3 May 2001 Legislative Assembly 639

THURSDAY, 3 MAY 2001

Mr SPEAKER (Hon. R. K. Hollis, Redcliffe) read prayers and took the chair at 9.30 a.m.

PRIVILEGE Public Works Committee; Comments by Member for Beaudesert Mr NEIL ROBERTS (Nudgee—ALP) (9.31 a.m.): I rise on a matter of privilege. Yesterday, the member for Beaudesert, in a question to the Treasurer and Minister for Sport, revealed to this House information concerning the internal deliberations of the Public Works Committee. Specifically, the member revealed what he believed to be the way in which ALP members of the committee deliberated on a particular issue. On Tuesday, 1 May during debate on the Parliamentary Committees and Criminal Justice Amendment Bill, the member for Beaudesert also revealed to this House what he believed to be the way in which I, as Chairman of the Public Works Committee, deliberated on another matter being considered by the committee. In relation to this matter, he said— So we found that the committee split three all. Of course, unbelievably, a casting vote was made by the chairman, an ALP member. Which way did he go? Of course he went with the government. So we had a four-three vote. It is a well-established principle of this and other parliaments that the internal deliberations of parliamentary committees are not divulged without the authority of the committee. This is an extremely important principle which goes to the very heart of the effective operation of the committee system. In fact, the unauthorised publication or disclosure of the private deliberations and decisions of committees have been pursued as matters of breach of privilege or contempt. Whereas the accuracy of the information provided by the member for Beaudesert is disputed, there is no doubt that there was a clear intention to divulge some specific internal deliberations of the Public Works Committee. Given that this has the potential of constituting a serious breach of the principles on which parliamentary committees operate, I request that the Speaker consider referring this matter to the Members' Ethics and Parliamentary Privileges Committee for determination on whether the member for Beaudesert's actions constitute a breach of privilege or contempt of the committee. I make this request directly to the Speaker on the basis that the previous Public Works Committee, which would normally consider this matter, no longer exists. I will provide the Speaker with a written request regarding this matter later today.

SMOKING IN PARLIAMENT HOUSE AND PARLIAMENTARY ANNEXE Mr SPEAKER: Order! I advise all honourable members that I have today instructed that smoking will strictly not be permitted in any enclosed area within Parliament House and the Parliamentary Annexe.

PETITION The Clerk announced the receipt of the following petition—

Mudgeeraba Creek State Primary School Mrs Reilly from 446 petitioners, requesting the House to supply the following to the Mudgeeraba Creek State Primary School (a) wider covered walkways to the long-term temporary buildings and (b) a covered verandah for the purpose of (i) port rack facilities as there are health and safety issues relating to this issue, (ii) withdrawal areas for the use of a one on one remedial work space and (iii) art and craft areas.

PAPERS MINISTERIAL PAPERS The following ministerial papers were tabled— Hon. T. M. Mackenroth (Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Sport)— Queensland Treasury Corporation—Half-yearly report July to December 2000 Report on visit to the United Kingdom and Ireland by Hon. T. M. Mackenroth (then Minister for Communication, Local Government and Planning) 640 Ministerial Statement 3 May 2001

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Dingoes, Fraser Island Hon. P. D. BEATTIE (Brisbane Central—ALP) (Premier and Minister for Trade) (9.35 a.m.), by leave: The cull of wild dingoes entering townships and camping grounds on Fraser Island has begun. The first dingo was shot by a Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service ranger on Fraser Island yesterday afternoon, and the cull will continue over coming days. The dingo was part of a pack that has frequented the Waddy Point camp ground where a young boy died tragically following an attack by dingoes on Monday morning. It is the first of up to 20 dingoes that could be culled. There may be more. What the government wants is the camping grounds and townships safe, and dingoes found within that precinct will be the ones destroyed. The cull will continue and include the entire Waddy Creek pack of about five dogs. Initially, two small teams of rangers will conduct the cull. They will operate on separate parts of the island. It is unacceptable for dingoes to wander around campsites on Fraser Island putting young children at risk. I know there is criticism in certain quarters of our decision to cull. I would simply point out that a young boy has died. This is the right thing to do. We take no pleasure from this, but we have a duty of care to residents and visitors and to people. As I say, this is the right thing to do. I have also instructed the Department of Environment, in cooperation with the minster, to undertake a risk assessment of dingoes on Fraser Island. That report must be completed within a month. As well, we have ordered the strict enforcement of the no-feeding laws. So there are three aspects to our strategy: one is the cull around townships and campsites; two is the risk assessment, which the minister has authorised, and he delivered the terms of reference to the parliament yesterday; and three is the strict enforcement of the no-feeding laws. The no-feeding laws have been ignored by some people and that has contributed to the problem we face today. Feeding dingoes currently attracts on-the-spot fines of up to $75 and penalties of up to $1,500 if action is pursued through the courts. Many properties in western Queensland have dingoes living on them, but you do not find these animals lying on the front lawn. It should be the same on Fraser Island. Some media reports have given the impression that the State Government has done nothing to deal with the problem of rogue dingoes on Fraser Island in recent years. This is not the case. The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service has had dingo culling procedures and management guidelines for staff since 1992. These procedures have been followed and updated. Put briefly, rangers have the authority to cull any dingo that they believe is dangerous or has the potential to cause harm to people. For instance, in September last year it was decided that a dingo in the Happy Valley area posed a potential threat and it was destroyed. Soon afterwards, there were complaints about a dingo in the Kingfisher Bay area and it, too, was culled. Two have been culled from the Lake McKenzie area since May 1999. Another three have been destroyed at Central Station in the past four years. Altogether, between 30 and 40 Fraser Island dingoes have been destroyed in the past decade. Mr Speaker, our hearts go out to the family of the young boy. I have written to the parents, and the Environment Minister has communicated with the family as well. Both of us expressed our deepest condolences on behalf of all Queenslanders.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT HIH Insurance Hon. P. D. BEATTIE (Brisbane Central—ALP) (Premier and Minister for Trade) (9.40 a.m.), by leave: The collapse of HIH Insurance is of great concern to my government, the business community and the general public of Queensland. We have all seen media reports showing just how the group's collapse has affected ordinary Queenslanders, and the situation is one that has caused a great deal of anxiety for policyholders. There are people who have been seriously injured playing sport whose futures are on hold because of the HIH collapse. My office has received calls from businesses concerned about their financial security. These are real people facing a real crisis in their lives. It is a situation that calls for leadership. Last month I received a letter from New South Wales Premier Bob Carr, seeking Queensland government action to promote a national response to the collapse. Last night in Sydney, where I 3 May 2001 Ministerial Statement 641 attended a major function for the 40th anniversary of Westfield, I had a discussion with the New South Wales Premier about this issue. We have agreed on a strategy that will be released over the next few days. I told Mr Carr that it is this government's view that urgent federal government action is now required, in consultation with the states, to discuss the Commonwealth's responsibilities in maintaining the integrity of the insurance system. I also wrote immediately to Prime Minister Howard, repeating this view. I informed Mr Howard that the Deputy Premier and Treasurer, Terry Mackenroth, would write to the federal Minister for Financial Services and Regulation requesting a meeting of relevant state and federal ministers to discuss the extent of the problems and potential strategies to address these problems. We are yet to receive a response from the Prime Minister or the Minister for Financial Services and Regulation. The best we have seen are press comments by the Minister for Financial Services and Regulation wiping his hands of the affair, saying that the federal government does not have enough information from the provisional liquidator to act. That is cold comfort to those people caught up in this affair. The federal government seems to be saying that it is too early to act, yet it could have and should have stepped in before the collapse occurred. In fact, it attacked me because I publicly highlighted this difficulty to protect policyholders in this state. I make no apology for having gone out to protect Queensland policyholders. The federal government would not act when the smoke was billowing about the problem, and it will not act now when remedial action and leadership is needed. For the information of the House I table the letter I wrote to Bob Carr on 18 April and the letter I wrote to the Prime Minister on 18 April. I repeat: I had an opportunity to discuss this matter with Bob Carr in Sydney last night. I also draw to the attention of the House another issue that I believe is important to Queenslanders and that relates to this matter. One can understand why some people become cynical when they read reports such as the one headlined 'HIH was a gift for Libs', published in the 7-8 April edition of the Weekend Australian. That report outlined how HIH was one of the Liberal Party's biggest financial backers. According to the report, HIH gave the Liberal Party $351,000 in the year before the 1996 federal election and was one of the top 10 donors to the Liberal Party in the four years to 1999, giving $657,000. The report points out that while HIH was making those donations it was opposing the introduction of tighter regulation of the industry. The article also points out that if tighter regulations had been introduced earlier the HIH debacle may never have eventuated. Those are issues of great concern, particularly to HIH shareholders, particularly those in Queensland. For all of the reasons I have just outlined, it is absolutely vital that the federal government agrees to the meeting sought by my government to get to the bottom of the HIH collapse. In conclusion, I repeat: in my discussions with Bob Carr last night we jointly agreed on a strategy to protect policyholders in New South Wales and Queensland, as well as those in the rest of Australia. I would hope that that strategy is not necessary. I call on the Prime Minister to immediately act to protect HIH policyholders across Australia.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Goodwill Games Hon. P. D. BEATTIE (Brisbane Central—ALP) (Premier and Minister for Trade) (9.43 a.m.), by leave: It gives me great pleasure to inform the House of the outstanding success of the Goodwill Games ticketing policy. I am pleased to say that Queenslanders have taken the Goodwill Games to heart—and why wouldn't they, with many of the best athletes in the world coming to Queensland to compete in this landmark event. Interest in the Goodwill Games has not been limited to Queenslanders. Plenty of inquiries have been received from interstate and overseas. While organisers have been buoyed by the enthusiastic rush for tickets, there are still plenty of good tickets available. The promotional drive will receive another boost over the next few days when I join the two fastest men in the world, who competed at last year's Olympic Games—100 metres gold medallist Maurice Green and silver medallist Ato Bolden—at Goodwill Games corporate lunches here in 642 Ministerial Statement 3 May 2001

Brisbane today and in Sydney on Friday. On Saturday I will be joining them via a closed circuit link for a corporate breakfast in Melbourne. Unfortunately there is a matter of a by-election that prevents me going to Melbourne for that launch. Mr Seeney: That's all right. You can go. Mr BEATTIE: It will be interesting to see the by-election result on Saturday. While I am far from confident about our prospects for success, I know what the vote will be like for the party of the member opposite. I look forward to the National Party result and the explanation of the vote by the Leader of the Opposition on Sunday. That is what I look forward to. Good luck with it, mate. Mr Mackenroth: The Liberal Party is now taking credit for getting more votes. Mr BEATTIE: The extraordinary thing is that, according to all of the research, the Liberal Party is now ahead of the National Party. Maybe Bob Quinn is right: he has the biggest conservative party in Queensland. Who knows? Let us see what happens. Members should stay tuned. Mr Mackenroth: They are not here, though. Mr BEATTIE: They are not here in the House. Isn't it an arrogant thing that they are not in the House? What arrogance that they are not even in the House. Goodwill Games organisers have learnt from the dramas and disappointments of the Sydney Olympics ticketing system and have put in place a simple, transparent system for this event. I table that information. Cabinet has acted to ensure that the maximum number of tickets—80 per cent of the total—will be available to the public on a first-in, first-served basis. That is as fair as one can get. In addition, ticket prices have been kept to a reasonable level and some events, such as the surf- lifesaving to be held on the Gold Coast and the triathlon to be held in Brisbane, will be free to the public. As a bonus, the ticket price will also cover public transport fares. The state government is doing all that it can to ensure that the Goodwill Games are an accessible and enjoyable event. It is great to see Queenslanders getting behind this event and making the most of this once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the world's best athletes in action. As I said, international sprinting superstars Maurice Green and Ato Bolden will be here today and, in a sense, they are giving Queenslanders the first taste of what will come when 1,300 of the world's best athletes hit Brisbane for the Goodwill Games later in the year. More than 1,000 people will attend the special champions luncheon that will be held for Green and Bolden at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre today, which I will be addressing. There will be huge interest in the two athletes' visit to Australia, and that is highlighted by the intense exposure Brisbane will receive from the games itself. Having the two fastest men in the world is a coup for any event, but the Goodwill Games will also have the best of the best in 14 sports. As I said, there will be a major lunch today in Brisbane followed by a major lunch in Sydney on Friday, 4 May, which I will attend, and a breakfast with the superstars will be held in Melbourne on Saturday.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Payroll Tax Hon. T. M. MACKENROTH (Chatsworth—ALP) (Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Sport) (9.47 a.m.), by leave: Last Thursday the Victorian government released details of proposed changes to business taxes in its state. The changes follow recommendations handed down in the final report of the Victorian State Business Tax Review Committee in February. When this report was released, the Queensland branch of the Property Council of Australia called on the Queensland government to match what would be done by the Victorian government. Let us look at how these proposed changes stack up against the situation in Queensland and at what would happen if we matched Victoria. In the 2001-02 year, Victoria proposes to reduce payroll tax from 5.75 per cent to 5.45 per cent. Our rate is currently 4.9 per cent and is scheduled to drop to 4.8 per cent from July. Similarly, the payroll tax threshold is much more generous in Queensland. Victoria will raise its threshold to $550,000 from July 2003. Up here, businesses do not pay the tax until their payroll 3 May 2001 Ministerial Statement 643 exceeds $850,000. This has proven an attractive lure for many companies who have decided to call the Sunshine State home in recent years. The Victorian government also plans to increase the land tax threshold for small business, investors and self-funded retirees from $85,000 to $125,000. Our threshold is already $200,000. The Victorian government has also indicated that it will impose payroll tax on the grossing up of fringe benefits and on some eligible termination payments. We do not impose payroll tax on either of these. In fact, do honourable members know what the net result would be if we were to implement these changes proposed by the Victorian government? Queensland businesses would be paying an extra $209 million into state coffers next year—$209 million above and beyond what they already pay. If we were to copy all the changes that the Victorian government proposes to implement by July 2004, Queensland businesses would be paying an extra $727 million over the same period and $107 million each year from then onwards. I can assure the Property Council of Australia that there is no way that the Queensland government will impose these sorts of taxes on their members, even though we were asked to do it. Whilst I applaud any attempt at effective tax reform by the Victorian government, it will be a long time before it can lay claim to our crown as the low-tax state.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Beattie Labor Government Hon. M. J. FOLEY (Yeerongpilly—ALP) (Minister for Employment, Training and Youth and Minister for the Arts) (9.50 a.m.), by leave: While this government gives the highest priority to jobs, jobs, jobs, it is also strongly committed to getting on with the job of government. That applies just as much in any distant corner of the state as it does right here in the parliament of Queensland. In fact, I wish to inform the House today of some significant tasks which I have assigned to some very capable members of this House. It is an indication of the strength there is in the ranks of this government and of the government's commitment to using the strengths and abilities of its members wisely and well. For example, I have asked my parliamentary secretary, Neil Roberts, the member for Nudgee, to work with me to improve the effectiveness of the Jobs Policy Council. This is a peak interdepartmental body which was endorsed by cabinet in July 1998, very shortly after the Beattie government came to power. It has met bimonthly since its first meeting in August 1998 and has been the key mechanism to oversee the highly effective Breaking the Unemployment Cycle initiative and identify future employment and training opportunities. My parliamentary secretary, Neil Roberts, will also work with me on the government's Worker Assistance Program. This is a program which is designed to assist workers who are sacked during large-scale retrenchments. It is a program which is a very significant one for Queensland workers. This can be measured by the fact that 2,053 workers have been assisted through the Worker Assistance Program over the past 21 months. The Worker Assistance Program provides help which ranges from offering information or advice to paying for training or a move to a new job. As part of this program, workers can receive up to $5,000 to help them back into the work force. Mr Welford interjected. Mr Seeney interjected. Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Attorney-General and the member for Callide! If you wish to have a conversation, please leave the chamber. Mr FOLEY: I thank you, Mr Speaker. Just yesterday, I was able to announce assistance under this program for workers retrenched from the Gladstone RSL. It is a key indicator of this government's willingness to listen to and to respond to the needs of Queenslanders. I will also be asking my parliamentary secretary, Neil Roberts, who has significant experience in the trade union movement, to liaise with unions to ensure that they are engaged in the government's wide-ranging and highly effective employment plans and programs. I have also invited another highly talented member of this government, Karen Struthers, the member for Algester, to monitor the implementation of this government's initiative on mature aged unemployment. This is a major initiative, the details of which will be spelt out in the budget. The Beattie government went to the state election earlier this year promising to implement this initiative, which will embrace two separate programs. One will offer a mature workers wage subsidy 644 Ministerial Statement 3 May 2001 to boost job opportunities by providing a $4,000 wage subsidy to businesses to employ long-term unemployed job seekers who are over 45 years of age. The second program, the Mature Age Job Ready Program, will help people aged over 45 to gain job search skills and information technology skills. The member for Algester brings to this task a background as a trained social worker, involvement with the Queensland Council of Social Service and work in her own electorate, which has especially attuned her to these issues, as well as her own well-known passionate commitment to social justice. But that is not the end of the list. I have also asked the member for Cairns, Desley Boyle, to assist me in the crucial area of women and employment. Women are often disadvantaged in employment, whether it is in the commercial marketplace or on the Supreme Court. The old boys club has to wake up to this sooner or later. As well as a keen interest in this area of employment, the member for Cairns has a background as a qualified psychologist with extensive experience and practice and masters degrees in both psychology and business administration. In particular, I have asked the member for Cairns to help with the development of a response to the report prepared for the Premier by the women's policy council entitled Beyond the pink collar. This report sets out some of the difficulties and disadvantages women face in obtaining a fair go in employment. This government is clearly demonstrating that it is prepared to take up the challenge of applying in the most effective way all of the resources of government members elected to this House from right across the state. In the special tasks that I have outlined there will be an opportunity to involve other members of parliamentary Labor Party caucus committees, most of whom are brand new to this parliament. The modern doctrine of responsible and representative government should entail not only executive accountability to an elected parliament but also a real opportunity for elected members to make a substantive contribution to the business of government. All-party committees are part of that equation, but it should not be overlooked that government members who are not members of cabinet have much to contribute, and they should be given a chance to do so in the interests of good public administration.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Heart Disease Hon. W. M. EDMOND (Mount Coot-tha—ALP) (Minister for Health and Minister Assisting the Premier on Women's Policy) (9.56 a.m.), by leave: This week is National Heart Week and it is a time for every one of us to think about what we can do as individuals, and as a society, to reduce the risk of heart disease. Mr Speaker, I would like to congratulate you on your earlier announcement in regard to the banning of smoking in enclosed areas of Parliament House because smoking is, of course, a major contributor to heart disease as well as lung and other cancers. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports that 80 per cent of the adult population has at least one risk factor for heart disease. Half of the adult population is reportedly overweight, 16 per cent has high blood pressure and one-third do not undertake a sufficient amount of positive physical activity. Almost half of all adults have a higher than desirable cholesterol level, according to the institute's latest data. Cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of death and a significant health problem in Australia. These are just a few facts which illustrate the problem— cardiovascular disease kills 42 per cent of the population, 54 per cent of which is directly related to heart disease; an estimated 80 Australians die each day from coronary heart disease. That is about 30,000 people a year; one in three Australian families is affected by coronary heart disease; and cardiovascular disease is the most costly disease to the health care system. In 1993-94 it cost Australia $3.7 billion in total direct health costs. The Heart Foundation quite rightly says that a large proportion of the deaths, disability and illness caused by cardiovascular heart disease is preventable because people can minimise their exposure to some of the risk factors. The Heart Foundation says that it is estimated that, for every one per cent increase in the population that undertakes moderate physical activity regularly, there 3 May 2001 Ministerial Statement 645 will be an annual saving of 122 lives from coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes and colon cancer. Tomorrow, Friday, 4 May, I will be launching the North Brisbane Community Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention Program. This program is a joint initiative by the Prince Charles Hospital, the Royal Brisbane Hospital Health Service District and the Brisbane North Division of General Practice. Its foremost aim is to help rehabilitate survivors of cardiovascular disease and, where possible, prevent further illness. Today the lives of many people affected by coronary heart disease are saved due to improved diagnostic, medical and surgical interventions and cardiac rehabilitation programs. The Cardiac Rehabilitation Program aims to help these people reduce their risk of future cardiac events and also empower the community with knowledge on how to reduce cardiac risk factors. The north Brisbane model is a multidisciplinary approach involving GPs, nursing staff, exercise physiologists and physiotherapists, occupational therapists, social workers and dietitians. The program also acts as a learning centre for University of Queensland and Queensland University of Technology human movements studies students. As this is Heart Week, I recognise the excellent work being done at the new Ipswich and West Moreton Cardiac Rehabilitation Centre at the Ipswich Health Plaza, which I opened last December. This centre evolved from a landmark joint venture between the Ipswich and West Moreton Division of General Practice and the West Moreton Health Service District. I was delighted to read in last Friday's Queensland Times newspaper that client numbers at the Ipswich centre have increased from 90 to 196, with ages ranging from 20 years to people in their eighties. I believe that the Heart Foundation, the divisions of GPs and Queensland Health are to be heartily congratulated for their initiative in these worthwhile projects.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Arnott's Australia Hon. T. A. BARTON (Waterford—ALP) (Minister for State Development) (10.00 a.m.), by leave: The Beattie government has encouraged Arnott's Australia with an assistance package to expand its Queensland operations and retain more than 700 local staff as part of the company's national rationalisation. The Department of State Development's assistance package under its Queensland Investment Incentive Scheme, QIIS, will also help Arnott's Virginia plant create more than 130 new full-time jobs. Arnott's Virginia plant is a major employer in the region, providing more than 700 jobs in Queensland. As a result of my department's financial package, Arnott's will employ a minimum of an additional 130 full-time staff to boost its current full-time employment base of 725 to 860 by the end of 2002. Arnott's Australia, which forms part of the global food group Campbells, is restructuring its national operations to increase its international competitiveness and meet the group's benchmarks. As a result of company rationalisation and with my department's assistance, Arnott's has chosen to retain and expand its Queensland operations. This funding will be used to cover costs associated with relocating equipment and staff from other operations in Australia, as well as covering refunds of payroll tax. Additional assistance will also be provided through the Department of Employment and Training for the new and existing workers. The total financial assistance will also help Arnott's expand its manufacturing and warehouse facilities in Virginia through redesigning its packaging line. Arnott's operation at Virginia is a significant contributor to the Queensland economy, purchasing Queensland goods and services worth $54 million annually. This is a valuable plant that we are committed to retaining in Queensland. My department played an instrumental role in developing the package to encourage Arnott's to retain its Queensland operations. The Queensland government also provided assistance to the establishment of the Virginia plant in the late 1980s. Arnott's currently has plants operating in Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne. The Beattie government is committed to incentives that assist Queensland become the Australian state of choice for Australian and international businesses and helping viable and productive existing organisations continue to grow and retain jobs. 646 Ministerial Statement 3 May 2001

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Public Transport Hon. S. D. BREDHAUER (Cook—ALP) (Minister for Transport and Minister for Main Roads) (10.03 a.m.), by leave: This week and next heralds the beginning of a public transport revolution for Queensland. The Premier and I officially commissioned the state government's new $350 million South East Busway last weekend. The busway, however, is just one of a number of exciting new public transport initiatives in south-east Queensland. I am pleased to inform the House that from Monday, 7 May Queensland Rail will provide a record number of new services for commuters. QR will operate more than 5,650 services a week—an increase of 700 above current figures. Citytrain carries 145,000 passengers on a typical working day and patronage is growing at 4.7 per cent a year. There will be extra services on the Caboolture, Cleveland and Ipswich lines and to and from the Sunshine Coast. I inform the House of some of the main changes to the new timetable. In Caboolture, there will be a new morning peak service and two additional Petrie to Roma Street all-station trains. On the Sunshine Coast, there will be a morning and afternoon peak service with an express offering reduced travel times. There will also be an extra Friday night service and extra trains on Saturday and Sunday. Most Gold Coast trains will now extend to the Brisbane Airport, with all trains stopping at South Bank Station. There will be an extra weekday service for Cleveland, Ipswich and Rosewood. The new timetables have now been distributed and recycling points have been established at key stations where commuters can obtain a copy of the new timetables and dispose of the old ones. New timetable booklets will be available from stations this week. Commuters can also contact TRANSINFO on 13 12 30. Commencement on these significant service improvements will be accompanied by the start of the first Airtrain services to Brisbane Airport. This week I launched a major advertising campaign for Airtrain, the new rail service that will link travellers to the Brisbane Airport, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Airtrain will start services next Monday. I am confident the new services will have a significant and positive impact on public transport in south-east Queensland. Unlike some members opposite who seek to question this important initiative even before the services begin, the Beattie government is proud to be associated with Airtrain. The marketing campaign for Airtrain will reach travellers within Australia through radio and television advertising and around the world through the Internet. Generally, two services an hour will continue on to QR's Gold Coast stations. Airtrain is also offering a competitive fare structure for airport workers. They can buy a special $10 weekly ticket on top of their normal QR weekly fare between their local QR station and the city, or they can buy a monthly ticket for $40. When one considers that a one-way trip to the airport can cost up to $40 in some instances, this special fare structure is very worker friendly. I commend Airtrain on its initiative and look forward to its long and healthy association with public transport in Queensland. There have been broader economic advantages for Brisbane and south-east Queensland from Airtrain with girders, piles and concrete coming from the Brisbane area, ballast from west of Ipswich at Mount Marrow, extra trains built at Maryborough and sleepers manufactured in Rockhampton. The Airtrain project has created hundreds of jobs for Queenslanders throughout the design and construction phase, and there will be further jobs throughout its operations. The busway, Airtrain and 700 additional QR services introduced by the Beattie Labor government are reinforcing Queensland as the Smart State.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Building Services Authority Hon. R. E. SCHWARTEN (Rockhampton—ALP) (Minister for Public Works and Minister for Housing) (10.07 a.m.), by leave: I wish to briefly outline to honourable members a number of developments relating to the Building Services Authority, which is now within my portfolio. First, I wish to advise that Ian Jennings, formerly in charge of the portable long service leave scheme, Q- Leave, has recently been appointed as the general manager of the BSA. Prior to becoming general manager of Q-Leave, Mr Jennings had been deputy general manager for four years and also held the position of board secretary. Outside of Q-Leave, Mr Jennings has held positions in the Department of Employment, Vocational Education, Training and Industrial Relations at both operational and managerial levels. He holds a Bachelor of Business and a Graduate Diploma in Quality. His professional 3 May 2001 Ministerial Statement 647 development interests have included ethics, enterprise bargaining, business reform strategies, customer service, benchmarking and a variety of issues concerned with quality assurance and total quality management. I am sure his eight years with Q-Leave has given him a good understanding of the important issues affecting the building industry and construction industry. I have met with Mr Jennings and can say that he is also well aware of the need to balance the concerns of consumers and contractors in his new role. I wish to take this opportunity to thank the BSA's Assistant General Manager, Ray Potts, for his efforts in the past few months as acting general manager. I also wish to advise that the BSA will soon start a statewide campaign to crack down on unlicensed building work. The Queensland Building Services Authority Act states that a person must not carry out or undertake to carry out building work unless that person holds a contractor's licence of the appropriate class. The BSA intends to ensure that all contractors are licensed to ensure that industry standards are maintained. Given the current downturn in building activity, there is a pressing need to rid the industry of unfair competition and not disadvantage legitimate and licensed contractors—those doing the right thing. The crackdown will also help protect consumers against defective work and fraudulent practices. A three-month amnesty period from this month will be offered to those unlicensed contractors who voluntarily apply for a licence. They will not be prosecuted for past offences. I am advised that, from August, BSA inspectors plan to blitz building sites and check the licence credentials of all core licence classes to make sure they are currently and appropriately licensed to carry out the building work they are performing. My predecessor introduced major building industry reforms in late 1999 through amendments to the Building Services Authority Act. There has always been a commitment to monitor those reforms and make adjustments where necessary to protect the interests of all sides of the industry. I am continuing that approach. To that end, wide-ranging consultations among industry stakeholders started last year to identify necessary changes. I wish to advise that I intend to bring legislative amendments to the House this year to make the act even more responsive to the needs of builders and consumers.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Crazy Ant Hon. H. PALASZCZUK (Inala—ALP) (Minister for Primary Industries and Rural Communities) (10.10 a.m.), by leave: In the wake of the recent detection of crazy ants in Cairns, four Queensland government departments have joined forces to coordinate a response to this latest breach of the national quarantine barriers, for which the federal government is responsible. Officials from the Department of Premier and Cabinet, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Primary Industries and the Department of Natural Resources and Mines have formed the Crazy Ant Task Force. Mr Seeney: Headed by the crazy minister. Mr PALASZCZUK: Mr Speaker, they do not understand and realise the importance of this issue. This issue is so important that I am advised that the Cairns City Council and AQIS have also offered assistance. I will meet with representatives from the Crazy Ant Task Force to get an update on the outbreak and the response plan. As with any pest or disease incursion, the initial focus is on determining the extent of the outbreak. Information from the local community is critical in collating this intelligence. The Department of Primary Industries call centre is geared to take reports of any suspected detection of crazy ants. Residents are urged to contact the call centre on 13 25 23, for the cost of a local call. A public awareness campaign about what the crazy ant looks like and how it can be identified is now being compiled. Apart from the local AQIS input, the federal government has yet to make a firm commitment of assistance. Indeed, the federal agriculture minister, Warren Truss, has tried to use the detection of crazy ants in Cairns for his own political gain. On the same day this week that Mr Truss tried to attack Queensland public servants over crazy ants, he announced that the Department of Primary Industries' Animal and Plant Health Service had won a national quarantine award. If the federal government actually met its quarantine target there would be no crazy ants in Cairns and there would be no need for a Crazy Ant Task Force. The federal government must 648 Personal Explanation 3 May 2001 accept its responsibility for quarantine and it must assist in the response to the crazy ant incursion.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Local Government Awareness Week Hon. J. I. CUNNINGHAM (Bundaberg—ALP) (Minister for Local Government and Planning) (10.13 a.m.), by leave: I would like to inform members of the House that Local Government Awareness Week is being coordinated by the Local Government Association of Queensland and will run from 28 May to 3 June. Local government is one of our state's oldest institutions and provides many of the services and facilities used every day by communities. The Local Government Act offers many opportunities for people to participate responsibly in planning and deciding future community services and facilities, yet community participation in local government decision making has generally been of a low level. In many instances I believe this is because people do not understand what local governments do or do not know how to influence council decision making. Local Government Awareness Week provides opportunities for the public to learn more about local government and to become involved with their own council. It also enables councils to educate the community about the importance and diversity of services that local governments provide. I am very pleased that my Department of Local Government and Planning is one of the sponsors of Local Government Awareness Week, along with several other state government departments and agencies. The interest among local governments in staging community events to promote what they do and encourage community participation is growing, and activities such as council open days, school visits, free access to facilities for the week and local business awards are planned. Maroochy Shire Council is organising a Capture the Spirit of Maroochy photographic competition designed to depict every aspect of Maroochy's character, heritage and spirit through photography. Gold Coast City Council is preparing to launch stage 2 of its web site, which will include an interactive council game for school students. Whitsunday Shire Council is planning a Thankyou Volunteers function to acknowledge the contribution made by volunteers from the community, as well as a staff barbecue including a presentation of gifts to staff who have given 10 and 20 years continuous service to council. Primary school students around the state have the opportunity to participate in the Local Government Awareness Week colouring competition and will hopefully learn a little more about their council through their involvement. Local Government Awareness Week is a significant event on the local government calendar and I would ask all members to support it in their electorates in whatever way they can.

PERSONAL EXPLANATION Public Works Committee; Comments by Member for Nudgee Hon. K. R. LINGARD (Beaudesert—NPA) (10.15 a.m.), by leave: I refer to the comments made by the member for Nudgee this morning. I table for the information of this House a report of the Backflow Prevention Committee, in which all the relevant matters are referred to. The dissenting report states that some matters were not able to be clarified to our satisfaction due to the fact that we were unable to pursue matters which could have resulted in a different conclusion. I table also a copy of my speech to this parliament, in which I referred to the fact that the Minister for Public Works had misled, as far as someone was concerned, this parliament or the inquiry. I stated— Government members interjected. Mr LINGARD: The other day when I reported on this matter they tried to take up my three minutes. They cannot do so now. Mr SPEAKER: Order! But I can take some time. Is this a personal explanation or a debate? Mr LINGARD: Yes, this is a personal explanation in relation to the comments of the member for Nudgee. I said that a motion to the Public Works Committee to ask for further consideration of this correspondence was defeated and that the non-government members referred to this in the dissenting report. I also said— 3 May 2001 Private Members' Statements 649

Someone has misled parliament or the inquiry or both. Whoever has been dishonest deserves to be punished. I will be interested to see what action the Leader of the House or the Premier believe is necessary. That is especially so in regard to the comments this morning that tried to involve me. I table that speech and my private notes, which refer to all of the letters and to the matter. Yesterday I discussed this matter with the member for Nudgee. I am surprised that he has continued with it, because it allows me the opportunity to table all of this information and make it available for comment. Obviously, it shows the division within the ALP.

PRIVATE MEMBERS' STATEMENTS Beattie Labor Government Mr HORAN (Toowoomba South—NPA) (Leader of the Opposition) (10.17 a.m.): One of the important jobs for this parliament is to ensure that the government of the day does its job properly but particularly concentrates on the things that matter. The sad tragedy of this week, that which happened on Fraser Island, really brings to the fore the importance of governments looking after the day-to-day important things. I think we all have to understand that, sadly, if the report of two years ago had been acted upon perhaps the tragedy of this week would not have happened. It behoves this parliament to censure those responsible—the Premier as leader and his ministers—because they have not been properly organised, have not managed and have not attended to the things that matter. There are other important matters in this state. I refer to some rural industries in Queensland. We hear about the foot-and-mouth disease problems in Great Britain. Here in Queensland we face issues such as cane grubs, fire ants, crazy ants, black sigatoka and, recently, Johne's disease, which the DPI did address promptly, in the South Burnett. Also we have issues to do with TB in remote areas of the state. But at the same time, over the past three years the DPI has lost 400 staff either through job losses or through jobs promised that were never delivered. If we are going to properly protect the rural industries of this state—the export earning industries that deliver so many jobs—we need to address the things that matter. It is important that the DPI is properly resourced so that it can have adequate numbers of stock inspectors who have the flexibility and ability to handle outbreaks of different diseases arising in different parts of the state so that we are a state that is properly organised and managed. The real issue we see is that we have a government that is obsessed with publicity, advertising, media management and all sorts of publicity stunts and strategies, and its neglect of the things that matter—the day-to-day things—ends up resulting in tragedies such as the one that occurred this week. Time expired.

Toowoomba Police Station Mr SHINE (Toowoomba North—ALP) (10.20 a.m.): I wish to raise my concerns about the pressing need for the construction of a new and adequate police station in Toowoomba. Currently, the Police Service in Toowoomba has had to spread itself in all directions, particularly as far as office space is concerned. This clearly puts at risk the capacity for the service in Toowoomba to operate efficiently. Added to that highly unsatisfactory position is the fact that most police officers and other service employees have had to work in what is now an ancient rabbit-warren that is better suited as a museum to house the relics of a bygone age than providing the basic needs of a modern and capable police force. I understand that, in the last term of this government, plans were drawn up but proceedings were put on hold largely due to the possible joint development of a project with the proposed developer of the old courthouse situated nearby. As that building has now been sold and is being used for other purposes, I call upon the Minister for Police to again bring to the top of the list the need to provide that much-needed public facility at Toowoomba, notwithstanding that there is no doubt that the work will be expensive. I have given a commitment to the people of Toowoomba that I will fight to get extra police resources for the city. The battle for a new police station has been going on for some years. Members opposite, even when in government, have not been able to deliver. However, I plan to deliver, and I will not rest until this has been achieved. 650 Private Members' Statements 3 May 2001

A new police station is vital to reducing crime and making Toowoomba a safer community. I have met with the Minister for Police to make my views known, and I have to say that I believe that he is very aware of our city's situation. But the cornerstone of the Beattie government's law and order policy is a commitment to deliver a record increase in police numbers. Time expired.

Gladstone RSL Club Mrs LIZ CUNNINGHAM (Gladstone—Ind) (10.22 a.m.): On 15 March, the RSL club in Gladstone closed. I thank the Minister for Employment, Training and Youth for his prompt action in getting a representative up to those workers to discuss the Worker Assistance Program with them. I know that they value the assistance that they have available to them now. The sub-branch, however, is still operating strongly, and it conducted the Anzac Day services as normal. The Gladstone City Council and several companies funded the diggers' lunch, which went off with the usual good humour. Warrant Officer Coles MC'd the 11 o'clock service, and I have to say that he did a wonderful job. As in all electorates, I am sure, there was a great turnout to all services, and I believe that this reinforces the community's continuing support for the observance of Anzac Day as an independent day, not associated with Australia Day. The ceremonies are two completely different events celebrating two completely different issues, and they are conducted in completely different ways. There is a great deal of community support for the reopening of the RSL club. A public meeting was held last Sunday morning, and approximately 250 people attended. We discussed the current situation and the options for the reopening of the club, which is a major funding support for the RSL sub-branch. A trustee system has been established; the legalities are still being finalised; and a steering committee of 10 people was nominated from the floor, and they have been meeting to investigate options for the reopening of the club. I thank the community of Gladstone and Calliope for their support for having the club reopened. It is an integral part of the fabric of Gladstone and its surrounds, and I wish them every success in their endeavours to get the club reopened and operating in a strong financial position.

National Jobs Strategy Ms STRUTHERS (Algester—ALP) (10.24 a.m.): Last week, ACOSS president Michael Raper called on the federal government to implement a national jobs strategy in the May budget. Employment growth must be a national priority. The outlook for job seekers across Australia will be very gloomy if the federal government fails to act. But we know that John Howard has been 'Stoned' and told bluntly by his own colleagues that he is out of touch—so out of touch that, when he first came to office, he ripped $4 billion out of labour market programs, and the national employment effort has not recovered from this savaging. The Beattie government has been making headway with its Breaking the Unemployment Cycle and Smart State strategies. More than 30 people in my local area have gained work from their participation in Community Jobs Plan projects—projects that provide real work and real training. I am certainly pleased to have been appointed by the Minister for Employment, Training and Youth to work with mature age people across the state. Our state effort, however, is like putty to major cracks, and the cracks themselves have to be removed through a national jobs strategy. The strategy must include a range of economic and social policies, improved macro-economic and fiscal management, regional and infrastructure development and industry policy. I have heard it said that John Howard is a 'Prime Miniature', not a Prime Minister—a mean- spirited, narrow-minded man, not the kind of courageous and compassionate leader that this country so desperately needs. The unemployed people in my electorate—many of them highly skilled, displaced mature age people—desperately need a federal government that cares about their job security and their future. 3 May 2001 Private Members' Statements 651

Intellectually Disabled Citizens Mr COPELAND (Cunningham—NPA) (10.25 a.m.): The issue of deinstitutionalisation of people with severe intellectual disabilities has been publicly highlighted this week by a young woman at Chelmer who is living next door to three intellectually disabled men under 24-hour care. She is considering selling up after complaining of constant excessive noise and disturbance. Obviously, this is an extremely sensitive issue and one that most people are unwilling to raise for fear of being labelled as discriminatory. However, this is not an isolated case, and I am sure that most members would have had similar instances raised in their own electorates. Let me make it very clear that I agree that deinstitutionalisation is a viable and rewarding option for many people with disabilities which can enhance their lifestyle. However, this is certainly not the case for everyone. The excellent care of the type provided at the Basil Stafford Centre is still a necessity in our community. In fact, the mother of one of the residents at Chelmer was quoted on ABC Radio this morning as saying that her son was indeed very happy at the Basil Stafford Centre and that he had been moved from several rental arrangements since that time. Anyone who is housed in the community should be given continuity of care and should abide by good neighbour principles. This will ensure that, if community integration is to be pursued as the best option, integration is successful. This should include improved consultations with neighbours before residential care arrangements are made and adequate supervision offering the best possible care for residents themselves. This is a very sensitive issue and one that takes great courage to speak out on, as this resident has done. It is not an issue of discrimination but one that highlights that one policy size simply does not fit all. We must try to enhance the quality of life for people with disabilities, but we cannot ignore the quality of life of others in the community.

Liberal Party Branch Stacking Mr MICKEL (Logan—ALP) (10.27 a.m.): In the last parliament I predicted that the committee reviewing the Liberal Party branch stacking headed by Senator George Brandis would be a whitewash and would protect the practices which enabled Senator Brandis himself— Mr Seeney: Why don't you talk about a Logan issue? Mr MICKEL: There are some things that go without saying, and the member isn't one of them. I know that opposition members do not want to hear about Liberal Party branch stacking, but I want to say this to the House: if Peter Costello thinks he has a few problems with a Liberal Party memo, then by sheer luck I have obtained a copy of the Senator Brandis report; and what a whitewash it has been! After 18 months work, the committee report has been released—all 10 pages of it. Under the proposals, in order to vote in a plebiscite, a Liberal Party branch member needs to satisfy only one of the following requirements. He needs to be ordinarily resident in the relevant federal electorate or an adjacent federal electorate. He has to have his principal place of business in the relevant electorate or an adjoining electorate. He or she needs to be a student at an educational institution in a federal electorate or adjoining federal electorate. Under these rules, a party member living in the federal seat of Ryan would be eligible to vote in a plebiscite in Ryan, Moreton, Brisbane, Griffith, Oxley, Rankin, Fadden—just about anywhere, actually. And if they do not qualify under any of these rules, their branch can qualify them by a two-thirds resolution of a branch meeting. And given that there are only three Liberal Party members here at the moment, they do not need too many. The Brandis proposal entrenches branch stacking and rorting, as I predicted it would. So we will see a continuation of the international fly-in, fly-out branch stacking operations. I am told that Santo cuts a very forlorn figure sitting out there at the international airport waiting for those late voters from Hong Kong to fly in and deliver him victory in Clayfield. Time expired. Mr SPEAKER: Order! The time for Private Members' Statements has expired. 652 Questions Without Notice 3 May 2001

QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE Dingoes, Fraser Island Mr HORAN (10.30 a.m.): I refer the Honourable the Attorney-General to the draft Fraser Island Dingo Management Strategy for which the public consultation period ended on 24 May 1999, which he failed to implement for two years as minister responsible and which refers clearly to the possibility of a fatality resulting from a dingo attack— A government member interjected. Mr HORAN: No, it is not. It referred to the possibility of a fatality resulting from a dingo attack being very real and also the government's common law duty of care— Mr WELLS: I rise to a point of order. Under standing orders questions must be addressed to the minister who has carriage of the portfolio. Mr SPEAKER: I have to wait for the question. I will rule then. We will get the question first. Mr HORAN: I will start again, Mr Speaker. Mr SPEAKER: No, we all heard it. Just continue. Mr HORAN: I refer to the draft Fraser Island Dingo Management Strategy for which the public consultation period ended on 24 May 1999, which the Attorney-General failed to implement for two years as minister then responsible and which refers clearly to the possibility of a fatality resulting from a dingo attack being very real and also the government's common law duty of care to address the safety of people visiting Fraser Island, and I ask: now that he is the Attorney- General, what exposure to legal liability does he think the government has due to his failure to act on this report for two years? Mr SPEAKER: Order! Just a moment. I will seek advice. The Attorney-General can answer that question in part, the part that deals with the liability of the state, but no previous matters. Mr FOLEY: I rise to a point of order. Mr Speaker, I draw your attention to the provisions of the standing orders which— Opposition members interjected. Mr SPEAKER: Order! Mr FOLEY: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I draw your attention to the provisions of the standing orders which forbid the expression of legal opinion in answers to questions given in this House. There is a good reason for that standing order to be there. It is a convention throughout the Westminster system, and I respectfully urge you to consider the question out of order. Mr SPEAKER: I accept that point of order and the advice I am getting from the Acting Clerk, so the question is out of order. Mr HORAN: Mr Speaker, in that question I asked what exposure there is. Mr SPEAKER: I have accepted advice from the Acting Clerk that this is the case. Perhaps we can talk about this afterwards and it can be a matter for further challenge. Mr HORAN: What is the reason for the minister not being able to answer what exposure there is to the government? Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Acting Clerk advises me that when you talk about exposure you are actually asking the legal question of the government's responsibility. Mr HORAN: Mr Speaker, with your permission, can I simply ask: does the government have exposure? Mr SPEAKER: That is exactly what the Acting Clerk has advised me on. We cannot do that. Mr HORAN: I am just asking: do they. Mr SPEAKER: The Acting Clerk has advised me that we cannot do it because it would be a legal opinion. It is a question of liability, so I am sorry, but we cannot accept your question. Mr Hobbs interjected. Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for Warrego will come to order! It is not a cover-up. I am making a ruling here on advice and I will not tolerate that sort of behaviour. I am willing to discuss this matter with the Leader of the Opposition after, but I think we have to accept advice. We are willing to discuss this with you, but on the advice from the Acting Clerk and the question raised, I think we will rule the question out of order at this stage. Mr HORAN: On that advice, I will move on to the second question. 3 May 2001 Questions Without Notice 653

Electoral Fraud Mr HORAN: I refer the Premier to the different public positions he has taken on the issue of Labor Party rorters returning to favour and party positions in the future. On television and in the House he is on record as saying some young offenders in the Labor Party might be worthy of rehabilitation. In the Courier-Mail today he says that he will never forgive the people who nearly destroyed his government and that the major figures involved in this shameful behaviour should never be allowed back into the party. Can the Premier tell the House who are the rorters that he might, when the dust has settled, drop from his never-to-be-forgiven list. Mr BEATTIE: I thank the honourable member for his question. There is no inconsistency in what I have said on the two days he referred to. Let me clarify it. I did this yesterday down on the Gold Coast when I released a tourism strategy with Merri Rose, which was widely reported in the Gold Coast Bulletin this morning. I clarified it because it was important that it be clarified. What I have basically said is this: there are two categories of people involved. One of those is clearly involved in improper behaviour. My view is that, subject to the appropriate mechanism being implemented in the party, they should be expelled and never be allowed to return. That is my view. But there were a number of young people who were duped—and I use the word deliberately—by people who should have known better. They were young people who were 18, 19 or 20 and who fall in that category. As young people— Mr Horan interjected. Mr BEATTIE: Does the member want me to answer the question? He can be rude. I am happy to give him a serious answer. Mr Horan: Like you were before when I was up. Mr BEATTIE: If the member wants an answer, I will give him an answer. If he wants to be silly, that is a matter for him. Those opposite saw this. They followed it day to day; every day they were out there jumping up and down about it. There were a number of young people who were duped by others who should have known better. My view is that, like any young person, they are entitled to a second chance. What I said was that they are entitled to be given consideration if they have a clean bill of health over a number of years, subject to the determination of this independent tribunal we have established. That tribunal is headed by a former Supreme Court Judge; the two other panel members are not from Queensland, so they cannot be affected by the Queensland culture in the party—whatever that may be. As I have said, if they have a clean bill of health my view is that a few years down the road they are entitled to be given consideration by the party. We are talking about two categories of people. One category consists of young people who were 18 or 19. I do not think the Leader of the Opposition or anyone else would take a view that, if a young person has been duped and intimidated by older people and as a result has made a mistake, they should carry that for the rest of their lives. That is very simply the case. Secondly, let me make it clear that those people who have been the major perpetrators in this put my government at risk and, no, I will never forgive them. Those people, in my view, should never be allowed to return to the Labor Party. I also made it clear yesterday that, even though this independent tribunal has not completed its deliberations, I do not believe that any of these people who appeared before the inquiry and who have not yet been dealt with by that party forum or that mechanism should go to the conference. I made that clear. That conference came about because of the Barcaldine plan that I announced which spells out the exact details of the reform package, which we will deliver to the letter. Those people know that they have a right to natural justice. They should not abuse it. The Shepherdson report stated that all political parties should clean up their act. I have cleaned up my party, what has the Leader of the Opposition done about his? Mr SPEAKER: Order! Before calling the member for Stafford, could I welcome to the public gallery parents, teachers and students of the Yeronga State School in the electorate of Yeerongpilly. Honourable members: Hear, hear! 654 Questions Without Notice 3 May 2001

Smart State Mr TERRY SULLIVAN: In directing a question to the Premier I refer to his determination to establish Queensland as the Smart State and to the development of new high-tech industries with long-term new-age jobs for Queenslanders, and I ask: can the Premier give examples of what is actually being done to convert his vision into reality? Mr BEATTIE: I thank the member for Stafford for his question. Like me, he shares the view that we need to have IT, biotech future industries—Smart State industries—for the jobs for tomorrow for our children. My government is continuously seeking to create new industries and new jobs for Queenslanders. The state government is making Smart State research and developing grants totalling $590,000 to three innovative Queensland ventures. The Collaborative Industry Venture, the CIV program, which was launched in February this year awards funding to public and private sector organisations, enabling them to undertake industry related research and development for commercialisation purposes. The awards are designed to produce new industries that will provide new jobs for Queenslanders—new-age jobs. This first round of funding is being awarded to three collaborations proposing major commercial developments to benefit the export, construction and innovation sectors within Queensland. The successful projects aim, firstly, to use fibre composites to revolutionise bridge building; secondly, to establish a centre for intellectual property to make Queensland industry and government immediately aware of new and emerging intellectual property issues, which as members know is a big problem in this area; and, thirdly, to create a new high-value export industry in Queensland from a soft-shelled crab development venture. The University of Southern Queensland's fibre composite design and development project aims to develop and extend the emerging technology of structural fibre composites, which are set to enhance the construction sector globally over the next five years. Recently I was at the university to see its potential, and I believe that it is significant. It is anticipated that the benefits arising from this project will include the production of new materials which have wide-ranging commercial applications, such as railway sleepers and bridges. Griffith University's CIV project aims to establish a centre for intellectual property, providing timely advice to Queensland industry and government on new and emerging intellectual property issues. The creation of this centre will enhance the state's smart infrastructure through the development of partnerships with the institutional providers, business and industry and will lead to a greater recognition of the significance of intellectual property among Queensland businesses. The Department of Primary Industries' soft-shelled crab development venture aims to commercialise production-oriented soft-shelled crab research through establishing a sustainable and internationally competitive soft-shelled crab industry in Queensland based on world-first technology. This project will develop a new high-value export industry in Queensland based on reproduction technology—work done at the Bribie Island Aquaculture Research Centre. Under the CIV program, state government support of up to $200,000 is available to eligible applicants to assist with the establishment of collaborative industry ventures. Earlier I referred to my visit to Sydney last night for the 40th anniversary of Westfield. They have announced $2 million for scholarships for schoolteachers. Queensland Westfield will provide four scholarships of $15,000 each for the next five years. I went there to accept it. It is a great idea, and I table the details for the information of the House.

Cattle Rail Wagons Mr JOHNSON: My question is directed to the Honourable Minister for Transport and Minister for Main Roads. I refer to taxpayer-funded advertising about the success of cattle exports, and I ask the minister: is he aware that saleyards at Mareeba, Miowera, Sarina, Nebo and Charters Towers have been advised that they will not be able to be supplied with rail wagons and that services to Springsure have been downgraded? Will the minister explain why the contract for 300 KOJX wagons, awarded to the Townsville workshops by the coalition government in 1996, is more than a year behind schedule and why the job for a further 130 such wagons announced by the commissioner for rail on 28 May 1999 has still not been allocated? Mr BREDHAUER: I thank the honourable member for his question because the issue of livestock transport is a very important one and one that this government takes seriously. For example, recently the Premier undertook an overseas trip in order to promote cattle exports to 3 May 2001 Questions Without Notice 655 countries in the Middle East. It is critical that we have the capacity to deliver on those livestock transport issues. Part of the problem that is being created for QR this year is, in fact, the revival in the grazing industry, which I think is a great thing for farmers in the grazing industry. Record numbers of cattle are being moved. I had a meeting with the chief executive of Queensland Rail on Tuesday afternoon and we specifically discussed this issue. About 160 of the 300 KOJX wagons from the Townsville railway workshops have been constructed. We are continuing with the balance of the 300 KOJX wagons which are due to come out of the Townsville railway workshops, and we expect that project to be completed next year. That means that progressively over the next 12 to 18 months we will see additional rolling stock coming on. However, part of the problem is that the extra demand that has been generated by the significant increase in movements of cattle stock—bear in mind that QR moves only about 20 per cent of livestock in Queensland; the other 80 per cent is shifted by road transport, as the member for Gregory particularly would appreciate—is creating difficulties for us to program livestock train movements. At times in the past cattle producers have been used to on-demand services. The other day the CEO advised me that the last record livestock haulage in Queensland was in 1996. This year already we have moved 70 per cent more cattle than we did in 1996. We are trying to schedule trains so that people can be assured of reliability and efficiency of service. We have set up the livestock working group so that we can work with a whole host of stakeholders in the area. We are trying to provide trains on a scheduled basis to as many producers as we possibly can. I am quite happy to admit that there are some difficulties in servicing the saleyards. At times in the past people have ordered decks of wagons for saleyards and then have not been able to fill them because of what might have transpired at the saleyards. Under the current circumstances we cannot afford to have rolling stock lying idle, but we are trying to do our best to meet those demands and to do it in conjunction with people in the livestock industry, with whom we have had consultation. I predict that there will be occasions over the next six months or so on which we will have problems, but we are working our hardest to try to address this issue in consultation with industry.

DNA Testing Mr PURCELL: I direct a question to the Premier. How is the state government making use of the latest advances in technology to fight crime in Queensland and honour his government's commitment to being tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime? Mr BEATTIE: DNA evidence has proven to be one of the most significant developments in the fight against crime. Last year my government passed legislation allowing police to collect DNA samples from prisoners as part of the establishment of a national DNA database. Under our new laws DNA sampling has been carried out in our correctional centres since December, and this collection of samples will continue. The legislation also provides for the mandatory collection of DNA samples from people charged with serious offences. I am pleased to inform the House that the testing regime is being expanded to the state's watch-houses to enable that to happen. DNA sampling of police watch- house prisoners who have been charged with an indictable offence will become routine. It will be mandatory, subject to approval by a commissioned officer. Importantly, testing by consent will be offered to all other watch-house prisoners. DNA analysis is expected to dramatically improve crime clean-up rates not only for offences such as murder or rape but also for break-ins, burglary and vehicle theft. However, it can also help prove a person's innocence of a crime. That is its strength. When a DNA database was established in the United Kingdom, clean-up rates for burglary went from less than 10 per cent to more than 40 per cent. It is interesting to note as well that in recent times a number of very old crimes have been solved by police as a result of the assistance given by DNA. We are committed to the program. We believe that it is important and we believe that it is something we should pursue. On another matter, previously I made some reference to the Westfield scholarships. Each state has been asked to designate what area it would like the scholarships issued in. The New South Wales Premier, Bob Carr, has indicated that he would like to see it in the area of history teachers. That is obviously a very important area; we have a great respect for history. I have 656 Questions Without Notice 3 May 2001 indicated that we would like it in the area of science because of our commitment to research, IT, biotechnology and some of our schools of excellence. I have had a discussion with the Minister for Education about that and I will be notifying Westfield that these are the scholarships we want for these Premier's scholarships that are allocated to each state. That is why I attended the function held last night. In attendance were the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Premiers from South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, because these scholarships are called the Premier's scholarships. We will be allocating the scholarships to the area of science, because we intend to continue to make Queensland the Smart State. While I am talking about that, it is interesting to note that the Department of State Development, which is doing an excellent job, has agreed to also contribute $600,000 to help develop an innovation centre and a national television series to showcase clever Queensland products, processes and discoveries. The Triton Foundation, founded by entrepreneur George Lewin, who invented the Triton workbench and notched up about $250 million in sales, will use the funding to profile Queensland's innovation. I seek leave to include a document in Hansard. It is a very important piece of information for the House. Leave granted. Mr Speaker, Queensland's future in global markets depends on its ability to be innovative, to show the world it is the Smart State. That is why my Government, through the Department of State Development, has agreed to contribute $600,000 to help develop an innovation centre and a national television series to showcase 'clever' Queensland products, processes and discoveries. The Triton Foundation, founded by entrepreneur George Lewin, who invented the Triton workbench and notched up about $250 million in sales, will use the funding to profile Queensland inventions on a national television program. The funding also will be used to establish a Triton Foundation Innovation Centre in Queensland, which is likely to be based at the Queensland Clunies Ross Foundation at the Brisbane Technology Park. The television program will have a viewer response mechanism via the telephone and Internet to provide instant, accurate market feedback to inventors, manufacturers and potential investors. The innovation centre will enable staff to engage with and advise Queensland companies directly. The centre also will provide advice and referrals to up to 300 inventors and innovators a year. Mr Speaker, this funding by the State Government is a practical demonstration how we can support Queensland innovators.

Fine Defaulters Mr FLYNN: I refer the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice to a recent question on notice that I asked him regarding the fines amnesty and the definition of the types of quite serious offences that might attract fines and therefore be included in the framework of the amnesty. I thank the minister for his reply, and I now ask: would the minister be prepared to inform the general public that fine defaulters who have been fined for quite serious offences are being granted the same facilities as those who are fined for, say, unlicensed driving? Mr WELFORD: I am not aware of the particular offences that are the subject of the fine defaulting system in the sense that the system applies to parking offences, traffic offences and also to court ordered fines. It may be that there are outstanding court ordered fines which are, of course, penalties imposed by the court. It is not my role, nor is it the role of the State Penalties Enforcement Register, to second-guess the appropriate penalty imposed by the court. Any outstanding fine which is required to be paid has to be paid in full. The advantage of the fines amnesty is simply that additional costs of collection are avoided so that no-one, regardless of the nature of the offence for which a penalty has been imposed, is escaping their responsibility of meeting that penalty.

Lang Park Mr REEVES: I refer the Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Sport to his commitment last year to consult with local residents in Milton in relation to the Lang Park redevelopment. I ask: can the minister advise what action he has taken to undertake this consultation? Mr MACKENROTH: Prior to the 2001 state election I made a commitment to consult directly with local residents and business owners in regard to possible improvements to community infrastructure and services to coincide with the redevelopment. This week, a letter and also a 3 May 2001 Questions Without Notice 657 comment form will be delivered to 5,000 residents and business owners surrounding the Suncorp Metway Stadium so that they can advise the government of their views on what the government can do to improve community infrastructure. Yesterday, I received back the first four of what I hope will be many replies. In the first reply, the respondent said that he thought things could be improved if a City Cat stop was located close to the stadium to reduce traffic congestion. The second respondent asked for noise barriers to be erected along the railway line. He went on to say— I feel that the redevelopment will be good for the business community in the area. The third reply stated that improved railway facilities at Milton station needed to be addressed and allowance made for a ferry terminal for the City Cat at the end of Park Road to assist spectator flow. He went on to submit the following— Good news. Get started and finish as soon as possible. The fourth reply was probably the most positive. It stated— I have none. That is, he has no comment to make on improvements. He goes on to say— Whatever the State Government decide & Peter Beattie is alright with me. Obviously, he is a very intelligent person. We are consulting with the local community. Those are genuinely the first four replies that we have received. We expect to receive a number of submissions from local people. We will consider what we can do in terms of improving community infrastructure in the surrounds of the Suncorp Metway Stadium. Obviously, some of the ideas that will arise are already addressed in the plans that have been made. The requests for a City Cat stop will be passed on to the Brisbane City Council for its consideration. Next Sunday night the Queensland Maroons will take on New South Wales. I am sure that all members of this House wish this new and young team all the best. I am sure that it will redress what happened last year. With a competition like that, there will always be years when one does not go as well as one would like. I am sure that this year, under the expert hand of Wayne Bennett, the team will go on to win three to nil.

Dingoes, Fraser Island Mr SEENEY: Mr Speaker, I wish to ask the Attorney-General a question without notice which is similar to but very different from the question you ruled out of order earlier on. Honourable members interjected. Mr SPEAKER: Order! Could we have silence so that we can hear the question. It is very important. Mr SEENEY: I refer the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice to the draft Fraser Island Dingo Management Strategy for which the public consultation period ended on 24 May 1999, which he failed to implement for two years as the minister responsible and which refers clearly to the possibility of a fatality resulting from a dingo attack being very real and also refers clearly to the government's common law duty of care to address the safety of people visiting Fraser Island. I ask: now that he is Attorney-General, has the minister sought and has he considered advice from his department or from anyone else about the government's exposure to legal liability due to his failure to act on this report for two years? Has he advised the Premier or the cabinet of that advice? Mr SPEAKER: You can answer that at your discretion, Attorney-General. Mr WELFORD: The premise on which the question is based is mistaken. In any event, it is not the role of the Attorney-General to disclose any advice that the Attorney-General may or may not have obtained or given to the government. The honourable member would be well aware of that. In any event, matters relating to the implementation of any strategy in the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service is not within my portfolio. 658 Questions Without Notice 3 May 2001

School Funding Mr PEARCE: I ask the Minister for Education to please advise the House as to what will happen to the hundreds of at-risk students when the Commonwealth government ceases funding to the Full Service Schools Program in my electorate and in other electorates across the state. Ms BLIGH: The honourable member is indeed right. The Mount Morgan State High School in his electorate, other schools in the Rockhampton area and, indeed, 95 schools across the state will be affected by Dr Kemp's decision to cease funding in a Commonwealth program known as the Full Service Schools Program. For the information of members I table a list of schools affected. I encourage members to find out what is happening to the schools in their areas. When the Howard government introduced the Common Youth Allowance in 1998, it also introduced a program called the Full Service Schools Program. That program was to assist those young people who are now no longer eligible for some form of unemployment benefit and who would be forced back into the schooling arena to get any kind of benefit. It currently supports almost 2,500 students in years 11 and 12 across Queensland. Schools in our state are receiving $2.3 million a year to assist those young people through some very innovative programs. I think the most important thing about those programs is that they have achieved results. They have achieved some real results for young people who would otherwise have dropped out of the school system. They have seen a reduction in absenteeism and they have increased retention rates in years 11 and 12. The schools that are running the program have built strong partnerships with training providers, business, government and employers to create pathways for the young people. As an example, Murgon State High School has had a significant improvement in absenteeism since 1998 and in the year 2000 Murgon had the best retention rate since 1996—a rate of 74 per cent. In the Ipswich cluster of schools, 76 per cent of students using the program said that the program had made staying at school easier for them. Those are just a handful of examples. Despite those great results the Commonwealth has pulled the plug on funding. All funds will have been expended by June 2001 and the students, their families and their schools will be left high and dry. Not only will it result in the loss of nine full-time and 21 part-time positions; it will also place the future of those students in jeopardy. It is little wonder that people even within the Liberal Party describe it as a mean and tricky organisation. This program is a classic example of something that was conceived in meanness and was a trick all along. I have written to David Kemp and offered to work collaboratively with him to try to save the program. I encourage him to give due and genuine consideration to my request and my offer, but somehow I cannot help but be cynical about the likelihood of this. No other state has been able to save the program, but we will continue to fight for students in Queensland. Dr Kemp put this program in place to save himself from criticism when he introduced the Common Youth Allowance, when he disfranchised students and young people across this state from receiving some form of benefit while they looked for a job after leaving school. He put it in place to save his own bacon, and two years on when the political furore has died down, he is going to walk away and abandon these students and these young people. Mr SPEAKER: Order! Before calling the member for Maryborough, I welcome to the public gallery parents, teachers and students of the Coolangatta State School, in the electorate of Currumbin, and a number of students from the Yeronga State School.

Dingoes, Fraser Island Dr KINGSTON: I ask the Minister for Environment: will he now move to seriously consider and implement the plan put forward by Mr Fred Williams for a large enclosure and interpretive centre which would allow safe viewing of adequately fed dingoes? This will preserve the tourist attraction of Fraser Island's dingoes and human lives. Mr Williams has been funded by this government for the last three years to write a book concerning dingoes in south-east Queensland. The plan was handed to the previous minister by Mr Williams at a consultation meeting on Fraser Island. Mr WELLS: The government will continue with its policy of ensuring that human habitations are secure from those dingoes that have become habituated to human contact and who constitute a threat to human beings, particularly to children. That means culling those dingoes that have been habituating those human areas and proceeding with the program which the government has begun. Other more long-term strategies can be looked at further down the track, but let me advert to something that honourable members on the other side have asked the 3 May 2001 Questions Without Notice 659

Attorney-General but have not had the guts to ask the correct minister, and that is the allegation— Mr SPEAKER: Order! That is unparliamentary. I ask you to withdraw that word. Mr WELLS: I withdraw. Let me advert to the matter— Mr HORAN: I rise to a point of order. I find that offensive. The minister was asked a question— Mr SPEAKER: I have just ruled on it. Mr HORAN: I find that offensive and I ask it to be withdrawn. He was asked a question. That question was correctly directed to the Attorney-General because it was to do with whether advice had been sought on the legal exposure— Mr SPEAKER: No, we are not having a debate. Mr WELLS: I apologise and withdraw. The proposition that there was a report or a draft management plan in 1999 which indicated the possibility of human death is true. The proposition that my predecessor did not do anything in response to that report is false. I table documents which indicate that, of the 55 recommendations in that report, 30 were implemented or were in the process of being implemented by my predecessor, and many of the others that were not are long-term strategies, research projects and the like. During the time that my predecessor was the minister, it is undoubtedly the case that more was done to protect human beings from dingoes than previously was the case. The standard operational procedure of culling those dingoes that presented any kind of threat to human beings or that displayed any aggression towards human beings was continued and continued stringently. The warnings on the island were intensified. Most of the fines that the Premier referred to in a previous ministerial statement were given in 1999 and 2000—after that report. The honourable members on the other side of the House have been trying to play the blame game. We could all do that. I could, too, if I wanted to make some issue of the fact that five years ago the coalition government was receiving advice from dingo experts that no culling was done. But I forbear; that would help nobody.

Labour Day Mr LAWLOR: I refer the Premier to the fact that on Monday thousands of Queensland unionists and their supporters will march to celebrate Labour Day, and I ask: could the Premier please inform the House if he will be marching this year? If so, could he outline his views on the relevance of Labour Day in 2001? Mr BEATTIE: I thank the honourable member for his question. Yes, I will be marching. I march every year and, in fact, I will be leading the march in Brisbane because this is an important day in the history of the labour movement. I know that all of my colleagues will be there, and I am delighted to see that. My government's vision for Queensland workplaces is to put people and workplaces first by balancing both social and economic needs. Balancing work, family and life is a growing issue for our communities, and obviously we are tackling it. My government is examining it and pursuing it. My government has an excellent track record in industrial relations. We have introduced new, fair and balanced industrial laws. We have significantly improved Queensland's industrial laws by putting the balance back into industrial relations. The Queensland Industrial Relations Commission has been reinvigorated as an independent umpire. We have reduced the number of industrial disputes and reduced the number of applications for unfair dismissal. In recent years we have had the best record in terms of reducing strikes—much better than that of the previous government. We have restored the awards system and have given workers a real choice between awards and agreements. Our industrial laws have introduced paid carers leave. In an Australian first, casual workers now have a right to unpaid maternity leave. We directed the IRC to provide a report on how best to achieve pay equity in Queensland and we are now implementing many of its recommendations. We are acting on recommendations from task forces set up to improve workplace health and safety in a number of industries, including the building and construction, horse riding, electricity and sugar industries. On top of that, Queensland now has the nation's 660 Questions Without Notice 3 May 2001 best and fairest workers compensation system, with average employer premiums the lowest in Australia. The government is also committed to further improvements to the employment conditions of long-term and regular casual employees through an updated work and family package. This government will also be addressing the issue of the long working week syndrome through the development of industry codes of practice. The resultant industry guidelines will outline achievable standards of reasonable work hours, taking into account industry and employee needs, health and safety factors and fair community standards. My government follows a long and proud tradition of Queensland Labor governments protecting the rights and interests of Queensland workers. May Day, or Labour Day as it has become known, started during the late 1880s as a worldwide campaign for the eight-hour day. Times have changed, but the Australian Labor Party's commitment to Queensland's working men and women remains strong. This government is committed to a fair go—a fair go for Queensland workers, who have an industrial system which is balanced and fair. It is fair to workers, employers and the government. That is one of the most important things that we have. I ask honourable members to look at what the federal government system has produced. When they look at the troubles in the coalfields they see that the federal system is one that cannot resolve disputes. If the current dispute in the coalfields was happening under a state award, it would be fixed by now. Instead of that we have protracted disputes in the coalfields. Families are hurting, workers are hurting and exports in this state are being hurt. There is no benefit to anyone. That is why we need a state industrial system that can solve disputes, not prolong them, which is what the federal government system does.

Industrial Relations Commission Mr LESTER: I ask the Minister for Industrial Relations: why was the vice-president of the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission removed from the position of assisting in the administration of the commission? As the legislation does not provide for the commissioner administrator to delegate his powers, does the recent change preclude the vice-president from conducting a call-over hearing for allocation of cases if the need arises? Mr NUTTALL: We had a lengthy debate on this issue yesterday. Just to clarify what happened in the debate, I say that we have simply given the administration of the Industrial Relations Commission to one person, and that is the commissioner administrator.

Industry Development Mr LIVINGSTONE: I ask the Minister for State Development: what results came out of last week's industry ministers meeting in Adelaide? Mr BARTON: I thank the member for the question. Last week all industry ministers met in Adelaide to discuss issues affecting their portfolios to ensure that infrastructure, jobs and industry are developed in this nation. Unfortunately, New South Wales and Victoria tried to hijack the agenda by trying to tell the other states how they should behave in this regard. Ministers from the smaller states and I made it very clear that we were sick of being lectured by the old regime as to how we should conduct ourselves, because in our view the old regime is only interested in protecting its traditional base rather than in the overall development of this nation. The issue related to investment attraction and bidding wars between the states for major projects and events. Of course, this is an issue that deserves to be debated and addressed because some companies are very good at playing states off against each other unfairly. However, the bone of contention related to the tactics used. The day before the meeting, the Victorian Treasurer, John Brumby, who has responsibility for state development in his state, went out and used the old, popular theme of getting himself some media attention by bashing Queensland unfairly. In effect, he said that Queensland was doing the wrong thing in its attempts to attract industry. His rhetoric and, to a lesser degree, the rhetoric of the minister from New South Wales was that Queensland is stealing business by paying over the odds. However, they do not understand that, in the main, we have to offer far less than our wealthier interstate neighbours to attract business to this state simply because we have natural advantages such as the lowest taxes—the lowest payroll tax—and the lowest workers compensation, as well as the best climate and lifestyle. Despite this unwarranted attack from John Brumby, I indicated that I was willing to 3 May 2001 Questions Without Notice 661 listen to what he put forward and expected a detailed proposal. What I got was a very broad outline—one piece of paper, no substance. It was a pathetic approach to policy development. We are still prepared to talk about that issue because it is important. Victoria is hardly in a position to complain because it has been the worst offender at stealing companies and events from other states. It was even attempting to do that while we were in Adelaide by trying to steal Targa Tasmania to Victoria. We make no apologies for what we are doing in this state to attract investment and jobs. I say to John Brumby: you should talk to me first if you want to address this issue. I know you have had some problems with numbers in the past, but my phone number is 07 3224 4600. Please give me a call.

Tabling of Crown Law Advice Mr QUINN: I refer the Attorney-General to the precedent set by the Industrial Relations Minister in this House yesterday when he tabled Crown Law advice relating to the concerns of the President of the Industrial Court. I ask: given that the state government has now set a precedent for tabling Crown Law advice, will the Attorney-General table any Crown Law advice he has received in relation to the state government's liability for attacks by dingoes that occur on Crown land? Mr WELFORD: No.

SEQ 2001 Mrs ATTWOOD: I ask the Minister for Local Government and Planning: can she provide an update on the SEQ 2001 regional planning strategy in light of the fact that we are now in 2001? Mrs NITA CUNNINGHAM: I thank the honourable member for her question. SEQ 2001 was established by the Goss Labor government in 1990 to develop a program for the sustainable management of the unprecedented population growth being experienced in south-east Queensland. It addressed a wide range of issues including nature conservation, air and water quality, transport, human services, the development of urban centres, employment location, economic development and the pattern of infrastructure provision and urban growth. This process has seen the development and implementation of a number of regional planning strategies, including the Integrated Regional Transport Plan, the regional air quality strategy, the economic development strategy, the nature conservation strategy, and water and wastewater studies and programs. These plans and strategies have provided practical improvements in the south-east Queensland region. On 13 December last year at Parliament House the SEQ 2001 10 year conference celebrated the pioneering of this innovative approach to growth management and regional planning in Australia. At that conference the state government and 18 south-east Queensland local governments announced joint funding of a $3 million major review of SEQ 2001 over four years to update and extend the current regional framework for growth management into the next phase, SEQ 2021: A Sustainable Future. I believe SEQ 2001's greatest success has been to establish and maintain important partnerships between all levels of government and the business and community sectors to ensure the effective management of growth in this region. I commend all those local governments and agencies for their support and involvement with this significant planning exercise. I make particular mention of the late Mayor of Redland, Eddie Santagiuliana, who was a member of the SEQ 2001 Regional Coordination Committee for some four years. I acknowledge his significant contributions to that planning process and to local government in general. He was popular and well respected and his input to south-east Queensland regional planning will be sadly missed. As the SEQ 2001 project begins its new chapter as SEQ 2021, I look forward to reporting on its future developments and achievements.

Brisbane Markets Mr ROWELL: I refer the Minister for Primary Industries and Rural Communities to his government's decision to sell the Brisbane Markets without consulting the fruit and vegetable industry. I ask: why has the minister not insisted that the sale proceeds of that industry asset be reinvested in capital works to support more export development and create new jobs in the fruit and vegetable industry? 662 Questions Without Notice 3 May 2001

Mr PALASZCZUK: I thank the honourable member for the question. Let us go through the history of the privatisation of the Brisbane Markets. Upon the election of the Beattie government in 1998, as the incoming Minister for Primary Industries I was presented with a Brisbane Markets review committee report. I understand that the same report was handed to the honourable member opposite when he was the minister in May 1998. For the information of the honourable member, I state that that report made two recommendations. The first recommendation was to privatise the markets and the second was to then remove the monopoly of the markets. We have removed the monopoly of the markets. We have allowed other players to be able to come in and set up their own markets if they want to. When I received the report, I took it to cabinet and government made the decision to ignore the recommendation for the privatisation of the markets but accepted the recommendation to remove the markets' exclusivity. Instead of privatising the markets, our government corporatised the markets to ensure the markets could progress through their transition from a statutory authority with a legislative monopoly to a commercially focused entity. That transition was successful. If they had been in government those opposite would have privatised the markets immediately without giving the markets the opportunity for an orderly transition from a government owned corporation— Mr ROWELL: I rise to a point of order. The minister is speculating on what we would have done in government. No determination can be made. It is pure speculation. Mr SPEAKER: Order! That is not a point of order. Mr PALASZCZUK: As I was saying previously, had they been in government those opposite would have privatised the markets immediately. As opposed to that, we corporatised the markets to ensure a smooth and orderly progression from a government owned entity to a privatised concern. As is usual, this government will consult with all stakeholders and take into account all their recommendations and their suggestions. If and when the markets are sold, all stakeholders will be consulted. I am quite sure the results will prove to be satisfactory to not only the government but also all stakeholders concerned.

Rural Road Safety Mrs CHRISTINE SCOTT: I refer the Minister for Transport and Minister for Main Roads to the government's commitment to road safety, and I ask: can he advise what is being done to improve road safety on Queensland's rural roads? Mr BREDHAUER: This is an important question because, notwithstanding the fact that this year's road toll is around 18 per cent lower than that for the same period last year, the government is making a specific commitment to reducing the number of rural drivers who are involved in rural road fatalities and hospitalisations. While only about 30 per cent of all accidents occur on non-urban roads, recent statistics indicate that about 50 per cent of fatal crashes occur in rural Queensland. A key focus of the government's road safety strategy is enhancing public awareness through key road safety messages. On 20 April a number of members—and I know that included, for example, the members for Fitzroy, Cairns, Whitsunday and Mundingburra—launched the Rural Road Safety Public Education Campaign in recognition of the unique road safety issues that exist in rural Queensland. The campaign messages reflect road crash statistics, which show that fatigue and failing to wear seatbelts are the primary road safety issues in rural Queensland. The rural road safety focus of the government is directed by the Queensland Road Safety Strategy 1993-2003 and the Queensland Road Safety Action Plan 2000-01. Both of these documents also reflect Australia's Rural Road Safety Action Plan and National Road Safety Strategy. The government's Rural Road Safety Public Education Campaign responds to outcomes sought in the Rural Road Safety Action Plan, which targets improvements to the attitude and the behaviour of rural road users to drink-driving, speeding, fatigue and the use of seatbelts through linking enforcement action to public education campaigns. While the level of fatalities on rural Queensland roads remains a critical concern for the government, I remind honourable members that the current road safety strategies are working well. Recent statistics indicate a consistent reduction since 1995 in fatalities on rural Queensland roads related to fatigue, speed, alcohol and single vehicle crashes. Further progress towards road safety on rural roads has been achieved through the partnership between Queensland Transport and Main Roads and the Queensland Police Service, 3 May 2001 Questions Without Notice 663 with programs such as the road safety audits, safe school bus routes, removal of black spots, speed management, management of fatigue, enforcement, and by developing specific programs to address the problems of the most remote areas of Queensland, together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. I am confident that this Rural Road Safety Public Education Campaign will make a positive contribution to road safety in Queensland.

Hospital Waiting Lists Ms LEE LONG: I am sure the Minister for Health appreciates that people in rural and regional Queensland have the same health problems as their city counterparts and deserve to be treated accordingly, and so I ask: what steps has the minister taken to alleviate the problem of waiting lists of up to three years at the public hospitals and dental clinics at Atherton, Mareeba and in other regional areas? Mrs EDMOND: This is a problem across Australia because the current Commonwealth government withdrew the funding for oral health services. I acknowledge that the coalition government kept this program going in Queensland. It is the only state that has kept this program going. But what I can tell the people of Atherton is that the federal Labor Party has guaranteed to bring back that funding. The member should be urging people in the north to vote Labor in the coming federal election in order to bring back the oral health program. The Commonwealth Health Minister says that he is not interested in oral health. He does not care that there are people waiting to access oral health services. In the meantime, Queensland will continue to take $21 million out of other Queensland health services to put into the oral health program that the Commonwealth defunded. I have given a guarantee that we will continue to take that $21 million out of other health services and put the money back into the oral health services, from where the Commonwealth took it. Also, this year we have said that we will be targeting those areas with long waits in oral health, with an extra $5 million as an election commitment. We will be doing that. We will be looking at the worst of those areas and providing that service. All honourable members, if they are interested in oral health, should be calling on their constituents to vote Labor in the coming federal election to make sure that we get the return of that oral health service.

Indigenous Art Ms LIDDY CLARK: I refer the Minister for the Arts to an exhibition of prints by indigenous artists in the National Art Gallery in Canberra titled Islands in the sun, and I ask: can he inform the House whether there has been any Queensland involvement in this exhibition? Mr FOLEY: Indeed there has. The Cairns Regional Art Gallery has collaborated on this fine exhibition and, as luck would have it, I happen to have a copy of a very fine catalogue for this exhibition, which should make every honourable member proud. A fortnight ago I had the great honour to attend in Canberra to open this exhibition. What it reflects is that the Queensland arts community is in this respect leading the nation. In particular, I refer to the very fine work done by the curator, Brian Robinson, of the Cairns Regional Art Gallery, who co-curated the exhibition together with Roger Butler from the National Art Gallery. This exhibition, entitled Islands in the sun: prints by indigenous artists of Australia and the Australasian region, affirms the great importance of indigenous art within our nation and indeed internationally. What it also does is drive home to those people who do not look outside the coffee houses of Double Bay and Toorak that if they want to know what is happening that is exciting in the world of art they should come to Queensland. Indeed, the Cairns Regional Art Gallery has made a stunning contribution in this respect. This is, significantly, the first major exhibition of contemporary prints by indigenous artists from Australia and the Australasian region. This very special art event brings together a remarkable collection of prints by artists from Arnhem Land, Bathurst and Melville Islands, the Torres Strait Islands, Papua New Guinea, Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. This helps put us all in touch with the stories and legends of our own land. The cover is a depiction of the morning star, and set out in six magnificent prints we have the legends of Arnhem Land associated with the morning star. I for one found it a very beautiful and moving collection. I congratulate both galleries. 664 Address in Reply 3 May 2001

I was very pleased to see also at the National Art Gallery the Children's Art Gallery, which came about through collaboration from QUT. Again we see Queensland leading the way. I commend, among others, the National Art Gallery Director, Dr Brian Kennedy. He has copped something of a flogging in recent days from the Sydney-centric elite that so often dominates arts politics in this country, and he needs to be greatly commended.

Tuberculosis Mr HOBBS: I refer the Minister for Primary Industries to the outbreak of tuberculosis at Van Rook Station in north Queensland last year, and I ask: can the minister advise the House what action has been taken to bring this outbreak under control, what the reason was for the long delay and what further testing and quarantine conditions have now been carried out on Van Rook Station? Mr PALASZCZUK: Which property is the honourable member referring to? Mr Hobbs: Van Rook. Mr PALASZCZUK: In far-north Queensland, in the gulf. This is a very important issue. Mr Hobbs interjected. Mr PALASZCZUK: I will give the member an honest answer. The Department of Primary Industries has had to trace where the cow was originally purchased from and where it originated. Mr Hobbs interjected. Mr PALASZCZUK: No, it is the right question. The tracing operation is still in process and it will be continued. Mr Hobbs interjected. Mr PALASZCZUK: This issue is very important. I do have the details here. If the honourable member wants to discuss this further, I will do so with him privately after question time. Mr SPEAKER: Order! The time for questions has expired.

QUESTION RULED OUT OF ORDER Mr SPEAKER: Order! In respect to the question I ruled out of order today, I note the following— (1) Sessional orders provide that questions may be put to a minister relating to public affairs for which he or she is responsible. Questions are not allowed in respect of matters that they may have been responsible for in the past. (2) Sessional order 68(C)(i) and (ii) also provides for no questions asking for opinion or legal opinion. (3) Erskine May 22nd edition at page 300 provides— Questions seeking an expression of opinion on a question of law ... are not in order. (4) Erskine May 22nd edition at page 300 also states— It is not in order to put to a Minister a question for which another Minister is more directly responsible. (5) I also refer to rulings by Speaker Nicholson in this regard on 24 August 1971 and Speaker Turner on 27 May 1997.

ADDRESS IN REPLY Resumed from 2 May (see p. 621). Mr SPEAKER: Order! Before calling the member for Mudgeeraba, as this will be the member's first speech I ask that the courtesy of the parliament be extended to her. Mrs REILLY (Mudgeeraba—ALP) (11.30 a.m.): I rise to talk about my electorate and myself for the first time. I am honoured to be the foundation member for the new seat of Mudgeeraba, and with that honour comes the good fortune to be a member of Peter Beattie's Gold Coast team—a member of the magnificent seven who have made the Gold Coast the new Labor heartland. 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 665

It is significant that the seat's first member is a Labor member. Many people voted Labor for the first time in what was considered a true blue, blue ribbon seat. There was a field of six candidates, including three Independents, with varying degrees of conservative campaigns and ideas. We enjoyed a happy camaraderie, and most of us made the effort to meet our constituents face to face, even in the shadow of controversial proposals and issues which had split the community. I attribute the massive swing of almost 19 per cent to the Beattie government's positive policies and achievements over the past three years. But what also became obvious during the campaign was the extent to which my electorate has been neglected and ignored. As a hinterland seat, it has been deprived of much of the infrastructure, spending, glitz and glamour heaped on the high-profile surfside seats only a few minutes but, in many ways, a world away. The constituents have been crying out for attention, and I know that in three years time I will be re-elected only if I am entrenched, visible and active in my community, and that is exactly what I intend to be. I am particularly honoured to be a member of the 50th Legislative Assembly of Queensland and of the Beattie Labor government—a government of which I am fiercely proud and which daily provides me with inspiration and hope. I wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the region of the electorate, the Kombumerri. Mudgeeraba is a Kombumerri word meaning 'place of tall stories'. Some may say it is an apt name for politics and, as such, I hope I will not be adding any unnecessary weight to this claim. I have recently learned that the Kombumerri were a matriarchal society; and so perhaps it is fate that has delivered a woman as the electorate's first political representative. Geographically, it is the largest of the Gold Coast seats, extending south from Nerang to the New South Wales border, west to Springbrook and Lower Beechmont and has, as its eastern boundary, the Pacific Highway. Incidentally, and unfortunately, that highway is also the boundary for most public transport, all but cutting the electorate off from the rest of the Gold Coast for many residents. The Mudgeeraba electorate is very diverse, having a large industrial area, high-density housing, acreage and primary producers. The area has enormous historic significance to Queensland and the Gold Coast, being the site of one of the largest timber-getters' camps established in the area when white Australians first came to the Gold Coast. Mudgeeraba is an electorate which is greatly aware of itself and its assets, and it has many of which to be proud. It has community and progress groups, heritage groups and a local heritage festival, sporting clubs, pony clubs, some of the world's best golf clubs, arts and crafts and farmers markets, and its own showgrounds in which to display them all. It is the green behind the gold, and I will boldly promote it as such. The Gold Coast hinterland is rich in natural assets, national parks, magnificent waterfalls, walks and picnic grounds; and Springbrook, on the verge of the Lamington Plateau, is the jewel in the crown which is my electorate. Lower Beechmont is a gateway to the unique tourist destinations of Binna Burra and O'Reilly's and new ventures, such as the Canungra Valley vineyards and other wineries. It is interesting to note that I received my highest support in Springbrook, a community which fought tooth and nail over several years against a development which it felt was inappropriate and environmentally unsound. Well, this government heard their voice, noted their protests and rightly rejected that unwelcome proposal on solid environmental, ecological and economical grounds. Far from recoiling from development because the locals wanted to keep that magic place to themselves, the people of Springbrook want only to preserve, protect and nurture their paradise so that they may share it with their families and tourists alike for generations to come. In my very green electorate, 'greenie' is not a dirty word. I look forward to working with my constituents, members of the tourism industry and the Gold Coast Tourism Bureau to promote and develop sensible, responsible and sustainable genuine ecotourism projects in that delicate region along with the necessary infrastructure to support them. I was born in Brisbane in 1969, the year of Woodstock, the year that man first walked on the moon. I am an Aquarian born in the age of Aquarius, so there was little doubt then that I would be drawn to the progressive and social side of politics. I am the only child of a Hungarian migrant who escaped Hungary during the bloody uprising of 1956, and the fourth child of a Yugoslavian who came to Australia with her young family during the federal push for migrant workers from the Balkans. This mix made for a volatile and passionate household. 666 Address in Reply 3 May 2001

My parents were pioneers, taming their own little scrubby patch of bush—now known as the Brisbane suburb of Chandler but then very far from the big city—and making their way in a rural community despite the constraints of having English as a second language. I formed a strong attachment to the land, the trees, the dam and the bush that surrounded our property. As a child, I preferred to rush home from school and stay at home on weekends to ride my horse and swim in swollen creeks than play organised sport or go to movies. Growing up in a multilingual home, I spoke Hungarian before I spoke English. I was taught to read and write two languages, and I could sing the anthem of the Hungarian revolutionaries before I knew the words to Advance Australia Fair—which I do know. Sundays were spent at the home of Brisbane's Hungarian patriarch, Father Istvan Miklos, a Catholic priest who opened his home to Brisbane's Hungarian community—and my guardian and mentor for much of my early years. In an atmosphere rich in emotion, tradition, worship and culture, we talked, laughed and sang, learnt traditional folk dances, poems and music, drank homemade red wine and ate goulash from steaming big pots suspended over open fires. And I was privileged to be a member of the Hungarian Dance Troupe, which performed at the opening ceremony of the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. This, to me, was a normal Australian childhood. However, it is only now, as an adult and as a mother, that I realise and appreciate the richness and magic of that childhood. Living it, as a Brisbane teenager attending a Catholic girls school, I was more often made to feel embarrassed rather than proud. 'Dianna Erdelyi' wanted nothing more than an Anglo surname like Smith or Jones and parents who did not have funny accents but, instead, wore suits and went to work at their office every day. Now, perhaps, members can begin to imagine how proud and moved I am to be a member of this Beattie Labor government—a government which made, on its first day at its first sitting of parliament, the introduction of racial vilification laws its first priority. So to stress my commitment to multiculturalism and anti-discrimination may be somewhat superfluous, because I am fiercely proud of my ethnic background; it is what makes me so uniquely Australian. For me, it is what it means to be Australian. My parents taught me to stand up for what I believe in. They believed in justice and fair play, and they fought for equality and opportunity. They instilled in me a great sense of self-worth, always encouraged me to do my best and supported me in all my endeavours. They never told me that I could not, only that I could do anything. Most importantly, they gave me the two greatest gifts I believe any parent can give their child: confidence and self-esteem. And for that I say 'kosunem'—thank you. I want to say a special thankyou to my dad, Tibor, and to my mum, Anna, and my brother Jim who babysit often and willingly, my brother Greg (Dragutin) and his family and my sister Penny (Agnes) and her family, my campaign director, friend and electorate officer Kellie Trigger and my other friends who I am so fortunate to have and are too numerous to name, but you all know who you are and how special you are to me. I wish to acknowledge some major influences as well. Julian Foley, who some of you will know; Paul Braddy, who I miss greatly when I look across at our ministers; and Harry Hauenschild, who has been a friend and mentor for many years and was a pleasure to work and travel with when we toured regional Queensland promoting the Queensland Training Awards. I wish to thank also the branch members and the party organisers, Di Farmer, Andrew Fraser, Simon Finn and Michael Dart, and the many community members and supporters who believed in me and supported me. I must make special mention of Emily's List and the support I received from Joan Kirner, Molly Robson and my appointed campaign mentor, Margaret Gray. The arrival of early money from Emily's List and the advice and support of these extraordinary women kick-started what would otherwise have been a very ordinary campaign. But I save the highest accolade for perhaps the greatest influence of my adult life, my best friend and my rock, my husband, Bernard. I met him when I was 17. He has watched me and helped me grow and mature. He has nurtured, supported and, at times, challenged me, but only to do better and aim higher. I would not be here today without him. Thank you, darling. I have always been a career oriented and work focused woman. It took me some time to adjust to motherhood and domestic life, but I have been learning to sew, taking baby to 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 667 swimming lessons, baking, cooking, cleaning and becoming quite familiar with my washing machine, mop, broom and all things Bananas in Pyjamas. At the same time I continued writing freelance on issues relating to occupational health and safety from my home computer—when I could keep the toddler, Louis, away from the keyboard. Yet winning this election and returning to work to what is more than a full-time position has been quite a shock, as I have spent the past 18 months putting my career aspirations aside in favour of home duties. So I not only relate to working mothers and those trying to run a business from home but I know what it is like to be a full-time domestic engineer. And I can tell you, yes, it is rewarding, it is wonderful, but it is not easy—even when you have a healthy child, a supportive husband and a good income and family and friends around you. Imagine then doing it as a single mum or one whose partner is unemployed. Imagine having more than one child and imagine that they are not healthy. Imagine that one or more of your children has a disability, you have no job, no transport, no support and no money to pay next week's rent. Can you imagine yourself in this position? Well, many in my electorate do not have to imagine it, and that is why I am here. They live it and they need help, and I am going to give it to them. This government is going to help them because it is committed to families, young people and the future. If you think these are 'women's issues' and I am just a stereotypical 'woman's' politician, well then, think again. These are everyone's issues because, if we do not support women, families and young people, we all suffer. Without education, opportunity, care and commitment, young people become disfranchised and disenchanted and when that happens they are at risk of becoming involved in self-destructive behaviours, juvenile crime and drug abuse. My local business community, like many others, is constantly fighting vandalism, petty theft and graffiti. To them I say: I will do everything I can to protect, promote and support your business endeavours. But I ask a favour in return and that is to help me to help our young people by providing employment, training opportunities and supporting programs for children at risk and diversionary programs. We need to acknowledge that our children are Queensland's most valuable assets and that every one of us ends up living with the results if positive steps are not taken. Certainly prevention is better than cure, but we have to do all we can for those already caught in the trap of crime and drug abuse. Addicts need proper and effective programs which break the cycle of using and provide positive long-term outcomes. Parents of young people using drugs are crying out for help. They need support and they need answers. My rural farming childhood as the daughter of a chicken farmer growing up in what was then an isolated area with little or no public transport and without town water or sewerage means that I do understand and empathise with the needs of my constituents. I trained and worked as a journalist. In fact, I once envisaged an illustrious career as a political reporter. To my friends in the press gallery who I know are watching, even if not from the gallery, I salute you because I alone do appreciate and understand the demands of your job. Journalists, like politicians and lawyers, get a bad rap within the community, are the butt of many jokes and are constantly criticised, often undeservedly. I was a casual reporter with Prime Television on the Gold Coast for a number of years. In my time at Prime I was impressed by the professionalism, dedication and principled approach of my colleagues. They were not in it for the glamour, because there was very little of that, nor the money, because there was even less of that. I joined the Media Arts and Entertainment Alliance because I saw my colleagues treated like commodities by media magnates more concerned about the bottom line than the news. I saw them hired and fired, and hired and fired again, their entitlements threatened and their careers stifled or destroyed. In such an atmosphere I, like many of my colleagues, sought an alternative career path in which to utilise my skills. So for much of the past 10 years I have worked in marketing and communication roles within the public sector. I have watched the wheels of government turning. I have had a range of experiences from the inside, many of which were deeply gratifying, but many more of which left me frustrated. I have worked in a number of government departments, in policy development, planning, funding and public relations roles. I have worked in community services, disability services, domestic violence, youth and juvenile crime prevention, child care, training and employment programs and university and workplace health and safety. 668 Address in Reply 3 May 2001

What I have learned from all that time is that I want to be involved in building—building communities and building a better society for everyone, not just the privileged few. I want to be involved in growing, nurturing and improving through education, employment, health, public transport, support for families, the unemployed, women and people with disabilities and their carers. I believe that the Beattie government has put people and service back into the public sector and I want to be a part of that system and indeed to play a leading role. How? As a woman, a mother and a writer, people and communication are my fortes. I will work with community groups, business owners and all stakeholders in the electorate. I will be available and accessible to all my constituents so they know that they can approach me and talk to me. I ask them to tell me what they want so I can put their needs forward. I will work to ensure that Mudgeeraba and everyone within it reach their full potential. 'Impossible' is not a word in my dictionary, in my vocabulary. I will consult and discuss, I will negotiate and renegotiate, I will consider and compromise, but I will not quit. I cannot promise my constituents the world but I promise to fight for their rightful share of it. Thank you.

DISTINGUISHED VISITORS Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER (Ms Liddy Clark): Order! Before I call the honourable member for Maryborough, I would like to acknowledge the representatives in the gallery today from JCTU Rengo in Saitaima in Japan, which has a sister relationship with the Queensland Council of Unions. Honourable members: Hear, hear!

ADDRESS IN REPLY Dr KINGSTON (Maryborough—Ind) (11.48 a.m.): Firstly, I wish to congratulate all members elected to this, the 50th Queensland Parliament. I congratulate the Premier on a brave and clever campaign. I urge him to ensure that his government has full opportunity to demonstrate its democratic debating skills. It can only do this if it has a strong and well-equipped opposition. My definition of 'opposition' includes the so-called crossbenches, the members of which are currently disadvantaged by lack of staff funding. Basically, I am saying that this government will be better able to convince the electorate of its competence if it has to defend its policies against well- equipped non-Labor members. Secondly, I wish to thank all the people who had faith in me and worked hard to see that I was re-elected. I apologise that I gave them some anxious moments. I was staggered by the geographic spread from which support was forthcoming. Additionally, the former political loyalties of my supporters are varied and interesting. I think the message to me is that people are looking for representatives who care, listen and who go to great effort to understand their situations, to fight for their cause and to communicate with them. I intend to continue in this mode, despite the fact that it creates a lot more work for my long-suffering staff. I must give special thanks to the Parliamentary Library for a fantastic service. Special thanks go to Gary Turner, who appeared from Kilcoy and, although we had never met, volunteered to write press releases for me. He then took over my campaign office. I am afraid that he was the recipient of more argument than thanks, for which I apologise. I promise my constituents, regardless of politics, colour and creed, that I will do the best I can in the interests of each and every one of them, the Maryborough electorate, Queensland and Australia. If I learned anything from working at government policy levels for some 20 years in Asian- Pacific countries, it is that government policies will not be successfully implemented until the grassroots, the majority of the population, feel that they are involved in the decision-making process and that they have clearly defined and assured rights and some ownership of legislation. This demands adequate genuine consultation with the broad spectrum of industries and communities. Because of these beliefs, I congratulate the Independent member for Darling Downs on his call to arms to the dairy industry. Deregulated dairy farmers face a future that no democratic government can go along with without lasting social guilt. I also congratulate the member for Fitzroy on his call for more government intervention when multinationals act without due consideration for their workers and family. My experience in trying to expedite adequate consultation between the previous Beattie government and, for instance, SGP holders has been particularly frustrating for me and for the 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 669 forestry leaseholders. I believe that that particular ministry lost credence due to their lack of genuine response. I believe that the dissatisfaction with governments is basically due to the feeling that we are travelling towards a largely unknown demography without adequate consultation and explanation. In fact, we are being pushed like cattle up an abattoir ramp by the religious addiction to a particular economic policy. The high priests of this economic cult dwell in the national Treasury and see and know little of the real Australia. To them, the theory is more important than people. I think that many of our rural communities feel that they are being led like lemmings towards largely undefined circumstances—undefined but unpleasant. Having been elected with such an overwhelming majority, the temptation to lose contact with grassroots people will be a challenge for this Beattie government. Whilst recognising that there are now large segments of the population who feel that their interests are not considered within the current political spectrum, it is important to realise that there has been a convergence between traditional political foes. Arthur Calwell identified this in his memoirs. In 1980, David Kemp wrote about the unhelpfulness of the traditional left-right dichotomy for understanding a range of social and political issues in Australia. Ladd, an American psychologist, used the terms 'cosmopolitan' and 'parochial' to describe the new cultural divisions that defy the traditional left-right dichotomy. John Higley has described the way in which interest groups labelled 'liberal' and 'socialist' came to occupy the middle ground. This has resulted in a volatile and confusing political climate. This is the environment in which this House must work in the best interests of all citizens. The divergence between rich and poor continues to grow throughout the world. There are economists who have examined history and who believe that such periods of wide divergence are usually followed by periods of recessions and severe depressions. The Maryborough electorate is about 50 per cent urban and 50 per cent rural. We have a multiskilled population. That has been our strength and our resilience. But urban Maryborough and our small rural communities are currently struggling. Wendell Berry, the author of The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture, states that since its inception the industrial economy has systematically undermined rural communities. He claims that the impoverishment of rural communities is simply a way in which the large, exploitative, absentee economy works, liberating farmers from their land, their self-employment and their self-respect. Currently, we, the Maryborough community, have several development projects on the horizon. The success of these projects is essential to the welfare of the Maryborough region. Firstly, a foreign company is examining the comparative advantage of producing chicory in rotation with sugar cane. Mr Mickel: A good crop. Dr KINGSTON: Spot-on. Eight thousand hectares of crop, with a contract price linked to the CPI, for five years and a large processing factory—some $100 million. Chicory contains a polysaccharide, inulin, which is essential to give fat-free products like fat-free ice-cream an improved taste and structure. The DSD offices in Maryborough and Bundaberg have been working hard, as have the Hervey Bay council and the Maryborough sugar factory, to secure this investment. I strongly suggest to the Premier and Treasurer that they give very serious consideration to the benefits of regionalisation and help us ensure that this new and complementary industry is established in this disadvantaged region of Queensland. Secondly, the Maryborough sugar factory, always progressive, and Stanwell are progressing well on the feasibility of a cogeneration plant utilising bagasse in the crushing season. Currently, there is a problem acquiring adequate fuel during the non-crushing months. Sadly, minority politics are again providing a hurdle. I find it frustrating that this audible minority makes recommendations about sustainability but does not come to examine carefully the results achieved by our silviculturists. These graziers sustainably produce twice to four times the mill logs that their Forestry Department neighbours do. They have their own methodology of sustainable multiple land use. Now, they are actively preserving habitat. It is a serious mistake to think that all knowledge lies within university or bureaucratic circles. If this vocal minority cannot learn from simple hardworking farmers, then they should examine the 150 permanent woodland grazing sites established by Joe Ebersohn and Bill Burrows up to 35 years ago. Bill Burrows has just been awarded a fellowship of the Tropical Grasslands Society for his impact on the understanding, development and sustainable management of Queensland's grazed woodlands. 670 Address in Reply 3 May 2001

Significantly, Bill has little time for those who choose to make important land-use decisions based on politics and emotions. One of his favourite sayings is that politicians come and go, but good science will live forever. The correctional centre is progressing well and is already causing a demand for rental houses. I thank the member for Waterford for his tolerance of the barrage of letters, faxes and literature that he received from Maryborough whilst we were trying to convince him. Unfortunately, the Maryborough electorate lies within the federal electorate of Wide Bay, and Wide Bay has been judged as the most severely disadvantaged federal electorate across a range of socioeconomic parameters. Our heavy industries, always equated with the pulse of urban Maryborough, are feeling the impact of foreign competition, especially for very large contracts from privatised railways. We are grateful that the Beattie government commissioned the construction of the tilt train, we are anxious about the local construction of the cogeneration plant and we are watching the study of the light train project very closely. Walkers/EDI/Downer have just received an award from this government for making the maximum and most efficient use of local subcontractors. To understand Maryborough, members must understand this essential synergy between the bigger companies and our subcontractors and their mutual reliance. We cannot afford to lose the smaller multiskilled firms as they broaden the skills base available locally. Regrettably, many of the smaller firms are currently feeling the pinch. However, the diverse and often divisive constituents of Maryborough have the ability to forget their differences when their security is threatened. United they are formidable. Premier Beattie had to rescue his Health Minister when locals thought that the future of our base hospital was being eroded. I put the government on notice that Maryborough is still not convinced that the standard and capacity of the base hospital is assured. There is still movement at the hospital and the word is getting about. Hynes, a Maryborough-bred, statewide timber and hardware company, continues to expand and upgrade. It will still stay world competitive. Hynes played a pivotal role in easing the log jam encountered when Premier Beattie and his deputy were introducing the SEQ RFA. Their undertaking to establish softwood plantations was brave and crucial. Representing such a multiskilled and troubled but resilient electorate is a demanding and interesting experience. I have to admit that the past three years have felt like a wild roller-coaster ride because of the exogenous challenges that are confronting us with increasing frequency. I congratulate the Beattie government on its drive to make Queensland the Smart State. However, I urge it not to neglect the skills that we already have in abundance in Maryborough—skills that are easily taken for granted. Those skills are lacking and are highly desired in developing countries. Herein lies an opportunity to provide practical educational services in Maryborough and Queensland. Our current communication abilities now mean that our smart operators can enjoy the great lifestyle available in the Maryborough area whilst working with a company based in Brisbane. I urge this government to seriously consider decentralisation. Additionally, I urge the government to consider the portability of services. For instance, carefully developed computer programming skills can be rapidly transferred to another country with lower wages such as India. Microsoft did that some time ago. In his book The Work of Nations, Robert Reich, a former Secretary for Labour in the Clinton administration, describes the growth of a new class whom he calls the symbolic analysts in our post-industrial society. They are more oriented towards the ownership and manipulation of symbols, words, numbers and ideas than to the ownership and manipulation of things such as factories, machinery, gears and grease. This new subgroup of society depends on individual creativity and skill, and speculation in currency and futures. Such economies, coupled with economic globalisation, have deep ramifications for the national labour markets in the future. This should be very seriously considered by a responsible government. In her book The Great Divide, Katherine Betts agrees that our switch from a system in which profits came from high volume production to a system in which profits come from high value production will produce three types of jobs in the future. The first job type is routine production services, including routine data entry and programming. Those jobs are vulnerable to global competition. They are easily moved offshore. Next are the services that must be provided on a 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 671 person-to-person basis such as cleaning, sales, child care and security. Such jobs are not immediately vulnerable to global competition because the services are provided in person. The third job type of the future is providing symbolic analytical services. The people who do this work include management and financial consultants, bankers, international tax consultants, academics and so on. They make a living by identifying and solving problems through manipulating symbols. Those people are high-flyers and are more likely to feel themselves at the hub of global capitalism. Thus they are less nervous about global competition as they are part of the global community. They sell their services to the world market, although they may have a base in Australia for convenience. The question has been raised: will symbolic analysts willingly pay taxes and fight for the welfare of their less fortunate compatriots? Reich argues that this is the darker side of cosmopolitanism for, without strong attachments and loyalties extending beyond family, symbolic analysts may never develop social responsibility. They will be world citizens but without accepting any of the obligations that citizenship normally implies. Contrast this lack of recognition of obligations with the social obligations of closely knit rural communities. A sound regional economy is not adequately reflected by a good GDP, even if supplemented by other measures of material wealth. Traditional measures of wellbeing do not cost very important factors such as lifestyle, privacy, safe places for children, clean air, the networks and safety nets of mutual trust and obligation which thrive in smaller more stable communities. Those uncosted aspects of human life are termed natural and social capital. Technology is now emerging to value them. There is justifiable concern that world citizens will not contribute to the social capital of a region. To an increasing percentage of families, social capital is more important than accumulating material wealth past a certain point. I suggest that the members of this House ask their constituents what they value and in what direction they want their communities to develop. I believe that a majority will place a very high value on social capital. Therefore, I urge this government to consult with the whole electorate and encourage smart industries, but do not forget that the majority of the population will remain reliant on traditional occupations. I believe that improved lifestyle will emerge as a common objective. I have worked in 20 countries and none enjoy a lifestyle equal to ours—none. Let us clearly recognise this and work together to build on it. Until eight years ago my wife Joy lived in communist and troubled Laos. Joy has stoically experienced more hardship than most people. Members should ask Joy about where she wants to continue to live, even with a husband who is rarely home and who, when home, is grumpy, preoccupied and often on the telephone. I wish to publicly thank Joy for her understanding, her tolerance and her pride in what I am trying to do. With a lesser person, I could not contemplate involvement in this House or servicing my electorate. Regrettably, I conclude by saying that the only place in Australia where Joy, an Asian, has ever been spoken to rudely is within these precincts. That was by a multicultural Labor minister. Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER (Ms Liddy Clark): Order! Before I call the honourable member for Mulgrave, I acknowledge in the gallery the presence of the Coolangatta State School students and teachers. Mr PITT (Mulgrave—ALP) (12.08 p.m.): I welcome the opportunity to participate in this Address in Reply debate marking the opening of the 50th Parliament of the state of Queensland. It has been my privilege to represent the people of Mulgrave on three previous occasions. I am honoured that they have seen fit to elect me to a fourth term. Madam Deputy Speaker, I extend to yourself and Mr Speaker my congratulations on your appointments. I request that you convey to His Excellency the Governor the best wishes of the people of my electorate. I reaffirm my loyalty to the Constitution of the state of Queensland and to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia. As an avowed republican I look forward to the day when I can swear allegiance to an Australian citizen as head of state. Having said that, I wish to add that I harbour no ill feeling towards our current monarch, who I believe carries out her duties in a most dignified manner and is deserving of our affection. The electorate of Mulgrave is quite diverse, both demographically and economically. It ranges from the urban areas that form the rapidly developing suburbs of Cairns to rural communities in the south and, for the first time, it includes the city of Innisfail. Towns like 672 Address in Reply 3 May 2001

Gordonvale and Babinda, along with the city of Innisfail, are economically dependent upon primary production, particularly the growing and milling of sugarcane. The growing of sugarcane, bananas and tropical fruits, along with commercial fishing and cattle fattening, are integral to the economy of the area. A small but growing domestic and international tourism industry has significant potential for the future. Each activity faces its own set of challenges, and my role in assisting to meet those challenges is a demanding yet rewarding experience. The seat of Mulgrave has in recent times been a litmus seat—going with the government of the day. Formerly a National Party stronghold, it has become a marginal seat since I first contested it in 1986. The 17 February election outcome has seen the people of the Mulgrave electorate overwhelmingly place their trust in Labor. I believe that that result is due in no small part to the fact that the Beattie government has been an administration that can proudly claim to have delivered on its commitments. Every one of the commitments made by Labor at the 1998 by-election was delivered in full and on time. We delivered a new 24-hour police station at Edmonton, providing a high level of personal and property security and servicing the southern suburbs of Cairns. We delivered the closure of Trinity Inlet to commercial gill netting, enabling families to once more enjoy the experience of catching a barra as well as enhancing the growing tourist fishing market. We delivered certainty to the future of the controversial East Trinity land formerly owned by Nat West Finance, purchasing it and removing its potential for development. We delivered a $29.1 million package to establish one of the most modern educational campuses in the state at Bentley Park College, giving the children of residents of the southern suburbs of Cairns a quality of education second to none. I am firmly of the belief that a commitment, once given, should be honoured. I am also of the belief that all that can be asked of you is to give something your best shot. You should therefore face only limited criticisms if circumstances create a situation in which you fall short of your best intentions. Having said this, I wish to put on record my priorities for the next three years— to continue to work towards the creation of enhanced employment opportunities throughout the electorate; to promote the development of a world-class ecotourism wetland project situated on degraded land at East Trinity; to work towards the improvement of traffic conditions in the southern suburbs of Cairns in the form of construction of additional traffic lanes as part of an overall planning process to reduce unacceptable levels of congestion; to establish significant improvements in, and greater accessibility to, public transport in the southern suburbs; to complement the work being done by the Yarrabah Community Council through the provision of improved community facilities and, in particular, the construction of a public swimming pool; to develop a strategic plan for the economic development of Gordonvale to secure its future and to support ongoing work being done of a similar nature by the Babinda task force in Babinda; to advance the prospects of realising the magnificent potential as a tourist drawcard and employment generator of the proposed Palmerston rainforest canopy work at Innisfail; to have the facilities at Mourilyan Harbour upgraded to accept general cargo handling and to cater more adequately for recreational use; and to work towards the development of an across government management plan to encompass the improved health of the Johnstone River system, which would include a reduction of commercial effort in the river, the dredging of the river channel to provide improved access to berthing facilities in Innisfail and the protection of fish habitat. I realise that this is a long list and one that will be difficult to fulfil in its entirety. It can be achieved only with the support of the people of my electorate. I look forward to working with them on these issues. I now return to that magnificent Labor victory in Mulgrave, the general election. Whilst I take a great deal of personal satisfaction from a result which secured a 53.7 per cent primary vote and a two-party preferred vote of 61.2 per cent, I know that the credit for that result is shared by many 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 673 people. My family—my wife, Linda; mother-in-law, Doreen; daughter, Dionne, and her husband, David; son, Curtis, and his wife, Kerry—have all been towers of strength. I cannot adequately express my gratitude to them for sticking with me through the good and the bad times to secure my re-election. My wife, Linda, in particular has put aside her own health problems to be by my side in all we do. We are indeed a real team. My campaign manager, Jim Smith, and his wife, Ros, and my good friend Ken Harley and his wife, Jodie, have worked long and hard for the Labor cause. Our win was just reward for their commitment to Labor principles. It would be remiss of me not to mention the effort put in by my electorate officer, Kylie Stanley. Kylie has earned the respect of all constituents who have had dealings with my office. She possesses a strong work ethic matched by a commitment to social justice. I thank her for her loyalty and support. 17 February tested the resolve of all parties contesting the election in Mulgrave. As is common for that part of the year, far-north Queensland was blanketed by torrential rain. With two of the wettest places in Australia, namely Babinda and Deeral, within the electorate of Mulgrave, inclement weather is taken in one's stride. Hundreds of brave souls from across the political spectrum stood in the pouring rain to hand out how-to-vote cards for the party of their choice or for personal friends. Most did this with grace, good humour and genuine conviction. The sight of my old sparring partner Errol Wiles being ferried across the East Russell River by the SES so that he could attend at the Babinda booth was testimony to the health of our political system. Surely this is grassroots democracy in action. Despite constant criticism by those who will never be satisfied, the body politic is basically in very good shape. I offer branch members—party and personal supporters—and the Mulgrave campaign team my sincere thanks for their dedication throughout the campaign and on polling day itself. Members of the Fretwell branch once again were to the fore in providing strategic direction and innovation to the campaign. They also carried the brunt of an extensive letterbox drive over a period of two years. With young members such as these, the future for Labor in Mulgrave is in good hands. A highlight of the campaign was the efforts of a small army of volunteers who manned campaign offices in Gordonvale, Babinda and Innisfail. I am sure that this accessibility and personal contact played a significant part in getting the Labor message to the electorate. Beryl Ball in Babinda and Diana O'Brien in Innisfail led from the front and inspired others to ensure Labor would not fall victim to the conservative smear campaign. Labor's win owes a great deal to the excellent political leadership offered by Premier Peter Beattie, who was able to turn adversity into triumph by adopting a principled stand on issues which saw our opponents crawling in the gutter to secure political advantage. I will not quickly forget the eagerness with which some political opponents were willing to besmirch the integrity of decent Labor Party members and their supporters for the inappropriate actions of a few. I am not a liar, a cheat or a rorter, and I resented these imputations. Thankfully, the electorate was able to see past these shallow tactics as they searched for real policies for a better Queensland. Whilst the conservatives dwelled on the past and were virtually a policy-free zone, Labor went about the business of presenting its plans for the future. The Premier would no doubt agree with me that a victory of such magnitude carries with it a great responsibility. The people of Queensland have rejected the politics of negativity and division. They have given the green light to a progressive Labor government with a positive vision for the future. They therefore have every right to expect their government to govern in the best interests of all and to respect the rights of the minority as well as the majority. There is a need for every Labor Party supporter and, more importantly, every elected Labor Party member of parliament to take a deep breath and to keep our feet firmly planted on the ground. The principles and the philosophies that underpin the Labor Party have always been a great source of inspiration to me. However, the same cannot always be said of some of the personalities within the party and the manner in which the party policy platform is sometimes interpreted. No political system, no political party, no government should be free from scrutiny. External scrutiny will be provided by our political opponents in due course. The media, no doubt, will be ever vigilant. If our government is to be truly open and accountable, if it is to deliver for all Queenslanders, then it must also be able to bear a degree of internal scrutiny as well. In a modern, healthy and vibrant democracy, the electorate expects it. The electorate no longer accepts a blind adherence to the party line, especially if its implementation damages the collective interests of the electorate. This is evidenced by the fact that voting patterns in recent elections have become far more 674 Address in Reply 3 May 2001 volatile. Voters will continue to punish parties and candidates who ignore their interests. In my own electorate, this more fluid voting pattern saw many primary producers abandon their traditional party of choice, the Nationals. Whilst large numbers were seduced by the false promises of Hansonism, many others switched to Labor. The collapse of the National Party vote in Mulgrave cannot pass without comment and analysis. The National Party offered the people of Mulgrave no effective policy alternative—no vision for a better existence. The collapse of the National vote benefited One Nation and its dangerous brand of populism. For the second time at a general election, the Nationals ran a distant third to One Nation. With just over 20 per cent of the primary vote, the Nationals experienced its worst ever showing in the electorate. A clumsy attempt to cosy up to the Hansonites by a clutch of National Party rebels through an illegitimate preference deal incurred a voter backlash of Herculean proportions. The climate of political discontent has been nurtured by the narrow, mean-spirited, uncaring and intellectually ignorant positions taken on a whole raft of issues by the devotees of the Hanson cult. It is true that many people feel that, as society changes, they have been left behind. They believe no-one is listening to their concerns and, if they are, they are doing nothing about them. They harbour distrust of the major political parties and search for an alternative. Hansonism has been singularly successful in pointing out the problems and equally as quick to apportion blame. This process has been aided and abetted by a media more interested in gimmickry than good policy. Its proponents have been quick to rail against the system and its perceived shortcomings. They have been remarkably unsuccessful, though, at developing workable rational solutions. This non-party party has failed comprehensively to formulate a consistent and cohesive policy platform. Perhaps this is too much hard work for those who would rather throw stones than go about the grind associated with effective public administration. More likely, it would stifle their self-serving capacity to be all things to all people. They prey upon those who are experiencing disappointment, offering them a quick fix to their problems. If there were simple solutions to life's many complex problems, no doubt the major parties, if only for short-term political gain, would have embraced them long ago. It is no wonder the Hanson cult attracts single issue zealots who believe that society and government exist only for their immediate personal gratification. However, we cannot and should not allow this state of affairs to cloud our judgment as legislators. We cannot allow a section of our society to be left behind. Labor needs to reach out to the disaffected, the dislocated and the disillusioned and search for ways in which to assist them to meet the challenges they face. It is not my style to single out individuals for criticism, yet on this one occasion I feel compelled to do so. As I look across the chamber I am pleased to see that one of the most virulent, anti-worker activists this state has known has been rejected by his electorate. I congratulate Liddy Clark on her success for Labor in the electorate of Clayfield. One of the great achievements of Labor in Queensland was initiated by my political hero, Premier T.J. Ryan. In 1916 workers compensation was first introduced to Queensland. Conservative forces in this state have been trying to destroy it ever since. It is a just platform on which to base an industrial regime that respects the rights and wellbeing of all those who participate in the work force. It remains a key feature of the Labor Party platform to this very day. A compassionate and well-managed compensatory scheme and effective workplace health and safety legislation will go a long way towards enhancing conditions in our workplace. An inclusive industrial relations policy that respects and values the right to work clearly separates Labor from conservatives, whether they be National, Liberal, One Nation or pseudo Independent. I look forward to proactive amendments to legislation covering these areas as a means of maintaining their relevance to a changing work force and a changing work environment. Before concluding, I wish to offer new members my congratulations on their election to parliament and on the quality of their first contributions to debate in this place. Their speeches have been thought provoking, articulate, entertaining and delivered with sufficient passion to reveal the high motives with which most people enter political life. The 50th Parliament in this state of Queensland promises to be both interesting and productive. Mr ROWELL (Hinchinbrook—NPA) (12.24 p.m.): It is pleasing for me to join the Address in Reply debate. The seat of Hinchinbrook, which I have represented for the last five terms of government, is a very important seat. It is wedged between Cairns and Townsville. It is a rural seat. I acknowledge the success of the Beattie government. There is no question it did particularly well in its last campaign. Many new members in this place will find the procedures of this House 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 675 quite interesting. Some members survive. On the other hand, within a short period some members who one would have been thought to do well are not accepted by their electorates. Today I acknowledge some of the people in my electorate who were involved in my re- election campaign. I acknowledge the Chairman of the Hinchinbrook Electorate Council, Robbie Collins, Nat La Spina, Helen Fuller, Philip Coristi and Frank Probert. I also acknowledge the two people who have to put up with me in the electorate office: Leisa Menegon and Leonie De Lai. They share the job in my electorate office and do a particularly good job. Electorate officers do not get the due recognition for the work they carry out and the long hours they work. I acknowledge the work of both Leisa and Leonie. The election campaign this year was extremely interesting. The election was held on 17 February. There is no worse time to hold an election in north Queensland, because February is the wettest month of the year. The wet season sometimes makes it difficult for communication between people because the roads are often blocked and it is difficult to get from point A to point B. That is exactly what happened at Lucinda and Halifax this February. The booths in these towns did not open on 17 February. It was decided that they would open the following weekend. I did not think that was necessary, because they could have been open for voting during the week. I spoke to the Electoral Commissioner about that, but he was adamant that those booths should not open until the next weekend. However, there was a cyclone off the coast of Cairns the weekend after the election. Fortunately, it was not a significant cyclone. The presence of the cyclone made it difficult for the people from the Tully Heads area, who were unable to vote the week before, to vote because it was not known whether they would be able to get home after voting at the booths in Lucinda and Halifax if the cyclone struck. As a consequence, some people in the Tully Heads region decided that they were not prepared to challenge nature and travel the 110 kilometres to vote at the booths at Halifax and Lucinda on 24 February. It is also interesting to note that Pauline Hanson visited the region for a couple of days. She spent some time canvassing her particular interests at those two booths when 1,000 people had still not cast their vote. In my view, this exposed a problem with the electoral system. Queensland knew the outcome of the election and the votes were counted for the rest of the booths in the Hinchinbrook electorate, which revealed that the pending result was a close contest. That allowed other members of the parties involved to come to the area to show support for their candidates. If the election result was that either major party could have formed a government because an even number of members had been elected from either side, I am sure we may have even seen the Premier visit the electorate, too. He could not even remember the name of his candidate, but that is beside the point. If that had been the case, even the Premier would have come to the region to canvass votes for his candidate. If this sort of thing can happen in the future, clearly the system is flawed. At the last election, no votes should have been counted for the electorate of Hinchinbrook on 17 February. All bets should have been off so that nobody could have known which way the seat was going. They should have all been counted on the night of 24 February. That is my opinion. I will be raising this issue in the debate on a bill before the House at present. As I have indicated, the seat is basically a rural one, focused predominantly on sugar growing. Horticulture is another very big industry. To the town of Ingham sugar is the most important industry. In Tully and Innisfail bananas as well as sugarcane have been extremely important. However, there is a black sigatoka outbreak in Tully at present, and that will be a major concern for the banana industry. We have seen the spread of black sigatoka in some commercial operations. Yesterday morning I made a two-minute speech on black sigatoka to raise the concerns of growers in the area. Some of them, those within a seven and a half kilometre radius, are not able to send their fruit to market. They have to spray the banana leaves for fungal infections such as yellow sigatoka and they cannot harvest any bananas. They have to drop them to the ground and deleaf the plants. All of this comes at a substantial cost to them. It has been about four weeks since they have been able to sell any fruit whatsoever. The growers affected by the black sigatoka outbreak are in major need of support. The key to the whole issue is dealing with any incursion. DNA testing is taking place. We have to identify where the black sigatoka is so that eradication can take place. Unfortunately, the growers from properties where black sigatoka is identified have to destroy their crops and cannot grow any fruit there for two years. 676 Address in Reply 3 May 2001

The sugar industry is facing some major problems, price being one of them. Last year we were barely getting US5c a pound, but that is now improving. It was well below the cost of production. Of course, a number of other impediments and diseases were causing considerable problems, such as orange rust. The major variety Q124 had been a very good and productive variety for a number of years, but with the bad weather conditions that we have had over the last three years, where we saw anything up to 32 inches in November—and we would have to go back to 1894 to find higher November rainfalls recorded—and as a result of the December downpours we have seen problems such as orange rust develop in major varieties. Going back three years ago, we could not harvest all of the crop, and pests such as rats were a major problem. We now have a major outbreak of the greyback cane grub, with some 11,000 hectares affected pretty much throughout the electorate, but also going into the Burdekin region. There has not been a chemical treatment to control the greyback cane grub since we lost BHC dust some 15 to 18 years ago. As I have indicated, we have had unfavourable weather and that is also causing major drainage problems. The Herbert River district and to some extent the Tully region is on a flood plain and, as a result, during periods of heavy wet weather drainage becomes a key issue. Back in 1994, money was granted under the Sugar Industry Infrastructure Package, and we had to go through the process of addressing environmental issues, designing plans and so on. It is disgraceful that it has been something like seven years and we have yet to turn a sod on any drainage. Erosion is also a major issue. Because of the wet weather, rivers and streams are experiencing considerable erosion, and work needs to be done by the river trusts on rock walling and making sure that there is no further erosion to creek banks. This is having a major impact on the community. Small businesses are suffering from a major downturn in trade. Shops are closing and job insecurity is a major concern. A lot of young people are leaving the district because they do not appear to have any great future, despite the fact that the areas produce millions of dollars when they are in full flight. Banks are tightening up and credit is extremely tight for those people carrying on with primary industries and businesses. Tourism is also a major industry in the area. We have many natural attributes. Port Hinchinbrook is one of the newer developments. Without the determination of Keith Williams, Port Hinchinbrook would not have gotten off the ground. We have seen the extreme green element attempting to stop the project. Anybody driving up the Bruce Highway when entering Cardwell cannot fail to see Port Hinchinbrook. I believe people will come to appreciate what a great project it is. The marina is in place and buildings are starting to be developed around it. I believe that in five to six years it will be of major benefit to the area. The coastal management plan is creating considerable restrictions. There are proposals at present that will restrict the tourism and agricultural industries. We do not know what constitutes a waterway or whether a gully which in the wet season runs fairly significantly would constitute a waterway such that riparian vegetation either side of it would have to be considered. Land-holders are quite concerned about this issue. Aircraft carrying sightseers have to fly at a height of about 1,500 feet above the Hinchinbrook Channel. On many occasions, because of cloud cover, aircraft have to get down to 500 feet to navigate the Hinchinbrook Channel safely in wet conditions. There is a proposal at present to restrict the number of trips on the Hinchinbrook Channel to 50. That would enable a tourist operator to do one boat trip a week. Who is going to invest considerable amounts of money on a pleasure craft for passive-type tourism in the Hinchinbrook Channel if they are only able to conduct trips once a week? We are seeing transit lanes for the dugong. The dugong are also in Cleveland bay and yet we do not see transit lanes there. Water skiing is being limited to 40 kilometres an hour. Anybody who has ever waterskied would realise that that is not a sufficient speed. Dungeness is at the southern end of the Hinchinbrook Channel. Enterprise Channel is a very important stepping off point for tourism. There is very limited access, because of the nature of the surrounding area. Any boat that draws anything like a foot or 15 inches at low tide cannot get into the Hinchinbrook Channel, including the Coastguard. As a result, there are limitations on rescue operations that the Coastguard can perform. On Hinchinbrook Island there is a walking track that is renowned as being one of the most interesting in the world and certainly probably the best by some of the Europeans who use it. They spend anything up to five days on that walking track. They have to be dropped off on the 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 677 island and picked up from it. And there are limitations on access from Dungeness, which makes it difficult. Initiatives such as the H road, a road that goes up through the Tully Gorge to Millaa Millaa, have been curtailed. Electricity workers dug a trench down the middle of it to prevent people using it. It was an old logging track with whoa boys on it. There is very little erosion. This could be good for anybody who wants to be involved in passive tourism, that is, people who cannot get out and walk through rainforests but could drive through them. That opportunity to drive through some of the best rainforests in Australia is being denied. In relation to dugongs, there was one person who wanted to get a permit to take people dugong watching. He could not get a permit to cover national park areas, but he did get one through GBRMPA. That unemployed person thought that the national parks people were going to give him a permit, but that was not the case. Fortunately, GBRMPA gave him a permit and, after purchasing a boat, he is now taking people out. In fact, when he sees a dugong that is sick, he reports that fact to the national parks officers so that they can investigate what might be the cause of the dugong's ailment Roads are a significant issue in my electorate because of our horticultural industry in particular and certainly the sugar industry. Those roads suffer damage in wet conditions. Extra demands are being placed on shires to ensure that they keep the roads in their regions in a trafficable condition. This morning, the minister spoke about the need for money to be spent on roads. But what I saw, particularly in the Johnstone shire, was the RIP—the Roads Implementation Program—being deferred. The money is always available, but it is not being spent. That is an absolute disgrace, because the Johnstone shire cannot afford not to get that funding from the government to enable it to carry out road programs. In some cases, because of insufficient funding, the shire could not rebitumen some roads in the area and had to return them to dirt. A search has been conducted for alternative crops and new opportunities in the electorate. The development bureau of the Hinchinbrook and Cardwell shires held a rural innovation seminar, which considered alternative crops and other things that could be done in the shire. There was a great attendance at that seminar. I indicated earlier that the younger generation does not have a great deal of opportunity in my electorate. Certainly, any of them who go on to tertiary level education find that there are few opportunities for them in the Hinchinbrook electorate. As a result we are finding that when young people leave home, particularly when they get married, and settle in other areas it is only a matter of time before their parents leave the area, too. So we are witnessing an exodus of people from the electorate very much because there is a lack of opportunity, and the main cause of that is the state into which rural industries get themselves from time to time. But certainly the need to diversify into industries such as tourism is a particularly difficult issue for us. There was a major change in the boundaries of the Hinchinbrook electorate, and the actual boundary now is Black River, taking in many people who really have no affinity with the land. This is one of the tragedies of the present system, which stipulates that there has to be a certain number of people within an electorate. There are people at the southern end of my electorate who have no understanding of rural issues. They work in Townsville, their jobs are in the city, and they have no interest in what happens in the northern end of the electorate. This makes it hard for them, and it makes it hard for the people who have to represent them. I am sure that many members in this House would be facing similar difficulties. Yabulu is now included in the new electorate. Something like $300 million is being spent on a major expansion project at Yabulu. There is also a need for a heat source of energy. The Chevron pipeline, or some other source of gas, is extremely important. There are some options in relation to the Timor Sea, but it is all taking time. Organisations such as QNI are prepared to contribute something like $300 million. But if we cannot obtain another source of energy, we really must have a close look at what opportunities will be presented in many of the northern parts of the state. Energy is one of the key issues that we really must address. I understand that, if we cannot obtain a natural gas supply, people will turn to coal, and greenhouse emissions and that type of thing would have to be considered. Time expired. Hon. R. E. SCHWARTEN (Rockhampton—ALP) (Minister for Public Works and Minister for Housing) (12.44 p.m.): At the outset, I congratulate you, Madam Deputy Speaker, on your 678 Address in Reply 3 May 2001 appointment to that esteemed office, and I ask you to convey to Mr Speaker my congratulations on his election. It gives me a great deal of pleasure to participate in this debate and to pay tribute to a wide range of people whose efforts have resulted in my appearance here. The electors of Rockhampton chose to re-elect me at the last election with the highest vote that has ever been recorded in the history of Rockhampton. I do not say that in any way other than to be humbling in that recognition. The truth is that it very much represented a watershed in my electorate, with performance and policy versus an opposition that was clearly stuck in the sewer and fixated with issues that did not matter to the wider general public. It is pleasing that the public of Queensland are not hoodwinked by fairy floss and nonsensical promises and that we are dealing with a very well-educated group of people who can tell the difference between what are good policies and what is just political opportunism and nonsense. None of us would be in this place if it were not for our loyal voters and, more particularly, those people who are behind us before we get in here. I refer first and foremost to my family. I am indeed fortunate to be a third generation member of the Labor Party in my family. Both my parents, who are still alive today, have clocked up over a century between them. They are tireless workers—and have been all their lives—for justice. Both of them are very much involved on a day- to-day basis in ensuring that that aim is met. My father honed his well-understood notion of social justice in the battlefields in the Middle East and in New Guinea, where he saw first-hand injustice, and when he came back to Australia he vowed and declared that he would do something to ensure that that never happened in this country. My mother, on the other hand, was one of 16 children who saw and lived poverty and all that came with it at first-hand; and she, too, sought throughout her life to pursue social equity. We are a product of our environment, and our family has very much derived the benefit of the experiences of my parents. I cannot thank them enough for what they have done for me. I also want to pay tribute to my brothers, Peter, Stephen and Mark, who are always there when I want them. We are a very close family in Rockhampton, and I am indeed very fortunate to have such loyal and hardworking brothers. My sister, Christine, lives in Brisbane, and she provides me with a great deal of support and friendship at this end. Last, but certainly far from least, is my good wife, Judy, and our two sons, Christopher and Evan. One of the greatest challenges as a minister is to combine the role of being a local member and being a minister who is available in Brisbane and in other parts of the state. Mr Rowell: It's not easy. Mr SCHWARTEN: It is a very difficult task, and I am happy to say that I have been able to master both roles, I think, to the satisfaction of those who pay the bills, that is, the people who elect me. But I could not do that without the support of my wife, who is an excellent mother who looks after our children. This morning, during a first speech, one member indicated how difficult it would be for anybody in single parenthood to carry out this role. I have to say that it would be impossible for me to be in this position if I did not have that level of support, and I thank all of those members of my family who provide me with that support. One of the great services provided in any election campaign in Rockhampton is the assistance given by the loyal and trusted people who handle the postal votes and electorate visitor vote applications. As a tribute to those people who work tirelessly in that regard, I seek leave to have this small list incorporated in Hansard. Leave granted. Greg Evans, Garth Zurvas, Keith Hoolihan, Reg Ramm, Charlie Broughton, Jeanne Garner, Matthew Flanagan, Sandra Flanagan, Bonnie Schwarten, Evan Schwarten, Judy Schwarten, Stephen Schwarten, Trevor Wright, Greg Belz, Barry Thompson, Noel Keegan, Bob Gray, Les and Mavis Wust, Roseanne and Bradley Mathewson, Ron Perkins, Katrina Byrne, Brendan Cook Mr SCHWARTEN: I also pay tribute to my electorate secretary, Ann McDougall, for her hard work, diligence and loyalty to me and, of course, to the constituents she serves, as indeed does Greg Evans, my ministerial electorate officer, who looks after the day-to-day business of my electorate as well. When I was elected 11 years ago I promised—I had a short break from '92 to '95, but we will not talk about that—that I would deliver accountability and that I would work as hard as I could in the interests of the people of Rockhampton. I believe that I have delivered on both those counts. 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 679

It is quite amazing when I read my maiden speech of some 11 years ago to see just how poorly off we in Rockhampton were after 32 years of National Party government. Our schools were a disgrace, our courthouses were a disgrace, our police stations were a disgrace—a whole host of them. The other day I looked up my maiden speech to have a look at all those issues and every single one of those problems that I highlighted back then have now been fixed—and most of them, I might say, in the past three years. I have been able to bring some $300 million worth of capital works and services into my electorate, including $10 million to upgrade our state high schools and an ongoing airconditioning program. I have here a small list of other capital works. For example, we have a new police station. One is to start on the north side of town in the next few weeks and we have rebuilt the one in the CBD. The previous government hummed and ha'd about it and tried to take it out of the CBD. It is there. The refurbishment of the old station and the completion of the new one is almost completed now. The base hospital was a disgrace. It typified what the National Party thought of our part of the world. It is undergoing a $26 million rebirth. The TAFE college with its new engineering works cost around $8 million. Smart City is a very innovative idea from the Central Queensland University. It is not progressing as quickly as I would like it to. It required the Queensland government to hand over some of the old court buildings in our CBD, which were valued at around $20 million, to assist them. I was able to do that within a number of weeks of becoming a minister and we were also able to provide some $3 million worth of refurbishments in that regard. Similarly with Customs House in Rockhampton, some $2 million has been made available to refurbish that. There has been a $1.7 million refurbishment of the Walter Reid Centre to turn that into an arts centre. We have a new ambulance station, a new fire station and a new courthouse. At Eventide in North Street some people are still to this day, believe it or not, living in fibro shacks. That is about to come to a halt. Some brand new units are now being built there so that those hovels that are a legacy of 30-odd years of National Party government will be removed and people will have a decent standard of accommodation. I might mention that some $13 million worth of housing has gone into Rockhampton over the past three years as well. It is much needed and affordable housing. This, of course, has assisted our building industry which has copped an absolute hiding from the GST. I warned some time ago that this would occur, and indeed it has. In recent times Rockhampton had one of the lowest levels of building approvals anywhere in Australia thanks to the Howard government and its rotten GST. I have no doubt that come the next election voters will not forget that it was the Democrats as well as the Nationals and Liberals who gave us that dreadfully unfair tax which, in my view, will eventually force a number of families into penury. I also want to talk about our rescue helicopter service which has had a very unfortunate set of incidents. John Bavea and I set it up back in 1994 when I worked for Tom Burns. It is a partnership between the government and the Capricorn Rescue Helicopter Committee. It has wonderful support. Regrettably, it has recently had three very serious accidents which have involved writing off the helicopter and, on one occasion, a loss of a number of lives. That was a very tragic set of events. I want to say that Adrian De Groot and Rod Hockey, in particular, with whom I am closely associated in the helicopter rescue service, do a sterling job. The bad luck that they have experienced is just unbelievable. I take my hat off to them for the way in which they have risen to those challenges and I am sure that they will do it again. We have some very good things on the way in Rockhampton in AMC, which is a unique model of a magnesium plant. It is a $1.4 million project. At its peak it will create in the vicinity of 1,400 jobs. It will employ 300 people full-time and it really is the gateway to a bright future for the light metals industry in Queensland. It is a much needed boost to the city that I represent, which has very much been feeling the economic pinch over the past few years. This is groundbreaking stuff. It is one of the biggest projects in the world at the moment. I believe that it will be finalised in the next few months and create much-needed employment. Rockhampton is host to one of the largest Queensland government day labour forces in Queensland. I pay tribute to the day labour workers. Anybody who knows me knows that I am a proud defender of Q-Build and I am delighted that we have people like Dave Thomas who work in Q-Build and who take their public responsibilities very seriously in terms of providing a quality maintenance and construction arm to government. 680 Address in Reply 3 May 2001

Should something ever happen and the conservatives get back on to this side of the chamber, then most assuredly those day labour forces, or field staff as they are now called, will disappear. There is no doubt whatsoever about that. I am proud that our government still retains a large day labour force in the Department of Main Roads, the department of railways and, of course, the Department of Works. That will continue to be the case. In Rocky we have a very large multicultural society. I am honoured to report that we have one of the largest multicultural festivals in Australia. It is sponsored by the ABC and by the Central Queensland University. It is a truly remarkable day. Today I want to pay tribute here to Ross Quinn, the regional manager of the ABC, who has worked tirelessly to make that a success, as indeed he has done with the Arts in the Park project in which the ABC is also involved. Our Beef Expo, of course, is world renowned and is rapidly developing an international reputation. We are hosting another one in 2003. I am delighted to be part of a government that is in there supporting these expos. Capital infrastructure is a priority of this government. As I have said time and time again, this government will go into partnership with the local council and the federal government—if it could ever be bothered to find out where Rockhampton is. This international event must stay in Australia, must stay in Queensland and must stay in Rockhampton. It is pleasing to see that this government is in there in a partnership and is prepared to supply some of the capital required to give that expo state-of-the-art facilities. I also want to talk about the broad range of services that are offered through public servants in Rockhampton. I am delighted to be part of a government that takes education seriously. We now have the highest paid teachers in Australia for the first time ever that I can remember and it is great to see. Of course, governments always have to watch the bottom line in budgets. You cannot have it both ways; you cannot want to pay low taxes and expect top line services. However, I think we get a very good set of services that are well and truly equal to anything that anybody else gets anywhere in Australia. I am part of a government which cares about disability and child protection and which has, for the first time in 30-odd years, bitten the bullet and over the past two years provided recurrent funding increases that are unprecedented, and we will continue to do so. These are the bread and butter issues. I will tell members: there are no votes in disability and there are no votes in families. It takes a government that has a heart and a soul to address these issues. In the past we have never had a government that has been prepared to take that bold step. I support the minister, the Treasurer and the Premier for their very strong statements in that regard. I finish by saying that in Rockhampton we have had the scourge of One Nation at our doorstep. We have had the scourge of the World Church of the Creator, which is a group of four lunatics who post racist and offensive statements around our city. It is one of three sites in Australia. I want to tell this chamber that the people in Rockhampton are not like that; we do not support such lunatics. They are racist, they are fascist and they have no place in our society. I say to the people who are financing the AMC project: do not judge us by three or four ratbags out there in the World Church of the Creator, which is a United States based white supremacist organisation. One Nation has never got a toehold in our area because we will continue—and I will continue—as a government to ensure that people are listened to, that they get the sorts of services that they want and that they understand when they cannot get those services that there is a very good reason for that. That reason is that we do not have a money tree, but we will make sure that the dollar that is raised in Queensland and raised in Australia that comes back to us is distributed equitably across the state according to the needs of the people of this state. Rockhampton has seen plenty of evidence of that, as I said before. Since I have been a minister in this government $300 million has come into the area. I am delighted to be part of a government that has enabled that to occur. We will continue to deliver what people want. The only way that One Nation and its pack of followers will ever get a toehold is if we slacken off, and I do not intend to slacken off because the people of Rockhampton have put their trust in me and I will ensure that it is repaid in spades. Finally, let me say that, as the time is nigh, it is indeed a privilege to represent Rockhampton. In my view, it is very strong Labor heartland. More importantly than that, it is full of people who want to make a difference, who actually are out there trying to make a difference to ensure that we have a secure economy, a great place to bring up kids and an even better place to live and work. Sitting suspended from 1.03 p.m. to 2.30 p.m. 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 681

Mr FENLON (Greenslopes—ALP) (2.30 p.m.): Madam Deputy Speaker, it is a great pleasure to join this Address in Reply debate. I congratulate the Speaker on his appointment to his high office and ask you to please pass on those congratulations to him. I know that Mr Speaker will continue to carry out his role as diligently as the way in which he serves his own electorate. It is great to be part of this very historic 50th Parliament in a year in which we celebrate the centenary of the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia. The many events that will be held this year in celebration of that historical event will mark the point in history very well. I would also like to congratulate the new members, and particularly the many new women members, who I am sure will change the face of this parliament forever. I am sure that, in many ways, they have already. I thank the voters of Greenslopes for their support in delivering the highest margin for Labor ever experienced in that electorate. I thank the individuals who spoke to me personally before the election, during the election campaign, on election day and since, conveying their personal support for me and for the work that we have done in that electorate, of which I am very proud. But I know that, however hard I have worked over the years in that area, I must thank Peter Beattie for the leadership he has displayed in showing that Labor's focus was upon positive policies, was upon building upon Labor's achievements and was upon conveying a vision for Queensland and for our future. That positive approach exhibited by the Premier was in stark relief to the appalling behaviour of the opposition parties, particularly the Liberals. I should probably deliver a long list of thankyous to Mr Jaeschke of the Liberal Party. This is not just a cynical view; it was the strong view of electors who throughout the campaign conveyed to me their disgust at the negativity and dishonesty of the Liberals as well as their complete failure to deliver policies. However, we should focus a little more upon the unfortunate leadership and performance of the Liberals and the Nationals. We have seen a leadership circus, I suppose I could call it, with Mr Horan versus the member for Southern Downs and the member for Maroochydore. We can put some very distinct labels on the opposition parties. Certainly, from the way in which the Liberals have behaved, in a very colloquial sense we can only describe the members of that party as real cowboys, that is, they were reckless, crash, boorish and attempting tasks far beyond their abilities. We see the Nationals as farmers, traditionally. Obviously, there has been terrible falling out in the coalition since the election. The pretence that the two parties had unanimity to govern could no longer be continued. It is no longer tenable. So it is a very sad state of affairs—and I must say that tongue in cheek—for the coalition. On the one hand we have the farmers and on the other hand we have the cowboys, and they are no longer friends. I can hear choruses starting in the distance that the farmers and the cowboys should be friends. I know that I can borrow a lot more from the musical Oklahoma. I refer to the former Leader of the Nationals, the former member for Surfers Paradise. I think I can hear some tones—again evoking memories of Oklahoma—with the chorus of, 'Poor Jud is dead'. The National Party members looked at him, shook their heads and said—as the chorus goes—'He looks like he's asleep and we wish that he could keep, but it's summer and we're running out of ice.' It was clear that the by-election would be necessary. I understand that there is at least consensus in the Nationals camp that—as the chorus goes again—'The daisies in the dell will give out a different smell now that the member for Surfers Paradise is underneath the ground.' But what a dilemma this left for the National Party in terms of finding a replacement leader—somebody who could do an adequate impression of 'Poor Jud is dead'. It is quite logical really: who else should they turn to but that purveyor of the impression of sleep, that necromancer of the Nationals, the man who brought the sleeper hold to world championship wrestling, the somnambulist of Toowoomba South! And what a fine choice that was. The member for Callide entered the leadership debate. Indeed, I think he was singing The Surrey with the Fringe on Top at the time. The member for Maroochydore entered the leadership debate singing Oh, What a Beautiful Morning and 'Why should a woman who is healthy and strong', et cetera. Some very strong verses came in there from Oklahoma as well. But the best was reserved for the deputy leader. The member for Gregory entered the contest against those losers in the leadership round when the member for Toowoomba South asked him to stand. What did he say? He said, 'I'm just a girl who can't say no. I'm in a terrible fix.' Of course, Curly is one of the characters and the hero of the musical. I will leave it to members' imagination as to who might fill that role, even though he does not have enough hair to do so. He is certainly a great hero and he has done the job well. 682 Address in Reply 3 May 2001

I turn now to some matters that are relevant to the Greenslopes electorate, and in particular what we advanced to the electorate before the recent election. One fundamental fact that I believe Labor conveyed to the electorate was that we did have a vision for the future and that has taken a very concrete form in terms of a number of developments in the area. The first one that is a very major development for the Coorparoo area is the development of what we are now describing as the Coorparoo education precinct. The Coorparoo education precinct consists of several elements. One fundamental part is AccessEd, which is currently under construction within the Coorparoo campus, which was the former TAFE campus at Coorparoo consisting of two wings which were classrooms—in fact, a butchery and bakery teaching facility—and the Queen Alexandra Home Community Centre. Thanks to this government, $9 million is being spent on refurbishing that complex to bring it to a state where AccessEd can enter the campus. The $9 million will be spent on refurbishing the two wings. It will bring the Queen Alexandra Home Community Centre into a state of much greater utility by way of the establishment of airconditioning, double glazing and lifts. It is also now very clear to the community that the building will continue its multifaceted purpose in that it will be a facility that will be used not only for educational purposes but also for the community. The amount of space that has been designated for the community is very generous. I must compliment AccessEd and, in particular, its leader, Gary Barnes, for the excellent job that they have done in moving into this facility and keeping in stride with the community itself. The community has been consulted at every step of the way and they have done that very professionally. I am very pleased with the way that that has been conducted and I know that the local community representatives are pleased as well. It is anticipated that the campus will be reopened for community access at some time around the September holidays of this year. I hope that the facility will be used and optimised by commercial groups like never before. Indeed, there will be a threefold usage of the facility: commercial, educational and community. I know all parties concerned are looking forward to cooperating in a new partnership that will give each of those functions an organic linkage and, in particular, a linkage to the adjacent Coorparoo State School campus. Given that AccessEd is at the frontier of the development of educational curriculum materials and the use of various technologies associated with education, this is a very exciting development for the Coorparoo State School itself, as well as for the wider school community and the teaching community. Several major teaching libraries will be located at the site and they will be used by teachers from not only Brisbane but also other places in Queensland. It is a very exciting development. I am very pleased and proud to have that facility in the Greenslopes electorate. I thank the member for Murrumba, the former Minister for Education who is currently in the House, Mr Wells, who had the foresight to initiate this great project. I thank the current Education Minister for continuing her strong support for this project. It is well on track. If anyone drives down Old Cleveland Road they will see the building products flying about at the moment. Part of an overall vision for the campus of the Coorparoo State School is a general planning process that is under way as a result of various other issues that were taken before the former Minister for Education prior to the election. In particular, the issues of increasing enrolments and the lack of space and facilities had to be confronted. We are now planning a great development for the whole campus, to make it more organic in terms of its interaction with AccessEd. The Coorparoo State School is about to celebrate its 125th anniversary. It is a very old school in Brisbane. It is timely to refurbish that campus and bring it up to a modern standard. Those developments certainly are very exciting, but they are only part of the story in terms of the major educational changes that are sweeping through the older suburbs. They form part of the development within our secondary schools that is occurring under the auspices of the Secondary Schools Renewal Program. Major changes are occurring. For instance, at Cavendish Road State High School $5.8 million is being spent in developing a major new biosciences building, kinesiology laboratory and oval works. That will create a very firm place for the school in the higher quality secondary school environment that we have within the southside suburbs. Coorparoo Secondary College is also going ahead with the $3 million development of an entertainment complex and centre for artistic development. Holland Park State School is spending $700,000 on refurbishment to support the academic and vocational curriculum. Camp Hill State High School is spending $700,000 in the shorter term to refurbish and support its amalgamation with Whites Hill State School. A very innovative lower, middle and upper 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 683 school vision is now contemplated for the overall campus. That will be a very exciting development and one which will fill a particular niche in providing a specific form of educational services in the Brisbane community. I am very pleased that additional moneys have been allocated to primary schools in my area to fund projects that are now being implemented. One of the very much appreciated developments that has resulted from the additional funding provided for capital works and upgrades was the provision of $26,000 for the installation of security cameras at Wellers Hill State School, which had a problem with vandalism. I am very pleased to say that since the new system was installed before Christmas—and I have not heard anything to the contrary today—no vandalism has been reported. The security cameras really work. We had a real problem because of bushland adjacent to the school. I am very pleased to say that the new system is really working. The school community is very grateful for that particular development. I am also pleased to see the Hospital Rebuilding Program, which was commenced in the early 1990s, come to fruition. We were all very excited at the commencement of that program because, under the draconian vision of the previous Bjelke-Petersen government, Queensland's hospital building program lagged behind that of the other states. This was the catch up and, indeed, we have caught up in a hell of a way judging by the rebuilding of the PA Hospital. I am very proud that that hospital services my electorate. I was pleased to join the Health Minister and the Premier at the opening of that facility earlier this year. It is causing great excitement within the local communities, as shown by the great enthusiasm for and turnout at open days that have been held at the hospital. There are several areas where we need to maintain that vision. We need to keep a vision of the future, to be creative in our policies and to provide our communities with what they want. One issue that has caused a great deal of interest in my area is the prospect of undergrounding powerlines. I was very pleased to be appointed by the previous Minister for Mines and Energy, as he was then, to a statewide committee to examine the feasibility of and processes necessary to implement the undergrounding of powerlines. I am currently working to re-initiate that committee, which I understand has the support of the new Minister for Energy. We look forward to advancing that project. I believe that the undergrounding of powerlines is not a matter of if; it is a matter of when. It must be done, whether in the next couple of years or the next 10 years. In Perth, a significant undergrounding program is under way and we should follow that very good example. The final matter that I will touch upon is one which I know is dear to many constituents, and that is our environment and, in particular, the Brisbane bay. Mr English interjected. Mr FENLON: I look forward to working with some of the new bay members to ensure that our bay is kept in pristine condition, that its environment is protected. Many of the constituents of Greenslopes use the bay area for recreation. They see it as their backyard. It is a very beautiful place; I take the interjection of the member. I look forward to working with other members to protect the bay in terms of fishing and recreation as well as preserving the beautiful environment of the bay islands. I commend the Governor's opening speech. Hon. J. C. SPENCE (Mount Gravatt—ALP) (Minister for Families and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy and Minister for Disability Services) (2.50 p.m.): It gives me great pleasure to speak in the Address in Reply debate in the 50th Parliament. This is my 12th year as a member of parliament and it is the fifth occasion on which I have acknowledged the support that I have received from the people of the electorate of Mount Gravatt. As I look around this chamber, I think that this is undoubtedly going to be the best parliament that I have been a member of in the past 12 years. I look around at the 89 members and note that we have 66 Labor members. That will undoubtedly make it a superb parliament. Of course, it is a parliament that for the first time is starting to fill up with women. I am proud to be able to say that women members in the Labor Party constitute 41 per cent of its total number. Certainly one of my motivations in seeking to be elected to parliament was to advance the cause of women. It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to see that, over the past 12 years, we have steadily increased the number of women in this place with each election. Mr Reeves: It must be due to your good work as minister for women last parliament. Ms SPENCE: I thank the member for Mansfield very much. I acknowledge that interjection. 684 Address in Reply 3 May 2001

Not only have we come a long way in this parliament; we have come a long way in the electorate of Mount Gravatt as well. It gives me satisfaction to look back at some of the achievements of the past few years, particularly during the term of the Beattie government. The Secondary Schools Renewal Program is achieving much in my electorate. It has brought large amounts of money to many of the high schools in the Mount Gravatt electorate. We have seen over $3 million committed to the refurbishment of MacGregor State High School. Over $3 million has been committed to the refurbishment of the Sunnybank State High School. $750,000 has been committed to the Mount Gravatt State High School. That school will be building a new hall, which is something that I have been trying to help them achieve over the past few years. I am pleased that the Beattie government has provided the money so that that school—which is one of Queensland's oldest and most distinguished high schools—can finally get a hall. Also, Cavendish Road State High School has received $5.8 million for major refurbishment work. I was pleased to deliver a new amenities building, painting and refurbishment recently at Warrigal Road State School and painting and new pathways to Robertson State School. We have also just had $100,000 committed for the refurbishment of MacGregor State School's administration block—something that was long overdue. Having been a high school teacher before entering this place, I believe that education is one of the most important issues in the electorate. The people of Queensland have undoubtedly given the Beattie Labor government a tick with respect to the work that we are doing in our state schools. This work involves not just the refurbishment of schools and the building of new schools throughout the state but also attention to issues of importance such as the curriculum, discipline and ensuring that we have good teachers in our schools. Having seen how hard the teachers in my electorate work, I have to say that I was very pleased that the teachers received a pay rise last year. It is not a nine to three job. They take their job very seriously, and in many respects it is getting more difficult year by year as we impose more responsibilities on our teachers. Teachers tell me that it is undoubtedly more challenging in the classroom these days. Teachers certainly deserve that pay rise. I believe that, if we want to ensure that quality people enter that profession in the future, we have to pay them what they are worth. I now move on to other significant achievements of the past few years in the Mount Gravatt electorate. Most recently, of course, we saw the opening of the new busway, which stretches from Eight Mile Plains to the city. I have had the good fortune to travel on that busway twice now and I am very impressed. It now takes only 16 minutes to get from Garden City to the city. Although I cannot travel on that busway every day to come to work for many reasons, as I sit there in the traffic on the South East Freeway in the morning—and sometimes it takes me an hour to get into the city using that freeway—I think to myself that the busway will be a huge improvement for people living in the suburbs of the Mount Gravatt electorate. I thank the residents of the Mount Gravatt electorate who live along the busway because they have had to put up with three years of disruption to their homes and lifestyle while this busway was being built. Some have been affected more than others, but I believe that Main Roads and Queensland Transport have done a very good job in consulting and listening to the concerns of those residents who live along the busway and trying to improve their situation while it was being constructed. Generally those residents have been very tolerant and very understanding and have seen that they would have to experience some pain during the construction phase for the greater good, which was the improvement of public transport in this city. I would personally like to put on the public record my thanks to all those residents for their patience over the past three years. Another great achievement of the past term of the Beattie government was its support for the construction of a new environmental centre built at Griffith University. This is the Toohey Forest Environmental Centre. Although initially a project inspired by the university and the Toohey Forest Protection Society, it is a project that has had a lot of support from this state government. We contributed a significant amount of money in capital works to see that the centre was built. Now we have contributed two full-time teachers to that centre. Even though the centre is located in the grounds of Griffith University, it is not for the exclusive use of the university. Indeed, our local children on the south side of Brisbane will be able to go to the centre and learn about the environment first-hand. I think it will be a very important resource for environment education in the future. 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 685

I would also like to talk about something exciting that is going to occur soon in the Mount Gravatt electorate, and that is the building of the new state netball centre on Klumpp Road. A youth centre will also be built as part of that project. The member for Mansfield and I worked very hard during the past term of the government to lobby various ministers, particularly the Minister for Sport, to ensure that funding was committed to this particular project. While we hear a lot about Lang Park and the cost of that particular facility, I would like to remind all members that this state government has been the first state government in Queensland to devote significant amounts of money to netball, which we know is a most important and popular sport in this state. The netball centre that already exists on Klumpp Road was built by the Beattie Labor government in conjunction with the Brisbane City Council. This new centre will be an addition to that and will mean that for the first time Queensland Netball will have its own state facility where the national league will be played and where netball will be televised. I am looking forward to working with Queensland Netball and the Brisbane City Council over the next few years in the delivery of this particular project. Another achievement during the last term was the delivery of a new police beat shopfront to Garden City. The Goss government delivered a police beat shopfront to the Sunnybank Shopping Centre, one of the first police beats in Queensland. They have become more popular over the years because they are effective. The new police beat at Garden City has played an important role in ensuring that crime is reduced in that large shopping centre. From speaking with residents in my electorate I know that it has made a difference to the level of safety they feel when shopping at Garden City. The Mount Gravatt electorate changed significantly as a result of the 2001 state election. It lost the suburbs of Holland Park and Holland Park West. I was very sad to lose those 4,000 constituents because I had grown up in those suburbs and attended primary school at Marshall Road State School. It was with a degree of sadness that I had to accept the decision of the independent umpire and pass those constituents and those suburbs on to my colleague the member for Greenslopes, although I am sure he will do a good job of representing those suburbs in the years to come. The Mount Gravatt electorate gained the new suburbs of Sunnybank, Runcorn, parts of Eight Mile Plains and new areas of Macgregor. I look forward to getting to know those 8,000-odd new constituents over the years to come. I feel very comfortable with the fact that the electorate has been expanded to the south, because I live in that part of the electorate and my children go to Warrigal Road State School and play in local sporting clubs located in these new suburbs such as Rugby Union at Sunnybank and soccer at Souths United. One of the strengths of the Mount Gravatt electorate is that it has a community which is actively engaged in social capital. It has many community organisations made up of volunteers who give enormous amounts of time to improving the amenity and the quality of community life in the Mount Gravatt electorate. It has two very good neighbourhood centres, the Mount Gravatt Neighbourhood Centre and the Sunnybank Neighbourhood Centre, which are well staffed with committed people and which receive significant support from the state government. It has a number of sporting groups made up of dedicated volunteers, particularly those who run the enormous amount of youth sport in the area. It also contains churches which represent just about every denomination. It has a number of seniors groups running social activities and advocacy on behalf of the seniors in the area. As the Minister for Families, I have responsibility for International Year of the Volunteer money allocated by the state government. I look forward to honouring the volunteers in my electorate later this year when those worthy people who do so much work in our community are presented with medals and certificates. It is appropriate during the Address in Reply debate to thank a number of people. I particularly thank my campaign manager, Mike Nichols, and the Mount Gravatt and Robertson/MacGregor branches of the Labor Party, both of whom worked tirelessly during the campaign to ensure a Labor victory in the seat of Mount Gravatt. I also acknowledge the hard work that the new member for Springwood, Barbara Stone, who was previously my electorate officer, has done on my behalf over the last three years. Electorate officers are even more important to ministers than they are to backbenchers, because ministers are often not in their electorates on a daily basis. I thank Barbara for the hard work she has done in the community. I also place on record my thanks to my husband, Heinz, and my children, Lucas and Jack. Jack was not born when I entered parliament 12 years ago but turns 11 next month. He knows nothing other than to have a mother who is a working member of parliament. I am pleased to 686 Address in Reply 3 May 2001 report that both he and Lucas have so far turned out to be very normal and happy children. It is possible to do both jobs, however it would not be possible to do it without the support of a partner. I particularly acknowledge the great assistance I get from my husband, Heinz. I also thank my mother, Gwen, who worked very hard on my campaign. It is moments like this that make one reflect on why the Beattie government won office for a second term. Indeed, the support of Queenslanders was overwhelming. I now hold the electorate of Mount Gravatt by 64.5 per cent, the biggest Labor victory ever seen in this seat. When I was elected to parliament 12 years ago I was 32 years old and the Mount Gravatt electorate had not been a Labor electorate for all that time—that is, 32 years. It is now truly a Labor electorate. Part of the reason for that is that Queensland is more comfortable with Labor governments and has seen how good Labor governments, such as the Beattie government, genuinely listen to Queenslanders, deliver good service and provide a government they can be proud of. It is a custom of mine to have my speech in the Address in Reply debate printed and delivered to my constituents in Mount Gravatt. With that in mind, I finally acknowledge their support and say to them that I look forward to working with them during the next three years and delivering outcomes to them on issues of importance. Dr LESLEY CLARK (Barron River—ALP) (3.06 p.m.): It is with great pleasure and pride that I take my place in this House again as part of the 50th Parliament and the second Beattie government to participate in the Address in Reply debate. Whilst not a monarchist, despite my English origins, I express my appreciation for the address of His Excellency the Governor, Major General Peter Arnison, at the opening of the 50th Parliament, setting out the future program of the government. His Excellency and his wife, Barbara, carry out their official duties with exceptional professionalism, grace and good humour. I thank them for the hospitality I have enjoyed at Government House in my new role as Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier in Far North Queensland. Having been first elected in 1989 as part of the Goss Labor government after 32 years of National Party rule in Queensland, I never imagined I would have the experience of being part of history a second time. Yet the election of a record 66 members of the Labor Party, including 27 women, has created history again for both the party and the parliament. I place on record my sincere thanks and congratulations to the Premier, Peter Beattie, for an achievement that not even the most optimistic of polls or commentators predicted. I have no doubt that the six per cent swing that occurred in the Barron River electorate was in large part due to the widespread support that the Premier enjoys in the community. However, there is also no doubt that the hard work of my dedicated campaign team was responsible for translating that community support into the best result for Labor in Barron River since my initial election 12 years ago, with Labor achieving 57 per cent of the two-party preferred vote. In particular I thank Anne Mauger, my campaign manager, and her partner, Ian, and all the members of the campaign committee who tackled every task, from organising postal votes to designing media advertisements. They were joined by an army of branch members and supporters who doorknocked, letterboxed and stood for hours at information stalls at local shopping centres. There are far too many of them for me to mention individually, but they know who they are and they know that I really appreciate their support. My electorate officer, Cathy Lovern, and assistant, Margaret Moss, were invaluable in keeping constituent work under control and were unstinting in their support during the campaign. I also wish to place on record my appreciation for the work of Kylie Bock and Steven Drew, who supported me in my role as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health in the last term of government. To Cameron Milner, the state campaign director: congratulations on a great campaign and thank you for the resources that contributed to our success, including Tom Forest and Chris Bowen, who came to us from the New South Wales Labor Party and assisted in all of the marginal seat campaigns in far-north Queensland. To Joan Kirner and Emily's List: thank you, too, for your financial and moral support. Your success and the value of Emily's List is clearly evident in the number of new Labor women in this House, who have all made such magnificent maiden speeches. Finally, I need to thank my husband, Ross, who has now experienced his fifth marginal seat campaign, yet has never once mentioned divorce. I would not be here without his constant love and support. My children, David and Jennifer, were only able to provide moral support on this 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 687 occasion, as they now live in Brisbane, but for that I thank them. Having a political mum has not always been easy. Despite the good result in Barron River, I am under no illusion that it has suddenly become a safe seat. The electorate is still very volatile and cynical, although for many it is now the federal Liberal government that they have in their sights. Nonetheless, I am beginning my regular mobile electorate service this month and will be visiting each of 12 small local shopping centres in the electorate on a regular basis again. I find this method of keeping in touch, together with regular attendance at community meetings and community surveys, pays dividends and ensures that I am aware of local concerns and able to respond accordingly. I now have a new three-year plan for the Barron River electorate which identifies key goals in the areas of education, health, transport, public safety, environment and employment that have been developed in response to existing and emerging needs in the electorate and which build on past achievements. Some, like the additional preschool unit at Redlynch and the rebuilding of Freshwater school after a fire last year, will be complete at the end this year, while others, like the prevention of beach erosion at Holloways Beach, will take longer to achieve. Whilst the Barron River electorate will remain my highest priority, I welcome the opportunity to play a greater role as parliamentary secretary to the Premier and Minister for Trade in far-north Queensland in addressing issues of regional significance. Today I would like to focus on the tourism industry, which is undoubtedly the economic lifeblood of far-north Queensland. The recent reduction in international flights is posing a major threat to the Cairns tourism industry. Garuda Indonesia will suspend its thrice-weekly service between Bali and Cairns on 1 July, just two months after the last flight for Singapore Airlines landed in Cairns on 25 March. The decision of Singapore Airlines and Garuda to pull out of Cairns is linked to federal aviation policy that has resulted in a concentration of international flights utilising Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Regional airports, including Adelaide and Darwin, are under similar threat to Cairns. Last month in Cairns the Prime Minister met with industry leaders and Bob Manning, the CEO of the Cairns Port Authority, which operates the international airport, and the Prime Minister acknowledged the concerns of the Cairns community and the tourism industry. As a result, Bob Manning has been appointed to head a task force to advise federal transport minister John Anderson on options for changes to current policy. I hope that the minister takes the recommendations of the task force seriously, after a spokesperson from his office told the Cairns Post recently that it was our fault that tourists were not arriving and that we merely needed to smarten up our act. Honourable members can imagine how well that was received by the Cairns community. The Cairns Aviation Strategy Team, comprising Tourism Queensland, CPA and TTNQ—Tropical Tourism North Queensland—has produced a discussion paper titled The impact of aviation and airline regulatory reform on secondary international gateways. It analyses the impact of federal aviation policies in the light of current developments in the international aviation industry and explains why they are failing regional Australia. I table a copy of this document for the interest of members. The CAST paper describes the failure of the federal government's regional airline policy to achieve its intended outcomes of more international flights into regional airports and it concluded— The Commonwealth cannot abrogate its responsibility of continued development of air services to regional gateways just because it has established a framework of unlimited frequency and capacity access through secondary gateways. Establishing a 'theoretical' policy platform and then simply expecting other sovereign governments to willingly accept operations for their airlines on 'thin routes' is illogical in the extreme and certainly guarantees the sentencing of the Regional Entitlements Package to the policy graveyard. The Australian Government, in supposedly establishing micro economic aviation reform, has become an unwitting partner in reversing economic benefits to regional Australia. I agree with CAST's finding that— The Federal Government must, with urgency and haste, attempt to discover possible solutions to this dilemma, in co- operation with State and Territory jurisdictions, lest we lose the opportunity to grow and develop international air services directly to regional Australia. The Cairns Aviation Strategy Team has outlined several options that can help to address this major issue and its discussion paper has been provided as a submission to the task force. 688 Address in Reply 3 May 2001

The policy settings that the federal government considers will clearly need to ensure that all airlines, both international and domestic, operate services to Australia in a commercially sustainable manner. Nobody doubts that. However, CAST maintains, and I agree, that— ... if regional gateways are to maintain and grow international air services, a 'carrot and stick' approach may be one solution to consider. This is where the Commonwealth, as part of the negotiating process, offers increased access (ie more frequency and capacity) to one of Australia's three major centres (ie Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane), but makes some of the access conditional on the airline operating to a secondary gateway such as Cairns, Darwin or Adelaide. ... In the case of Dubai, the Commonwealth has negotiated a position that Emirates not be able to increase Sydney services to daily, until existing entitlements are taken up to Perth or Brisbane. The Commonwealth is clearly willing to distort the free market process where it is in 'Australia's strategic interests'. Surely they can be willing to do that when it is in Queensland's and Cairns' strategic interests. It continues— The Commonwealth should ensure that a similar negotiating stance be adopted on a selective basis with other sovereign governments in relation to influencing the re allocation of services and capacity to regional gateways. The under pinning philosophy is one of encouraging the airlines to operate some of the high yield profitable routes with a balanced representation on some of the 'thinner' routes (ie the carrot and stick approach). ... The Commonwealth may also wish to consider a capacity discounting approach to provide incentives to operate services via secondary gateways. If a carrier pairs services to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, with a secondary gateway, a unit of capacity may not be counted in the carrier's total Australian capacity entitlement or count as half a unit as an example. ... Cost and revenue efficiencies are paramount in an airline's deliberations to commence air services to any destination ... That is understood. It continues— For example, a cost that is increasingly becoming a significant disincentive to operating services to regional Australia— and to Cairns— are the Commonwealth charges in relation to the provision of Rescue Fire Fighting Services (RFFS) and Air Traffic Control (ATC). Under the auspices of the National Competition Policy, the cost of provision of these services at regional locations. In strict rational economic theory, in isolation of all externalities this is a fair and reasonable expectation in the quest to minimise resource mis-allocation. However, when this initiative is overlaid on a regional destination which is suffering the combined adverse impact of airline globalisation and international air service rationalisation, the significant escalation of these costs become regressive in their impact on destinations such as Cairns. A number of airlines have commented that in Australia, it has now become cheaper to operate to capital city airports because of the fact that the air transport industry has no need to pay a premium for usage of premier international gateways such as Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. This appears to be in direct contrast to regional airports, which although catering to significantly smaller catchment areas, and lower route profitability have charges imposed by the Commonwealth that further discourages the provision of air services. On the revenue side, the Commonwealth needs to actively identify possible freight consolidation opportunities that are high yielding and provide incremental revenue opportunities to international carriers. Whilst I agree with CAST that there is no quick fix to the dilemma that regional airlines are facing and that Cairns must continue to develop and aggressively market its tourism product, it is essential that the federal government acknowledge that its regional aviation policy has failed and intervene. As the parliamentary secretary to the Premier in far-north Queensland, I join with Tourism Minister Merri Rose in her call to the federal aviation minister, John Anderson, to act if Cairns is to survive as a major international tourist destination, along with the thousands of far-north Queensland families that are dependent on the industry. As Merri Rose said in her letter to John Anderson just last month— It is time for action—action which you can take at the federal level. Any delay in resolving this issue will cost tropical north Queensland millions of dollars in lost tourism revenue. I urge you to take immediate action. Stop the haemorrhaging of the tourism industry in tropical north Queensland. Whilst the federal government has the responsibility to get the policy settings right, I want to make it clear that neither the state government nor the tourism industry have been sitting on their hands. On the contrary, as the minister has said in her correspondence, the decision by the airlines to cease flights to Cairns came despite months of negotiations on the part of Tourism Queensland, the CPA and TTNQ. In the case of Singapore Airlines, a detailed business case was 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 689 prepared to highlight the favourable international market trends and airline economics associated with operating this route. Further, as was reported in Monday's Australian newspaper, Ian Keane, the CEO of TTNQ, and Bob Manning met with Garuda's management in Jakarta just last week to discuss the withdrawal of the decades old Bali to Cairns service. Whereas the current discussion paper focused on the federal government's regional aviation policies, others are looking at quite different, and I think totally inappropriate, directions for solutions. I refer to reports in yesterday's Cairns Post in which Mareeba Mayor Mick Borzi called for the Cairns International Airport to be sold so that, according to Councillor Borzi, it could become more competitive. Although Councillor Borzi made a significant contribution to the development of the airport as chairman of the former Cairns Harbour Board in the 1980s, on this issue I believe he is misguided. Both the CPA and the TTNQ have rejected the notion that privatisation would necessarily result in airlines coming back to Cairns. I fully support the CPA's CEO, Bob Manning, who said in the Cairns Post article that ownership of the airport was not relevant to the aviation issues confronting the region, and he called for unity and focus, not some divided ideological arguments. Bob Manning confirmed that airports around Australia and the Pacific Rim, including privately owned facilities, had also lost service as part of the aviation industry's global restructuring. Indeed, my greatest fear is that sovereign governments are fast losing their ability to act in the national interest in the face of moves towards a new oligopoly in the world airline industry of just five alliance groups of existing airlines, namely, OneWorld, Star Alliance, Qualify, Wings and SkyTeam. The CART discussion paper warns of the dangers inherent in this emerging trend as government regulations are replaced by the barriers of network size, scale and scope, traffic density and unit cost, and revenue efficiencies as the real and only determinants of airline operations. I return to the issue of privatisation. Having discussed the matter yesterday with Transport Minister Steve Bredhauer, I can confirm that the state government has no intention of selling the Cairns International Airport. I am actually really surprised that those supporting such a move, including some members of the Northern Development Industry Association, cannot see the grave risks inherent in such a course of action. Do they really imagine that the interests of the Cairns community will be paramount in the minds of the board members of a private and possibly foreign-owned company as they make decisions affecting the future of the Cairns International Airport? The lessons are there to be learned from the banks. It will be profits, not community interest, that will determine their decisions. In the interim, the reduction of international flights to Cairns is forcing the CPA to look seriously at its ability to operate two separate terminals and, not surprisingly, serious consideration has been given to combining both domestic and international operations into just one terminal and mothballing the other until the impact of world airlines and government policy on its operation is addressed. Perhaps the most important lesson from these events, though, is the need to seriously invest in efforts to diversify the economy of Cairns so that we are not so dependent on the tourism industry. In the time I have left available to me I will briefly mention some of those opportunities for diversification. The continuing development of the Cairns campus of the James Cook University has the potential to contribute positively to such diversification. The federal government has provided funding for the construction of a new science and health building, but its policy of making those funds available over three years will delay construction of that much-needed facility until 2004. This is yet another example of the federal government's lack of commitment to tertiary education. The state government supported the university with an interest-free loan when a similar situation arose with a $12 million library building in 1998. I will be encouraging the Treasurer to once again support JCU, but the federal government really should face up to its responsibility and provide funding in a more timely manner. In his address to the Cairns Chamber of Commerce last week, the vice chancellor, Bernard Moulden, indicated that he saw an increase in overseas full fee paying students as critical to the future development of the Cairns campus. There are currently some 23,000 students studying in Queensland, and while the JCU has entered this market very late the government has recognised the important contribution that overseas students make, and we will certainly be continuing to support the effort of the university to attract more overseas students. I also intend to work closely with the university with respect to the development of the technology-research park proposal and business incubator, of which I 690 Address in Reply 3 May 2001 have spoken previously in this House. The Cairns campus undoubtedly has the potential to make its reputation as a world leader in tropical rainforest research and management, and the state government is jointly funding a feasibility study for a rainforest centre of excellence. The education industry generally holds great economic potential for Cairns. In addition to JCU there are a large number of English language colleges as well as an excellent TAFE college. Secondary schools, both public and private, also recognise the potential of this lucrative market. I commend the work of the Cairns education industry cluster which, under the leadership of Carmel Ross, is putting Cairns on the map as a provider of quality educational products. There are other knowledge-based industries emerging in far-north Queensland, and I look forward to reporting to the House further about these exciting developments. Mrs MILLER (Bundamba—ALP) (3.25 p.m.): It is great to be back here representing the people of Bundamba. Although I was only elected at the by-election last year, I have put my heart and soul into Bundamba. I love Bundamba as a community and thank God that, given the election result, I can safely say that Bundamba loves me. Last year, in the by-election campaign, our electorate of Bundamba set an Australian record. As the Labor candidate I was able to secure the biggest swing to an incumbent government since Federation. The first preference vote was 57 per cent and the two-party preferred vote was 71 per cent. Today I stand here humbly as the member for Bundamba, holding the safest seat in this parliament for the Australian Labor Party, and as a parliamentary secretary in an Australian Labor Party government which won government in the most extraordinary set of circumstances. I am proud to be a woman holding the safest seat and, better still, an Emily's List endorsed woman. In the last election I won 71 per cent of the first preference vote and over 80 per cent of the two-party preferred vote. I wish to thank the Bundamba community for its overwhelming support. When I was elected I made a commitment to my people that they would never walk alone and that I would be there for them. Well, they have not walked alone and they never will; I will always look after them, for I am one of them. Given my baptism of fire during the by-election, in which the survival of the first Beattie Labor government rested on my shoulders, this recent election was a wonderful experience. We simply stood on our record and worked as normal. We did what we do every day: we worked hard for our people. The Australian Labor Party branches in Bundamba, and I as the member, were always confident that Peter Beattie as Premier would pull us through the valley of woe and that we would win government. We had confidence because the Premier is a man of the people and a man of principle. We believe that Peter Beattie and the Australian Labor Party won the election—in that order. And every one of the 66 members of this government should never forget it. In Bundamba the Australian Labor Party and its members are an integral part of the community. They work hard in community organisations and in their churches, and they give our people a helping hand up in the world. This is living, breathing social justice, not textbook social justice. As a member it is a priority of mine to always be connected with the community, for without this connection we cannot function for our people. And when the community is not connected to its member of parliament, this gives rise to right wing lunatic forces which ultimately harm the local area, our state and our great nation. I have said before in this House that Bundamba consists of the have-everythings, the haves, the have-nots and the have-absolutely-nothings. Since the introduction of the GST there are significantly more have-nots and have-absolutely-nothings in my community. People are suffering, and suffering for many reasons, but they all state that the GST is like an out-of-control disease that eats away at them. In my community we have working poor families that on some days do not eat. These are the Howard battlers—the working poor on a miserable wage and who cannot afford to feed themselves. They have jobs and mortgages, but they are getting further and further behind as they pay GST at the checkout, on their insurances, to have their hair cut and on holidays at a caravan park. John Howard and Peter Costello are mealy-mouthed Tories who would not be able to survive on a pension and would not understand that, for many, a 25c packet of noodles would be the only meal for the day. The real tragedy is seen in the older people in Bundamba—those who do not own their homes and who are living in Department of Housing homes or in caravan parks. In the time of their lives when they should be able to live a dignified retirement, all they see ahead of them is fear and worry. Many in my community liken it to the Great Depression. They sense despair, they sense hopelessness and they worry day to day about how they can afford essential medication. They worry about the price of food and many think that life is not worth living. In a way, it is like a 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 691 community depression. Our old people should not be living like this, and the blame lies squarely at the feet of this wretched federal government. I look forward to the end of the year when the people can judge Howard and kick his government out in favour of a more compassionate Labor federal government. Our church and community organisations are bearing the brunt of the federal government's policies. Two churches in Bundamba run significant shopfronts in food essentials, often given free to our community members. The Shiloh Christian Church has a shopfront attached to its church, as does the Church of Christ in Smiths Road. They were not operating a couple of years ago. We also have a soup kitchen operating one day per week in another church. St Vincent de Paul and Anglicare are stretched to the limit, as are other community organisations. It is estimated that for every person who seeks assistance there are probably another two to three people in the community who are too proud to ask for help. I know some of them on a personal level. Their view is that there are always people in a worse situation, but if Australia is the so-called lucky country then why are our people going hungry? I hope that Bundamba will become known as booming Bundamba over the next few years. The Ipswich City Council has passed in principle the Synergy Industrial Park at Carole Park that will provide an estimated 3,000 jobs. These, I hope, will be local jobs. The Bremer Institute of TAFE has recognised that our people will need to be trained for these and other jobs and has recently announced a TAFE house in Goodna. This is quite revolutionary in concept. TAFE is coming to the people rather than people going to TAFE. In cooperation with the Department of Housing the Bremer Institute has rented a house in Kingsford Street, Goodna, and will focus initially on literacy classes and then other forms of training as time progresses. Literacy, particularly adult literacy, is a great barrier to my people getting jobs. If you cannot read, you cannot read job ads in a paper, you cannot read road maps to get to an interview and, if you are lucky enough to get a job, you cannot read the workplace health and safety signs and may get injured. Adult literacy programs are vital in my community in breaking down the unemployment levels. It is even more important when you consider that in my electorate there are over 149 nationalities represented with over 66 per cent of the population speaking a language other than English at home. I would like to place on record my community's thanks to Rod Camm, Mike Guy, Councillor Paul Pisasale and the TAFE council for their dedication to this TAFE house as one of our training and employment initiatives in Bundamba. Another project in its infancy is the Bremer Industrial Park at Bundamba. This project is estimated to provide 4,500 jobs for our locals. Again, the Bremer Institute of TAFE is involved in this project and is negotiating with the developers to provide local training for our local unemployed so that they are job ready when this project comes on line. I understand that development applications will be lodged with the Ipswich City Council later this year and that extensive community consultation will be undertaken. These projects do not just fall from the sky. It is a fact that I work with the Ipswich City Council and its economic development unit to assist them in attracting industries to our area. We work together with the mayor, Councillor John Nugent, the deputy mayor, Councillor Paul Pisasale, and other councillors in attracting long-term sustainable industry. Where two levels of government are working together to achieve an employment outcome for our community, the quality of life for our people improves. The Australian Meat Holdings plant in Dinmore is a major employer within Bundamba and it has one of the best training programs ever seen in industry. In collaboration with Bremer TAFE our meatworkers can have a career path and receive fully accredited on the job training as they go. I understand that AMH is seeking to employ several hundred more people over the next 12 months and I know that many people encourage this expansion. Not all companies are good corporate citizens. We have some excellent examples of industry being great neighbours, such as Claypave at Dinmore, but we also have some ugly examples, such as the Swanbank dumps. I simply say this: industry must abide by the law and be good corporate citizens and if they choose to snub the law then I will come down on them like a ton of bricks. It is not good enough that in the middle of summer my people in Redbank Plains have to shut up their houses because they cannot stand the smell of the dumps. The Environmental Protection Agency should continue its monitoring of these dumps and its hotline service and continue to administer the law to the letter. 692 Address in Reply 3 May 2001

One of the great programs of the last government was the Department of Housing's urban renewal and community renewal projects. I cannot begin to tell members of the enormous impact that these program have had in our community in Goodna and Gailes and in Dinmore and Riverview. However, the greatest relief for me personally on election night was the knowledge that we had won government and that these programs would continue. Harvey Kabanda of urban renewal and Judy Higgins of community renewal and their band of dedicated officers link in with our community to build a better community for all of us. These programs are now linking with the Community Jobs Plan and our people are now employed building fences and some landscaping in the urban and community renewal programs. This cross-agency coordination is vital in communities like Bundamba and hopefully at the end of the year with the election of a Beazley Labor government we can coordinate programs at the three levels of government for the benefit of our community. Education and training essentially determine where someone will be in life. I spend an incredible amount of time in our schools encouraging our children to read and write, to learn to love learning and to get on with each other at school. I attend as many school functions as I can as it is important to be there for our children and to show them that I care about them. I have attended school captain ceremonies at Redbank Plains State High, Bundamba State High, Woodcrest College, Redbank Plains State School, Redbank State School, Collingwood Park State School, Riverview State School, Kruger State School, Dinmore State School and Goodna State School and St Peter Claver College. Our schools are representative of our community, with some schools having a high multicultural enrolment. At the grade 7 graduation at the Riverview State School the children sang in Samoan with leis around their necks as they said goodbye to their teachers. At Goodna State School they have a choir equal to the best gospel choirs anywhere in Australia. At their captain ceremonies the choir, all decked out in purple and gold capes, sang the hymn This Little Light of Mine, I'm Going to Let It Shine—and let it shine they did. When I started to sing it with them, I had to confess that I used to sing it at Sunday School. At Kruger State School the Goodna RSL sponsors some of the music program and at Goodna State School the RSL assists with the purchase of books, rulers and pencils. This is a community working together. Our large Samoan population is guided by Philip Lafutu, chair of the Samoan Advisory Council, and our Laotian community is guided by two quiet achievers, Luck and Phouterach. Our churches also work closely together for the wider community benefit. I understand that this year some of our pastors will be swapping pulpits for some services. Their dedication to our school communities through their services is immeasurable. The Reverend Dell Foreman of Operation Kinder Community under the Anglicare auspice does a fantastic job in Riverview, as do Pastors Alan and David Morris of the Assembly of God and Bishop Pitman of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints. Father Brian Fitzpatrick and the Catholic Social Justice Group of the Goodna parish and Major Rod Strong of the Bundamba Salvation Army are great community and spiritual leaders. On behalf of our community, we thank you for your commitment, caring and your prayers. A volunteer within our community who has, just days ago, been charged with wilful damage to war memorials on a complaint by the Ipswich City Council is Steve Donovan. He is a member of the Bundamba Observance Committee and, despite these charges and the smear campaign being waged against him, is respected in the community for his work at the Bundamba memorial. At Bundamba he has mown the lawns on a weekly basis, pruned the hedges, watered the trees, put the flags up every morning and taken them down every evening. He was the guest speaker on behalf of his friend Eric Abrahams at the Ipswich Girls Grammar School inaugural Anzac service. I was there to listen to Mr Donovan's speech on the importance of the Anzac tradition and listened to him read a personal letter from Mr Abrahams to the school community. He also attended the Bundamba State High ceremony where a Gallipoli pine tree, which he had organised, was planted in the school memorial gardens. He was also a key organiser of the Gallipoli pine tree planted in St Mary's school grounds. I am saddened that the Ipswich City Council lodged a complaint to the police about Steve Donovan. These days a mediated outcome by a professional mediator would have been a better outcome than an action that has been interpreted by members of the community as high-handed and jackboot in nature. I am outraged that yet another smear campaign has been reported in today's Queensland Times and ask, out of respect to Eric Abrahams, diggers and veterans, that such allegations and smears stop immediately. I understand that Mr Abrahams is very saddened that, at his frail age and in very poor health, such matters are being raised. He is a sick old man, a 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 693 national and international hero, and he should be allowed time to recover instead of being worried by anonymous, unfounded petty allegations, whether or not they have come from the Ipswich City Council and/or councillors. This sad, sorry affair in the International Year of the Volunteer and one week after Anzac Day has upset many veterans in my electorate. It has upset the Goodna RSL and it has upset volunteers generally. ANZAC is about remembering our diggers. It is also about mateship and working together. It is a pity that the Ipswich City Council, which administers a huge budget and employs hundreds of people, could not arrange a professional mediator to sort out whatever problems exist. One can only wonder what on earth is going on and the real motivation behind the council's actions. Our community also had cause to celebrate the initiative and innovation of youth. At the recent Building Industry Group Apprenticeship Training Awards, two of our local youth were acknowledged for their achievements. Ryan Turvey, a student at Woodcrest Christian School, was a finalist in the Student of the Year award and Greg Kitching—my cousin—of Riverview won the Apprentice of the Year award in the painting and decorating section. I was there to present the award to him. This Beattie Labor government, through its commitment to the Breaking the Unemployment Cycle initiative and innovations such as school-based apprenticeships, has assured the future of apprenticeships and traineeships in this state. As member for Bundamba, I am privileged to represent what I believe is the best electorate in the state. We live together in a multicultural society, in relative peace and harmony. We work together to improve our community and we all strive to make a better place for our children. Bundamba has finally returned as Australian Labor Party heartland. I can assure our people that this Labor government and the local Labor Party branches and I, as their member, will always work with them, walk with them on their journey in life and, in those difficult times, we will put our hands out to help them. We are in partnership with them in life. It is a team effort in Bundamba. I would like to thank my family: my husband, Neil, and daughters, Stephanie and Brianna; my mother and father; the famous Uncle George and Auntie Kay Kitching, not only for helping me but also my parliamentary colleague Rachael Nolan on her inaugural campaign; my dedicated electoral officer, Steve Axe, and Michael Bertram; party members led by Mitch and Pam Dodrill and the entire Dodrill clan; Michelle Finn, Gerry Hulett, Steve Hey, Darryl Small, Greg Broad, Mike Donohue, Toni Gibbs, Darryl Skinner, Dave Suffleet, Michelle Mennie, Chris Videroni, Felicity and John Higgins, Frank and Joyce Dudman, Councillor Victor Attwood, Chris and Wendy Haimes, Kerry Silver and all of the Labor Party members in the electorate of Bundamba. I would also like to thank my union, the Missoes, for all their help and support and the combined unions at the Redbank railway workshops, the Retired Miners Union, the Nurses Union, and the CFMEU. Together, over the next three years, we will make Bundamba a better place. Hon. G. R. NUTTALL (Sandgate—ALP) (Minister for Industrial Relations) (3.43 p.m.): In rising to speak today in the Address in Reply debate, can I first offer my congratulations to the Speaker of the House on his election. It is a great honour to be elected as Speaker by your peers in the parliament, so my congratulations go to him. I also take this opportunity to congratulate all honourable members of the government on their re-election, and particularly the new members who have entered this parliament. Having listened to their maiden speeches over the last several weeks, it quite amazes me the talent that we have in this parliament. When one looks back at 1992, when people like Pat Purcell, the member for Bulimba, and I were first elected, I would have to say that our maiden speeches pale into insignificance in terms of the talent that has been brought into this 50th Parliament of Queensland. To those new members, can I say that whatever support and assistance I can give them, both as the member for Sandgate and as the Minister for Industrial Relations, I offer wholeheartedly. I wish them well in their first term in the parliament. I make particular mention of the honourable members who represent the Sunshine Coast, because that is an area where I cut my teeth in the Labor Party. In 1983 I ran for the seat of Cooroora, which at that time took in Noosa down to Mooloolaba and out to Kenilworth. In those days, that area was very much tiger country. Basically, when a person ran for the Labor Party, they knew that they were fighting an uphill battle. So I say to the member for Kawana and the member for Noosa that I know how hard it has been for the Labor Party on the Sunshine Coast and to win seats for Labor in that area is an outstanding effort. Well done. They have my strongest support. 694 Address in Reply 3 May 2001

Unlike the member for Bundamba, I might thank people first and then talk about my electorate. We have now recorded the highest Labor vote in Sandgate in my four terms with a vote of 74.47 per cent. I thank the campaign team for an outstanding effort led by Phil Hay, who was my campaign manager. He worked above and beyond the call of duty. To Phil and the team I give my warmest thanks and appreciation. To represent the Labor Party is a great honour, but to be a Minister for Industrial Relations in a Labor government is one of the greatest honours I believe that anyone could have. I am very humbled by the opportunity to serve as the Minister for Industrial Relations in this government. At times I still pinch myself to think that we are in this position. Yesterday it really hit home to me when we had a couple of divisions and I turned around and saw 66 tried and true members on the government side. It was a great feeling. Mr Hayward: Do you mean some of the Independents didn't vote with us? Mr NUTTALL: I don't think there were too many at all. Mr Hayward: So-called Independents. Mr NUTTALL: So-called Independents. I hope they have a mind of their own in the future. During the campaign, a couple of things happened. My daughter, Kim, who lives in Darwin with her partner, Troy, gave birth to my first grandchild. It was a great thrill. Ms Struthers: You don't look old enough. Mr NUTTALL: I thank the honourable member for Algester for that. I took a day off the campaign and flew to Darwin to nurse a small child who weighed just five pounds. My grand- daughter's name is Summer Jewel, and she is just wonderful. I have a photo at home of her little foot in my hand. It is about that big. To my lovely daughter Kim and Troy and my new grand- daughter, Summer Jewel: it was a great thrill in the middle of a campaign to have something like that happen. I have had the opportunity to nurse my grand-daughter only for a little while, but they will be down at the end of the year. Now to my other children. To Lisa, who is a teacher in Cairns: I know that you were with us in spirit. To my son, Andrew, I say: thank you. To my lovely wife, Liz, and James: again, I could not have done it without your support. To all of those people, I offer my sincere thanks. I now turn to the electorate of Sandgate, which has seen a number of changes over the past 10 years. The electorate has grown enormously in popularity, and a large number of old Queenslanders are being restored. People in Sandgate take an enormous amount of pride in their community. We are very blessed to have great natural assets. I will continue to work hard for the people of Sandgate. They have been good to me, electing me on four occasions. It is a beautiful part of the world to live in. I know that each and every one of us believes that where we live is special, and that is very true. However, Sandgate is a particularly beautiful place. Wonderful people who care greatly about the area live in Sandgate. Sandgate was one of the last areas to be taken into the greater Brisbane City Council. At one stage it did have its own council. The old town hall is still often used, and the town clock is still there. Sandgate was one of the very first areas of Queensland to be settled, so it has a long history. There is a great sense of community in the electorate and there are an enormous number of community groups. People take great pride in the area in which they live. As a member of this government I am very proud of the enormous improvements that have been made in the electorate. In the nine years that I have been a member of this place, new facilities have included a new state-of-the-art police station and a modern, upgraded fire station. A new ambulance centre is about to be built and the old ambulance centre will be sold. A major upgrade of the bus-rail interchange and, indeed, all other railway stations within my electorate has occurred, improving the safety of car parks. An enormous amount of money has been spent on our TAFE college. North Point TAFE College at Bracken Ridge is the third biggest TAFE college in the state. It is a great asset to the district. There are a number of primary schools and two high schools in the electorate. The newly named Bracken Ridge State High School and the Sandgate State High School will benefit from major refurbishment under the Secondary Schools Renewal Program. Obviously the students will benefit from that. One would normally think that in an electorate such as Sandgate, which was one of very first settlements in the state, school numbers would be dropping off. However, a study of the demographics shows that young families are moving into the area and our schools are holding 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 695 their numbers. The Department of Education has recognised that fact and, as a result, substantial improvements have been made to all of the primary schools in my electorate. As I have indicated, that is about to happen with the high schools as well. There are three private primary Catholic schools in the electorate, St John Fisher College girls' secondary school at Bracken Ridge and, of course, St Patrick's College at Shorncliffe. Those schools are an important part of the electorate and I offer my wholehearted support to them. I will continue to work with the school communities. As the previous speaker has said, quite often they are the hub of the community. Representatives of the schools in my electorate have no hesitation in coming forward and speaking to me about what they need in order to look after their students. We will continue to work together. Public housing has always been a particularly important issue, especially the provision of seniors units. I welcome the announcement made prior to the state election by the Minister for Public Works and Minister for Housing that he is working in conjunction with the Department of Health on this issue. We are looking at building a number of seniors units on the northern end of the Eventide Nursing Home property, right on the waterfront. That proposal has been met with a very warm response and people are looking forward to its completion. I am particularly pleased about that, because land is scarce. Being able to build some new seniors units is a wonderful thing. The Department of Health and the minister have been very helpful when I have approached them with representations involving the Eventide Nursing Home. The Eventide Nursing Home has a great history in my electorate. Major upgrading of the nursing home has taken place. I know that the people of Sandgate recognise the work that the government has done to improve the facilities there. People who work in aged care facilities often work above and beyond the call of duty and, indeed, have a great love of their job, although at times it can be difficult. I thank all of the staff at the Eventide Nursing Home for a job well done. The Freemasons nursing home is located in my electorate. It is the largest Freemasons nursing home in Queensland. It does an outstanding job. I have a very good relationship with the management team of the Freemasons home. I thank them for their support of the government. They are not backward in coming forward to tell me about the programs they are going to implement and what they are trying to do. Where we can assist, we do. They are about to build a large kitchen at the home. That organisation does an outstanding job. It has facilities so that one can move into a unit, then into the retirement home and then into the nursing home. They all do a marvellous job. A number of nursing home facilities are located in my electorate. When I have the opportunity I visit them, and I know that they all take great pride in the care that they take of their residents. To all of them I say thank you. I return to the issue of education and the Premier's references to Queensland as the Smart State. As a government, that is the only direction we can take if we are to stay in touch with advances in technology. The Premier is obviously on the right track with the Smart State strategy. A campus of the Queensland University of Technology is located in Carseldine, just outside my electorate. That campus is working with North Point TAFE and the high schools in the vicinity to create an education precinct. The education precinct allows year 12 students to study a subject at university without having to pay any HECS fees. It is also working with North Point TAFE to allow students to do TAFE courses. The education precinct has been an outstanding success. It encourages kids to go on to tertiary studies by giving them the opportunity to study additional subjects that will count towards a university degree. North Point TAFE has been concerned about retention rates and, with the secondary schools and the university, it is working very hard to overcome that problem. I say to everyone involved: well done and keep up the good work. There is a community centre at Sandgate which, at the moment, is situated in a house owned by the Department of Emergency Services and adjoining the ambulance station. That area needs to be sold so that we can utilise those funds to build a new ambulance station at Bracken Ridge. The difficulty is that we have to try to find a home for our community centre. To that end, the management of SANDBAG—Sandgate and Bracken Ridge Action Group—who run the community centre and I will be meeting with the minister in the near future to discuss finding a new home or doing something about where they are at the moment. I just say to the people of SANDBAG that we will work together to try to find a solution to this problem. The community centre does an outstanding job and we would be the poorer for not having that community centre 696 Address in Reply 3 May 2001 there. I hope that we will be able to work towards having an improved community centre facility for the people of Sandgate. There are a number of other issues before us at the moment. There is some contention about the proposed development of a new shopping centre at Sandgate. It has divided the community. There are a number of people who are for it and a number are against it. There have been a number of meetings. As I have said to people at those gatherings, as in any community the debate about this is a healthy one. All people really want is what is best for the district of Sandgate. The real argument is how we achieve that. To those people in the other parts of my electorate, in the fast growing areas of Taigum, Fitzgibbon and Bracken Ridge, I continue to offer my support. We will work together to try to ensure that their suburbs are a place where they can feel safe and secure. From the government's point of view, we want to work with those communities to try to continue to improve facilities. I have a number of sporting groups in my electorate. The Police Citizens Youth Club in my electorate under Steve Thompson has an application in to the government at the moment, along with the Sandgate-Redcliffe District Cricket Club, for some major upgrades in the precinct in which they are both situated. Again, I have indicated to them my wholehearted support. If we are successful in our application with the Department of Sport, it will be a great asset to the district, particularly for young people. The Police Citizens Youth Club has done an outstanding job in recent times. The Sandgate-Redcliffe District Cricket Club has continued to grow in the past eight or nine years. Mr Reeves: A successful club. Mr NUTTALL: They are a very successful club. Prior to this year, they won the A grade cricket premiership in Brisbane for three years in a row. This cricket club has bred some great cricketers such as Trevor Hohns, Martin Kemp, Trevor Barsby and the list goes on. It is a great cricket club with a great tradition, and I am very honoured to be the patron of that club. They have some plans in there. They now have a junior club with some 120 young people playing junior cricket and they have two or three women's cricket teams. I had the great privilege of attending their annual dinner and presentation night. To all the sporting groups and to all the other groups that I have mentioned, I say that we will work together to improve facilities. In closing, I thank the electors of Sandgate for returning me to the parliament. It is a great honour for me to be able to serve them, and I look forward to doing that over this term. Mr TERRY SULLIVAN (Stafford—ALP) (4.03 p.m.): In rising to speak in the Address in Reply debate, I firstly acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which parliament stands and the owners of the land covered by the Stafford electorate. I stand here proudly as a member of the 50th Parliament and as a member of Peter Beattie's team, and I thank the 25,353 electors who on 17 February delivered a result of 65.5 per cent primary or 72.4 per cent two-party preferred to the Labor Party. I give my commitment that I will continue the work that I have been doing over the past nine years for the voters of the area that I represent, and I thank them for their confidence in the Labor team. Labor won every booth in that seat. In the surrounding areas I am very proud to have as my neighbour on the north the Labor member for Aspley, Bonny Barry, and to the east, the Labor member for Clayfield, Liddy Clark. The north side of Brisbane is now coloured in Labor colours totally. As honourable members would be aware, the seat of Stafford is a re-created seat made up of the old Kedron and Chermside seats. I thank Paul Braddy for his contribution to the parliament and to the people of the area over a number of years. However, I am sad to have lost some of the areas, particularly Wavell Heights and the area around the Craigslea schools. I thank the people and the organisations from those areas for their confidence, trust and friendship over the past nine years. I am proud, though, to be representing people in the new areas of Stafford, Kedron, Gordon Park, Lutwyche and Albion, and I give my assurance to the people in those areas that I will be part of their community life and that my office will be open to them. I am pleased to say that a large number of community groups and individuals from those suburbs have already been making my electorate office their home in terms of photocopying for community groups or access to information. I hope that that trend will continue. I thank my campaign committee under the chairmanship of Stirling Hinchliffe, the ALP branch workers and my family and friends who helped me get to this position. To Trish and the 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 697 kids, I say thank you. We took a large number of photos on election day and I am very proud of one particular photo. One of them depicts two young men. One of them is the son of the former member for Stafford, Justin Murphy, the son of Denis, and my son James, the son of the current member. Both of them are fine young men and both of them are committed to the Labor cause. I hope that I can give Stafford a fraction of the proud service that Denis gave to Queensland. I am also very pleased in my role as Government Whip to have had significant contact with the new members of parliament. It is an extremely talented group that has joined us. I know the Labor people most closely, of course, but I am certain that some of the new members from the other side will also bring specific skills and talents here. Speaking from the government point of view, we have an extremely talented group of people. All I can say to the front bench is watch out, because there is a huge amount of talent on the back bench. Someone commented the other day that if the community cabinet fell into a hole we could form two new cabinets of great ability immediately. That is not a vote of no confidence in our front bench; that is a vote of confidence in the front bench because they showed leadership to everybody in the old parliament, they have given assistance and leadership to the candidates and they have encouraged the talent inherent in our candidates. I now wish to move to certain aspects of the electorate. The Prince Charles Hospital is a significant health facility in Queensland. As the major cardiothoracic facility for the north-east of Australia and the south-west Pacific, the Prince Charles Hospital has a leading role in research and treatment of cardiothoracic illnesses. I spoke recently about the co-location with the Holy Spirit Northside Hospital and I will simply say that the co-location will bring a great result for both public and private patients in the northern suburbs of Brisbane. Tomorrow morning the Health Minister, Wendy Edmond, will be opening the new community cardiac rehabilitation centre at the Chermside Community Health Centre. I will be proud to be part of that ceremony and see yet another significant health service delivered to the hundreds of thousands of residents in the northern suburbs of Brisbane. Mr Neil Roberts: You do well for your electorate. Mr TERRY SULLIVAN: I thank the member for Nudgee. The new laundry at the Prince Charles Hospital is providing very good service for the major hospitals. I congratulate those who brought the laundry in on time and on budget. However, there are a few problems with how the noise impacts on local residents. I encourage those responsible to continue the good efforts they have already made to ensure that the good neighbour policy, which has been part of Queensland Health, will continue in this regard. I thank the cabinet, particularly the Health Minister and the Treasurer, for the provision of the new multimillion-dollar MRI facility which will be established at the hospital in the coming year. This facility will be one of the few in Australia and will enable the public health system in Queensland to provide a leading service to cardiothoracic patients. The palliative care unit at the Prince Charles Hospital is providing a tremendous service in its new buildings. It has received an extra $500,000 to cater for demand because it is doing such a good job. The schools in my electorate play a significant role in terms of interaction with my office. I thank the principals, P&C associations and P&F associations for their ongoing friendship and confidence. Nevertheless, a significant problem has arisen at the Stafford State School because the planning requirements of years ago were not as stringent as they are today. The location of a dental clinic within school grounds and without segregated access was an accepted feature some decades ago. These days, as people travel to that clinic by car and with the demands of traffic growth on Stafford and Webster Roads, the situation that currently exists is intolerable. I encourage both the Education Department and the Health Department to come speedily to an acceptable solution to this problem. We cannot have the situation of strangers roaming through the school and cars being driven near playground areas as people access a dental facility simply because planning of years ago was not as good as it could have been. I thank the Minister for Education and her department for the resolution of the problem at the Stafford Heights State Preschool. We know that there are difficulties with enrolments in the preschool area because groups of between 16 and 25 students are needed in order to form the unit. I thank the district office of Education Queensland at Stafford for its excellent work in bringing a good result to this matter. I also thank the minister and her officers for a very sensible resolution to the problem of the AO3 registrar at Somerset Hills State School. For years Joan Morely has been a trusted, well-loved and active member of that school community. Because of that technical hitch and an oversight that occurred some years ago, Joan was put in an invidious 698 Address in Reply 3 May 2001 position, as was the school, with respect to her employment. The minister resolved that problem in a very sensible, compassionate and logical manner, and I thank her and her department for doing so. It is good to see that the Kedron State High School features in the overseas information kit promoting Queensland's excellent education system. This state has previously had, and still has, an excellent approach to multiculturalism. The member for Sandgate played a leading role when he was parliamentary secretary in that regard. I thank the Premier for his lead in that area. Kedron State High School is a smallish school but has a significant effect beyond its locality. The Wavell State High School redevelopment will start very soon. Again, that is a multimillion- dollar redevelopment of a 50 year old school. It has a large student population, with over 1,000 students. John O'Connor and his staff have done tremendous work in the planning. I know that there will be disruption while the redevelopment occurs, but the finished product will create a much better environment of learning for the students. I also congratulate Tom Lee, a Wavell student, who recently received a minister's award for information technology and communication. It is great to see one of the local students recognised in that way. The Wavell Heights Kindergarten, which received a grant for the upgrade of the kitchen and art area, has been a great kindy in the area. It has an active parent group, whose detailed planning helped them achieve this excellent outcome. While the state government has major responsibilities for state education and the state education system, it does have some responsibility for non-state schools. In that regard, a bulk grant is given for capital works. Two of the schools in the Stafford area, Queen of Apostles and St Anthony's Kedron— Mr Nuttall: A good school, that. Mr TERRY SULLIVAN: Those schools received over $400,000 and $300,000 respectively for refurbishments. I take the minister's interjection in relation to one of those schools. I believe there is a particular teacher at that school in whom he has some interest. Mr Nuttall: My wife. Mr TERRY SULLIVAN: The minister's wife. I thought he had a soft spot for that school. I guess I have a soft spot for the Mount Alvernia and Padua schools where my daughter went and where two of my sons currently attend, one of whom is school captain this year. He is doing well as school captain and he is doing well in the First XV. I think there are some studies in there somewhere, too. His social life is really good. Mrs Sheldon: Are you bragging? Mr TERRY SULLIVAN: No, it is not bragging. It is just dad being dad. The Franciscan spirit at Padua and Mount Alvernia is something which I admire. There is a gentleness in their approach to their students and their life. Vicki Ward at Mount Alvernia and Bob Out at Padua are doing an excellent job. I encourage both of those principals to have closer working relationships with the other school. There is a lot of literature which says that single sex education is better for students in the classroom and in certain behavioural modes, but coeducation can be better for the socialisation of teenagers. They have the best of both worlds where the basis of their education is in single sex classrooms, but with closer cooperation the socialisation aspect can be even more enhanced. A number of significant community services are provided through churches in each member's electorate. One does not have to have faith in a particular religion or denomination to appreciate the work that they do. I give special mention to the Uniting Church in the Chermside-Kedron area. Over the past five years under the leadership of Reverend Cec Schloss, it has come together in a significant major redevelopment on the corner of Gympie and Rode Roads at Chermside. I am sure that at some stage most members of this House will drive up highway 1, and when they go through the Chermside area they will see that magnificent building on the corner which is under construction. It is going to be a landmark for that area. I leant strong support to that redevelopment, not for theological reasons but because of the work the church does in the community. I also thank a former Education Minister, Bob Quinn, for his work in assisting the church to purchase the site when the old Chermside State School closed. Bob played a very impartial and nonpartisan role. I think he made excellent decisions which led to the Treasury receiving some return. As well, the Department of Housing purchased a portion of the land and the community got another portion of the land, which was purchased by the church. The church will be a focal 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 699 point for community service. I wish to thank the former Education Minister for what he did in that regard. The Mercy Centre at Wooloowin faces particular challenges. For years the nuns at the Mercy Centre have taken in people whom others in society did not wish to care for. It was initially a home for unmarried mothers in an era where girls who became pregnant were thrown out of households and never spoken to again. The Mercy Centre took in those young women, cared for them and their babies. The nuns have progressively moved into looking after people who have an intellectual and physical disability. My congratulations go to Sister Margaret Evans and her staff for the work they do. I know they face significant challenges and Sister Margaret will be meeting with me in the coming days to discuss some of the problems they face. While I am pleased to have received funding for a whole range of things in my electorate, I really believe that funding for disability services has to be a very high priority in any budget. While it can be inconvenient for us to be caught in traffic, we can survive. While it may be better to have smaller class sizes, our kids can learn. But while families are not receiving sufficient assistance to help with their disabled family members, their families are not surviving. We have to do a lot more in that regard. I am not blaming particular ministers or governments. What I think we on both sides of this House need to do is to put disability services higher on the agenda. If we are not speaking about it, asking questions about it and putting it on the political agenda and if the political journalists in this state are not writing major stories about disability services and the need for improvements, it will remain a low priority. But while we keep talking about hospital waiting lists and traffic jams, obviously more and more money will be put into those areas to oil the political squeaky wheel. I thank Peter Beattie for the huge boost he gave to the disability services area in previous budgets. Under the leadership of the Premier, the current minister will continue to provide those extra services, just as the previous minister did. I appreciate the fact that in this Parliament and in the previous Parliament we have been fortunate to have a specific minister for disability services. The area is not just tucked away in one part of a large department. Ms Spence: And a whole department. Mr TERRY SULLIVAN: My assumption is that by having a minister for that area there is a department that has a specific focus on disability services, not just one division of a large department. As a member of the minister's committee I promise to give the minister as much support as I can to highlight that area, which is in so much need. I thank the Queensland Police Service for the operation of the new police beat shopfront at the Westfield Chermside shopping centre, which has taken four to five years to redevelop. Right from the word go, under the planning from the Brisbane City Council, in particular Councillor Terry Hampson, the local community expressed its desire to have a police shopfront, and that has now been opened. I am also encouraged by the Minister for Police, who has indicated that there may be a positive response to the requests made over previous years to the former minister and to this minister for a greater police presence in the Stafford area. I look forward to the budget announcements and hope that something positive will occur in our area as a result of some years of lobbying. I thank sporting groups, particularly the Kedron-Wavell Services Club—president Fraser Allom, vice president Paul O'Brien and secretary-manager Ken Mogg, together with Wayne Sills from Shaw Sportz—for the tremendous work they do both at the Shaw Road complex and at the Hamilton Road site. Upon completion, the $3 million hockey complex will be a great asset to children and adults on Brisbane's north side. Finally, I wish to comment on the northern busway plan. I am a very strong supporter of public transport. I refer to the money that the federal government did not put into public transport. I hope that the Premier and Treasurer will put that into the northern busway. The northern busway will not be as easy to deliver as was the southern busway, because there will have to be more resumptions or tunnelling. Completing the project will be socially more difficult, but without this link we will not service the public transport needs of the people of north Brisbane. I thank the voters of the Stafford electorate for their confidence in me and I give them my assurance that I will continue to serve them to the best of my ability. Mrs SHELDON (Caloundra—Lib) (4.23 p.m.): I thank the constituents of Caloundra for again returning me to this parliament. It is an honour to be in a place such as this to represent them and put forward the issues of genuine concern to them. This is my fifth term in parliament. It says 700 Address in Reply 3 May 2001 something about how quickly we are having elections and about how we do not really serve three years each term when I note that I have faced five elections and will have been here only 11 years at the end of July. I think people are getting very tired of continual elections and the continual expense associated with them. Mr Nuttall: You support a four-year term? Mrs SHELDON: Yes, I have always supported a four-year term. But I think the member will find that I support a fixed term—and a very full fixed term. I will be interested to see whether this government is prepared to accept that. Governments tend to like flexibility. The Caloundra electorate is in a very fast-growing area. The Sunshine Coast is one of the fastest-growing areas in our state and nation. Honourable members can understand why when they visit it. It is a very beautiful area, stretching literally from the beaches to the mountains. It has surf, still water, lovely hinterland and a wonderful climate with clean air and water. Those of us who live there are determined to make sure that it stays that way. We want development and we encourage sustainable development, because through that we get jobs. People constantly want to live in the area, but we have to be very careful in our planning processes that we do not destroy the very thing that people want to live there for. More and more in our community we want a good environment for our children, both for their health and our own, and we want to retain the natural beauty of the area. The electorate of Caloundra has been downsized twice now since I became its representative, when I was first elected as the member for Landsborough. My seat is one with an interesting history. Mr Nicklin first held the seat, and he did so as Premier. He was followed by Mike Ahern, who was also a Premier of this state. He was followed by me, a former Deputy Premier and Treasurer of this state. It is a very special seat and one of which I am extremely proud. Given its growing population, the demography of my electorate has changed considerably. Initially my electorate went right up to Mooloolaba, took in all of the railway towns and went halfway up to Maleny. It now goes from Wurley Drive in Wurtulla down to Coochin Creek in the south. That boundary has not changed. However, the other boundary is now the Bruce Highway. It is now considerably smaller in area but certainly not smaller in its population base. As a growing community we have many needs. These do need to be resourced. I remind the Premier that on the night of the election he said that he would be fair to all Queenslanders. The needs of Caloundra—I certainly intended to see them met had the coalition been returned to government—are not just needs that I think have to be met; they are needs that the people of the area know have to be met. We are not talking about the icing on the cake but about the fundamental requirements. One need in particular is the need to equip and staff our newly redeveloped hospital. In government the coalition supplied $14.8 million to redevelop the Caloundra Hospital, and that was recently opened by the Premier. The hospital took a long time to be redeveloped—I think the capital money was shifted around a little—but we finally got it, five years after it had been funded. However, it is of great concern to me and to my constituents that this hospital is not going to be funded by this current government either for the equipment or for the personnel it needs. The answer that has been given is, 'In the fullness of time and when needs arise the funding will be put in.' The needs exist now. It was not built as a hospital for the future. No government spends that sort of capital money on that basis. That is a nonsense. It was built because there was a desperate need. Our base hospital, which is Nambour, is very overcrowded. People cannot get in and the waiting lists are huge. The idea was to develop further the satellite hospitals of Caloundra and Noosa. That hospital was built. We progressed that so that it would take some of the burden off the Nambour Hospital and provide services. While we had no intention of duplicating a lot of the major services at Nambour, the idea was to provide services so that people would not have to travel from Caloundra to Nambour, because public transport is not good. However, unfortunately, although we have accommodation for a 16-bed rehabilitation unit and a 12-bed day surgery unit, a new theatre has been built and there are increased palliative care beds, I am really greatly concerned that there is no money to staff it. It is very much a Yes, Minister hospital. It sits there with no staff and equipment, with patients calling out for services and with needs not being met. I say to the Premier and to the Minister for Health: this is about 3 May 2001 Address in Reply 701 meeting a need based on fairness and equity. It is not a luxury; it is vital. It is needed now, not at some time in the future. Palliative care must be fully funded—not only in my electorate but, of course, elsewhere throughout the state. It is a very great health initiative to have people working in the palliative care area, quite often allowing those with terminal illnesses to die in their homes with their families and loved ones around them. No-one, I am sure, wants to die in a hospital; but to be able to die with their families around them and to know that they have that medical support and community support is a very great incentive to people, and I believe that it shows the humanity of our community. We in the Caloundra area certainly need more funding for that type of service. I am sure that high on anyone's list of importance are health needs and educational needs. The demography of the changing population of Caloundra and the increased population mean that more and more retirees and more and more young families are coming to the electorate. So there is a great need at both ends of the spectrum. Both, of course, require health services, but educational services are vital, too. My electorate has a very good high school in the Caloundra High School. The Kawana High School is now just outside my electorate. Those schools provide services for many of the children who live in the Caloundra electorate, and to supplement this we really do need a TAFE college. The Caloundra High School in particular is really pushing the Pathways program, which is a very good program whereby students who do not necessarily want to follow into academia at a university level but do wish to be trained in a good TAFE course can start in their high school and complete their TAFE course when they leave. To do this, we need a TAFE college, but we do not have one. On a fairness and equity basis, a TAFE college is needed in my electorate; so I ask the minister to consider that need. Land opposite the Caloundra High School can be obtained, and the school is very keen to work in together in amalgamating such a campus and being able to use those facilities to allow young people to continue their education in the area and to obtain jobs at the end of it; because surely that is what we are really all after: keeping families together and getting jobs for our young people. We should also supply the facilities necessary to train older people who have been made redundant, those who have had to change jobs, or those who need to be reskilled and retrained. Similarly, they need to be accommodated, and they can be accommodated now with more funding going into TAFE. I know that the money going into the TAFE and training sector through ANTA and the federal government is considerable, and some of it certainly needs to be channelled into providing a TAFE college in Caloundra. I have mentioned the very good high schools in my electorate. The Caloundra High School is one of the biggest high schools in our area, with about 1,600 pupils. There was, I think, an allocation of money by the former minister, Mr Wells—and I thank him for that—to refurbish the Caloundra High School, because it is an old school. All members would know that the newer schools in their electorates have been getting all the facilities and the older ones have not. So it is vital to try to keep those schools upgraded as much as possible so that all students have access to similar educational facilities. There are a number of primary schools in my electorate—about eight—and they are growing and bursting at the seams. We do need to upgrade them and provide the services required. We did acquire very recently—and I thank the former Minister for Education for this, as well—a special service at the Golden Beach State School, where a special needs unit is currently being built. The school had something like 30 special needs students who were crowded into one room, which was part of the library; hence, the library facilities were not being used. Anyone who has seen children with special needs would know that they need space, they need a certain number of teachers per number of students, and they need an environment in which they can learn. That school had none of that. So that special needs unit will be very important in that area. Speaking of children with special needs—it is vital that the Currimundi Special School remains open. Documents supplied by the Education Department at the end of last year stated that the Currimundi Special School could be closed and the land sold. It is right on the seafront in the Dicky Beach/Moffat Beach area. Granted, it is very valuable land; but surely our children with special needs should have those sorts of facilities, rather than selling the land to developers to build units or whatever. The former coalition government put more funds into upgrading that school. It is a good school, but it is full and bursting at the seams. It needs to be expanded, not contracted. Those students cannot be integrated into mainstream education. They are students with special 702 Address in Reply 3 May 2001 requirements. They need therapists and the other special requirements that come with a dedicated school. So I will certainly be contacting the current Minister for Education and getting her assurances that nothing will happen to that school, that it will stay where it is, and that it will be expanded, because there is a need for it. Many of the families of those students are on low incomes, and they are trying to supply the very best of services to their children, who desperately require that school to stay open. It is important that we, as a state, increase our funding to primary schools. Primary school principals have been to see me about this issue, and I support them. Former coalition minister Quinn increased funding to primary schools. He had been a primary schoolteacher, and he realised the need for increased funding to primary schools. Unfortunately, that funding has now dried up and is no longer forthcoming from the state government; but it is still needed. Primary schools are the crucible in which we teach our children, and it is vital that they have the necessary services, the teachers, the class sizes and the funding for their buildings. I know that there is a lot of competition for the education dollar, but primary schools have to get their fair share, and currently they are not. The member for Stafford thanked the minister for his police beat. You are lucky, Terry. I still do not have mine. Mr Terry Sullivan: After five years. Mrs SHELDON: This has been on the list for 10 years. I put the funding in there. I got guarantees from the council that it would supply the accommodation free of charge, we would provide the resources, as in the required police numbers, and the police beat would be set up. But, of course, when we lost government that was stripped out of my electorate and, no doubt, went into the electorate of the member for Stafford. So we still do not have a police beat. As a matter of equity, we need it. I also heard the member for Stafford say that he was going to get increased police numbers. We certainly need increased police numbers in my electorate. I do hope that this Labor government is not pork-barrelling its own electorates. Mr TERRY SULLIVAN: I rise to a point of order. I said that I hoped that we would get more police in the area. I do not know. I am hoping that my representation may result in some more. Mrs SHELDON: I live in hope, too, and so do my constituents. I hope their needs are going to be finally met. We do need more police. Crime is an issue on the Sunshine Coast. There are many young people there, as well as an element that a transient population attracts. People come to the Sunshine Coast, they look at the sort of environment they can live in, and they see that there may be a few easy dollars to be earned. They look at a population which has a lot of tourists, who are often easy targets for criminals. Our police are really stretched to the limit. In my own electorate of Caloundra, we need two water police and we need a couple of jet skis—or at least one—for the police to use in Pumicestone Passage, because there is a great need there. We need to police jet skiers. Finally, on 1 January, the regulations to control jet skis were increased. There are many residents whose lifestyle is being totally destroyed by the noise value of many of the hoons who drive those things. Also, the still water areas in Pumicestone Passage attract many families, tourists and daytrippers from Brisbane who picnic in the park and whose little kids swim in Pumicestone Passage. All of a sudden, a jet ski can roar past them within a couple of feet. Children have been injured, and that cannot be allowed to continue. But there is no point in having regulations if we cannot police them. So we need increased numbers of water police to do that. The current water police base is at Mooloolaba, but there is space at the Caloundra Police Station to accommodate an extra two police. A jet ski does not take up much space, and there is room for it there. The police would be very happy to accommodate that and to work in with the water police. Unfortunately, as yet, that has not been funded. The member for Bulimba may well laugh, because no doubt his electorate is going to get our police funding. I hope we see some equity in the resources and the numbers given to the Police Service in the Caloundra electorate. Due to the youth population in Caloundra we have a growing need for youth facilities—for halfway houses—and for youth workers. We have some excellent youth workers. I would like to congratulate Tony Bennett, who works so hard with our young people. Drug abuse is a growing problem. We need a drug court on the Sunshine Coast and we need more rehabilitation dollars. There is no point in having courts and there is no point in having punitive measures if the government is not providing education facilities and support for the 3 May 2001 Crimes at Sea Bill 703 young drug addicts and their families. We need to try to prevent the occurrence of drug addiction because there is no doubt that it is destroying a large section of our youth. Caloundra has a very large number of community support groups. I would like to mention particularly Meals on Wheels and its head, Nan Cullimore, who for many, many years has worked selflessly. Recently she was awarded an Australia Day award and I congratulate her on that. For a community volunteer group to do what they do in our community—the increased services required by more older people and shut-ins—we can only say thank you very much to the large number of volunteers in our community service sector. Another great need in my area is transport and increased road funding. When the opposition was in government it upgraded half of the Caloundra road to four lanes. That other half desperately needs to be upgraded, because you come off the four-lane Bruce Highway on to two lanes and then back on to four. It is very dangerous. There is a major racecourse along that two- lane road and that creates hassles due to horse floats et cetera trying to get in and out of the racecourse. The upgrading of that section of road would cost approximately $6 million. That funding could and should be allocated. We had made provision for that. We had allocated $800,000 for planning and then planned to increase that funding. Unfortunately, that funding has disappeared into the never-never. I ask the minister to look seriously at the safety needs of that area. The Kawana arterial road running opposite Corbould Park and up the back into Kawana also needs to be built. The time is coming when all those developments will come on line. More and more traffic is hitting the Nicklin Way. I know a number of the members opposite holiday up there. Travelling along the Nicklin Way from Caloundra to Mooloolaba is becoming a nightmare. We need that Kawana arterial road constructed to take the pressure off Nicklin Way. I think it is essential that that happens very shortly. At this point I would like to congratulate John Howard for putting that $40 million into the improvement of the Bruce Highway where it is joined by the Gateway Motorway— Government members interjected. Mrs SHELDON: It was never in busways. That federal funding was going into a light rail project. We had the agreement, we had it signed and the state government reneged on it, so it has no claim to that money whatsoever. This morning I travelled to Brisbane from a function I attended in my electorate last night. When I was going up last night after parliament, the road at that junction was chock-a-block; cars cannot move off the Gateway Motorway to get on to the Bruce Highway. It does not impact only on the people who live on the Sunshine Coast, it impacts on all the tourists who travel up the coast, including all of those opposite. Everybody sits in traffic jams. Mr Terry Sullivan: He took it out of the Federation Fund. Mrs SHELDON: We funded the highway to the Gold Coast—nearly a billion dollars went into the Pacific Motorway. It is now time the Sunshine Coast got its fair share and I say to John Howard: thank you for that $40 million. We need more; we need a decent amount of money from this state government as well. The Sunshine Coast has been ignored. Time expired. Motion—That the Address in Reply be adopted—agreed to. Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER (Ms Phillips): Honourable members, the Address in Reply will be presented to His Excellency the Governor at Government House at a time and date to be advised.

CRIMES AT SEA BILL Second Reading Resumed from 3 April (see p. 189). Mr Nuttall: You need a patch over your eye to speak on this one! Mr SPRINGBORG (Southern Downs—NPA) (4.44 p.m.): We have just had a bit of mirth across the chamber about what this bill really means. I must say to the Honourable Minister for Industrial Relations that he is not the first person who has indicated that. Over the past few days I have had a number of people say to me that you have to have a patch over your eye, a parrot on your shoulder, a cutlass, one leg and a pirate ship to speak to this bill. 704 Crimes at Sea Bill 3 May 2001

It is not really like that at all. The opposition supports this bill. In actual fact, Queensland will be the last state to enact complementary legislation to a scheme which has been worked out by the state and Commonwealth Attorneys-General. Before I sit down I would like to read some of the history to this bill because it is very interesting. I will quote from page 1 of the briefing paper which was prepared by the Parliamentary Library, which states— Under English law (the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 (Imp)), a ship had British nationality if it was owned solely by British subjects. Furthermore, according to English law (the British Nationality Act 1948 (UK)), Australians citizens were deemed to be British subjects. The result was that, for the purposes of English Admiralty jurisdiction, the criminal law that applied on all Australian owned ships on the high seas was English law. Until 1979, the powers of Australian courts to punish offences committed on board ships on the high seas were, as a result of Imperial legislation, the same as those of English courts exercising Admiralty jurisdiction so that, for the purpose of Australian law, the criminal law generally applying on board all Australian-owned ships on the high seas was English law. Of course, this created an interesting situation for Australian courts trying these matters. In 1976 in Western Australia a case was heard regarding the alleged theft of crayfish that brought this to a head and took it all the way to the Privy Council. That was quoted as Oteri and Oteri v. The Queen. The Privy Council in its findings indicated that it was somewhat that, to all intents and purposes, the Australian courts were not given absolute jurisdiction in determining these matters. A number of amendments were made to legislation around Australia to try to fix this problem. At that time the Queensland government passed legislation, I think in 1976, to try to address this issue. Various states attempted to bring in legislation that removed any doubt whatsoever about the application of the criminal law of their state to crimes which occurred on the seas, but there was a degree of inconsistency in the application of those laws around Australia. In Queensland there seemed to be little doubt that the criminal law of this state operates for 200 nautical miles, which is roughly 320 kilometres. Under this legislation there is an inner boundary, which applies the baseline of 12 nautical miles, and then there is the outer boundary beyond that which is from 12 nautical miles to 200 nautical miles. The criminal law of Queensland applies by force of Commonwealth law. This legislation removes any doubt over jurisdictional disputes between the states. For example, Victorian authorities might investigate offences that have breached the New South Wales law. This bill sets out a regime whereby there is no inconsistency and there are no grey areas for any of the states and the Northern Territory—because it is the only territory that has a coastal maritime border—with regard to the investigation of offences that have occurred there and the responsibilities of the people doing the investigating. It also relates to the trying of those particular matters in courts. I believe that this is important legislation. Bills continually come to this parliament seeking to bring national regimes into effect in Queensland. In most cases, it is extremely important to ensure that we have a consistent approach around this country. At the end of the day, whilst we have state borders, our population moves around a lot. We do not want inconsistencies between the states and the territories as they seek to prosecute or investigate particular matters. This bill seeks to resolve that. As I indicated, Queensland will be the last state to bring in the legislation necessary to give effect to this national regime. I think that it will be a good moment when the bill finally passes through the parliament. As I indicated, the opposition has no hesitation in supporting the bill before the House. Hon. R. J. WELFORD (Everton—ALP) (Attorney-General and Minister for Justice) (4.50 p.m.), in reply: It is always a pleasure to work with my colleagues on the opposition side to pass legislation promptly and for the good peace, welfare and good government of the people of Queensland. I am sure all members of the backbench will be greatly appreciative of the contribution from the Springborg school of law again today. We look forward to many more positive contributions in a similar vein by the honourable member in the years ahead. There is nothing more that I need to add to what the member has said in response on behalf of the opposition and in addition to what I had mentioned in my second reading speech. I, too, commend the bill to the House. Motion agreed to. 3 May 2001 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 705

Committee Clauses 1 to 10, as read, agreed to. Schedule, as read, agreed to. Preamble, as read, agreed to. Bill reported, without amendment.

Third Reading Bill, on motion of Mr Welford, by leave, read a third time.

TOBACCO AND OTHER SMOKING PRODUCTS (PREVENTION OF SUPPLY TO CHILDREN) AMENDMENT BILL Second Reading Resumed from 3 April (see p. 187). Miss SIMPSON (Maroochydore—NPA) (4.54 p.m.): I rise to support this legislation, which is debated the day after an historic court decision in New South Wales where a former barmaid successfully sued her employer for suffering the effects of passive smoking. The ramifications of this decision go far beyond the detail of this amending bill that we are considering today, because this bill does not apply restrictions to smoking indoors at bars in licensed premises. It provides a range of restrictions in regard to banning smoking indoors in certain settings. In many ways, the significance of this court case overtakes some of the provisions of this legislation in regard to indoor smoking bans. However, it highlights my view that further bans on smoking in certain places will come about not only through government-enacted statute but also through civil litigation and consumer demand. I envisage that yesterday's court ruling will actually force many premises to consider their legal liability in regard to allowing smoking indoors in areas not covered by this bill and that the insurance industry will also have a role to play in advising their customers as to the circumstances under which they will cover their clients. In practice, consumers have already driven many changes, and we see many responsible shopping areas and theatres not allowing smoking inside their premises. In revising statute law, it is important to note that those new laws apply equally to businesses. So they are on the same footing. That appears to have been achieved in regard to the clubs, pubs and restaurant industry. Certainly to this point, that is the feedback I have received from the industry, which is important given some interstate problems with the implementation of their laws. It is the role of the government to act in the public good and to educate the public on the considerable dangers of smoking, the dangers of passive smoking and particularly to discourage juvenile uptake of smoking through strict legislative prohibitions and education. I wish to place on the record the National Party's strong commitment to reducing the widespread impact of tobacco- related illnesses and particularly the early uptake of smoking by young Queenslanders. In 1997, the coalition introduced into parliament legislation relating to smoking, which was since 1905 the first significant update of the previous legislation that was known as the Juvenile Smoking Suppression Act. In April 1999, I raised the issue of the dangers posed to people using herbal cigarettes. A new product called Ecstasy came onto the market. That highlighted particularly how people were trying to target people—once again, mainly juveniles—by calling these herbal cigarettes the name of an illicit drug and, obviously, trying to get a fair bit of publicity over it. I was pleased to see the Health Minister, at the end of that year, move to enact a ban on those types of smoking products as well, because these types of smoking products, in addition to tobacco, are harmful to people's health. It is interesting to note that a lot of people do not realise just how carcinogenic other smoking products, in addition to tobacco, are—and that includes marijuana. In fact, when people take up smoking, regardless of whether it is tobacco or not, the adverse impacts on people's health are quite considerable. We know that respiratory tract infections and asthma are not uncommon in those people. Obviously, the inhalation of carbon monoxide has other negative impacts. So I was pleased that, after I raised that issue, later in that year the Health Minister moved to amend that legislation so those products were brought within the scope of this legislation and also banned from sale to juveniles. 706 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 3 May 2001

The opposition thoroughly supports the general thrust of this legislation now that it has been tabled in the House, although three areas, which I will be raising, are of concern. Of course, the primary one is the issue of education and health promotion. There is also the issue of enforcement for retailers or other individuals who are doing the wrong thing—in other words, the issue of implementation of this legislation, the issue of the policing of the penalties that are in the existing act and those that are being enhanced through this amending legislation. I also have some questions about the choice of exemptions in this amending bill. Currently, the state government receives about $521 million in tobacco taxes and spends very little of this on prevention. In Queensland, it is estimated that the state spends an appallingly low 30c per person on anti-smoking measures, which is just half the national average expenditure. I ask members to consider that in light of the fact that, in some parts of America, governments spend about $6 per person on prevention. The Heart Foundation has suggested that to have any real impact on reducing smoking uptake, particularly among teens, spending would need to be increased to about $12 million in Queensland. It is vital that we adopt more effective preventive campaigns and other education measures designed to discourage or at least delay the uptake of smoking. Research shows that to be effective there needs to be continuous advertising rather than one-off advertising campaigns. The urgent need for increased education efforts cannot be overstated. The Queensland Cancer Fund study estimates that 65,000 teenagers now smoke. This represents an increase of about 10,000 in three years. That increase related specifically to students in years 11 and 12 where the prevalence of smoking exceeds that of the adult population. In order for education and promotion campaigns to be effective, they need to work in tandem with a support structure of legislation that forces cigarette retailers to do the right thing. While this bill legislates to increase maximum penalties for offences, it is a paper-only entry. The police numbers and resources that are needed to implement it must be provided. This government will make statements about increasing the penalties for selling a smoking product to a child from $975 to $5,250. As I have said, we support those provisions and we welcome them. However, the real test of the effectiveness of the legislation will be in how resources are allocated to educate the retailers and how the responsible authorised officers will be resourced so that they can ensure that the laws are implemented. Only one conviction has been recorded against a vendor for selling cigarettes to juveniles in Queensland. I understand that that happened towards the end of last year. The issue of education and health promotion is vitally important. California has proved how effective laws can be when money is spent on educating young people about the dangers of smoking. In our election campaign, the coalition announced that we would significantly increase funding for promotion campaigns to target juvenile smoking and to discourage it. The real test of the effectiveness of the legislation will be whether it will catch those who are preying upon young children who are impressionable and want to look trendy. They do not realise that sometimes that can have a fatal cost. It can come at a heartbreaking cost for young women, who may not realise that if they get hooked on the habit it can affect their fertility and their ability to have children. If a woman smokes at the time that she is carrying a child, obviously the birth weight and consequent health of the child is affected. Passive smoking has also been documented as having quite a significant detrimental impact upon the development and growth of children who live in the homes of smokers. In addition to placing restrictions upon the advertising of tobacco and other smoking products, the banning of smoking in enclosed places is a primary thrust of the legislation. The legislation does not ban smoking in all public places or in all areas where food is served, as one can still be served food outdoors and smoke. It does not ban smoking in all enclosed areas because one can smoke at the bar of a licensed premises and high rollers can smoke in premium gaming rooms as defined under the new bill. What restrictions does the bill apply to smoking? Essentially, the bill bans smoking indoors with certain exemptions. One can smoke in a multi-unit residential dwelling, one's own home or a nursing home, but not in a common area. One cannot smoke in a home business where persons who do not reside at the premises are present in that part of the premises. Premium gaming rooms are exempted. Vehicles are exempted. A secure facility under the Corrective Services Act 2000 is exempted and licensed premises are exempted except where there are gaming tables and dining areas. In other words, one can smoke in a licensed premises as long as one is not at 3 May 2001 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 707 a gaming table or in a dining area. The legislation provides quite a clear definition of a dining area. It also provides for the enforcement of a penalty if the owner of the premises does not provide very clear signs to mark the dining area. That raises the interesting irony that premium gaming rooms have been excluded from the smoking bans. In other words, they are considered not equal to all other gaming areas. I ask the minister to explain why premium gaming rooms have been excluded from the ban. The high rollers have been excluded. I presume that workers are still— Mrs Edmond: They are the same thing. They just have different names in different places. Miss SIMPSON: So the high rollers— Mrs Edmond: Some casinos call them premium rooms, some call them high roller rooms. Miss SIMPSON: That was also my understanding, but the legislation allows someone to smoke in a premium gaming room which, in some places, is called a high roller room. Mrs Edmond: And at the machines and everywhere else, except at the gaming tables and in the restaurants. Miss SIMPSON: Right. There are exemptions where people are still allowed to smoke indoors. According to the legislation, if people gather in a hall or a shed that is not a residential property or a licensed premises, and they have a poker game and are smoking, that would be illegal under the act. However, a premium gaming room or high roller room would be exempt. Mrs Edmond: It's a licensing issue and that means that it is age restricted. You can't get in there unless you are over 18. If you look at this, what we have really focused on is anywhere where under 18s can access. Miss SIMPSON: Right, but the anomaly that I am referring to is a point of interest. People can smoke in premium gaming areas which have an exemption, but if they smoke during a poker game in the back shed, which is not a licensed premises, they would in fact be in breach of the act. In summary, the bill beefs up penalty provisions relating to the sale of tobacco to children and it tightens provisions in relation to advertising. However, the bill has not come before the Scrutiny of Legislation Committee, which was only constituted officially yesterday. That is unfortunate, because I would be interested in seeing its legal advice in regard to some of the provisions of the bill, particularly as they relate to the application of fundamental legislative principles. As has been mentioned, there is a mixture of objectives in the bill. Before the election and before any draft legislation was presented for public consultation, I was asked for a comment about bans on smoking in public places. I expressed the view that it was impractical to ban smoking in all public places, as I was not asked to comment about enclosed public places where food was served. It seems that the Premier agrees that it is not practical to ban smoking in all public areas. In a press release of 2 April 2001, Premier Peter Beattie stated— We cannot legislate for dining areas which are outside but I would urge all restaurateurs and cafe owners to set aside a nonsmoking area if they have outdoor tables. I agree with that. He said— The legislation will ban smoking in most public places, including restaurants and other public dining areas which are indoors. This legislation is restricted to enclosed public places with a number of very interesting exemptions, as I have already mentioned. For the information of the parliament, I note that in Singapore, an Asian nation that has a very high standard of living and very prescriptive laws, smoking bans are extended into outdoor public areas to include people standing in queues. Throughout the world some rather interesting laws and legislative approaches—sometimes a lot more prescriptive approaches—have been taken to ban smoking in public areas, even outdoor areas. However, this bill does not seek to ban smoking in outdoor areas, which I understand would be impractical. At this stage I wish to acknowledge a very exciting development in the past few weeks. I think it is appropriate that the parliament takes note that the federal government is providing $20 million towards a comprehensive cancer research centre here in Brisbane to help put Brisbane and Queensland on the map in regard to world-class biotechnology research. We already know that a primary risk factor for lung cancer is in fact smoking, that smoking tobacco and other types of non-tobacco products significantly increases people's risk of lung cancer. The 708 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 3 May 2001 irony is that, as people research what causes various types of cancer, in this community and in this day and age a lot of people are aware that there is a significant link between smoking and cancer. That is why, even though the research is there, the education and promotion to highlight that and bring it home to people is so critically important. This comprehensive cancer research centre is something that the coalition in government supported, prior to the Beattie Labor government coming to power. I was pleased to see that that support has continued under the Beattie government as well. About $10 million in state government funds was committed to that project. Mrs Edmond: $20 million. Miss SIMPSON: $20 million. Significant additional funding has come in from private sources. I was delighted, though, to see the federal government putting in the $20 million. I was very disappointed to see the Premier bag the federal government for this money being allocated to anything other than his pet project, which was the busways. Mrs Edmond: interjected. Miss SIMPSON Mr Deputy Speaker, I am not taking interjections. I would ask you to bring the House to order. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Poole): Order! Miss SIMPSON: Research into cancer is so absolutely important that I believe it is appropriate that it is raised during a debate which is about one of the significant causal factors, that is, smoking and the fact that Brisbane is really going to be at the forefront of such research. Some extremely exciting research has already been undertaken by Brisbane-based researchers at the QIMR and also at other facilities. This enhancement of the $20 million from the Centenary of Federation funding should be absolutely welcomed. I know that it was not the Premier's pet project; he wanted it spent on the busways. However, I think it is unfortunate that in the furore this very significant project did not receive the attention that it should have received. I will continue to support this wonderful facility. I think it is going to be more than we expected it to be, given the significant enhancement of funds, and that will also attract funds from other corporate sectors. One of the other issues I wish to raise as it is relevant to the bill is glamorising smoking. The bill tries to address certain aspects of how tobacco products are promoted or advertised. However, there are other issues which I believe that we as a community need to debate and question the government about. Those issues include how we are addressing the fact that the entertainment industry, particularly the movie industry, is one of the most influential areas in terms of glamorising smoking among young people. We see that that industry promotes smoking as being cool, or as a way to cope in times of stress, without countering that with the fact that it kills people. I think that is most unfortunate. The fact is that the commercial placement of objects such as tobacco in movies by tobacco companies does happen. We already see that other non-carcinogenic products are placed through special deals done with movie companies. I understand that it is quite common also for tobacco products in general to be placed by the cigarette industry in order to promote that product and to maintain a market that sees smoking as desirable. However, there is not that counterbalancing argument in a lot of programs presented on television or in the movies about its impact on people's health. Perhaps we should see some of the medical programs showing a few more people dying from lung cancer and why they contracted lung cancer in the first place. There are a number of matters that I wish to raise during the committee stage of the bill, and I hope the minister will be able to address them at that point. Unfortunately, because of the way this bill is drafted, some of the most important elements of the bill—some 10 and a half pages—are all included within one clause, which seems quite extraordinary. This is an interesting issue of drafting. I ask the minister to take note that a number of questions arise within that one clause, despite the fact that it covers 10 and a half pages. Mrs Edmond: Which clause? Miss SIMPSON: It is clause 26. For the benefit of new members and those who read Hansard regularly, I point out that one of the important stages of legislation in the parliament is obviously the committee stage. In many ways, I regard it as the best forum for debate. It deals with individual clauses and allows members to ask questions and supplementary questions of the minister relating to a specific issue, such as the penalty within the clause or whatever, within a defined time frame. I hope that the minister will 3 May 2001 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 709 be able to graciously cover a number of these matters that fall within clause 26, which does cover 10 pages. At this point I will conclude my speech at the second reading stage and continue my remarks later during the committee stage of the debate. I would like to quote a poster I saw in a doctor's surgery recently. A person was asking a wise man the answer to giving up smoking. The wise man's reply was, 'Quit while you're alive.' Ms NELSON-CARR (Mundingburra—ALP) (5.16 p.m.): In rising to support this important legislation, I thought I would concentrate on passive smoking and why we need to act. Passive smoking is the breathing in of other people's tobacco smoke. Sharing the same air as smokers means that nonsmokers are exposed to the poisons contained in tobacco smoke. Tobacco smoke is estimated to contain more than 4,000 chemicals, 43 of which are known carcinogens. Passive smoking is a health hazard and, since the 1970s, scientific evidence has continued to accumulate. Over 600 medical reports have now been published linking exposure to passive smoking to lung cancer and other diseases. There is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke. Any degree of exposure to passive smoking is potentially harmful. If we look at some of the latest in medical findings from journals around the world, we see that these journals do confirm that passive smoking is a mounting risk. One article states— Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke more than doubles the risk of ... cell cancer of the head and neck. The risk, determined in a case-control study of 173 new cases ... supported by compelling biological evidence that tobacco smoke could cause ... cell head and neck cancer. They also reinforced the risks for active smokers who, like passive smokers, inhaled carcinogenic sidestream smoke as well as the mainstream smoke from cigarettes, and were also more likely to socialise with and live with other smokers. The study found a dose-response relationship between exposure levels and the risk of cancer. People who had a genetic sensitivity to mutagens, defined by the susceptibility of their DNA to damage by a panel of mutagenic chemicals, were also at greater risk. Researchers are also finding that greater numbers of infants than expected could have smoking related health problems after a recent pilot study found 47 per cent of children under the age of 12 months were found to be suffering from an environmental tobacco smoke. The article states— The pilot study, carried out last year by the Hunter Area Health Service, at Newcastle in New South Wales, confirmed beliefs that many parents under-reported how often they smoked cigarettes near their children. It also highlighted the need to educate existing and expectant parents on environmental or passive smoking issues as well as the need to personalise the risk, according to the evaluation officer at the Hunter Centre for Health Advancement ... Another article details this true story— A 35-year-old man is admitted into a ... hospital. The doctors rapidly diagnose lung cancer. Sadly, there is little they can do for the patient, he is a terminal case. They ask him whether he is a smoker and, much to their surprise, he answers 'no'. They ask him what his job is and the young man replies that he has always worked as a barman in a pub. Everything seems to suggest that it was passive smoking at his workplace which caused the disease. In 1997, Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council reviewed scientific evidence concerning the possible health effects of exposure to passive smoking and concluded conservatively that it does cause lung cancer in adults, it causes lower respiratory illness in children, it contributes to the symptoms of asthma in children and it may also cause coronary heart disease in adults. There is strong and consistent evidence that the breathing in of passive smoke by nonsmokers can lead to harmful health consequences such as bronchitis, middle ear infections and effects on the unborn child, as previously mentioned. It can also increase the risk of lung cancer and other chronic lung diseases. There are additional consequences that exposure to tobacco can cause such as eye irritation, especially for people who wear contact lenses, nose watering, coughing, wheezing, headaches, an increase in the frequency of wheezing and susceptibility to asthma attacks among asthmatics and an increase in susceptibility to angina, the chest pain associated with heart disease for those with heart conditions. There is strong community support for passive smoking legislation in Queensland. The 1998 National Drug Strategy household survey showed that 76 per cent of Queenslanders support banning smoking in the workplace, 79 per cent of Queenslanders support banning smoking in shopping centres, 75 per cent of Queenslanders support banning smoking in restaurants and 65 per cent of Queenslanders always or sometimes avoid places where they may be exposed to passive smoking. 710 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 3 May 2001

Despite this high level of community support, in some sectors there still remains a fear that passive smoking legislation will result in a loss of business and custom. This theory is based on the argument that masses of people will stop dining out and/or drinking because of smoking restrictions. This argument, however, does not consider the fact that 1,800,000 Queenslanders, or 65 per cent of the 14 and over population, currently always or sometimes avoid places where they may be exposed to passive smoking. Moreover, there is substantial research which shows that the introduction of passive smoking legislation or policies does not adversely affect business. The South Australian smoke-free dining legislation evaluation of 1999 shows that prior to and following the introduction of smoke-free dining legislation in South Australia the government commissioned a rigorous research study to look at the effects on business. The findings were that public support for the legislation was very high, with over 80 per cent of nonsmokers liking it. The findings also showed that South Australians reported an increase in enjoyment while dining out and did not stop going out to eat. It also found that there is good business compliance with the new law and reported that changes in dining out practices since the new law came in are likely to have a net positive benefit for business. The introduction of smoking bans in enclosed places as provided for in the bill is a major public health achievement for Queensland. It represents a very significant first step towards eliminating the community's exposure to passive smoking. It is encouraging to note that the Leader of the Opposition supports this legislation, particularly in light of statements made by his shadow minister for health in February this year. Miss Simpson publicly opposed the extension of smoking bans to dining areas in pubs, clubs and community halls, where people eat— Miss SIMPSON: I rise to a point of order. I did not oppose any specific bans. Ms NELSON-CARR: I would not say that is a point of order. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Poole): Order! There is no point of order. Ms NELSON-CARR: Miss Simpson quoted lack of consultation as her reason. In fact, consultation occurred from August to October 1999, with more than 180 interested parties from industry, union, retail and health groups. In July to August 2000 some 25 groups consulted specifically about passive smoking following in-principle cabinet support in June 2000. There were face-to-face meetings with the minister by various groups and face-to-face meetings and contact with departmental officers by various groups. There was a visit to selected licensed clubs by ministerial advisers and Queensland Health officers with Clubs Queensland and to the Treasury Casino. There was also a commitment to further targeted consultation so that the legislation could be workable. I commend the bill to the House. Ms BARRY (Aspley—ALP) (5.23 p.m.): It is a great privilege for me to rise in this House to speak to and support the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 2001. I congratulate the Minister for Health, the Honourable Wendy Edmond, for her leadership in ensuring that Queensland through the Queensland Tobacco Action Plan makes a reality for the people of Queensland the National Tobacco Strategy 1999-2000 and 2002-03. The Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 2001 provides a foundation for improving the health of the public by reducing their exposure to tobacco and other smoking products. This legislation represents this government's commitment to promoting the good health and prevention of illness in Queenslanders. It is a critical balance so important in the provision of health care services in this state. The pressure of providing quality health care is a challenge for all governments. All too often the pressure of responding to the treatment of illness has consumed the attention of those charged with health care provision and management—a natural response, however, to the numbers of patients requiring immediate health care. Despite this pressure, the fact remains that, if decisions about preventive health care are not acted upon now, future generations of children and our ageing population—that is, most of us—will bear the burdens of compromised health and quality of life. This legislation takes the action that we need now. We should be under no illusion of the effects of smoking, whether it is active or passive. It kills. It reduces the very air that we breathe. It causes financial hardship for those persons who have the misfortune to be addicted to this drug. It creates guilt in those who smoke. It creates fear for the smoker and the nonsmoker of dying of disease and the thought of somebody they love having either lung, head or neck cancers caused by smoking. 3 May 2001 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 711

I commend the entire legislation, but today I rise to speak in particular to part 2A and clause 26, a necessarily comprehensive clause relating to the advertising, display and promotion of smoking products. I come to this House today to make a confession: I am a smoker, albeit I am a smoker who has not smoked a cigarette for 14 years. You never become a nonsmoker once you start. Along with many of my nursing colleagues, at the grand old age of 17 years I bought a dream. At the end of a hard day, the nurses at the Royal Brisbane Hospital could be seen relaxing with a hot Milo and considering their new lives—sophisticated working women who were no longer children. We were free from our mothers and fathers and we were grown up. For me, sophistication came in the form of a packet of slimline, filter, gold tipped St Moritz. Move over James Bond and Ursula Andress; we had learned to smoke cigarettes because we believed it made us sophisticated and grown up. At 17 years of age cigarette advertisers had sold me and many of my peers a dream. If we wanted to, we could drive fast cars, we could play in grand final football, we could hike alpine mountains with great looking people for company and, yes, we could become cowboys if we wanted to. That was similar to today's message that, according to cigarette advertisers, young people today can be healthy, wealthy and sexy if they just learn to smoke. But for some reason they cannot become cowboys. The image of the Marlboro man sucking up his durry through his tracheostomy resulted in the decline and the desire of cigarette advertisers to promote a cigarette smoking cowboy life as a way of selling cigarettes. Members may think that as a 17 year old I was just foolish and I did not understand the dangers of smoking. Let me put in context my working life as a 17 year old. I was working in a medical unit three nights a week providing the care for the last rites of those people who had just passed away from the ravages of smoking-related diseases. As a 17 year old, I provided the intimate and personal care of men and women who were unable to care for themselves because they were ravaged by diseases related to smoking. They were attended to by 17 year old girls. Upon returning from my lunch breaks and my afternoon tea breaks, dying people would hold my hand and beg me not to smoke because they had caught the whiff of a cigarette on my breath and seen the packet of St Moritz in my pocket. Make no mistake; I could see what smoking did, but so strong was my belief in a dream that I incredibly, along with many of my colleagues, blocked out my entire working life and its harsh reality. Like many young people then and today, I was the answer to a cigarette advertising agency's dream; I was unquestioning in my pursuit to be cool. They had me hook, line and sinker. By the time I had worked it out, it was too late. I was addicted. Despite choosing cancer nursing as my specialty, a specialty that I performed for 18 out of my 25 years of nursing life, I smoked for the first nine years of my entire nursing life. The reality of the effects of smoking was consistently reinforced to me. I was the main chemotherapy nurse at the Prince Charles Hospital during the small cell lung cancer trials. At that time lung cancer killed hundreds of people in the unit who I cared about and for during those years, and still I smoked. It was not until I bought another dream, and that was the desire 14 years ago to ensure that my unborn son was free from the harm of cigarette smoke, that I decided to put down the cigarettes. At the time of my choosing to stop smoking a debate raged among many health ministers wanting to put health warnings on cigarette packets—outrage, the freedom to smoke, smokers' rights to make decisions. While some people may argue that we are now immune to those health warnings, let me say that for many of us who stopped smoking during that campaign when so many brave legislators took on cigarette advertisers and insisted on health warnings about the effects of cigarettes, we are their success story. The desire of this government to protect the children—children like my son and other children—is complete. In the electorate of Aspley there are 3,353 children aged between 11 and 17 years. They must not become the victims of false dreams. It is critical that we ensure that our children are not exposed to the mythology of cigarette advertisers' dreams. We must protect our children from the opportunistic exploitation of them. The sale, advertising and accessibility of cigarettes to our children is a major concern for all of us. This legislation marks great leadership by the Health Minister. It builds on the work of previous health leaders who had the courage and the vision to look at our future and put in place solutions to prevent ill health before it occurs. 712 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 3 May 2001

I congratulate the Minister for Health on the entire drafting of the legislation and the consultation process. I am proud to be part of a government prepared to enact such legislation. This legislation is a nail in the coffin of smoking. Mrs CROFT (Broadwater—ALP) (5.31 p.m.): I rise to support the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 2001. Drug experimentation and use by our young people is a concern and a challenge for all governments and the community. Surveys of school student smoking behaviour have shown that the Queensland youth smoking rate continues to increase. In 1999, 65,000 students had smoked in the week prior to the survey. This represents 23 per cent of all school students and is a substantial increase on the proportion in 1990, at 15 per cent. Smoking also increases with the school year. A 1998 survey also suggests that among Queensland's youth substantially more females smoke than do males. Smoking rates for females are rising more rapidly than are rates for males. And females smoke far more heavily. The school students survey has also found that drinking rates are increasing for both males and females in virtually all years. In 1999 approximately 60 per cent of year 11 and year 12 students had consumed alcohol during the week prior to the survey. This represents a substantial increase over the 40 per cent to 50 per cent who had consumed alcohol in the week prior to the 1990 survey. The latest population-based survey shows that for Australia, although there are fewer regular drinkers in the 14 to 19 year age group than in older age groups, a large proportion of youth drinkers usually consume alcohol in hazardous or harmful quantities. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug and use is highest among year 11 and year 12 students. More than 50 per cent of the students in these years have used marijuana at some time in their lives and 20 per cent of year 12 males had used marijuana in the week prior to the 1999 survey. Males are more likely than females to use marijuana. This government recognises that one-off strategies or campaigns have limited value. That is why this government has holistic prevention programs for young people that take in a range of drug and risk-taking behaviours. These include the 100% In Control youth drug campaign. The 100% In Control youth drug campaign is Queensland Health's multi-strategic alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention campaign for 12 to 17 year olds. The campaign was launched in 1995 after comprehensive development and consultation with young people. The campaign message is not about being 100 per cent perfect, but encourages young people to enjoy life to the fullest, to take control of themselves and their decisions and to think responsibly about alcohol, tobacco and other drug issues. This year over $400,000 will be spent on implementing the many strategies of the campaign. Key statewide strategies of this campaign include the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge, the Croc Eisteddfod Festival and the Rumble in the Jungle events. The 100% In Control Rock Eisteddfod Challenge is the secondary school performing arts competition dedicated to being a 100 per cent drug free experience. This message is reinforced by both major naming rights sponsorship by Queensland Health of $120,000 and 100% In Control support strategies which are run in the lead-up to, on the day of the event and following it. The multi-award winning 100% In Control Croc Eisteddfod Festival comprises performances by indigenous and non-indigenous young people and sports and career clinics, all within a 100 per cent alcohol and drug free environment. The Croc Eisteddfod Festival is similar to the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge, but it is not a competition. Queensland Health has been a major naming rights sponsor of the Croc Eisteddfod Festival in Queensland since its inception in 1998. Like the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge, 100% In Control support strategies are run throughout the lead-up to, on the days of the event and following it. The festival creates a vital medium for the proactive expression of Australian rural and remote youth culture, one which addresses health, education, employment, reconciliation community connectedness and social justice issues in a powerful and credible way. Rumble in the Jungle is a sport based event that looks at crime prevention and alcohol, tobacco and other drug issues for at risk or marginalised young people. It consists of physical and mental challenges developed around an adventure based activity course, with young people involved in the planning and implementation of the event. During the lead-up to the main event, participants go through a team-building activity, participate in training activities, learn about the dangers of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and learn to trust each other. The Schoolies Week project is also another project undertaken by Queensland Health. The Queensland Health Schoolies Week project is a health and safety strategy that provides grants to 3 May 2001 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 713 five areas in Queensland for local chill-out areas at youth events during November each year. The grants service Townsville, the Whitsundays, the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast and Stradbroke Island. Statewide planning and strategies are coordinated by Community Solutions, a non- government organisation. Initiatives include 40,000 health and safety booklets, a set of lesson plans and a video, a web site with updated information during Schoolies Week, local wallet-sized information cards and a training strategy for teachers. I congratulate the minister on her dedication to the crusade in combating youth smoking, drinking and drug taking. Having grown up in a household where both my parents were smokers, I realise the pressures the youth of today are faced with when in the company of smokers. However, I have never been a smoker. At a very young age, I came to the conclusion that cigarettes smelt terrible and spending money on them was clearly a waste. However, I acknowledge that there are vulnerable youth groups in our community who feel comfort in succumbing to the trends and peer pressure. But it is through strong and creative promotional events such as those that I have mentioned that this government is working in the right direction in protecting our young Queenslanders from the dangers of smoking. I commend the bill to the House. Mr ROWELL (Hinchinbrook—NPA) (5.40 p.m.): I am sure that all members would recognise that there are difficulties associated with smoking; there are problems with carcinogens, and I know that respiratory problems are quite common amongst smokers. However, I would like to talk about another industry that is not given the same level of significance as tobacco, namely, alcohol. Tobacco advertising has been banned, yet every night of the week we see ads for alcohol on TV. I am sure the minister would agree that there are massive problems associated with people who drink excessive amounts of alcohol. So while we are considering smoking as a major issue, other issues must be considered. Sometimes I think that we overemphasise the need to deal with tobacco more so than some of the other vices. For example, marijuana smoking is an issue that goes way beyond anything - Mrs Edmond: It's illegal. Mr ROWELL: Yes. I am just raising a point. Mrs EDMOND: Marijuana is illegal. We don't bring in controls about where you can smoke it. Mr ROWELL: Okay. The minister can raise whatever issue she wants to. But if she lives in fairyland and believes that people do not smoke marijuana, then she has a problem, because people do smoke it. I would like to address this issue from the tobacco growers' perspective. Over a period, successive governments have encouraged the tobacco industry on the tablelands and in the Glasshouse Mountains. In fact, I grew tobacco myself, but I finished growing it in the early eighties because of disease problems as much as anything else. The tobacco industry on the tablelands is in demise mainly because one manufacturer in particular does not want to buy the leaf off the floor in Mareeba. This has resulted in massive disruption in that area. If we are to deal with this situation by putting some stops on the tobacco industry, we need to compensate those people adequately. In the past, industries have collapsed because of a lack of support, particularly with selling the crop. I know that the people on the tableland are extremely worried about their future. I am absolutely certain that if they stopped growing tobacco in that area because of no competition and an inability to get a decent price, tobacco would be imported from overseas. So the industry is not going to stop; it is simply the case that the Australian industry would cease, in effect, and tobacco would be imported, probably containing substances such as fungicides and insects that are not allowed into Australia. So we must be mindful of that particular issue. There is a degree of hypocrisy on the part of the government because, on the one hand, it is castigating people who smoke, yet it is quite happy to take on board something like $520 million through taxes and revenues. There does not seem to be a great amount of money being spent on preventing young people in particular from smoking. So although the government castigates people for smoking and endangering their health, it is only too ready to take their money. I believe that we have to consider the options for the future of the tobacco industry and whether we are going to use some other substance to satisfy those people who smoke. It is always a challenge for people in the industry as to how they fill out a cigarette and whether they 714 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 3 May 2001 can put into it other things that will, in essence, substitute for tobacco but still be something that people like. There is another aspect to this, too. Very often, when people give up smoking they turn to another vice which is probably just as bad, if not worse. Those are the types of issues that we need to consider. But having said that, I understand the difficulties. Many people do not like being in a place where people are smoking. But we all have our rights, and there are now nonsmoking areas in many restaurants. There is some inconsistency about what outdoor smoking means. The bill is not absolutely clear on where people can and cannot smoke outdoors, and I do not think it ever will be. Mrs Edmond: It doesn't affect outdoors. It's enclosed places. Mr ROWELL: What about a confined outdoor area? For example, could an outdoor area have a shadecloth/greenhouse type of thing? Mrs Edmond: No, enclosed places. Mr ROWELL: It could still have a veranda, though. Mrs Edmond: Then it's not enclosed. Mr ROWELL: The minister is being pedantic by raising these issues. All I am saying is that it is difficult to really nail down just where people can and cannot smoke. In essence, the opposition agrees with this bill. People have rights. But there are many other issues relating to the tobacco industry that many members of this House would not understand or appreciate, and I believe that those issues will have to be dealt with in the future. Mr TERRY SULLIVAN (Stafford—ALP) (5.46 p.m.): I rise to support the bill before the House. On 16 October 2000, the government endorsed a new four-year strategic plan to help address tobacco smoking issues: the Queensland Tobacco Action Plan 2000/01 to 2003/04. This whole- of-government plan is the first of its kind for the state. The new Queensland plan is based on a national best practice framework, namely, the National Tobacco Strategy 1999 to 2002/02 endorsed by the Australian Health and Police Ministers in June 1999. I have been a member of the minister's health committee for a number of years now, and I know that there have been discussions over those years with preceding Health Ministers and Health Ministers from other states to try to bring this legislation to the chamber. I congratulate previous Health Ministers from both sides of the House on their efforts to bring this legislation to fruition. More than 180 Queensland key stakeholders from industry, employee, retail and health groups were consulted during the drafting of the tobacco plan. There are 36 actions in the Queensland plan which address issues such as youth smoking, supporting smokers to quit, smoking among indigenous people, and exposure to passive smoking. In common with the member for Aspley, I am a smoker, but I am a smoker who is currently not smoking. Put another way, I am a drug addict. I am addicted to nicotine. But fortunately, some years ago, with encouragement from my wife and children, I started to control the addiction and gave up the daily use of cigarettes and tobacco. My children were one of the strongest supports in my overcoming or starting to control that addiction. And public awareness campaigns do work. Advertising by cigarette companies also does work. No company is going to put millions and millions of dollars into advertising if it will not bring a return. That is why the cigarette firms advertise during Formula One and 500cc motorcycle races—those sorts of 'sexy' activities which are supposed to encourage, as the member said, the dream in people. I encourage other ministers who are involved in sporting events to strictly enforce the no tobacco advertising during Formula One and other international events. The economic benefits that those events bring to us in no way overcome the harmful economic effects of smoking on our community. In terms of public awareness campaigns—my children were young teenagers and in their upper primary school years when public awareness campaigns were being run in Queensland. It does a father's ego no good to have one of your children in the back seat of the car say to you as you start to light up a cigarette, 'Oh, dad, don't be a loser. Put it out, will you?' What are you going to say to your child? 'Oh, no, I'm a mature person. I have chosen to take this particular product which is going to kill me in the long term and I don't want your smart comment from the back seat'? The reality is that I was addicted to nicotine for more than 20 years. There are times at social events when I have had a few drinks and I am with others that I could readily have a 3 May 2001 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 715 cigarette. I know that I am still an addict, but I hope in the years to come I will still be able to resist that daily temptation to smoke. That is why I can understand people who are smoking. I do not condemn them or look down on them. I know how difficult it is to give up the habit. What I want to try to provide through this legislation is support. I am thankful to the Health Minister and health ministers in other states for providing leadership and finances to try to do something. One of the biggest single factors in people becoming addicted to smoking is the age at which they take it up. That is why youth smoking must be addressed comprehensively and not just in a single education campaign. It is a known fact that advertising does work in selling products. The impact that tobacco advertising is having, particularly on young people, is of concern. Research shows that young people are more sensitive to tobacco advertising and promotion than are adults. The legislative amendments being discussed today will reduce point-of-sale tobacco advertising and display and will ban tobacco promotions. Internationally, research evidence indicates that the advertising of tobacco products is one of the main factors leading to the uptake of cigarette smoking, particularly by children. The restrictions to be introduced by way of this bill will further reduce the avenues available to tobacco companies to advertise and promote their products. The bill will also tighten the existing requirements governing the placement of self-service tobacco vending machines. Studies have shown that the vending machines remain a primary source of tobacco for children. Accordingly, the bill provides for the location of these vending machines to be restricted to the bar and gaming areas of licensed premises and the bar and gaming areas of casinos. Controlling children's access to tobacco is an important factor in preventing the uptake of smoking. As promised in the lead-up to the election, there will be a $500,000 Quitting While You're Ahead mass media campaign to remind our young people of the consequences of smoking and to stay healthy and smoke free. Half a million dollars has also been allocated to the Health Promotion Queensland project to help primary schoolchildren aged 10 to 12 years resist negative influences such as smoking and other drugs. Youth health nurses based in Queensland state schools with secondary students will receive specialist training and resources to promote positive smoke-free messages and to help young people quit smoking. The government's commitment to the successful Quit campaign has been increased to more than $550,000 this year to help spread the important quit smoking message to all Queenslanders. The first phone call I made to get help, when I finally came to my senses to try to overcome the addiction I had, was to the Quit campaign. I sat down with some councillors at the Gregory Terrace offices of the Queensland Cancer Council and they, in a non-judgmental and supportive way, again explained to me things that I knew but gave me encouragement to help overcome my addiction. That led to my being able to control in some way the addiction I had. The multi-strategy Quit campaign delivers effective mass media coverage, including television and radio advertising and a high quality statewide Quitline telephone counselling service. The smoke-free hospital initiative, to include a distribution of self-help Quit resources to patients and staff and limiting smoking on public hospital grounds, will be developed and implemented statewide. Quit smoking programs will also be promoted in other workplaces. National best practice guidelines and training materials targeting smoking in pregnancy will be promoted across Queensland. Again, I cannot help but agree with an earlier speaker, the member for Aspley. My wife was a much lighter smoker, what you might call a social smoker. I remember what happened when we first heard that the pregnancy test was positive. We were working at the exhibition grounds in the sideshow bar—we were on our tea-break—and we got the phone call from our local doctor to say, 'Great news, you're pregnant.' With that, my wife came back to the bar and gave the packet of cigarettes to one of the other bar workers and said, 'Ken, they're yours. I'm pregnant. I'm going to look after the baby.' I congratulate my wife on her strength of will. I know that our children are healthier children because she looked after herself and gave up smoking at that stage. Mrs Edmond: She should have put the packet in the bin, not given it to someone else. 716 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 3 May 2001

Mr TERRY SULLIVAN: I did not quite hear the interjection from the minister, but, yes, I think she was congratulating my wife on her excellent actions. Thank you. Some people may say that there is a downside to the tobacco industry getting smaller; that is correct. I hope that the state government will provide assistance to those in primary industries to help move to other crops. However, in terms of the economics, we have more than 3,000 deaths in Queensland each year due to tobacco smoking, and that is more than 80 per cent of all drug related deaths. Heroin is not the big killer in our society; tobacco is. In terms of occupied bed days, smokers cost us over $108 million in Queensland hospitals. The total smoke related financial burden on the Queensland community is estimated at more than $2 billion annually, which includes health care costs, loss of productivity through sickness and absenteeism and the impact of premature death. In 1998, 24 per cent of Queenslanders aged 14 years and over smoked daily or on most days, compared with the national average of 22 per cent. In finishing off, I particularly congratulate the minister on her programs aimed at indigenous communities, because they have a rate of smoking twice the rate of the general population. The pilot phase of the Queensland based Indigenous Tobacco Control Project will be completed, followed by implementation of strategies and initiatives across the state. The first stage of the Events Sponsorship Program was announced in Townsville late last year by the Health Minister, Wendy Edmond, and Gorden Tallis, vice-captain of the Australian Rugby League team and captain of the Maroons. The program will provide small grants and resources to indigenous community associations for sporting events and promoting the smoke- free message among the indigenous community. I wish to say a lot more, but because of time constraints I will wind up here. I thank the minister for her work and previous ministers for their work with other health ministers in the other states. Nicotine addiction is a difficult problem to tackle due to its insidious nature and the promotion of the enjoyment of smoking through the mass media and through films. I commend the bill to the House. Mrs LIZ CUNNINGHAM (Gladstone—Ind) (5.57 p.m.): In rising to speak to this bill I acknowledge, along with many of the previous speakers, the damage that is caused by smoking and smoking dependency. It must be remembered, however, that for a lot of older smokers their introduction to tobacco products happened when they joined the Army in the First and Second World Wars, particularly the Second World War. I know my dad had never smoked—or so he told us—until he was conscripted. In his kit were his socks, his bed and all that sort of stuff and, 'Here, have some fags.' He developed quite a significant habit over the years. That was his introduction to smoking. Indeed, part of his Army pension was affected by the fact that he suffered because of smoking. So there are some people whose introduction to cigarette smoking is so long ago that this legislation will be an impost on them, it will impede their freedom, but I think that the benefits that accrue to the community and to individuals, particularly those who are not smokers, greatly outweigh that impost. The other thing that I think we need to remember—and I certainly do not disagree with the bill in any way, shape or form—is that a lot of young people, in particular young women, are enticed into commencing smoking because it is spoken about as a slimming aid. Mrs Edmond: That's right. Doctors used to tell people back in the sixties and early seventies to smoke as a way of keeping their weight down. Mrs LIZ CUNNINGHAM: That is right. I worked with young women—it was a few years ago now—who actually took up smoking because when they got hunger pangs, instead of having something to eat, they would have a cigarette. It was a reality of life. It is a few years ago now and if those women are still smoking they, too, would have a significant smoking dependency. I also commend the member for Aspley for her contribution to this debate. It was certainly very personal and, I think, replicates a lot of people's experiences. People who have partners and family members who have been quite significantly ill because of smoking will themselves continue to smoke even though they know the cost that it can bring. I commend the member for her fortitude in giving up smoking. In making what I hope is a short contribution, I have read the contents of tobacco: 4,000 chemicals including tar, nicotine—which is the addictive part of the cigarette - carbon monoxide, ammonia and arsenic. If you sat any thinking person down at a table with a plate and a few 3 May 2001 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 717 beakers in front of them and you put down a little pile of tar, some nicotine, a little container with carbon monoxide with some sort of odour vent, a little bottle of ammonia and a little hill of arsenic and said, 'Eat that', they would say, 'Go away', or words to that effect. They may say something a little more pointed than that. An honourable member interjected. Mrs LIZ CUNNINGHAM: That is right. Yet every time a person inhales a cigarette, that is what that person smokes. So I have to say that the addictive qualities of nicotine are such that people psyche themselves into not thinking about the reality of all the other negatives in a cigarette. The second point of the bill that I wanted to commend the minister on is the beefing up of penalties and the recognition that, despite changes to this legislation in 1998, people are still prepared to sell cigarettes illegally to minors. There does not appear to be any way of controlling that other than through the hip-pocket. I have seen TV surveys where a minor has been sent into a number of newsagencies or shops that sell cigarettes and the owner or the employee will quite knowingly sell a packet of smokes to this kid who is under age. So I certainly support the notion that the only way to address that issue is to increase the fines further. In relation to the prohibition on smoking in enclosed areas, I thank the minister for that. As a nonsmoker and somebody who does not particularly find a smoke-filled environment comfortable, it will be welcome to go to places such as restaurants and other facilities where smoking is banned completely. There was some sort mental notion that, in one big room, there could be a smoking area and a nonsmoking area and the fumes did not penetrate—that there was an invisible wall. So when people walked into a restaurant they were asked, 'Smoking or nonsmoking?' The same question used to be asked when people entered aeroplanes. If people entering restaurants, in answer to that question, said, 'Nonsmoking, please', they would be seated in the far corner while the person 10 tables away from them would be smoking. However, that was okay because people could not smell it. So it is really good that there are going to be designated areas so that people, such as those who have bronchial problems, can go into enclosed areas knowing that they will not be affected by cigarette fumes. Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to speak to this bill. I commend the minister for the increased effort that is being made to discourage young people from taking up smoking and to encourage older people to give it up. I wish her every success. Mr REEVES (Mansfield—ALP) (6.03 p.m.): I support this bill and I look forward to its passage through this parliament, hopefully tonight. Currently, smoking kills 4 million people a year. Between now and 2030, it will cause, on average, 10 million deaths a year, 70 per cent of which will occur in developing countries. Without a change in current behaviour, 1 billion people will die from smoking-related diseases in the course of the 21st century. Smoking is overwhelmingly the largest preventable health hazard in Australia. Of the 99,409 registered deaths of Queenslanders between 1989 and 1993, 15,217, or 15 per cent, were estimated to be directly attributable to cigarette smoking. Of those deaths directly attributable to cigarette smoking, 75 per cent were males. It is estimated that 8 per cent of all deaths in the zero to 4 year age group were directly attributable to cigarette smoking by mothers during their pregnancies. Between 1989 and 1993, it is estimated that there were more than 78,000 potential years life lost to the age of 70 years that were directly attributable to cigarette smoking. In the 1993-94 financial year, it is estimated that $86.8 million was spent on hospitalisation for conditions that were directly attributable to cigarette smoking. Reducing the number and proportion of Queenslanders smoking would have significant benefits to the overall health of the Queensland community, let alone the economy. While ex- smokers are more likely to die or be hospitalised for smoking-related diseases than those persons who have never smoked, their risk of suffering from a smoking-related disease is considerably reduced compared with current smokers. Recent research into Australia adolescents' attitudes to smoking shows that, for many young people, smoking is a symbol of belonging. Any adverse health effects caused by smoking are too remote to be of concern. They think that that is years away from happening. Those effects are also easily outweighed by the immediate benefits that peer acceptance for smoking may bring. Addiction to smoking is not viewed by these teenagers as a threat, but as a sign of being a real smoker. However, most young smokers regard their smoking as a short-term prospect and do not believe that they will ever develop the long-term health effects of smoking. How wrong they are! 718 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 3 May 2001

The most recent Australian survey of schoolchildren's smoking rates confirms that around one quarter of Australian secondary schoolchildren are smokers. The decision to smoke is essentially made between the ages of 12 and 16—among the senior years in secondary school. The proportion of regular smokers among students mirrors that of adults. Therefore, children become smokers long before they are allowed to make independent decisions about other adult activities, such as voting, driving or purchasing alcohol. Australian studies have also shown a correlation between smoking by parents and siblings and the uptake of smoking among children. The most recent Australian research has suggested that nonsmoking mothers seem to have the greatest influence not to smoke on both boys and girls and that a brother who smokes seems to influence smokers of both sexes. Children's disposition towards advertising has been shown to be directly related to the likelihood of taking up smoking, with those expressing positive attitudes to it becoming more likely to become smokers. Cigarette manufacturers have adopted a lot of deceptive practices, such as introducing so-called light brands that contain less nicotine to increase sales and marketing. Ready access to cigarettes is a predictor of the uptake of smoking. Children obtain their cigarettes from retail outlets, vending machines, friends, siblings and parents. Young people experimenting with cigarettes may see smoking as a way of expressing defiance against adult authority, bonding with a particular social group, affirming personal identity, and coping with anxiety, failure and frustration. Tobacco use may also appeal to adolescents because of its reputation as an appetite suppressant and a calmative. Its interaction with body weight may be of particular importance to girls and a factor in their relatively high prevalence of smoking compared to boys. The bill has as its major objective the improvement of public health, and that is why it needs to be supported. The bill provides for increased penalties for the sale of tobacco to children, further restrictions on advertising and promotion, further restrictions on smoking in public places and the establishment of a framework for investigation and enforcement. As I have said, the consumption of tobacco products by children has been identified as a problem. It is proposed that penalties for the supply of tobacco or cigarettes to children be increased from a maximum penalty of $975 for a first offence to $5,250. For a subsequent offence, the maximum penalty will rise from $1,950 to $10,500. The penalty for employees of a tobacco supplier who supply tobacco to children when they have been instructed by the employer not to supply tobacco products to children, when they have been instructed to sight acceptable evidence of age of any person thought not to be of adult age, and when they—the employee—have been instructed that they will be held liable under the Tobacco Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Act for the prohibited sale of tobacco products to children, will rise from $75 to $750 for a first offence and from $150 to $1,500 for any subsequent offence. The bill provides new provisions restricting the advertising, display and promotion of smoking products. Cigarette packets will not be allowed to be displayed so that they form a visual picture that the manufacturer may be using for an advertisement and left that way on the pretence that they are a product display. The giving away of smoking products for promotion, the conducting of competitions for promotion or the conducting of competitions connected with the sale of smoking products to the public will all be prohibited. Often when frequenting a hotel or a club, we see women, generally, dressed up in costumes selling cigarettes. Mrs Edmond: They have been banned. Mr REEVES: That is good to hear. Mr Lawlor: Is that how they used to get you in? Mr REEVES: No, I have never smoked. As a person who has both frequented and worked in the club and hotel industry, I understand the problems for workers. If you go to a pub or club even for only an hour or two, your clothes stink. Members can imagine what it must be like for those who work there for eight hours or more at a time. Yesterday's court decision will have a major bearing on publicans and club committees. The insurance companies will ensure that clubs and hotels look at the whole issue of workplace health and safety in regard to smoking, not only in areas covered by this legislation but also in public bars and the like. The day is nigh when the industry, whether it likes it or not, will have to realise that the greater issue of workplace health and safety needs to be looked at. That is up to the industry, but I am sure that the insurance companies will wield the big stick at them to make them do that. It might sound un-Australian that one cannot go into a public bar to have a drink and a 3 May 2001 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 719 smoke, but the rights of the workers in those places have to be put before any other considerations. Under this act, smoking will be prohibited in such enclosed areas as the common areas of multi-unit residential accommodation such as motels, hostels, boarding houses, nursing homes and residential accommodation comprising lots in a community title scheme; premium gaming rooms at casinos where levels of wagering are higher than in other gaming rooms and where food and drink are supplied free for patrons; dining areas of licensed premises where meals are available; restaurants and cafes where meals are consumed; gaming table areas of casinos; shopping centres; cinemas; and workplaces. The management of Garden City has banned smoking for years. Obviously, they did not have the legislative framework to back that up, so they will certainly support this legislation. One matter that I believe the smokers in our midst need to take into account is this: while smoking in the workplace has been banned for some time, many people stand outside the entrance of their workplace and smoke. Mrs Edmond: And outside this place. Mr REEVES: This place is probably a prime example. Many smokers stand in the alleyway and others have to walk through— Mrs Edmond: And outside the hospitals. Mr REEVES: The hospitals are another prime example. Before the PA Hospital was redeveloped, people galore, mainly patients, would smoke at the main entrance. One had to walk through a corridor of smoke. I worked at Telecom when the ban was introduced. It was ridiculous that the workers would stand outside the door smoking and one would have to walk through the smoke anyway. Smokers should be conscious of the fact that, while they have to smoke in an open area, they should not smoke in a common thoroughfare, otherwise what we are trying to achieve by banning smoking in an enclosed space is defeated. I support the bill. I believe that the pubs and clubs of Queensland, and Australia, will have to follow closely yesterday's court decision. They need to look at the workplace health and safety issues. I am sure that the insurance companies will make them do that. Mr SHINE (Toowoomba North—ALP) (6.14 p.m.): In rising to speak on this bill I firstly congratulate the minister for having an extraordinary week in terms of the legislation that she has introduced into the House. That has been a great achievement. A number of bills have been passed, some of which have taken about 10 years of consolidated work that should have been done by successive governments. I was a smoker for 38 years. I gave up only in July of last year. An honourable member interjected. Mr SHINE: It is possible. I started smoking at the age of 14 and it took some pretty direct advice from a doctor to make me give it up after many years of trying all sorts of aids. Therefore, I sympathise with anyone who does smoke. I know that none of them really wants to. I know how difficult it is to give up the habit. My son is 14 and I know that he sneaks a smoke or two occasionally. It is the hardest thing in the world to convince him that he should not smoke when he knows damn well that I smoked for such a long period. I would urge those thinking of taking up smoking to take those thoughts on board, especially if they have children. One aspect of this matter that I would like to address tonight relates to what Queensland Health has been doing to persuade children to knock the habit or to resist taking it up in the first place. It relates to the Poison cinema commercials that have been shown in about 46 cinema complexes across Queensland in the last 12 months during school holiday periods. The commercial is aimed at preventing smoking experimentation and initiation, and reinforces positive nonsmoking behaviour among young people aged between 12 and 17. The Poison message and format were developed with young people. The key message is that cigarette smoke is filled with deadly poisonous chemicals, including those found in rat killer, moth balls, nail polish remover and toilet cleaner. Cigarette smoke is poison. The commercial is part of the multi-strategy, award-winning 100% In Control youth alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention campaign contemplating strategies such as the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge, Croc Eisteddfod and Rumble in the Jungle. 720 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 3 May 2001

The Poison commercial has been evaluated using focus groups of rural and metropolitan young males and females. They found the message and the concept to be relevant, acceptable and effective for the target audience. A key positive outcome is that the message and concept were effective among nonsmokers, females and younger members of the target audience, that is, people aged between 12 and 14 years. As intended, Poison was perceived to be more powerful in supporting a nonsmoker's choice to not smoke than as a deterrent to those who are already smoking. Following the positive response to the Poison campaign, $500,000 will be allocated to extend the screening of the commercial to all cinemas, particularly those in rural and regional Queensland, during school holiday periods. Also, it will be screened on television during teen programs. It will be marketed particularly to those programs popular with teenagers. Finally, it will be used to increase the School Based Youth Health Nurses Program. International evidence indicates that the advertising of tobacco products is one of the main factors leading to the uptake of cigarette smoking, particularly in children. Research has confirmed that young people are more sensitive to tobacco advertising and promotion than are adults. It suggests that children's exposure and receptivity to tobacco advertising is an important element in determining future smoking behaviour. The promotion of tobacco products also undermines public health education programs run by government and non-government organisations. The Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 2001 aims to reduce the impact of tobacco advertising and promotions on our children by strictly regulating the amount of tobacco product display allowed in retail outlets and by banning promotions such as competitions and giveaways. Such a comprehensive approach is essential in order to respond to the highly sophisticated ability of tobacco companies to exploit every possible means of promotion and marketing to young people. I commend the bill to the House. Hon. W. M. EDMOND (Mount Coot-tha—ALP) (Minister for Health and Minister Assisting the Premier on Women's Policy) (6.20 p.m.), in reply: I take this opportunity to thank all members for their support. I have to say that there has been wide-ranging community support for this legislation, and I think that is great. I am pleased to see that the member for Maroochydore has now indicated that she supports this legislation. I also agree that the future will see further limitations, due to both public demand and increasing litigation such as we have seen in New South Wales. Indeed, I have made observations in my second reading speech and in a number of media statements that this is likely to happen in the next five years. We will just see smoking banned everywhere, I would think. I used to say that that would happen in 10 years; now I think the idea has got a head of steam and it is more likely that we will see it outlawed everywhere within five years. I am probably a difficult person to have bring in this bill. I am an absolute zealot; I have never smoked. I hate smoking and I hate what it does to people. I think one of the best ads I saw—I used to have it up in my workroom at the Holy Spirit Hospital—had the caption 'Kissing a smoker is like licking an ashtray'. I think that gets the message across better than most messages that we see, particularly to young women. If they want to know what smoking is doing to them, that is the answer. Certainly I think there will be further increases in restrictions on smoking. It would have been very easy for me to say, 'Let's ban it altogether—completely, everywhere.' We could not do that because, unfortunately, about 25 per cent of the population are addicted to nicotine. Should I say that the Sergeant-at-Arms is one of those? He has probably snuck out for a cigarette. About 25 per cent of the population are, unfortunately, addicted to nicotine. To ban smoking everywhere and make it illegal, et cetera, as some people have called for, would have meant that overnight 25 per cent of the population would be made criminals. Many of those people took up smoking for reasons such as we heard from the member for Gladstone: cigarettes were handed out at the war. My father used to be a 60-a-day man. It was a real impulse. For people on very low incomes—and we were poor farmers—that was an awful lot. It was literally a case of him going from one cigarette to the next. He just went from one to another and there was always one hanging there. My father had a massive stroke at age 57. He was a fit, strong, healthy farmer, but he had a massive stroke at age 57 and it had lots to do with that habit. It is tragic that many people have taken up smoking and they cannot give it up at this stage. It is interesting to note that an enormous number of people out there in the community who smoke also want to see this legislation brought into effect. They want to see us making it difficult 3 May 2001 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 721 for their children and other people to take up smoking because they would really rather that they did not smoke; they would like to give it up. I have had quite a lot of support, which really rather surprised me, from people who told me that they are smokers and cannot give it up but they do not want to see one extra person take it up. I think that is great. Mrs Reilly: I'm one of those. Mrs EDMOND: You're one of those? I think that has been an issue for people with children in particular. A lot of people have told me that they gave up smoking because of their children, either during pregnancy or because their children came home from school and said, 'We want you to be alive longer. We don't want you to die of lung disease.' It is interesting that the targeting of young people in the education campaigns right through school is having an effect not just on them but on their families. Of course, it is also disappointing to see that young women are the target of much of the advertising campaigns to take up smoking, and that is where we see the biggest increase in numbers taking up smoking. I know that this legislation probably does not go as far as some people would like and probably goes further than other people would like. So it is a bit of a compromise. We have tried to focus on people under the age of 18. We have excluded those areas which are currently age restricted, such as liquor licensed areas and gaming areas, for a range of reasons. We have linked gaming tables to the ban on smoking because in that situation half a dozen people could be standing around the table smoking, and all of that smoke is directed at one croupier. That is just simply not acceptable. So while we have allowed smoking in what are essentially private rooms, such as the high roller or premium rooms, we have banned it over the gaming tables. In terms of targeting young people in relation to smoking, a number of my colleagues have mentioned a whole range of programs that we are conducting, including the Poison campaign. If the member for Gladstone were here she would hear that the substances she described and that go into cigarettes are highlighted in that ad. It really gets the message across to young people that smoking is really not something that is sexy, exciting or glamorous but that it is something pretty disgusting and horrible and that they would not consider doing it in any other context, other than if it is rolled up in a little white paper. We also believe that it is essential to not just stick with ads. When a lot of the states compare what is done, they look only at those anti-smoking campaigns. I believe—and I think it has been well documented—that we have to address smoking by children from very, very early ages. We know that young people with low self-esteem are the ones who take up smoking, who take up drugs, who are into early pregnancies and who are into risky behaviour such as hoonish driving and a whole range of other activities that put them at risk. That is why we have a broad strategy right across government with such things as parenting programs and youth health nurses based at the high schools—attacking that low self-esteem and also helping those young people through the many problems they have at that time. A question was raised about how we would control tobacco and what initiatives we had in place. A lot of these have been mentioned by other members, but I will run through them again very quickly. The Quit campaign is one of the biggest that we fund, in conjunction with the Cancer Fund, which includes a 24-hour Quitline telephone advice and support service. The Indigenous Tobacco Control Project has been mentioned by some people. It aims to reduce smoking in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, which have not only the highest rates of smoking but also the highest rates of smoking-related diseases. People there also tend to take up smoking at a younger age. Other programs are 100% In Control, the Poison youth smoking cinema commercial, which is aimed at 12 to 17 year olds, and the youth health nurses, as I mentioned earlier. There is also a $500,000 Health Promotion Queensland project for primary school aged children in the 10 to 12 year age group, the aim of which is to try to get them before they start smoking in order to develop their resilience and encourage them to resist negative influences that may cause them to take up smoking. Of course, there is a whole range of other programs: the Rock Eisteddfod, the Croc Eisteddfod and all of those things that are happening across the state. The member for Maroochydore mentioned the many inclusions in the drafting of this bill. That is so because, while this bill is quite a significant bill and actually changes its name, it is still an amending bill. So those inclusions are detailed in that way just because there is a whole list of amendments that have to go into the existing bill, which of course is the Tobacco and Other Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Bill. It is a normal drafting mechanism to insert all of those different things into the existing bill. 722 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 3 May 2001

The member also asked about the government's support for the implementation of the legislation with information and education. Yes, we do have a comprehensive information and education campaign organised to ensure ongoing compliance with the legislation. This campaign will target retailers, employees, licensees and the general public and will be implemented across the state during the lead-up to the 31 May 2002 commencement date. Some people have asked why we have waited so long. We have given a year for a number of reasons: to allow people to become acquainted with the legislation and also to allow people time to implement structural changes. I refer here to operators phasing out things such as vending machines and so on. We encouraged clubs, pubs and everywhere to go ahead with the legislation if they wished. The feedback we have received from shopping centre proprietors, clubs and restaurants is that they are going to go ahead as soon as they can put it in place and educate their workers. The key features of the education campaign include easy to read information on the bill for retailers and licensees, free signage for smoke-free areas, free retail signage promoting the Quitline service and detailing the prohibition on tobacco sales to children, information and forms to assist employee training, and public education activities to inform the public and workplaces of the changes. A budget of $300,000 has been set aside to implement that campaign. The member for Hinchinbrook raised the issue that excessive liquor is not being targeted. I agree with his concerns, but there is similar legislation for liquor. There is a licensing regime for alcohol. Sale is already restricted to people 18 years and over. Drinking in public places is restricted. There is one big difference, however, and that is that tobacco also affects those who are not smoking. Excessive alcohol can affect those who are not drinking but not in the same way, because the glass of alcohol is not being shared while it is being consumed. As has been mentioned in the debate, it is very hard to sit near a smoker and not be affected by the smoke. One reason we are taking a strong stance against passive smoking is because of the environment and exhaled smoke. Tobacco taxes now go to the Commonwealth, not to the state, as a result of the High Court decision. As somebody who has worked for many years in the health system treating cancer patients, I personally have no problem whatsoever if tobacco producers, users, retailers and those who make profits from tobacco pay for the massive health and social costs inflicted on smokers. I think that is a fair trade-off. The member for Gladstone effectively described Queensland Health's Poison campaign. I do not know whether she has seen it advertised at the movies— Mrs Liz Cunningham: No. Mrs EDMOND: If not, the member should see it, because it shows ammonia and all those things being mixed together in beakers and somebody goes to drink it. It gets the message across in a very strong way, particularly as it is a young woman. It is pretty disgusting stuff she is putting in her mouth. The member also raised the difficulty under the existing legislation which makes it hard to prosecute proprietors for the sale of products to minors, and, yes, it is. The member for Gladstone and I worked very hard on the floor of this House to get changes to that legislation by increasing the fines. They are being increased yet again to the level of the other states. However, one problem I had not realised when that legislation went through is that environmental health officers and others have to wear identification while they are observing the sale of products to minors. Officers have to go into a store and show their badge and say, 'I'm here to catch you selling to a minor,' and then try to do it. There are not many retailers who are stupid enough to do that. There was one who sold to juveniles on hock and when their parents complained he had it all documented. That is the only one we have been able to prosecute to date. This will make it much easier to enforce that legislation in the way it was intended but was inadvertently unable to do. Once again, I thank members in the chamber for their support. Sitting through the debate was a bit like sitting through true confessions, because members shared with us their very personal stories. Mr Seeney: I ran out of tissues. Mrs EDMOND: I think it showed the great fortitude of those members to get up in this place and say things that could have been embarrassing or to admit that they had problems giving up and all the rest of it. Congratulations to all of them, especially the member for Aspley. As a nurse and former smoker, she shared with us her difficulties and brought the issue home to us all. It is 3 May 2001 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 723 easy for me, a nonsmoker, to stand here and say that people should not smoke. It is much harder for people who do have the habit and who try to give it up but cannot. I have been informed by medical practitioners that the affects of addiction to nicotine are longer lasting and more aggressive than heroin addiction. Heroin stays in the body for a shorter time. People withdrawing from nicotine addiction actually go through a tougher time than those withdrawing from heroin. I have not experienced either and cannot really comment, but that is the feedback I have had. I must thank Queensland Health staff for their effort and enthusiasm in progressing this bill, as well as the Heart Foundation, the Cancer Fund, the Leukaemia Foundation, Clubs Queensland, the Queensland Hoteliers Association, the unions, the shopping centre councils, universities, restaurateurs and caterers, ASH, retailer groups, divisions of GPs, casinos and the tobacco industry and the many individuals who have provided good feedback and positive support in achieving this legislation. Most people realise that this legislation is timely and necessary. I should also include in that list the Leader of the Opposition, who signalled very early his support for this legislation. This legislation is timely. I am delighted to see this legislation. The member for Stretton is indicating that he is choosing today as a wonderful example to quit smoking, and we will hold him to it. Those who want to use his quitting smoking as a fundraising campaign should see him afterwards. It is fair to say that if tobacco had been introduced in this century it would not have been allowed into any country in the world. However, because it was introduced a few centuries ago, it became well established and something like 25 per cent of the population was addicted to it before people realised how harmful it was. I thank members and commend the bill to the House. Motion agreed to.

Committee Hon. W. M. EDMOND (Mount Coot-tha—ALP) (Minister for Health and Minister Assisting the Premier on Women's Policy) in charge of the bill. Clauses 1 to 22, as read, agreed to. Clause 23— Miss SIMPSON (6.37 p.m.): This clause relates to toughening the penalty for supplying a food or toy resembling a tobacco product. How many convictions have been made under the existing law? Mrs EDMOND: I am happy to tell the member that most of these products have been withdrawn from sale voluntarily by the retailers as a result of the existing legislation. Miss SIMPSON: I thank the minister. I thought most of them had been withdrawn as well. I must admit that I have not been through the shops to try to find them, but I noticed a packet of lolly Fags dropped on the ground the other day in a public place. It made me wonder just how widely these were still being displayed and sold to children and whether there had been any convictions. Mrs EDMOND: I have just been advised that they have changed the product and brought it back, but it no longer falls within the scope of the legislation to be banned so it is now an allowed product. I will have to go out and have a look at that one myself, but they have introduced another product that now does not fall within the legislation. We might have to look at that. Clause 23, as read, agreed to. Clauses 24 and 25, as read, agreed to. Clause 26— Miss SIMPSON (6.39 p.m.): This is the mega clause of 10 and a half pages. There were a number of subclauses about which I wish to seek the minister's advice and draw her attention to. Firstly, I acknowledge that I support the thrust of this legislation. When I saw the draft of the legislation it allayed concerns that it might be extended into all public areas or public outdoor areas—something which, as I stated, I believed was impractical. But the minister acknowledged that there are certain exemptions and compromises in bringing in this legislation, but I think we also acknowledge that there is a move in the courts through litigation to further clamp down on 724 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 3 May 2001 places where people can smoke where there is a negative impact on other people through passive smoking. But this clause not only covers issues of definitions, which I can understand being in the same clause; it covers everything from 'Advertising and display to be as provided in this division', the 'Location and display of smoking products', the 'Availability for sale of displayed products', the 'Manner of display of immediate package of smoking product', and it goes on. One of the provisions that I would like to draw to the minister's attention, though, is clause 26L, which is headed the 'Supply of object or entitlement that promotes smoking product etc.' In reading this, one of the issues that arose in my mind was whether this may unintentionally capture videos or movies that depict people smoking. I know I mentioned this before, but I do not think this is the intention of this clause. My concern is that one of the primary means of promoting smoking these days is through the entertainment media and through movies, whereby companies pay for placement of tobacco products, whether or not they actually display a brand. Those are the steps they have taken in order to get away from being prosecuted for advertising tobacco products. They actually pay to have them placed in movies. This provision probably has more to do with actual promotional material at a more direct level, but it does raise an interesting question as to whether it could also apply to movies where tobacco products are displayed. The issue arises because the definition of 'promote' actually says— ... in relation to the promotion of a matter by an object that is a sound recording, video recording or a computer storage device, includes the promotion of the matter by aural or visible material that the object is reasonably capable or producing, or causing to be produced, in its normal use. I raise that issue for the minister's consideration. As I said, I do not think it is intended to be captured there, but it does raise an issue as to whether the corner video store may be captured by the fact that these days movies and videos are a way that a lot of our young people are being sold on the very false glamour of smoking. The other subclause that I would like to raise is 26R, 'Person must not smoke in enclosed place'. There are 20 penalty points for smoking in an enclosed area. However, I was wondering whether there was any defence— Mrs Edmond: Which one is this? Miss SIMPSON: It is clause 26R, 'Person must not smoke in enclosed place', on page 25. Mrs Edmond: Does the member want me to deal with the other one first? Miss SIMPSON: The problem I have with the clause is that I am entitled to speak initially in a block of about 10 minutes and on subsequent supplementary occasions for five minutes. Mrs Edmond: No, they are each separate clauses. Miss SIMPSON: I apologise. I sought advice on this earlier in the day from Table Office staff. I thought I could speak only three times. So that is correct; it is one clause. The CHAIRMAN: You can deal with it in one go if you want to. Miss SIMPSON: This is the issue; I cannot sit down and get up and ask three, four, five or six supplementary questions, because it is one clause? The CHAIRMAN: You can speak only three times, but you can use all your time in one go, if you wish. Miss SIMPSON: The point is that there are probably a number of issues and questions, but I might run dot point by dot point through some of these questions, because while I may have two more supplementary questions that may not cover all of the questions that I have. That was in regard to clause 26R, 'Person must not smoke in enclosed place'. My question in this regard is: if a person is unaware that they are in an area where they are not allowed to smoke and the signs have not, according to law, been placed, is that a defence? I know that there is a penalty if the person in control of the premises does not display a sign, but is it a defence if a person is found to be smoking in an enclosed place, for example, which may in fact be a meal area at some stage during the day but which might not be a dining area under the definition? If for whatever reason someone may not display the sign, the premises may be liable for not displaying the sign. But is that a defence for the person who may find themselves subject to a 20 penalty point fine? I wish to raise an issue under clause 26V, 'Offence by an occupier'. Interestingly, on page 5 of the explanatory notes it is stated that this provision effectively reverses the onus of proof. This 3 May 2001 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 725 is probably a more serious issue that I would seek the minister's consideration of. This attracts 20 penalty points. If someone is smoking and we have directed them not to smoke, we have a defence under the law as the occupier. However, this is a reverse onus of proof provision, and that is admitted within the explanatory notes. I am wondering what degree of proof we have to demonstrate that we have that defence. If we or one of our staff members have verbally advised someone to stop smoking, will that be sufficient evidence in law, particularly if this is a reverse onus of proof provision? I am wondering if it might inadvertently capture people who verbally advise people to stop smoking. Do they as a legal defence have to have a logbook, for example, in which they record, 'At this time I tried to stop someone smoking'? We are starting to deal with reverse onus of proof issues. What level of evidence do we require of the person who is having to prove their innocence? This simply states that they have to direct somebody, but what evidence will be sufficient to provide that defence for that person in those circumstances? I think for the time being those are all of the questions I have in this regard. I will seek the minister's advice in relation to those several issues. Mrs EDMOND: In relation to clause 26L, certainly this applies only where the purpose of the product is for promoting the use of tobacco. It excludes incidental portrayal of smoking. If it is a movie or a video for the express purpose of promoting tobacco sales or tobacco smoking, it is liable. If it is just a movie that has an incidental portrayal, it is allowed. Similarly, when we get over to the passive smoking legislation, portrayal of smoking in a play or something like that is permitted as long as it is not done with the direct intention of promoting smoking, that is, if it is just part of the play. In relation to clause 26R—firstly, Queensland Health will be providing free signs. So there is really no excuse for people not to have signage. I have been criticised for not introducing this legislation with an earlier start-up date. That is one of the reasons we have allowed a year within which to implement this. It is part of an education campaign to tell people that their bingo hall, restaurant, et cetera, is affected and how it is affected. It certainly has been well publicised, and there has been a lot of feedback from the public. It has had enormous media coverage. However, some of the coverage has included comments from publicans and others which show that they do not understand the legislation and what it is going to mean when there is one large bar that is difficult to divide. One end of the bar will have to be designated as a nonsmoking area, and at the other end will be an area where people are allowed to drink and smoke. So that strengthens the need for an introductory period and the education that will go with it. But it will be an offence to allow a person to smoke in an enclosed place. Clause 26V is aimed at stopping proprietors from simply turning a blind eye. It is saying to them, 'You have a responsibility to tell people that they cannot smoke. Of course, you are not guilty if there was no way that you could have known someone was smoking there, for example, if you were not on the premises that night. But it does mean that, if you are the proprietor, you have to take the responsibility for telling people that they cannot smoke on your premises if someone is contravening the legislation.' Miss SIMPSON: I thank the Minister for her comments in regard to clause 26L. I believe that we need to consider ways to overcome the fact that tobacco companies are looking for the most powerful way to promote their products, that is, through the entertainment industry, and they are actually paying to do that. Mrs Edmond: There is an actual working party that is working on getting them to encourage people in the theatre not to be conned into using that. Miss SIMPSON: I thank the Minister for that. I acknowledge that part of this relates to material that comes from overseas, such as movies from the United States. It is an active industry. Perhaps we need to consider what is happening in United States jurisdictions to potentially ban the sponsorship of tobacco in the movies as a deliberate ploy to market tobacco because, increasingly, it is being targeted at young people. I would like to follow up on clause 26V, which relates to an offence by an occupier. I still have some concerns about the reverse onus of proof. I understand that it means that an occupier has to prove that they did not know an offence was occurring or that they had directed somebody to stop smoking. What evidence is necessary to show that the occupier had directed somebody to stop smoking? Because they are basically guilty until they prove their innocence, does this mean that it would be a good enough defence to say, 'Well, I told them to stop smoking', or do they have to provide some form of evidence in that regard? 726 Tobacco and Other Smoking Products (Prevention of Supply to Children) Amendment Bill 3 May 2001

Mrs EDMOND: If the matter went to court, it would be up to the court to consider the evidence, and I presume that a witness or someone like that would be ample evidence. I think that the standard of proof required would be the same as that required in a court. Miss SIMPSON: I have one further comment in regard to clause 26R—a person must not smoke in an enclosed place. I hope that commonsense would prevail in this regard and that people would not be overly officious in applying the law. For example, if there were no signs in a place and someone was fined for smoking but they did not know that they were in an area where smoking was banned, I hope that that person would not be fined. I am concerned as to whether that defence needs to be more clearly expressed. The National Tobacco Strategy was endorsed by Health ministers in June 1999. The Queensland Tobacco Action Plan was endorsed by the Queensland cabinet over a year later in October 2000. This legislation is coming before the parliament at a time when the impact of passive smoking is very topical. The recent court decision takes bans on passive smoking probably further than government statute has envisaged. However, I would be particularly keen to see how much more money will be put into promoting nonsmoking amongst children. I acknowledge the programs that have been mentioned already. I think I heard the minister say that $300,000 would be spent on the implementation of specific legislation. Mrs Edmond: There's about $300,000 just for the implementation of this legislation, yes. That's not for anti-smoking advertising and all of those sorts of things, which are over and above that. Miss SIMPSON: As part of the National Tobacco Strategy and the Queensland strategy which flows from that, I welcome the reporting targets, which I believe are an excellent idea. However, we also need a practical indication of the funds that are being attached to the strategy and the specific program so that we can actually track them. As to the issue of implementation—as has been mentioned, there are provisions in this bill that may make it easier to catch people who are selling tobacco illegally to children. However, there are other issues, such as having enough officers on the ground who are resourced, equipped, aware of the law and able to act. In particular, I would be interested to know how much money is available for enforcement so that we can track and mark the effectiveness of the existing resources. Mrs EDMOND: The member has raised a number of issues, particularly about enforcement. I think that people are going to enforce this as a community. I think that people are going to be saying, 'You are smoking in here and you are not allowed to.' We are already seeing that happening in a wide range of areas. People are actually asking for it to happen. I have certainly seen it happen on a fairly regular basis. Most of the issues that we follow up at the moment arise from complaints. We get parents complaining about the local shopkeeper who is selling tobacco to their kids. Until now, it has been almost impossible to do that. I dob in shops where I see schoolkids walking out in school uniforms with a packet of fags in their hand. It is disgraceful that people still do that. This is not going to be done by a huge army of tobacco police going around the country. It will largely be done by following up on complaints and community activity. The community's support for this will make sure that it happens, and that it happens easily, not in a heavy-handed way but just by saying, 'Hey, listen, you can't smoke in here anymore.' That is happening now, and I believe that it will continue to happen. I do not believe that the enforcement will be heavy- handed, but I do think it will be done through education and encouragement. In terms of what we are spending on the National Tobacco Strategy, it is important to realise that much of that spending is done through other departments, such as Education and Sport, in areas where we are addressing issues related to smoking and health. Some of the support that we have received has been almost incalculable—getting top sporting figures to lobby anti- smoking. They do it for free. Gorden Tallis went to Townsville with me for free to target indigenous smoking because he was very passionate about it. His father had a massive stroke at a very young age, and Gorden has never had a cigarette. He feels very, very strongly about young Aboriginal people smoking, and he has been very supportive. He has said to me that any time I want a hand with it, he will come along. We cannot buy that sort of thing. We could spend a million dollars, as they do in America, to get that sort of sponsorship; but here we have wonderful people who are prepared to do it for free. 3 May 2001 Adjournment 727

The strategy relies on a whole-of-government approach, working through the other departments as well. I do not have a figure here—and I think it would be very difficult to get that figure—because the strategy has many strands, but that is the way to approach it. Waving a big stick and saying, 'You can't smoke' or 'You shouldn't smoke' has only a limited effect. In fact, it is quite obvious that that approach has failed, although it worked for a number of years. When I was in my twenties, I hardly knew anybody who did not smoke. I was flat out finding a bloke who did not smoke. I found a few good ones, but they were few and far between. Mr Johnson: I don't smoke. Am I a good bloke? Mrs EDMOND: And that is why the member is still with us. Now, amongst my generation, I know hardly anyone who does smoke. But the problem is that the heavy-handed approach and the scare tactics have worn off. Our young people, particularly young women, are past that; they are more sophisticated, but they are also more susceptible to the more subtle advertising in the movies, as was mentioned earlier. One of the great disgraces is having movie stars who say that they do not smoke actually portraying themselves as smokers in movies for a fee, not just because the movie calls for it. Some of them have actually done it for a million-dollar bonus, yet they will go out there and say, 'Well, I never smoke because of the effect it has on your skin, on your looks. It makes you look 35 when you are 25', and all of that sort of thing. Yet they are prepared to take the money and be portrayed as a glamorous smoker in a movie. I find that really devastatingly bad form. Clause 26, as read, agreed to. Clauses 27 to 54, as read, agreed to. Bill reported, without amendment.

Third Reading Bill, on motion of Mrs Edmond, by leave, read a third time.

SPECIAL ADJOURNMENT Hon. A. M. BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Leader of the House) (7.02 p.m.): I move— That the House, at its rising, do adjourn until 9.30 a.m. on Tuesday, 15 May 2001. Motion agreed to.

ADJOURNMENT Hon. A. M. BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Leader of the House) (7.02 p.m.): I move— That the House do now adjourn.

One-Teacher Schools Mr JOHNSON (Gregory—NPA) (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (7.02 p.m.): I rise tonight to speak on an issue that I believe, whilst it is not controversial, is very important to everybody in this House and this state. That is the issue of one-teacher schools in Queensland. As many members will be aware, I represent an electorate of remote Queensland that contains 12 of those one-teacher schools. The important issue is the workload and responsibility of that one person who is both teacher and principal. There are many one-teacher schools across the state. I know that the Minister for Education is in the chamber this evening and that she is very dedicated to the role of education, as we all are. I believe that there should be equality of access to education for all children. I said that 11 years ago in my maiden speech in this place. Many people today are not able to access a high school education because of the financial stresses that their parents are under. It is paramount that we recognise the importance of grade 1 to grade 7 education in remote areas. We must also acknowledge the stress that some of these teachers are under. We have to remember that, while they are teachers and are responsible for the numeracy and literacy education of the children, they are also the managers of their school budgets in those isolated and remote areas. At the same time they are also the custodians of the children and are answerable to the parents. 728 Adjournment 3 May 2001

When we talk about the children attending some of those remote schools that I represent, we are talking about the education of not only children of European descent but also a great number of indigenous children. It is paramount that those indigenous children have that equality of education. The biggest problem is the stress load on these teachers. The important thing is to make certain that, whether you live in Birdsville, Bedourie, Boulia or wherever, you can get the same education for your child as is received by the children who go to one of the big primary schools in Brisbane or in any of the larger towns around the state. These children must be able to access a high school education without fear of being singled out because of their social status. I believe that is the right of every child in this state today. While some parents can give their children a good education, there are many who cannot. I say that is the responsibility of everybody in this House. Time expired.

BoysTown Link Up Mrs DESLEY SCOTT (Woodridge—ALP) (7.06 p.m.): There are many good news stories coming out of my electorate of Woodridge these days. I wish to commend our government, and in particular the Minister for Public Works and Minister for Housing, for granting the mowing contract for the Roma Street Parkland to BoysTown Link Up of Logan City. My predecessor, Mike Kaiser, actively supported its submission for this contract. This is extremely significant and will provide seven full-time permanent positions for disadvantaged young people from Logan City. I met up with Brother Paul Smith of BoysTown and deputy executive director of BoysTown Link Up, Mr John Perry, at the opening of the parklands. They were just thrilled to have gained such a contract. Long before community renewal came to our area, BoysTown Link Up had a vision to offer a service to young offenders aged between 17 and 25. It had its inception in Logan City in 1991 when Ms Anne Freeman, now executive director, and her staff of three opened an office in Woodridge. Brother Paul Smith of BoysTown and the De La Salle Brothers offered support and funding for the project. So was born an organisation which has sought to reach and assist in a holistic way those who are often the most disadvantaged and marginalised in our society. They regularly deal with young people who may suffer mental illness or drug and alcohol dependency, who may have come out of abusive family backgrounds, who may have been raped and sexually abused, and who may be unloved, unwanted, homeless and oftentimes suicidal. They offer through their various programs a sense of belonging, caring, love, forgiveness, counselling, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, regular meals, housing, job skills and so much more. As I inspected their facilities at Kingston I marvelled that in 10 years so much could have been accomplished: attractive rooms for group sessions; a quiet room for time out; musicians always on hand to play; a fully operational commercial kitchen to offer two meals a day to all who arrive on their doorstep; the Happy Hut, where all at the centre eat together and form bonds; Alice's mobile restaurant; Glugor House, where young mothers from at-risk backgrounds come with their babies to learn child care and family skills; Morgan's Place, where young people learn work skills in the restoration of furniture, which is then given away to families in need. Their work inside the prisons has also made a significant difference to so many. Many young people have also learned the dignity of work through the Community Jobs Plan and have gone on to gain full-time employment. These are but a few of their excellent programs. Time expired.

Women and Federation Mrs SHELDON (Caloundra—Lib) (7.09 p.m.): Tonight, I wish to speak about women and Federation. It is the year of Federation, but so far we have heard only about men in Federation. The two women I wish to speak about tonight are Catherine Helen Spence and Maybanks Anderson, otherwise known as Maybanks Wolstenholme. These two women played a pivotal role in the Federation process at a time when the involvement of women in politics was frowned upon by many. In 1891, the first national Australasian convention was held in Sydney. It was at that convention that the four principles put 3 May 2001 Adjournment 729 forward by Henry Parkes became the basis of the Constitution. But none of the delegates were women, nor were any of the delegates elected by women. The second convention was held in Adelaide in 1897. This convention had been called to work on details of the Constitution, and again the delegates were elected. Because women had obtained the right to vote in South Australia in 1885, it was possible for them to run as a candidate at the convention, but only if they were from South Australia and elected by South Australians. Catherine Helen Spence threw her hat into the ring to become a candidate. She was unsuccessful, but she did cement her place in history as the first woman to run for political office in Australia. She went on to play a leading role in the quest for Federation, and in so doing she was at the forefront of the campaign to obtain the right to vote for women. Spence saw that Federation was the key to securing universal suffrage. She penned the book Clara Morrison and she became the vice-president of the Women's Suffrage League. Her determination to see women franchised in the electoral system was shared wholeheartedly by Maybanks Anderson. On the cusp of a new century, Anderson proclaimed that the 1900s would be the woman's century. She, too, saw Federation as the vehicle for universal suffrage. In 1891, she made a speech on universal suffrage, which was presented verbatim in the Daily Telegraph. It was through the lobbying by women such as Spence and Anderson—through their endless speeches and writings and through their persistent campaigning, that the rights of women and the concept of Federation become one and the same vehicle. Even though Anderson was unsuccessful at becoming a delegate for the second convention, charged with writing Australia's new Constitution, she continued her lobbying. She presented to the convention a petition containing 513 signatures outlining why uniform suffrage should be part of the Constitution and she organised for the petition to be published in full in the Sydney papers. When adult suffrage came up for debate, she enlisted the support of Frederick Holder to successfully steer the issues through the convention. It was a successful campaign. In 1902, just one year after Federation, all Australian women obtained the right to vote. She had her own newspaper called the Women's Voice, which telegraphed its message to households throughout Australia. She left her cottage, which she ran in rural New South Wales, positioned herself in George Street, Sydney, and played a pivotal role in the campaign strategy for a new Constitution. Like a modern-day politician, she knew the importance of pinpointing regions that were marginal and that were likely to vote in favour of the new Constitution. There can be little doubt that the success of the new Constitution and, with it, Federation was in no small part due to the involvement of women like Anderson and Spence. Time expired.

Palm Beach; Tidy Town of the Year Award Mrs SMITH (Burleigh—ALP) (7.12 p.m.): I am pleased to advise members of an exciting project involving the community of Palm Beach on the Gold Coast. Currently, Palm Beach is engaged in a campaign to secure the Tidy Town of the Year Award. The competition is run on a state basis and involves the inspection of nominated areas by a judging panel to determine the winner. The criteria include natural heritage and community involvement as well as overall aesthetics. Palm Beach is an area on the southern Gold Coast that is often much maligned. The Tidy Town committee is determined to improve the image of this lovely part of the world. The community in Palm Beach is close knit and hard working. Many organisations and community groups have become involved with the bid and would like to see the area get the recognition that it deserves. Palm Beach has beautiful beaches, areas of spectacular natural bushland and a diverse mix of people and attractions. Many, many people holiday at Palm Beach. It is a regular tourist destination for those who want to enjoy the wonders of the Gold Coast without the high price tag. The people of Palm Beach are looking for acknowledgment of both the lovely area in which they live and the people who work so hard to keep it that way. The bid is being coordinated by Steve Curtis of the Palm Beach Surf Life Saving Club. Steve is a very committed and dedicated member of the community. His aim is to provide the young people of Palm Beach with opportunities to be involved and enthusiastic not only about the beaches they play on but also about the community in which they live, work and study. The local 730 Adjournment 3 May 2001 councillor, Daphne McDonald, who has previously been involved in the Tidy Town competition, is working hard to improve the area and to make sure that Tidy Town gives Palm Beach the recognition that it deserves. Daphne has nominated the area for the award and is to be congratulated on her commitment to Palm Beach. Many community organisations are represented on the committee, including the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce, the croquet club, the Tally Valley Golf Club, Rotary, Centrelink and the Palm Beach police. The local Neighbourhood Watch committee has also become involved, represented by Lance Foley, himself a tireless worker for the Palm Beach area. Judging for the competition is due on 31 May and many little jobs are being undertaken by the committee and a group of willing volunteers to show Palm Beach off to its best advantage. I am very proud to be part of the Tidy Town bid and pleased to be able to support the endeavours of such a hardworking and dedicated committee. Palm Beach is a very important part of the Burleigh electorate. I am absolutely committed to this area and welcome the opportunity to get more closely involved with the community in such a good cause.

Australian Inland Rail Expressway; Nathan Dam Mr SEENEY (Callide—NPA) (7.15 p.m.): On Friday, 26 October this year, people from all over Australia will gather on the banks of the Macintyre River near Goondiwindi for a ceremony to drive the first spike on the Australian inland rail expressway. This is a truly visionary project that will create an economic revolution in rural Australia as industries are able to move from the crowded areas of the capital cities and new industries are able to establish along the transport corridor. I hope that the Minister for State Development and every other member of this House can lend this project the support that it deserves. The Toowoomba to Gladstone section of this project will run through the Callide electorate—from Miles to Taroom and Moura in the Dawson Valley and then through the Callide Valley past Biloela to Gladstone. The successful completion of this project will transform the Callide and Dawson Valleys, as well as the communities of Biloela, Moura and Taroom, and see them realise their obvious potential. The Callide Valley, with its existing power generation capacity at Biloela, is well placed to become a major inland industrial region with a high-speed modern rail link not only to Gladstone but also to the rest of Australia. The Dawson Valley will almost certainly develop as a major new agricultural area through the combination of the Australian inland rail expressway and the construction of a major water storage at the Nathan dam site near Taroom. Along with the rail expressway, the Nathan dam is the key piece of infrastructure on which the future development of this great area of central Queensland depends. The provision of a water storage infrastructure like the Nathan dam project is solely in the hands of the Queensland state government. I have spoken about this project in this House many times. With the advancement of the inland rail expressway, the need to progress the Nathan dam project is becoming even more urgent. The state government and the Minister for State Development have an obligation to all of the people of central Queensland to progress this project. It has been stalled for too long. It has been bogged down for too long by a series of unreasonable demands and a seemingly endless series of studies, reports and procrastination by the proponent and continuing demands by the anti-everything brigade who will never be satisfied. For the sake of the Queensland economy and the sake of those Queenslanders who badly need jobs, this government should be supporting both of those projects. The Nathan dam project, together with the inland rail expressway, will together provide a great future for thousands of Queenslanders. They will provide a great future for the Queenslanders whom I represent; they will provide a great future for generations of Queenslanders to come and a great economic future for the whole area of central Queensland. I urge the Minister for State Development to do everything humanly possible to remove the impediments from the progress of these projects and especially to use his influence to progress the Nathan dam project. If the government can facilitate the construction of that major infrastructure, then private enterprise will certainly do the rest. They will certainly develop the industry that will give central Queensland a great future for many years to come. Every member in this parliament should support this type of infrastructure development. It is a key role of state governments to ensure that the jobs, jobs, jobs mantra that we hear so often 3 May 2001 Adjournment 731 from members on that side of the House becomes something more than meaningless rhetoric and actually becomes reality. Time expired.

2001 Oceania Roller Sports Championships; Cairns Roller Sports Association Ms BOYLE (Cairns—ALP) (7.18 p.m.): I am proud to say that over this past weekend and into this week the Cairns Roller Sports Association has hosted a very important event in Cairns. That very important event is the 2001 Oceania Roller Sports Championships. There is a set of reasons why this is a very important event. Firstly, it is an international event. Not only was a large contingent representative from all over Australia, but we had mostly young people on the team from New Zealand, Korea and Japan. Therefore, this event was truly an international event focused on youth and sport. Another of the reasons why it was an important event is that it was the baptism of the Cairns Roller Sports Stadium. This is a very important venue in Cairns, which was opened only last year. I might say also that it is a very expensive venue. I give my compliments indeed to the Cairns Roller Sports Association, which raised $250,000, or thereabouts, towards the venue. I am proud to say that the Beattie government contributed another quarter of a million dollars to make the venue really happen. But even that $500,000 would not have been enough on its own. Thanks to local business sponsors and, in particular, the CEC—Murray Mole and Roy Lavis are the principals of that company—Cairns has an excellent venue. There is only one other like it in all of Australia. I was pleased to close one section of the program, the speed events and the in- line skating, and open the artistic events. I discovered how impressed the young people from around Australia and overseas are with this excellent venue. We must pay our sincere compliments to Russell Hubbard, the president of the committee, and all others who worked so hard to organise the event. In addition to the importance of the event itself, it provided publicity aimed at local youth, encouraging them to join a wonderful and healthy sport. I am hopeful that over the next year some of the idle youth of the Cairns area will join in and find it a very worthwhile activity. It also provides an opportunity to promote sports tourism in Cairns. I was pleased to hear that last week Mr Asiduro Olivaris was in Cairns looking at the possibility of Cairns hosting the world championships for roller sports in a couple of years. That would be a truly international and huge event. Our sincere compliments go to all the volunteers who have made this an excellent event in Cairns. They do us proud. We also need to recognise the tremendous boost that such events provide to the local economy.

Legacy Mrs LIZ CUNNINGHAM (Gladstone—Ind) (7.21 p.m.): With Anzac Day still so fresh in our minds, I rise it commend the Legacy Association Australiawide and, more particularly, in my local electorate. I recognise Bob Frahm, Joan Ibell and, indeed, all Legacy committee members, who work tirelessly for returned servicemen's wives and children within my electorate. Legacy was initially formed to support the wives and children of veterans who died either in war or as a result of war. They look after them in all matters, including general living matters, such as ensuring that they have things like groceries. They also ensure that the children have an adequate education and have all that they need to ensure a quality education. The workload is significant and I believe that it is growing, given the number of World War II veterans and Vietnam veterans who, regrettably, have passed away. At the time of a veteran's passing, the work of Legacy really comes into focus. They help with things like Veterans Affairs issues. They ensure that the widow and children understand all of the paperwork that has to be dealt with at the passing of a veteran. They also look after things like taxation matters and ensure that the spouse and the children of the veteran who has passed away are not left in a position in which they could be vulnerable. I thank all of those who work on Legacy committees for the hard work that they do. I know of one situation in which a veteran passed away and the widow was unsure what work had to be done and what paperwork had to be filled in. Legacy provides a small amount of money to help with the funeral arrangements. They make sure that any documents that have to be returned to the federal Veterans Affairs Department and to the Taxation Office are handled properly and in a 732 Adjournment 3 May 2001 timely fashion. They sit and talk to the family. They have time for the family that is grieving. I commend them. They have a great heart and a great deal of compassion. They give comfort when it is needed and they give confidence to the family, knowing that the support that they give is authoritative, informed and focused. I commend the Legacy associations in my electorate specifically, although I know that every member has a Legacy organisation located in his or her electorate, and I commend them, too. Some of the Legacy committee members are ageing themselves. Younger men—and it is predominantly men who are involved—and women will have to take their place. I take this opportunity to thank them for the work that they do, I thank them for the comfort that they give and I thank them for the confidence that they afford.

Road Workers; Road Rage Hon. K. W. HAYWARD (Kallangur—ALP) (7.24 p.m.): I take this opportunity to rise in the parliament tonight to highlight the risks to road workers from road rage, driver abuse and, for some, assaults that occur as a result. I also take this opportunity to acknowledge the member for Gregory, the shadow minister for transport in this parliament. I know that he was concerned about this issue when he was the minister, and he is concerned about it now as the shadow minister. It is a very serious issue. My experience is that there is little public awareness of the effect that violent actions can have on this group of workers. Many of those workers are very seriously affected by some of the events that occur. I have thought a lot about this issue. I think that one of the reasons that it is occurring is that, as a group, road workers have been demonised in our society through jokes or snide remarks about their work activities. We all know that. Over the years we have all heard silly jokes about blokes working on the road for the council, the state or the Commonwealth. That shows the extent of the very important road network that we have in Australia. Demonising this group of people has contributed to what I think is a reduced concern for their safety. I have brought this issue to the attention of parliament tonight because it was brought home to me vividly on Wednesday morning when I was driving to the parliament. I was stopped next to a stop-go sign. The driver behind me drove straight around me and confronted the stop-go operator. He was prepared to shovel him off the road. When I saw the driver ignore the stop-go operator and attempt to drive through the sign and the operator, I could not believe that that was happening. It was an insane event occurring in front of me. I have always been aware generally of the risk of physical injury and verbal abuse that road workers suffer from ignorant road users, but Wednesday's experience highlighted the issues for me. No doubt such actions should and do constitute some sort of criminal offence. However, my experience on Wednesday has made me question how relevant that could be because, in the end, the driver simply left the scene. He simply drove off. Surely to ignore a stop-go sign and attempt to drive over the operator is a serious action and should not be treated as some kind of bizarre joke. As I have said before, although three levels of government conduct roadworks, I am certainly aware—because I have spoken to him—that the minister and the shadow minister know of the problems of personal verbal abuse and risk of assault that road workers face. The minister, with the support of the shadow minister, has established a policy to assist road workers who have been subjected to abuse. I encourage road workers to avail themselves of the reporting and counselling services that are available. Time expired.

Police Station, Capricorn Coast Hon. V. P. LESTER (Keppel—NPA) (7.27 p.m.): I sympathise with the difficulties that people are having as a result of road rage. I wonder how many accidents it contributes to. Surely people can contain themselves. I wish to renew my call for a 24-hour police station to be established on the Capricorn Coast. One would not believe it, but the other night 18 businesses were broken into. Progressively over the terms of the coalition government and the present government, the number of uniform police has increased to about 15. To run a proper 24-hour police station, we need 18 to 20 police officers—and preferably it would be 20 police officers—to provide the necessary backup services. 3 May 2001 Adjournment 733

When one has a skeleton police force in a large and expanding area such as the Capricorn Coast and when there is an onset of break-ins such as we have experienced recently, police officers simply cannot be at the police station all of the time. Indeed, the police station would have been shut at the relevant time. Because of that, some people turn around and blame the poor police, which does not help them. Quite obviously, the only way to solve the problem is through the provision of additional police. Unfortunately, domestic problems occur on the Capricorn Coast. Two police officers may be on duty in the evening, but if a domestic situation arises they both have to attend. In recent years two police officers have been killed when attending domestic disturbances. Obviously, two police officers have to deal with such situations. In addition, domestic problems can take quite a while to deal with. Quite obviously, during that time the police station will be unmanned. The Capricorn Coast is growing at the rate of 1,300 people per year and as a result more instances of crime are occurring, although it is no less safe than anywhere else. We need police officers to deal with that situation. We have a wonderful group of police officers who are really great people, but they are not supermen. They cannot do it all with the limited resources that they have. I have made this call to the government and the police department before. I spoke about this with Commissioner Atkinson when he was in Yeppoon not so long ago. He is a good fellow. I have to say to the Police Service: bite the bullet and give us those extra officers to make the place safer. Time expired.

South Stradbroke Island Conservation Park Mrs CROFT (Broadwater—ALP) (7.30 p.m.): Last Thursday, Broadwater was delighted to welcome the Minister for Environment, the Honourable Dean Wells, to our local area. The minister announced a significant agreement between the state government and the Gold Coast City Council to add almost 136 hectares of significant coastal land to the South Stradbroke Island Conservation Park. This government has contributed $650,000 to the Gold Coast City Council, where the funds will be held in trust for future purchases of sensitive land. In return for this contribution of $650,000, the council will transfer four parcels of land into state ownership for the addition to the South Stradbroke Island Conservation Park. These were the last areas of freehold land with development potential on the island. Their inclusion into the conservation park, together with the council's agreement to become the trustee of the park, will mean their ongoing management for both environmental and community benefit. This agreement is the most significant step taken by the state and the council since the conservation park was first gazetted in 1993. This is an excellent example of this government and the Gold Coast City Council working together to ensure the long-term protection and management of areas of significance for all Queenslanders. The Broadwater and Gold Coast residents are certainly proud of the beauty of South Stradbroke Island. While many of the residents are as passionate about the environment as I am and enjoy the outlook of South Stradbroke Island, its beauty is shared with many holiday-makers who stay at, and visit, the Broadwater area. The area consists of low-lying wetlands and undulating sand dunes, and a range of flora and fauna has been recorded over the site. This acquisition is clear proof that this government is committed to the environment and its preservation. I commend the previous Minister for Environment, Mr Rod Welford, for his efforts in consulting with the Gold Coast City Council to establish the foundations for this acquisition. I would also like to thank the current Minister, Dean Wells, for ensuring the handover occurred sooner rather than later. South Stradbroke Island will remain in its natural state for us to enjoy now and for generations to enjoy in the future. Motion agreed to. The House adjourned at 7.33 p.m.

G. A. NICHOLSON, ACTING GOVERNMENT PRINTER, QUEENSLAND—2001