Tuesday, 18 May 2004
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18 May 2004 Legislative Assembly 1061 TUESDAY, 18 MAY 2004 Legislative Assembly Mr SPEAKER (Hon. R.K. Hollis, Redcliffe) read prayers and took the chair at 9.30 a.m. ASSENT TO BILLS 14 May 2004 The Honourable R.K. Hollis, MP Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Parliament House George Street BRISBANE QLD 4000 Dear Mr Speaker I am pleased to inform the Legislative Assembly that the following Bill, having been passed by the Legislative Assembly and having been presented for the Royal Assent, was assented to in the name of Her Majesty The Queen on 13 May 2004: "A Bill for an Act to repeal the Aurukun Associates Agreement Act 1975, and for related purposes" The Bill is hereby transmitted to the Legislative Assembly, to be numbered and forwarded to the proper Officer for enrolment, in the manner required by law. Yours sincerely (sgd) Quentin Bryce Governor AUDITOR-GENERAL'S REPORT Mr SPEAKER: Order! Honourable members, I have to report that today I received from the Auditor-General a report entitled Audit Report No. 8 of 2003-04: Results of audits performed for 2002-03 as at 31 March 2004. REGISTER OF MEMBERS' INTERESTS Report Mr SPEAKER: Order! Honourable members, I lay upon the table of the House the 16th report on the Register of Members' Interests. STANDING ORDER 114 Mr SPEAKER: Order! Honourable members, in light of the behaviour that has been experienced in the House over the past couple of sitting weeks, I feel it necessary to remind members of standing order 114, which states— A Member shall not interrupt another while addressing the House except by leave of such other Member, and for the purpose of making a personal explanation. It is apparent to me that some members need reminding that a breach of this standing order or similar standing orders is being disorderly and therefore subject to standing order 123A, which provides the Speaker with the power to order withdrawal of a disorderly member. I remind members that the behaviour of one member of the House reflects on all members. Observers in the public gallery or those members of the public watching or listening via the TV or the Internet gain a lasting impression of what they see or hear. Members who persistently make uncalled for and disruptive interjections potentially deny the rights of other members to speak. Members who do so not only bring shame upon themselves but also reflect on this parliament. I will not tolerate behaviour by any member that amounts to disrespect for the Queensland parliament and the institution of parliamentary democracy. So I give fair warning that I will be enacting standing order 123A if any member's conduct, including persistent uncalled-for interjections, unduly disrupts the proceedings of this House. 1062 Papers 18 May 2004 PARLIAMENTARY PRECINCT, SALE OF ALCOHOL Mr SPEAKER: Order! I note the comments made by the Leader of the Opposition in the Sunday Mail of 16 May 2004 regarding the serving of alcohol in the precinct and the alleged nexus between the sale of alcohol and unruly behaviour. As my previous statement indicates, I agree that there has been unruly behaviour in this House in recent times. However, I would like to place on record that any unruly behaviour of members in recent times has occurred in the House between the hours of 9.30 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. Whilst I can speculate on many causes for the unruly behaviour experienced in the morning session, to the best of my knowledge none of the unruly conduct experienced during the morning sessions has been caused by alcohol. I have not yet been contacted by the honourable member in regard to this issue, but I would be happy to meet with him to obtain further and better particulars of these surprising accusations. PETITIONS The following honourable members have lodged paper petitions for presentation— StandBy Suicide Bereavement Response Service, Noosa Ms Molloy from 923 petitioners requesting the House to reconsider the decision to withdraw support for funding of the vital community service, StandBy Suicide Bereavement Response Service, auspiced by Noosa Youth Services Inc and request the ability to make this project a life line for all those so tragically affected by suicide on the Sunshine Coast and consider making this project a part of the state of Queensland's ongoing fight in this year of the child. Vehicle Access, Moreton Island Mr Speaker from 384 petitioners requesting the House to reconsider the restriction of vehicle access on the beach at Comboyuro Point and North Point in the final QPWS Moreton Island management plan. PAPERS PAPERS TABLED DURING THE RECESS The Clerk informed the House that the following papers, received during the recess, were tabled on the dates indicated— 14 May 2004— • Board of Trustees of Brisbane Grammar School—Annual Report 2003 • Marine Safety Incidents—Annual Report 2003 17 May 2004— • Response from the Minister for Education and the Arts (Ms Bligh) to a paper petition presented by Mr Pitt from 2292 petitioners regarding the opening of the school gates at Innisfail State High School during lunch hours to allow students to cross the road to access lunches STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS The following statutory instruments were tabled by the Clerk— Government Owned Corporations Act 1993— • Government Owned Corporations (Ports) Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2004, No. 51 Tow Truck Act 1973, Transport Infrastructure Act 1994, Transport Operations (Marine Pollution) Act 1995, Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994, Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995— • Transport Legislation Amendment Regulation (No. 1) 2004, No. 54 Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002— • Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management—Yellow Crazy Ant) Emergency Pest Notice 2004, No. 55 MINISTERIAL PAPERS Premier • Supplementary report of Official Visit to Israel, UK, Ireland and Europe, 22 March—3 April 2004, Heather Beattie Attorney-General • Freedom of Information Annual Report 2002-03 Ministerial Statements Premier • Alcohol action plan • tabled report titled 'Finding the balance, Queensland Alcohol Action Plan 2003/2004 to 2006/2007.' • Biodiscovery • 100 days Beattie government • tabled document titled 'Beattie government Third Term—100 days of Achievement'. •FOI • tabled copies of sections 44 & 46 Freedom of Information Act 1992, • tabled 9 Courier Mail articles re FOI stories, 18 May 2004 Ministerial Statement 1063 • tabled Queensland Health document titled ' Elective Surgery Waiting List Report as at 1 April 2004', • tabled Courier-Mail article dated 10 February 1998 titled 'Ministerial behaviour under fire', • tabled Courier-Mail article dated 2 August 2000 titled 'Borbidge admits to misuse of FOI law'. • Leader of the Opposition motor vehicle • tabled letter undated to Leader of Opposition re approval of 4WD vehicle Public Works & Housing • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander housing and construction program Attorney-General • FOI annual report Child Safety • Child abuse Education • Television production tax offset Tourism, Fair Trading • Centre for Credit and Consumer Law Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander • Longreach cattle drive State Development • Public Private Partnerships forum Police & Corrective Services • Queensland Police Fingerprint Bureau exhibition Transport & Main Roads • Queensland road toll Primary Industries •Biosecurity OVERSEAS VISIT Supplementary Report Hon. P.D. BEATTIE (Brisbane Central—ALP) (Premier and Minister for Trade) (9.36 a.m.): I table a supplementary report, supplementary tablings, in relation to my visit to Israel, the UK, Ireland and Europe at the end of March/beginning of April this year. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION Annual Report Hon. R.J. WELFORD (Everton—ALP) (Attorney-General and Minister for Justice) (9.36 a.m.): I lay upon the table of the House the annual report on freedom of information for the 2002-03 year. MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Alcohol Action Plan Hon. P.D. BEATTIE (Brisbane Central—ALP) (Premier and Minister for Trade) (9.37 a.m.): Alcohol misuse is costly, destructive and sometimes fatal. The monetary cost to Queensland is estimated at $1.4 billion per year and the human cost is astronomical. Between 1992 and 2001, more than 6,000 Queenslanders died of alcohol related causes and more than 136,000 were hospitalised. Thirty per cent of road deaths and almost 13 per cent of all traffic accidents involve alcohol, costing the community more than $186 million in 2002-03. Alcohol also had a presence in 38 per cent of domestic violence breaches, 43 per cent of assaults and 77 per cent of good order offences. Finding the Balance, the new Queensland Alcohol Action Plan 2003-04 to 2005-06 which cabinet has endorsed, outlines these and other facts. Alarmingly, the plan highlights how teenagers and young adults are adopting increasingly dangerous drinking habits. I table a copy of that report Finding the Balance for all members which I urge them to read. Binge drinking is on the rise amongst young women, and the proportion of girls aged 14 to 17 with dangerous drinking habits has risen from one per cent in 1998 to nine per cent in 2001—that is, almost one in 10 teenage girls who are too young to legally enter a bar drink at dangerous levels. We know 1064 Ministerial Statement 18 May 2004 such risky behaviour can cause horrific road accidents, sexual coercion and unwanted pregnancies, foetal alcohol syndrome and drownings. One of the top priorities of this action plan is to pull these young women back from the precipice and prevent other girls from adopting risky habits. To this end, Queensland Health is developing a campaign to counter binge drinking among young women, just as it has implemented a program warning young people of the risks of drink spiking. The government has a range of integrated strategies to prevent and reduce alcohol-related harm, based on the best available evidence.