New South Wales
Legislative Council
PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD)
Fifty-Sixth Parliament First Session
Thursday, 15 November 2018
Authorised by the Parliament of New South Wales
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Documents ...... 57 Inspector of the Independent Commission Against Corruption ...... 57 Reports ...... 57 Announcements...... 57 Death of Elizabeth Ann Symonds, AM, A Former Member of the Legislative Council ...... 57 Motions ...... 57 Greek National Day Seventy-Eighth Anniversary ...... 57 Campbelltown Electorate Centenary of Armistice Commemoration ...... 58 NSW Association of Jewish Service and Ex-Service Men and Women's Remembrance Day Services ...... 60 Little India Fair ...... 61 Reserve Forces Day Council Twentieth Anniversary ...... 62 Federation of Indian Associations Diwali Fair ...... 63 Day of German Unity...... 63 Indian Support Center Inc. Annual Dinner ...... 64 Committees ...... 65 Portfolio Committee No. 4 - Legal Affairs ...... 65 Extension of Reporting Date ...... 65 Motions ...... 65 Australia-Korea Culture and Arts Inc. Musical Ensemble ...... 65 Ballina-On-Richmond Rotary Club Vocational Service Awards ...... 65 Gateway Family Services Bushfire Information Launch ...... 66 Ballina Country Music Festival ...... 67 Firefighters Climb for Motor Neurone Disease ...... 67 Lebanon Carnival ...... 67 Caravan and Camping Industry Association Awards of Excellence ...... 68 White Cross Fire Trail Commemoration ...... 68 Lions Club Children of Courage Awards ...... 70 Committees ...... 70 Portfolio Committee No. 6 - Planning and Environment ...... 70 Report: Budget Estimates 2018-2019 ...... 70 Portfolio Committee No. 6 - Planning and Environment ...... 70 Report: The Music and Arts Economy in New South Wales ...... 70 Documents ...... 72 Tabling of Papers ...... 72 Petitions...... 73 Petitions Received ...... 73 Business of the House ...... 73 Withdrawal of Business ...... 73 Postponement of Business ...... 73 TABLE OF CONTENTS—continuing
Suspension of Standing and Sessional Orders: Order of Business ...... 73 Order of Business ...... 73 Order of Business ...... 73 Committees ...... 74 Portfolio Committee No. 4 - Legal Affairs ...... 74 Government Response ...... 74 Portfolio Committee No. 5 - Industry and Transport ...... 74 Government Response ...... 74 Portfolio Committee No. 6 - Planning and Environment ...... 74 Government Response ...... 74 Select Committee on Electricity Supply, Demand and Prices in New South Wales ...... 74 Government Response ...... 74 Business of the House ...... 74 Business Lapsed ...... 74 Disallowance ...... 74 Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment Regulation 2018 ...... 74 Bills ...... 85 Protection of the Environment Operations Amendment (Clean Air) Bill 2018 ...... 85 First Reading ...... 85 Second Reading Speech ...... 85 Motions ...... 87 Berejiklian-Barilaro Government ...... 87 Visitors ...... 94 Visitors ...... 94 Questions Without Notice ...... 94 Powerhouse Museum International Design Competition ...... 94 Vaucluse and Diamond Bay Ocean Outfalls ...... 95 Powerhouse Museum Staff Morale ...... 95 Coogee Basin Water Quality ...... 96 Soil Conservation Service ...... 96 Australian Academy of Science Conference ...... 97 Powerhouse Museum International Design Competition ...... 98 Aboriginal Education ...... 99 Dam Storage Levels ...... 100 Liberal Party Bullying Allegations ...... 101 Arts and Cultural Development Program ...... 101 Minister for the Arts Portfolio Responsibilities ...... 102 Murray Valley National Park ...... 102 Menindee Lakes Basin Plan Implementation ...... 102 Aboriginal Health and Education Services ...... 103 Coogee Basin Water Quality ...... 104 Personal Explanation ...... 104 TABLE OF CONTENTS—continuing
Liberal Party Bullying Allegations ...... 104 Business of the House ...... 104 Suspension of Standing and Sessional Orders: Bills ...... 104 Bills ...... 106 Crimes Amendment (Zoe's Law) Bill 2017 ...... 106 Second Reading Debate ...... 106 Adjournment Debate ...... 107 Adjournment ...... 107 Prison Drug Rehabilitation Services ...... 107 Cumberland State Forest Koala Population ...... 107 Penrith Electorate Infrastructure ...... 108 Music Industry ...... 109 Endangered Species ...... 110 Wagga Wagga Electorate Infrastructure ...... 111 State Election ...... 112
Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 57
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
Thursday, 15 November 2018
The PRESIDENT (The Hon. John George Ajaka) took the chair at 10:00. The PRESIDENT read the prayers. Documents INSPECTOR OF THE INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION Reports The PRESIDENT: According to the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988, I table a report of the Inspector of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, entitled "Report concerning the non-disclosure of information relating to Mr Paul Gardner Brook by the Independent Commission Against Corruption during Operations Jasper and Credo (Special Report 19/01)", dated November 2018. Under the Act, the report has been authorised to be made public. The Hon. DON HARWIN: I move: That the report be printed. Motion agreed to. Announcements DEATH OF ELIZABETH ANN SYMONDS, AM, A FORMER MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL The PRESIDENT (10:02): It is with regret that I inform the House of the death this day of Mrs Elizabeth Symonds, AM, aged 79 years, a member of this House from 1982 to 1998. On behalf of the House I extend to her family the deep sympathy of the Legislative Council in the loss sustained. Members and officers of the House stood in their places as a mark of respect. Motions GREEK NATIONAL DAY SEVENTY-EIGHTH ANNIVERSARY The Hon. DAVID CLARKE (10:04): I move: (1) That this House notes that: (a) on Sunday 28 October 2018 the President Mr Harry Danalis and the Board of the Greek Orthodox Community of New South Wales hosted a cocktail party at the Greek Community Club, Lakemba, in remembrance and commemoration of the seventy-eighth anniversary of Greek National Day, 28 October 1940; (b) those who attended as special guests included: (i) Mr Christos Karras, Consul-General of Greece in Sydney; (ii) Mr Harry Danalis, President, Greek Orthodox Community of New South Wales; (iii) the Very Reverend Prohoros Anastasiadis, representing His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos of the Greek Orthodox Church in Australia; (iv) Mr Michael Tsilimos, Secretary, Greek Orthodox Community of New South Wales; (v) the Hon. David Clarke, MLC, Parliamentary Secretary for Justice; (vi) Mr Chris Minns, MP, shadow Minister for Water; (vii) the Hon. Courtney Houssos, MLC, Temporary Chair of Committees; (viii) Mrs Ekaterini Gkikiza, Consul, Greek Economics and Commercial Affairs in Sydney; (ix) Councillor Paula Masselos, Waverley Council; (x) Mr Efthymios Kallos, Executive Producer, Greek Program SBS; and (xi) representatives of numerous Hellenic community organisations. (c) those who participated in the official proceedings included: Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 58
(i) students Maria Kakali, Maria Georgakopoulou, Angeliki Georgakopoulou and Ionee Georgakopoulou from the school "Greek Like in Greece" at Clemton Park who sang the Australian and Greek national anthems; and (ii) students of the Greek afternoon schools of the Greek Orthodox community of New South Wales who performed Greek dances under the direction of dance teacher Paroula Thurban. (2) That this House: (a) commends the Greek Orthodox Community of New South Wales for its successful holding of a function to commemorate the seventy-eighth anniversary of Greek National Day; and (b) extends greetings to the Hellenic community on the occasion of the seventy-eighth anniversary of Greek National Day. Motion agreed to. CAMPBELLTOWN ELECTORATE CENTENARY OF ARMISTICE COMMEMORATION The Hon. LOU AMATO (10:05): I move: (1) That this House notes that: (a) on 9 November 2018 Armistice 1918-2018 Australia Remembers, in partnership with the Returned Servicemen's League Australia and Campbelltown City Council, held "A day to remember" at Mawson Park, Campbelltown; (b) the function was organised with local schools to commemorate Armistice Day; (c) the following schools participated in the commemorations: (i) Ambarvale Public School; (ii) Bardia Public School; (iii) Blairmount Public School; (iv) Bradbury Public School; (v) Campbelltown Performing Arts High School; (vi) Claymore Public School; (vii) Hurlstone Agricultural School; (viii) Ingleburn High School; (ix) Ingleburn Public School; (x) John Warby Public School; (xi) Minto Public School; (xii) Mount Carmel Catholic College; (xiii) Our Lady Help of Christians Parish Primary School; (xiv) Rosemeadow Public School; (xv) Sarah Redfern High School; (xvi) St Patrick's College for Girls; (xvii) Thomas Reddall High School; and (xviii) Woodland Road Public School. (d) the following school students addressed the service: (i) Sina Barren – Opening Remembrance Day Address; (ii) Caius Cassar – The Cenotaph; (iii) Teresa Berreto – The Honour Guard; (iv) Liana Eaves – The Origin of Remembrance Day; (v) Rachel Teshome – The Origin of Remembrance Day; (vi) Payton Ivancic – The Origin of Remembrance Day; (vii) Kate Ripoll – The Origin of Remembrance Day; (viii) Kiara Beggs – The Origin of Remembrance Day; (ix) Henry Noovao – The Unknown Soldier; (x) Janita Leota-Brown – The Unknown Soldier; Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 59
(xi) Emily Dean – The Unknown Soldier; (xii) Laila Issa – The Unknown Soldier; (xiii) Sophia Tiatia – The Unknown Soldier; (xiv) Natalie Phimmasone – The Unknown Soldier; (xv) Dawn Peralta – Medals and Ribbons; (xvi) Cameron Nonenmacher – Rosemary and the Red Poppy; (xvii) Natalie Watts – Rosemary and the Red Poppy; (xviii) Jorja Smith – Rosemary and the Red Poppy; (xix) Max Dawson – Rosemary and the Red Poppy; and (xx) William Barati – Rosemary and the Red Poppy. (e) poems were read by the following school students: (i) Benjamin Anderson; (ii) Bianca Brticevich; and (iii) Leo Min. (f) wreaths were laid on the Cenotaph by the following: (i) the Mayor of Campbelltown – Councillor George Brticevic; (ii) City of Campbelltown RSL Sub-Branch; (iii) the Hon. Lou Amato, MLC; (iv) Hurlstone Agricultural High School – Ada Wing and Leena Nguyen; (v) St Patricks College for Girls – Stephanie Ellsmore and Abby Malone; (vi) Campbelltown Performing Arts High School – Harjot Singh Bui and Adriana Britain; (vii) Ingleburn High School – Ricardo Kelly and Malinda Gounder; (viii) Sarah Redfern High School – Annabelle Prakashan and Sarah Thammavong; (ix) Ambarvale Public School – Jeremy Ivkovitch and Hayley Bannister; (x) Claymore Public School – Sesa Mapasua and Feagaiga Leausa; (xi) Blairmount Public School – Brodie Condran and Alyssa Rattanathip; (xii) Our Lady Help of Christians Parish Primary School – Jayden Wolczak and Isabella Nunes; (xiii) Rosemeadow Public School – Carolina Gonzalez and Letisha Rota-Bristow; (xiv) Ingleburn Public School – Ritisha Maxwell and Mitchel Elphick; (xv) Woodland Road Public School – Charlie Zammit and Charlotte Wasson; (xvi) Bardia Public School – Mitchel Fleming and Milica Savic; (xvii) Minto Public School – Anoka Thilakan and Romina Ahmad; (xviii) Bradbury Public School – Brix Belen and Tanisha Zaman; (xix) John Warby Public School – Jacob Gillard and Tara Simpson; (xx) Mount Carmel Catholic College – Caitlin McGing and Tyris Cartilla; and (xxi) Thomas Reddall High School – Ryley Pelaez and Aiden Antonino. (g) Saneesh Prasad and Wayswin Halim discussed why we sound the bugle in the last post and reveille; (h) Angel Villegas discussed the Ode of Remembrance; (i) Tiam-Li played the Battles O'er; (j) Benjamin Nguyen and Gabriella Monteiro recited the Ode of Remembrance; (k) the last post and reveille were performed by Natalie Eagles; and (l) one minute's silence was observed at the closing of ceremony. (2) That this House acknowledges: (a) the participation of local schools in the Campbelltown area; (b) the contribution of many school students in honouring the importance of Armistice Day; Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 60
(c) the organisers of the event, Armistice 1918-2018, Returned Servicemen's League Australia and Campbelltown City Council; and (d) the sacrifice of all men and women who fought to keep Australia free. Motion agreed to. NSW ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH SERVICE AND EX-SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN'S REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICES The Hon. DAVID CLARKE (10:05): I move: (1) That this House notes that: (a) on Sunday 4 November 2018 the NSW Association of Jewish Service and Ex-Service Men and Women under the Patronage of His Excellency General the Hon. David Hurley, AC, DSC (Ret'd), Governor of New South Wales, held its 2018 Communal Wreath-Laying and Remembrance Day Service at the Sydney Jewish Museum's NSW Jewish War Memorial at Darlinghurst; (b) those who attended as guests included: (i) Lieutenant-General K. Gillespie, AC, DSC, CSM, (Ret'd), who delivered the Occasional Address; (ii) Mr Mark Taylor, MP, Parliamentary Secretary for the Centenary of Anzac, Counter Terrorism, Corrections and Veterans, representing the Hon. Gladys Berejiklian, MP, Premier; (iii) Mr Ron Hoenig, MP, member for Heffron, representing Mr Luke Foley, MP, Opposition Leader; (iv) Mr Roger Selby, President of NAJEX, who presided over the service; (v) the Hon. Scott Farlow, MLC, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier, and Leader of the House in the Legislative Council; (vi) the Hon. David Clarke, MLC, Parliamentary Secretary for Justice; (vii) Councillor Peter Cavanagh, Mayor of the Municipality of Woollahra; (viii) Councillor Steven Lewis, Waverley Council, representing the Mayor of Waverley, Councillor John Wakefield; (ix) Councillor Will Nemesh, Waverley Council; (x) Mr Lesli Berger, President of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies; (xi) Mr Peter Wertheim, AM, Chief Executive Officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, who recited the Remembrance prayer; (xii) Rabbi Jeffrey Kamins, OAM, Australian Army Chaplain, who delivered an introduction to the service; (xiii) Rabbi Yossi Friedman, Royal Australian Air Force Chaplain; (xiv) Rabbi Rafi Kasierblueth, United States Navy Chaplain, who gave the Benediction; (xv) Rabbi Dovid Slavin, NSW Ambulance and NSW Fire and Rescue Service Chaplain; (xvi) Dr Keith Shilkin, AM, who gave a tribute to the late Sir John Monash, GSMG, KCB, VD; (xvii) Mr Norman Symon, RFD, ED, who recited the Ode to the Fallen; (xviii) Erez Silberman, year 10 student at Moriah College, who sounded the last post and reveille and played the national anthems; (xix) Uncle David Williams, representing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Veterans and Services Association; (xx) Mr Harvey Baden, who introduced Lieutenant-General K. Gillespie, AC, DSC, CSM (Ret'd); (xxi) Mr Roy Steinman, who recited the Mourners Kaddish; (xxii) Mr Peter Allen, who received a certificate of appreciation for his work as National Co-ordinator of the Centenary of Anzac – Jewish Program; and (xxiii) students representing Sydney Jewish high schools, representatives of Sydney Legacy, Jewish Scouts, Jewish communal leaders, members of NAJEX, Jewish media and friends of the Jewish community. (c) those who gave readings from the Book of Psalms were Lesli Berger, Roger Selby and representatives of the 3rd Rose Bay Scout Group and Mount Sinai College students Talia Banari, Eitan Hamilton, Mia Levin and Tanner Weinbren; (d) the wreath-laying was conducted by Monica Kleinman with Tiam-Li MacKenzie as the piper; (e) the memorial lights were kindled by Yvonne Abadee, Gloria Allen, Ruth Lilian, OAM, Janet Merkur and Tracey Waxman; Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 61
(f) the winners of this year's NAJEX Youth Leadership Awards demonstrating the qualities of integrity, loyalty, courage, innovation and teamwork and which were presented by Lieutenant-General K. Gillespie, AC, DSC, CSM (Ret'd), were: (i) Levi Hoffman, Kesser Torah College; (ii) Maya Michael, Moriah College; and (iii) Vincent Ng, Masada College. (g) those who comprise the current executive of NAJEX are: (i) Roger Selby, President; (ii) Monica Kleinman and Norman Symon, RFD, ED, Vice-Presidents; (iii) John Green, Honorary Secretary; (iv) Harvey Baden, Lesley Barold and Dr Keith Shilkin, AM, board members; and (v) Charles Aronson, Immediate Past President. (2) That this House commends the NSW Association of Jewish Service and Ex-Service Men and Women for: (a) its hosting of the NSW Jewish Community's 2018 Communal Wreath Laying and Remembrance Day Service held at the Sydney Jewish Museum's NSW Jewish War Memorial at Darlinghurst on Sunday 4 November 2018; and (b) its ongoing work in representing and assisting Jewish Service and Ex-Service Men and Women, and in keeping alive the memory of those who have made the supreme sacrifice in defence of our nation and its freedoms. Motion agreed to. LITTLE INDIA FAIR The Hon. DAVID CLARKE (10:05): I move: (1) That this House notes that: (a) on Saturday 27 October 2018 the Council of Indian Australians Inc. hosted the Little India Fair 2018 in Harris Park attended by several thousand members and friends of the Indian-Australian community; and (b) those who attended the opening ceremony of the fair as special guests included: (i) Councillor Patricia Prociv, representing the Lord Mayor of the City of Parramatta; (ii) the Hon. Ray Williams, MP, Minister for Multiculturalism, and Minister for Disability Services; (iii) Ms Jodi McKay, MP, shadow Minister for Transport, Roads, Maritime and Freight; (iv) Mr S. K. Verma, Vice-Consul General of India in Sydney; (v) Ms Julie Owens, MP, Federal member for Parramatta; (vi) Dr Geoff Lee, MP, State member for Parramatta, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier, Western Sydney and Multiculturalism; (vii) the Hon. Scott Farlow, MLC, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier, and Leader of the House in the Legislative Council; (viii) the Hon. David Clarke, MLC, Parliamentary Secretary for Justice; (ix) Ms Julia Finn, MP, State member for Granville; (x) Mr Mark Taylor, MP, Parliamentary Secretary for the Centenary of Anzac, Counter Terrorism, Corrections and Veterans; (xi) Mr Damien Tudehope, MP, State member for Epping; (xii) the Hon. Daniel Mookhey, MLC; (xiii) Mr Kevin Conolly, MP, State member for Riverstone; (xiv) Councillors Steven Issa and Sameer Pandey, Parramatta Council; (xv) Councillors Susai Benjamin and Moninder Singh, Blacktown Council; (xvi) Councillor Reena Jethi, Hills Shire Council; (xvii) Councillor Suman Saha, Cumberland Council; and (xviii) representatives of numerous Indian community organisations. (2) That this House congratulates the Council of Indian Australians Inc. on organising the Little India Fair held at Harris Park on Saturday 27 October 2018, particularly its committee comprising: (a) Mr Mohit Kumar, President; Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 62
(b) Mr Nitin Shukla, Vice President and Cultural Director; (c) Mr Sanjay Deshwal, Secretary and Event Director; (d) Mr Shail Wadhwa, Joint Secretary and Cultural Manager; (e) Mr Ashish Desai, Executive Committee member and Stall Manager; (f) Mr Praful Desai, Public Officer and Marketing Manager; and (g) Mr Tony Colaco, Media Director. Motion agreed to. RESERVE FORCES DAY COUNCIL TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY The Hon. DAVID CLARKE (10:05): I move: (1) That this House notes that: (a) on Friday 21 September 2018 in the Strangers' Dining Room, Parliament House, Sydney, the Reserve Forces Day Council held a formal luncheon under the Patronage of His Excellency General The Hon. David Hurley, AC, DSC, (Ret'd), Governor of New South Wales to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Reserve Forces Day Council; (b) the twentieth anniversary luncheon marks two decades since the first Reserve Forces Day Parade in 1998 and this year's parades held on 1 July 2018 across Australia were the last to be held in most cities with the Council focusing on its custodianship and development of its archival materials relating to the Reserve Forces; (c) the Reserves Forces Day Council is made up for former members of the Army, Navy and Air Force Reserve Forces who voluntarily organise events around Australia on Reserve Forces Day, which is the anniversary date of the re-formation of the Citizens Military Forces after the Second World War on 1 July 1948; and (d) those who attended this year's formal luncheon included: (i) Professor the Hon. Dame Marie Bashir, AD, CVO, former Governor of New South Wales; (ii) the Hon. Tim Fischer, AC, National and NSW Chairman of the Reserve Forces Day Council; (iii) Senator Jim Molan, AC, CSC, Major-General (Ret'd), representing the Hon. Scott Morrison, MP, Prime Minister of Australia; (iv) the Hon. David Clarke, MLC, Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, representing the Hon. Gladys Berejiklian, MP, Premier; (v) Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile, MLC, Assistant President of the Legislative Council, and Mrs Silvana Nile; (vi) Brigadier the Hon. Max Willis, RFD, ED, CSI, former President of the Legislative Council; (vii) Lieutenant-Colonel John Moore, OAM, RFD, ED (Ret'd), National Executive Officer and New South Wales Deputy Chairman RFDC; (viii) Colonel Jeff Dunn, OAM, CSM, RFS (Ret'd), Chairman of RFDC Darwin; (ix) Major Irving Warren, RFD, ED (Ret'd), President, Association of 17 Infantry Battalions; (x) Major Dick Adams, APM, OAM, RFD (Ret'd), Commander, Chauvel Light Horse Squadron; (xi) the. Hon. Bronwyn Bishop; (xii) Miss Jessie Street; (xiii) Commander Sandy Street, SC; (xiv) Major Frank Woodhams, OAM, ED (Ret'd); (xv) the Band of 1/15 Royal NSW Lancers who performed together with Corporal Liz Smith; (xvi) Lynn Scott and Ilona Birta, RFDC members who together with other volunteers assisted in the logistical details of the luncheon; and (xvii) serving and former members of the Reserve Forces. (2) That this House: (a) congratulates the Reserve Forces Day Council on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of its foundation and commends it for its tireless good work over the past 20 years; and (b) commends all reservists for their commitment to our country and for their contribution in helping to maintain the Australian Defence Force's capability. Motion agreed to. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 63
FEDERATION OF INDIAN ASSOCIATIONS DIWALI FAIR The Hon. DAVID CLARKE (10:06): I move: (1) That this House notes that: (a) on Sunday 28 October 2018 the Federation of Indian Associations of New South Wales held a Diwali Fair 2018 at Holroyd Gardens, Merrylands, which was attended by approximately 10,000 members and friends of the Indian-Australian community; and (b) those who attended as special guests included: (i) the Hon. Gladys Berejiklian, MP, Premier; (ii) Mr Luke Foley, MP, Opposition Leader; (iii) the Hon. Ray Williams, MP, Minister for Multiculturalism, and Minister for Disability Services; (iv) Ms Jodi McKay, MP, shadow Minister for Transport, and Roads, Maritime and Freight; (v) Dr Geoff Lee, MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier; (vi) Mr Mark Taylor, MP, Parliamentary Secretary for the Centenary of Anzac, Counter Terrorism, Corrections and Veterans; (vii) Dr Hugh McDermott, MP, member for Prospect; (viii) Ms Julia Finn, MP, member for Granville; (ix) the Hon. Daniel Mookhey, MLC; (x) Ms Julie Owens, MP, Federal member for Parramatta; (xi) Councillor Greg Cummings, Mayor of Cumberland Council; (xii) Councillor Suman Saha, Cumberland Council; (xiii) Councillor Sameer Pandey, City of Parramatta Council; (xiv) Councillor Ola Hamed, Cumberland Council; and (xv) representatives of numerous Indian-Australian community organisations. (2) That this House commends: (a) the Federation of Indian Associations of New South Wales for its organising of the successful Diwali Fair 2018 held at Holroyd Gardens on Sunday 28 October 2018, particularly its President, Dr Yadu Singh, and his team comprising: (i) Mr Kumar Madappa, Vice-President; (ii) Dr Naveen Shukla, Secretary; (iii) Mr Baljit Khare, Treasurer; and (iv) committee members comprising Mr Neeraj Yadav, Mr Vithal Maddala, Mr Vijesh Khanna, Mr Surender Bhogal, Mr Dhruv Jolly, Mr Vipul Goyal, Mr Amber Mahan, Mr Mayank Sharma and Mr John Niven together with Mr Rajiv Chaudhri, Councillor Suman Saha and Cumberland Council staff. (b) the Indian-Australian community for its ongoing contribution to the cultural, social and economic life of New South Wales. Motion agreed to. DAY OF GERMAN UNITY The Hon. DAVID CLARKE (10:06): I move: (1) That this House notes that: (a) on Tuesday 2 October 2018 at the Gallery Room of the State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, the Consul-General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Sydney, Mr Peter Silberberg, hosted a reception to celebrate the Day of German Unity which celebrates re-unification of Germany on 3 October 1990; and (b) those who attended as guests included: (i) Mr Michael Miller, Official Secretary to the Governor of New South Wales, representing His Excellency General The Hon. David Hurley, AC, DSC (Ret'd), Governor of New South Wales; (ii) the Hon. Dame Marie Bashir, AD, CVO, former Governor of New South Wales; (iii) Mr Jonathan O'Dea, MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier and the Treasurer, representing the Hon. Gladys Berejiklian, MP, Premier; (iv) the Hon. David Clarke, MLC, Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, representing the Hon. David Elliot, MP, Minister for Counter Terrorism, Corrections and Veterans Affairs; Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 64
(v) Mr Greg Aplin, MP, member for Albury; (vi) Mr Gareth Ward, MP, member for Kiama, Parliamentary Secretary for Education and the Illawarra and South Coast; (vii) Mrs Susan Hunt, Executive Director of the State Library of New South Wales; and (viii) representatives of various German-Australian community organisations. (2) That this House extends greetings and congratulations to the Federal Republic of Germany and the German-Australian community on the occasion of the celebration of the Day of German Unity marking the re-unification of Germany on 3 October 1990. Motion agreed to. INDIAN SUPPORT CENTER INC. ANNUAL DINNER The Hon. DAVID CLARKE (10:06): I move: (1) That this House notes that: (a) on Saturday 27 October 2018 at the Granville Town Hall, Granville, the Indian Support Center Inc. held its third annual dinner attended by members and friends of the Indian-Australian community; (b) those who attended as special guests included: (i) Mr Subba Rao Varigonda, President, Indian Support Centre; (ii) Dr Geoff Lee, MP, State member for Parramatta, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier, Western Sydney and Multiculturalism; (iii) Ms Julie Owens, MP, Federal member for Parramatta, shadow Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Australia; (iv) Ms Julia Finn, MP, State member for Granville; (v) Mr Kevin Conolly, MP, State member for Riverstone; (vi) Ms Michelle Rowland, MP, Federal member for Greenway, shadow Minister for Communications; (vii) the Hon. David Clarke, MLC, Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, and Mrs Marisa Clarke; (viii) the Consul for the Consulate-General of India in Sydney; (ix) Councillor Moninder Singh, Blacktown Council, representing Mayor Stephen Bali, MP; (x) Councillor Suman Saha, Cumberland Council, representing Mayor Greg Cummins; (xi) Councillor Susai Benjamin, Blacktown Council; and (xii) representatives of various Indian-Australian community organisations. (c) the masters of ceremonies for the evening were Ms Shiela Naidu and Ms Pratibha Arya; (d) music and entertainment for the evening was provided by Mr Vinod Rajput, Mr Ajay Gosh, Ms Swati, Dr Rajesh Dinakar, Sam Samson and Salim Juddani; (e) those who were honoured for their community achievement comprised: (i) Mr Lakshay Gupta, Vedic Sciences; (ii) Ms Palak Gupta, dancing and acting; (iii) Ms Daxa Chauhan, counselling and rehabilitation of prisoners; (iv) Ms Harita Mehta, counsellor against domestic violence; and (v) Mr Prajay Perambakkam, for organising volunteers for the Indian Support Center. (f) those who were commended for their work as volunteers for the Indian Support Center comprised Abhinandini Sharda, Arpita Bhatnagar, Ashritha Puligundla, Avina Agrawal, Buvana Balu, Dhanavanthini Jayaraj, Priya Sharma Pathak, Ramya Sathish Kumar, Renuka Geddam, Shradha Gandhewar, Shruti Vaishnav and Vishakha Gupta; and (g) since its inception in March 2015, the Indian Support Center Inc. has provided support and infrastructure, and delivered services to the community including support for victims of domestic violence, job seekers and those seeking support involving legal, police and government departmental assistance. (2) That this House congratulates the Indian Support Center Inc. including its President Mr Subba Rao Varigonda, Executive Committee and volunteers on the occasion of the center's third anniversary of its foundation and commends it for its ongoing service to the people of New South Wales. Motion agreed to. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 65
Committees PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE NO. 4 - LEGAL AFFAIRS Extension of Reporting Date The Hon. ROBERT BORSAK (10:06): I move: That the reporting date of the inquiry into the Budget Estimates 2018-2019 by Portfolio Committee No. 4 - Legal Affairs be extended to 28 February 2019. Motion agreed to. Motions AUSTRALIA-KOREA CULTURE AND ARTS INC. MUSICAL ENSEMBLE The Hon. DAVID CLARKE (10:07): I move: (1) That this House notes that: (a) on Friday 26 October 2018 the Consulate-General of the Republic of Korea in Sydney in conjunction with Australia-Korea Culture and Arts Inc. hosted a concert at the Concourse Concert Hall, Chatswood, featuring the "La Mer Et L'ile" Musical Ensemble; (b) the ensemble has an illustrious reputation and has given performances throughout Europe, Asia, the Americas and now Australia and is composed of classical musicians using Western instruments and also musicians using traditional Korean instruments; and (c) those who attended as guests included: (i) Mr Sangsoo Yoon, Consul-General for the Republic of Korea in Sydney; (ii) Mr Dongsik Ko, Chairman of Australia-Korea Culture and Arts Inc.; (iii) Reverend Dr Michael Spence, Vice-Chancellor, University of Sydney; (iv) the Hon. David Clarke, MLC, Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, and Mrs Marisa Clarke; (v) Ms Floris Lam, Liaison Officer, representing Ms Sophie Cotsis, MP, shadow Minister for Women, Ageing, Multiculturalism and Disability Services; (vi) Mr Zhang Yingbao, Cultural Counsellor, Consulate-General of China; (vii) Mr Franciscus Van Beuningen, Consul-General for the Netherlands, and his wife, Mrs Jeannie Stoop; (viii) Ms Nancy Benitez Paez, Consul-General for Colombia, and her daughter Ms Tania Sarra Benitez; (ix) Ms Ana Rojas Alvarez, Consul for Costa Rica; (x) Mr Abdul Youfani, Consul-General for Pakistan; (xi) Councillor Ernest Chan, Burwood Council; (xii) Mr Byoung Soo Ryu, President, Korean Society of Sydney; (xiii) Mr Seung Guk Paik, President, Federation of Korean Societies of Oceania; (xiv) Mr Ju Bek Hyung, Chairperson, Korean National Unification Advisory Council Australia Chapter; (xv) Mr Hamjoon Lee, chief executive officer and founder, "La Mer Et L'ile"; (xvi) Ms Louise Evans, journalist and author; and (xvii) Dr Frank Alafaci, President, Asian Australian Business Council, and his wife, Mrs Sylvia Alafaci. (2) That this House: (a) welcomes "La Mer Et L'ile" Musical Ensemble on the occasion of its visit to Sydney; (b) commends Mr Dongsik Ko, Chairman of Australia-Korea Culture and Arts Inc., and Mr Sangsoo Yoon, Consul-General for the Republic of Korea, for facilitating the visit of "La Mer Et L'ile" Musical Ensemble to Sydney; and (c) extends greetings to the Korean-Australian community for its ongoing contribution to the economic, social and cultural life of New South Wales. Motion agreed to. BALLINA-ON-RICHMOND ROTARY CLUB VOCATIONAL SERVICE AWARDS The Hon. BEN FRANKLIN (10:07): I move: Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 66
(1) That this House notes that: (a) on 1 November 2018 the Rotary Club of Ballina-on-Richmond held its Vocational Service Awards presentation evening; (b) the awards recognise local employees who offer service consistently to customers which is above and beyond their normal job description; and (c) the award recipients are recognised by Rotary International as special people who stand out in their vocation and have rendered outstanding service to customers in the community. (2) That this House congratulates the following award recipients: (a) Daniel Atkins—Rob Ward Electrical Services, Ballina; (b) Jim Bowtell—101.9 Paradise FM; (c) Craig Cusack—Mitre 10 Alstonville; (d) Liz Hollman—McGrath Estate Agents, Ballina; (e) Bernie Kelly—Ballina Public School; (f) Steve Smith—Ballina RSL Club; and (g) Tejinder Uppal—Main Street Cafe, Ballina. (3) That this House thanks Club Service Director Jodie Shelley and the whole Rotary Club of Ballina-on-Richmond for coordinating the Vocational Service Awards and recognising the importance of this service to the community. Motion agreed to. GATEWAY FAMILY SERVICES BUSHFIRE INFORMATION LAUNCH The Hon. DAVID CLARKE (10:08): I move: (1) That this House notes that: (a) on Monday 29 October 2018 at the Blue Mountains Theatre and Community Hub Springwood, Gateway Family Services hosted the launch of "Walk With", its new online learning resource to support community organisations to prepare for disasters; (b) the resource has been created from the experience gained by Gateway Family Services following the 2013 Blue Mountains bushfires where it was involved in personalised disaster preparedness and recovery; (c) the resource was formally launched by Councillor Chris Van de Kley, the Deputy Mayor of the Blue Mountains; and (d) those who attended the event included: (i) Councillor Chris Van de Kley, Deputy Mayor of the Blue Mountains; (ii) Ms Wendy Graham, Director Resilience and Recovery, Office of Emergency Management, Department of Justice - Keynote Speaker; (iii) Ms Kerry Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of Gateway Family Services; (iv) Associate Professor Amanda Howard, University of Sydney School of Education and Social Work; (v) Ms Anne Crestani, "Walk With" Project Manager; (vi) Ms Susan Templeman, MP, Federal member for Macquarie; (vii) Ms Trish Doyle, MP, State member Blue Mountains; (viii) the Hon. David Clarke, MLC, Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, representing the Hon. Troy Grant, MP, Minister for Police, and Minister for Emergency Services, and the Hon. Stuart Ayres, MP, Minister for Western Sydney, Minister for WestConnex, and Minister for Sport; (ix) Councillor Shae Foenander, Blue Mountains Council; (x) Reverend Dr Stephen Robinson, National Disaster Recovery Office, Uniting Church of Australia; (xi) Dr Michelle Villeneuve, University of Sydney, Centre of Disability Research; (xii) Dr Allison Rowlands, Research Fellow, Hammond Care New South Wales; (xiii) Ms Julie Hourigan Rose, Chief Executive Officer FAMS New South Wales (peak body for Family Support Services in New South Wales); (xiv) Ms Lyn Lormer, Local Community Services Association; and (xv) Carol Cooper, Darug and Gundungurra Elder, who conducted the welcome to country. (2) That this House commends Gateway Family Services on the occasion of its launch of its "Walk With" online learning resource to assist community organisations to prepare for disasters. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 67
Motion agreed to. BALLINA COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL The Hon. BEN FRANKLIN (10:08): I move: (1) That this House notes that: (a) the seventh annual Ballina Country Music Festival was held from Friday 2 to Sunday 4 November 2018; (b) the festival involved shows and performances including the Johnny Cash Show Walk the Line, Adam Brand, Viper Creek Band, Brothers 3, Ashleigh Dallas Band and Gretta Ziller band; and (c) the festival involved the whole Ballina community, with shows on six stages across the region including the Cherry Street Sports Club, the Westower Tavern and the Shaws Bay Hotel. (2) That this House congratulates Carol Stacey, festival founder and Coordinator; Garry Lavercombe, Production and Media Coordinator; Sarah Norris, Social Media Coordinator; and the whole event team on all their hard work and diligence in organising yet another incredibly successful festival. (3) That this House acknowledges the importance of community events like the Ballina Country Music Festival, which bring communities together and support the local tourism industry. Motion agreed to. FIREFIGHTERS CLIMB FOR MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE The Hon. DAVID CLARKE (10:09): I move: (1) That this House notes that: (a) on Saturday 20 October 2018 the Annual Firefighters Climb for Motor Neurone Disease was held at Sydney Tower (Centrepoint) in Market Street, Sydney; (b) the event, which has been held yearly since 2015, is open only to firefighters who must be serving in a Fire Service, Airport Rescue Fire Brigade, Industrial Brigade or the Rural Fire Service; (c) firefighters compete in approved structural firefighting full turnout gear with a combined weight of over 20 kilograms and climb the 98 storeys (1,504 stairs) of Sydney Tower (Centrepoint); (d) in this year's event over 600 firefighters from all over Australia and New Zealand participated in the climb to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Research Facility at Macquarie University, which employs over 70 researchers and 12 clinicians and is Australia's largest such facility; and (e) the annual event, which was conceived by Senior Firefighter Matthew Pridham after his best friend Adam Regat was diagnosed with the disease and died from its effects in August 2018, has raised over $2 million since its inception with $700,000 raised from this year's climb. (2) That this House: (a) congratulates and commends Senior Firefighter Matthew Pridham for his initiative in conceiving Firefighters Climbing for Motor Neurone Disease, and in organising it each year since 2015 in conjunction with Fire and Rescue NSW; and (b) commends the more than 600 firefighters who participated in this year's climb which raised $700,000 for this worthy purpose. Motion agreed to. LEBANON CARNIVAL The Hon. DAVID CLARKE (10:09): I move: (1) That this House notes that: (a) on Sunday 28 October 2018 the forty-first Lebanon Carnival organised by Mr Elie Akouri and featuring the Cedars of Lebanon Folkloric Group, which he founded 41 years ago, was held at Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour, Sydney and was attended by several thousand members and friends of the Lebanese-Australian community; (b) those who attended the official opening as guests included: (i) the Hon. Ray Williams, MP, Minister for Multiculturalism and Disability Services, representing the Hon. Gladys Berejiklian, MP, Premier; (ii) Mr Jihad Dib, MP, member for Lakemba, and shadow Minister for Education, representing Mr Luke Foley, MP, Leader of the Opposition; (iii) the Hon. Philip Ruddock, Mayor of Hornsby; (iv) the Hon. David Clarke, MLC, Parliamentary Secretary for Justice; (v) Mr Joseph Rizk, Chairman, Arab Australia Bank; Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 68
(vi) Mr Simon Diab, Simon Diab and Associates; (vii) Mr Patrick Skene, Chairman, Red Elephant Soccer; (viii) Mr Elias Mattar, representing Scout El Ghad Radio Station; (ix) Mr Ahmad Salim, An Nahar newspaper; (x) Mr Charbel Biaini, Al Ghorba TV; (xi) Ms Nadine Chaar, representing Sawt Al Farah Radio Station; (xii) Dr Alaa Alawdi, representing Sawaki TV; (c) those who performed in this year's Lebanon Carnival were: (i) Alex Hadchity, singer; (ii) Samir Merheb, singer; (iii) Samara, singer; (iv) Damien Haifa, singer; (v) Melika and Troupe, dancers; (vi) Terezka's World of Dancing; (vii) Andalus Arabic Choir; (viii) Ms Jazzy K, singer; (ix) VIBZ Performing ARTZ; (x) Nathalie Barsoun; (xi) Studio Dance Orientale Show; (xii) Fadi Assaf, singer; (xiii) the Cedars of Lebanon Folkloric Group; and (xiv) Mrs Hourani as Master of Ceremonies. (d) the Cedars of Lebanon Folkloric Group led by Mr Elie Akouri has performed internationally over many years, has a world-renowned reputation for its professionalism and is the recipient of the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal. (2) That this House congratulates and commends Mr Elie Akouri and the Cedars of Lebanon Folkloric Group for their dedication in having organised the annual Lebanon Carnival for the past 41 years, including its highly successful carnival held on Sunday 28 October 2018 at Tumbalong Park, Sydney. Motion agreed to. CARAVAN AND CAMPING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE The Hon. BEN FRANKLIN (10:10): I move: (1) That this House notes that: (a) earlier in 2018 the Caravan and Camping Industry Association held their 2018 Awards of Excellence; (b) the awards celebrate the achievements of a diverse and thriving caravan and camping industry in New South Wales and recognise caravan and camping businesses that demonstrate best practice in customer service, product offerings and business success; (c) Ballina business Integrated Site Design won the Best Industry Service Provider category at the awards; (d) Integrated Site Design was established in 1989 and offers planning, design, management and marketing advice; and (e) the award was accepted by Integrated Site Design directors Jim Bolger and Neville Green. (2) That this House congratulates the whole Integrated Site Design team on being recognised with this award and on being leaders in the caravan and camping industry. Motion agreed to. WHITE CROSS FIRE TRAIL COMMEMORATION The Hon. DAVID CLARKE (10:10): I move: (1) That this House notes that: (a) on Sunday 28 October 2018 at White Cross Fire Trail, Winmalee, a memorial service was held and a memorial plaque unveiled to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the tragic passing in the line of duty on 29 October 1968 of firefighters: Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 69
(i) Captain Tom Chalmers, Faulconbridge Bushfire Brigade; (ii) Firefighter Greg Eley, Warrimoo Bushfire Brigade; and (iii) Firefighter Peter Hawkins, Warrimoo Bushfire Brigade. (b) the service, which was organised by the NSW Rural Fire Service together with the Faulconbridge Bush Fire Brigade and Warrimoo Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade, honoured the three firefighters who died whilst defending the White Cross Road community in the Blue Mountains from devastating bushfires which eventually resulted in the loss of over 120 homes and six lives including the three firefighters; (c) family members of the late Captain Tom Chalmers who attended the memorial service included: (i) Margaret Smith, only daughter, and her husband, Owen Smith; (ii) Janette Smith, eldest granddaughter and daughter of Margaret and Owen; (iii) Sandra Moore, second granddaughter, and her husband, David Moore; (iv) David, only grandson, and wife, Leanne; (v) Sally Anne, fourth granddaughter, and partner, Daniel; (vi) Narelle and Toni Barrie, grandnieces; (vii) Renee, great-granddaughter; (viii) Mark, great-grandson; (ix) Karissa, great-granddaughter; and (x) Val and Richard Bush and daughter Tabitha, close family friends. (d) family members of the late Greg Eley who attended the memorial service included: (i) David, son, and Karen, daughter-in-law; (ii) Kyle and Kayeliv, grandsons; (iii) Melissa, daughter; and (iv) Lauren, granddaughter. (e) family members of the late Peter Hawkins who attended the memorial service included: (i) Zita Hawkins-Poynting, widow; (ii) Garry Hawkins, son; and (iii) Donna and Cassandra Hawkins, daughters. (f) others who attended the memorial service included: (i) Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons, AFSM, NSW Rural Fire Service; (ii) Assistant Commissioner Rebel Talbert, NSW Rural Fire Service; (iii) District Manager, Superintendent David Jones, NSW Rural Fire Service; (iv) Senior Chaplains Ian and Kerry Spall; (v) the Hon. David Clarke, MLC, Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, representing the Hon. Troy Grant, MP, Minister for Police and Emergency Services; (vi) Ms Trish Doyle, MP, member for Blue Mountains; (vii) Councillor Chris Van der Kley, Deputy Mayor, Blue Mountains Council; (viii) Councillors Don McGregor, Romola Hollywood and Shae Foenander, Blue Mountains Council; (ix) Inspector Andrew Ticehurst, Zone Commander MW3, Fire and Rescue NSW; (x) Leading Station Officer Bruce Cameron, Springwood Fire and Rescue NSW; (xi) Blue Mountains Group Leader Mick Metcalfe, NSW Rural Fire Service; (xii) Group Captains Greg Corrigan and Matthew Hunter, Blue Mountains NSW Rural Fire Service; (xiii) Deputy Group Captains Colin Brown, James Carter, Greg Frullani, Stuart Fuller and Steve Parrott, Blue Mountains NSW Rural Fire Service; (xiv) Captain Paul Spinks, Faulconbridge Rural Fire Brigade; (xv) Captain David McNeill, Warrimoo Rural Fire Brigade; (xvi) Mr David Crust, Glenn Meade and Paul Glass, National Parks and Wildlife Service; (xvii) Lex Dadd, Aboriginal Elder; (xviii) Mr Nick Rigby, Blue Mountains Council; and Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 70
(xix) volunteer members from Rural Fire Brigades including Faulconbridge, Warrimoo, Shipley, Katoomba/Leura, Winmalee, and Group Support Linden, Wentworth Falls and Blaxland. (g) the memorial organising group comprised: (i) Captain Paul Spinks, Faulconbridge Rural Fire Brigade; (ii) Captain David McNeill, Warrimoo Rural Fire Brigade; (iii) staff of the NSW Rural Fire Service Blue Mountains District Office, Superintendent David Jones, Ms Fiona Rose and Inspector Robert Vinzenz; (iv) Mr Glenn Meade and Mr Paul Glass, National Parks and Wildlife Service; and (v) Deputy Captain Michael McKervey, Blaxland Rural Fire Brigade. (2) That this House: (a) commends all those who organised the memorial day commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of firefighters on 29 October 1968, which was held on Sunday 28 October 2018; and (b) extends its deepest sympathy to the family members of the late Tom Chalmers, Greg Eley and Peter Hawkins on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of their passing whilst in the course of duty fighting to save the lives of others. Motion agreed to. LIONS CLUB CHILDREN OF COURAGE AWARDS The Hon. BEN FRANKLIN (10:10): I move: (1) That this House notes: (a) the 2018 Lions Club Children of Courage Awards recognise the courage and bravery shown each and every day by children, particularly those with special needs; (b) Cameron Anderson from Xavier Catholic College in Skennars Head received the inspiring sporting achievement award for showing exceptional perseverance and resilience; (c) Cameron, who is 15 years old, has Perthes disease, which affects his hip joints; (d) earlier in 2018 Cameron had surgery on both legs in close succession to assist his walking and mobility; and (e) at the 2018 Xavier Catholic College Cross Country event, Cameron walked the entire distance of three kilometres in significant pain and without a murmur of a complaint. (2) That this House congratulates Cameron on the perseverance and bravery he has demonstrated and for receiving this Children of Courage Award. (3) That this House sincerely thanks Helen Southgate, the Lennox Head Lions Xavier Catholic College Leo Club Advisor, and Leanne McFadden, Leader of Co-curricular at Xavier Catholic College, for all their work in organising the 2018 awards. Motion agreed to. Committees PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE NO. 6 - PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT Report: Budget Estimates 2018-2019 The Hon. PAUL GREEN: I table report No. 9 of Portfolio Committee No. 6 - Planning and Environment, entitled "Budget Estimates 2018-2019", dated November 2018, together with transcripts of evidence, tabled documents, correspondence, answers to questions on notice and supplementary questions relating to the inquiry. I move: That the report be printed. Motion agreed to. The Hon. PAUL GREEN (10:11): I move: That the House take note of the report. Debate adjourned. PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE NO. 6 - PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT Report: The Music and Arts Economy in New South Wales The Hon. PAUL GREEN: I table report No. 8 of Portfolio Committee No. 6 - Planning and Environment, entitled "The music and arts economy in New South Wales", dated November 2018, together with Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 71
transcripts of evidence, tabled documents, submissions, correspondence, answers to questions on notice and supplementary questions relating to the inquiry. I move: That the report be printed. Motion agreed to. The Hon. PAUL GREEN (10:12): I move: That the House take note of the report. As Chair of Portfolio Committee No. 6, I am pleased to table report No. 8, entitled "The music and arts economy in New South Wales". First and foremost I extend my sincerest thanks to the committee members who assisted in this inquiry: the Hon. Shayne Mallard, the Hon. Catherine Cusack, the Hon. John Graham, the Hon. Taylor Martin, the Hon. Penny Sharpe, Ms Dawn Walker and, in the last couple of sessions, Ms Faehrmann. I also note the amazing committee secretariat staff. As most members know, the secretariat staff are brilliant. They work very hard throughout the entire committee process. They do a lot of the hard yards—and at all hours of the day on this particular inquiry. I thank Jenelle Moore, Kate Mihaljik and Elise Williamson. Portfolio Committee No. 6 - Planning and Environment was referred to inquire into and report on the music and arts economy in New South Wales, including regional New South Wales, and in particular: (a) progress on the implementation of the Government response to the New South Wales Night-Time Economy Roundtable Action Plan, (b) policies that could support a diverse and vibrant music and arts culture across New South Wales, (c) policies that could support the establishment and sustainability of permanent and temporary venue spaces for music and for the arts, (d) policy and legislation in other jurisdictions, and options for New South Wales including red tape reduction and funding options, and (e) any other related matter. The committee received 437 submissions and eight supplementary submissions. The committee held 11 public hearings: five at Parliament House in Sydney, one each in Wollongong, Bryon Bay, Newcastle and Tamworth, and two in Melbourne. The committee also conducted 19 site visits. Music, particularly contemporary music, continues to play a vital role in the economic and social vitality of New South Wales. However, this sector has traditionally been neglected by governments, and as a result the contemporary music ecosystem in New South Wales appears to be slowly disintegrating. This is disappointing as there is significant economic benefit in the performance of live music. New South Wales has the largest share of Australia's contemporary music activity. In 2016 the State generated the highest share of contemporary music revenue at $157.6 million, and 1.91 million people attended contemporary music performances. In fact, the committee received evidence that in 2014, live music-making in Australia enabled at least $15.7 billion worth of physical, human, social and symbolic capital in benefits to individuals, firms and communities across the community. Recently, the Australian Recording Industry Association asserted that Australia's music industry has the potential to achieve a 5 per cent share of the global music market, and our committee wants much of this new music to come from New South Wales to ensure that our stories and experiences are shared around the globe. While there are many recommendations, I think that it is time that the New South Wales Government gave music the attention it deserves, given its importance to the State's economy. The committee has recommended that the Premier appoint a Minister for Music, the Arts and Culture in place of the Minister for the Arts, or a Minister for Music in addition to the Minister for the Arts. The committee acknowledges the hard work and dedication of the many artists who gave evidence during the inquiry, and particularly their arguments supporting fair pay and the need for more live performance opportunities. The committee extends its appreciation to Ms Brooke McClymont from The McClymonts, Ms Carolyne Morris, client liaison officer for Mr Monte Morgan and Mr Harvey Miller, Mr Dave Faulkner from the Hoodoo Gurus, Mr Grant Walmsley from the Screaming Jets, Ms Ilona Harker, Ms Isabella Manfredi from The Preatures, Mr Jack Lincoln, Ms Kristy Lee Peters [KLP], Ms Renee Simone, Mr Scott Baldwin from The Rubens, Mr Nicholas Drabble and Mr Stuart Turner of Set Mo, Mr Spencer Scott, and Mr Tim Levinson, Urthboy. The Hon. Mick Veitch: What about Chad Morgan? The Hon. PAUL GREEN: We did visit the museum, where we saw Chad and Slim and all the family. The evidence provided by these artists, as well as industry organisations and local councils, led the committee to make significant recommendations that will revitalise the sector, including the substantial increase by the Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 72
New South Wales Government of funding for arts and contemporary music of at least $35 million over the next four years of forward estimates. The committee has also recommended that the Government take action to remove outdated liquor licensing conditions that seek to prohibit or restrict live entertainment. The committee also recognises that there is a battle for space in urban areas, particularly Sydney. Urbanisation, housing affordability and cost of transport is pushing artists and creative spaces outside of city centres. Moreover, the increasing density of our cities and towns has caused growing concerns about noise complaints from residents in close proximity to venues such as pubs, hotels, clubs and churches. Stakeholders encouraged the committee to consider opportunities to address these concerns. To this end, the committee made recommendations to introduce a hybrid planning model that incorporates Victoria's "agent of change" approach, along with the planned precinct approach adopted in Brisbane, and to simplify noise complaint mechanisms. It was also recommended that section 149 certificates inform potential purchasers they are buying into an urban entertainment area, as is done in Wollongong. In December 2016, the Government acknowledged the synergy between the night-time and evening arts and culture economies and established the Sydney Night-Time Economy Taskforce. However, the committee believes the task force has been ineffective. Its failure to meet most of the deadlines has left the industry to languish. The committee has recommended that the Department of Premier and Cabinet take responsibility for the task force to bring the necessary urgency and oversight to the work being undertaken. This report also examines inquiry participants' concerns about the detrimental effect that gaming machines have on live music. Liquor & Gaming NSW reported that, from 1 December 2017 to 31 May 2018, gaming machines in clubs generated approximately $1,945,161,625 in net profit. The committee did not receive evidence regarding the gaming machine revenue generated in hotels. Towards the end of the inquiry, the committee was able to ascertain that in 2016-17, gaming machine tax contributed approximately $13,212,652 to the ClubGRANTS Category 3 Fund, and that approximately $12.5 million of this was awarded in grants to the following community infrastructure projects: $2.5 million to arts and culture, $8 million to sport and recreation, and $2 million to emergency preparedness. While clubs additionally contributed more than $107 million to ClubGRANTS Category 1 and Category 2 in 2016-17, which was used to fund community activities, the ClubGRANTS Guidelines for Category 2 specifically disallow using funds for: professional entertainers and entertainment provided for club patrons and used for the purpose of directly promoting activities associated with the trading operations of the club. The committee believes that gaming machine revenue could be directed to better support live cultural performances and has recommended that the Government establish a community benefit fund using gaming machine revenue to support live music. We note the importance of commercial and community radio in developing and sustaining a musician's career. Moreover, the committee acknowledges the increasing significance of streaming services and encourages these corporations to provide greater transparency around their operations and what actions they are taking to foster and support Australian artists. The committee did take evidence on lockout laws. The discussion on that bill will follow this report. Suffice to say, this inquiry was not formed to consider the issues of lockout laws; it was to focus on the music industry. The committee took evidence, and that evidence will be used for further debate. There is no doubt there are two divisible questions: How much is the community willing to sacrifice to remove the lockout laws? What is the price of that? On occasions there has been late night violence that has led to fatalities. The other question is: Have the lockout laws been instrumental in bringing the music and arts industry to its knees? That question and surrounding arguments will be dealt with in the repeal bill; this inquiry was about the music industry. Sydney is the gateway to Australia for international and domestic tourists. Not having a vibrant music industry will cost us greatly and bring embarrassment to our beautiful global city. In the media this morning KLP said it is embarrassing being overseas and hearing about the situation in Sydney, where the music industry is not thriving to the levels it once did. New South Wales should be the head and not the tail of all things music in Australia. To neglect the music industry any further in New South Wales will be at our own peril. I commend the report to the House. Debate adjourned. Documents TABLING OF PAPERS The Hon. SCOTT FARLOW: I table the following report: Parking Space Levy Act 2009—Report of Transport for NSW entitled "Review of the Parking Space Levy Act 2009, Review of the Parking Space Levy Regulation 2009: Final Report", dated October 2018. 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I move: That the report be printed. Motion agreed to. Petitions PETITIONS RECEIVED Plastics Pollution Petition calling on the Government to ban single-use plastics, including bags, balloons, straws and cutlery; adopt a world-class container deposit scheme for New South Wales; invest in soft plastics recycling programs; support research to clean up plastics pollution; and ban the use of microbeads in all cosmetic and detergent products, received from Mr Justin Field. Business of the House WITHDRAWAL OF BUSINESS The Hon. ROBERT BORSAK: I withdraw Business of the House Notion of Motion No. 2 standing in my name relating to a sessional order varying Standing Order 233. POSTPONEMENT OF BUSINESS The Hon. MICK VEITCH: I move: That Business of the House Notice of Motion No. 1 be postponed until a later hour of the sitting. Motion agreed to. SUSPENSION OF STANDING AND SESSIONAL ORDERS: ORDER OF BUSINESS The Hon. NATASHA MACLAREN-JONES: I move: That standing and sessional orders be suspended to allow the moving of a motion forthwith relating to the conduct of the business of the House this day. Motion agreed to. ORDER OF BUSINESS The Hon. NATASHA MACLAREN-JONES: I move: That the order of Private Members' Business for today be as follows: (1) Private Members' Business item No. 2624 outside the Order of Precedence standing in the name of Ms Cate Faehrmann relating to the Protection of the Environment Operations Amendment (Clean Air) Bill 2018. (2) Private Members' Business item No. 2622 outside the Order of Precedence standing in the name of the Hon. Penny Sharpe relating to the Berejiklian-Barilaro Government. (3) Private Members' Business item No. 2518 outside the Order of Precedence standing in the name of the Hon. Robert Borsak relating to the Liquor Legislation Amendment (Repeal of Lock-out Laws) Bill 2018. (4) Private Members' Business item No. 3 inside the Order of Precedence standing in the name of Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile relating to the Crimes Amendment (Zoe's Law) Bill 2017. (5) Private Members' Business item No. 1531 outside the Order of Precedence standing in the name of the Hon. Mark Pearson relating to the Animal Research Amendment (Reduction in Deaths of Dogs and Cats Used for Research) Bill 2018. Motion agreed to. ORDER OF BUSINESS The Hon. DON HARWIN: I move: That on Thursday, 22 November 2018, proceedings be interrupted at approximately 12.30 p.m., but not so as to interrupt a member speaking, to enable the Hon. Ernest Wong to give his valedictory speech without any question before the Chair. Motion agreed to. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 74
Committees PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE NO. 4 - LEGAL AFFAIRS Government Response The Hon. ROBERT BORSAK: I move: That Standing Order 233 be varied so as to require that the Government response to the following committee reports be provided by 28 February 2019: (1) Report of Portfolio Committee No. 4 - Legal Affairs on the inquiry into Parklea Correctional Centre and other operational issues. (2) Report of Portfolio Committee No. 4 - Legal Affairs on the inquiry into the fire and emergency services levy. Motion agreed to. PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE NO. 5 - INDUSTRY AND TRANSPORT Government Response The Hon. ROBERT BORSAK: I move: That Standing Order 233 be varied so as to require that the Government response to the following committee report be provided by 28 February 2019: Report of Portfolio Committee No. 5 - Industry and Transport on the inquiry into the sustainability of the dairy industry in New South Wales. Motion agreed to. PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE NO. 6 - PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT Government Response The Hon. ROBERT BORSAK: I move: That Standing Order 233 be varied so as to require that the Government response to the following committee report be provided by 28 February 2019: Report of Portfolio Committee No. 6 - Planning and Environment on the inquiry into music and arts economy in New South Wales. Motion agreed to. SELECT COMMITTEE ON ELECTRICITY SUPPLY, DEMAND AND PRICES IN NEW SOUTH WALES Government Response The Hon. ROBERT BORSAK: I move: That Standing Order 233 be varied so as to require that the Government response to the following committee report be provided by 28 February 2019: Report of the Select Committee on Electricity Supply, Demand and Prices in New South Wales on the inquiry into electricity supply, demand and prices in New South Wales. Motion agreed to. Business of the House BUSINESS LAPSED The PRESIDENT: I advise the House that Business of the House Notice of Motion No. 5 standing in the name of the Hon. Paul Green has lapsed as a result of Business of the House Notice of Motion No. 4 standing in the name of the Hon. Robert Borsak being passed by the House. Disallowance CEMETERIES AND CREMATORIA AMENDMENT REGULATION 2018 The PRESIDENT: According to standing order the question is: That the motion of the Hon. Mick Veitch proceed as business of the House. Question resolved in the affirmative. The Hon. MICK VEITCH: I move: Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 75
That the matter proceed forthwith. Motion agreed to. The Hon. MICK VEITCH (10:45): I move: That, under section 41 of the Interpretation Act 1987, this House disallows the Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment Regulation 2018, published on the NSW Legislation website on 22 June 2018. I suspect that committee take-note debates may not operate next week so I will include as part of my contribution the report that was prepared by the Regulation Committee on this regulation as part of the trial that this House has undertaken with regard to regulations. It is important that we give consideration to the report and I will cover both bases. First, I acknowledge the work of the Chair of the Regulation Committee, the Hon. Scott Farlow, and the other committee members. This very good report highlights some of the issues that need addressing not only because of the regulation but also in a broader sense. The biggest issue the committee encountered in the inquiry was that of communication and consultation. It is fair to say that there are two sides to the argument. The department says that it consulted in accordance with government requirements and that it ticked all the boxes. However, representatives of almost all religious groups, including the Russian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church and the Jewish Board of Deputies, said under oath that they did not know about the regulation. I am not sure how the department can say it consulted when some of the major stakeholders were not aware of the regulation. A representative of one of the religious organisations said that he found out about the regulation only because of the committee's inquiry. I do not know how that could be considered good consultation. The committee made a detailed finding on that in its report. That issue alone should be enough for the Government to say, "We need to disallow this regulation and go back and start again." Cemetery operators were not happy with the level of consultation. The NSW Aboriginal Land Council was not happy with the consultation and did not know about the regulation. Apparently the community was widely consulted but the community did not know about it. It puts into question how the consultation took place. As all members know, when all the groups that come before an inquiry say, "We did not know about this", it tells us that something is not quite right. There is a disconnect between what we are being told by the department and what happened on the ground. The Rookwood General Cemeteries Trust said that part of the issue was the timing of the consultation. I am not a cynical individual but for the consultation to conclude on the Friday before Christmas last meant many people were busy and unable to give this regulation the necessary attention. The Rookwood General Cemeteries Trust, realising that there was a problem, suggested to the department that a two-month extension would be better to enable more people to have a say, but that did not happen. The end result is that few people knew about this regulation. The inquiry process to look into the regulations in some way assisted the department because it drew attention to the regulation and finally enabled people to have their say about it. Some good suggestions have arisen from this inquiry which, if it had been conducted properly, would have been picked up during the consultation process. An excellent suggestion was made by the Jewish Board of Deputies, and a recommendation in the report picks up on that by strengthening the wording in one aspect of the regulation. That alone should be enough to raise concern and indicate that we should go back to the drawing board and start again. This regulation comes about because of legislation back in 2012-13. Members who were in this place at that time will remember that part 4 of the Act caused considerable concern, particularly in the other place. The Minister of the day gave an undertaking to not gazette part 4 to enable further consultation, which resulted in this regulation. The undertaking was for further consultation, However, people have said they did not know about the regulation so clearly that consultation did not take place. One must ask: How much work has been done with this regulation? Is the regulation complete or does more need to be done? The inquiry, capably chaired by the Hon. Scott Farlow, found that more work was needed and that issues relating to this regulation required further consideration. For the information of members, this regulation is about renewable tenure. In the cemetery industry that is where a person can be dug up after a certain time and the plot can be resold. The proposal in the regulation is that that can happen after 25 years. The Hon. Shayne Mallard: Minimum. The Hon. MICK VEITCH: I accept that interjection; a minimum of 25 years. The inquiry heard evidence, particularly from soil expert Professor Dent, indicating that 25 years is a problem, depending on the soil. Soil types seriously impact decomposition of a body. The Rookwood General Cemeteries Trust is currently conducting research into this issue at Rookwood. If I can digress—and I know that the Hon. Dr Peter Phelps will be interested in this—scientific research undertaken at Rookwood shows that pigs were buried and at various stages the pigs were dug up— Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 76
The Hon. Dr Peter Phelps: Pearson is now upset. The Hon. Greg Donnelly: They were dead when they were buried, Mark. The Hon. MICK VEITCH: They were dead when they were buried, yes. This was to test the impact of the soil type on decomposition. It showed that 25 years does not work at Rookwood because of the clay soil; the body does not decompose. The regulation specifies a period of 25 years but who determines how long the renewal tenure will be? It is the cemetery operator. Who do they terminate? We asked those questions of the department in the forum provided by the inquiry. How will the cemetery operators determine when it is time to exhume or dig up the remains and how will they know they have decomposed? We were told it was up to the cemetery operator but that will not be known until the plot is opened. Community members have expressed considerable angst about this regulation. Professor Dent said that perhaps 50 years is a more suitable time because of the soil types in this part of the country. With adequate consultation the regulation could have been modified to reflect a minimum of 50 years but this was not done because of insufficient and improper consultation. The cemetery operators highlighted that the regulation is silent on the fact that loved ones are often buried with their favourite trinkets—wedding bands and even golf clubs. However, following the expiration of 25 years when the plot is open, those trinkets, particularly metal-based trinkets, will still remain. What happens to those objects and who owns them? The regulation does not specify what will happen to them. The cemetery operators want that matter of concern dealt with. This regulation required further work but it was not done. The regulation is also silent on the materials used in the construction of coffins, and particularly the liners. If we go down the path of renewable tenure, we must allow natural decomposition to take place. There is an issue also about some of the caskets used which, in some cases, are plastic. Plastic does not assist decomposition of a body. Some caskets are even metal lined which, again, does not assist decomposition. The Hon. Dr Peter Phelps: Or lead-lined coffins. The Hon. MICK VEITCH: Or lead-lined coffins, that is right. Traditionally, that is exactly right. The regulation has yet another flaw. It does not cover the construction materials of coffins. The regulation needs much more work before it is right. Religious groups have raised concerns about this regulation—the fact that they did not know about it and issues relating to their faith. This regulation needs to go back to the drawing board for there to be a continuation of the work started by the committee that was capably chaired by the Hon. Scott Farlow. We have highlighted the flaws and areas that need addressing. That must happen if this regulation is to work in New South Wales. It will return in a much better form after extensive consultation with all the stakeholders, religious faiths, the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council and the cemetery operators. Indeed, in metropolitan Sydney cemetery operators are well-known but what is not known is that in many regional communities cemetery operators are the local councils. Conversations must be held with all the stakeholders. People do not like the idea of renewable tenure. The lack of community consultation and the fact that this half-baked regulation needs more work tells me that it should not be put in place. Instead, we should go away and do more work. I commend this disallowance motion to the House. The Hon. SCOTT FARLOW (10:58): I oppose the disallowance motion moved by the Hon. Mick Veitch. I state at the outset that I speak on behalf of the Government and not as the Chair of the Regulation Committee. I note that the committee did not recommend that this regulation be disallowed. This part of the Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2013 ensures that the people of New South Wales have the protections, choices and rights that it provides. Before I provide reasons why the disallowance motion should be opposed, I clarify for members that renewable interment rights were passed through both the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council during debate in 2013 on the Cemeteries and Crematoria Bill. Whilst the Act was proclaimed in 2013, further consultation was required before part 4, a new interment right system under the Act, would be proclaimed. Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW undertook extensive consultation through its industry and community consultative groups and public consultation leading up to the proclamation of part 4 and the supporting regulation on 25 June 2018. Part 4 of the Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2013 establishes a standard statutory regime of interment across New South Wales, providing for dignified interment, treatment of remains with respect, sustainability and affordability, and transparency and accountability of cemetery operators for consumers of interment services. This is a first for New South Wales as all cemetery operators will have a consistent legislative framework which will be applicable across the State, covering both perpetual and renewable interment rights. Voting in support of the Labor Party's disallowance motion will mean that part 4 will still be operable without the benefit of the regulation, particularly the strong emphasis on religious and cultural beliefs and greater consumer protection. The purpose of the Cemeteries and Crematoria Regulation is to provide a greater degree of detail around the requirements that Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 77
operators must adhere to. The Cemeteries and Crematoria Regulation 2014 only covered levies on Crown cemeteries operators, therefore it was appropriate to amend the regulation further to reflect the requirements under part 4 of the Act before its proclamation. I note that the Legislative Council Regulation Committee recently held an inquiry into this regulation and I address some of the concerns which were raised from the inquiry. The Government has listened to the concerns raised by witnesses about the consultation process, which is why the Minister for Lands has requested Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW develop a community engagement strategy to improve the current consultation processes and ensure all faith groups and stakeholders are engaged with and consulted on new changes and new information on interment matters. I also note that the regulation specifically requires that information to enable consultation with appropriate cultural or spiritual leaders and organisations be made available online for both industry and consumers. I can confirm that this information is currently being compiled by Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW in consultation with the community and religious stakeholders and will be progressively released. I stress the importance of this regulation for all religious and cultural groups in New South Wales. During the inquiry and consultation process undertaken by Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW, religious and cultural groups, such as the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, stressed the importance for cemetery operators to acknowledge, respect and engage with the deceased person's cultural and religious practices and authorities. The Government listened to these groups and added these additional requirements listed as clause 5 of the regulation. If members of this Chamber choose to support the disallowance motion put forward today they will be removing the religious and cultural protections embedded in the regulation. Other key important protections within the regulation include: a requirement that cemetery operators record the cultural and religious practices of the deceased; that there be a requirement for consultation with appropriate religious or spiritual leaders before disturbing human remains; cooling off periods be provided for consumers when purchasing renewable interment rights—a change from 30 days to 10 days; the disclosure of fees and charges for interment rights by cemetery operators; and an extensive range of notification and consumer protection requirements for renewable interment rights. It is vital that this disallowance motion be opposed. If it is supported, the protections I have highlighted will be removed and part 4 of the Act will continue without these consumer protections in place. Over the past few months Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW held information session workshops across the State in Tamworth, Lismore, Port Macquarie, Parramatta, Wollongong, Queanbeyan, Maitland, Taree and Wagga Wagga aimed at providing information to explain part 4 to cemetery operators and to provide an opportunity for discussion and questions. The workshops ensured that operators had a clear understanding of their legal obligations with respect to the grant and transfer of interment rights, renewing of renewable interment rights, as well as new requirements under part 4 of the regulation. Guides on the new interment rights system and requirements were also provided to participants and will be made available on the Department of Industry's website. Participants were also briefed on renewable interment rights, which is a 25-year renewable interment right that can be renewed for up to a total of 99 years. It was important that cemetery operators understood that renewable interment rights are voluntary and optional for cemetery operators to offer and for consumers to purchase. This new option is neither retrospective nor mandatory but about giving consumers a choice and to keep our existing cemeteries sustainable. I now address concerns raised at the inquiry that 25 years was too short a time frame for human remains to decompose. Based on the feedback and consultation process a prescribed period of term for renewable interment rights was included in the regulation. Clause 8 (2) of the regulation enables cemetery operators to offer an initial term of between 25 and 99 years for renewable interment rights—as I noted the interjection earlier by an honourable member on this side. This means that cemetery operators have the ability, based on knowledge of their cemetery site, to offer a renewable interment right for an initial period of 50, 60 or even 75 years. The minimum period will always be 25 years, but it is up to the cemetery operator to determine what is suitable on their site. The feedback that we have received from cemetery operators and industry participants has been generally positive. It suggested the workshops were informative, providing practical advice about the Act, the opportunity to ask questions as well as the opportunity to speak with other operators and share their experience. Of particular note—which may be of interest to the Hon. Mick Veitch—is that the participants did not express any concern about the availability of renewable interment rights. Their interest was focused solely on practical, operational implementation of the interment right system itself. This shows that cemetery operators on the ground want to learn and understand the new requirements of part 4 and the regulation to ensure that services are delivered and provided up to the standards expected by the people of New South Wales with full respect. Just like cemetery operators, the Government is getting on with the job and it is about time the Labor Party stopped its scaremongering on renewable interment rights and what Labor claims is a two-tiered system. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 78
No matter what the Labor Party says, all individuals have a choice and we are giving the community options. Instead of criticising the Government, I would like to see Labor develop its own cemeteries policy and be up-front with the people of New South Wales. I make it clear and place on Hansard that it was the Labor Party who originally proposed and supported renewable interment rights in New South Wales. Again, I reiterate that the regulation is in place to provide further guidance and clarity for cemetery operators when offering and managing existing interment rights across all sectors of the interment industry. The regulation also provides greater consumer protections and transparency, especially for religious and cultural groups. The New South Wales Government respects the beliefs of all religious and cultural groups and is committed to ensuring equal access to interment services that preserve dignity and support cultural and religious diversity. The Government opposes this disallowance motion. The Hon. MARK PEARSON (11:06): I was a member of this committee and I am stunned to hear from the Government that this regulation offers any respect or acknowledgement for the religious organisations that spoke to the committee. It demonstrates contempt for the Jewish religion and its organisations, and the Russian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox communities and other religious communities who were not consulted at all. The evidence was that in the main they had no idea what this regulation would impose upon their brethren. It is extraordinary that the Government is saying that this should be accepted and if we do not accept it the whole issue of cemeteries and crematoria will not be addressed. What is being put by the Hon. Mick Veitch and the Labor Party is that we need to send this back and start again. The regulation does not address some extremely important issues, particularly for organisations and religions who have a commitment to their loved ones in perpetuity. It does not address the issue of what cemetery operators have to go through when they have to inter a body after 25 or 30 years and the soil is not of a construction where the body breaks down. This creates an extremely distressing and confronting situation for people working in the cemetery who are raising up a body that is only two-thirds decomposed. It shocks them and is disrespectful to the deceased and his or her religion, as well as the family. This disallowance motion is about sending the regulation back and reviewing it from the bottom to the top in the interests and in the reflection of all those religious organisations, as well as people who are not religious. This demonstrates respect for the deceased being buried or cremated and his or her family and friends. What was absolutely clear was that the consultation was not thorough. In fact, it was nowhere near thorough and many religious organisations, individuals and the staff of cemeteries in particular were deeply frustrated. I am stunned that the Government is not accepting what was blatantly obvious during the inquiry; that is, that this regulation must be sent back to the drawing board and dealt with when the new government is sworn in next year. The Hon. GREG DONNELLY (11:10): I am a member of the Legislative Council Regulation Committee and the inquiry into the Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment Regulation 2018 was the committee's second reference. Like the first inquiry, this inquiry involved a thorough investigation. We followed the usual process involved in committee inquiries, which is, first, to seek contributions from the public. The submissions the committee received were extremely good. We held a day of hearings and then worked collaboratively to deliver what I believe is a very considered report about a matter of some significance to everyone. Of course, it is not a matter that most of us dwell on each day. Thinking about death is natural and normal for humans, but we do not normally contemplate our death a great deal. It will happen to us all, but hopefully far in the future. However, our cultural approach to death and everything that surrounds it is deeply important. Human beings have always seen the end of their lives as a significant point in their existence, whether or not they believe in the afterlife. That is irrelevant in some senses, but it does mark the end of our lives on Earth. Our contribution to this world ceases at that point and human beings have always seen that as significant. That is what concerned me when I read the submissions to the inquiry. How, in 2018, given that for millennia humans have been considered in dealing with death and its related issues, could our government agencies, bureaucrats and everyone else involved in this process have dealt with this regulation in such a ham-fisted way? How could they have dealt so poorly with the stakeholders, who in the main are religious and who deal with burial and cremation? My colleague the Hon. Mick Veitch, who is also shadow Minister for Lands, has been considering this issue for some time, given the need for more burial space. That has not been mentioned in this debate as yet, but I will deal with it briefly because it is a very significant issue for Sydney. The committee considered how we treat death and the ceremonies and traditions associated with it and the need to respect them in our society. The consultation process is dealt with in chapter 2 of the report. For reasons that are not clear, the bureaucrats did not seek to explain to the committee how they botched the process so badly. They simply appeared at the hearing and provided a perfunctory response, saying that they did what they had to do, that they believed it was satisfactory, and that the outcome was the creation of a regulation. That was that. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 79
I draw the attention of the House to page 42 of the report, which refers to the minutes. I make it clear that I make no reflection on Ms Catherine Manuel, the chief executive officer of Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW, who had been in that position for a short time when she had to deal with this complex issue and to determine how we reached this point. Members can establish for themselves the identity of the other witness. I refer to the deputy secretary of the Lands and Water Division, NSW Department of Industry. I was appalled by her demeanour and attitude and the way in which she responded to very fair criticisms levelled at the conduct of the consultation process. She appeared to be wilfully blind to all the concerns that were raised. It was a case of, "Well, listen, it's done, it's dusted, we move on." There was not even an acknowledgement of serious failures. The witness appeared to believe that the process had been followed strictly according to requirements. As the Hon. Mick Veitch said, "The boxes had been ticked and we should now move on." The chair of the committee has been put in the difficult position of presenting the Government's response to these regulations to the House. He is in an invidious position. I say advisedly that I do not think he believes the words in the speech he delivered. It was very unsatisfactory. I know that at times members must come into the House and read speeches that have been written for them. However, I believe the speech was written by someone in the department and was then given to him to deliver. It completely ignored the manifest range of issues raised, principally by religious groups but not exclusively, and made no acknowledgement of failure. We are not asking for contrition or deep apologies. We know that sometimes things do not go as they should, but we must face up to it. If major problems arise as a result of what has been done, it must be done again differently. That is what I am suggesting. This should have been done properly in the first place. That is all I am asking for; I am not asking for anything other than proper consultation because this is such a significant matter. We must acknowledge that the wrong thing has been done and that our society would be better off if we were able to acknowledge that, to rectify the situation and to reflect that process in the appropriate regulation. Might I say, those who gave evidence were not seeking to disrupt or prevent this being done; they just wanted it done properly. I conclude my words on that note. There is much more I could say but others wish to make a contribution. I fully support the disallowance of this regulation. The Hon. PETER PRIMROSE (11:19): I was not a member of the Regulation Committee but I took great interest in its deliberations. Those who are aware of my background and concerns about local councils would know that this matter is raised regularly. I read through the public submissions and I would like to make a brief contribution to this debate. I support the disallowance motion that the Hon. Mick Veitch has moved. The other speakers who support the disallowance motion, who have sat on the committee, have made eloquently the point that I think needs to be made. The fundamental argument in this case, like so much to do with what this Government touches, is that it needs to consult properly and it needs to do it properly. That is the only request here. Ultimately, the outcomes that this regulation will lead to maybe considered to be satisfactory. Ultimately, an entirely different set of policy directions may come up through the regulation. I have read through the submissions and it has come through that those who made submissions want this to be done properly. Many people were not aware that this regulation was in place already. They simply were not aware that they could make a submission. Their voice has not been heard. The request again is to do it properly and to make sure it works. Why is that so important? Cemeteries and crematoria are absolutely critical community infrastructure. They provide essential services to the people of New South Wales. They are vital places for remembrance and reflection, a rich source of cultural and environmental heritage, and they provide valuable open space. There is a whole range of reasons that communities want this to be done properly. But there is another statistic. According to Multicultural NSW, New South Wales is home to people who speak more than 200 different languages. It has more than 125 religions. From the Hon. David Clarke's representations, I know that he has probably attended meetings with most of them. Every day, his notices of motions reflect the diversity of multiculturalism and the number of religious groups in the community. There are more than 300 different ancestries in New South Wales and that is the reason that those people need to be consulted. Not only were they not adequately consulted in any formal sense, but if one reads through the submissions, it is also clear that those who became aware of this did not even know about the regulation. They did not even have the opportunity to express their views. Those factors need to be taken into account. This is an important matter. As the Hon. Greg Donnelly highlighted, it is not something that people wish to consider, but it is a matter that they need to consider. Those of us from the helping professions know only too well the challenges when seeking to talk with a family. As a social worker, I had to learn how to deal with families and talk about various types of wins and the various wins reflected in various attitudes, emotions and so on. If those were the matters that I was dealing with, how much more important is it for families and communities dealing with bereavement? They need, deserve and have the right to be consulted, which is why the Government needs to go back and do it properly. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 80
Fundamentally, the whole process was botched and the report from the Regulation Committee shows that there was a total lack of consultation. Many church groups, the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council and much of the broader community were simply unaware of the proposal. That was my main takeout from reading through the report and the inquiry. It was simply rushed and because it was rushed, it was botched. There needs to be a community debate based upon evidence and reason, and about what digging up the remains after 25 years actually means. We saw from the report that some cemetery operators are sceptical of whether it will even work. The Government has not even established a new cemetery in eight years. To many, it seems that the Government is now resorting to macabre proposals, which go against the sentiment of many in the community. We need to have that debate. In fact, it has been put to me that this is creating two classes of burials: perpetual memorials for those who can afford to pay, with those unable to pay forced, effectively, to rent out a burial space. Why is this also important in terms of numbers? If one looks at burials as opposed to cremations in New South Wales, 6,126 people are buried in Crown trusts, 8,797 in local councils, 2,845 in private operators and 126 in the community. In the Sydney metropolitan area alone, there are 5,984 burials in Crown trusts every year, 896 in local council lands and 1,822 in private operators. We are not talking about something that does not affect a significant number of people. Overall, about two-thirds of the roughly 50,000 dead people in New South Wales are cremated—about 66 per cent—but 33 per cent, or around 17,000 a year, are buried. That is a lot of families, people and communities who are affected. Their voice has not been heard as part of this debate. The simple request to the Government is to do it properly. It should agree to disallow and, if it wishes, it should withdraw this regulation but do it properly. It should listen to the church groups, community groups, Aboriginal land councils and the communities who want to have their say. That would make this a better policy and a better outcome. Surely, in this of all matters, the community has a right to expect its Government to take its views into account. The Hon. SHAYNE MALLARD (11:28): I make a brief contribution to the debate on this disallowance motion in support of my colleague the Parliamentary Secretary leading for the Government. I participated in the inquiry into the Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment Regulation. This is almost like a de facto debate about the report. My view is that if the Government adopts the findings and recommendations of the report, it will address the shortcomings of the consultation process that we identified, which Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW disputes. The issue of dealing with our mortal remains is highly emotional and highly sensitive. I have decided to be cremated—I think that that is a responsible thing to do in respect of the future of humanity—and not take up space with a grave. Renewable tenure of graves is not new. We heard from witnesses—Greek Orthodox representatives, in particular—about how it is ingrained in their culture back in the home country. Renewable tenure also occurs in countries comparable to Australia—for example, we heard evidence that it occurs in Denmark. We heard evidence from a significant number of witnesses from religious organisations. They were quite passionate about it. They felt that they had not been consulted. In my view, the mechanism for consultation that Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW used was clearly inadequate. The committee probably took that view as well. Apparently there was a two-stage process of consultation carried out by Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW before it got to the representatives of the religious organisations, so committee members felt that it may not have reached those organisations. But the concerns of those religious organisations were addressed during the inquiry. The fact is that religious and cultural organisations can apply for an exemption. They are then exempt from renewable tenure. Renewable tenure, as we heard from the Parliamentary Secretary, is a voluntary option for a consumer. The consumer buys a grave with renewable tenure because that is the way they want to handle their mortal remains. It is not compulsory and it is not retrospective. Old graves will not be dug up—although one person gave evidence that we should. Exhumations will not be taking place in order to renew tenure of old graves. It is optional. The committee heard from cemetery organisations, particularly Rookwood Cemetery, that a very small percentage of plots would be available for renewable tenure. In fact, the cost of renewable tenure—contrary to what the Hon. Peter Primrose was suggesting—would be quite prohibitive, because the exhuming of the remains, after 25 or 99 years, is quite an expensive process because of the work involved and the difficulty of the process. In my view the inquiry identified that there were shortcomings but we addressed them. The finding of the inquiry was that the consultation process could have been more robust but identified what the Government needs to do to address that. Overturning this regulation would set back the process—it is not a silver bullet to address the issue of the shortage of burial space in Sydney. The amount of cemetery space in Sydney is a crisis. The perception is that all graves will be made renewable. That is not the case; it is voluntary and will apply only to a small percentage. In fact, Waverley cemetery has renewable tenure. We did not get evidence about how many people had taken up that option, but renewable tenure has been in place for a number of years. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 81
The Hon. Dr Peter Phelps: Seaside views. The Hon. SHAYNE MALLARD: I acknowledge that interjection. There are some great Australians buried there. I was quite concerned about the types of materials that were going into graves, whether they were renewable or not. I have always been concerned about the environmental impacts of what is going into graves. Having been involved in the exhumation of family to make way for Badgerys Creek airport and the relocation to another cemetery I was aware of these issues and sensitive to them. The urgency of finding burial space was the primary finding of the committee. We urge the Government—whoever is in government after March—to identify appropriate land in the Greater Metropolitan Area of Sydney and secure it. I think "secure" was the word we used. It should acquire it or zone it for cemetery use so that the private sector could move into that area. I do not think overturning this regulation will change anything. The religious organisations have said that they felt they were not consulted but they have now had an engagement with the Parliament. I support the Regulation Review Committee's work. I think that public servants work a little bit at arm's length in terms of accountability. I know that members do not always know what the public service is doing in terms of regulations because there is so much going on. So it is appropriate that this be reviewed, and I think the Regulation Review Committee will now make departments a bit more conscious of their regulations. Maybe there is a lesson in this, but I do not support overturning this regulation. I think the committee has addressed the shortcomings. The Government should adopt the recommendations. I do not support the motion. The Hon. SHAOQUETT MOSELMANE (11:34): I support this disallowance motion on the Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment Regulation, which underpins the Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2013. I congratulate the committee members for producing this report in a pretty speedy way. However, the speed with which the report was produced resulted from a shorter consultation process. Matters to do with cemeteries—issues involving life and death—are of significant interest to community members. The report noted that the inquiry into the Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment Regulation elicited significant interest. That is stating the obvious. Communities have been interested in the issue of cemetery space for many years. When I was the mayor of Rockdale I had many meetings with religious representatives about finding burial space for the various ethnic and cultural groups. The key, always, was to consult. As the Hon. Peter Primrose said, we are a very successful multicultural society with many ethnic, religious and faith based organisations. There are more than 125 religious groups and more than 300 ethnic groups, which observe many different cultural practices that need to be taken into account. It is important that this issue is addressed in a way that satisfies the ethnic and religious groups. If we do not address those issues we are failing our communities. I had a quick look at the report and at the submissions to try to identify those who gave evidence. Apart from those whose names were suppressed, I identified only one Arabic name. Although there were a number of Islamic organisations that were interested in cemetery spaces I did not see any of them mentioned in this report. I will note the names of the organisations that were, along with others, at the opening of the Muslim section of the Rookwood cemetery in 2010. I ask that when the committee meets next it takes note of these organisations that represent various communities that are interested in burial spaces. They include ABH Islamic Society in Penshurst, the ABH Islamic Society in Smithfield, Afghan Community Support Association, Afghan Islamic Cultural Centre of NSW, Afghan Migrant Support Centre, Ahle Sunnat Federation of Australia, Al-Minia Association for Culture, Australian Bosnia-Hercegovina Cultural Association, Central Coast Islamic Society, Elminia Islamic Youth Centre Association, Granville Islamic Youth Association, Greenacre Islamic Community Association, Hamzeh Islamic Society and Indonesian Australian Islamic Society. They also include Islamic Egyptian Centre for Media and Culture, Islamic Forum for Australian Muslims, Islamic Society of Manly-Warringah, Lebanese Moslems Association, Masjid Bin Baz Association, Minhagul Quran Australia Inc, Muslim Assistance Association, Muslim Society of Western Sydney, Omar Mosque Islamic Society of Auburn, Parramatta Islamic Community, Parramatta Islamic Cultural Association and the Somali Islamic Cultural Association. There are many more who could easily be invited to participate in this inquiry. Their views would have enriched this report and, hopefully, would also have convinced the Government that regulation needs to be disallowed and reviewed in order to take into consideration the views and needs of these organisations. The other issue is about lack of burial space. Some members of the community would have to pay a significant amount of money, possibly more than $10,000. It is less expensive to fly bodies to burial space overseas than to pay for a space in Sydney. Many of the communities are becoming desperate to try to find burial space for loved ones in their communities. The Al-Mabarrat Benevolent Society in Kingsgrove was desperate enough to buy land in Marulan, to find space that was inexpensive enough to provide for their families and community members. The council rejected the application. The matter came on before the Land and Environment Court and the society's application was rejected. Many church groups, Islamic groups, Jewish groups, Aboriginal Land Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 82
Councils and members of the community were unaware of this proposal. This was the main takeout of the inquiry and shows the Government has rushed this through. I ask the Government to listen to the Opposition, as we are not trying to score political points but trying to ensure that our communities' voices are heard. The option to dig up remains after 25 years is a no-no for many of the Islamic communities, as you do not dig up the grave of your brother, mother or father after 25 years. What will happen if, in 25 years, the contact person is overseas for six months and there is no communication as to the movement of the remains. Suddenly, Ali comes back to visit his brother Mohammed's grave and it is no longer Mohammed, it is John. It is a very important question for those communities. Whichever government of the day is in power, it must ensure that renewable interment of 25 years is not allowed. Some cemetery operators are sceptical of whether this plan will work. The Government has not established a new cemetery in eight years. At Rookwood Cemetery, the space is already— The Hon. Dr Peter Phelps: Allocated. The Hon. SHAOQUETT MOSELMANE: Allocated, thank you. Certain communities need to buy space from other communities or religious-based organisations to bury their loved ones. The creation of two classes of burials should not be allowed. I support the disallowance motion. The Hon. PAUL GREEN (11:43): I am a member of the Regulation Committee—I was unable to attend the feedback, but was able attend the deliberation. There are considerations with this. This is end of life. When you are burying someone, you are saying your last goodbye. It is morbid to think that some time later someone could be digging that person back up. That is not a nice thought. It is a very emotive topic. All of us will face this eventually. Two things are sure: death and taxes. There is no doubt that we need to be mindful of the concerns the Opposition raises. The Hon. Trevor Khan raised the issue of who is going to be reinterring, who is digging the person up. What sensitivities will those persons have or will they have sensitivities towards restoring the corpse that is in that grave and will they pay due respect? Quite a lot of sensitive religious respects need to be followed. A lot more works need to be done as to the process of someone being reinterred and the guidelines as to how respect will be paid. As we talked through these issues, it became sobering to learn that coffins break down, the speed they break down at and the speed that the body may or may not decompose based on the situation. Some time ago I read that a body is preserved at least two more days than it normally would be if the person was a high consumer of preservatives in items such as tomato sauce and other types of foods. The Hon. Dr Peter Phelps: Sausage rolls and tomato sauce. The Hon. PAUL GREEN: I just had a sausage roll and I feel guilty—I should have had a salad. The issue of who has been given the contract to bring a person up out of the grave, so to speak, and reinter them is a very sensitive one and of great concern. We need to be mindful that these laws will affect a lot of people and religious bodies. People may or may not respect other's beliefs but will respect the right to have that belief, which is very important. The Christian Democratic Party will not be supporting the disallowance motion because the bill was dealt with in approximately 2013. However, I caution the Government that it needs to be mindful and sensitive to this matter. I predict that when reinterment situations happen, there will be an instance where someone is not going to give much respect to the loved one that has been resting in peace and it will be all over the media. The situation will be messy and will not be good for public confidence in this system. Nonetheless, the problem of over-populated cemeteries needs to be addressed and some governance needs to be applied. The Christian Democratic Party applauds both major parties for looking at this issue with great sensitivity. The Hon. MICK VEITCH (11:47): In reply: I commend all honourable members for the way in which this disallowance motion debate has been conducted, acknowledging the sensitivities of the issue. I thank the Hon. Scott Farlow for his contribution and for chairing the Regulation Committee. I also thank the Hon. Mark Pearson, the Hon. Greg Donnelly, the Hon. Peter Primrose, the Hon. Shayne Mallard, the Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane and the Hon. Paul Green for their contributions. This debate is unique in that we are able to draw upon a report prepared by the Regulation Committee into the regulation. It is evident that there is much more informed debate about this disallowance motion because of the process that has been followed. That highlights the success of the trial that was the Regulation Committee. There were a number of discussions around recommendations and findings of the committee. The committee made four findings: discussion on the finite amount of land that is currently available; discussion on the consultation process; a finding around the design of coffins and the use of certain materials in coffins that would potentially delay decomposition of remains; and a finding relating to the fact that 25-year renewable internment may be inappropriate for some soil types. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 83
The Regulation Committee made three recommendations: that the Government invest in an education and public awareness campaign to improve community understanding and acceptance about renewable interment; that Cemeteries and Crematoria NSW publish on its website the relevant contact information for all religious and cultural leaders who must be consulted before human remains can be disturbed; and that the Government investigate amending clause 5 of the Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment Regulation 2018 to require that "necessary enquiries must be made", which is a stipulation that resulted from a submission of the Jewish Board of Deputies. Those recommendations represent the culmination of the work of the Regulation Committee. I will now address the issue around land and burial space. The Hon. Shayne Mallard is correct: The Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment Regulation 2018 is not a silver bullet that will fix the issue concerning land. The availability of cemetery land in Sydney is an issue that must be addressed very early in the next term of Parliament because it is urgent. The committee heard evidence from the Rookwood General Cemeteries Reserve Trust that some of the leaders of religious faiths do not have much land left at all. The Jewish Board of Deputies entered into an arrangement with the Lebanese Muslim Association so that the association could use some of the Jewish Board of Deputies land. The situation has reached a really critical juncture. More cemetery land must be identified and, regardless of this regulation, that is a critical matter. That issue is not resolved by the regulation we are debating. The Hon. Shayne Mallard is correct: The regulation is not the silver bullet to fix the issue concerning a shortage of cemetery land. The Minister for Lands and Forestry would be aware of my concern about how many lawyers find their way into the two Houses of this Parliament. The Hon. Ben Franklin: Shame! Shame! The Hon. MICK VEITCH: I acknowledge the interjection. I draw attention to the emerging legal issues associated with 25-year interments. In 25 years time when the cemetery operator disinters someone, despite not being able to contact someone to discuss disinterring the remains of an individual, that decision will be challenged. If an operator goes ahead with the process of disinterring someone without having consulted the relatives of the deceased and without being able to prove the efforts to contact all interested parties, I predict that there will be a legal challenge to the operator's decision. At some stage, that decision will be judged by the courts. That is one of the reasons I am concerned about the regulation in its current form. The committee highlighted that the appalling communication process leading to the formulation of this regulation did not pick up on a multitude of issues. I will discuss the speech made by the Hon. Paul Green in the context of a concern raised by the Hon. Trevor Khan, who expressed concern during the inquiry about items that may be buried with the deceased. In 25 or 50 or 60 years time, when the deceased is disinterred from one burial site and reinterred somewhere else, do the items that were buried with the deceased belong to the family of the deceased? Will it be possible to find family members after so much time has passed? I foresee the emergence of legal issues associated with disinterment and reinterment of the deceased and their property. The Hon. Scott Farlow made a contribution to this debate on behalf of the Government, not as Chair of the Regulation Committee. If the committee process had reached the stage at which we were debating the committee's report, I dare say his speech may have been somewhat different. Non-Government members are concerned about a two-tier approach based on whether people can or cannot afford the length of tenure of a burial site before remains of the deceased are disinterred. Those who can afford permanent interment will choose the longer option at the outset—a tenure of 60, 80 or 90 years—but those who cannot afford that will choose the 25-year interment and hope that the loved ones of the deceased will be able to afford continuity of interment in 25 years time. The time allocated for this debate does not permit me to examine all the issues associated with those options, but suffice it to say that non-Government members are very worried about what limited burial site tenure will mean. During the inquiry, more than once people raised the issue of funeral poverty, so I did some research on funeral poverty and what it means. Funeral poverty is not something that has been made up or is a remote possibility: It is happening now. People cannot afford to bury their loved ones, which is terrible. At the worst possible time, when the family members of the deceased are grieving and at their saddest point over the loss of a loved one— The Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane: And vulnerable. The Hon. MICK VEITCH: —and vulnerable, they will be making decisions concerning their loved one's burial. The family will be considering how long they can afford to keep nan or pop buried: for 25 years or 50 years? That is not a decision that grieving relatives should have to make. I am greatly concerned about the emergence of funeral poverty as an issue in the longer term in New South Wales and across the rest of Australia. A regulation that was properly crafted and was formulated on the basis of a proper consultation program should have addressed that issue. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 84
During my research, I investigated renewable tenure of burial sites in other jurisdictions. I am able to confirm that renewable tenure operates in other jurisdictions. A member who participated in the debate referred to testimony before the committee from Greek Orthodox religious leaders about renewable burial tenures being limited to three years because of the type of soil involved. The Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane: In Greece. The Hon. MICK VEITCH: In Greece, because of the type of soil involved, renewable burial tenures are limited to three years. Renewable tenures began in some jurisdictions because of a shortage of land for cemeteries, which is similar to the situation in New South Wales. The Hon. Dr Peter Phelps: Catacombs? The Hon. MICK VEITCH: Other options should be explored. The critical shortage of cemetery land in metropolitan areas of Sydney must be addressed in the next term of Parliament, regardless of which political party is in government. The issue must be addressed. No-one can walk away from the problem. I concede that I am concerned about funeral poverty but, in common with most members of the Regulation Committee, I am most concerned about the appalling consultation process undertaken by Cemeteries & Crematoria NSW and the Lands and Water Division in the Department of Industry with the community. As members of Parliament, we simply cannot disregard so many people testifying to a parliamentary inquiry that they did not know about renewable burial tenures or that they had only just found out about them. That indicates to me that the regulation is not ready for implementation, should not have been implemented, should be disallowed, and we should go back to the drawing board and start again. I commend the motion for disallowance of the regulation to the House. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT (The Hon. Shayne Mallard): The question is that the motion be agreed to. The House divided. Ayes ...... 14 Noes ...... 18 Majority ...... 4 AYES Donnelly, Mr G (teller) Faehrmann, Ms C Field, Mr J Graham, Mr J Houssos, Mrs C Moselmane, Mr S (teller) Pearson, Mr M Primrose, Mr P Searle, Mr A Secord, Mr W Sharpe, Ms P Shoebridge, Mr D Veitch, Mr M Walker, Ms D
NOES Amato, Mr L Clarke, Mr D Colless, Mr R Cusack, Ms C Fang, Mr W (teller) Farlow, Mr S Franklin, Mr B Green, Mr P Harwin, Mr D Khan, Mr T MacDonald, Mr S Maclaren-Jones, Mrs (teller) Mallard, Mr S Martin, Mr T Mason-Cox, Mr M Nile, Revd Mr Phelps, Dr P Ward, Mrs N
PAIRS Mookhey, Mr D Blair, Mr Voltz, Ms L Mitchell, Mrs Wong, Mr E Taylor, Mrs
Motion negatived. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 85
Bills PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT OPERATIONS AMENDMENT (CLEAN AIR) BILL 2018 First Reading Bill introduced, and read a first time and ordered to be printed on motion by Ms Cate Faehrmann. Second Reading Speech Ms CATE FAEHRMANN (12:05): I move: That this bill be now read a second time. This is a very simple bill with a very simple intention: to safeguard people's health by ensuring the five remaining coal-fired power stations in New South Wales are brought in line with the rest of the world when it comes to toxic air pollution. All people have a fundamental right to breathe clean air. But right now, because of lax and inconsistent regulation of coal-fired power stations, people on the Central Coast, in the Hunter Valley, near Lithgow and in Sydney are being exposed to dangerous levels of toxic air pollutants. Environmental Justice Australia has done a huge amount of work comparing the different pollution standards around the world, and the evidence it presents is alarming. In New South Wales, we have some of the worst regulation of pollution from coal-fired power stations in the world, and it is killing people. The permissible levels of emissions of four key pollutants—oxides of nitrogen, sulphur dioxide, fine particle pollution and mercury—are many times higher than what is acceptable in the European Union, the United States or even China. Around the world, as emissions control technology and knowledge about the health costs of pollution have improved, governments have progressively lowered pollution limits for power stations to protect people's health. But not so in New South Wales: In New South Wales we let our power stations operate to standards that are comparable to those set when the power stations were first commissioned back in the 1970s and 1980s. This is clearly unacceptable. In the European Union the maximum level of emissions of sulphur dioxide from coal-fired power stations is 400 milligrams per cubic metre, and in China it is 200 milligrams. In New South Wales our power stations are allowed to emit a whopping 1,716 milligrams of sulphur dioxide per cubic metre. That is 8½ times higher than in China. In both the European Union and China oxides of nitrogen emissions are restricted to 200 milligrams per cubic metre, but in New South Wales the regulations for Vales Point and Mount Piper allow 7½ times more pollution at 1,500 milligrams per cubic metre. It is no wonder that power stations account for 54 per cent of Sydney's levels oxides of nitrogen and 87 per cent of levels of sulphur dioxide pollution. For mercury it is even worse. We allow Vales Point Power Station to emit 666 times more mercury than is allowed in the United States and levels 33 times higher than the permissible levels in China. This pollution is killing people. A 2015 study by Broome et al into the health benefits of reducing air pollution in Sydney, published in the journal Environmental Research, found that 430 premature deaths and 630 respiratory and cardiovascular hospital admissions could be attributed to air pollution. The authors found that a total of 5,800 years of life are lost to air pollution in Sydney each year. We know that people who live within 50 kilometres of coal-fired power stations face a risk of premature death as much as three to four times that of people living further away. Nationally, power stations are responsible for an annual health bill of $2.6 billion. Toxic emissions from power stations cause adverse health impacts in communities at least 200 kilometres away. In New South Wales, particle characterisation studies have shown that air pollution from the Hunter and Central Coast power stations travels as far as 200 kilometres—which is to Sydney—contributing to poorer air quality and exposing millions of people to toxic emissions. Air pollution increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, asthma, lung cancer, respiratory and cardiovascular disease, irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, choking and coughing, and headaches. It also has serious developmental and reproductive effects. A review of the health impacts of emission sources, types and levels of particulate matter air pollution in ambient air in New South Wales produced for the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority stated: The exposure to levels of particulate matter that currently exist in NSW will have measurable adverse impacts on health, particularly in vulnerable people such as individuals with chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, the elderly, and children. Reductions in PM air pollution in NSW are likely to result in health benefits, particularly for these most vulnerable groups. The report also stated: There is no evidence of a threshold level of ambient PM2.5, below which further reductions in concentration will not provide additional population health benefits. This is similar to advice from the World Health Organization. The report specifically looked at coal-fired power stations emissions and found: Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 86
Sufficient & strong evidence of harm from direct emissions & formation of secondary aerosols, PM2.5-sulphate. Clearly we in this place have a responsibility to do all we can to reduce emissions, at least in line with global standards. If we do not take urgent action to force the power stations to clean up their pollution, then we are directly responsible for the numerous deaths that these toxic emissions will cause. Currently under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 the levels of any emissions for any plant or equipment, including power stations, are set by regulation or, where no regulation exists, they are set by the environment protection licence. The regulations then further divide different plants into six different groups depending on the date that they were commissioned, meaning that we have completely inconsistent standards for each of the coal-fired power stations in New South Wales. This bill amends section 128 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 by mandating the maximum stack emissions of four air impurities that can be emitted by all coal-fired power stations in New South Wales. The levels chosen in the bill reflect the standards of concentration for nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and PM2.5 that were set by the European Union in 2010. The maximum limits are nitrogen dioxide or nitric oxide or both, as nitrogen dioxide equivalent, 200 milligrams per cubic metre; sulphur dioxide, 200 milligrams per cubic metre; and particles as PM2.5, 20 milligrams per cubic metre. This is based on advice commissioned by Environmental Justice Australia and given by Dr Ron Sahu, an air pollution expert with more than 30 years experience in regulation and compliance. For mercury the bill limits emissions to 1.5 micrograms per cubic metre. This is a rate equivalent to the United States mercury emission rate as there is no consistent standard currently in the European Union. We have adopted this rate based on advice provided to Environmental Justice Australia by an engineer with significant power station experience and a former United States Environmental Protection Agency regulator. Both have indicated that this rate would be easily achievable by each of New South Wales' power stations and reflects best practice in comparable jurisdictions. And that is an important point. These emissions could all be reduced by as much as 95 per cent by installing emission control technologies that have been standard practice around the world since the 1970s. There is no technical barrier to meeting the standards prescribed in this bill. There are three technologies which are best able to achieve this— flue gas desulphurisation to remove sulphur dioxide, selective catalytic reduction to remove nitrous oxide and activated carbon injection to remove mercury. In the United States, Europe and Japan, older power stations have been required to retrofit these emission control technologies and have seen reductions in emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and mercury respectively by 85 per cent or more. Since 2012 more than 90 per cent of the power stations in Asia have fitted selective catalytic reduction, and all new power plants need to be fitted with both flue gas desulphurisation and selective catalytic reduction. Every year the five coal-fired power stations in New South Wales, those dirty old clunkers, are spewing out more than 120,000 tonnes of nitrogen dioxide and more than 170,000 tonnes of sulphur dioxide. How can this be acceptable to us? How can this be acceptable to us for our children and for future generations? With these technologies this could be reduced by 90 per cent and lives will be saved. Following a question I asked the Minister for Energy and Utilities in the House recently about the current review of pollution licences for three of the five coal-fired power stations that will be coming online and whether the New South Wales Government supports the tightening of the environment protection licences to set much lower stack emission limits and bring New South Wales coal-fired power stations in line with the United States, the European Union and China, he said: It is important to recognise that while there are certainly emissions that are problematic from coal-fired power stations, nevertheless they are a crucial part of the energy mix in this country and they will continue to be for some time. He also said: While being careful to make sure that we get the best possible outcome on emissions, we also need to be careful—always—about allowing unplanned, disorderly closures of power stations that provide such a large percentage of our energy needs. This is a false argument for inaction. The standards set by this bill can be met with available technology and they will not shut down coal-fired power stations. The National Clean Air Agreement, to which New South Wales is a signatory, states: Governments, businesses and the community need to be active to ensure a clean air future. It is critical that governments and businesses take action to continue to improve our air quality and ensure our management of air quality continues to meet community expectations. Community expectations are that we, as members of Parliament, will act to protect people's lives and health rather than do nothing and protect the mega profits of AGL, Origin Energy and Delta Energy. This bill is a vital part of meeting our obligation to keep the people of New South Wales safe by taking significant steps to clean up our air. I hope we at least will have the support of Labor members for this bill, given they have spruiked their support for Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 87
a world-class regulatory regime for coalmining and coal-fired power. This is the minimum needed to meet that standard. Of course there are many more things that are essential to cleaning up our air. We need an ambitious whole-of-government pollution reduction strategy that addresses emissions from transport, households and industry. This should have clear targets for emissions reduction. We need to fast-track the transition to electric vehicles and ensure emissions standards for other vehicles are world's best practice. We need to adopt air quality standards that are in line with world's best practice and ensure we have a comprehensive network of real time pollution monitors. We need to strengthen the load-based licensing scheme and extend the scheme to the mining industry. This bill is not the silver bullet, but bringing our coal-fired power stations into line with accepted global standards of air pollution is an important step. I commend the bill to the House. Debate adjourned. Motions BEREJIKLIAN-BARILARO GOVERNMENT The Hon. PENNY SHARPE (12:19): I move: (1) That this House notes that after eight long years of government the Berejiklian-Barilaro Government has: (a) prioritised knocking down sports stadiums instead of investing in schools and hospitals; (b) sold more than $50 billion worth of public assets; (c) mismanaged infrastructure delivery that has led to massive budget blowouts in projects like WestConnex; (d) allowed small businesses to go to the wall for their ill thought out light rail; (e) left schools to be hot, overcrowded and without maintenance; (f) taken a chainsaw to trees in our cities and our regions; (g) encouraged overdevelopment and inappropriate development across the State; (h) abolished women's refuges and done nothing about the growing numbers of homeless people; (i) taken no action on climate change and left New South Wales at the back of the pack when it comes to investing in renewables; (j) driven koalas closer to extinction; (k) allowed housing to become more unaffordable; (l) left Western New South Wales with a sick and dying Darling River; and (m) put families, pensioners and individuals under increasing cost of living pressures. (2) That this House condemns the Berejiklian-Barilaro Government. There are 128 days to go until the New South Wales State election—128 days that we are looking forward to and that I think the community of New South Wales is desperate for. At the end of March next year the community has a clear choice about the decision to be made for this State. It has a choice to make about what kind of State we want to live in and the priorities that should lie within it. Labor members have a clear view of the type of State we want in New South Wales. We will ensure that the priorities are right, that we care for people and that our State works well for the people and is sustainable, because that is not what is going on now. Labor wants every school in New South Wales to be a great school. We will ensure that people get the help and support that they need when they become ill and that health services do not rely on them having a lot of money, or any money at all. We want people to have decent work in jobs that are secure, jobs that pay them what they are owed and jobs that allow them to live their lives and support their families in the way that they need to. We want people to live in neighbourhoods and communities where everyone is safe and included, where everyone feels that they belong. We want to have inclusive and caring communities that are able to look after each other. Labor is aware and acknowledges that we live on land that was owned by others before we got here. We have a lot of talking to do and a lot of wrongs to right when it comes to our first nations people. Labor is committed to moving on that in small and big ways. The Aboriginal flag on the Sydney Harbour Bridge is a very easy one, but more importantly we need to have a discussion about treaty and justice and work through the outstanding issues that Aboriginal people have in this State, which have been ignored for too long. Labor also recognises the importance of the environment. I said in my first press conference as Deputy Leader of the Labor Party that the environment does not get the attention that it deserves and we have to understand the land that we live on and the need for us to look after it. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 88
Climate change is real. It is happening. There has been too much mucking around and partisanship over this matter for too many decades. We need to take action before the window of opportunity closes—soon. Frankly, the community is up and ready for that. The community sees the lack of action on renewables, the lack of action from governments and the political point-scoring that has gone on for more than a decade. The community wants us to get on with it. We have to look after the land. I acknowledge the valedictory speech made by the Hon. Rick Colless yesterday. He and I are never going to agree on these things, but we fundamentally agree that looking after the land is important. We have a very different view about that. When Labor talks about wanting to look after the environment and the land, we are not interested in attacking farmers or making this some sort of ideological issue; what we are interested in is the science. I want to work closely with all landowners to look after the land, because that is what we have to do. If we continue to fight backwards and forwards, with a Coalition Government doing one thing, such as shredding native vegetation laws, and a Labor Government coming in to try to pull it back, it will not get us anywhere. We need to work through this, and I am committed to doing that. I do not want to take a backward step about the need for this to happen. Critical biodiversity loss is happening, and there are incredible pressures on our cities and across the State in relation to development and the use of land. Climate change is heading down the barrel at us a million miles a minute. We have to change the way we do things. The only way to care for land is to do that collectively, and that is something I am committed to. I am fundamentally committed to nature. Labor recognises the value of nature as a force for good— something that not only cleans our air and water, helps protect our soil and is home to native plants and animals but is also fundamentally good for humans. It is good for us to spend time in it. It can be an inspirational place that more people should have access to. We must understand that wilderness needs to be left alone, something we have serious problems with. I am concerned about the way in which the current Government looks at National Parks and Wildlife. Today the National Party introduced a bill to revoke part of the Murray River red gum forest. The Hon. Wes Fang: Hear, hear! The Hon. PENNY SHARPE: If you think that is good, that is fine. That will be a very big discussion in the lead-up to this election. The Hon. Dr Peter Phelps: Excellent, bring it on. The Hon. PENNY SHARPE: Yes, the 52 million people who visit our national parks and want to see them expanded and be better cared for will be very happy to have that. The real question here is: What is the Liberal Party going to do? One of two things is going on with the river red gums. One possibility is that this is a complete stunt by the National Party because it is so scared of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers that it is saying it will do something about it; the other possibility is that the Liberal Party backs this in. For the first time ever, the Liberal Party will revoke a national park in this State. It is one or the other, and the truth will come to pass. The people of New South Wales completely love their national parks. They understand that what has happened under this Government—the cuts and the running down of the national parks—has made it harder for them to do the things they like to do. Let us be honest: If the National Party is happy to see— The Hon. Trevor Khan: Let's be honest: Who took the preferences from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers? The PRESIDENT: Order! Order! The Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane: Point of order: Mr President, you are shouting beyond your abilities, yet Government members are not listening. The PRESIDENT: Government members will cease interjecting immediately. The Hon. Penny Sharpe has the right to be heard in silence. She has conducted herself in a very appropriate manner. There is no basis whatsoever for interjections. I call the Hon. Trevor Khan to order for the first time. I indicate to Government members that when they have an opportunity to speak I will ensure they are heard in silence. The Hon. PENNY SHARPE: National parks are an incredibly important part of this State. They are one of our most precious assets, and they have been run into the ground by this Government. There are problems with pests and weeds. There are not enough staff to do the job that they are asked to do. All of a sudden the National Party stands up and says, "National parks are failing. We need to get rid of them. You don't know how to manage them." What a load of codswallop. We are happy for this to be an important debate during this election. Let us see what the Liberals say. The Hon. Dr Peter Phelps may have a view, but I want to know what Gabrielle Upton and Bruce Notley-Smith are doing about this. Are they going to stand up for national parks or are they going to be run over by the National Party? We will leave that and see how we go. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 89
I return to Labor's agenda for New South Wales, which will help us come to grips with the challenges we are facing. Labor cares for people. There are more homeless people than ever before. After eight years of Coalition governments, more people than ever do not have somewhere to live. If anyone thinks that is a partisan issue, it is not. It is a disgrace. New South Wales is a very wealthy State that can afford to look after people, and we are not doing that. Labor will make that a priority. Women escaping domestic violence will also be a Labor priority. Let us not forget that there was a network of women's refuges in this State—a network that no longer exists—that provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week support for women escaping violence. Those refuges have mostly been turned into generalist services, and women do not have the access they need. There is a lot of discussion about domestic violence. While I sincerely believe that members of Parliament want to do something about it, we cannot ignore the fact that fiddling around with services is not helping and does not allow women to escape violence. Labor also sees a very strong role for the arts, recreation and sports. We aspire for everyone to be able to get the enrichment and personal solace and enjoyment that comes with arts, sport and recreation. It should not be too hard to make that a reality, given the services we want to provide. Members are aware that we recently lost Richard Gill, who was one of the greatest advocates for music for kids and everyone else. His simple belief was that everyone had a right to a music education. That says much, given what people get from the arts, and not only at the highfalutin end of the musical spectrum, which we think it is great, and I know the Minister for the Arts loves it. However, we need community grassroots arts which is participatory and which allows people to be involved. One of the most wonderful things I have seen recently is the Welcome Choir that gets together at the Marlborough Hotel in Newtown once a month and belts out a song or two. We should have more of that, and that is the sort of thing we want to see in this State. I have only eight minutes left. The PRESIDENT: And 46 seconds. The Hon. PENNY SHARPE: Yes, that long. I must talk about the wrong priority choices the Government is making and what it is doing wrong. I hope the people of New South Wales are listening. I have touched on one of the points I wanted to make, but the important point is that government is ultimately about priorities. A government has a budget and it must decide how to allocate it and what it wants to achieve. There is never enough money to do everything a government wants to do and it is very difficult to decide. However, I do not know how the Government can continue to justify spending billions of dollars on two stadiums when the existing facilities are in good working order and when there are many more appropriate priorities. We have kids sitting in overcrowded, hot and unmaintained classrooms, we have long hospital waiting lists, and people with mental health issues are struggling because of a lack of resources, particularly in the community care sector. We all had great hopes that the National Disability Insurance Scheme [NDIS] would care for people with disabilities in our community. I am sure every member hears from people with disabilities who are experiencing problems with the NDIS. The Government has taken a step back and said that there is no longer any role for government and that people will have to navigate their way through a complex system. People with disabilities deserve better, as do their families, who had high hopes for the NDIS. That is not happening. This Government says it is okay and that the market will fix it. I have news for members opposite: the market does not fix many things, and this is one of them. Sydney also has overdevelopment issues because it is in the middle of a growth spiral. We must be mature and understand that the State Government does not have complete control of the levers but also that it must provide the infrastructure and planning regime to support development. We have some very serious choices to make. We can continue on the current path, where we have overdevelopment across the city, trees being chopped down and loss of green space. Every bit of green space is seen has having the potential to be turned into something else rather than be left alone. If we really want livable spaces, we must make some choices about the kinds of communities we want to build. That means having high building standards and support for and acknowledgment of the need for green space. I do not mean that every bit of green space must have a bike path and a park, although they are important because every community needs those facilities. We need green space for its own sake, and we must plan for it. We should be aspiring to have the most livable, world-leading, sustainable communities delivered by offering a range of different development options. That is not what we have at the moment; we have a let-rip approach, too much haste, too little quality and too little community agreement. We should be doing much more. The other community asset we are losing is heritage. I am fortunate to be the shadow Minister for Heritage. Heritage reflects the way in which communities see themselves, the stories they tell about themselves and what they love about where they live. That is being tossed aside and completely lost in the indecent rush to knock down the old and build the new. Yet again, we are failing to recognise Aboriginal culture and heritage appropriately. I note that the bill the Government has promised to debate for more than eight years, which the Labor Government initiated, is languishing and we will not see it before the end of this Parliament. We can have Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 90
livable communities; we can simply choose to have them. That is not happening and the Labor Party will have much more to say about that in the lead-up to the election. All of our local members have been working to achieve that goal. I cannot conclude my contribution to this debate without mentioning koalas. Everyone laughs when I talk about koalas. Even my friends ask me why I talk about them all the time. I do so because this is about more than biodiversity and the way we protect nature. Again, we have a real choice to make about what we as members of Parliament do and what we set up for future generations. We are now making decisions that will impact long after we are gone, and we have a huge responsibility to acknowledge that. The issue confronting koalas is straightforward. Koala populations have crashed. Before colonisation there were about eight million koalas in Australia, and we exported 60,000 koala skins from the Tathra wharf every year. It is estimated that New South Wales now has about 20,000 to 30,000 koalas. Koalas are iconic animals and Australians see them as part of our identity. If we do not take action to save their habitat they will be extinct by the end of the century, if not sooner. The decisions we are making now about koala habitat on private and public land, in national parks, in forests and in urban areas are critical. We must not forget that we have the only chlamydia-free healthy population at the edge of Campbelltown. If we are not careful, they will be gone forever. I do not want that to be my responsibility, nor does the Labor Party or the community. We want to take action to save koalas and we will. This Government must do much better than the Minister for the Environment and others are doing. They are shredding koala habitat and not investing as they should. They keep telling me that they are doing things, but they are not. They are transferring bits of land that no-one wants and that have no koalas. They are not interested in national parks that will provide the havens they need. Nor are they interested in drawing lines on a map around key habitat and protecting it. The Labor Party is serious about doing that. I know that my colleagues are champing at the bit to talk about the election. I cannot wait. In 128 days, the community of New South Wales will have a choice about what sort of State they want in the future. We hope they want a positive State that cares for their families and that will provide them with the jobs they need that will pay them what they deserve. They want a State that recognises that the environment is the key to living a good life. They want to live in a sustainable environment. The Labor Party has the priorities that will deliver a healthy, happy State which has the infrastructure it needs and which at its heart also cares for the people who live here. That is the goal the Labor Party will take to the election. Bring it on! The Hon. Dr PETER PHELPS (12:38): The motion moved by the Hon. Penny Sharpe is farcical. Eight years of Coalition Government has delivered success after success. The PRESIDENT: Order! Earlier I indicated that the Hon. Penny Sharpe would be heard in silence. The Hon. Dr Peter Phelps will also be heard in silence or I will call members to order without hesitation. The Hon. Dr PETER PHELPS: This is a farcical motion. Eight years of Coalition Government has set up New South Wales for a better, stronger future. Together we have worked hard to repair our economy and budget, which were left in shreds after 16 years of gross mismanagement by Labor. The Government has created more jobs than ever before and it is making investments in infrastructure and frontline services that our community needs, which means an even stronger economy and a better future for us all. We do not want to risk that future by bringing Labor and its coalition partner, The Greens, to government in March next year. Unlike the Labor Party and The Greens, we have a serious plan for the future. The Government has worked hard to repair the budget and it has the strongest economy in the nation. When we came to government, New South Wales was languishing near the bottom of every significant economic indicator in this nation. Now New South Wales is number one across the board. The Government is embarking on the largest infrastructure pipeline our nation has ever seen, including the roads, rail and bridges. Bridges are needed to be built in rural and regional New South Wales—areas that Labor Party members would never get to, never see and never have to traverse. How many times did they go over the rail bridge at Kapooka? Never. Our community needs schools, hospitals, new police stations, new fire stations and new ambulance stations. While we recognise that this State is the strongest economically in the nation, we know that many families are doing it tough. We want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to get ahead, no matter where they live or what their circumstances. They can be assured that through our delivery of responsible, reasonable budgets, the Liberal-Nationals Government will deliver a strong economy and through that, people will have greater job security, shorter commute times, reduced cost of living, quality health care and education, safer communities and quality open spaces. Together, the Liberals and Nationals in this State are building a stronger economy and a better future for us all. What did the mover of this motion say? She tried to rewrite history and suggested that this Government introduced native vegetation laws and that Labor will take them back. That is not the case. Labor introduced the Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 91
native vegetation laws which hit farmers and the forestry industry. It hit those people who, through their own diligence, were the best private land use managers in this State—far better than the bureaucrats, national parks or anyone that Labor would like to put back in charge of land use, especially private land use, in this State. The Labor Government was anti-farmer, anti-farming and anti-forestry. What Labor did during its time in government was predicated on this idea: "We will screw over Western New South Wales to save the three almond latte-sipping electorates in the inner city." The Hon. Trevor Khan: Point of order: There is a need for consistency. The Hon. Penny Sharpe has just lost it and she should be called to order. The PRESIDENT: For consistency, I call the Hon. Penny Sharpe to order for the first time. The Hon. Dr PETER PHELPS: We know that they screwed over rural communities. When Frank Sartor went to Deniliquin to get the forestry industry to shut up, he said explicitly, "You are going to get a lesson in politics. We are doing this to look after the almond latte sippers in the three or four inner city electorates with which the Labor Left is in bitter competition with The Greens." That is what this is all about. That is what it was always about. It was never about the environment. Labor members hug a koala because they reckon they are going to get the hipster who is sipping an almond latte in the Newtown cafe. Those are the people that Labor is after. It is not interested in rural and regional communities. It is not even sincerely interested in koalas. But it is interested in getting a propaganda victory. It says that the people of New South Wales love national parks and some of us do love national parks, but we do not like what happened to national parks under the Carr Labor Government in particular. They became havens for nothing more than blackberry bushes, weeds, feral animals and feral dogs. Koalas are not doing so well because of Labor's land management practices, which left them at risk of predatory behaviour by feral animals. Let us be clear about this. That is exactly what happened. Because Bob Carr wanted to be known as the great conservation Premier he vastly overreached in his ability to fund and the capacity to manage certain national parks or, indeed, the vast swathe of national parks introduced under his regime. Opposition members are now saying, "Our national parks are not being looked after." Whose fault is that? That is the fault of the Carr Labor Government. The Hon. Penny Sharpe likes to talk about how much Labor cares about heritage. Labor stands arm in arm with The Greens and whenever there is an attempt at urban consolidation they say ,"No, you cannot do that here because all my nice, middle-class, bourgeois friends who can afford million-dollar terraces in Newtown do not want to have any of those knocked down to make way for affordable housing. We do not want any of that." The PRESIDENT: I remind the Hon. Penny Sharpe that she is on a call to order. I do not think she wants to leave the Chamber before a vote on her motion is taken. The Hon. Dr PETER PHELPS: The Hon. Penny Sharpe also said that budgets were about allocating priorities. She is right. It is not a zero-sum game. If we have responsible budget management and we grow the economy in this State we do not have to slice a small pizza; we can grow the pizza. We can have three, four or five pizzas. We do not have to cut it up. But the way Labor thinks about all money and all budgets is that one has to have a fixed amount of money and it has to be divided. That is not what Government members are about. We are about growing economies, growing revenues and increasing our ability to fund stadiums, schools, hospitals, roads, railways, police stations, fire stations and ambulance stations. Government members grow things. We do not steal things. We do not steal taxes from people and destroy the economy. We say, "We want the economy to grow. We want a better economy." Let us go through the list of things that we have been presented with today. The motion states in part: That this House notes that after eight long years of government— I think the Hon. Penny Sharpe meant to say "eight glorious years of government". The motion also states that the Government has "prioritised knocking down sports stadiums instead of investing in schools and hospitals". What rubbish! We are not doing that instead of investing in schools and hospitals; we are doing that while we are investing in infrastructure. Investment in schools and hospitals has never been greater—not just in money terms but also in real terms—than at any time in this State's history. We can do that as we have sound economic practices and good budget management. The motion states that this Government has "sold more than $50 billion worth of public assets". We have not sold that much; we might have leased that much. But what is our net status? We have $175 billion more in asset strength in this State than we had at the start of the eight years of Liberal-Nationals Government. Yes, we might have sold and leased this amount but we multiplied what we have done with that money and we are in a much better position—so much so that we have no net debt in this State. The PRESIDENT: Order! I call the Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane to order for the first time. I call Mr Scot MacDonald to order for the first time. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 92
The Hon. Dr PETER PHELPS: The motion states that the Government has "mismanaged infrastructure delivery that has led to massive budget blowouts in projects like WestConnex." This is the only government in the past 24 years that has delivered infrastructure. Labor promised to do stuff. Sparkles' book is a wonderful opportunity to look at exactly what was promised, which was lots, and what was delivered, which was jack. Nothing was delivered by the Labor Government. The motion claims that the Government has allowed small business to go to the wall. That is ridiculous. Small businesses in New South Wales are flourishing. In fact, there is not a State in Australia that has had a greater growth in small business in the past eight years. The motion states that the Berejiklian-Barilaro Government has "left schools to be hot, overcrowded and without maintenance". The Government's maintenance program is larger than any other government's—not just in money terms but in real terms—and we are now spending more on air-conditioning than the Labor Government ever did. The motion claims that the Government has "taken a chainsaw to trees in our cities and our regions". That may well have happened, because we are building stuff, and occasionally that requires us to go through greenfield areas. The PRESIDENT: Order! I call the Hon. Penny Sharpe to order for the second time. I will not give her another warning. The Hon. Dr PETER PHELPS: Perhaps the Hon. Penny Sharpe is suggesting that we should never build anything in the future. The Labor Party is saying that this Government has "encouraged overdevelopment and inappropriate development across the State". On the one hand Labor does not want people taking up greenfield sites around the peri-urban areas of Sydney because it wants to retain green, open spaces, but on the other hand Labor is opposed to urban infill. Those on the other side of the Chamber need to make up their minds. They can have one or the other—the expansion of suburban Sydney or urban infill. Labor does not really know. The Labor Right wants to build more out in Western Sydney; the Labor Left says, "That's a good idea; at least they won't be stacking our branches." The rest of the motion is rubbish. It is rubbish all the way through. I will not take up time because I know that Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile wants to make a contribution to this debate. Let us face it: This is a ridiculous laundry list of focus-group phrases which the member is trying to raise in this Chamber as some sort of indictment on the Government. The only indictment is on the Labor Party which has returned to the bad old days of the past. There is a supposed new Labor leader. Michael Daley was part of a rotten Labor Government, which hit rural and regional New South Wales, which did nothing and which saw crime rates soar. When Mr Daley was finance Minister there was a budget black hole of $5.2 billion. That Government axed schools and teachers. It was the same old, same old. The Australian reports, "Labor calls on Bob Carr lieutenant Kris Neill to help Michael Daley." Labor has brought back Bob Carr's former staffer. Labor has brought back Bruce Hawker, another staffer from the past, and Morris Iemma's former spin doctor Eamonn Fitzpatrick. Mr Carr said about Miss Neill, "Her links with the media and the business sector are good. It gives his office"—that is, Mr Daley's office—"some credibility and judgement." He is not suggesting that Mr Daley provides any credibility and judgement but that Kris Neill will provide some credibility and judgement. I suggest that it will not be very much. The PRESIDENT: I indicate to members that if there are any more interjections or disruptive behaviour, as occurred when the last member was speaking, I will not hesitate to call members to order. I will not hesitate to have members evicted from the Chamber. Any evictions may not be short; they may well be until the end of the sitting. I do not wish to hear echoes of what a member has said. Hansard does not need to take note of every echo. Mr JUSTIN FIELD (12:53): On behalf of The Greens, I support the motion moved by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. I congratulate her on bringing this matter to the attention of the House today. Clearly, things are going wrong in New South Wales. The Hon. Dr Peter Phelps has argued that New South Wales is number one but there are 40,000 homeless people in this State today—double the number when this Government came into power in 2011. It is clear that things are going wrong. We have seen cuts to public services—in particular to environment services. The Government is taking away the future of people in this State. There are issues of homelessness, housing insecurity, insecurity for people who rent, poor affordability of housing and, for some people, limited access to food. This year I have sat on inquiries in this Parliament and heard about the thousands of school kids who do not get breakfast and are not supported to get breakfast at school. Schools are struggling—scrimping—to ensure that kids can get breakfast. This Government is stealing from people. Members on the other side of the Chamber think that the State can be number one economically when people suffer and when our environment suffers— when the things that sustain our lives and communities suffer—but they are stealing from the future. This motion is about priorities. This Government has taken from some to give to others. Those who are receiving are the Government's mates—big business and vested interests. We have seen that happen time and again. I saw it when Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 93
I sat on the inquiry into the stadiums this year. It is an issue when a government decides to spend $2 billion of public money to rip down perfectly good stadiums and rebuild them. Who benefits? Big corporate sports and big corporate advertisers benefit. The grassroots sports do not benefit. That money is not going to sports that drive participation and it is not going to infrastructure in regional communities; it is going to the big corporates. The Government made the case that these stadiums would be of economic benefit to the people of New South Wales. The Government said that all these visitors would draw tourism money into the State. Three and a half million people will go to those stadiums each year; 55 million will visit national parks each year in this State. What drives the bigger economic benefit for our community, particularly regional communities, but where are the Government's priorities? I have seen time and again the Government's priorities with respect to its links with the gambling and racing industries in this State. Hundreds of millions of dollars of tax benefits and special deals have been given to those industries. They have been given special access to public space to advertise their wares, in opposition to the interests of the community. The poker machine industry is on a trajectory to take $7 billion a year out of the pockets of the people of New South Wales. Members opposite stand up in this place and in public and claim to have taken action but they have just increased the largesse for those companies. The profits of gambling interests are set to increase. Those clubs are able to donate to the political parties. The Government does these things knowing full well that it causes immense suffering in our community. It causes much of the homelessness and housing insecurity, relationship breakdowns, family violence and suicide. Those things are often driven by the consequences of gambling in our community and the Government is exacerbating it. The Government is doing that because it has a special deal with the clubs industry and it has a special deal with the racing industry in this State. When this Government dared to stand up and say, "We're going to take action against gambling. We will stop those organisations from using marketing tools to induce people who cannot afford it to gamble," it got a letter from Racing NSW and Seven West Media. The letter said "Don't do that; it will have an impact on our bottom line." So the Government exempted them and gifted them public space to advertise their wares. The Government gave them $100 million in tax breaks. The Government has its priorities wrong. The Government is $400 million underspent from the Climate Action Fund. The Government talks about it as though the money is there but it is not delivering for the future or spending the money in the way it says it will. This is all shadows. The Government is two years behind on the Climate Action Strategy and $400 million underspent. This is the decade of action but the Government has taken no action. It has no legislative means to reach the target it has set. The policy is a joke; it is not real. We need a new government if we are going to take a new direction. We need a new government if we are going to look after people, if we are going to look after the climate and if we are going to fix the environment. What is the environmental legacy of this Government? It is just cuts—cutting down trees, destroying biodiversity in this State, and cutting staff who manage our land and staff who manage our national parks. The only thing this Government has done with respect to the marine environment, despite all the claims and all the carry-on, is to take away 10 of the marine sanctuaries without providing any additional benefits whatsoever. It is just cuts, cuts, cuts. The environment cannot sustain it, although the environment is what sustains us. It is a matter of cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. If we ask the people of New South Wales they will tell us that that is not what they want. The people of New South Wales want services. They want the Government to think about the future and to protect the environment. They want to have clean air and clean water. They want to have soils that are healthy. There is a drought in this State at the moment and wildfires are occurring during winter, yet this Government is not even spending the money that has been allocated to climate action. It is a joke. The Government has failed and it should be condemned for that failure. In this term of government $50 billion in public assets has been sold off or leased. Land and Property Information [LPI] is just one example—a small example that amounted to a few billion dollars. There was a lot of carry-on about how people would be protected and how it would not cost consumers, but within a year 200 staff have gone and the business that is running it is trying to work out how to monetise its intellectual property for its own benefit against the public interest and it is trying to get away with secretly jacking up the prices. It was called out and the Government has had to backtrack but the business will do it again if it gets a chance because the Government has allowed it to get away with it. The Government allows vested interests to get away with things all the time. The Government stands condemned because of its actions and because of its priorities. It stands condemned because it has attacked the environment, the climate and the future of the people of this State. The Greens support the motion. The PRESIDENT: I will now leave the chair. The House will resume at 2.30 p.m. The PRESIDENT: Order! According to sessional order, proceedings are now interrupted for questions. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 94
Visitors VISITORS The PRESIDENT: I welcome to the President's Gallery Reverend Jay Bacik and Sarah Downie, Chief Executive of Big Brothers Big Sisters Australia, here to observe question time as guests of the Hon. Paul Green. I welcome into the public gallery Leo Wei, who is here to observe question time as a guest of the Hon. Scott Farlow. Questions Without Notice POWERHOUSE MUSEUM INTERNATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITION The Hon. ADAM SEARLE (14:31): My question without notice is directed to the Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts. Given the Minister's statements yesterday about an international competition to design the new Powerhouse Museum at Parramatta, what is his response to 22 prominent and award-winning Australian architects—including one who worked on the KPMG business case for the relocation—who say that the tender process is designed to exclude Australian firms? The Hon. DON HARWIN (Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts) (14:32): I say to them: They are wrong. It is very simple. Planning for an international design competition for the new museum is well underway. As I told the House yesterday, recently I announced that United Kingdom-based architectural competition organiser Malcolm Reading Consultants has been appointed to assist Create NSW manage an international search for world-class designs for the new museum. A tender process was conducted to identify the ideal organiser for a design competition. Malcolm Reading Consultants has the relevant experience to attract top competitors from Australia and around the world. Mr Reading has been involved with other transformational cultural infrastructure projects such as the move of part of the Victoria and Albert Museum to East London. Searching worldwide for the best architectural design ideas is key to the Government fulfilling its commitment to delivering a landmark museum for Parramatta. To be launched later this year the design competition will be open to both Australian and international entrants. The winning design and team for the new museum in Parramatta will be announced in the second half of 2019. The international design competition for the new museum and master planning for the surrounding precinct will respond to Parramatta's location and identity and enliven community experience. Malcolm Reading Consultants is aware of the letter from Candalepas Associates to the Acting NSW Government Architect and I have been briefed about it as well. But they will be formally refuting the allegations that have been made regarding the operation of the Adelaide Contemporary Architecture Competition, which I believe is at the root of the concerns that have prompted this question from the Leader of the Opposition. The New South Wales Government has every confidence in Malcolm Reading Consultants to lead this international search. This point is crucial. Malcolm Reading Consultants will not be a voting member of the jury, which will be made up of suitably experienced individuals from Australia and overseas. That is the crucial point. I might also say to some of the critics who raised the Adelaide contemporary process that they should have a look at the website of that project because they will see that there is an Australian architect working in collaboration with an international architect on that project. In any case, I think the criticisms are unfounded because Malcolm Reading Consultants' job is to help advise Create NSW on how a good international design competition should be held. Create NSW will be in charge of the process. I reiterate: Malcolm Reading Consultants will not be on the jury. The Hon. ADAM SEARLE (14:35): I ask a supplementary question. The PRESIDENT: I remind the Hon. Trevor Khan that he is on one call to order. The Hon. ADAM SEARLE: Would the Minister elucidate his answer with regard to what steps he is taking to ensure that Australian firms are not disadvantaged in this competition as they felt they were with the international design competition for the Adelaide contemporary? The Hon. DON HARWIN (Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts) (14:36): I think I made it quite clear that Malcolm Reading Consultants is going to specifically deal with those criticisms, which it felt were unfair. I will have a look at them and I will decide, after I see its response, whether there is anything that I need to take up. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 95
VAUCLUSE AND DIAMOND BAY OCEAN OUTFALLS The Hon. SCOTT FARLOW (14:36): My question is addressed to the Minister for Energy and Utilities. Will the Minister update the House on what the New South Wales Government is doing to improve water quality at Vaucluse and Diamond Bay and are there any alternative policies? The Hon. DON HARWIN (Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts) (14:37): I thank the Hon. Scott Farlow for his question. I have had a longstanding interest in this matter, stretching back to when I worked for a Sydney Water Minister in the late 1980s when the ocean outfalls were being built. It was of concern to me then, and it has remained of concern to me since, that those remaining ocean outfalls at Vaucluse and Diamond Bay were not connected up and that raw sewage was going into the ocean. When I took over as Minister I asked Sydney Water to undertake a study to better understand the potential risks to the environment and public health associated with the operation of the outfalls. The study found risks to aquatic ecosystem values were rated as high and found significant health risks to swimmers and divers in the immediate vicinity of these three outfalls. I am delighted to update the House on the Government's recent announcement that untreated wastewater will no longer be released into our ocean waters at that location. Fixing Sydney's last three remaining untreated wastewater ocean outfalls will resolve a longstanding environmental legacy issue. It will greatly reduce aquatics pollution, and this is critical. It will improve water quality and address public health risks associated with the current ocean outfalls. I am happy to report that the local community in that area and Sydney Water, assisted by their local members, have worked closely to select a permanent technical solution to address the problem. The preferred solution will put a stop to the ocean outfalls and improve water quality for marine life. The selected option involves diverting the wastewater away from the outfalls and back into the existing wastewater network for treatment at the Bondi wastewater treatment plant at an estimated cost of $86 million. Sydney Water will now commence detailed design and engineering work, and seek environmental and funding approvals. The community will continue to be consulted throughout this important process. I give full credit to the member for Vaucluse and the member for Coogee, whose tireless advocacy, support and involvement in the consultation process has ensured a good outcome. Because of the work of this Government, because we have a strong economy and we can invest— The Hon. Scott Farlow: Point of order: I am interested in hearing the Minister's answer, but unfortunately I am finding it difficult to do that with the Hon. Lynda Voltz yelling across the Chamber. The Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane: Point of order: While the Hon. Lynda Voltz was making comments, the Minister was responding. It is disorderly for the Minister to respond. The PRESIDENT: I had not heard the Hon. Lynda Voltz interjecting, but I thank the Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane for pointing that out. I call the Hon. Lynda Voltz to order for the first time. The Minister has the call. The Hon. DON HARWIN: That is what is called an own goal. Because of the strong economy that this Government has built we will be able to fix this legacy issue, and that is a great outcome. We are getting the job done properly to ensure the best outcome for the eastern beaches community, just as we are for every community around the State. It is not just a simplistic solution; it is an important solution that will have a major effect on aquatic life off the beaches. That is absolutely critical. We have not got a detailed, evidence-based approach from the Opposition—the member for Kogarah came out with simplistic solutions; a policy that would cost at least $700 million. The job can be done properly for $86 million, as we have shown. We are getting on with the job and building a stronger, better future for New South Wales. [Time expired.] POWERHOUSE MUSEUM STAFF MORALE The Hon. WALT SECORD (14:41): My question is directed to the Minister for the Arts. Given that the 2018 People Matter Employee Survey conducted by the Public Service Commission reveals that staff at the Powerhouse Museum have the lowest staff morale of any government agency, department, institution or body, what administrative steps has the Minister taken to determine the cause of the discontent during the period 2017-18? What did he do to them? The Hon. DON HARWIN (Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts) (14:42): No doubt a number of them have been called before the committee and some of them have been treated appallingly—not necessarily by the member, but by other members of the committee; not Government members. I will not reflect on that today. The question is about staff morale. I acknowledge that the honourable member is correct. It is something that we have to deal with and something about which I had Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 96
discussions at great length with each of the candidates that I interviewed for the position of chief executive and director of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. It was a key determinant in who I decided to employ for that position. I believe that that institution needs an effective leader to rebuild morale and to build support for the project. I am convinced that Lisa Havilah, with her strong record at the museum at Campbelltown and Carriageworks, is the right person to do that. Since I announced her appointment to the job last Friday—which she will take up on 7 January—the response from the arts sector has been overwhelmingly positive. I do not have a list here of all the comments I have received. The tenor of them is that everyone agrees that it is a great appointment. They believe that Lisa is the right person to rebuild morale and absolutely the right person to lead the museum into a new era based at Parramatta, where there will be a world-class iconic institution. If there is low morale it is because, despite the fact that there is extremely strong support for what the Government is doing in building cultural equity in Western Sydney, there nevertheless remains point scoring for political purposes. The wasteful museum and galleries inquiry—which is long past the point where it has any positive contribution to make—is itself contributing to the problem with morale. That there is not more unanimity or cohesion of opinion on this move is itself undermining morale. I think that is regrettable. I have great confidence in Lisa Havilah to rebuild morale. As a government, we are going forward with this project. In five to 10 years time people will look back and say, "Thank goodness a government finally grasped the nettle and took the arts in Western Sydney seriously." We have increased funding to arts organisations by 40 per cent. We are spending $645 million on building this new museum. It will be a great museum, which I know our staff will be proud to work in when it is completed. The Hon. WALT SECORD (14:46): I ask a supplementary question. Will the Minister elucidate his answer as to what practical steps the successful candidate, Lisa Havilah, detailed during the interview process that she would undertake to improve staff morale at the Powerhouse Museum? The Hon. DON HARWIN (Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts) (14:46): It is very simple. She is a very collaborative person, and somebody who listens. She outlined to me practical steps that she would take with the staff to rebuild morale. I was impressed. Her answer absolutely convinced me that she was the right appointment. COOGEE BASIN WATER QUALITY Mr JUSTIN FIELD (14:46): My question is directed to the Minister for Resources, and Minister for Energy and Utilities. I refer to the investigation by Sydney Water to improve water quality at Coogee Beach and a feasibility assessment of whether sewage flows from Randwick City Council stormwater channels can be diverted. The feasibility assessment was expected to be finalised by a consultant by the end of October. Has this report by the consultant been completed and delivered to the Government? When will capital works options be finalised by Sydney Water? The Hon. Mick Veitch: You've got nothing, Don. Just shake your head. The Hon. DON HARWIN (Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts) (14:47): We have got plenty on that, I can assure you. Sydney Water has been doing a lot of work on the issue of stormwater run-off in the Coogee basin and working closely and collaboratively with the council. I will check during the remainder of question time and confirm that the report has been received. To the best of my recollection, it has been and it is being looked at closely. There will be more to say about this in the not too distant future. It is something that we care about greatly because there are all sorts of issues with aquatic life off Sydney. I should perhaps defer to my colleague the Deputy Leader of the Government on that because he understands better than I do. In every discussion I have had with him on protecting aquatic life off Sydney—a matter which I am greatly concerned about, and which in part was responsible for me pushing hard on Vaucluse and Diamond Bay—he has emphasised to me the importance of urban run-off. It is not just in the Coogee basin where it is an issue, it is an issue at various points in the whole Hawkesbury bioregion and as a government we have focused on that. I hope to get back to the honourable member at the end of question time with the confirmation that he has sought. SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE The Hon. BEN FRANKLIN (14:49): I address my question to the Minister for Primary Industries, Minister for Regional Water, and Minister for Trade and Industry. Will the Minister update the House on the 80-year history of the New South Wales Soil Conservation Service and how the organisation continues to manage our natural resources? Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 97
The Hon. NIALL BLAIR (Minister for Primary Industries, Minister for Regional Water, and Minister for Trade and Industry) (14:49): I thank the honourable member for his question on this important milestone. On 28 October 1938, an early piece of environmental legislation came into force—the NSW Soil Conservation Act. The Act created the Soil Conservation Service, and 80 years later—on 29 October this year— an anniversary celebration was held at Wagga Wagga. I had the pleasure of attending with the Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack, and the Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Resources and Western NSW, the Hon. Rick Colless. As some members know, the Hon. Rick Colless started as a cadet with the Soil Conservation Service in 1971 and remained on the staff for 25 years. Sam Clayton, who was passionate about promoting the principles of sound land management— particularly vegetation management and the prevention of erosion—served as the first soil commissioner until 1961. I will take the House back to the massive and devastating erosion of 1930s rural New South Wales. After 150 years, European farming techniques had taken their toll on the landscape of New South Wales and the loss of soil was having a significant economic impact on the State's farmers. A government committee was established to investigate, which led to the formation of what is now known by many in this State as "Soil Con". Today, the service is a business unit of Local Land Services and a commercial success story, providing end-to-end services through consultation, construction and project management in land management. The historic Soil Conservation Service journals from 1945 until 1988 will now be digitised by the National Library in a bid to ensure that the history of the service is recorded electronically. The celebration at Wagga Wagga was a fantastic chance to commemorate the Soil Con journey and to see it through the eyes of some of those who worked for the service over the years. I make special mention of 94-year-old Jack Logan, the oldest living former Soil Conservation Service employee, who remembered seeing bare eroded hills moving with rabbits in the 1940s. Jack joined the service in 1946 at Wellington and remained with it throughout his career. He was based at Manila and Sydney before his retirement in 1984. Jack participated in a panel discussion and it was an honour to hear him reflect on his career and the changes in technology and techniques that occurred over the years. It was also invaluable to hear from the last full-time Soil Conservation Service Commissioner, Bob Junor, who helped to develop many key natural resource management practices and concepts such as the Landcare movement. Members may not know that it was Bob who partnered with his Victorian counterpart to implement Landcare, which was later supported by Bob Hawke and established across the State. It all started in the Soil Conservation Service. Eighty years is certainly a milestone worth celebrating, and I wish Soil Con the best for the next 80 years. I congratulate the chief executive officer, Tim Ferraro, and Soil Conservation Commissioner David Withington. Mr Withington is a former Soil Con chief executive officer and serves in that role on a part-time basis. I thank them for acknowledging the milestone and celebrating this wonderful achievement. Soil Con is an iconic organisation. Its orange-circle brand and its logo are familiar across the State, and I am glad we have been able to update them in recognition of its 80-year anniversary. I congratulate all the current and former Soil Con staff, and we look forward to its future. [Time expired.] AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE CONFERENCE Ms CATE FAEHRMANN (14:53): I direct my question to the Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts, representing the Minister for the Environment and Heritage. Is it true that University of New South Wales Professor David Eldridge, who also works for the Office of Environment and Heritage, was told by senior OEH bureaucrats to edit his scientific paper on the global impact of feral horses by replacing the words "invasive" and "feral" to describe horses with the word "wild"? When the Australian Academy of Science called the OEH to ask whether Professor Eldridge would attend a recent conference on feral horses in Canberra, did the OEH say that he was in China and could not attend, despite his being in Australia and wanting to attend? Does the Government support bureaucrats attempting to change scientific papers to reflect language that suits its agenda? If not, what is the Minister doing to investigate this issue? The Hon. DON HARWIN (Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts) (14:56): I am delighted to answer some of the questions the honourable member has raised. If she wants to talk about New South Wales Government legislation that strikes a balance between protecting the outstanding natural and cultural features that make Kosciuszko National Park one of Australia's great national parks and recognises its wild horse heritage, this is a great opportunity. The Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Bill 2018 strikes that balance. I will remind members what that balance involves. The legislation requires that a wild horse heritage plan of management be prepared. Ms Cate Faehrmann: Point of order: My point of order relates to relevance. I asked a specific question about a specific bureaucrat being prevented from attending a conference. I ask that the Minister be directed to answer the question. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 98
The PRESIDENT: I remind members that a Minister is not required to answer a question specifically but to be generally relevant. I believe that the Minister was being generally relevant. However, I indicate to him that he is probably starting to drift away from that general relevance. He should return to the question. The Hon. DON HARWIN: Mr President, I suspect you are right. The PRESIDENT: I know I am right! The Hon. DON HARWIN: Ms Cate Faehrmann has referred to a number of contentious issues in her question. This Government is proud of the work of its scientists and departments and it is committed to evidence-based decisions. The Office of Environment and Heritage Science Division undertakes scientific research, investigation, monitoring, analysis, evaluation and reporting on a range of natural resource and environmental issues. I am advised that the Science Division is seen as a leader in providing environmental research for New South Wales across multiple disciplines. It is a high-quality and well-regarded unit that is a trusted source of data, information and knowledge on the New South Wales environment. It is important to note that in order to maintain community trust in its work and the work of the New South Wales Government, the OEH has processes in place to ensure that the science presented or published by its scientists meets rigorous scientific standards. That includes appropriate peer review and formal publication approval processes for staff wishing to publish or to present papers. Those peer review and publication approvals are the standard for scientific research and data presentation. Without them, the rigour we rely on may not exist. The OEH approvals process is an important step in ensuring that all research publications meet standards of scientific rigour and the expectations of the scientific community and the broader community. Those standards are applied to any scientific publication produced by OEH staff. It is also important to note that, contrary to the assertion in the honourable member's question, Dr Eldridge is a full-time OEH employee in the Science Division and he holds an honorary adjunct role with the University of New South Wales. He is not employed by the university. I am further advised that Dr Eldridge's paper had not been through the final peer-review process. Therefore, the OEH could not provide him with approval to attend the conference before the paper was required to be submitted, and an OEH officer notified the Australian Academy of Science of that fact. In doing so, the officer mistakenly stated that Dr Eldridge was in China when in fact it was one of the co-authors who was in China. I am informed by the Minister's office that it was an honest mistake made by the relevant OEH officer. Ms CATE FAEHRMANN (14:58): I ask a supplementary question. Will the Minister elucidate what changing the words from "feral" and "invasive" to "wild" has to do with scientific rigour? The Hon. Don Harwin: Point of order: That is a new question. It is certainly not seeking an elucidation of any aspect of the answer I gave. The PRESIDENT: At no time did the Minister raise that in his answer. Ms Cate Faehrmann is seeking an elucidation of something that was not raised. I do not believe it was a new question but, in effect, Ms Faehrmann was simply repeating a part of the original question that she had asked. The supplementary question is out of order. POWERHOUSE MUSEUM INTERNATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITION The Hon. PENNY SHARPE (14:59): My question without notice is directed to the Minister for the Arts. Will the Minister guarantee that any design competition for a new Powerhouse Museum in Parramatta is required to save the heritage-listed Willow Grove and St George's Terrace? The Hon. DON HARWIN (Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts) (15:00): As part of the design competition, all of those participating in the design competition will have to have regard to the heritage of the site—so I can guarantee that. That has to be a factor in the design that they come up with: They have to have some regard to St George's Terrace and Willow Grove. However, there has been no final decision on that at this time because it is part of the design competition. The Government has conducted a thorough investigation into the whole project to achieve the best outcomes for the community. The project's business case is underpinned by extensive architectural, heritage, museological, geotechnical, engineering and flood risk studies. The business case explored options that included the retention and removal of Willow Grove. The Government understands the importance of Willow Grove to the community. As I said earlier, the international design competition for the new museum will return a range of options to get the best outcomes for the people of New South Wales. The design competition and master planning for the precinct will respond to the location—and to Parramatta's identity—and be sympathetic to surrounding local heritage. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 99
The project will be subject to normal New South Wales planning processes, including the development of Secretary's Environmental Assessment Requirements, commonly referred to as SEARs, and the submission of an environmental impact statement, which takes into consideration various impacts on items of local significance. Although Willow Grove and the St George's Terrace are not listed on the State or national heritage registers, City of Parramatta Council has listed them in its local environmental plan as heritage items with local significance. As part of the application process, an environmental impact assessment will be required. The Hon. PENNY SHARPE (15:02): I ask a supplementary question. Will the Minister elucidate his answer in relation to the design competition? Will it allow designs that do not retain Willow Grove or St George's Terrace? The Hon. DON HARWIN (Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts) (15:02): I think I directly addressed that in the answer that I just gave. I repeat: The Government understands the importance of Willow Grove to the community and the international design competition for the new museum will return a range of options to get the best outcomes for the people of New South Wales. The Hon. Penny Sharpe: Including knocking them down. The Hon. Lynda Voltz: So you're going to knock down heritage-listed buildings. The Hon. DON HARWIN: I shouldn't respond to interjections but I would be very happy if both were kept. The Hon. Lynda Voltz: We're not asking if you're happy; we're asking you to keep it. The PRESIDENT: I remind the Hon. Lynda Voltz that she has already been called to order for the first time. That is about the fourth interjection where I have not called her to order for the second time, but I will do so if there is one more interjection. ABORIGINAL EDUCATION The Hon. NATASHA MACLAREN-JONES (15:03): My question is addressed to the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, and Assistant Minister for Education. Will the Minister update the House on how the New South Wales Government is supporting Aboriginal communities in the Kiama and Eurobodalla regions? The Hon. SARAH MITCHELL (Minister for Early Childhood Education, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, and Assistant Minister for Education) (15:03): I thank the member for her question and for the opportunity to update the House on the valuable work that is being done in those regions. Yesterday I mentioned my recent visit to the southern part of the State. While I was there I was in the Eurobodalla region, which I think I mentioned yesterday as well. I was able to visit Mogo Aboriginal Pre-School, where I met with educators Kim and Julie. Mogo is a great preschool and it is one of those participating in the New South Wales Government's Families as First Teachers program, which incorporates information sessions that seek input and cultural guidance from the community. A Mogo children's book will be developed in collaboration with the local Aboriginal Land Council. Families are invited to be involved with the making of the book with their children, incorporating local language and art, and telling locally important yarns and stories. Each family will receive a copy of the book upon completion. Parents, extended family and elders are involved in this. They are encouraged to provide input into planning events and cultural activities. They will be introduced to learning techniques from the sounds, words, Aboriginal language and yarning, or SWAY, education method. It was fantastic to visit Mogo preschool to meet with the passionate staff and directors and with some of the children and members of their families who came to say hello and told me how much they were enjoying being part of this program and the connection that it was bringing for Aboriginal families and elders to the preschool and the next generation. We know how beneficial quality early childhood education is to all children and, as I have mentioned in this place before, the Government's Start Strong policy has led to significant increases in participation rates, particularly from Aboriginal families. Aboriginal families receive the maximum base rate of funding per child, starting from the age of three, ensuring that two years of early childhood education is available in the years before school. We have seen fantastic results in our community preschools because of this, including an increase in preschool participation between 2016 and 2017 for children enrolled for 600 hours or more and, equally importantly, a decrease in fees for eligible children from Aboriginal and low-income families to the tune of 40 per cent. We know we have made it more affordable, and we are proud of it. I look forward to continuing this work to increase participation rates for all Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 100
children across the State—because it does not matter where they live, they deserve access to quality early childhood education. I mentioned earlier in the week how important sport is to our regional communities. Another great event that I attended while in that part of the world was the National Indigenous Football Championships in Nowra. I was with the member for Kiama, Gareth Ward, to announce some support the Government provided to the championships. Member for South Coast, Shelley Hancock, also sent her support for the event, which was held at the beginning of the month. It was great to watch the players in action in what was a very competitive competition. The tournament is now in its third year, and it brings together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities from across Australia to experience a first-class football tournament. The primary focus of the National Indigenous Football Championships includes working to create career pathways for Indigenous football players and coaches as well as promoting education, employment and health. Last year the tournament organisers took the Australian First Nation men's and women's teams to play in the inaugural Clash of the Cultures in New Zealand, and another match is scheduled for next year. I commend the work of tournament director Mr Bernie McLeod and all the volunteers who committed their time over three days to make this tournament a success. I am pleased to say that the open division winners of the women's grand final were the Illawarra Bungarras who defeated the Yuin Black Cockatoos 4-0. In the men's the Yuin Black Cockatoos defeated Wirrigas United. I am told the men's division deserves a special mention for stopping their game halfway— [Time expired.] DAM STORAGE LEVELS Mr JUSTIN FIELD (15:07): My question is directed to the Minister for Resources and Minister for Energy and Utilities. Dam storage levels in Sydney are currently at 60.7 per cent. Over the past week, they dropped by 1.1 per cent. On this trend the Sydney desalination plant could be triggered this month. When the desalination trigger is reached, how long will it take for the plant to produce water and how long will it take to reach full capacity? Will the Minister consider bringing forward level 1 water restrictions ahead of the 50 per cent trigger to reduce water demand in the lead-up to summer? If not, why not? The Hon. DON HARWIN (Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts) (15:08): Water NSW publishes the storage levels of the State's dams on its website, which is based on live data gathered from its network of gauging stations. As this data is live, Water NSW subsequently verifies it to ensure that it is accurate. The Water NSW website notes that daily dam levels are based on automated data, which has not been verified. Once verified, the data is published in a weekly storage report that can be found on its website. I am advised that this morning there was an instrumentation error at Warragamba Dam that resulted in the Water NSW website displaying an inaccurate figure for the Greater Sydney Dam storage levels. I am further advised that this error was detected and corrected. I can inform the House that the correct storage level of Greater Sydney's dams is 61.2 per cent as of today. I am also advised by Water NSW that work is underway to implement a revised process to ensure that these types of errors are detected and corrected before they are published on the website. Nevertheless, at 61.2 per cent we are, as the member suggests, getting quite close to the 60 per cent trigger point. We have had a lot of rain the last two months. When I told the House some time ago that the Bureau of Meteorology had said that there was at least a 40 per cent to 50 per cent likelihood of this occurring, there was some scepticism, but it has come to pass. Nevertheless, all that that rainfall has done is to slow down the depletion rate. The rain is welcome because it puts water restrictions further off, but there is absolutely no reason for us to be alarmist, because Sydney still has more than two years worth of water in its catchments. It is not my view that we need to bring forward water restrictions at this time. There is a chance that the desalination plant will be turned on in November or December. The chances of its not being turned on before Christmas, I think, are pretty low. All honourable members would be aware that the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting an El Niño effect this summer, so storage levels will have to cope with that. I think the member asked me how quickly the desalination plant will be producing water and how long it will take to ramp the plant up. I can inform the member that testing was done at the end of the process of fixing the desalination plant. That took place a couple of weeks ago. It was working very well, even on its old membranes. The Government does not anticipate that it will be long until the plant is producing water. The estimates that we have been given are always in terms of "It will take no more than …" rather than how soon it will ramp up to full production. We have always been told that it will take no more than eight months before it is at full production. That is the public information that we have been given. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 101
LIBERAL PARTY BULLYING ALLEGATIONS The Hon. WALT SECORD (15:12): My question is directed to the Leader of the Government. In light of statements made by a prominent Liberal Party woman made public at 1.31 p.m. today and forwarded to New South Wales Liberals this morning, detailing bullying and offensive language at a business function by the Hon. Taylor Martin, Chair of the Legislative Council Standing Committee on State Development, will the Leader of the Government update the House on administrative procedures and policies that have been put in place to address bullying in New South Wales? The Hon. Peter Primrose: Do you have a note for that? The Hon. DON HARWIN (Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts) (15:13): I have got some notes here all right. A list on bullying—what an interesting list! I will keep that for a little while. The Hon. Walt Secord: It's a serious question. The Hon. DON HARWIN: It is a very serious question. What did the new Leader of the Opposition say about parliamentary standards earlier in the week? He said, "When I lead my team onto the floor of the New South Wales Parliament next Tuesday we will be throwing no mud." Within a matter of minutes on Tuesday the Hon. Walt Secord was back to his usual tricks. He obviously has no regard whatsoever for what Mr Michael Daley has said—absolutely no regard at all. The PRESIDENT: Order! There are far too many interjections from all sides. The Minister has the call. The Hon. DON HARWIN: We all know that in terms of the Opposition these days it is a different jockey but it is the same old horse. We are also here with the Hon. Taylor Martin; we know what an honourable person he is and what an effective member he is. I find it extraordinarily difficult to take seriously, this close to his preselection, a story that appears in the media. The Hon. Taylor Martin faces preselection tomorrow. I could have taken a point of order and said that this has nothing to do with anything to which I am officially connected in terms of public affairs, but I wanted to take the opportunity to say that the Hon. Taylor Martin is a good member and has my full support. ARTS AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM The Hon. TAYLOR MARTIN (15:15): My question is addressed to the Minister for the Arts. Will the Minister update the House on how the Government is supporting arts touring in regional New South Wales? The Hon. DON HARWIN (Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts) (15:16): Arts and cultural activity across regional New South Wales is a priority area for investment by the Government, and it is absolutely thriving. It is something I have been very happy and proud to be able to talk about during answers to many questions without notice this year. In addition to $100 million being invested through the Regional Cultural Fund to upgrade and build new cultural infrastructure, more than $9 million was invested in 2017-18 in regional New South Wales through the Arts and Cultural Development Program to provide specific and targeted support. This Government is committed to ensuring that every community across our great State gets its fair share. And to that end, we are providing unprecedented support for arts and culture across regional New South Wales. We will not let our regional communities be left behind, as the Labor Party did when it was in office. Recently I had the pleasure of announcing 17 recipients of Regional Arts Touring funding under the 2018-19 Arts and Cultural Development Program, who will share in more than $670,000 to support touring across regional New South Wales. That is more than double the amount of money that was allocated to regional touring last year. That is because of the emphasis that this Government is putting on the regional arts. This funding provides an exciting opportunity for 17 professional theatre, music and dance organisations and exhibitions and literature events to be enjoyed across over 50 locations in regional New South Wales, at a variety of venues, including small halls that rarely host large-scale tours. This is in addition to $360,000 previously committed for regional touring under multi-year agreements, which will see companies such as Sydney Dance Company and Monkey Baa touring across the State. Touring is an expensive business, and the Government's support will help reduce the costs and enable regional towns to enjoy some of our most acclaimed presenting companies. In addition to the cultural injection these tours provide, they generate valuable employment opportunities, both for artists and for locals involved in these tours. They also provide an important stimulus to local economies, with touring organisations spending in local businesses, including accommodation, transport, retail and dining businesses. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 102
The New South Wales Government is supporting many companies in this round of Regional Arts Touring, such as the Australian Chamber Orchestra Collective, which will tour three regional New South Wales centres and showcase performances and specialist music education activities in each community. The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra will tour its Brandenburg Ensemble to Berry, Goulburn, Mudgee, Parkes, Young and Singleton, showcasing music from the early classical and Baroque period. There is the Ensemble Theatre's excellent production of Diplomacy, produced and starring John Bell, which will tour five venues including the Orange Civic Theatre, the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre and the Wyong Art House. It is based on a true story of a fateful event in 1945 in wartime Paris; a brilliant production. Finally, Ghenoa Gela and Performing Lines will present a national tour of My Urrwai with performances planned in four New South Wales towns—Bathurst, Nowra, Queanbeyan and Wyong. Arts and culture across regional New South Wales is booming and our Government is committed to keeping this boom going. It can because of the strong economy that has been built. MINISTER FOR THE ARTS PORTFOLIO RESPONSIBILITIES The Hon. PAUL GREEN (15:20): My question is directed to the Minister for the Arts. Given that "you can't stop the music", and given that the music industry has an economic importance to New South Wales and "it's a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll", when will the Government change the Minister's title to the Minister for Music, Arts and Culture? The Hon. DON HARWIN (Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts) (15:20): When the Hon. Ben Franklin spoke to me about setting up this committee—which the Hon. Paul Green chaired—and mentioned who was going to be on the committee, I was delighted to support the initiative. The work that has been done by the committee is excellent and I look forward to reading the report. A better approach to contemporary music is a high priority for the Government and me. I will be reading the committee's recommendations closely. On the suggestion of the Hon. Paul Green and the Hon. Robert Borsak, this morning I undertook to have a Government response available to this House before the caretaker conventions begin. We are not going to let this report sit on a shelf and gather dust; there will be a response. As to whether my ministerial title will change to include music, or whether I am in that portfolio at all after the March election, we will wait and see. All of the committee's hard work and recommendations will be taken seriously by the Government. We have a strong economy and have managed the Government's finances carefully with no debt and budget surpluses as far as the last forward estimates, and therefore the Government is in a position where it will be able to respond positively— The Hon. Niall Blair: With some R-E-S-P-E-C-T. The Hon. DON HARWIN: You are a lot faster than I am. The Government will be in a position to respond to any worthy recommendations that the committee has made. The Hon. PAUL GREEN (15:22): I ask a supplementary question. Will the Minister elucidate which is his best band and best song? The PRESIDENT: The supplementary question is out of order. MURRAY VALLEY NATIONAL PARK The Hon. PETER PRIMROSE (15:23): My question without notice is directed to the Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts, representing the Minister for the Environment. What is the Government's position on the private member's bill reversing the national park listing for the Murray Valley National Park? The Hon. DON HARWIN (Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts) (15:23): I thank the honourable member for his question. I will take it on notice and provide a response from the relevant Minister or Ministers. MENINDEE LAKES BASIN PLAN IMPLEMENTATION The Hon. TREVOR KHAN (15:23): My question is addressed to the Minister for Primary Industries, Minister for Regional Water, and Minister for Trade and Industry. Will the Minister update the House on how the New South Wales Government is delivering the basin plan, and is he aware of any alternative approaches? The Hon. NIALL BLAIR (Minister for Primary Industries, Minister for Regional Water, and Minister for Trade and Industry) (15:24): I thank the honourable member for his question. Since the New South Wales Government came to power in 2011, it has worked diligently in delivering certainty for all communities and the environment by delivering the Basin Plan. Since it was signed in 2012, we have recovered Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 103
over 980 gigalitres of water for the environment, begun releasing water resource plans and also begun consultations on the next phase of the Basin Plan, the sustainable diversion limit adjustment mechanism projects, including the Menindee Lakes. We have done this because we know how important primary industries are to the New South Wales economy. The sector contributes $15 billion to the New South Wales economy per annum, and irrigated agriculture provides more than 75,000 jobs. That is why I was interested to see that the new Leader of the Opposition in the other place is also a big fan of New South Wales agriculture, and the dairy industry in particular—especially when his opponent for the "Iron Throne" and current shadow Minister for Water has announced that, if elected, he would not support the Menindee Lakes project. One might wonder what that means for the dairy industry in the Murray and the difference between us and those opposite on this issue. Let me update the House by paraphrasing my favourite movie scene from A Few Good Men. Those opposite weep for the environment, and yet they curse the Menindee Lakes water saving proposal. They have that luxury, the luxury of not knowing what we know: that the project, while difficult, probably saves the dairy industry in the Murray, and our existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves farmers in the Southern Connected Basin from having further buybacks. The Leader of the Opposition doesn't want the truth because deep down, in places you don't talk about at parties, he wants us handling water, he needs us handling water, because he can't handle the truth. We use words like "economic viability", "right to farm", "importance of farmers to regional economies". We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. The Leader of the Opposition can spend all of his time in regional papers telling everyone that he is the friend of the people. However, regional New South Wales communities know the truth, because they live and breathe farming and water policy every day. The Liberals and Nationals are the only government that can deliver certainty for dairy farmers in New South Wales. We stood by our farmers in February when those opposite, preferred to stand up for politicians in South Australia; those that went down on a flawed policy. We look forward to fighting for New South Wales dairy farmers as part of the government after March next year. They can't handle the truth. They can't handle the fact that we need projects such as the Menindee Lakes project. We need to ensure that we can reconfigure those lakes to stop the evaporation, to ensure that no-one enters southern New South Wales or our irrigation communities and starts taking productive water from those communities. Those opposite do not understand how this works and how it is connected. Those opposite do not understand that this was signed up to by Labor States and also supported by the Labor Party in Canberra. The Menindee Lakes project is vital to ensuring that the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is implemented. They have no idea. They are making sure that regional communities, particularly in the Southern Connected basin, will have their backs to the wall for eternity because of the policy on the run that they are seeing, the policy on the run that has not thought of the consequences. We will not let that happen. They can't handle the truth. We manage water better on this side— [Time expired.] ABORIGINAL HEALTH AND EDUCATION SERVICES Reverend the Hon. FRED NILE (15:28): My question is directed to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Will the Minister update the House on the progress made this year in relation to the following: reducing Indigenous suicide rates in both rural and urban communities, improvements in Indigenous literacy in the same regions, the reductions in the rates of Indigenous alcohol and substance abuse, the reductions in the rates of domestic violence in Indigenous communities, and any increase in Indigenous employment and business projects? The Hon. SARAH MITCHELL (Minister for Early Childhood Education, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, and Assistant Minister for Education) (15:29): I thank Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile for his question and for his ongoing interest in Aboriginal Affairs issues. I know he is genuine when he asks questions related to Aboriginal Affairs. Obviously, the question included quite a few elements involving specific figures and statistics and some parts of the question fall outside my portfolio responsibility. I am happy to take on notice those elements of the question and obtain information from my colleagues. In the short amount of time remaining for questions, I will speak more generally about a couple of programs that might be of interest to Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile, particularly in relation to literacy and numeracy. As the Minister for Early Education as well as the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, I am responsible for many programs that involve Aboriginal children and families. One of the programs is the Families as First Teachers, to which I referred earlier in response to a question around the Mogo preschool, which is inclusive of remote environments and works with local communities and elders in the preschool setting. The program is something of which I am very proud. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 104
In addition there is the Ninganah No More Program, to which I have referred on previous occasions in the House. That program is about increasing the level of Aboriginal languages being taught in early childhood education. We know that there are links between learning and language at a young age and seeing improvements in literacy skills later in life, so the Government is investing in that program as well. In addition, our Start Strong community safety net provides preschool education in areas where it has not previously been available. That program recently commenced at Weilmoringle. Today I was advised that at the Weilmoringle preschool, all of the children currently enrolled who are eligible are from Aboriginal families, which is great. We have two additional sites in western New South Wales on which we are currently working. Our Ngroo Walking Together Program is about making early childhood education services available for all to build positive relationships with local Aboriginal families and to make sure they know that they can be involved with culturally respectful and appropriate preschools, as well as early childhood services in communities. All those things combine to improve learning outcomes for children at a young age because we know that they will have positive influences on later learning, including in literacy and numeracy. In conclusion, I mention in relation to employment that I am happy to examine specific figures. However, I am sure that Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile would be interested in the Government's Aboriginal procurement policy that was announced earlier this year which is all about improving opportunities for Aboriginal people and businesses accessing government supply chains. The policy came into effect on 1 July this year for all New South Wales government agencies and sets a target of 3 per cent of all domestic government contracts going to Aboriginal businesses by 2021. It also seeks to support the addition of 3,000 Aboriginal employees across the New South Wales government supply chain. We know that Aboriginal businesses are more likely to employ Aboriginal people and the Government wants to support that. That is ongoing collaborative work that I will be doing with the Minister for Finance, Services and Property, the Hon. Victor Dominello, who is a former Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and who is passionate about this innovation. I have mentioned a few programs that are relevant to the question and that may be of interest to Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile, but I will take the bulk and remainder of the question on notice and respond in more detail in due course. The Hon. DON HARWIN: The time for questions has expired. If members have further questions I suggest they place them on notice. COOGEE BASIN WATER QUALITY The Hon. DON HARWIN (Minister for Resources, Minister for Energy and Utilities, and Minister for the Arts) (15:32): I will add to the answer I gave earlier in response to a question asked by Mr Justin Field. It should be emphasised in relation to the matters Mr Justin Field raised that Sydney Water is working in collaboration with Randwick City Council to consider a feasible solution to the stormwater outlets at Coogee Bay. I note that the stormwater assets are council assets and that Randwick City Council reached out to Sydney Water to see whether a solution could be identified. The member for Coogee asked me to suggest that Sydney Water should become involved to assist the council, and that is what has happened. The parties are close to finalising the report raised by the member for Coogee, but it is the council's report, not the State Government's report. I understand that its findings will be made public once it is finalised. I commend the member for Coogee for making repeated representations to me because this is an issue about which he cares very deeply. He is doing a very good job. Personal Explanation LIBERAL PARTY BULLYING ALLEGATIONS The Hon. TAYLOR MARTIN (15:34): By leave: Earlier in question time, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition referred to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald that was published online earlier today. I inform the House that the allegations made against me are completely untrue and fabricated. Business of the House SUSPENSION OF STANDING AND SESSIONAL ORDERS: BILLS Reverend the Hon. FRED NILE: I move: That standing and sessional orders be suspended to allow Private Members' Business item No. 3 inside the Order of Precedence relating to the Crimes Amendment (Zoe's Law) Bill 2017 to be called on forthwith. The PRESIDENT: The question is that the motion be agreed to. The House divided. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 105
[In division] The PRESIDENT (15:44): I remind the tellers that when the Chair appoints tellers, they are acting under the direction and instruction of the Chair. The role requires an adherence to the responsibility to follow instructions in an appropriate manner. I am at liberty to call tellers to order if I consider that they are not taking the responsibility of their appointment seriously. I am awaiting the result from the tellers for the noes. The Hon. Greg Donnelly: We are taking our position very seriously. The PRESIDENT: Do not argue with me; just do your job. The Hon. Greg Donnelly: We better start again, I think. The PRESIDENT: Order! I call the Hon. Greg Donnelly to order for the first time. The Hon. Greg Donnelly: I think we should start again. The PRESIDENT: I indicate to the Leader of the Opposition that this is not appropriate behaviour on the part of the tellers for the noes. Before I give the result of the count I indicate that from the moment I became President I have treated all members with courtesy and respect. The only thing I have asked in return is that members treat the Chair with the same courtesy and respect. For the first time since I have sat in this chair there has been a clear demonstration of a lack of courtesy and respect shown to the Chair—and to me personally—by the tellers of the noes. It is extremely disappointing. I am going to assume that the mistake on the division paper of the noes was not done deliberately and that it is simply an error on the part of the tellers for the noes. But I am able to count and take note of what has occurred. I note that there are 19 ayes and 15 noes. The question is resolved in the affirmative. I have amended the record of the noes to indicate that there are in fact 19 ayes, not 15; and 15 noes, not 19. I repeat what I said earlier about courtesy and respect being shown to the Chair. Ayes ...... 19 Noes ...... 15 Majority ...... 4 AYES Amato, Mr L Blair, Mr Clarke, Mr D Colless, Mr R Cusack, Ms C Fang, Mr W (teller) Farlow, Mr S Franklin, Mr B Green, Mr P Harwin, Mr D Khan, Mr T MacDonald, Mr S Maclaren-Jones, Mrs Martin, Mr T Mason-Cox, Mr M (teller) Mitchell, Mrs Nile, Revd Mr Phelps, Dr P Taylor, Mrs
NOES Donnelly, Mr G (teller) Faehrmann, Ms C Field, Mr J Graham, Mr J Houssos, Mrs C Moselmane, Mr S (teller) Pearson, Mr M Primrose, Mr P Searle, Mr A Secord, Mr W Sharpe, Ms P Shoebridge, Mr D Veitch, Mr M Voltz, Ms L Walker, Ms D
PAIRS Mallard, Mr S Mookhey, Mr D Ward, Mrs N Wong, Mr E
Motion agreed to. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 106
Bills CRIMES AMENDMENT (ZOE'S LAW) BILL 2017 Second Reading Debate Debate resumed from 19 October 2017. The Hon. TREVOR KHAN: I seek leave to make a further contribution. Leave not granted. The Hon. TAYLOR MARTIN (15:51): The Crimes Amendment (Zoe's Law) Bill 2017 aims to address a flaw in the current laws of this State. At the moment when an unborn child is killed by a person engaging in reckless conduct, there is no justice for the mother or the family. The unborn child is simply written off as an injury suffered by the mother. Whatever one's opinion of the bill may be, it is important to acknowledge what I believe both proponents and opponents agree upon: the loss of an unborn child is a tragedy for the parents, family and friends that is not dissimilar to the loss of a child who has recently been born. Even for those who disagree with this bill a mechanism should exist for justice to occur when an unborn child is killed by somebody being reckless. A discussion of this bill cannot occur without acknowledging the circumstances that have led to its creation and the reasons why the push for changes to fix the blind spot in the current law will continue until it is addressed. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT (The Hon. Shayne Mallard): Order! There are too many audible conversations in the Chamber. The Hon. Taylor Martin has the call. The Hon. TAYLOR MARTIN: On Christmas morning in 2009 Brodie Donegan, who was 32 weeks pregnant, decided to go for a short walk from her home at Ourimbah on the New South Wales Central Coast, not far from where I live, in anticipation of the drive to Newcastle that she, her partner, Nick, and her daughter, Ashlee, would take later that afternoon. At approximately 10.30 a.m. Brodie was struck by a driver and the unborn baby, whom Brodie and Nick had named Zoe, tragically was killed. Brodie suffered significant injuries including a shattered pelvis, thigh, lower spine and foot. The driver who struck them both should not have been on the road that day. She had overdosed the day before on a cocktail of methadone and five other prescription drugs. She was found guilty of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm and driving under the influence of prescribed drugs. During sentencing the judge said: The court acknowledges that from a purely legal point of view there was no loss of life, but there was a loss of an unborn child. But there is no punishment for this, and for the family and friends there is no justice. Brodie, Nick and Ashlee live in The Entrance electorate on the Central Coast. Their former local member, Chris Spence, met with the family and agreed to assist them with updating the law to reflect what I believe is a near universal view in the community—that there should have been justice for Zoe. I acknowledge Chris Spence for all the work he did in the lower House trying to ensure that unborn children who are killed in circumstances such as Zoe's receive justice, and for the support he gave to the Donegans. Chris Spence was successful in having an earlier version of Zoe's law passed by the other place. Unfortunately the same outcome did not eventuate in the upper House. During his contribution Chris Spence read out Brodie's story following the car crash and I would like to do the same, as it is incredibly moving. She said: The next thing I remember is hearing voices and people asking me if I was okay. I instantly thought I must have fainted but then I started to feel the pain. I couldn't feel my right leg. The only visual I recall is Nick leaning over me and everyone saying not to move me. I remember asking people about my baby. My next memory … is at Royal North Shore Hospital where they were trying to locate my daughter's heartbeat, which they found rather quickly. I was hopeful that my daughter still having a heartbeat was good news and it might end up okay. I begged doctors to take her out immediately but they said they needed to stabilise me and work out my injuries. After two hours they couldn't find a heartbeat. I begged and cried, the doctors conferred and decided to give me an emergency caesarean. I remember yelling to Nick as I was wheeled into theatre that he had to call our daughter Zoe because that meant "life". I wanted her to live so badly … I was given a general anaesthetic and knocked out for the operation. I woke returning to the recovery ward and I asked everyone I saw if my daughter Zoe survived. They all told me they didn't know. Eventually, after what felt like a lifetime later, Nick was sent in to break it to me. That they'd tried to resuscitate her but they'd been unsuccessful. That she hadn't been able to hold on. By that time I had figured if it was going to be good news everyone would be telling me. I felt like I already knew. Nick and I were heartbroken. I remember the maternity social worker coming in and asking me if I wanted to see her, which of course I did. Zoe was wheeled in and Nick handed her to me. She was still warm and she looked and felt and smelt like any other newborn, she just was not breathing. It was so surreal. I wanted to turn back time. I remember looking at her face and seeing the mark on her lip from the resuscitation attempts and noticed one of her eyes partly open. She was absolutely gorgeous and so soft and I just wanted her to wake up so badly. I was completely distraught. The social worker came up again to give me information on losing a baby and asked if we wanted to see Zoe again. We did, and by the time she was brought up, my mother and stepfather had arrived with my eldest daughter Ashlee. I hadn't seen Ashlee since I left the house to go on that walk, nearly 12 hours before. She was so scared of me, and of all the tubes attached to me. She would Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 107
not go near me and this upset me greatly. I'd just lost one daughter and I desperately wanted my other daughter close to me, but with my hair still matted with blood from the lacerations from going through the windscreen, the bruises, swelling and grazes all over my body, and the fact I could not sit up, could not move and had a metal belt around my hips was all just too frightening for her. We then had to try to explain to Ashlee what had happened to Zoe. Ashlee touched Zoe and wanted to know why she had a sore on her lip. It was heartbreaking to see them together in such completely different circumstances to how I'd imagined they would meet. In the midst of all this, the Police arrived to take Zoe to the Coroner. I was in shock. I had only had this baby a few hours before, and despite the hospital telling me I could see her as often as I wanted, here were the Police trying to take her. That was a quote from Brodie. I mentioned earlier that there will continue to be a push for changes to fix the blind spot in the current law until it is addressed. The reason is that these tragedies hit a nerve with everybody. Last month Katherine Hoang was killed in a car crash in Orchard Hills near Bankstown along with a young relative. Katherine was heavily pregnant with twins. Police have charged a man over the crash and he has been charged with two counts of manslaughter, two counts of aggravated dangerous driving occasioning death, two counts of negligent driving occasioning death, aggravated dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, cause bodily harm by misconduct, unlicensed negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, high range drink-driving and driving under the influence of cannabis. It is alleged that he was travelling at 137 kilometres an hour in a 70 kilometre an hour zone with a blood alcohol level of 0.204 when he lost control of his vehicle, crossed the median strip and veered onto the wrong side of the road. I ask all members to put themselves in the shoes of Katherine's husband, Bronko. He had his whole life ahead of him, was newly married and expecting twins. Then one person's reckless act destroyed all of that. Instead of the life that Bronko had planned, he woke up in hospital a week later and was told the most distressing news imaginable: his wife and their two unborn children are dead. If found guilty one would hope the person responsible will receive a significant custodial sentence. However, it is unlikely that there will ever be justice for the twins because the current law does not recognise them. There is the absurd situation where the Coroner is tasked to determine whether the twins actually drew breath. This bill, and earlier versions of it that sought to achieve the same goal, has resulted in significant concerns amongst those who are understandably protective of a woman's right to access abortion. Their fears are that in establishing foetal personhood, a woman's right to access abortion may be diminished and become an unintended consequence of this bill. This is an important consideration. The right to access an abortion is well supported in New South Wales civil law, and of course any attempt to undo this would be subject to considerable criticism and advocacy. The Hon. Walt Secord: Point of order: It is now 4.02 p.m. and the proceedings of the day should move to adjournment. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT (The Hon. Shayne Mallard): Thank you for giving me instruction on how to proceed. The Hon. Walt Secord: At the conclusion of question time 30 minutes is allocated for private member's business. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT (The Hon. Shayne Mallard): There is no point of order. The Hon. Walt Secord will resume his seat. It is now 4.02 p.m. I was watching the clock. The member does not need to instruct the Chair. According to sessional order, proceedings are interrupted to permit the Minister to move the adjournment motion if desired. Adjournment Debate ADJOURNMENT The Hon. DON HARWIN: I move: That this House do now adjourn. PRISON DRUG REHABILITATION SERVICES CUMBERLAND STATE FOREST KOALA POPULATION Mr DAVID SHOEBRIDGE (16:02:0): Yesterday the Minister for Corrections made a statement to the ABC that is plainly untrue. He said Ngara Nura, one of the most successful drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs for prisoners, is being shut down because no prisoners want to participate in the program. Ngara Nura is a six-month, full-time, three-stage therapeutic drug and alcohol prerelease program for inmates at Long Bay Correctional Centre who are at medium to high risk of reoffending. It gets to prisoners like no other program does. To better explain it I read a statement from an officer who has worked in the program for years. He said this about the men who participated and graduated from Ngara Nura: Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 108
When they get out and succeed they are such a pleasure to work with. I am so proud of, and for, them all. Having overcome the most terrible backgrounds and addictions, in realising their full potential they become the most incredible, charismatic men with astounding strength of character, who act with honesty and integrity and with gratitude. It's a winning combination. The Minister for Corrections is on record as saying he is motivated to increase standards and reduce reoffending. But New South Wales has the worst reoffending rate of any State in the country, and it increases year on year. What is the Liberal Government's solution? To spend $3.8 billion on building more, mostly private, prisons, while shutting down programs such as Ngara Nura that stop prisoners from reoffending and returning to jail. This gung-ho, American-style approach to locking up people and failing to deliver rehabilitation services is illogical, dangerous and expensive. Government is about choice. This one chooses to spend billions of dollars on building new private prisons instead of pulling people out of poverty, providing drug and alcohol programs and helping people overcome trauma so they can stay out of prison and lead good lives in society and contribute amongst us as neighbours. Ngara Nura works. It dramatically reduces rates of recidivism. It saves lives. I have spoken to the men who have graduated from it. It is the only drug and alcohol rehabilitation program in the Long Bay prison complex, and unless something is done it will shut next week. That is priorities for you. The last urban population of koalas in northern Sydney is literally facing the bulldozer. It is directly under threat. The property developer, Mirvac, is pushing to bulldoze their habitat in a 28-hectare forest in West Pennant Hills, right next to Cumberland State Forest and just down the road from the koala park. This precious piece of urban bushland supports the survival and integrity of the last population of koalas in all of northern Sydney. It cannot be lost. On 18 October the Forestry Corporation released a dramatic new report entitled Corporate Resources—Coastal Hardwood Forests Forest Management Plan. This document is a vital new resource, providing insight into the biodiversity of the Cumberland State Forest and its immediate surrounds, which includes the forest on the Mirvac site. I have been there. It is a remarkable place, and it is right in the heart of Sydney. The report states that Cumberland State Forest, together with the adjoining Mirvac site and Bidjigal Reserve, form a forested stepping stone within the fragmented fauna and flora corridor between Lake Parramatta Reserve and Berowra Valley Regional Park, and serve as an important corridor from Lane Cove National Park as well. This island of vegetation acts as a corridor for avifauna migration and breeding. The report makes clear that a number of threatened species, as identified under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, including koalas, powerful owls and other vulnerable bats and birds, are known to occur within and adjacent to the Cumberland State Forest, and that included the adjoining Mirvac site, which many people view as more biodiverse, containing more old growth forest than the Cumberland State Forest. But this Government is offering no protection to the forest. It is refusing to call The Hills Shire Council and Mirvac to account. It is time that we ended this nonsense. It is time the State Government intervened and declared the forest to be a nature reserve and brought it into the public estate. The future of koalas in northern Sydney is quite literally at stake. PENRITH ELECTORATE INFRASTRUCTURE The Hon. SHAYNE MALLARD (16:06): I inform the house about the buzz of excitement in the air at Penrith. Why are the people of Penrith so excited? They are seeing with their own eyes the results of eight strong years of a Liberal State Government, and more importantly, they are seeing with their own eyes the delivery of a massive new Nepean Hospital, major road rebuilding, including the Northern and Mulgoa roads duplication, the M4 Smart Motorway project worth $400 million, and now a new bridge over the Nepean River, thanks to the tireless work of the popular local member, Stuart Ayres. I turn my focus to this amazing new bridge across the Nepean River. As a Penrith boy I was very pleased on 28 October to attend the opening of the Yandhai Nepean Crossing with the Premier Gladys Berejiklian, and the Minister for Western Sydney, and member for Penrith, Stuart Ayres, along with the Mayor of Penrith Ross Fowler. On that sunny Sunday more than 5,000 local residents attended the official opening of the new pedestrian and cycling bridge, which will allow communities from Penrith and across Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains to enjoy safer walking, jogging and cycling across the Nepean River. I congratulate Minister Ayres on delivering the Government's commitment to provide a safe pedestrian crossing of the Nepean River, something the Penrith community has been requesting for many years. Minister Ayres promised this bridge at the Penrith by-election in 2010 and has worked tirelessly for the last eight years to deliver this impressive, complex engineering feat for his community. With Penrith's newest landmark now open, the community of Penrith and Western Sydney can enjoy the Nepean River like never before. This crossing offers unprecedented access for people of all abilities to enjoy views to the south of the river between Penrith and Emu Plains, connecting to the Blue Mountains. 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the Premier, Minister Ayres and Mayor of Penrith, I took a walk over the fantastic new bridge after it was opened. It has become a tourist attraction already due to its beautiful views over the Nepean River and its stark, startling engineering. The Yandhai Nepean Crossing will be an essential link between the beautiful Nepean and Blue Mountains regions and will be an asset to the region for years to come. Community members have campaigned for years for a safer crossing over the Nepean River for pedestrians and cyclists as the path on Victoria Bridge, as many members would know, has no barrier between the narrow footpath and road traffic. Pedestrians and cyclists cannot pass safely. Extensive consultation has taken place between Roads and Maritime Services, Minister Ayres and the community for the past eight years. The location south of the historic Victoria Bridge was considered the safest and most appropriate. The detailed design of the bridge and invitation for construction tenders to build the bridge was carried out in 2015 and early 2016. More than 850 people worked to deliver the structure with approximately 700 tonnes of steel used, 25-metre truss segments were delivered from Tomago to form the bridge trusses across the river, and 10,000 litres of paint were used. The $49 million bridge has been named the Yandhai Nepean Crossing, signifying the language of the Darug people, who are the custodians of the land and who have strong traditional and historical ties to Western Sydney and the Nepean River. It also provides the clear geographical location of the bridge. The word "yandhai" means walking in the path of past and present, and is reflective of the story, including the past use of the river by the Darug yura—"yura" meaning "person". Minister Ayres has stated that the name symbolises a spiritual connection between Penrith residents and the Nepean River, bringing the history of two great cultures together in the name of the new bridge. Once again, I congratulate the Minister for Western Sydney and member for Penrith, the Hon. Stuart Ayres, on working tirelessly to deliver the Yandhai Nepean Crossing to the people of Penrith. He is admired by his constituents due to his tireless commitment to serving and delivering for the people of Penrith. He has delivered major projects that he promised to his community. He has also delivered the biggest investment Nepean Hospital has ever seen with $1 billion for its redevelopment, which is underway. He has delivered major road projects, including WestConnex, and $470 million for the M4 Smarter Motorway project. It is because he delivers for his community that he will be re-elected easily as the member for Penrith in March 2019. MUSIC INDUSTRY The Hon. JOHN GRAHAM (16:10): New South Wales has a music venue crisis. That is one of the findings of the Portfolio Committee No. 6 report on the inquiry into the music and arts economy in New South Wales, which was tabled today. Sydney has nearly 200 fewer music venues than it had four years ago. That is despite the massive potential of the industry, which is worth $10.5 billion to the Australian economy. It grew by 11 per cent last year and by 6 per cent in the first half of this year alone. The issues in the music industry should be easier to solve today than at any time since the rise of Napster in 1999. However, like other cities around the world, we are experiencing a grassroots music venue crisis. The committee's inquiry into the music and arts industry was the first time the Parliament has talked formally to the music sector. I thank the chair, the Hon. Paul Green, my fellow members of the committee—I greatly enjoyed working with them—and the secretariat staff, who did a remarkable job. I will mention some of the issues that are killing our music scene. The inquiry revealed there is no plan for the contemporary music sector. Ours is the only State on the mainland without one. It is the same story with regard to a strategy for the night-time economy. It has been promised, but it is yet to be delivered, and we cannot succeed without one. We also have an issue with the handling of noise complaints. The committee established that seven agencies were involved, all with a role, none of them in charge, and none really wanting to do the job. No-one is happy: not the venues and not citizens wanting a peaceful night. We were told of bands touring the country—Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane—and then skipping Sydney. They head for Canberra or Dubbo. Our touring circuit is broken. Victoria delivers nearly $7 million a year to support contemporary music, but the funding provided in New South Wales is less than $1 million a year. That must change. The most startling issue the committee uncovered was all the conditions applied to 669 entertainment venue liquor licences in New South Wales venues. I will provide some examples. The Goros venue was involved in what was referred to as "Mirrorballgate". Mirror balls were prohibited in the venue's licence because they might lead to dancing. The Fringe Festival operators were told that they could not have DJs or dancing. I do not know how that could be policed. The Terrigal Hotel was prohibited from having rock music. The hotel went to court and then to appeal. One charge was struck out because the court accepted that while the music might have been upbeat, it was not rock music. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 110
The South Dubbo Tavern must confine its entertainment to soloists, duos, small cover bands and country and western music. No large rock bands and the like are to provide entertainment. That should be read as singer-songwriters need not apply; cover bands only. The Wharf Road Restaurant and Bar at Nowra must have no disco-type entertainment. The only entertainment permitted is a guitarist and keyboard player or the playing of compact disks of a soft rock-and-roll nature. It can play CDs only and particular instruments are proscribed. Ryedale Tavern at West Ryde can have two entertainment performances of not less than 45 minutes' duration, one before and one after midnight. Dance music is to be provided at other times. In Nowra venues must have disco bands and at venues in West Ryde disco is compulsory. I am no small-government advocate, and we should regulate noise and the service of alcohol. However, there are some things governments should not regulate. I do not support governments regulating band size— insisting on one, two or three musicians in a band—what direction the band should face, or banning instruments such as drums or bass guitars. I do not support banning mirror balls or telling venue owners how to decorate. I do not support governments determining where the fine line exists between swaying to music and live dancing. I do not support banning singer-songwriters by requiring cover bands, nor do I support regulating genres of music. It is not up to governments to tell people to listen to jazz music, but not pop, to soft rock but not rock and roll, to country and western but not disco music. I do not support a ban on work for musicians, which is what these regulations do. When we ban live music or DJs we are banning work for musicians, that is, for lowly paid workers. This is a workers' rights issue. Welcome to New South Wales. I invite members to think about the fact that the two things banned in the 1984 movie Footloose were dancing and rock music. I ask them to compare that to the New South Wales sequel 34 years later: bans or restrictions in venues on dancing and rock music, but also on disco, DJs, live music, drumming, four-piece bands, singer-songwriters, bass guitar, vinyl records, bands facing a direction other than south, and mirror balls. This must change. I commend the report to the House. ENDANGERED SPECIES Ms DAWN WALKER (16:15): I am lucky to live near a pair of extremely rare birds. Local birdwatchers know them as beach stone curlews, which are listed as critically endangered. We have only 28 individual birds in New South Wales. Beach stone curlews usually live at estuary mouths or on ocean beaches, foraging for crabs and other prey when tides are suitable. They are shy birds and they will desert their nests or territories if disturbed by people or dogs, and are threatened by habitat loss. As Fingal Head Community Association President in 2011, I worked with the Tweed Byron Local Aboriginal Land Council, Fingal Head Coastcare and the local community to stop illegal four-wheel-drive vehicle access to the dunes and waterways where the two rare curlews, other migratory birds and endangered species seek refuge to rest, breed and tend to their young families. We took local action because we were passionate about our local environment and we were determined to protect these birds. However, the sad truth is that our environment is in a state of crisis. In fact, just last week the Federal Government's own threatened species experts said that Australia is failing in its plan to save wildlife from extinction. This is alarming because Australia has one of the world's worst records for extinction. Since European settlement, 25 types of birds, seven species of frogs and 27 mammal species have become extinct. They are gone forever. Since 1788, we have lost the Tasman starling, the Lorde Howe Pigeon, the red-crowned parakeet, the dwarf emu, the black emu, the Tasmanian emu and the paradise parrot. All of these birds are now gone forever, driven to extinction by the actions of humans. Members will never see them again, nor will their children. That should worry every member opposite. New South Wales is the worst performing State when it comes to protecting these vulnerable communities. We have already lost the pig-footed bandicoot, the Darling Downs hopping mouse, the brush-tailed bettong and the Eastern hare-wallaby. Shockingly, we are well on the way to seeing the koala extinct by 2050 under this Government's watch. It is not only animals that are at risk. The Duramana finger orchid is listed as critically endangered in New South Wales. It is a unique plant that is endemic to this State and has a very small area of distribution. Since its discovery in 1964, searches of the area have failed to find any specimens. The species has all but disappeared due to grazing of the small area where it is found. These are incredibly unique species, which we are at risk of losing. Why? It is because development and industry are constantly prioritised over conservation, often for short-term gains. Our threatened species need habitat to survive and anti-environment agendas of successive State governments—including those of the current Government—have left our wild places in tatters. Enough is enough. It is time to stop being the world leader in extinction. It is time for us to think about the world we want to leave future generations. Do we want to leave an earth that is devoid of other life and that has lost the animals and plants that make it so diverse and beautiful, or Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 111
do we want to take steps now to ensure that we do not lose more species? To me, the choice is simple. Hauntingly, when speaking about the plains-wanderer bird, the Taronga Manager Conservation Recovery Programs said: The Plains-wanderer is unique in the way it looks, lives and behaves. If they were to be lost there will be nothing like them left on earth. That is what is at stake. WAGGA WAGGA ELECTORATE INFRASTRUCTURE The Hon. WES FANG (16:20): Sixty-two years to the day that the original Lockhart swimming pool was opened, I was honoured to join mayor Rodger Schirmer, deputy mayor Greg Verdon, general manager Peter Veneris, member for Wagga Wagga Dr Joe McGirr, and local dignitaries to officially open the new, state-of-the-art swimming complex in Lockhart. Since 1956 the original pool had been an oasis in the hot summer months for the Lockhart community but, as all agreed, the pool had seen better days and was in vital need of an upgrade. With an investment of more than $1.5 million by the New South Wales Government under the Stronger Country Communities Fund, this refurbishment became a reality. The new complex was designed by the community and for the community to include new pool shells with wet decks, all-abilities access ramps, new modern and energy efficient pool filtration systems, new barbecue, playground and shade areas as well as modern amenities buildings. The refurbishments will ensure that the community has modern, safe and accessible swimming facilities for another 50 years. With the mercury nudging 30 degrees on the day of the opening, it was no surprise that those who attended were quick to jump in and start enjoying the new pool. The investment will benefit swimmers of all ages and abilities from Lockhart as well as visitors to the region. I am also pleased to hear that the pool will be used for swimming lessons as well as serving as the location for the Lockhart swimming members. Who knows, the next Olympic champion may just hail from Lockhart! I congratulate Lockhart Shire Council, the steering committee as well as Mr David Webb, Director of Engineering and Environmental Services, on completing this brilliant complex. It has always been a passion of mine to help foster the concept of sustainable living and teach future generations, including my own kids, about the natural environment and how we can minimise our footprint and improve efficiencies through innovation. That is why I am in full support of our Eco Schools Grants Program, which directly encourages environmental learning opportunities for students, teachers and the school community. I had the pleasure of providing a $3,500 grant to Ladysmith Public School, just outside of Wagga Wagga, to transform the underused vegetable garden into a hub for environmental learning across all curriculum areas. Use of the vegie garden was hampered in the past by its limited size, water inefficiencies, lack of composting areas and access to suitable instructional facilities for outdoor learning. The school will use the funds to extend the garden, improve water efficiency, implement a composting system, reinstate a disused worm farm and purchase materials for the construction of a multipurpose table. This project provides hands-on, curriculum-based environmental education, with a focus on strong student participation. I was thrilled to see students embracing sustainable living and getting their hands dirty, all in the name of helping to preserve the environment. Learning these sustainable methods early can make a big difference later on in life and I pass on my congratulations to Alison DeFranceschi, or Mrs D to past students, for her amazing work in resurrecting the garden and making this program the fantastic learning tool it is today. Preserving our history and encouraging future generations to learn more about the rich tapestry of our regional areas is an incredibly worthwhile initiative and I am particularly proud that both Wagga Wagga and Adelong are set to embark on new research projects. Earlier this month I had the pleasure of announcing that the Wagga Wagga and District Historical Society will receive funding through the Cultural Grants Program to be used to migrate its collection of local history audio recordings to digital format to ensure their longevity and survival. This research will pave the way for the digitisation of a variety of exhibitions and information, and expand our knowledge and understanding of local history and heritage across Wagga Wagga. Similarly, the Adelong Alive Museum will develop and print a brochure and walking map, outlining changes in the streetscape since the gold rush period. The brochure will display the historically significant buildings in Adelong and how they have changed over the decades. Wagga Wagga and Adelong have proud histories and it is only through projects like these that we are able to share the fascinating insights across our community, often for the first time. The projects will, no doubt, add a great deal of colour and depth to the existing published history of the region and I am excited to be part of a Liberals-Nationals Government that which values our past while also looking towards the future. Thursday, 15 November 2018 Legislative Council Page 112
STATE ELECTION The Hon. COURTNEY HOUSSOS (16:25): On March 23 next year, just 130 days away, voters will determine who forms the next government for this great State. It will be their opportunity to put an end to this ideological privatisation agenda pursued at all costs by members opposite. It will be their chance to say they want better local schools and hospitals, not billions spent ripping down and rebuilding Sydney stadiums. It will be their time to put an end to blowouts and delays on projects the community did not even want in the first place. After eight years in government, for all of the chaos and disruption, the Liberals and Nationals are yet to open a major infrastructure project. Oh, a couple of extra lanes on the M4, but that will cost motorists $26 billion over the next 43 years. The actual cost of the additional lanes—$497 million—will be paid off by the end of next year. The rest will be spent subsidising a North Shore tunnel. Billions upon billions of dollars have been wasted on a light rail project that was never properly designed, so has been plagued by blowouts in cost and time, with devastating consequences for small businesses and constituents. Billions have also been spent on a constantly changing road project badged WestConnex that does not solve the key issue of getting better access to the port: the very reason for the project getting underway in the first place. These, and so many other issues will be why this Government will not be given a third term, which, given our annihilation in 2011, should have been a foregone conclusion. I pay tribute to the many Country Labor and Labor candidates who are already in the field working tirelessly. I look forward to joining many of them as new members of this place and the other place when the Parliament returns next year. I thank those who probably will not but are flying the flag for us anyway. They are holding the local members to account, giving Labor voters a real choice, and ensuring our upper House candidates get elected. I cannot thank these true believers enough. This is my final contribution to the adjournment debate for this fifty-sixth Parliament. It has been the first half of my term in this place and it has been an immense honour to be here. I do feel slightly more comfortable in the Chamber than 3½ years ago, but it is hard not to get swept up in the immense history of this place. Mr President, I thank you for the honour of being appointed a Temporary Chair of Committees, allowing me to occasionally chair this historic Chamber. It has been a huge learning curve for me and an incredible privilege to serve the people of New South Wales as a representative of the broader labour movement, advocating for working people for these first four years. To see the Government implement a comprehensive reparations scheme, including financial reparations, for our stolen generations has shown me the best of what we can do when we work together. To see the Government adopt my flexible work policy has shown me that sometimes good ideas will prevail. They have remediated my often daily frustrations with the decisions that this Government takes, and the effects they have on families, seniors and working people living right across New South Wales. From drug rehabilitation to electoral law reform to the National Disability Insurance Scheme to fresh food prices and everything in between, I have thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in the most complex and difficult issues facing our great State, and finding solutions. I have plenty of ideas, but I know the best way to get things done is to be on the Treasury benches. On a personal note, my 15-month-old baby girl, who managed to sit through my inaugural speech, will begin school next year. My second baby, who grew in my tummy as I debated in this Chamber, and later joined us, sometimes breastfeeding through divisions, is now a robust little boy. And my incredible husband, who supports me to do all of this—my rock—is still my best friend and my love. He always knows the advice I most need to hear, even if sometimes I do not want to hear it. I wish everyone a safe, holy and Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Please stay safe over the Christmas break—on our roads and in our oceans. I look forward to seeing members back here for the Fifty-seventh Parliament, but hopefully from the other side of the House. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT (The Hon. Shayne Mallard): The question is that this House do now adjourn. Motion agreed to. The House adjourned at 16:30 until Tuesday 20 November at 14:30.