DOCSLIB.ORG

Annual Report 2002-2003

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Annual Report 2002-2003 Mental Health Co-ordinating Council Annual Report 2002-2003 CONTENTS Organisational Profile 2 Chairperson's Report 4 Executive Officer's Report 5 People Behind MHCC 6 MHCC Representation 8 MHCC Projects 2002-2003 8 NSW Legislative Council Inquiry into Mental Health Services 10 MHCC Submissions, Consultations & Presentations of Note 11 Other Sector Representation of Note 16 MHCC Seminars/Forums 17 MHCC Newsletter 18 MHCC Member Survey 2002 18 MHCC Members 2002 - 2003 19 Financials 2002 - 2003 21 MHCC ANNUAL REPORT 2002-2003 1 ORGANISATIONAL PROFILE VISION To be part of a society that values each individual and provides equal access to appropriate and effective health and community services for all its members. MISSION To provide leadership and an independent representative voice on mental health issues for non-government organisations in NSW including, service providers and consumer and carer organisations. UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES Good mental health is about the whole person; their psychological, physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Consumer and carer input is central to the promotion of mental health and the delivery and management of services. Communities need to provide a range of mental health services designed to meet local needs. An across-governmental approach to mental health promotion and service delivery is required. KEY PRIORITIES Informing, engaging, supporting and educating non-government organisations working for mental health. Influencing public policy. Promotion of mental health issues in the community. 2 MHCC ANNUAL REPORT 2002-2003 MENTAL HEALTH COORDINATING COUNCIL (MHCC) The Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC) is the peak body for non-government organisations (NGOs) working for mental health throughout New South Wales (NSW). MHCC's membership includes NGOS, both specialist and mainstream, and other bodies interested in mental health. As the peak body for NSW, MHCC aims to provide leadership and an independent public voice on mental health issues. We facilitate effective linkages between the government, non-government and private sectors acting as the liaison body representing the views of our membership. ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP OF MHCC OFFERS: 1. Access to various levels of the sector via feedback to and representation by the MHCC secretariat (see MHCC Representation); 2. Opportunities to participate in public policy development and other MHCC initiatives; 3. Access to all MHCC resource services; 4. Regular sector information via our newsletter, "View From the Peak", FYI Faxes and quarterly mailouts; and 5. Discounts on MHCC educational opportunities such as the MHCC Seminar Series and MHCC forums and conferences. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS MHCC is the peak body representing non-government mental health organisations in NSW. We gratefully acknowledge the core funding as well as some specific project grants provided by the NSW Health Department. We remain appreciative of the support of all our member organisations, through their membership fees, their unpaid contributions to our committees and projects and their ongoing commitment to mental health and all people living with a mental illness. MHCC ANNUAL REPORT 2002-2003 3 CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT It is with great pleasure that I commend you to the 21st Annual Report. Our commitment to providing strong leadership for our public and the people of NSW has remained firm throughout the past year and this is evidenced by the content of this report. "Time is a great equaliser" we constantly hear when talking in terms of what can be achieved in a day, week, month or year. In these days of fewer resources, each of us has to ensure that we get the most out of the time allotted to the tasks we set ourselves. Services have had to find creative ways to use resources and it is encouraging to find innovation still alive and well within our member groups. At the Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC) time has challenged our concept of value and priority during the year and forced us to take immediate action once decisions were made. The result has been extremely challenging and I have to report that this action has not, regretfully, resulted in a huge influx of funds to the sector. The NSW Legislative Council’s "Inquiry into Mental Health Services in NSW" presented a system that is failing to meet the needs of the population. The NSW Government is yet to respond to the Recommendations of the Inquiry and we look forward with anticipation to a response being tabled before the year-end and an increase in the funding base. The MHCC response has focused on the need for an across government approach to service planning and delivery. This need is reflected through the wide range of funding sources and services provided by our member groups. Flowing from this over-arching focus is the need for increased services across all government departments to support the identified population. On the National stage NSW still shamefully lags behind all other states in its allocation of funds to mental health services. The Mental Health Council of Australia’s (MHCA) Report "Out of Hospital Out of Mind" released this year highlights deficits of service and makes a number of recommendations for reform. In August 2003 members of the MHCA participated in the Australian Health Care Summit to talk about ways to improve Australia’s health system. All Health Ministers recently endorsed the National Mental Health Plan 2003-2008 and we are looking forward to its distribution. Many services are pivotal to the provision of quality care to ensure the health and wellbeing of the population. People who seek help and the people who are close to them must not be forced into a crisis system of care where the end result is police transportation, hospitalisation or prison confinement. It will become evident as you read this report that MHCC has achieved much throughout the year. Jenna Bateman and the team at MHCC deserve recognition for the high standard of work they have presented. Without their varied skills and commitment to the needs of the member groups many National and State policies would not include such a strong focus on the need for improved mental health services and the recovery model. Members of the Board of the Council are to be thanked for their strong contribution throughout the year. It is only with the goodwill of the Boards of each organization of MHCC that our Board membership is possible. Finally, we thank the NSW Department of Health for the continued support of the MHCC. Joy Said, AM Chairperson Mental Health Co-ordinating Council 4 MHCC ANNUAL REPORT 2002-2003 EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S REPORT I’ve come to enjoy the process of pulling together the MHCC Annual Report. It’s a time to take a rare moment to reflect on what we have achieved rather than looking forward to what still needs to be done. Whilst its true to say that the NSW State election and the release of the NSW Legislative Council’s Inquiry into Mental Health created a focus for much of the secretariat’s work over 2002/2003, members will see from the contents of the Annual Report that we have represented member interests on a very wide range of issues and initiatives. MHCC members are not always aware of the activities undertaken by the MHCC Board and secretariat and the Annual Report is a great way to demonstrate the scope of what we do. One of the great challenges for MHCC is deciding how to employ our resources to best meet the interests of members. We had hoped after the former NSW Health Minister Craig Knowles agreed to fund the MHCC NGO Development positions at last years 20th Anniversary celebrations that we would have an increased capacity to assist members and NGO development generally in more direct ways at the local level. However, the $400,000 in promised funds has not yet been released. MHCC has been assured that there continues to be support for the proposal both from the current Health Minister Morris Iemma and from the Centre for Mental Health. Reasons given for the delay range from some reworking of the NGO quality development component of the proposal to the need to understand the project within the across government review of NGOs currently underway. We continue to be assured by the Minister’s Office that the proposal will be funded. The pathway for NGOs isn’t always smooth and generally speaking the environment for NGOs working in mental health over the last year has been extremely variable. Some member organisations have thrived over the year having taken on new projects and opportunities and gained greater confidence in their ability and credibility to attract funds from a wider range of sources than ever before. For others, however the experience of having to face the reality of the insecurity of NGO funding despite evidence of good outcomes has been harsh. Some of the challenges facing MHCC member groups over the coming year include obtaining greater clarity around funding streams for psychiatric disability support and psychosocial rehabilitation, assessing the continuing impact of competitive tendering on the cohesiveness of the sector, and the challenging and increasingly challenged role of NGOs in systems advocacy and community participation. MHCC membership has grown over the year with again many of the new members coming from non- specialist mental health organisations. Our sector is diversifying rapidly as mainstream organisations and agencies recognise the importance of addressing the mental health needs of their clients. In all that we have achieved this year I would like to thank the MHCC Board and particularly Chairperson Joy Said AM whose commitment and experience is very much appreciated. I would also like to thank the MHCC secretariat, Edi Condack, Ann Machlochlainn and Stephanie Maraz for their dedicated and flexible approach to the demands of the job.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Linda Scott for Sydney Strong, Local, Committed
    The South Sydney Herald is available online: www.southsydneyherald.com.au FREE printed edition every month to 21,000+ regular readers. VOLUME ONE NUMBER FORTY-NINE MAR’07 CIRCULATION 21,000 ALEXANDRIA BEACONSFIELD CHIPPENDALE DARLINGTON ERSKINEVILLE KINGS CROSS NEWTOWN REDFERN SURRY HILLS WATERLOO WOOLLOOMOOLOO ZETLAND RESTORE HUMAN RIGHTS BRING DAVID HICKS HOME New South Wales decides PROTEST AT 264 PITT STREET, CITY The South Sydney Herald gives you, as a two page insert, SUNDAY MARCH 25 ✓ information you need to know about your voting electorates. PAGES 8 & 13 More on PAGE 15 Water and housing: Labor and Greens Frank hits a high note - good news for live music? go toe to toe John Wardle Bill Birtles and Trevor Davies The live music scene in NSW is set to receive a new and much fairer regu- Heffron Labor incumbent Kristina latory system, after Planning Minister Keneally has denied that the State Frank Sartor and the Iemma Govern- government’s promised desalination ment implemented amendments to plant will cause road closures and the Local Government Act including extensive roadwork in Erskineville. a streamlined process to regulate Claims that the $1.9 billion desalina- entertainment in NSW and bring us tion plant at Kurnell will cause two more into line with other states. years of roadworks across Sydney’s Passed in the last week of Parlia- southern suburbs were first made by ment in November 2006, these the Daily Telegraph in February. reforms are “long overdue, and State government plans revealed extremely good news for the live that the 9 km pipeline needed to music industry” says Planning connect the city water tunnel with the Minister Frank Sartor.
    [Show full text]
  • I Am Writing to Report on the Outcomes of The
    28 July 2009 Mr Barry Cotter Chair: Sydney Airport Community Forum The Hon Anthony Albanese MP Ms Maria Patrinos Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Community Representative Parliament House Mr Kevin Hill CANBERRA ACT 2600 Community Representative The Hon John Murphy MP Federal Member for Lowe The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP Dear Minister Federal Member for Sydney The Hon Peter Garrett MP I am writing to report on the outcomes of the meeting of the Sydney Federal Member for Kingsford-Smith th Airport Community Forum (SACF) held on Friday 10 of July 2009. The Hon Tony Burke MP Federal Member for Watson Members discussed the issue of the second airport for Sydney and The Hon Robert McClelland MP indicated they would appreciate your advice on whether the Federal Member for Barton Government’s policy is for the second airport to be within the Sydney The Hon Joe Hockey MP Federal Member for North Sydney Basin. The Hon Maxine McKew MP Federal Member for Bennelong The Forum expressed interest in the discussion paper ‘Safeguards for The Hon Dr Brendan Nelson MP airports and the communities around them’ recently released by the Federal Member for Bradfield Government. In particular members were concerned that penetrations The Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP of the Sydney Airport Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) by new Federal Member for Wentworth buildings may restrict long term options for sharing noise through the Mr Scott Morrison MP Federal Member for Cook spreading of flight paths. The Hon Kristina Keneally MP State Member for Heffron During discussions on the Runway End Safety Area (RESA) project The Hon Frank Sartor MP there was broad agreement that Mode 15 has been a positive addition State Member for Rockdale to the suite of noise sharing modes available under the Airport’s Long The Hon Carmel Tebbutt MP Term Operating Plan (LTOP).
    [Show full text]
  • Annualreport 2005.Pdf (PDF, 3.89MB)
    The University The University of Sydney The University of Sydney Annual Report of Sydney Annual Report Annual Report 2005 2005 200 5 University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia www.usyd.edu.au 06/1042 The University of Sydney NSW 2006 April 2006 The Honourable Carmel Tebbutt, MLC Minister for Education and Training Level 33, Governor Macquarie Tower 1 Farrer Place Sydney NSW 2000 Dear Minister, The Senate of the University of Sydney has the honour of presenting to you, in accordance with the Annual Reports (Statutory Bodies) Act 1984 and its subsequent amendments, the report of the proceedings and financial statements of the University of Sydney for the year ended 31 December 2005. The Hon Justice Kim Santow OAM Chancellor The University of Sydney in 2005 45,966 students 8808 international students 5812 full-time staff 17:1 student/staff ratio Professor Gavin Brown AO 15 Federation Fellows Vice-Chancellor and Principal 9 ARC Centres of Excellence 1 ARC Special Research Centre 1 ARC Key Centre of Teaching and Research 22 Cooperative Research Centres 3 NHMRC Centres of Clinical Research Excellence 29 spin-off companies $175 million research and consultancy income 5.1 million library holdings 42 sporting clubs 250+ clubs and societies 1 Annual Report 2005 The University of Sydney Annual Report 2005 Contents Charter...............................................................2 Federal government-funded Our aspiration and values............................2 research centres..........................................42 Highlights 2005 ..............................................3
    [Show full text]
  • Inaugural Speech
    INAUGURAL SPEECH The PRESIDENT: I remind honourable members that this is the member's first speech and she should be given all due consideration. Before the honourable member starts, I welcome into my gallery members of the Hon. Rose Jackson's family, including her husband, Sam Crosby, their children, Oscar and Charlotte, her father, Mr Martin Butler, her mother-in-law, Mrs Bronwyn Crosby, and her brother, Joe. I also welcome into the public gallery the Hon. Chris Bowen, member for McMahon in the Australian Parliament. I welcome you all in the House this evening for the member's first speech. The Hon. ROSE JACKSON (18:01): The land we are on is called Eora. The first people here were the Gadigal. In 1909 this Parliament passed the Aborigines Protection Act, which gave legal force to the Aborigines Welfare Board and its wide-ranging control over the lives of Aboriginal people. In doing so, it introduced one of the deepest sources of our national shame by codifying the board's power to remove Aboriginal children from their families. I acknowledge the Gadigal today in this place not as a mere hat tip or commonplace convention but in solemn acknowledgement that the laws that gave the New South Wales Government power to steal the children of Aboriginal families, to take the babies from their mummies, were laws that were made in this very room, in this Parliament House, by our predecessors. The lives and resilience of the Gadigal should serve to inspire and humble us. They should stand as a profound warning: What we do here matters.
    [Show full text]
  • The Slow Death of a Salesman
    The slow death of a salesman Authors: Deborah Snow, Andrew West, Publication: Sydney Morning Herald Mathew Moore & Damien Murphy Section: News Review Date: 13/09/2008 Pages: 28-29 Words: 4,010 Source: SMH Like Kevin Rudd, Nathan Rees's ambition was enough to put him above other would-be contenders for political leadership. To those outside politics, Nathan Rees's installation as Premier came as a bolt from the blue. But forces working against Morris Iemma had been gathering for months. As a number of Labor insiders tell it, his unwavering support for privatisation of the state's power industry was not the only cause of Iemma's downfall. The NSW Labor headquarters in Sussex Street, under the leadership of its secretary, Karl Bitar, 37, had tu rned against Iemma months before when his disapproval ratings soared. Iemma told colleagues he detected a change in Bitar's attitude towards him from about Christmas. "By March you could see that Morris was doing worse than the party," a source said. "The punters out there thought they had been conned; Morris came in as premier and said it was a new government. They had given him the benefit of the doubt and progress had not been made. So the electorate was pissed off." Against the drum-beat of the polls, the privatisation debate was growing steadily more bitter. Party bosses had kept a tight lid on the festering tensions over electricity during last year's federal election campaign. But once that was out of the way, all bets were off. "Karl Bitar and Joh n Robertson [the UnionsNSW boss] did nothing else from the Monday after the federal election until the state party conference in May except try to manage the electricity debate," said a source.
    [Show full text]
  • Legislative Assembly
    4197 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Tuesday 28 October 2003 ______ Mr Speaker (The Hon. John Joseph Aquilina) took the chair at 2.15 p.m. Mr Speaker offered the Prayer. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL VACANCY Joint Sitting Mr SPEAKER: I report the receipt of the following message from Her Excellency the Governor: Governor Marie Bashir MESSAGE I, Professor Marie Bashir, AC, in pursuance of the power and authority vested in me as Governor of the State of New South Wales, do hereby convene a joint sitting of the Members of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly for the purpose of the election of a person to fill the seat in the Legislative Council vacated by the Honourable Malcolm Jones, and I do hereby announce and declare that such Members shall assemble for such purpose on Wednesday the twenty ninth day of October 2003, at 4:00pm in the building known as the Legislative Council Chamber situated in Macquarie Street in the City of Sydney, and the Members of the Legislative Council and the Members of the Legislative Assembly are hereby required to give their attendance at the said time and place accordingly. In order that the Members of both Houses of Parliament may be duly informed of the convening of the joint sitting, I have this day addressed a like message to the President of the Legislative Council. Office of the Governor Sydney, 23 October 2003 The Honourable the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly I direct that the joint sitting with the Legislative Council in the Legislative Council Chamber for the election of a member of the Legislative Council be set down as an order of the day for 4.00 p.m.
    [Show full text]
  • From Care to Custody: Young Women in Out-Of-Home Care in the Criminal Justice System
    From Care to Custody: Young Women in Out-of-Home Care in the Criminal Justice System Introduction Children in out-of-home care (those children removed from their homes and placed in state care by an order of the Children’s Court) are vastly over-represented in the New South Wales juvenile justice system. The Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in New South Wales (Wood 2008) found that 28 percent of males and 39 percent of females in detention had a history of out-of-home care (Wood 2008:556). The much anticipated Strategic Review of the New South Wales Juvenile Justice System, released in April 2010, noted these figures and stressed that addressing the risk factors of out-of-home care and its links to the juvenile justice system was a ‘sound policy platform’ (Noetic Solutions 2010:88). This is a sadly familiar refrain. While the terminology may have changed (e.g. the term ‘state ward’ is no longer used to refer to this group), little progress has been made to reduce the number of children in care appearing before NSW courts and filling NSW’s juvenile detention centres. In 1992, the NSW Parliament’s inquiry into juvenile justice heard evidence that female state wards were ‘forty times more likely to be detained in custody than other girls’ and were ‘frequently unable to meet the bail conditions regarding an approved place of residence, by default remain(ing) in detention’ (Standing Committee on Social Issues 1992:141). Appalled, the Committee noted that ‘state wards are a particularly vulnerable group to involvement in the Juvenile Justice System’ and urged the then Department of Community Services (DoCS)1 and the Office of Juvenile Justice ‘to continue to monitor the numbers of state wards in the Juvenile Justice System with a view to developing strategies as to how best such young people might be diverted from contact with that system’ (Standing Committee on Social Issues 1992:54).
    [Show full text]
  • Thesis August
    Chapter 1 Introduction Section 1.1: ‘A fit place for women’? Section 1.2: Problems of sex, gender and parliament Section 1.3: Gender and the Parliament, 1995-1999 Section 1.4: Expectations on female MPs Section 1.5: Outline of the thesis Section 1.1: ‘A fit place for women’? The Sydney Morning Herald of 27 August 1925 reported the first speech given by a female Member of Parliament (hereafter MP) in New South Wales. In the Legislative Assembly on the previous day, Millicent Preston-Stanley, Nationalist Party Member for the Eastern Suburbs, created history. According to the Herald: ‘Miss Stanley proceeded to illumine the House with a few little shafts of humour. “For many years”, she said, “I have in this House looked down upon honourable members from above. And I have wondered how so many old women have managed to get here - not only to get here, but to stay here”. The Herald continued: ‘The House figuratively rocked with laughter. Miss Stanley hastened to explain herself. “I am referring”, she said amidst further laughter, “not to the physical age of the old gentlemen in question, but to their mental age, and to that obvious vacuity of mind which characterises the old gentlemen to whom I have referred”. Members obviously could not afford to manifest any deep sense of injury because of a woman’s banter. They laughed instead’. Preston-Stanley’s speech marks an important point in gender politics. It introduced female participation in the Twenty-seventh Parliament. It stands chronologically midway between the introduction of responsible government in the 1850s and the Fifty-first Parliament elected in March 1995.
    [Show full text]
  • Michael Daley Inaugural Speech.Pdf
    Inaugural Speeches Inaugural Speeches Extract from NSW Legislative Assembly Hansard and Papers Wednesday 12 October 2005. Mr MICHAEL DALEY (Maroubra) [7.58 p.m.] (Inaugural speech): I would like to similarly begin by congratulating Steven Chaytor, the honourable member for Macquarie Fields, and Carmel Tebbutt, the honourable member for Marrickville, who were elected on the day I was elected. Having been elected on the same day, I believe we will always share a special bond. As a young legal student I read carefully about the development of democratic institutions in the early colony of New South Wales and I studied the social and legal history and traditions of this House, which, like many similar Chambers in the world, is the inheritor of over 700 years of history and tradition. It is with a sense of awe and great pride that I address the House now for the first time. I do not for one moment fail to appreciate that the people of Maroubra have bestowed upon me what I consider to be the greatest privilege citizens can bestow upon another in a democracy—the opportunity to be their representative in a legislature. I thank the families of Maroubra, my fellow locals, for electing me on 17 September. I have lived every day of my life in the Maroubra electorate. I will not let them down. There have been only three former members for Maroubra—and two of them have been Premiers— Robert James Heffron from the establishment of the seat in 1950 until 1968, William Henry Haig from 1968 until 1983, and Robert John Carr from 1983 until his departure earlier this year.
    [Show full text]
  • Gooding Alex.Pdf
    How the west was lost – the causes and consequences of under- investment in Western Sydney’s infrastructure How the west was lost – the causes and consequences of under-investment in Western Sydney’s infrastructure Mr Alex Gooding Director, Gooding Davies Consultancy Pty Ltd 1 Park Road Lawson, NSW 2783 [email protected] Word count: 5,000 (not including abstract, tables or footnotes) Suggested running head: How the west was lost Suggested key words: infrastructure, planning, public transport, Western Sydney - 2 - ABSTRACT The post-war era saw major suburban expansion in most Australian cities. Unfortunately this was coupled with substantial under-investment in infrastructure, especially public transport. In most cities this pattern of under-investment has been reversed over the last two decades, with Brisbane and Perth investing in rail infrastructure to deal with continued population growth. However, Sydney has failed to follow this trend, with plans for lines in Western Sydney being continuously announced and withdrawn. At the same time several rail lines serving the eastern Sydney have been constructed, a pattern set to continue with the current CBD Metro proposal. Investment in transport infrastructure in Western Sydney has largely been limited to motorways – predominantly funded by tolls – and to bus transitways. A number of factors causing this pattern are common to many Australian cities, but several are unique to Sydney. These include the pattern of development of Sydney’s infrastructure prior to the 1950s, its post-war pattern of growth, the recent and current political and economic environment and continuing resistance in some quarters to investment in public transport, especially rail infrastructure.
    [Show full text]
  • Legislative Council
    15337 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Tuesday 3 May 2005 ______ The President (The Hon. Dr Meredith Burgmann) took the chair at 2.30 p.m. The Clerk of the Parliaments offered the Prayers. The PRESIDENT: I acknowledge that we are meeting on Eora land. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT The PRESIDENT: I report the receipt of the following message from His Excellency the Lieutenant- Governor: J. J. SPIGELMAN OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR SYDNEY 2005 The Honourable James Jacob Spigelman, Chief Justice of New South Wales, Lieutenant-Governor of the State of New South Wales, has the honour to inform the Legislative Council that, consequent on the Governor of New South Wales, Professor Marie Bashir, being absent from the State, he has this day assumed the administration of the Government of the State. 1 May 2005 SENATE VACANCY Resignation of Senator John Tierney The PRESIDENT: I report the receipt of a message from Her Excellency the Governor transmitting a copy of a dispatch from the President of the Senate of the Commonwealth of 14 April 2005 notifying that a vacancy had happened in the representation of the State of New South Wales in the Senate through the resignation of John Tierney on 14 April 2005. Motion by the Hon. Tony Kelly agreed to: That the message be taken into consideration on the receipt by this House of a message from the Legislative Assembly dealing with the same subject. ASSENT TO BILLS Assent to the following bills reported: Civil Liability Amendment (Offender Damages) Bill Independent Commission Against Corruption Amendment Bill Road Transport (General) Bill Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (New South Wales) Bill INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION Report The President tabled, in accordance with the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988, the report entitled "Report on Investigation into the Alleged Mistreatment of Nurses", dated April 2005.
    [Show full text]
  • Shadow Cabinet Today – Putting Forward a Mix of New Faces and Experience
    MEDIA RELEASE NSW OPPOSITION LEADER Friday, April 8, 2011 OPPOSITION LEADER ANNOUNCES NEW CABINET Opposition Leader John Robertson announced his shadow cabinet today – putting forward a mix of new faces and experience. "My team is fresh, energetic and ready to work," said Mr Robertson. "I have selected smart, talented people - determined to win back the trust of the people of NSW. "We are a smaller team but we will work twice as hard to hold the O'Farrell Government to account." Linda Burney will serve as Deputy Leader, Shadow Minister for Planning, Infrastructure and Heritage, Shadow Minister for Sport and Recreation, Shadow Minister for the Hunter and Shadow Minister for the Central Coast. "Linda Burney as Deputy Leader brings a wealth of experience, a passion for social justice and a strength of character I admire. "Linda's personal story is the very embodiment of what Labor stands for – that every person should have the opportunity to be the best they can be. "As Leader and Deputy Leader, Linda and I will also take on the regional shadow portfolios of the Hunter, Central Coast, Western Sydney and the Illawarra. "Michael Daley will take on the Treasury and Finance and Services portfolios; and unlike the Premier, I have full confidence in Michael to manage all issues relating to the State's budget and economy. "Of the 15 people in my team, seven are fresh faces – these new shadow cabinet members bring with them an energy, enthusiasm and commitment worthy of the task ahead," said Mr Robertson. Some of the fresh faces include: Andrew McDonald, Shadow Minister for Health and Shadow Minister for Medical Research.
    [Show full text]