute of Teaching, does receive about 700 complaints each year. Some of them have a substantial basis, but they do add to the workload the VIT has. The amendments in the bill before the house today actually

MOTIONS 272 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 give the VIT the power to dismiss the claims that are vexatious and to be able to refer them to different, more appropriate forums. It is sad that due the COVID case overnight we are not getting the final report of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System tabled, but something that I am really proud that our government has supported for our teaching workforce in this term of government—in addition to our doctors in schools and nurses in schools that we did in the first term of the Andrews Labor government—is the rollout of psychologists and social workers to support what our teachers do. I am sure that with the Minister for Education now also being the Minister for Mental Health we will see a magnificent expansion of what those psychologists and social workers have been able to do to support our students, thereby freeing up our teachers to do what they do best—educating our young people to get the best results that they possibly can for the careers that they want to have and preparing them for the outside world and the constant change. And haven’t we seen this past year what the constant change has been. I want to commend the minister for the previous work that he did as minister for early childhood education and the preparation for the rollout of three-year-old kinder, which is now being done by Minister Stitt in the other place. It is great that we have such a fabulous team in education in our government, which is also assisted by the member for Mordialloc as the Parliamentary Secretary for Schools. We are the Education State. We will not rest on our laurels. We will particularly pay attention to the needs of rural and regional students, unlike what those opposite say—they are very good at pointing the finger but not doing much on their watch. This is a great bill. I wish it speedy passage and I commend it to the house. Ms WILLIAMS (Dandenong—Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, Minister for Women, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs) (15:38): I move: That the debate be now adjourned. Motion agreed to and debate adjourned. Ordered that debate be adjourned until later this day. Motions BUDGET PAPERS 2020–21 Debate resumed on motion of Mr PEARSON: That this house takes note of the 2020–21 budget papers. Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (15:38): This budget is a road to nowhere. It has cut community confidence off at the knees. The government is claiming this budget is putting people first. What a con. Labor has left Victorians behind. A budget should set out a government’s economic policies and priorities, but this budget bandaids over the cracks and ignores many of the real challenges. It is a budget whose bare-boned economic strategy at best undermines confidence and at worst is fundamentally dangerous. And to my community of Brighton, Brighton East, Elwood and Hampton: Labor has forgotten you. This is a typically cynical Labor budget, a budget that is economically irresponsible and undermines the confidence in this state. Victorians and indeed Australians know that Labor cannot manage money. Labor governments always lean towards economic vandalism. This budget is no exception. We know this because Labor has refused to release details on the total cost of projects or the time frame for their completion. On top of that, this budget racks up debt like never before. Labor is loading $23 100 of debt onto the shoulders of every Victorian man, woman and child and has forecast debt peaking at $155 billion, which will eventually cost $4 billion in interest repayments. In terms of deficit the projections tower against the combined deficits of all other Australian states, and on growth the government has sided with the public sector and the male-dominated construction

MOTIONS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 273 industry instead of fostering private enterprise. Confidence has been sapped. People are voting with their feet. Thousands have migrated from Victoria in a way we have not seen for 25 years. The international experts have also cast their judgement. As soon as the budget was handed down the international credit rating agencies circled on the carcass of economic responsibility in Victoria, swooped in and downgraded our rating sharply. It was downgraded from AAA to AA. Labor’s budget legacy will be the trashing of economic responsibility. Credit ratings are not simply something to boast about. The rating gauges a state’s ability to repay its debt. Instead of acknowledging that Victorians will pay more for Labor’s debt through a higher cost of borrowing, the Treasurer responded in his typically contemptuous way. He casually sneered that the downgrade was ‘not unexpected’. But what was worse was that the Treasurer acknowledged that he had no plan, no economic plan, for budget repair. His lack of plan was not lost on the rating agencies either. Moody’s described the budget as ‘silent on debt stabilisation and reduction strategies’ and said that the budget position had ‘weakened its capacity to pursue timely fiscal repair’. Standard & Poor’s went further, ringing dire alarm bells by saying our budget ‘could take generations to recover’. These verdicts have sent a very strong signal. They have undermined the business community’s already shaken confidence. Labor despises the private sector. Business knows this government rewards tax spenders, not taxpayers. Labor has delivered a budget that backs in the public sector at the expense of the private sector. Just look at the government’s public sector wage bill, set to jump by 10 per cent over the next two years, from $30 billion to $33 billion. Incredibly, the wage bill for top public servants has tripled. Mum-and-dad businesses of Main Street should know that Labor has turned its back on them. These businesses are the backbone of our economy, and I say to the private sector: you must never forget that when the pandemic hit, every state government jumped to support business and protect workers— every state government except the Victorian Labor government. Businesses should also not forget the Treasurer’s rationale for not providing support—because he was ‘monitoring’. When this government’s wholly misguided support came, it totally missed the mark. Labor has left small businesses behind, and businesses know it. The Sensis Business Index reports that business believes the Victorian government is the equal worst government in the country in its support of small business and one in four believes the Victorian government’s policies are actively working against them. What a sad record for this state to hold, having small business decide that their government is actively working against them. But can you blame them? Late last year Bill Lang, the executive director of Small Business Australia, estimated that more than a third of Victoria’s small businesses had either closed permanently or were ‘on the verge’ of closing. Despite that dire state, newly released figures expose how deeply small business has been ignored by government. Of the 640 000 small businesses in Victoria, only one in five received any support from Labor during the pandemic. The Premier forcibly shut business down and left 80 per cent to drown, and sole traders, many of whom are women, were hit even harder. Labor did not just let them drown; this government held their heads underwater. You drowned them. We know that only 33 000 of Victoria’s 412 000 sole traders were eligible for government support. Over 90 per cent of the state’s sole traders were ineligible. We also know that for the 10 per cent of sole traders that were eligible only $15 million of the $100 million sole trader package was actually spent. The private sector should know that Labor has sat on the support fund instead of paying it out. This budget has offered our private sector a road to nowhere. What Labor has never respected is that mum-and-dad businesses are the backbone of our communities. Small businesses are the local employers, where our children get their first job. We can see the impact now on unemployment. Since the start of the pandemic over one in 10 jobs has been lost in Victorian businesses employing fewer than 20 people. When our small businesses suffer, our children suffer disproportionately, as do women. In many ways young Victorians are doing it tougher than most in terms of the impact of the pandemic both on their way of life and on their outlook for the future. Their education has changed and their social engagement has been cut off. As Youth Affairs Council Victoria puts it, there is:

MOTIONS 274 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021

… an economic and employment crisis for young people in Victoria. For young Victorians the prospect of generational inequality is real. This explains why young people have suffered mentally in a disproportionate way. Saving minds is just as important as saving lives. Last year’s report from Beyond Blue that one in five children between 11 and 17 years old were experiencing high or very high levels of psychological stress was deeply alarming. One proposal to address this, as set out by the Victorian Student Representative Council in their Congress 2020 report, is to incorporate a consistent mental health curriculum to identify specific mental health conditions throughout the lower secondary years. Despite the relaxation of restrictions in the community, the pandemic will have a profound and ongoing effect on young Victorians. We can see that in the employment market. There are 57 300 less Victorians in work compared to at the start of the pandemic, and three out of five of those dislocated are women. And alarmingly, one in six young people are unemployed—15 per cent roughly—almost three times the state average of 6.5 per cent. With state underemployment averaging 9 per cent and a higher youth underemployment rate, there is little doubt a further one in six young people are underemployed. It should be a sobering fact for this Parliament that roughly one in every three young people in this state is either unemployed or underemployed. These figures are grim. As Youth Affairs Council Victoria recently put in their report A COVID-19 Recovery Plan for Young People: The pandemic will result in economic scarring that will affect this generation of young people for their entire lives. … Economic scarring will negatively impact young people’s health and wellbeing until their retirement. The challenges our young people face not only deserve to be voiced but also deserve a detailed policy response. Instead young people have a shallow budget wrapped in branding aimed at giving the appearance of helping them, when in reality the budget has left them behind. Like most Labor policy, the Jobs for Victoria initiative has been scant on detail and results. We are told that the money will go towards wage-subsidised jobs. Considering the government’s track record, young Victorians should not be holding their breath. The Youth Affairs Council has called on the state government to develop and release a recovery plan for young people. The council is right. Young people deserve a concrete plan, a plan of hope. They deserve more than a hollow budget offering young Victorians a road to nowhere. Leaving people behind and shutting the door has been a hallmark of this government. We saw that with the immoral and illegal public housing lockdown, and our community felt the Premier’s heavy hand again in January when Victorians were locked out of their own state, when our neighbours were refused the right to return home. Victorians were made stateless, and now the Premier is asking to extend the state of emergency powers for a full year. What madness. This Parliament cannot allow the state to be run by dangerous, unaccountable decree. The city of Melbourne is the heart of our state, a heart that is now on life support, where over one in four businesses is either closed or vacant. The decimation of our great city centre is not just economically dire; it is having a profound effect on the psyche of Victorians and it undermines business confidence. During the week before Christmas the City of Melbourne pedestrian traffic report showed a 36 per cent reduction in shoppers in the Bourke Street Mall from the year before. Similarly, the city’s nightlife has been crushed. The nightlife which supported 31 000 jobs pre-pandemic was down by two-thirds on the year prior. At its most vibrant the city delivered a quarter of the state’s economic turnover—$104 billion last year—and almost 1 million people worked in, lived in or visited it each weekday. The city will not return to its vibrancy on its own. We need to fix our state’s centre. We will not fix it if the disjointed, conflicted announcements continue on when workers can return to office work. We know that if one in five city office workers keeps working from home it will come at a $540 million cost. The Premier might have the power to march around the public service, but he has no power to direct the private sector, which he treats like second-class citizens. The disjointed city

MOTIONS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 275 decrees have had one effect—undermining confidence. Business will weigh up their business models and reconsider future investment, and you can feel it. Labor had a moral obligation to do something for our city. The budget should have been an opportunity for a broader emergency response, but again the budget failed and left our city centre behind. It is not only the city centre but other economic cornerstones that have been ignored in this budget. International education is a cornerstone of Victoria’s future economic prosperity. For over 10 years it has been our largest services export industry, delivering $13.7 billion in revenue and supporting almost 79 000 jobs. In fact Victoria represents one-third of Australia’s onshore enrolments. The sector has been decimated, and although there are overarching federal issues, each state must be on the front foot. We need to be planning. Instead of offering hope the Premier has simply said that developing a plan is frankly not possible. Well, it was possible in the Northern Territory. In November, under strict quarantine conditions, 63 international students from five countries arrived in Australia to study at Charles Darwin University. All proactive plans deserve consideration, because you cannot kick the leg out from a chair and not dive in to rescue it from falling over. With that in mind the International Education Association of Australia has proposed a purpose-built quarantine arrangement for students, paid for by international students and the education providers. Not only do we need a plan to recommence onsite international learning, but the government should be using the budget to encourage the export of Victorian education online into international markets. This budget is a con. It is a budget that offers a road to nowhere, a budget that is economically irresponsible and undermines confidence in the state, and in turn it has cut community confidence off at the knees. Labor has left Victorians behind, and I say again to my community: Labor has forgotten you. Ms COUZENS (Geelong) (15:53): I am proud to rise to highlight the significant budget initiatives in my electorate of Geelong. This is an extraordinary budget in an extraordinary time, and I want to thank the Premier, the Treasurer and every minister for putting people first, including in my electorate of Geelong. I have to say I have lost count of the number of people, whether they be working people, businesses or community organisations, that have asked me to pass on their thanks to the Premier and to the government for all the work they have done during this extraordinary time dealing with the pandemic. At no time has anybody ever raised the debt issue; the money that we are spending to support Victorians has never been raised with me. In fact people are saying, ‘What you are doing is the right thing for Victoria, and it’s the right thing for the people of Geelong’. So I think putting people first is what we have been doing, and I really do thank the Premier, the Treasurer and all those ministers that have put a huge amount of work into dealing with a global pandemic. It is a global pandemic, and as we have seen across the world there are far more serious situations in other countries than what we are experiencing here in Australia. Victoria has done extremely well, given what we have been through. I have to say it has been a tough and challenging year for Victoria, and of course my electorate of Geelong has been no different. But we are a resilient city in Geelong, and everywhere I go, as I said, we have had a really positive reaction. With the first cases of COVID-19 the Geelong leaders stepped up and worked together to address the issues that we were facing due to the pandemic, and I want to thank them for the work that they did and are still doing—and a huge thankyou to the people of Geelong. They have and deserve this significant budget commitment that we have made. This budget funds the things that matter to people, and I know that because I spoke to so many people—as I am sure many of us in this chamber did—during the pandemic period, and we are still talking to people now about what needs to be done to make sure that we are putting people first. What we have actually put forward are some life-changing opportunities, coupled with what we have done over the last six years in building our communities, whether it be in employment, health, education, housing—all those really important components that people rely on in our communities. And if we do not offer those opportunities, those people miss out. As a government we have continued to offer those

MOTIONS 276 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 opportunities, and I know that, because someone like myself would not be standing here if I was not given opportunities over the years I have been around. I think it is really important that we acknowledge that those pathways are really significant to our communities, particularly to low-income people, the disadvantaged, people with disabilities and the Aboriginal community. All those decisions we make often have a life-changing significance for those groups in our community. These opportunities are needed, and it is exactly what our government has been doing, not just in this budget but over the last six years. Workers have done it tough in so many ways, including those on the front line, as we have heard from many people in this chamber, and I want to acknowledge the valuable contribution of the union movement and the support that they have provided to their members as well. I congratulate the individual unions and the Geelong Trades Hall for all of the work that they have continued to do in my electorate of Geelong. Geelong businesses have confronted many challenges. I heard from literally thousands of businesses, and that gave me then the opportunity to feed that information back into government, to ministers and to the Premier, which is why we have rolled out so many amazing opportunities for communities like Geelong. We have provided a variety of supports, such as funding to live music venues, the arts and small business grants, just to name a few. The budget provides practical support for small business to get back on track, and I have been speaking to small business, believe me, day in, day out. In fact some of them are actually doing better than they were pre COVID, but there are those that are not, and it is up to us as a government and up to me as a local member to be representing them and putting that information through to the appropriate ministers, which is exactly what we have done and which is why we have such an amazing budget outcome. It provides practical support for small business to get back on track—so $836 million in new job tax credits for small and medium businesses, a $6 million investment in small business support toolkits and $5 million to support small business to expand the Ready for Growth service. Funding was provided to the Geelong Chamber of Commerce to support local business after I and the parliamentary secretary had meetings with them to identify what was going to help them as a chamber to support small business in the Geelong community. I want to thank the CEO, Ben Flynn, and the chamber board for the support to local businesses but also for providing that invaluable information that enabled us to provide the supports that were needed by small business. The work of the Committee for Geelong and its members just highlighted the importance of community leaders working together and looking forward to the recovery. I want to thank the chair of the committee, Clive Pugh, for his leadership and commitment to Geelong and to the community overall. For the Geelong Arts Centre, on top of the $128 million redevelopment for which work has already started, there was an additional half a million dollars to help them manage stage 3 redevelopment service disruptions. We were also able to provide them with some funding to establish a big top in one of our parks in Geelong to enable them to keep the arts playing a vital role in our community and to have ongoing performances while the arts centre is not able to be used. In fact that begins tomorrow night, with the opening of the theatre season. We are hopeful that the weather holds out long enough for us to be able to do that, given that it is in a tent. It is those sorts of initiatives that are really contributing to our community getting back on its feet. The Good Money store, which was again funded in the budget late last year, supports vulnerable people experiencing financial hardship and provides access to in-person support. This is really important. We have a shopfront in the CBD of Geelong where people can go and get the support that they need. Whether it is some financial counselling or a no-interest loan, this is a really important service, and I am so pleased that we were able to continue to fund them. There is access online, but of course we know that there are people in our community that do not have access to the IT necessary to be able to do that.

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Another great one when we talk about young people is the Geelong Project, which will be funded over three years—another $3.36 million. It is an early intervention approach to support students at risk of disengagement and homelessness. I know how important education is and the difficulties, such as things like homelessness and mental health and those sorts of issues, that arise. They create difficulties for completing education. I am so pleased that we were able to continue to fund that. Skilling the Bay—$1.6 million—is based at the Gordon TAFE. Again, it is the continuation of a school-based program, supporting students in the Geelong region to prepare for the world of work in a changing economic environment. It is a fantastic program that has been running now for quite a long time, so I was very pleased that we were able to do that. There are connections into the Geelong Tech School, which was funded and built some time ago by this government, so the links are there and they are really valuable links to support young people in our community. South Geelong Primary School will receive $2.3 million for an upgrade there—one of the few primary schools left that is looking at a major redevelopment, so we are really excited. I joined the principal, Leanne Dowling, and students Hamish, Augie, Edie and Aarav to celebrate the exciting news. They really were very excited about that announcement. Barwon Valley School will receive over $10 million to deliver stage 2 of the school’s master plan. Again, principal Anne Hume and the students Logan, Hattie and Kalen were absolutely delighted to join me for that announcement, and again, they are very excited about what that has to offer. One of the things that I was really pleased to hear about was autistic students getting more support in schools and more tailored assistance with their education through an Australian-first strategy launched by the Andrews government. This is really important to many Geelong families. I am so proud that it comes from the work that we did in the parliamentary committee around services for people with autism. That was one of our key recommendations, and it is fantastic to see those recommendations actually coming to light. We are seeing real, tangible outcomes out of that, so I was really excited to see that we are committed to that and will be going forward. We are committed to a fairer future for First Nations people, which is pretty close to my heart. During the pandemic we have supported the Wadawurrung traditional owners, as we have right across Victoria, and also the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative health service. I worked virtually every day with them to ensure that the Aboriginal community in Geelong, or in the region, were getting the services they need and access to those services. There is an $86 million commitment to reduce representation of Aboriginal children in care and to continue to support self-determination for all Aboriginal Victorians; $40 million for Aboriginal community controlled organisations to establish a community-led service delivery fund to support health and social services; $21 million to better incorporate Aboriginal values and expertise into water management and to continue to protect cultural heritage; $14 million to create two new Aboriginal Community Infrastructure Program funding rounds to support priority projects, creating jobs and restoring connection with country; to advance treaty, another $20 million to support greater self-determination and ensure community voices are being heard; and continued funding for the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria. We have a huge agenda to give women access to opportunities they deserve as well. And there is so much in this budget it is really going to be difficult to get it all in, but I do want to thank the Minister for Training and Skills for her commitment to TAFE. The Big Build apprenticeship model will see 1500 apprentices and trainees a year work across Victoria’s major infrastructure projects. This is so important for my community. The Gordon TAFE, which is an outstanding TAFE, is taking on board whatever they can get, and these sorts of projects are so important to my local community, ensuring that people are getting the skills and training they need to get the jobs that they actually deserve. There are a number of projects going at the moment for young people in particular, who do not have easy access to skills and training, and for Aboriginal people, who do not have easy access to skills and training. This is a great opportunity for them to get into those skills and training courses. I have to say, the Gordon TAFE now has the highest number of Aboriginal enrolments it has ever had in history,

MOTIONS 278 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 thanks to this government and its commitment to TAFE. It is absolutely extraordinary, and I am really proud that we are actually doing what we set out to do. Geelong fast rail is another really significant project. I have been chairing the fast rail advisory group. We are well underway to getting this project going. Two billion dollars has been allocated for this. Fast rail will transform Geelong, and I have to say I am just so pleased with this budget. Ms SHEED (Shepparton) (16:08): I rise to make a contribution on the take-note motion. It would be fair to say that last year we found ourselves in very extraordinary circumstances, and we were all shocked by the impact of the bushfires along the eastern seaboard over that Christmas and new year period. Then we were faced with a worldwide pandemic, and 2020 has certainly taught us many things and brought us to a point here in February 2021 where there remains a great deal of uncertainty and lack of clarity as to what might happen. We have a vaccine that looks imminent. Steps are being taken to provide that right across the country, but we look at other countries and see just how devastating the impact is. While Australia has escaped a lot of that devastation that so many other countries are suffering from, it has had a dramatic impact on all of us. I think it was really over the Christmas break that I noticed the really significant impact it had had on individuals both on a personal level and more broadly in relation to their businesses, their careers and so forth. Here in Victoria we have had two lockdowns, and the impact cannot be underestimated. There are economic impacts that have been profound and no doubt have led the government to bring down the budget that it has. It is a big spend budget that is designed to create jobs and achieve significant infrastructure projects. As the pandemic eases—and probably I wrote this a couple of months ago, thinking that perhaps it would; I think we all recognise now that the pandemic is still with us and will be with us for some time—and we look at budgetary issues, both at a federal and a state level, there is no doubt that we all shudder at the amount of debt that has had to be incurred to get through this so far and to try and take us forward in the months and years ahead. Every dollar that is spent on projects needs to be spent wisely so that our communities really benefit from these sorts of things. I have heard many contributions from many members in this place regarding that level of debt. I think it is fair to say that really what we are doing here in Victoria—what the government has chosen to do in terms of a big spend budget—is following along the lines of what the federal government has done and what the Reserve Bank of Australia has recommended ought to be done to keep us going, to get us back on our feet and to get people back into jobs. My electorate has been a welcome recipient of a number of the budget spends. I suppose from a local member’s point of view it is hard not to come back and talk about your own electorate, because when you live in an electorate that was overlooked for so long, where there was very little spending on things like education and rail and other transport initiatives, it has been a really satisfying time to see the spotlight turned on Shepparton rail, for instance. You might recall that in May 2015 we had a big demonstration on the steps of Parliament. People travelled by train in their pyjamas from Shepparton to Melbourne to highlight the lack of train services. We were looking at Bendigo and Ballarat, with 20 services a day backwards and forwards, and Shepparton at that stage had four old trains. Now, it has only got five old trains at the moment, but there has been a $750 million investment over recent years, money which is about to be spent on the upgrade—and some of it has been spent. We are going to be at a point by 2023, all going well, where we will have had the track work, the signalling, the platforms, so much of the work done to provide us with nine VLocity trains each way each day, so that will be really transformational for our district in terms of public transport. We are seeing more people move to the regions at the moment, and I think good public transport such as rail will quite possibly see a shift in the way people work, in the way people can live in regional communities but still commute to Melbourne on several days a week or whatever option might work for them. I do hope that one of the good things that comes out of what has happened during this pandemic in terms of this change in working arrangements is that it leads to the recruitment of more professional, trained, educated people to fill so many of the jobs in our regional areas that we simply

MOTIONS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 279 cannot fill. Whether it be doctors in hospitals, accountants, agricultural scientists, people in factories, food technologists, we are short across the board in so many of these areas. To be able to attract people who will be able to buy a house in a regional city for probably less than half the price of any city house—for a very lovely house, might I say—may well be a side effect of the pandemic. Housing is always an issue for those who are disadvantaged, and Shepparton has seen a lot of homelessness in its time. It has been really important and a massive injection into our community to see that Shepparton will get $45 million of the new social housing spend. The Minister for Housing is at the table but busy at the moment; however, I do commend him for including Shepparton in what is really a massive spend and will be transformational in terms of providing some of the social housing that is needed. Education has also been a beneficiary of government spending, with $119 million to build the new Greater Shepparton Secondary College. That was underway all last year, and people are amazed to see what is coming up out of the ground in terms of the build. It is a very large set of buildings. There are three neighbourhoods, each with three schools, which will result in nine schools, each with 300 students in them—each operating effectively as a separate school during the early years of secondary education, but then our senior students just able to blend across the whole campus to pick up and do the subjects and the activities that they need to do, to hopefully really keep people in school for much longer and increase attendance levels. I cannot say more strongly how absolutely fabulous it looks. We had the Minister for Education there recently taking a tour through the building so far, and to have beautiful new buildings with modern, wonderful facilities I think is just going to be truly amazing for the students and the teachers who will inhabit that school over the years to come. As I say, hopefully some of these changing trends in our society might lead more people to live in regional areas so that recruitment for so many of these jobs does not continue to be the problem that it has been. Education is such an important part of providing the services we need, including early education. In that regard the integrated early childhood centre at Mooroopna Primary School is also just about to be completed and will be transformational, in partnership with the Colman Foundation, providing services that will really provide a wraparound service for parents and children from the very earliest stages, with maternal and child health services and all sorts of things that just gather the family in and hopefully keep them there all the way through their primary schooling. Quite a few of our regional schools received funding for a range of improvements and developments, and that is most welcome. A million dollars to a small school can do amazing things, whether it is solar panels, whether it is a new playground or whether it is just improving classroom space and other facilities. That has been most welcome, with six or seven of our local schools benefiting from that. There is always more to spend, and I think it is well known that many of our regional schools are old and shabby right across Victoria. That investment in upgrading them is an important job. While a lot of new schools are being built, it is important to keep up that investment in improving and making the schools that we already have more livable and more friendly environments for our teachers and students. In that regard I would just mention St Georges Road Primary School, close to where I live. I see it regularly, and it is one of the most multicultural schools you could probably come across. Shepparton has a significant multicultural community. It is just so crowded; it is a popular school among many communities, and it is a local school where much of the multicultural community live. It is desperately in need of funding for further works, and I will be talking to the minister about that for the next budget, which surprisingly is not so far away. The University of Melbourne has the Dookie agricultural college campus. It has been there for a very long time. It is a beautiful college situated at the foothills of Mount Major, and it also has received funding for modernisation, something that is very welcome. There was a time when we thought we would lose Dookie agricultural college and that Melbourne University would just move all its facilities back to Melbourne. It moved the agricultural sciences course and the vet courses all back to the Parkville campus, but we are in recent years just seeing that move back out to hands-on teaching and

MOTIONS 280 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 learning on what is a beautiful farm with a beautiful college and upgraded accommodation and facilities there that just make practical learning so much better. Our justice system too has benefited. You will remember that Shepparton had a brand-new courthouse built several years ago, round about 2014–15, and that was something that was sorely needed and had been advocated for for a very long time. But since then we have also had the investment in subsequent budgets for a family violence court. We are now part of a drug court trial, and in this budget we received funding for a family drug court treatment program to help parents escape dependency and be there for their children, with $1.2 million for that program—again, very welcome in a community where addiction is really a problem and where drugs proliferate in some of our regional cities. In providing the services and hopefully getting people through the justice system, hopefully without prison if they can address their drug problems, especially where young children are concerned, a program like this is very welcome. There is our Aboriginal community. We have the largest Aboriginal community outside of Melbourne in the Shepparton and Mooroopna area, and we have some really quite amazing Aboriginal services in the town. We have an Aboriginal legal aid service, and we have the Rumbalara medical service, which provides and is a hub for a whole wide range of services. We have just recently—as in, say, two years ago—received funding for our Aboriginal community to build what is called the Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence, and that will focus again on education, upskilling, sporting excellence and cultural awareness programs, all of which will be extremely important for our Aboriginal community, because their inclusion not just in the sense of being acknowledged but in our economy is actually something which is extremely important. Aboriginal people need to know that they can finish their education and they can get jobs and there is a normality about that. That is something that we really all have to work towards, and this is a project that will try and push that forward in the months and years ahead. Ever since I got here I have asked for a mother-baby unit, which is now called an early parenting centre—the terminology has changed over the years. But this is something that our community again really needs. We have been able to get $1.5 million from our local hospital foundation, which was always put aside for children’s needs as part of the bucket of money that would be needed to build a residential mother-baby unit—parenting unit—in the centre of town for those who after the birth of a child are simply needing support of one kind or another. It is something I will still be advocating for and hoping that the ear of government will be there for. Water policy is something that is not always a budget issue, but it is fair to say that the Connections Project in the Goulburn Valley region was completed in October last year. That turned out to be a $2 billion joint investment between the state and federal governments and has led to the modernisation of our irrigation district. Maintaining water in our district and being able to use what is now such a modernised system is an incredibly important thing and something that I talk to the Minister for Water about all the time. There are many threats to water availability, including climate change, which sees a considerable loss of water in our regions. But there is also water simply going down the river to other projects and people who can pay more, as in almond farms, and these are creating really big issues that will need to be addressed. Mr J BULL (Sunbury) (16:23): I am absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to speak on the take-note motion this afternoon. There is no doubt about it that this government puts people first. We have put people first since we were first elected, because that is what we promised to do. We put people first in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, and in 2020 we put people first again. This is a budget that in an unprecedented and unparalleled way, because there was never a greater need for it, invests in our communities right across the state. As all members know, this budget was of course due to be handed down in May 2020, but postponing the release of the budget to November 2020 was a necessary act due to what was the most challenging year for our state that we have ever seen.

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This was of course the year of the global pandemic—global upheaval, nations locked down, schools closed, workplaces shut, empty roads, empty cities, hospitals on edge, missed birthdays, tears and pain. This is our memory of 2020. Few saw the pandemic coming, but everybody felt its impact. Through all that pain, through all the disruption, Victorians, old and young, from all backgrounds, from all nationalities, dug deep, deeper than ever before. Together as a state we overcame the frustrations and pain, and those in our community found it within themselves to be better than they had ever been before. They listened to science, they followed the experts, they endured lockdown and not seeing family and friends and not doing all those things that so many people within our community, that we in this house, love to do. They waited nervously each and every day for those numbers—scared, anxious and frightened—and they watched our Premier every day for over 100 days face a barrage of questions, some fair and some not. But, Deputy Speaker, as you know, in true Victorian fashion those within our community overcame the second wave of this pandemic. Using today as a prime example, we know that this is of course not over. We have to continue to be safe and to be able to stay open, but as a state we need to reflect on those incredible sacrifices that have been made by those within our electorate and right across the community—in the city, in the suburbs and in the country—to make sure that we continue to look after ourselves and look after our families. This budget needed to be unprecedented and unparalleled in every way, and it is. I have heard a number of members discuss what is contained in the budget, whether it is health, whether it is education, whether it is transport—those massive investments that are not only going to create jobs to help us recover, to help us bounce back, but also those investments that fundamentally make a difference to people’s lives. The budget is underpinned by five key principles: looking after families; taking care of those we love; building stronger, connected communities; creating secure and decent jobs; and ensuring a strong recovery. I am going to attempt to run through a number of terrific local announcements for my community, then look at some state announcements and of course speak about a number of significant projects within my parliamentary secretary duties of multicultural affairs and youth. I am hopeful that I will be able to get that all done in the time remaining. The budget is of course an extraordinary contribution, an extraordinary document that sets up our strategy, our values, our investments—those projects that fundamentally improve the lives of every single Victorian. This is a budget that invests nearly $50 billion in things that matter—jobs, families, health, transport, our environment and the economic recovery. Central to all of this, of course, is the jobs plan, creating 400 000 jobs by 2025, half of them by 2022. There is a huge range of statewide highlights, and I just want to highlight some of those, including the secure work pilot scheme, making sure that we are looking at providing up to five days of sick and carers pay at the national minimum wage for casual or insecure workers in priority industries, because what we know through the pandemic—and there was much that was learned last year—is that providing this leave, this care, to those that are sick, to those that could not otherwise afford to be sick, is fundamentally central and important to what we can do as a government to keep people safe. We have made no secret about our commitment and our resolve to invest in infrastructure right across the state since the very moment we were elected to this place. The Melbourne Airport rail link is a project that has been talked about for decades. There is a significant commitment within the budget to get on and get that done. The Suburban Rail Loop will eventually link every suburban rail line across Melbourne with a turn-up-and-go service. It is an amazing project that will take a long time to build— there is no secret about that—but only this government, only the Andrews Labor government, will invest in the things that matter to get it done. There is the establishment of the Australian institute for infectious disease, another significant project, making sure that we are continuing to be world leaders in medical research, which is fundamentally important. The member for Melton and I—the outstanding member for Melton, I should say—were just discussing the incredible investment of the $5.3 billion big social housing build to construct more than 12 000 new homes throughout metro and regional Victoria, as well are supporting over 10 000 jobs.

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This is a landmark investment, and I am absolutely delighted to be part of a team that is investing in social and affordable housing in an unbelievably strong way. This is an outstanding investment, and of course it is delivered by the Andrews Labor government. There is nearly $3 billion for that important maintenance of capacity at our hospitals within the health system to assist with moving to a COVID-normal framework, and making sure that we are investing in our health and hospital system has never been more important; $2 billion for the Breakthrough Victoria Fund; $1.9 billion for 162 schools, a new school and four additional stages at some recently built schools; $1.7 billion, a cash flow boost for businesses through the deferral of the 2021 payroll tax liability for payrolls up to $10 million. There is $1.6 billion to create those renewable energy hubs and drive down emissions. We have the Victorian renewable energy target, a significant and important target, that will help us continue to drive down emissions but fundamentally and critically importantly make sure that we are investing in jobs along the way. Of course there is $1.6 billion—and I have heard other members speak about this initiative—to transform how we support students with a disability, a particular area that I am very passionate about, and I know that terrific work is done in my communities to support those with disabilities. There is $1.3 billion to beef up and improve initiatives in child protection; $1.1 billion in grants for small and medium businesses; $1 billion invested in the training system to provide greater access through a number of initiatives within that space; and what was announced pre the budget, perhaps a fortnight before the budget, was nearly $870 million invested in mental health initiatives, including more acute mental health beds, a particularly important area and something which I am sure we will continue to build on through the soon-to-be-released report from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. There is an extremely long list right across the state. I am certainly not going to get through the statewide initiatives, so I am going to move now to talk about my local community, which of course has benefited from this budget and budgets before that. I am absolutely delighted and very proud to say that this government has always stood up for those in my community. I am very excited for the soon-to-be-removed Sunbury level crossing. We are getting on and building a massive new multilevel car park at the Sunbury station. We are duplicating Sunbury Road. We are upgrading and modernising Gladstone Park Primary, Gladstone Views Primary, Sunbury Primary, Salesian College, Sunbury Downs college, Kismet Park Primary, as well as major sporting upgrades that are underway at Boardman, Langama and Meadow Park reserves, and Diggers Rest Recreation Reserve, which the member for Melton and I have also just been discussing. These are projects that are underway thanks to previous budgets and thanks to previous allocations right across all portfolios, and I wanted to highlight those because this budget should not be simply viewed in isolation. As big as it is, there is of course a record of investment that is going into local projects within my community. Within this budget I was particularly pleased to see a very important commitment of $6 million in planning money for the Bulla bypass, a critical piece of road infrastructure that is fundamentally important to my community. It is important now that that planning work starts and we make sure that we are doing everything we can to get that important project delivered for my community. I was also very pleased to see that our continued and sustained investment in the Jacksons Hill precinct is included in this budget not only to maintain the heritage buildings that are there but to deliver an arts precinct and to make sure that that precinct is something that our community is proud of. On top of that I was fortunate enough to have the terrific Minister for Health out—I believe the day after the budget was released. We visited the Sunbury Day Hospital, which will soon be the Sunbury Community Hospital thanks to this government’s investment, and it is part of a statewide initiative around the development of community hospitals. This will be a terrific local project, again delivered only by an Andrews Labor government. As mentioned earlier, and I did speak on the Education and Training Reform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2020 today, education is fundamentally important

MOTIONS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 283 to not just our community but the way we as a state interact with other states and indeed can be in so many instances nation leading in the way that we conduct business within our borders. Over the past five years I am delighted to say that we have invested over $50 million in local schools within the Sunbury electorate, and unfortunately—I do not spend too much time speaking about those opposite, because I believe it is important that we get on and deliver those projects for our local community—when those opposite had the chance to be on the government benches it was just a measly $2 million over four years that was spent on school capital in my electorate. When you compare those two, when you line them up side by side—over $50 million versus just over $2 million—it is a staggering number, and we will continue to invest in education within my community. It does not actually mean that— Mr McGhie interjected. Mr J BULL: I am reminded by my honourable friend that there was a $10.5 million commitment to Sunbury West Primary School. I do not live too far from Sunbury West Primary School, and I do drive past the school often, and to see the reaction from students, from staff and from the principal Inga Wilson, when I was lucky enough to make that announcement of over $10 million for this great school, was absolutely unbelievable. We know how hard it was for schools to go through 2020, but to be able to deliver that news, as I have heard so many other members speak about, makes this job—well, the best it possibly can be. There was also $3.2 million for Diggers Rest Primary School, and I do want to thank all of the staff and the students who have spoken to me for many years about improving facilities at Diggers Rest. I was thrilled that this was yet another commitment thanks to this government. I did want to briefly mention, and it will be very brief given the time, those investments within the multicultural affairs portfolio and the youth portfolio, both of course led very well by the minister. There is a power of work that has gone on within the multicultural affairs and the youth spaces to make sure that we are doing everything we can to invest in communities that we are so very proud to support. I am unfortunately going to run out of time, but I just want to finish off where I started. This government will always put people first. We will always make those necessary investments, those decisions, to stand with and represent communities that need our support the most. I am incredibly proud of this budget. This is a budget that puts people first right across Victoria, and I am absolutely delighted that the Andrews Labor government has gone on and delivered. Mr RIORDAN (Polwarth) (16:38): I am rising this afternoon to put another spin on this 2020–21 budget than the member for Sunbury. It is good to see that the people out at Sunbury, he believes, have had a win. As my colleague the member for Mordialloc sitting way back there will attest, having endured two weeks of parliamentary hearings into this budget in late December, it became very apparent that this budget is not so much about what it delivers but about what it does not tell us. It is what is not in here that people in Victoria, certainly the people in my electorate, want to know about. The biggest thing that did not appear in this budget is—minister after minister, Treasurer, finance minister, the whole lot of them, every single one of them—they have left the big details out. They were not able to provide any costings on the projects and the so-called big-ticket items that this government says it has got underway to save Victoria. No, they were not able to tell us that. Considering the fact that they had six months longer than any other government to put the budget together and the fact that they were all at home working anyway, you would think they could have compiled some costings. They told us that because of COVID they were not able to add up how much they had spent. Now, not one of us for a moment thinks that they did not pay an invoice or a bill for the whole of 2020. Someone knows how much has been spent. My suspicion is they have spent a heck of a lot and it is not on what you and I might think—or what mums and dads at home or families or small business operators or others might think the money has been spent on—because there has been a lot spent, yet they cannot tell us what it has been spent on.

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I guess for a start I will draw people’s attention in the budget to the fundamental, underlying figures that the government has put out for this year. Basically it is expecting that the state is going to have a $44 billion debt this year, and by time we go to the polls in two years time it is going to be up around $155 billion—$155 billion, up from around $20 billion that this government started with only six years ago. There is that sort of quadrupling, tripling, doubling—that just an incredible amount of debt that this state has taken on—and the simple question the opposition has asked, the simple question that people at home paying their taxes and working hard would ask is: what did you spend that money on? And they cannot tell us. In fact they refuse to tell us. In fact they have told the people of Victoria they have to wait until sometime this year, 2021, to find out what they actually spent the money on in 2020. Now, if we read the newspapers and do a bit of investigation ourselves, we will learn that the government is building tunnels in Melbourne. Well, that is great for Melbourne. They have built the tunnels there, and they are in all sorts of trouble with those. They said they were going to have 90 per cent Australian content in the steel in those tunnels, but apparently they cannot get enough steel in Australia, so the story goes, and so they have done a deal with their mates in the Chinese government and they are bringing over some more steel to prop that up. And I do not know; that could be a reason why we have suddenly got big cost blowouts that they cannot reveal to us. They perhaps do not want us to know where the invoices are going for that. We know that they have done some very, very behind-the-scenes deals on the Bacchus Marsh community about where they are going to put the soil. We know that that has cost money. We do not how much money that has cost, but apparently there is not going to be a record of any environmental levy fees paid by the operators building that tunnel. That is a fair few hundred million dollar tax concession that has been given there. But that is not in the budget for us to learn more about or keep an eye on. No, that is out of there as well. And this budget has done that consistently. The government on one hand will come out and tell us how much it is doing to save the economy, to save Victoria, to move Victoria forward—whatever slogan the people that invented the purple wall during the press conferences came up with. They have been working very hard. I do not think we will find in the budget how much ‘Marketing Inc.’, which does all the work for the government, gets paid. That will not be in there either. They have not compiled that. What we do know is that there is a big lot of talk and not a lot of action. And we also know that the report that came out just this week, the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee report, talks about the literally hundreds of millions that this government promised to small business and to the business community to help get them through COVID. But oh, no, they have delivered as little as 4 per cent, 7 per cent, 12 per cent on some of the projects, and on the rest they could not report— because it had the same problem that they had with reporting on their tunnels, on their Metro program, on their level crossing removal programs. It has all been kept hidden. Victorians have not been told the truth about what these projects cost, who is getting the money, how they are getting the money and when these projects are going to be finished. It is all missing—all missing—from this year’s budget. Have you ever heard such a thing? For some reason this government says, ‘COVID’s responsible’, but imagine any private enterprise company rocking up to the shareholders at reporting season and saying, ‘Sorry, shareholders. We had a bit of a busy year this year. We’re all at home suffering from COVID and we haven’t got the time or the inclination to present you a full set of figures—a full set of accounts. We’re not to tell you who we paid what to. We’re not going to tell you when the projects we promised are going to be finished. You just have to trust us. You just have to trust us that we’re going to do it’. So that is one side to this budget that is of great concern—certainly to me and I know it will be of great concern to many Victorians—that this government is now essentially out of control in its spending and it is out of control in its debt. Most importantly we know that the legacy that this government will leave is one that we will not be able to account for. We will not know the true cost of what they are up to because they refuse to tell us. There is another alarming element in these budget papers—and I think there are six of them all up. It is quite a wad. It kept some people employed in the printing of it, so that is, I guess, one plus—and

MOTIONS Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 285 that is probably all it is good for. The other element in looking through this are the performance measures. They are quite interesting to look at because this government has proudly printed on everything from health to roads to education—the really important day-to-day services that people expect the state government to do well. They are underperforming chronically on their own performance measures. They are big on the announcements, on the millions or tens of millions that they might want to spend on a project, and we know we cannot take them on face value for that because, as I said, we learned early this week that their commitments to spending just never materialise. We know that the debt figure is probably right; we will take that on face value. But take, for example—this is a measure in the budget, budget paper 3, which has the performance—roads: ‘Road projects completed within agreed scope and standards’. Well, finishing a project within agreed scope and standards is a pretty straightforward sort of expectation of any government, I guess. They gladly print in the budget that they are going to do that 100 per cent of the time. Well, they keep a bit of a record of what they have done in the past. In the past they only operated at about 78 per cent: 78 per cent of projects finishing within scope and standards. That is just on our regional roads, and every country Victorian knows how much we expect to get our roads. I can talk, for example, on a major road project in the Polwarth electorate: the Princes Highway west program. It was started back in 2007. I mean, Facebook was invented in 2007—that is how long it has been underway. It is still not finished. They still cannot tick off the box that says ‘finished’. We have been driving on the road now for the best part of five years, but they have not been able to finish it off. It is still in major projects. It is still with the minister for big projects and boring machines. It is still in her department, but they cannot sign off on it. Why? Because they have got about six farmers along there and they have refused to allocate the necessary funds to get those people the access that they were promised when the highway was developed. It is sitting there not ticked. So guess what happens now for the community. You want to get a pothole fixed or an intersection improved or some signage fixed up? It is not Regional Roads Victoria’s problem. It is not RRV’s problem, which it should be because it is still sitting in the minister for boring machines’ department. So we have got that for an example. We have got the example—and this is one that really affects thousands of Victorians—of the number of patients admitted from the elective surgery waiting list. That is a pretty crucial indicator. It is a year when the health system has without doubt been under enormous stress and pressure—we understand that—but even looking at what they have been able to do in past years, in the current year and into future years, they are not even getting close to what they tell us they are going to do. We know for example that the COVID crisis has an estimated 60 000 people now on the elective surgery list. This budget makes no account for that at all—no account at all. They will say that they have gone and opened a new hospital in some suburb or they have done some expenditure there, but when you dive back in and ask, ‘What difference is this making to people’s lives? What difference is it making to the people living at home in pain and discomfort and desperately needing to get their elective surgery done?’, they are not making any difference at all. This budget is not only hiding the economic facts, it is also just disregarding its own reporting, which tells the government clearly it is not doing the job people want it to do. Another area I guess when talking about its underperformance is it is in so many key areas—whether it is in road construction and maintenance, an essential responsibility of government; whether it is in providing health care; or whether it is in education. I have spoken many times this week already on the failing attendance and engagement rates for students right across rural and regional Victoria. This budget again clearly identifies that as a problem. It actually budgets for more students to not attend school than the year before, and that is an appalling legacy, an appalling legacy, for a government that are happy for us to drive around with ‘Education State’ on our numberplates and yet in their own document—their big, grand achievement for the year—gladly report the fact that even more students than the year before are not attending school. And yet this budget will do not a thing to address that problem.

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What makes it worse for everybody is that we have parliamentary committees which the government does its best to frustrate and hamper but there are also other arms of government, independent watchdogs, if you like, the IBAC, the Ombudsman and others, whose role is to keep an eye on what this government does. During the budget hearings in December the committee involved, and I was deputy chair of it, was completely frustrated all the way through, first with the Premier, then with the Treasurer, in complete denial that their own budget was cutting funds, cutting real dollars, to those independent agencies whose job it is to try and hold this government to account, external to what the Parliament does. This budget gladly delivered up a cut of $4.5 million to basic scrutiny of the way this government operates. It has no shame, this government; it has no shame at all. It is cutting funding to the independent watchdogs that keep an eye on it, it is cutting funding to core services that it thinks the voters at home are not aware of—and worst of all, on measures from roads to health to education, it is clearly failing. It is going backwards. It is printing it and it is recording it but it does not do a thing to address it. In conclusion, this government has spent a lot of time making sure Victorians do not know the truth of the state of affairs in this state. It dreams up excuses. It dreams up reasons for us to look elsewhere and not take note. It tells us, ‘Don’t worry about the debt, mum and dad Victorians and small businesses. Don’t worry. This government has an open chequebook. It can go as hard and as long as it likes because interest rates are low’. But the average Victorian is smarter than that. We know that at the end of the day you have to pay back what you borrow. You have to pay it back. You just cannot put it on the never-never. Anyone who has ever had to balance a budget understands that. And yet the Premier of this state, the man that leads this budget avalanche of spending—or debt, actually, not spending, because they have refused to tell us what they have spent it on—this avalanche of debt, said to the parliamentary inquiry, ‘I don’t have a plan to pay back 1 cent. It is not the role of this government today to tell anybody how they are going to pay it back, and don’t you worry, because interest rates are low, so it won’t cost as much’. That is a foolish proposition put by this government. It is a foolish proposition put by both the Premier and the Treasurer of this state to think that they can spend the future legacy of young Victorians into as far as the eye can see and have no plan to combat it, no plan to stabilise it and no plan to make Victoria free of it. Mr McGHIE (Melton) (16:53): It is my great honour to rise today to speak to the take-note motion. 2020 was a surprise to us all. Not since 100 years ago has this state had to deal with such a pandemic and its economic consequences. As well as the pandemic our regions have had the devastation from the bushfires last year. The economic climate for Victoria, Australia and the rest of the world is of course precarious but rebounding. It is important that our state stands up and meets this challenge head-on, and I am so proud of the Treasurer and the Andrews Labor government. They have done exactly that with this last budget. I congratulate the Treasurer on the hard work he and his staff have done in keeping Victoria in the best economic situation possible in such difficult times. It is a credit to his hard work not just in delivering this budget but the leadership shown through lockdowns and uncertainty. All of us here in this house are aware many of our constituents and businesses in our electorates were in contact with us as the uncertainty of our economic situation started to develop. The Treasurer and the Andrews Labor government have at every step stood up and supported Victorians and businesses right throughout these challenging last 12 months. Our communities have all understood the need for a strong health system. Our medical staff right across this state have put in a heroic effort. Nurses, doctors, paramedics, cleaners—all healthcare workers—have done an amazing job and had our backs. It is really important for healthcare workers to know that their government has their backs too. The budget has an amazing investment in health care, and I think we can all agree that if there is ever a time to see exactly why it is important to invest in health care, now is that time. Our hospitals have been on the front line of our response to the pandemic. This budget helps keep them strong.

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My constituents were over the moon to know that the Andrews Labor government, in the budget, is supporting the needs of Melbourne and the west with $75 million to purchase land and undertake detailed planning and early works for a new hospital in Melton. The next step is delivering the hospital that our growing suburb needs. This is of course following on from the $2.4 million that was promised prior to the 2018 election and delivered in the 2019–20 budget. Since then planning for a new hospital has been underway. My electorate has seen these funding commitments from multiple budgets that have seen construction occurring under the Victorian Health and Human Services Building Authority, and they have heard the Minister for Health announcing that the new hospital will be operated by Western Health— Members interjecting. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! There is too much audible conversation in the chamber. I am having trouble hearing the member for Melton. A member: Speak up, member for Melton! Mr McGHIE: Yes, that is right. My electorate is excited knowing that this vital infrastructure for the west is being delivered. They know that it is an Andrews Labor government that is delivering for them. The budget also delivers the single biggest investment ever in our schools, making sure students have the classrooms, the libraries and the learning spaces they deserve. In Melton this includes Exford Primary School, with students to benefit from a $25.3 million investment to deliver the remaining stages of the school’s master plan. This is in addition to the $6 million allocated in the previous budget. When I visited Exford Primary School and met with the principal, Lisa Campo, and her amazing team to deliver the fantastic news they were over-the-moon excited. This investment in Exford in Melton will help build Exford Primary School into what will effectively be a brand new school. Families at Exford did a phenomenal job in supporting students to learn from home last year. We want to make facilities at Exford Primary School better than ever before, and for those in Exford and the new housing estates close by this investment will have an amazing impact. It will also relieve pressure on other primary schools in the area and help reduce traffic congestion in other parts of our electorate. Of course many families in Eynesbury send their children to Exford Primary School—they know of the Andrews Labor government’s commitment to the Melton electorate—as they look forward to the brand new Eynesbury Primary School and early learning centre opening their doors this year. In fact I am going out to visit Eynesbury Primary School tomorrow and will be very excited to hand out some prep bags. This government invests in education, and my electorate is seeing this investment. This includes $9.7 million to upgrade Melton Specialist School, supporting students by rebuilding the junior building. I headed out there in December to talk to Brooke Briody, the principal, and met some amazing student leaders along with many of the amazing staff. The whole school is buzzing with this investment, especially in Melton while it continues to grow. This budget is delivering the biggest investment in inclusive education in our state’s history. The budget helps all Victorians as we recover, and we want our state to come back stronger than ever. We are already starting to see that. The government’s investment will also support local jobs, with our school infrastructure build expected to create more than 6400 jobs across the state. A further $1.6 billion will transform support for students with disability, doubling the number of students receiving extra support to 55 000 and creating up to 1730 jobs across the state by 2025. This budget recognises that as we grow our infrastructure needs to grow too. That is why as part of a $12 million funding package we will revitalise the centre of Melton, delivering great local spaces and supporting local jobs. Melton has already started to see investment in the revitalisation of our community. We are also extending our Growing Suburbs Fund. On top of the $25 million boost last year, an additional $50 million will help build new local facilities, from playgrounds to sporting pavilions and community facilities.

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I have been advocating for some time to extend this amazing investment into peri-urban councils, and the Growing Suburbs Fund has delivered huge investment in the Melton local government area. The GSF delivering infrastructure and local facilities has really helped show the Melton community that this government delivers for them. Now the Moorabool council, along with other peri-urban councils— (Time expired) The SPEAKER: Order! I ask the member to resume his seat. The time set down for consideration of items on the government business program has arrived and I am required to interrupt business. The member will have the opportunity to continue their contribution the next time the matter is before the house. Bills WORKPLACE INJURY REHABILITATION AND COMPENSATION AMENDMENT (PROVISIONAL PAYMENTS) BILL 2020 Second reading Debate resumed on motion of Ms HENNESSY: That this bill be now read a second time. Motion agreed to. Read second time. Third reading The SPEAKER: As the required statement of intention has been made under section 85(5)(c) of the Constitution Act 1975, the third reading of this bill must be passed by an absolute majority. As there is not an absolute majority of the members of the house present, in a moment I will ask the Clerk to ring the bells. I remind members that under the resolution of the house the lower and upper public galleries are included as part of the Legislative Assembly chamber for the consideration of the third reading of bills that require an absolute majority under the Constitution Act 1975. Up to 56 members may attend on the floor, up to 15 members may attend in the lower public galleries and up to 16 members may attend in the upper public gallery. I ask the Clerk to ring the bells. Bells rung. Members having assembled in chamber: Motion agreed to by absolute majority. Read third time. The SPEAKER: The bill will now be sent to the Legislative Council and their agreement requested. SUMMARY OFFENCES AMENDMENT (DECRIMINALISATION OF PUBLIC DRUNKENNESS) BILL 2020 Second reading Debate resumed on motion of Ms HENNESSY: That this bill be now read a second time. and Mr SOUTHWICK’s amendment: That all the words after ‘That’ be omitted and replaced with the words ‘this house refuses to read this bill a second time until: (1) further consultation is undertaken with primary stakeholders, particularly the Police Association Victoria, Ambulance Victoria and relevant health service providers;

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(2) a comprehensive, fully developed and funded support program to deal with alcohol-affected individuals is agreed to by all stakeholders and is established and ready to operate; and (3) community safety concerns are addressed, including the implementation of alternative police powers to manage public drunkenness.’ The SPEAKER: The minister has moved that the bill be now read a second time. The member for Caulfield has moved a reasoned amendment to this motion. He has proposed to omit all the words after ‘That’ and replace them with the words that appear on the notice paper. The question is:

That the words proposed to be omitted to stand part of the question. Those supporting the reasoned amendment by the member for Caulfield should vote no. House divided on question: Ayes, 52 Addison, Ms Fregon, Mr Read, Dr Allan, Ms Green, Ms Richards, Ms Blandthorn, Ms Halfpenny, Ms Richardson, Mr Brayne, Mr Hall, Ms Sandell, Ms Bull, Mr J Hamer, Mr Scott, Mr Carbines, Mr Hennessy, Ms Settle, Ms Carroll, Mr Horne, Ms Sheed, Ms Cheeseman, Mr Hutchins, Ms Spence, Ms Connolly, Ms Kairouz, Ms Staikos, Mr Couzens, Ms Kennedy, Mr Suleyman, Ms Crugnale, Ms Kilkenny, Ms Tak, Mr Cupper, Ms Maas, Mr Taylor, Mr D’Ambrosio, Ms McGhie, Mr Theophanous, Ms Dimopoulos, Mr McGuire, Mr Thomas, Ms Edbrooke, Mr Merlino, Mr Ward, Ms Edwards, Ms Pakula, Mr Williams, Ms Eren, Mr Pearson, Mr Wynne, Mr Fowles, Mr Noes, 25 Angus, Mr Morris, Mr Smith, Mr T Battin, Mr Newbury, Mr Southwick, Mr Britnell, Ms O’Brien, Mr D Staley, Ms Bull, Mr T O’Brien, Mr M Tilley, Mr Burgess, Mr Riordan, Mr Vallence, Ms Guy, Mr Rowswell, Mr Wakeling, Mr Hodgett, Mr Ryan, Ms Walsh, Mr McCurdy, Mr Smith, Mr R Wells, Mr McLeish, Ms Question agreed to. The SPEAKER: The question is: That this bill be now read a second time and a third time. House divided on question:

Ayes, 52 Addison, Ms Fregon, Mr Read, Dr Allan, Ms Green, Ms Richards, Ms Blandthorn, Ms Halfpenny, Ms Richardson, Mr Brayne, Mr Hall, Ms Sandell, Ms Bull, Mr J Hamer, Mr Scott, Mr Carbines, Mr Hennessy, Ms Settle, Ms Carroll, Mr Horne, Ms Sheed, Ms Cheeseman, Mr Hutchins, Ms Spence, Ms

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Connolly, Ms Kairouz, Ms Staikos, Mr Couzens, Ms Kennedy, Mr Suleyman, Ms Crugnale, Ms Kilkenny, Ms Tak, Mr Cupper, Ms Maas, Mr Taylor, Mr D’Ambrosio, Ms McGhie, Mr Theophanous, Ms Dimopoulos, Mr McGuire, Mr Thomas, Ms Edbrooke, Mr Merlino, Mr Ward, Ms Edwards, Ms Pakula, Mr Williams, Ms Eren, Mr Pearson, Mr Wynne, Mr Fowles, Mr Noes, 25 Angus, Mr Morris, Mr Smith, Mr T Blackwood, Mr Newbury, Mr Southwick, Mr Britnell, Ms O’Brien, Mr D Staley, Ms Bull, Mr T O’Brien, Mr M Tilley, Mr Burgess, Mr Riordan, Mr Vallence, Ms Guy, Mr Rowswell, Mr Wakeling, Mr Hodgett, Mr Ryan, Ms Walsh, Mr McCurdy, Mr Smith, Mr R Wells, Mr McLeish, Ms Question agreed to. Read second time. Third reading Motion agreed to. Read third time. The SPEAKER: The bill will now be sent to the Legislative Council and their agreement requested. EDUCATION AND TRAINING REFORM AMENDMENT (MISCELLANEOUS) BILL 2020 Second reading Debate resumed on motion of Mr MERLINO: That this bill be now read a second time. Motion agreed to. Read second time. Third reading Motion agreed to. Read third time. The SPEAKER: The bill will now be sent to the Legislative Council and their agreement requested. Business interrupted under resolution of house of 2 February. Adjournment The SPEAKER: The question is: That the house now adjourns.

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SWAN HILL HOSPITAL Mr WALSH (Murray Plains) (17:17): (5509) My adjournment matter tonight is for the Minister for Health. I would like the Minister for Health to come to Swan Hill and join me on a tour of the Swan Hill hospital with the Swan Hill Needs a New Hospital committee. As you may have heard me say in this place a number of times, the Swan Hill hospital has passed its use-by date. We have great staff, we have great doctors and we have great nurses, but particularly for the maintenance crews and the cleaning crews the building is actually beyond its best date. So I would ask the minister to come up there and actually do a tour with me. The minister quite often comes to Boort for the annual trotting cup, and this year that is on 28 February, so I would encourage the minister to come to the trots and beforehand come to Swan Hill early; it is only an hour up the road. I know the Swan Hill Needs a New Hospital committee and I would love to show the minister around as to what is needed there with a new hospital, particularly with the emergency department. It is desperately in need of an upgrade. The capacity is just not there anymore to do what is needed for the wider Swan Hill community. The Swan Hill hospital services a region probably with up to a 150-kilometre radius from Swan Hill. It is effectively a major regional hospital, and as I said it just is not fit for purpose into the future. Please, Minister for Health, come to Swan Hill, have a look around the hospital, and if you want to bring the Premier’s chequebook with you and actually make an announcement, that would be even better. BAYSWATER PRIMARY SCHOOL Mr TAYLOR (Bayswater) (17:19): (5510) I rise to raise a matter with the Premier, Daniel Andrews. The action I seek is for the Premier to visit the Bayswater community and check out the new main building and facilities at Bayswater Primary School. It is not every day you raise a matter for the Premier in Parliament, but for me this one is extremely special. There is no secret: I do truly believe in the power that education has in helping to transform the lives of young people. One of the great local schools in Bayswater that is doing that each and every single day is Bayswater Primary School, an amazing local school that has gone from strength to strength in recent years. In 2019, in the first budget I was involved in, I was stoked and proud that this school was to be the recipient of significant funding to deliver a brand new state-of-the-art main building kitted out with three new classrooms, admin facilities, toilets, staff facilities and even a new office for its legendary principal, Brooke Cross. The school truly deserved the funding, and it was something I was proud to go in to bat for. To see it now complete and the kids in there making the most of it is a pretty great thing, and I thought it fitting to have Dan come down to give it the tick of approval—mind you, the kids in the video did ask for Dan to come down as well. I am extremely proud of the record of this Andrews government and its investment in education, whether it be in early years—in particular our rollout of free three-year-old kinder across the state—backing in our government schools through primary and secondary education, rolling out our dental vans in government schools, putting mental health professionals in secondary government schools or providing free TAFE. Really, the list does go on, and for good reason too. Investment in our young people and education changes lives and gives kids the best start in life, because they deserve nothing less. We have delivered nearly $40 million to our local schools since I was very proudly elected to represent the community of Bayswater in 2018, including over $12 million to rebuild Bayswater Secondary College brick by brick. I thank the Premier for his consideration of this matter. I look forward to welcoming him soon to Bayswater Primary, and of course I will have the balloons and streamers on standby. The SPEAKER: I remind members to use correct titles only. CARDINIA RESERVOIR PARK PUBLIC TOILET FACILITIES Mr BATTIN (Gembrook) (17:21): (5511) My adjournment debate is to the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, and I request that the minister come down to the Gembrook electorate to the Aura Vale Lake and possibly attempt to use the toilets there. The reason that we would

ADJOURNMENT 292 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 4 February 2021 like the minister to come down and do this is that the minister found it fit to write to my local community when I was talking and raising an issue about the local toilets being unusable at Cardinia Reservoir Park. She wrote that they should attempt then, if they cannot use those bathrooms because they are shut—because this government will not do maintenance on them—to just go to the other local toilets that are just down the road. Now, the reason I would like the minister to come down is that anyone who knows what it is like particularly with children when you are out camping and they need to go to the bathroom knows that you have not got a lot of time, and the 5.2-kilometre walk between toilets is a long way away if you want to use local picnic grounds. So if the minister wants to come down there and see what it is like, when you need to go to the bathroom, to walk 5.2 kilometres to go to those bathrooms, I am sure my community would be very, very welcoming of that. What is happening at Cardinia Reservoir is people are now starting to use the gardens as the bathrooms there, and it is creating a health risk. It is disgusting, and there also needs to be some concern raised about the people that are doing that. But they go to that park understanding that the toilets have been available there for a long period of time, for decades, and all we have seen from this government in all of the reservoirs around there is that they have continued to neglect those areas. Now, if the minister is not available, I note that the member for Bayswater has invited the Premier down to his local electorate. It is just down the road. We would be more than happy to have the Premier take this imposition, so after he visits the school we would invite him down to visit our local community, do the same trek to find out what it is like when you need to use a toilet at the Cardinia Reservoir and speak to our local community about fixing this ongoing health issue. BERRY STREET CHILD PROTECTION PROGRAM Mr SCOTT (Preston) (17:23): (5512) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Child Protection, and the action that I seek is that the minister join me in visiting the site of the proposed Berry Street child protection program in my electorate located at Murray Road, Preston. The proposed program, called the Crib, is to support victim-survivors of family violence in the later stages of pregnancy or with young children. The program is intended to offer a number of different engagement services based on the needs of the victims and their children, including a five-bedroom self-contained home that will be available for a six- to 12-month lease and community-based engagement where victim-survivors and their children can access support programs. The Crib is intended to provide victim-survivors with a suite of individual supports across a range of domains: family violence support, enhanced maternal child health support, playgroups, family therapy, cooking and nutrition classes, employment readiness and housing support, amongst other things. It is intended that women and children victim-survivors who participate in the Crib will be diverted away from the child protection system and live better, happier, safer and more productive lives. I know the minister is deeply committed to the welfare of survivors of family abuse who also are in the child protection system, and I would urge him to come down with me and meet with Berry Street to discuss this program for the benefit of my community and others. SUBURBAN RAIL LOOP Mr ROWSWELL (Sandringham) (17:24): (5513) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, and the action that I seek is the immediate commissioning of a report that quantifies how much existing open and green space will be lost as a direct result of the Suburban Rail Loop development and how much open and green space will be replaced and where. I am deeply committed to providing this generation and the next with the open space, the recreational space and the multi-use sporting fields that they need and deserve. That is why I have previously committed to the preservation of the vast majority of the Gas and Fuel land on Nepean Highway, Highett, and that is why I have committed to the development of a regional sporting precinct within the Kingston green wedge. I want young people to access sporting grounds so that they can play sport with their mates, live active and healthy lives and know what it is to be part of a team working together with the same

ADJOURNMENT Thursday, 4 February 2021 Legislative Assembly 293 goal in sight, learning those critical skills that sports participation offers a young person so that they can fully participate and give back to their community. To my great disappointment and to the disappointment of the community, the same cannot be said for Victorian Labor. At the eleventh hour, just before Christmas last year, Victorian Labor announced plans to acquire land in Heatherton for the Suburban Rail Loop stabling yards. The train stabling will take up 35 hectares of land currently zoned as green wedge. That is right—stabling yards in the green wedge, on land intended to function as the lungs of Melbourne. So let us just be clear about this: Labor’s vision for this 35 hectares of green wedge is train stabling yards. But my vision, the Liberals’ vision, is open space, both active and passive recreation areas and multi-use sporting facilities to cater for this generation and the next. No wonder Kingston council recently voted unanimously to absolutely reject the Victorian government’s preferred location for stabling yards. I do not suppose Mordialloc branch meetings will be as convivial as they have historically been, because of this peanut-brained decision. Aspirations like progress and development are empty slogans if they come at the expense of resident amenity and environmental conservation. Victorian Labor at the very least owe us honesty and owe us transparency when it comes to their planned use for green and open spaces. ELEMENTS ESTATE, TRUGANINA Ms CONNOLLY (Tarneit) (17:27): (5514) My adjournment is for the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, and the action I seek is that the minister come and join me for a visit in Truganina to meet with residents of Elements estate, who felt very let down and frustrated after a VCAT decision to amend the estate’s precinct structure plan. As I mentioned in this place yesterday, residents of Elements estate have expressed to me their extreme disappointment and frustration that the developer has decided to rezone the land that was previously set aside for a non- government school to be used for housing. Many of these residents have mentioned to me about moving to the estate and buying a house on the premise that there would be a school in this estate. In fact it is what the developers told them when selling them their new home. In their own words, they were sold a dream that has not eventuated. As the minister knows, our government has made incredible strides in strengthening consumer protections when it comes to residential housing, such as cracking down on sunset clauses and, more notably, our COVID tenancy protections, which were introduced last year. That is why I know that residents of Elements estate would gladly welcome the chance to meet with the minister and convey to her, face to face, their concerns about developer representations in growth areas like Wyndham. SHEPPARTON BYPASS Ms SHEED (Shepparton) (17:28): (5515) My adjournment is for the Minister for Transport Infrastructure. The action I seek is for the minister to release the business case for the Shepparton bypass. The Shepparton bypass is an important safety and freight project for our region, allowing for a second river crossing of the Goulburn River north of Shepparton. It will be a critical part of the freight supply chain network locally and part of the national highway system removing much heavy traffic from the central business districts of Shepparton and Mooroopna. In the 2017–18 Victorian state budget, $10.2 million was allocated to develop a business case and to do other preparatory works. I was pleased, along with the community, with this investment towards what will address some of the safety concerns for both Mooroopna and Shepparton in particular, as there is a very high volume of traffic that passes down the main streets of both cities. Around 25 per cent of all trucks registered in Victoria are from the Goulburn Valley, and a quarter of the value of the state’s agricultural produce comes from the region. Dairy is a key industry. Crops grown include apples, pears, peaches and tomatoes. Victoria is Australia’s largest pear producer, and almost all of them are grown in the Goulburn Valley. There is processing of that fruit there also, and we have a large factory, SPC, that everyone will know of. You can imagine how much heavy traffic flows up and down the highway daily and through our towns. We have traffic issues that need addressing, be it heavy freight or local traffic.

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However, we are still to see the business case. On 13 November 2019 the minister acknowledged that while the business case was to be ready by the end of that year, it was apparent that a significant amount of additional work was required—environmental and cultural heritage issues and the like. Again in 2020 she indicated that the business case would be ready by the end of that year. I believe it is now complete, that it has been done, and we need to see it. Some federal funding has already been put on the table for this project—committed immediately prior to the last federal election— $208 million. Back in November the minister indicated that she believed the cost of this project would be much greater and that federal funding indeed would have to be contributed to it at a much greater amount than that already on the table. We do not know. We have been waiting for the business case for what is now a long time. My community has done everything asked of it to procure the funding for this bypass, including breaking down what is a very major project into much smaller, manageable parts. It is very important that we as a community understand what is involved in achieving the transport outcomes we need and what the cost will be. The business case will help to inform us, and I call on the minister to release it. NEPEAN ELECTORATE BUS SERVICES Mr BRAYNE (Nepean) (17:31): (5516) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Public Transport and Minister for Roads and Road Safety. The action I seek is for the minister to provide an update to my community on the time line and community involvement of the Mornington Peninsula bus upgrades announced in last year’s Victorian budget. Specifically I ask the minister for an update on the status of the significant upgrades to the 788, the 887 and the 781 services, as these investments are so vitally important to my community of Nepean. Last year’s budget indicated that the frequency of route 788 from Frankston to Portsea will be increased from a 40- to 50-minute frequency to a 30-minute frequency on weekdays and upgraded to a 40-minute frequency on weekends. People who live in Mount Martha will also see better access to buses with an extension of route 781 to Dromana. But perhaps most exciting is route 887 between Rosebud and Frankston, which will become express via the Mornington Peninsula Freeway. Having caught these buses for so much of my life, I am ecstatic there are changes taking place. I remember writing to my local member of Parliament asking for changes back when I was in high school. It cannot be understated what a long time coming these bus improvements are. I look forward to the minister’s reply. POLICE RESOURCES Mr HODGETT (Croydon) (17:32): (5517) I wish to raise a matter with the Minister for Police and Emergency Services, and the action I seek is for the minister to ensure that our police stations are open to the public and resourced to be able to protect our communities. My office was contacted today by Kerri Grassby, who owns and operates a local florist business, Blooms on Brice. Kerri has been hearing from her customers for some time that the Mooroolbark police station has not been open to the public and officers are not answering the door or phones. In fact I am informed that in the region only Knox and Lilydale police stations are open to visitors and taking phone calls. Unfortunately last night Kerri was directly impacted by these changes when her business was robbed. Mooroolbark police station was called, but no-one picked up. Lilydale police station was called, and the officer stated that they would be unavailable to attend immediately but would attend when possible. This is unacceptable. The security guard then called 000 and officers were able to attend the scene. Mooroolbark police station is barely a few hundred metres from Kerri’s business. Had they picked up the phone, police officers could have been at the scene immediately and possibly have apprehended the robbers. Instead Kerri’s time was wasted in calling police stations that did not answer or told her that she would have to wait awhile. As a result the robbers were able to get away and Kerri will not be getting back the cash and other items that were stolen.

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Kerri’s business, like many others in Victoria, has already suffered due to the pandemic, but in addition to that Kerri’s business is opposite the Mooroolbark station, which is currently undergoing level crossing removal works. Her business is already suffering from reduced traffic flow, and now she has been informed that there will be road closures over Valentine’s Day, the busiest day of the year for her. The last thing that Kerri and other local business owners need to worry about is not being able to rely on the police when emergencies arise. I urge the minister to look closely at the damage being done in communities due to the closure of police stations. For too long the Premier has kept more than 850 police on the borders and off the beat. Even the Police Association Victoria have said the resources are being wasted at the border and that police are stretched. Police resources are not being allocated effectively, and our communities are paying the price. Using such large numbers of police for administrative tasks at the border is a waste. Minister, it is time for police officers to return to local police stations, for our police stations to be adequately resourced and open to the public and for our hardworking police officers to be returned to their role of protecting the community. I again call on the minister to ensure that our police stations are open to the public and resourced to be able to protect our local communities. YAN YEAN ELECTORATE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES Ms GREEN (Yan Yean) (17:35): (5518) My adjournment matter is to the Minister for Mental Health, and the action I seek is for a detailed briefing on the final report of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System and in particular what it will mean for the Yan Yean electorate. The interim report recognised the need for acute beds for the north, and I was delighted to see that these were funded in the last budget, so the planning is underway. This month is always a difficult one for my community, as 7 February marks the anniversary of that terrible tragedy Black Saturday. This Sunday marks 12 years since this tragedy. The minister in his role in education has shown great compassion for my community and great insight and great support for the schools in my electorate over the many years since this tragedy. I, like many others, was absolutely delighted when he added the mental health portfolio to his responsibilities, and I was really pleased that one of the first things he did was to extend funding for a great project, Be Well in the Ranges, which was funded around the 10th anniversary—and it is actually people in the Kinglake Ranges working together on their own mental health solutions. They give great bang for buck. They are able to look after each other in situ, and I really hope that some of the work that they have been doing will be reflected in the final report. I do want to say to the people that work on the project, Be Well in the Ranges, and anyone else who is doing it tough this weekend around the anniversary: you are not alone. I will always be there for you as your local MP, but I know that there are many other professional services that are there for you if you are doing it tough this weekend. Do not suffer in silence alone. I am delighted to see that we have a minister that has been on the journey and been in the Parliament, like me, since that tragedy, as has the Premier and as has the Minister for Police and Emergency Services. I hope that that gives comfort to my community—to know that there are a lot of people in this government that understand that their suffering still continues and that their voices have been heard by the commissioners in the royal commission report. I really look forward to seeing the outcomes of the report and to hearing in great detail how the wisdom in my community can be harnessed in implementing the recommendations of the final report. I think we are all sad in this chamber that the most recent COVID event has deferred the tabling of that report to the next sitting week, but I look forward to hearing from the minister on this groundbreaking work, which the government has committed to fund each and every part of. I have great confidence that it will be very good for those who are suffering in the Yan Yean electorate.

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RESPONSES Ms HORNE (Williamstown—Minister for Ports and Freight, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Fishing and Boating) (17:38): If I may come to the matter that the member for Tarneit raised last. Firstly, the Leader of the National Party raised a matter for the Minister for Health regarding Swan Hill hospital, the member for Bayswater raised a matter for the Premier regarding Bayswater Primary School, the member for Gembrook raised a matter for the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change regarding toilets, the member for Preston raised a matter for the Minister for Child Protection regarding the Berry Street child protection facility, the member for Sandringham raised a matter for the Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop regarding the scope of works in relation to green space, the member for Shepparton raised a matter for the Minister for Transport Infrastructure in relation to the release of the business case for the Shepparton bypass, the member for Nepean raised a matter for the Minister for Public Transport and Minister for Roads and Road Safety relating to the Mornington Peninsula bus upgrades, the member for Croydon raised a matter for the Minister for Police and Emergency Services regarding police availability and police station openings and the member for Yan Yean raised a matter for the Minister for Mental Health in regard to outcomes of the royal commission. In relation to the matter that the member for Tarneit raised regarding the zoning of land and the advertising of this land as being a site where a private school may potentially be built, I met with the member yesterday to go through some of the details and gave her an undertaking that I would come and meet with some of the members of her local community who have been affected by this and also to try and get some evidence so that we can direct the director of Consumer Affairs Victoria to undertake a detailed investigation into this. I look forward to being able to do this in the next couple of weeks with my friend and colleague the member for Tarneit. In relation to all the other matters I will refer them accordingly. The SPEAKER: The house now stands adjourned. House adjourned 5.40 pm until Tuesday, 16 February.

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