Parliamentary Debates (HANSARD)
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Parliamentary Debates (HANSARD) THIRTY-NINTH PARLIAMENT FIRST SESSION 2015 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Wednesday, 22 April 2015 Legislative Assembly Wednesday, 22 April 2015 THE SPEAKER (Mr M.W. Sutherland) took the chair at 12 noon, and read prayers. PAPERS TABLED Papers were tabled and ordered to lie upon the table of the house. BIGGER PICTURE FUNDING — ANTI-METHAMPHETAMINE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN Notice of Motion Mr M. McGowan (Leader of the Opposition) gave notice that at the next sitting of the house he would move — That this house supports the use of funds designated for the Bigger Picture advertising campaign to be transferred to the creation and implementation of an anti-methamphetamine advertising and public education campaign. ECONOMICS AND INDUSTRY STANDING COMMITTEE Extension of Reporting Time — Statement by Speaker THE SPEAKER (Mr M.W. Sutherland): Members, I have received a letter dated 21 April 2015 from the Chairman of the Economics and Industry Standing Committee, advising that the committee has resolved to extend the reporting date of its inquiry into safety-related matters concerning floating liquefied natural gas projects to 7 May 2015. GOVERNOR SIR JAMES STIRLING — TRIBUTE Statement by Premier MR C.J. BARNETT (Cottesloe — Premier) [12.04 pm]: I rise today to inform the house of the 150th anniversary of the death of Governor Sir James Stirling, founder of the Swan River Colony and first Governor of Western Australia. James Stirling was born in 1791 and was a British naval officer, explorer and land administrator. The eighth of 15 children, he entered the British Royal Navy as a volunteer at the age of 12, and over the course of the next 15 years saw action off the coast of Spain, Argentina, Mississippi, Hudson Bay, the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the West Indies. Aged 33, Stirling married 16-year-old Ellen Mangles, the third daughter of a wealthy family from Woodbridge, Surrey, and together they raised five sons and six daughters. Renewed naval activity and the possibility of colonisation by the French in the Pacific in 1826 saw Stirling given the command of Success and deployed to Sydney. Once in Sydney, Stirling persuaded Governor Darling to allow him to explore the west coast of Australia, and so the following year Stirling sailed to the Swan River. He was so impressed with the land he saw that he argued strongly to Governor Darling and the colonial administrators in London for the establishment of a new settlement in the Swan River area. Despite concerns from London about the costs involved, a change in the British government in 1828 saw a friend of the Stirling family, Sir George Murray, appointed as the head of the Colonial Office. Soon after, a decision was made to establish a new colony in New Holland, as Australia was then known. Stirling set sail from England with his family aboard the store ship Parmelia, and on 18 June 1829 he proclaimed the foundation of Swan River Colony. He was promoted to Governor in 1831, representing the first person to hold this position in Western Australia. Following a knighthood in England, he returned as Sir James Stirling and continued to administer the colony until January 1839, when he resigned and returned to England with his family. At his time of leaving the colony, Stirling had established had a farming economy with about 20 000 sheep, sending a few hundred bales of wool a year to England. Using whale oil obtained by barter from passing American whalers, the colonists imported clothing, tobacco and spirits. The rest, as they say, is history. In remembering our first Governor and founder, the Western Australian government has committed $40 000 to support the replacement or renovation of Governor Stirling’s headstone in the United Kingdom. The offer has not yet been taken up by St John’s Stoke church, Guildford, with the church preferring to complete existing renovations before making any decisions on the restoration or otherwise of the headstone. The Agent General for Western Australia in London is aware of the government’s commitment and has remained in close liaison with St John’s Stoke church, Guildford. The government remains supportive of an appropriate recognition of Governor Stirling that respects the wishes of both his direct descendants and the church. On behalf of the Western Australian Parliament, I would like to acknowledge the 150th anniversary of the death of Governor Sir James Stirling, who passed away in comfortable retirement in Guildford, Surrey, on 22 April 1865. [ASSEMBLY — Wednesday, 22 April 2015] 2637 WESTERN POWER — STREETLIGHT POLE INCIDENT — MANDURAH Statement by Minister for Energy DR M.D. NAHAN (Riverton — Minister for Energy) [12.07 pm]: I wish to update the house on an electrical incident that occurred in Greenfields last month. While walking to school in March, teenagers Tariq Rowles and Chevaunne Bussola received electric shocks from a damaged streetlight. This unfortunate and distressing event has been canvassed in media reports and is the subject of an EnergySafety investigation. I understand that Tariq and Chevaunne are both on their way to full recovery from the physical injuries sustained, and I praise Tariq’s schoolfriends and a doctor who was passing by who attended to the teenagers on the site. Their actions appear to have saved a life. Western Power is working with EnergySafety on the investigation into the incident. Western Power has finalised its own internal investigation and will prepare a report for EnergySafety. It is not usual practice to release the details of an electrical incident before EnergySafety has concluded its investigation; however, as Minister for Energy I hold the safety of the public to be of the utmost importance and feel that public confidence is best served in this situation by providing the house with an update. Tariq, Chevaunne and their families and friends deserve to know what happened on that morning in Greenfields. Western Power has briefed me on the key findings of its own internal investigation. Having heard Western Power’s view and without pre-empting EnergySafety’s findings, I drew the conclusion that Western Power is partly responsible for the injuries sustained by Tariq and Chevaunne. I concluded this because, as has been reported, a motor vehicle is understood to have damaged a privately owned streetlight. Following notification of the damage, Western Power confirmed the streetlight was de-energised. After some weeks, a representative of Western Power, while attempting to restore electricity supplies in the area, appears to have inadvertently re-energised that damaged streetlight. Western Power’s chief executive officer has expressed to me his deep regret and disappointment in Western Power’s contribution to the incident. He has assured me that Western Power is speaking with the families in relation to the findings of Western Power’s investigation. Western Power has advised me that this incident is not a widespread or systemic issue. Western Power received nearly 90 000 priority customer calls in the past five years relating to streetlights and poles. Of those, approximately 900 of the calls related to emergency incidents and hazards, with 391 being similar to the initial accident in this matter where a streetlight was hit and damaged by a vehicle on 17 October last year. Western Power has since inspected each of the 391 sites and confirmed that all the assets in question are electrically safe. It is clear from this incident that the overlap between private networks or assets and those operated by Western Power needs careful management. In addition to the more than 240 000 streetlights managed by Western Power, there are many privately owned streetlights connected to the Western Power network. WESTERN AUSTRALIAN VICTORIA CROSS AND GEORGE CROSS RECIPIENTS Statement by Minister for Veterans MR J.M. FRANCIS (Jandakot — Minister for Veterans) [12.10 pm]: Mr Speaker, I will start by acknowledging the presence in your gallery of Royal Navy cadets and Royal Marine cadets from the United Kingdom who are visiting Western Australia and who will take part in the centenary of the Anzac commemorations in Perth on Saturday. Welcome to Western Australia. [Applause.] Mr J.M. FRANCIS: Mr Speaker, as part of the Western Australian government’s centenary of Anzac initiatives, my office has produced a booklet entitled “This Gallant Company of Brave Men”, which is about Western Australia’s 17 Victoria Cross and two George Cross recipients. Of our 17 Victoria Cross recipients who were either born in Western Australia or who enlisted in Western Australia, one fought in the Second Boer War, 10 fought in the Great War, five fought in the Second World War and one fought in the war in Afghanistan. Both of our GC recipients fought in the Second World War. Our Victoria Cross and George Cross recipients are extraordinary men who came from varied backgrounds with different life experiences. I refer to Private O’Meara, VC, who laboured for four days with both casualties and vital stores while displaying awe-inspiring gallantry and cheerfulness in the hellish and nightmarish fields of Pozieres. I refer also to George Gosse, GC, who displayed cool daring whilst defusing volatile German mines in Bremen and to Benjamin Roberts-Smith, VC, MG, who displayed a determined and professional application of his trade in Afghanistan. To date, no member of the Royal Australian Navy has been awarded the Victoria Cross, but it is too easily forgotten that of the nine Australian servicemen who were awarded the George Cross, four were serving with the RAN, with two of those being Western Australian. This booklet will hopefully remind readers that George Cross recipients stand in the front ranks of Australian heroes. Through publications like this one, it is desired that Western Australians will gain a greater understanding and stronger appreciation of those who served and the stories behind them.