. 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 603 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
Thursday, 25th August, 1988
Mr Speaker (The Hon. Kevin Richard Rozzoli) took the chair at 10.30 a.m. Mr Speaker offered the Prayer
TELEVISING OF PROCEEDINGS Mr SPEAKER: Order! I inform the House that portions of the proceedings of this sitting will be filmed for Australian Broadcasting Corporation television, Special Broadcasting Services television and the three commercial television stations, for library purposes only. No sound recording will be made.
SERJEANT-AT-ARMS Mr SPEAKER: Order! Before proceeding with the routine of business, I extend the best wishes of this House to the Serjeant-at-Arms on the occasion of his wedding, this Saturday, to Miss Ann Roffey.
PETITIONS The Clerk announced that the following petitions had been lodged for presentation:
Wollongong Showground The Petition of citizens of New South Wales respectfully sheweth: That the citizens of the city of Wollongong are flatly opposed to any proposal that would cause any part of Wollongong Showground to be leased. assigned or disposed of for the purpose of establishing an enterprise such as an international tourist hotel or convention centre, or some such other complex that would advantage private interests but which would deny the citizens the full use and benefit of this public amenity. Your Petitioners therefore humbly pray: That your honourable House will take urgent steps to prevent the disposition or leasing of the abovementioned property. And your Petitioners, as in duty bound. will ever pray. Petition, lodged by Mr Arkeil, received.
Education Policies Thc Petition of citizcns of New South Wales respectfully shcwerh: That there is protest about the changes proposcd for public education. 604 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988
Your Petitioners therefore humnbly pray: That your honourable House will reject the proposals that will disadvantage the public education system. These include the loss of teaching staff, the loss of anc~llarystaff, changes to their categories and working conditions, an increase in class sizes. a reduction in subjects offered to students, changes to supply teachers and casual teachers. extras to be undertaken by high school teachers. and the lack of communication by the Minister for Education and the Premier. And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. Petition, lodged by Mr Hunter, received.
REGULATION REVIEW COMMITTEE Second Report Mr Cruickshank, as Chairman, brought up the Second Report from the Regulation Review Committee. Ordered to be printed.
OLYMPIC GAMES FOR SYDNEY Ministerial Statement Mr GREINER: I desire to make a statement to the House regarding the bid by the city of Sydney to host the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. As honourable members will be aware, His Excellency the Governor foreshadowed that the Government would be supporting an application, on behalf of the people of Sydney, to host the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. I am indeed pleased to advise the House that Sydney, New South Wales, will be making application to the Australian Olympic Federation to host the 1996 Olympic Games. It is understood that Melbourne and Brisbane will also be seeking endorsement. Only one Australian city will be selected to submit to the International Olympic Committee. I am confident that Sydney will be that city. Sydney will provide a spectacular venue for the Olympic Games. Seen internationally as the focus of Australia, it has one of the most beautiful urban settings in the world. It is a growing city, well established as the international finance and business centre of the South Pacific region. The population of over 3.5 million includes citizens from over 100 different nations and all creeds. Sydney is Australia's premier city, Australia's gateway to the world, a city more than capable of successfully staging an Olympic Games. Sydney's Olympic Games strategy involves the establishment of two primary Olympic Games zones, one at Homebush Bay and the other in the city-the so-called Sydney Harbour zone. In these two zones 21 of the 28 sports will take place. The Homebush Bay zone is the major venue and will include a new showground complex that will cater for the opening and closing ceremonies, track and field and other sports in the new exhibition pavilions. A new aquatic centre and the media-broadcasting centre will be established on land currently owned by the Commonwealth. Accommodation will be provided for 16 000 athletes, 9 000 visiting media and 3 000 technical officials on land currently owned by State Abattoirs, State Brickworks and the Maritime Services Board. This zone also includes the existing State sports and hockey centres and a new velodrome at Lidcombe Oval. 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 605 The Homebush site is at the geographic and demographic centre of metropolitan Sydney, 12 kilometres from the city centre. It is relatively undeveloped, and is connected to the metropolitan transport networks on which all Olympic Games venues, residential accommodation, and other facilities will be established. The Sydney Harbour zone will incorporate the use of existing facilities at Darling Harbour, including the Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney Exhibition and Convention Centre. White City, the Football Stadium and the Sydney Cricket Ground are also included in the zone. Other venues are to be developed at Penrith Lakes for canoeing and rowing; at Eastern Creek for archery and shooting; at Warwick farm for equestrian events and at Jervis Bay for yachting. Both primary zones and other venues are already well serviced by the existing rail and road transport networks; interzone travel by ferry will be available, and both competition and Olympic Games arts festival activities will be readily accessible within 30 minutes travel from the village and stadium for competitors, spectators and visitors. Training facilities, which are more than adequate, are readily available in close proximity to both these zones. An important feature of the Olympic Games strategy is the creation of facilities appropriate to both long-term and Olympic Games demands, which will include a new Sydney showground and a State athletics centre, whose corresponding existing sites at cramped inner city locations will be released for redevelopment. To accommodate the many Olympic Games visitors, Sydney has a well-established infrastructure to cope with large numbers of tourists. Up to June 1988, there were 56 000 beds available. By 1991, there will be at least another 51 000 beds. Numerous five-star hotels are within easy reach of both Olympic Games zones, providing the Olympic family and visiting dignitaries with complete comfort during their stay. Sydney's strategy for hosting the Games of the 26th Olympiad has been framed in the context of achieving long-term benefits for the people of Sydney and the Australian community. The villages and other residential accommodation will make a significant contribution to easing pressures on the sustained demand for housing in our city. In preparing this bid, the Citizens Council has assessed the financial feasibility of Sydney's hosting the 1996 Olympic Games. On behalf of the New South Wales Government, and in consultation with the New South Wales Treasury, financial and socio-economic analyses have been undertaken by the Macquarie Bank for the Citizens Council. The financial analysis has shown that the Olympic Games can be hosted in Sydney at no cost to the taxpayer on a break-even basis, or possibly with a modest profit. The socio-economic analysis confirms, like those undertaken by previous host cities of recent Olympic Games, that significant tangible benefits will accrue to Sydney were it to host the 1996 Olympic Games. The cost of staging the Olympic Games in Sydney in 1988 dollars is approximately $1 billion. This amount will be offset by revenues to be received from overseas broadcasting rights, international and national marketing, operating revenue, sale of the showground and other entrepreneurial initiatives. I should point out that by 1996 this will represent an injection of $1 billion of foreign capital into the New South Wales economy. A major undertaking such as the construction of the Olympic Games' facilities and the management of associated activities will require the co- operation of all parties concerned and, in fact. of our whole community. The Government's endorsement of the bid for Sydney to host the Games is based on: the project being self-funding; agreement being reached with the Australian 606 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988
Olympic Federation and International Olympic Committee so that firm construction and operating cost figures are determined which we can adhere to; formal endorsement by the Labor Council, which has been sought through Mr MacBean, and which I believe can be expected; and appropriate funding arrangements, such as exemption from Loan Council global borrowing limits, being given by the Commonwealth Government. This is also expected to occur. Formal support by the Opposition is also important to a successful effort to mount this massive undertaking. I understand that such support will be forthcoming. I depart from this statement to thank the honourable member for Coogee for his consistent support, both as a member of the previous Government, and since the change in Government. The bid will come from the city of Sydney. I wish to place on record the strong support of the present City Commissioners, Sir Eric Neal, Sir Nicholas Shehadie and Mr Norman Oakes. The new democratically elected council, as of 1st January, 1989, will, I am certain, be proud flag bearers for our city's bid. Australia has been exceedingly fortunate in that it has remained free of terrorist incursion. Nevertheless, it is recognized that the Olympic Games do present particular challenges. The need for increased vigilance by both State and federal agencies to ensure that our good record remains intact, will be required. As is normally the case, the jurisdiction for maintenance of law and order and the security of residents and visitors alike in Sydney is the responsibility of the New South Wales Police Force. Mechanisms are well established with relevant State and federal agencies to become involved in any situation that warrants their advice and assistance. Sydney's successful security record is well documented and has been developed over many years through the staging of major international events, visits by heads of State and of Government, and exercises in mass movement of people and very important people on days of major importance, such as the recent Australia Day celebrations. Sydney's cultural heritage, rich and diverse for so young a nation, will excitedly support the spectacle of an Olympic arts festival, and participation in scientific and youth programs. Critical to the success of Sydney's application will be the time of the year in which the Olympic Games will be staged. Naturally, the northern hemisphere nations require the Olympic Games to be held as close as possible to the end of their summer and, as a result, the last ten days of September and the first six days of October are proposed for 1996. This coincides with New South Wales school holidays and will free school facilities such as swimming pools, basketball courts, ovals, and so on, for training by Olympic athletes, as well as releasing school buses for the transport of athletes, media and spectators. The Olympic Games pose great challenges in logistics, works and services, international access and accreditation, telecommunications and the maintenance of a secure environment. Sydney has the potential to meet these challenges in managerial and administrative skills, initiative and commitment. It is Australia's oldest, most complex and cosmopolitan city and has already demonstrated a capacity for innovation, technology, community participation and organization of spectacular public events involving millions of people. Organizing the Games has been described as the greatest peace-time administrative operation ever undertaken by a government. Sydney, New South Wales, has proved time and time again that it can rise successfully to any challenge given it. It is my belief that Sydney is ready to undertake this bold venture and I am sure that all members join with me in looking forward to that day eight years hence when, in the presence of a world 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 607
audience of several billion persons, the Olympic flame will be lighted in the Homebush Olympic stadium and the Games of the 26th Olympiad, the centenary of the modern games is declared open. Mr CARR: I am delighted to say that this bid by Sydney for the Olympic Games in 1996 is a matter of consensus from Opposition members in this House. The Opposition supports the proposal along the lines outlined by the Premier and I take this opportunity to underline the fact that the bid is predicated on a self-funding basis, so that there will be no claim on the taxpayers of New South Wales. The bid builds on three achievements of the former Labor Government. It is worth while reminding the House of the fact that without Homebush Bay, without Darling Harbour and without the 10-year program of developing Sydney's international sporting facilities this bid would not be possible. Darling Harbour will be the site of some major Olympic events, including fencing, handball, judo, wrestling, weightlifting and basketball. It is no exaggeration to say that without the infrastructure that Darling Harbour represents, New South Wales would not be in a position, notwithstanding the proposed development at Homebush Bay, to be involved in something as ambitious as this bid. The location of the State Sports Centre and the Bicentennial Park, and the infrastructure involved there, are also important parts of this bid. I pay tribute to the honourable member for Coogee for his involvement as Minister for Sport, in a 10-year, $10 million a year program of developing Sydney's international sporting facilities. Again, that has given New South Wales the capacity and the launching pad for making a bid as ambitious and as worthwhile as this. It is worth noting also that after the undoubted success of the Bicentennial celebration in Sydney, something in which all honourable members took great pride, the city has acquired experience in handling vast crowds that the International Olympic Committee would look at when Sydney is building its case. No one who took pleasure in the spectacular events that marked January 1988 in Sydney could be in doubt that Sydney has the capacity to handle what the Premier described as the most ambitious and difficult of peace-time undertakings. The bid involves the sale of the showground, which could be an element of controversy in the package unveiled by the Premier, though I think anyone who has thought about it accepts the inevitability of eventual redevelopment of that site. It will require sensitive planning. I believe the State planning agencies are capable of doing that. In my view, as a former minister for planning and environment, a site so close to the city, so close to every conceivable facility, would lend itself to high-density housing. There is not enough high- density housing in the inner ring of Sydney, and it would have to figure large in the planning for that site. I emphasize that the Opposition is as one with the Government in this matter. This is a matter on which probably all members of this House would be united. It is something that will come to fruition in 1996 and- [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Bligh to order. Mr CARR: When in 1996 this matter comes to fruition even the mocker from Bligh will be well satisfied. To quote- [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Bligh to order for the second time. 608 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988
Mr CARR: Often 1 have referred to the scepticism about Darling Harbour by quoting the eighteenth century poet who said: 'those who came to mock remained to praise'. In 1996 the sceptics will be well satisfied with what promises to be a spectacular and successful celebration in Sydney.
QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
STATE DRUG CRIME COMMISSION Mr CARR: My question without notice is directed to the Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Ethnic Affairs. Has the Government assessed the effectiveness of the State Drug Crime Commission? Can the Premier guarantee its future independence so that the body may control its own investigations and achieve maximum co-operation with other anti-crime authorities? Mr GREINER: The Government is assessing the effectiveness of the State's drug crime agency and all other law enforcement agencies in New South Wales. This morning the Leader of the Opposition said he thought that the agency's powers ought to be transferred back to the police force. Obviously he has some serious doubts about the way the agency is structured at present. The Government is looking at the proliferation of anti-drug agencies and anti-crime agencies and is considering a number of options. At the moment no proposals are before Cabinet, but when there are it shall consider them and make the appropriate announcements.
NEW SOUTH WALES AGENCIES ABROAD Mr SOURIS: I ask a question without notice of the Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Ethnic Affairs. In view of the need for expenditure restraint, what action does the Government propose in regard to the New South Wales Government offices in London, Los Angeles, and Tokyo? Mr Cleary: Bring back Mr Stewart. Mr GREINER: He is coming. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Seven Hills to order. Mr GREINER: It is fair to say that governments and politicians in New South Wales, and indeed in all the States of Australia, have periodic attacks of delusion of international grandeur. In my view, and in the view of the Government, in 1988 it is time-and I say this not only for reasons of expenditure restraint, which was referred to by the honourable member in his question, but also because of the changed realities of Australia as a nation and the role of the States as States rather than as colonies directly aligned with England or any other place in the world-to sensibly review appropriate international representations for New South Wales. It is legitimate for the Government of New South Wales, and the government of any other State, to have a role in terms of trade, investment, and tourism, in key international centres. That is perfectly obvious, and the Government is entirely satisfied that that is an appropriate State function so long as it is State specific and does not duplicate the activities of the 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 609
Commonwealth Government. It is, however, not a legitimate role for overseas posts of the New South Wales Government to be essentially visitors' bureaux for New South Wales politicians or, indeed, for other visitors from New South Wales. Accordingly, since its election, the Government has reviewed the operations of all three New South Wales offices overseas, and Cabinet has now decided on the action to be taken. The maintaining of the Los Angeles office, which of course was the brainchild of Neville Wran, has no justification and it will be closed. Locally- engaged American staff will be paid off and the contract of the commissioner will be terminated on the required notice. Alternative arrangements are being made to continue an improved tourism representation on the West Coast of the United States. The savings from closing the Los Angeles office will be approximately $750,000 per annum. The Agent-General's Office in London is to be reduced in size. The time is long overdue for a further reduction in the size of this traditional, and once very important, representative office for New South Wales in London. Times and circumstances have changed. A smaller office with a more clearly defined role and with specific purpose and accountability is now needed. On any objective assessment it is fair to say that all Australian States are grossly overrepresented in London. They are overrepresented when compared with the representation of the Canadian Provinces and they are overrepresented in the context of pure common sense. New South Wales proposes to show a lead to the other States in reforming and improving the representation of the States in London. The present 32 New South Wales staff in London will be reduced to 14. That will save about $640,000 per annum on salaries alone, and the considerable additional salaries and associated costs. The leaner office will concentrate on the important areas of trade, investment, and tourism. Work is now proceeding on determining the mix of experience and talent the staff will need to have to undertake that new role. The present Agent-General has resigned and will be returning to Australia in November. Other key staff posted from New South Wales are also due to return in the next few months. The Director of the Premier's Officewill be making the appropriate arrangements for the paying off of locally-engaged British staff and the selection and posting of necessary staff from New South Wales. For the time being the London office will continue to operate from New South Wales House, but more space will become available for leasing to other users to produce income. Rent from existing leases within New South Wales House amounts to $557,000 per annum. Colliers International has been engaged to advise the Government on how the value of this property to the people of New South Wales can be maximized. At present New South Wales House is valued in excess of $A20 million. All options including outright sale, sale and lease back, and strata title are being actively considered. The Tokyo office will be retained in its present form and size-and so it should be. The importance of Japan to New South Wales as a trading partner justifies the present establishment of eight staff. The role and functions of that office remain appropriate. My Government is convinced that the overseas representation of New South Wales, following the changes I have outlined this morning, will be appropriate and effective in the present climate. We will keep that representation under constant review and not make the mistake of allowing it to get out of step with needs, as has been the case for many years. 610 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988 BALMAIN FERRY SERVICES Miss FRASER: I ask a question without notice of the Minister for Transport. Will the Minister advise the House whether there will be any reductions in ferry services to the Balmain area following the findings of the Curran report? Mr BAIRD: I congratulate the honourable member on her maiden question in this House. It is appropriate that on the day on which the Government will officially launch Sydney's bid for the 1996 Olympic Games the honourable member for Balmain, a former Olympic gold medallist, should ask a question. I welcome her to the House and wish her every success. I assure the honourable member that ferry services to Balmain will not be reduced; their frequency will remain the same. The advantages to residents are increased by new linkages with Darling Harbour and North Sydney. At present the Urban Transit Authority is developing new timetables for services to the inner harbour, to Parramatta River and to Darling Harbour. Last weekend I announced the new planned services for Manly that will be implemented. The timetable review is aimed at achieving operating efficiencies while improving the level of service to commuters. The review demonstrates the Government's commitment to ferry services on Sydney's best resource, the harbour of Sydney. It is expected that the new timetables will be operating by Christmas this year. Balmain commuters will benefit considerably from the timetable review. A feature of the new schedules will be the introduction of a seven-days-a-week service between Circular Quay, McMahon's Point, Darling Street and Darling Harbour. The Urban Transit Authority is investigating also the inclusion in this service of Thames Street, Birchgrove. The introduction of the new service will offer the residents of Balmain the opportunity of travelling to the central business district through either the Circular Quay route or the new route through Darling Harbour. Additionally, Balmain residents will have access to North Sydney through McMahon's Point. They will also be able to change ferry services to proceed up the Parramatta River. The Darling Harbour service is an exciting improvement to Sydney's waterways and there will be many such improvements under the Government's program.
SYDNEY HARBOUR TUNNEL Mr TINE I ask a question without notice of the Minister for Environment and Assistant Minister for Transport. Will the Minister advise the House what steps are being taken to enforce pollution control standards applying to the Sydney Harbour tunnel project? Mr T. J. MOORE: It is my pleasure to inform the House and the honourable member that I have approved the launching of six prosecutions against the company involved in the construction of the Sydney Harbour tunnel for significant breaches against the environment in incidents that occurred on 11 th, 13th and 14th April. Mr Whelan: On a point of order. Mr Speaker, yesterday the Attorney General asked you to rule that a matter before the industrial courts of New South Wales was sub judice. You correctly ruled that a limited sub judice rule would unduly restrict the business of this Parliament. The Minister for Environment in his opening remarks informed the House that he had launched a number of prosecutions. That being so, the matter is the subject of deliberations before a court and the Minister's answer must be ruled out of order. 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 61 1
Mr T. J. Moore: On the point of order. If the honourable member for Ashfield had listened attentively, he would have heard me inform the House that I had approved the commencement of prosecutions. I am mindful, as the honourable member would be as an officer of the court, of the necessity not to traverse in this House matters that are before a court. The papers have not been lodged and it is appropriate that I make a statement to the House on the subject. Mr SPEAKER: Order! In view of the Minister's explanation, I allow him to proceed. Mr T. J. MOORE: I have given instructions that these prosecutions be commenced before the Land and Environment Court rather than in a summary jurisdiction, because the maximum penalty available in that court is $40,000 for each of the six offences, whereas the maximum penalty available in the Local Courts is one-tenth of that figure-$4,000 for each offence. The incidents relate to the releasing of significant amounts of pollutants into the waters of Sydney Harbour. The Government considers there have been intolerable breaches of the operating standards imposed on the company by the previous Government and continued and tightened by this Government. In May 1987 when the Sydney Harbour tunnel legislation was stuffed through this Parliament in the early hours of the morning, members of the coalition parties showed their great displeasure at that legislative process and at what was being done to override the rights of the citizens of the lower North Shore. This Government will not stand idly by and tolerate breaches of the stringent standards that we are imposing on the company in the construction of a tunnel-about which we have no choice. These prosecutions are a significant indication that the Government will not tolerate pollution occurring; and it will use the law vigorously in the higher courts, which provide the maximum penalties available, to protect the citizens of this State from breaches of environmental standards.
LAND SALES Mr E. T. PAGE: I address my question without notice to the Minister for Housing. Did the Minister authorize a Landcom sale to be advertised at Windsor with the knowledge that a prison was to be established nearby? Did he bring forward the sale in a futile attempt to have transactions finalized before the prison proposal became public? [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: ~rdkr!I call the honourable member for Ashfield to order. I call the honourable member for Blacktown to order. Mr SCHIPP: Only a few days ago I forecast that the House would see a miserable attitude adopted by the Opposition spokesman on housing. I am sorry for the Leader of the Opposition that he is in that position. If there was as much vacancy in the rental sector as there is in the policies espoused by the honourable member for Waverley, there would be no housing crisis. A land sale was advertised for next Saturday- [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Lake Macquarie to order. 612 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988 Mr SCH1PP:-and it was described as being at South Windsor. Before that advertisement was published, people were camping in the area. One cannot prevent that happening. Because of poor weather, a humane decision was made to bring the sale forward to today. That decision was appreciated by prospective purchasers of land. Newspaper reports reveal that prospective purchasers camping in the area appreciated that the discomfort they were suffering was being reduced by at least two days. If the Government had wanted to con these people, it would not have sent out a representative subsequent to the decision of Cabinet to site the prison at Dharruk- [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Londonderry to order. Mr SCH1PP:-to tell the people that this was a decision of Cabinet- [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Port Stephens to order. Mr SCHIPP: -and that they had a choice of withdrawing and not signing contracts. As at about half an hour ago, 60 purchasers had signed contracts. They were fully aware of what is happening and were content to enter into contracts. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the Deputy Leader of the Opposition to order. Mr SCHIPP: The sales will proceed. On discovering that South Windsor and Dharruk were one and the same place, I went immediately to the Premier. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Wentworthville to order. Mr SCHIPP: I said: "We have a problem. People are lining up to buy land and we must be frank with them". The Premier agreed wholeheartedly; he sent a departmental officer to the site immediately to advise prospective purchasers. The Government is completely in the clear on this matter. In the 20 or so days that this Parliament has sat, the only questions on housing have come from Government members. That reveals the paucity of questions from the Opposition on housing matters. This Government has had a grand opening on the issue of housing.
WATER RESOURCES Mr BOOKS: My question without notice is directed to the Minister for Natural Resources. Has the Minister established how the federal Budget will affect the level of government funding for water resource problem areas, such as resource management, salination, and flooding? In particular, what was the federal Government's response to the serious flooding earlier this year in Parramatta and elsewhere in Sydney's western suburbs? 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 613
Mr CAUSLEY: The honourable member for Parramatta has asked a question about an important matter affecting the western suburbs. It is a breath of fresh air in this Chamber to witness a member properly representing the constituents of the western suburbs and putting forward the problems they face. From past actions, it is clear that Opposition members representing western suburbs electorates have been trying valiantly to obtain some funding from the federal Government. The honourable member for Wentworthville called meetings attended by Senator Peter Cook to see if the federal Government could be influenced to allocate more funding to alleviate flooding problems in the western suburbs. The honourable member for Waratah wrote to the Prime Minister requesting that something be done about the problem; and the other night in this House we heard of the problems in the electorate of the honourable member for Riverstone. The federal Government has let down all those members. The funding allocated in the federal Budget will not cover the cost of retention basins and the works needed in the western suburbs to overcome- [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Macquarie Fields to order. Mr CAUSLEX-the serious flooding that has been occurring there in the past few months. Ms Allan: They have given us what we asked for. Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Wentworthville to order. Mr CAUSLEY: The honourable member for Wentworthville said, "They have given us what we asked for". That proposition appeared in Senator Cook's press release in November last year, before the recent flooding occurred. After the flooding the Deputy Premier made it clear that he would request additional funding. This Government said that it would match the federal Government dollar for dollar to overcome the problems in the western suburbs. The Deputy Premier was seeking an amount of $5 million; we received $2.2 million. Local councils in the area are making it clear that they have serious problems that they want to overcome. I omitted to mention the honourable member for Blacktown, whose electorate also has problems with flooding. The Blacktown council has said that as a matter of cost efficiency the three retention basins needed in the area should be constructed at the same time. The council does not have the necessary funds and it is keen to see that the retention basins are constructed to overcome the severe flooding in the western suburbs. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Burragorang to order. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Burragorang to order for the second time. Mr CAUSLEY: This Government has said consistently that it will match the funds allocated by the federal Government, but the funds from the federal water resources assistance program have dwindled continually from year to year. This year is no exception; the allocation has been reduced again. What Senator Cook has not said is that he is reducing the funds to be spent on other water resource problems. Anyone would recognize that the single most important 614 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988 problem in Australia at present is the salination of land in the western areas of this State. The Murray-Darling ministerial council is well aware of the problems. At a meeting in Adelaide only a fortnight ago, the council reiterated the need for more funding for drainage works to overcome the salination of land. But what did the federal Government do? In the Berriquin drainage system, for which the State requested $5.6 million, which was agreed to by the council, the federal Government allocated only $2.6 million. Even if this Government reorganized its funds-which I am willing to do-I remind honourable members that 80 per cent of the allocation is being spent in the western suburbs of Sydney to overcome the serious flooding problems. As a result of extensive development in those areas, land is being flooded that has never been flooded before. The New South Wales Government was willing to allocate additional funds but it is unable to do so because the federal Government has reduced its allocation to other problem areas. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Macquarie Fields to order for the second time. Mr CAUSLEY: There is no doubt in my mind that the federal Budget clearly shows that the federal Labor Government has no regard at all for electorates in the western suburbs of Sydney now held by the Labor Party. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Londonderry to order for the second time. Mr CAUSLEY: I should like to address also the matter that the honourable member for Riverstone raised in the House recently about problems in his electorate-which undoubtedly there are. They are mainly related to planning, another matter for which assistance is necessary. The federal Government was so serious about problems in the electorate of Riverstone that it gave the honourable member absolutely no assistance to overcome them. That shows his level of influence with the federal government. The State Government acted quickly when flooding occurred in the western suburbs. The Premier and the Minister for Family and Community Services went to the western suburbs and promised flood relief. Already $4 million has been paid as restitution for loss of household effects and other damage occasioned in that serious flooding. I repeat that the State Government is committed to helping overcome flooding problems in the western suburbs of Sydney. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Burragorang to order for the third time. Mr CAUSLEY: I suggest that members of the Opposition who represent western suburbs electorates should attempt to influence their federal colleagues to obtain reasonable funding, which the State would match dollar for dollar, to overcome those serious problems.
INTEREST RATE INQUIRY REPORT Mr IRWIN: I address my question without notice to the Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs. Has the Minister received from the chairman of the Commercial Tribunal a report on the maximum interest rate inquiry? When will the Minister table the report and implement its recommendations? 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 615 Mr PEACOCKE: At present my agency is conducting a wide-ranging study into credit in New South Wales. The report to which the honourable member refers is one part of that inquiry. At the appropriate time, in common with all other matters under investigation by my agencies, it will be released for full public discussion. I believe that New South Wales, under this Government, is taking the lead in credit legislation, which protects all consumers of credit, not only the narrow band of consumers covered by the interstate agreement of the Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs Ministers. Anyone who is affected by a high rate of interest has the right to go to the Commercial Tribunal for an order as to the credit licence of the lender. The Commercial Tribunal has made a number of decisions about licensing. I have not yet released the report to which the honourable member refers-not because I am worried about any part of its contents, but as I believe that when new legislation and proper action is proposed, the whole range of options for credit law will be fully canvassed with all consumer groups, the community, and every member of this House. All of the inquiries about credit legislation and providing better consumer protection-though allowing the finance and credit industry to evolve new and innovative means of providing good finance to the public-have involved consumer groups and anyone else interested. I will continue along that line and develop legislation for this State that will protect all borrowers of money, whether they are small financial consumers, farmers or small- businessmen. I am conducting a complete study that will provide answers to all the credit problems in this State.
MR PAUL GALEA Mr PARK: I ask the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs a question without notice. Will the Minister inform the House of the circumstances surrounding recent court proceedings involving the poultry farmer Mr Paul Galea? Mr SPEAKER: Order! The essence of the honourable member for Tamworth's question relates to ongoing proceedings. I gather that those proceedings are somewhat controversial. I seek an assurance that the answer that the Minister will give will in no way impinge on the proceedings. Mr ARMSTRONG: To the best of my advice nothing that I say will impinge on any court proceedings that may take place in the future. My reply will relate to the present position. Mr Whelan: On a point of order. With great respect, the House is entitled, on a matter involving sub judice, to hear from the Attorney General, as the first law officer of this State, and not from the appropriate Minister. The Minister does not know that an appeal has been lodged. He has referred to court proceedings. Clearly he is in breach of the standing orders and Speakers' rulings in relation to the sub judice rule. That is as clear as crystal. It is different to talk about a sub judice breach related to a matter before the Industrial Commission or, as I mentioned earlier, about a proposed prosecution. No. Parliament in Australia, federal or State, interprets the sub judice rule as restrlctlvely as does this Parliament. You have said, Mr Speaker, that you intend to give deliberative thought to the sub judice rule. This is clearly a case in which an appeal has been indicated by Mr Galea. Now the Minister intends to traverse his ministerial responsibility and the failure of his department to try to pre-empt what will be said in court. 616 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988
Mr Dowd: On the point of order. The honourable member for Ashfield said two different things. First he said that an appeal has been lodged. Then he said that an appeal has been indicated. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! The honourable member for Ashfield will allow the Attorney General to be heard in silence. Mr Dowd: I am not aware that an appeal has been lodged in that matter. If it has, the matter would be sub judice, subject to the fact that appellate courts are not subject to the same restraints as are courts of first instance. I acknowledge the view that the sub judice rule should not be used to prevent discussion in Parliament, except in proper circumstances. However, I have not had notice that an appeal has been lodged. As the honourable member for Ashfield has said two different things- [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Ashfield to order. Mr Dowd: I thank the honourable member for reminding me that I am the first law officer. Mr T. J. Moore: That is a position the honourable member for Ashfield will never hold. Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the Minister for Environment to order. Mr Dowd: There is, of course, no position of last law officer of this State. If the honourable member for Ashfield knows that an appeal has been lodged, he should inform the House, rather than make various assertions. I shall ascertain whether an appeal has been lodged. If it has, the matter is sub judice. Mr Hatton: On the point of order. I express my concern about the sub judice rule. In particular I believe that this matter should be the subject of discussion in the Parliament. It is important to protect the rights and privileges of the members of this House. In that respect I shall quote Speaker Kelly's ruling on 18th February when, in my opinion, he summed up the subject quite well. He said: In order to preserve the privileges and freedom of speech of all honourable members, and mindful of the tradition of the House of Commons that it is the fundamental responsibility of the Parliament to be the supreme inquest of the nation, and the prior rulings that to suggest that judicial figures specially selected by the State because of their training and experience in assessing evidence are going to be overborne merely because of views expressed in Parliament, is to do much less than credit to those figures. As I understand the court system an appeal goes before a panel of judges to deal with points of law. My view is that the sub judice rule ought not be applied unless a jury is involved. All other matters must be subject to public discussion. If we accept the view of Speaker Kelly and the opinion expressed in other rulings from the Chair, it does this House much less than credit to suggest that judges will be influenced merely by what members of Parliament say in debate. Many issues are subject to discussion in the newspapers, as this matter has been for many months. It would be ridiculous to prevent this matter from being the subject of debate in this House. 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 617
Mr Dowd: Further to the point of order. As the honourable member for Ashfield made a positive assertion, I ask him to inform the House whether he has knowledge that was not available to the Government about an appeal being lodged. That is crucial to a decision on the point of order. Mr SPEAKER: Order! Is the honourable member for Ashfield aware positively that an appeal has been lodged? Mr Whelan: I enjoy the same rights as every citizen in the State. The Attorney General is the first law officer of the State. It is within the province of his jurisdiction, not mine, to ascertain whether matters are before an appellate court. It is not open to any citizen to peruse the court list. That is available to the Attorney General. Mr SPEAKER: Order! It was important to seek comment from the honourable member for Ashfield so that I had a complete understanding of the situation. On the advice I have been given and taking into account the points of order that have been raised by various members I find that the information sought in the question asked by the honourable member for Tamworth has been the subject of long and involved deliberations and negotiations for many years. I can well imagine that some aspects of that debate would fall outside any specific references that might be made to the courts. I sought from the Minister for Agriculture an assurance that the answer he intended to give would not be even within the compass of issues likely to be the subject of an appeal, if one were lodged. I trust the Minister's reply will be confined to the broad aspects of the issue. I am thankful that in this instance I have a fairly good understanding of the issues. If in my view the Minister's response breaches those confines, I shall have no hesitation in asking the Minister to desist. Mr ARMSTRONG: On Tuesday, 16th August, the Supreme Court moved to enforce fines unpaid by Mr Galea since the early 1980s. On Friday, 19th August, the court confirmed that damages to the New South Wales Egg Corporation amounted to $1.1 million. I make it clear that two separate issues are involved: first, whether current legislation in New South Wales is appropriate, and second, whether the Government will support the courts when their authority is challenged. As to the first, it cannot be ignored that the industry has been plagued by constant infringements of current regulations. The Government must accept responsibility for reviewing the law when the community demands it. The Government has therefore already established an independent review by private consultants to study all aspects of egg marketing in the State. The consultants will receive no directions from the Government that might anticipate their findings. The second aspect is Mr Galea's refusal to obey the law. The authority of the judiciary, not the rights and wrongs of the legislation, is the real issue here. The Government will review legislation when it is appropriate; but it will not interfere with the authority of the courts to uphold the laws of the State. Mr Whelan: The Government is directing the judges. Mr SPEAKER: Order! Mr ARMSTRONG: Since the current legislation is under review the Government has, however, offered- Mr Whelan: He has not had a fair trial. Mr SPEAKER: Order! 618 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988
Mr ARMSTRONG: -to set aside the damages assessed against Mr Galea if he will abide by the law in future.
[Interruption]
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Ashfield to order for the third time.
Mr ARMSTRONG: The damages therefore arise through Mr Galea's own choice. He does not have to pay them if he agrees to abide by the law; but he consistently refuses to do so. The media performances last week in which Mr Galea played the aggrieved victim were pure theatre. Mr Galea has defiantly thumbed his nose and refused to obey the law, even if the Government overlooks all the sins of the past. Mr Galea claims that his actions do not damage anyone. But that is not true. He has damaged his fellow egg producers who do obey the law. The Supreme Court has found that the New South Wales Egg Corporation has sustained financial damage of more than $1 million. The Supreme Court does not award damages when none exist. Mr Galea's activities mean that the New South Wales-
Mr J. J. AQUILINA (Blacktown) [11.26]:I move:
That the honourable member for Lachlan, Mr Armstrong, be not further heard.
The House divided.
Ayes, 40
Ms Allan Mr Irwin Mr E. T. Page Mr Amery Mr Knight Mr Price Mr A. S. Aquilina Mr Knowles Mr Primrose Mr J. J. Aquilina Mr Langton Dr Refshauge Mr K. G. Booth Mr Lovelee Mr Rogan Mr Brereton Mr McManus Mr Rumble Mr Carr Mr Markham Mr Shedden Mr Cleary Mr Martin Mr Unsworth Mr Davoren Mr H. F. Moore Mr Walsh Mr Doyle Mr Moss Mr Whelan Mr Ferguson Mr J. H. Murray Mr Gibson Mr Newman Tellers, Mr Harrison Ms Nori Mr Beckroge Mr Hunter Mr Paciullo Mr Christie 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 619
Noes, 64 Mr Andrews Mr Hartcher Mr Roberts Mr Arkell Mr Hatton Mr Schipp Mr Armstrong Mr Jeffery Mr Schultz Mr Baird Mr Keegan Mr Singleton Mr Berry Mr Kerr Mr Small Mr Books Mr Longley Mr Smiles Mr J. D. Booth Miss Machin Mr Smith Mr Caterson Mr Mack Mr Souris Mr Causley Mr Matheson Mr Tink Mr Chappell Mr Merton Mr Turner Mr Cochran Dr Metherell Mr Webster Mrs Cohen Mr T. J. Moore Mr Welsh Mr Collins Ms Moore Mr West Mr Cruickshank Mr Morris Mr White Mr Dowd Mr W. T. J. Murray Mr Wotton Mr Downy Mr D. L. Page Mr Yabsley Mr Fahey Mr Park Mr Yeomans Miss Fraser Mr Peacocke Mr Zammit Mr Glachan Mr Petch Mr Graham Mr Photios Tellers, Mr Greiner Mr Pickard Mr Beck Mr Griffiths Mr Rixon Mr Phillips
Pair Mr Hay Mrs Crosio Resolved in the negative. Mr ARMSTRONG: It is clear that I was beginning to hit a soft patch for the honourable member for Blacktown. The honourable member for Burragorang has been jumping off his perch, in the true traditions of a chook. Now he has returned to the roost. To make sure that the soft point to which the honourable member for Blacktown responded is clear in the minds of honourable members, I shall repeat it. The Supreme Court has found that the New South Wales Egg Corporation sustained financial- Mr Whelan: On a point of order. Mr Speaker, you will recall that I raised the issue of sub judice some time earlier. The Attorney General, who is the first law officer of this State, would be expected to know what is happening within his administration of justice, but he has had nothing to say as to whether the matter is sub judice. The Sydney Morning Herald of 20th August reported that an appeal in this matter would be filed against the judgment, and that a stay of 28 days had been granted from that date. I hand to the Attorney General a copy of that press report. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the Chief Secretary and Minister for Tourism to order. Mr Dowd: On the point of order. Whatever the question may be about other matters before the court, to my knowledge this matter is not. I am causing inquiries to be made. There has never been a ruling that a matter which is not before the court, or not yet the subject of appeal, restricts debate upon the subject-matter of the court's inquiry. The honourable member should be more 620 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988 careful, when he takes a point of order, to see that his facts are correct. His present assertion is false. That some litigant might say he intends to appeal has nothing to do with the court system. The fact that a stay of proceedings has been granted for 28 days, or even for 28 years, would have nothin to do with the matter being considered as before the court. Such matter is not f efore the court, and it is not sub judice. Mr Whelan: Further to the point of order. I should be happy to see the essential elements of the sub judice rule made clear. A ruling in Parliamentary Debates of 1967, volume 67, page 560, stated that an appeal from a judicial decision must have been lodged before the matter may be ruled sub judice. In Parliamentary Debates of 1969, volume 80, another ruling stated that if an appeal is not lodged, but the way is still open, a question should be deferred until the possibility of an appeal has been eliminated. My wish here is to establish the essential elements of the rule of sub judice in this Parliament. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the Minister for Health and Minister for Arts to order. Mr Hatton: Further to the point of order. A fundamental point for consideration by this Parliament is that if a matter is before an appellate court it is subject to the sub judice rule. Bearing in mind my previous comments about the wisdom of judges making their own determination about legislation without reference to what has been said in this House, one can imagine that someone seeking to forestall public comment-already forestalled in the press as the press cannot comment on a matter before a court-would seek also to have comment forestalled in this Parliament by lodging an appeal against a judicial decision. Such a person could forestall public debate on a matter of vital importance to the people, simply by spending $100 or more in lod ing an appeal. This matter must be considered carefully when we weigh the su g judice rule. Nlr SPEAKER: Order! The points raised on this sub judice issue underline the extraordinary complexity of the matter. Members may be interested to know that yesterday, when the Lord Chancellor visited this Parliament, I took the opportunity to raise with him the subject of matters sub judice. The Lord Chancellor reinforced the view that the issue is most complex and in a state of flux in most Parliaments that operate under the Westminster system. Past rulings make it clear that it is the action of lodging an appeal that brings about the initial ground upon which the sub judice rule can apply. The fact that the subject-matter lies still within the statutory period in which an appeal may be lodged does not invoke the sub judice rule, for in that circumstance an appeal may never be lodged and discussion of the subject would be unnecessarily restricted. I hake received from the Attorney Genera1 an assurance that no appeal in this matter has been lodged. The granting of a stay of proceedings merely creates a situation similar to that which would apply when a litigant has a right to lodge an appeal within a certain period. In the event, the rule of which I spoke earlier would apply. In the absence of any certain evidence before this Parliament that an appeal in this matter has been lodged, the question of whether the matter is sub judice does not arise. Mr ARMSTRONG: Quite clearly this is a matter of considerable embarrassment to the Opposition. it realizes that in its 12 years it failed to address the issue, it ducked it. We have addressed the matter in a positive manner- 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 621
[Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! Mr ARMSTRONG: Mr Galea's activities mean that the New South Wales Egg Corporation is obliged to buy from other producers eggs which it cannot sell due to overproduction. Those costs are met by other producers and ultimately by the public. Mr Galea has pleaded that he is a small operator, with no money to pay the fines. This needs to be set against the fact that in an affidavit, sworn in a federal court on 21st May, 1986, Mr Galea affirmed that he owned three farms, each with houses and sheds, two other houses in Liverpool, a block of seven flats in Liverpool, four units in Riley Street, Liverpool and enough trucks to run a sizeable transport business. Was he lying then or is he lying now? Unbeknown to the public the long struggle to enforce the law of this State has been accompanied by the most outrageous pressures. The court proceedings against Mr Galea have coincided with death threats by persons unknown against people associated with enforcing the law. Most recently, following the court decision of last Tuesday week, persons unknown threatened to pick off the children of a senior public servant as soon as the sequestrator set foot on Mr Galea's farm. That is the sort of thing we are up against. The Galea case has not been the subject of political division in this House, nor should it be. The Government has not chosen to score against the Opposition on this matter nor has the Opposition, until this morning, sought to obstruct the Government in enforcing the law, and that is what this question is all about. It is appropriate- [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Seven Hills to order. Mr ARMSTRONG: It is appropriate that all honourable members, regardless of their political differences, should stand together when legislation passed by this House is treated with defiance and arrogant contempt. I reiterate the point that on 27th June this year the New South Wales Government made an extremely generous offer to Mr Galea and that was to waive damages amounting to about $1 million in return- [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Granville to order. Mr ARMSTRONG: -for his acquiring or leasing a quota and paying the levy as do all other producers in New South Wales, encompassed within this legislation. This offer is still open to Mr Galea. Mr Galea must now accept the judgment of the courts of this State. Put simply, Mr Galea has no fair claim to public sympathy. It is unfortunate that this morning members of the Opposition are obviously somewhat embarrassed and, to cap off a rather bad week for them, have made absolute fools of themselves on an issue on which they could possibly have gained some credibility. They chose not to do that and it- [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for McKell to order. 622 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988
Mr ARMSTRONG: They chose not to do that. It was one of the worst days for tactics by this Opposition that I have seen in the five months of this Parliament. During next question time we should have another look at the reasons why some members on the Opposition benches, namely those from the egg producing areas, are so tender about this issue that they could not resolve it in 12 years of their administration. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Bligh to order for the third time.
GOVERNOR'S SPEECH: ADDRESS IN REPLY Fifth Day's Debate Debate resumed from 24th August. , Ms ALLAN (Wentworthville) [l 1.481: I offer my congratulations to the Governor, Sir James Anthony Rowland, for his Speech and to wish him well in his retirement, as it were. I think the Governor has performed admirably over the years of his service and I am sure he will be going on to better things. I congratulate a number of my colleagues who have already made their maiden speeches to this House: the honourable member for Londonderry, the honourable member for Auburn, the honourable member for McKell, the honourable member for Port Stephens and the honourable member for Illawarra. In particular I mention the honourable member for McKell as my association with her goes back to at least 1975 when she and I became involved in the women's organization within the New South Wales Labor Party. I am pleased that she and I on 19th March entered this House as two further women representatives in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. I express my good wishes to the honourable member for Parramatta. I understand he will be making his maiden speech today. We have been close colleagues in local government over many years. We respect each other's strengths and attempt to exploit each other's weaknesses at any opportunity, as we saw this morning in the question addressed to the Minister for Natural Resources. Today I want to talk about my electorate of Wentworthville and a number of issues that arise in that electorate at the present time. The electorate has a long and rich history. Toongabbie, which is part of the electorate of Wentworthville, will be celebrating its bicentenary as the third settlement of Australia in November this year. The first settlement was Sydney, the second settlement Parramatta, which also celebrates its bicentenary this year, and the third settlement was Toongabbie. It was settled at the end of the 18th century as the farm for the colony of New South Wales. Its history has been a particularly rich one and there are still many examples of the historical nature of the area. The chairman of the local bicentennial committee, Mr Ross Hope, is the principal of Toongabbie Public School. Over the past 12 months Mr Hope has been a great source of inspiration to the people of Toongabbie in organizing the many celebrations that will occur in November. We will be honoured by the presence of the Prime Minister when on 12th November he comes to mark the celebrations. The area, despite its history, has been one of very rapid growth in recent years. The reason for that is its close proximity to Parramatta, now the second business centre of Sydney. 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 623
The rapid growth I have referred to has benefited the electorate of Wentworthville greatly, but it also has created a number of problems, which I shall discuss at some length. I now address the concept of urban consolidation, which was a policy of the former Labor Government. The present Government is continuing to pursue the policy. I support the concept strongly in principle and in practice. Recently the Minister for Housing was reported in an article in the Sydney Mornzng Herald to have said that he was about to release details of a model village based on medium density plans. That would be an important acquisition to western Sydney because it would provide its citizens with an opportunity to experience a variety of medium density planning and development. A number of problems have arisen, however, with urban consolidation, and the House should be made aware of them. The first is flooding, which I shall discuss at greater length later in my contribution. In passing, however, I suggest that although urban consolidation is important to all areas within metropolitan Sydney, it must be undertaken in a planned and progressive manner. Some people have reservations about urban consolidation because of runoff and flood problems that are exacerbated as a result of its implementation. I urge the two local councils within my electorate, Holroyd council and Parramatta council, to consider lobbying the State Government, in particular, to arrest the development of urban consolidation until a reasonable solution is found to the flood problem. A further problem associated with housing is homelessness. The Governor in his Speech mentioned that the Minister for Housing was waiting for the results of any inquiry being conducted into homelessness. On 28th June I wrote to the Minister for Housing suggesting that as homelessness is a statewide problem the inquiry should concern itself with all areas and not confine its considerations to the inner city only. The Minister has chosen not to accept that suggestion. On 6th July he replied: While I am concerned to eliminate homelessness In all areas of New South Wales, I am sure you wlll agree that the magnitude of the present problem 1s greatest In the inner clty of Sydney and ~t is to this area that our attentions must be directed in the first instance. I take the Minister's reply on board, as I do the comments of my colleague the honourable member for McKell when she referred in her maiden speech in this House yesterday to homelessness in the inner city. I concede I would be callous indeed were I to disagree with both the Minister and the honourable member for McKeil. Obviously homelessness is a priority issue in the inner city. However, I agree with the honourable member for Auburn, who, in his maiden speech to this House, referred at some length to hornelessness and housing difficulties in his electorate of Auburn. It is apparent that homelessness is not restricted to inner city electorates. I am sure all honourable members would agree that homelessness is widespread. I take this opportunity to inform the House of some instances of people affected by the severe housing crisis in my electorate of Wentworthville. I realize that I am unable to provide this information to the inquiry into homelessness as it is confining its considerations and deliberations to homelessness in the inner city. Everyday constituents in my electorate inform me of problems regarding the provision of public housing and private housing. A number of constituents, particularly those in private housing, may as well be classified as homeless having regard to some of the circumstances in which they are compelled to live. One of my constituents, who has two young children, had been living in premises in which faulty electrical wiring had caused a fire. That person was warned that at any time the wiring could cause further fires. When a complaint 624 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988 was made to the landlord about the dangerous situation, the tenant was served with a notice of eviction and was then evicted. That person is now desperate and is waiting for emergency placement in public housing. Another constituent, who has been on the public housing waiting list since 1964, has been living in a converted shed that has been flooded on three occasions. She suffers from a spinal complaint that necessitates her wearing a steel corset. Her medical complaint has been exacerbated by the conditions of the premises in which she lives. I have been informed also of a family that lives in a caravan parked on land owned by relatives because the family cannot afford other accommodation. The caravan is in poor condition. A woman who lives in the caravan is an epileptic and is pregnant-a serious and unhealthy situation. Another family living in private accommodation, with two children aged two years and six weeks, has on several occasions found rats in their baby's bassinet. The premises are overrun by rats and mice and the husband and wife are justifiably terrified that their children will be bitten by rodents. I have related these matters to highlight the serious problems associated with homelessness and the housing shortage. It is important, should the Minister pursue his inquiries into homelessness, that he does not restrict his investigation to the inner city of Sydney. Recently I was informed of a family that came from the country to settle in Sydney. The family lived in a Kombi van in a quiet suburban street in my electorate. I give credit to my opponent in the recent State election for having telephoned me to inform me that a family was living in such conditions within my electorate. He asked whether I could be of some assistance. That families live in cars and vans in suburban streets-and in this particular case in the salubrious suburb of Greystanes-is proof positive of the housing crisis. I now address the role of local government in my electorate. As I mentioned earlier, there are two councils in my electorate, Holroyd council and Parramatta council. I compliment the mayor of Parramatta council, Alderman Alan Hyam, and the mayor of Holroyd council, Allan Ezzy. Despite being my opponent in the State elections I continue to have respect for the work that Allan Ezzy does for local government. I pay particular tribute to the deputy mayor of Holroyd council, Alderman Bob Downing, who is also the deputy chairman of the Western Sydney Regional Organization of Councils. Bob Downing is a close personal friend and was of considerable assistance to me during the election campaign. He continues to assist me to be an effective member for the electorate of Wentworthville. The two councils have played a conscientious role in seeking to overcome a number of problems experienced by the local community. At a later stage I shall refer to the role that each has played with regard to flooding. In particular they play an important role in the provision of community services. The electorate of Wentworthville is a long-established electorate. I am its second member of Parliament. My predecessor represented the Wentworthville electorate for 25 years. The suburbs within the electorate are also well- established. However, throughout the years the electorate has suffered because of a shortage of community services. Despite the e~tablishednature of the population the shortage of facilities has started to be remedied only in recent times by the actions of Holroyd and Parramatta councils and the assistance of the previous Labor Government when it initiated the western Sydney area assistance scheme. I am happy to inform the House that I have at least two active community service associations within 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 625 my electorate, at Holroyd and Toongabbie. They each employ full-time community officers who are attempting to meet some of the area's needs. I do not ignore the efforts of the more established service clubs and other associations that operate in the area; they also have played a valuable role in meeting community needs within my electorate. I mention particularly the role of the Wentworthville Leagues Club Limited, its chairman, Dennis Cromack, its secretary-manager, Bob Mavin, and his predecessor, Wally Webster. I mention also the Parramatta Leagues Club and its secretary-manager, Mr Dennis Fitzgerald. Both clubs were particularly helpful to me during my campaign to become elected as the member for Wentworthville and I enjoy their continuing support. I turn now to the issue of children's services in the electorate of Wentworthville. Despite the fact that this is a fairly major issue in the area, which has large numbers of children under five years of age who need pre-school and long day care services, the area has only three long day care services. There is a shortage of before and after school services, though I am pleased that in the past six months the federal Government has commenced at least an additional three services at schools in the electorate. However, there is a long way to go to meet the local child care needs. On Tuesday evening I listened carefully to the federal Treasurer's Budget Speech. I was pleased to learn that the federal Government will continue its children's services development program to meet the needs of my electorate. I turn now to transport. Transport, flooding and housing are probably the key issues of concern to my constituents. The previous Government promised, not simply at its death knell but on several occasions in the past 12 months, that it would complete the vital missing link on the western freeway between Mays Hill and Prospect. I express my concern to the Minister for Transport about the way this Government is approaching the need to complete that important link. Recently the Department of Main Roads advertised for the submission of offers to develop and operate urban tollways. The advertisement said: The Department has ldentlfied two sections of the planned Sydney road network which could be developed as Tollways. These links are from Mays Hill to Prospect on the Western Freeway, and from North Ryde to Pennant Hills Road on the Castlereagh Freeway. The advertisement contains an inherent contradiction. It speaks about the development and operation of urban tollways, but it is proposed to construct them in the middle of the western freeway and the proposed Castlereagh freeway. I am sure that the Minister for Transport is aware of that anomaly. It is inappropriate for an urban tollway to be developed from Mays Hill to Prospect. I have made these comments publicly in the local media and wish to make them also in this House. Many motorists will become considerably resourceful to avoid travelling on a tollway. The streets running parallel to the freeways and the proposed urban tollways will be directly affected. Many motorists will try to avoid paying a toll. The roads in my electorate that run parallel to the Great Western Highway, which intersects the electorate, will become even more choked with heavy traffic than they are now. I was concerned to learn that the toll on the Berowra tollway had been removed, only to discover that tollways were to be established in western Sydney. I pointed out to the local news media, which received my comments favourably, tnat it is not good enough for residents in the western suburbs to pay tolls while residents of other urban areas are having tolls removed. The western freeway will be a disaster if a tollway is introduced. For obvious 626 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988 reasons, this Government has given the Castlereagh freeway a higher priority than that given by the previous Government, but traffic delays will occur if an urban tollway is introduced on that vital link. The other area of transportation I wish to mention is community transport. The former Government should be complimented on its actions in the area of community transport; I hope that this Government will earn a bouquet also. My electorate has an active community transport network and it is hoped it will receive funding from this Government. I thank the Minister for Transport for favourably considering a continuation of funding of the Holroyd community transport scheme, which fills a valuable community role. The scheme has highlighted the existing difficulties in the area. If one does not have ready access to car transport, or cannot make use of private buses, one has great difficulty in getting around the electorate. The Holroyd community transport scheme has been able to initiate many services, particularly for shoppers and for people attending Westmead hospital for medical treatment. The scheme has performed well and I am pleased that it will continue its work. I turn now to an important group of constituents in my electorate, the largest group from a non-English speaking background. I refer to the Maltese community. The electorate of Wenthworthville has long been regarded as little Malta. Four per cent of the constituents within the Holroyd municipal council boundaries are Maltese. Two-thirds reside in my electorate. The Maltese have a rich history in the area. They have been migrating to Australia since the nineteenth century; they are not fly-by-night visitors to these shores. After World War I1 they arrived in thousands, settling particularly in areas such as Girraween, where I grew up and had many Maltese friends. I enjoyed their hospitality at the many local market gardens. I pay tribute to the Maltese Herald, which is the outstanding Maltese language journal in the community. In particular, I pay tribute to its editor, Leno Vella, and his good wife Barbara. They have supported me since I have known them and I shall continue to maintain a close working relationship with them. I pay tribute also to the chairman of the Maltese Community Council Paul Sant, who is about to become one of my constituents. He is an outstanding solicitor in Toongabbie and Westmead and has performed important work as the chairman of the council. I pay tribute also to Laurie Dimech, the president of the Melita Eagles Soccer Club, and his wife Marlene, who were strong supporters of my campaign in the recent election for the seat of Wentworthville. I shall continue to work closely with them and with the club. I wish the club well in this year's competition. I would like to speak at some greater length about flooding. Dr Metherell: Tell us about Toongabbie Creek. Ms ALLAN: It is two years this week since disastrous urban flooding occurred in Sydney. Flooding is not simply an issue concerning Toongabbie Creek. The Minister for Education and Youth Affairs makes light of the matter by narrowing the debate to Toongabbie Creek. Flooding is the single major issue among constituents of a number of electorates in western and southwestern Sydney. In question time earlier today, the Minister for Natural Resources mentioned my name or my electorate, but in any case it had been my intention to comment on flooding in my contribution to the Address-in-Reply debate. I want to speak about the State Government's attitude to flooding, about what the federal Government and local government are or are not doing, and the residents' expectations of what all levels of government should be doing. 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 627
First I shall comment on the State Government. I do not want to condemn it out of hand at this stage. I was somewhat surprised this morning by the sensitivity of the Minister for Natural Resources on this issue. Obviously, as I suspected was the case, there is some dissension within the Government ranks, otherwise the Minister would not have been so sensitive this morning when he referred to me. At present the State Government is considering an important options paper, prepared by the Department of Water Resources, on the future organization of flood administration in the State. I compliment the authors of the paper, which fairly clearly produces the options that the Government can pursue. The administration of expenditure on water resources and flood mitigation is the key role of the Government at present. I do not want to pre- empt the Government's decision and I do not want to condemn the Government out of hand if it has made up its mind already. I hope it has not, for on my reading of that paper the preferred option will not be satisfactory. As the Minister has made no announcement, I am hoping that deliberations are still proceeding. As I have said, I do not think that the preferred option, that is, for a management trust, is the most satisfactory. That option is based on a model of the Hunter Valley Conservation Trust. I shall not rubbish that trust; it may have done good work in its time. However, that model is not appropriate to solve the problems in western Sydney. I say that for a number of reasons. The vast majority of the river-bank area for which the Hunter Valley Conservation Trust has responsibility is rural land. It is not urban, developed land such as there is in the electorate of Wentworthville and neighbouring electorates. Much of the trust's work has been associated with soil conservation and farm water conservation. That is not the sort of precedent that should be contemplated to tackle the problems in western Sydney. The conservation trust was established 37 years ago and it has a wonderful record. However, it has had responsibility for spending only $14.5 million. To use an analogy from a previous debate, that is chicken feed compared to the amount of money that now must be spent in western Sydney. Further, the trust has no strong powers of land acquisition. That power is a fundamental key to solving the flooding problem in western Sydney. Unless a body has such strong powers of land acquisition it will be unable to solve the problem. Despite the good will of the Hunter Valley Conservation Trust, its model is not suitable for Wentworthville. Recently I had a great deal of pleasure in visiting the Dandenong Valley authority, which has responsibility for flood mitigation in that region. I was accompanied there by representatives of the Holroyd and Parramatta city councils. That authority's model would be far better for this Government to adopt. Though the authority comprises a bigger bureaucracy, that should not deter the Government. The Minister referred this morning to the role of the federal Government. I quote from a letter that the federal Minister for Resources sent to me last Tuesday in which he said: I am pleased to advise that $700,000 has been allocated for the project. This. . . is .the full amount requested by New South Wales for this project. The Minister was referring to the Toongabbie flood mitigation project. It is entirely hypocritical for the State Minister to talk about the federal Government's failure to provide funds, when the State Government has received all that it requested. Local government has acknowledged its 628 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988 responsibilities in this matter and is trying hard to lobby the State and federal governments to provide effective solutions. I want to mention particularly the residents who are affected by this problem. They have organized themselves wonderfully. It seems that I attend an indefinite number of Sunday morning meetings of local flood groups. They like to come out in their hundreds on Sunday mornings, even when the rain is not falling, to talk about the problems they have, and to lobby politicians to produce solutions. What they want will involve a great deal of money. Some of them want the Government to purchase their properties. Some of them do not want to leave their properties, but want to have them elevated-as has been done fairly effectively on the North Coast. They want more money spent on retardation works. They want the existing creek system to be maintained and upgraded. Moreover, they want the Water Board to improve drainage, and to improve the provision of sewerage facilitie2. All of those items will cost the Government a considerable amount of money. However, rather than indulge in the sort of backbiting exercise that we heard this morning during question time, honourable members should work towards bipartisan co-operation with the federal Government and local government to solve the problems. One of the more constructive exercises that the Minister could embark upon would be to talk earnestly with the Minister for Housing and the Premier. He should liaise with them in an endeavour to tackle urban consolidation as it relates to the flood problem. With the Premier, the Minister should look at the important issue of insurance, about which I have spoken previously, and try to develop packages to assist people affected by flooding. Though that will not solve their problems in the short term if the money is not made available immediately, it will help them when the flooding inevitably occurs. I am grateful for the opportunity to have spoken about a number of issues that affect my electorate. I intend to raise them on a continuing basis, because they are not the sorts of problems that will disappear overnight. Mr RIXON (Lismore) [12.16]: It is with pleasure and a great feeling of respect for the traditions and responsibilities associated with this, Australia's oldest Parliament, that I rise to join the list of members who, during this session of Parliament, supported the Government's commitment "to creating a sound financial base for the State's future and to pursuing excellence and choice in the basic services it provides". As the most recently elected member for Lismore, I am at the same time humbled and proud to have my name added to the list of men who have served the Lismore electorate since it was formed last century. Men like Sir John Robertson, Raymond Perdriau, William Frith, Jack Easter and the Hon. Keith Compton have forged a proud record of representation of the people of the Lismore electorate. The most recently retired member, Mr Bruce Duncan, earned the undying respect of all of his constituents and set an example of untiring service. I wish to record my thanks, and those of the people I now represent, to Bruce Duncan and wish him well in his retirement. The new seat of Lismore comprises the towns of Lismore, Casino, Kyogle, Coraki and Nimbin. I must say that I look forward to the challenge of representing the people of the Lismore electorate in the years ahead, and I express my thanks to them for the support they gave me in the recent election. I especially thank the team of campaign workers led by Artie Brown for their help and advice, which I found so valuable. During the campaign I was grateful for the support of my wife Merrilyn and our five young children, Serenity, Ben, Vic, Luke and Jordan. I am indeed fortunate to have their continual encouragement and love. 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 629
Just as each of those previous members for Lismore spoke in their maiden speeches of the effects of the Government's actions on primary industries, and in particular the dairy industry, I report to the Parliament that primary industry still provides a strong foundation for the commerce of the electorate. However, since the loss, during the 1960s, of the great wealth produced by butter for dairyfarmers, many social changes have taken place in the electorate. Not only were incomes in the area greatly reduced, but the rural population suffered a dramatic decline. A prime example of that decline was the Kyogle shire area, where the population fell from over 12 000 in the 1950s to just 8 000 in the early 1970s. These changes have been exaggerated by the Wran Government's pandering to the ridiculous claims of irresponsible greenie groups, instead of continuing to improve forest management techniques, which would ensure cyclic harvesting, regeneration and preservation of our forest resources and the fauna and flora forever. The people of the area were told that the hundreds of timber workers thrown on to the unemployment lists would find work with the national parks service and in the tourist industry. This did not happen, and many of the roads needed for tourist development, which had been maintained by forestry workers, are no longer maintained to their previous standard. The negative atmosphere built up by the Wran and Unsworth governments for business, development, industry and the creation of jobs has turned what was, and has the resources to be, one of the richest areas of New South Wales into one of the poorest and most socially disadvantaged parts of Australia. A quick look at the statistics provided by various government bodies illustrates the magnitude of the problem, which has not been addressed. The unemployment level of more than 18 per cent in the region is almost double that of western Sydney. A compilation of the 1986 census data shows that more than 50 per cent of individuals and more than 20 per cent of households exist on an annual income of less than $9,000, indicating that poverty on the North Coast is more deeply entrenched than anywhere else in New South Wales. Of the total population, approximately one-third is reliant on social security payments. The increase in the number of single-parent families is higher than the New South Wales average. It must be recognized that this continued lack of financial resources has produced a level of substandard housing five times greater than the New South Wales average, compounding the social problems of the area. These social problems of unemployment, drugs, broken homes and the hand-out mentality will no longer be ignored, as they were by the former Government. I was pleased to hear the remarks of His Excellency the Governor about the measures to be undertaken by this Government which will provide active and positive encouragement for the people of the far North Coast to develop and use their resources for the benefit of everyone. Though the mild climate of the North Coast is ideal from a residential viewpoint, it is also perfect for growing a wide range of temperate and subtropical crops. The region has abundant and unpolluted water, a variety of mineral resources, substantial timber reserves, natural tourist attractions, a reliable work force experienced in many fields, and a market of more than two million persons just to the north- Brisbane is only two hours away by road. These resources must be developed and organized to reduce unemployment. The Government's commitment to fostering sound business activities, to development and to creating a positive environment for new business activity is sorely needed. To tap the market only 200 kilometres away the roads must be improved. High on the list of factors retarding job creating industry 630 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988 development is the generally poor standard of the roads. The federal Government has let the people down badly, taking ever increasing taxes from the motorists yet steadily reducing funds for roads. The New South Wales Minister for Transport, the Hon. Bruce Baird, is to be congratulated for addressing this problem by providing a real increase in road funding from State sources. The road network north to Brisbane and the Gold Coast, as well as local roads and roads to the south, must be greatly improved to reduce transport costs and encourage tourists and other industry groups. The Bruxner Highway, the main roads and local roads all need attention. The necessary roadworks, together with the Government's aim of improving coach, air and rail services to the Lismore electorate, will at last allow the huge tourist potential of its rivers, hills, and forests to be realized. Positive action must be taken to extend the XPT train service to the Casino to Murwillumbah branch line. This line, which is now starting to be recognized by entrepreneurs from the Queensland Gold Coast as having great tourist potential, was not maintained to the standard it deserved by the Wran and Unsworth governments. Agriculture, especially the newer nut, fruit and horticultural industries, is interesting to the tourist and has the potential to develop huge export markets. I am pleased to note that the Minister for Agriculture, the Hon. Ian Armstrong, is encouraging the development of these industries. The irresponsible actions of the former Minister for Agriculture, the Hon. J. R. Hallam, which exposed the cattle industry of New South Wales to the risk of cattle tick infestation and cattle fever, are now being corrected. This Government is committed to giving positive assistance to North Coast farmers to keep ticks under control. It is imperative that the new tick board be in place as soon as possible now that the four years of dry seasons appear to have ended and the real risk of tick infestation begins again. Assistance is important also for research, production and marketing of new products such as the supply of fruit and vegetables to the Asian market. There is a multimillion dollar market for this State's produce. North Coast farmers should be well placed climatically and geographically to service that market. Research projects in freshwater fish farming for specialist markets have shown promise and should be encouraged to develop into a valuable industry. All of those matters need to be considered by the Government as possible ways to encourage employment in this area. Government hand-outs are not what the people are looking for; encouragement for business to develop is required. The North Coast being so far from Sydney, too often in the past the provision of services for people living in the area has been neglected. Compared with other regions, the far North Coast has been starved of its fair share of funding for public housing and low-cost housing loans. That has caused people to wait for more than six years for a home. As the local member for Lismore, I have had more representations on housing than on any other single problem. The Minister for Housing, the Hon. J. J. Schipp, is to be congratulated for taking action to reduce the waiting time for housing in the electorate by increasing available funding and for increasing the available moneys for subsidized housing loans more than fourfold. Most people can at last hope to achieve the Australian dream of owning their own home. Because of the increasing ratio of aged people on the North Coast, more must be done to provide accommodation for the elderly. Health services will continue to be improved with the redevelopment of the Lismore Base Hospital. I thank the Minister for Health, the Hon. P. E. J. Collins, for approving that redevelopment. The Casino hospital is ready to expand the range of services it provides. As the population growth rate of the area is among the highest in the 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 631 State, health services must be developed. Of particular concern are the difficulties faced by families when one of their mentally disabled or physically disabled members must travel at least 700 kilometres south for long-term specialist or medical care. Family visits, which are so important, are almost impossible because of the distance to be travelled. I am pleased to note the provision of care for these people is being studied. Children on the North Coast have long suffered from the lack of opportunity to gain tertiary education qualifications. Distance from tertiary education institutions has meant the proportion of far North Coast students moving on to that level of education is the lowest in the State. The low average income of North Coast families has meant that many families simply could not afford the costs associated with placing their children in a university 400 kilometres away at Armidale, or 1 000 kilometres away in Sydney. That 1s why recent development of the Northern Rivers College of Advanced Education towards university status is so important. The new technical and further education college campus to replace the present substandard and overcrowded buildings is urgently needed. I urge the federal Government to stop procrastinating and provide the necessary funding for this accommodation. The New South Wales Government has available two blocks of land-and has had for many years-but the federal Government cannot make up its mind whether to provide the much needed facility for the North Coast. Only when this amenity is available, together with the advantages provided by the college of advanced education, can North Coast students hope to have the opportunities enjoyed by students in other parts of the State. In the maintenance of law and order the Lismore electorate has been well served by dedicated and professional police officers; but in the city of Lismore those officers are compelled to work in substandard and overcrowded conditions-63 police work out of a station building suitable for less than one- third of that number. They have one change room only for 60 men and women, and one toilet only for 19 female officers. I am pleased that following a recent inspection of the building, the Minister for Police and Emergency Services, the Hon. E. P. Pickering, is investigating ways of providing more suitable accommodation. Although I am concerned about all matters in my electorate, three areas are of special interest to me. Having grown up on a farm I am most concerned about what has been happening in the North Coast rural industries, and having been a teacher for the past 28 years I have been most concerned about the direction in which education was proceeding under the previous Labor Government. I started teaching when I was 18 years old. I taught 33 students in a small one-teacher school. I taught in primary schools, remedial students in high schools and, later, I taught high school mathematics. During the past 10 years I have seen the morale of many teachers go steadily downhill because of the actions and educational policies of the former Labor Government. The remedial action by this Government was sorely needed. The lies and scare tactics being used by the Teachers' Federation, especially against students and their parents, are completely irresponsible and unforgivable. At last funds are being provided to give teachers the resources they need and the in-service training they require to keep up with developments in education and the continual changes in the social structure of our society. Most parents praise this Government for what is being done. If members of this House were to ask parents the first thing they do when their children come home from school at the beginning of a school year, they would find that 632 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988 parents do not ask how many students are in the class but who the teacher is. Parents know that quality of teaching is more important then any other factor. And that is the aim of this Government. The Government will provide teachers with the resources and training they need to be able to do the job required of them. My experience as a shire president and councillor underline my concern for local government. I went into council at a time when rural industries were suffering their lowest incomes for many years, being the central period of the beef market depression. Some farmers were paying more in rates than they were receiving in gross income. That situation, I am pleased to say, has improved, but serves to illustrate the problems that local government must confront when trying to fund services to meet the needs of the community. Local government has come under continuing and increasing pressure to supply a range and quality of service that it is unable to provide. Federal and State governments have reduced available resources for councils. They do not have the right to set rate levels to produce the resources they need. The Wran and Unsworth governments introduced requirements of local government which serve to increase their financial burden but not to improve their resourcing ability. The recognition of these difficulties by the present Minister for Local Government, and the actions that will be taken to assist councils with their problems, are welcome indeed. I congratulate the Greiner-Murray Government on the initiatives it has taken, and the leadership it has shown the people of New South Wales. I thank the House for my reception while I spoke about my electorate, its needs, and my hopes for it. I am here to serve the people of the Lismore electorate particularly, the people of New South Wales in general, and the people of Australia as a whole. I pledge myself to do that honestly and as well as I am able. Mr PRIMROSE (Camden) [12.33]: May I begin my first speech in this House as the member for Camden by congratulating the Governor on the delivery of his Speech under such difficult circumstances. I am sure that the Governor is aware that the anger of the 60 000 members of the usually silent majority protesting outside Parliament was not directed at him, but at the arrogant author of his Speech, the State Government. Leaving aside for the moment the obvious validity of the community's case against the Government in the education debate, education is perhaps the most obvious example of the poor management approach of this Government. While basking in the glory of being supposed whiz-kids in management, the Government's actions reveal an overall management approach not based on modern consultative management theory at all, but on the feudal concept of lords and serfs. That is why the word arrogance keeps cropping up. The Government is not willing to listen and talk. Its members have convinced themselves that their hard line political agenda is right, and that the rest of the community should not only accept it but be grateful. Well, we are not. Arrogance is a very poor management tool and one that, frankly, for all its supposed tactical cleverness, will eventually bring this Government down. But, then, there has always been a question mark over the assumed management skills of the now Premier. We should recall the findings of Mr Toomey, Queen's Counsel, in the Corporate Affairs Commission inquiry into the White River Timber Company. 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 633
I am a proud member of the Australian Labor Party. I believe it best represents the ideals and aspirations that I have for our society. But my first loyalty has been, and will continue to be, to my electorate. I regularly criticized the actions of the former Government when I believed them to be wrong. I will not hesitate to do the same with this Government, nor have I hesitated, or will I hesitate, to praise it for decisions th~tI believe ,benefit my electorate. But perhaps I should step back a few paces and reiterate the point that I am a Labor member of Parliament. I am most grateful to the Premier's Department, which has been sending me information marked private and confidential and addressed to all Liberal members of Parliament in marginal electorates. I thank the Premier, as the general manager of New South Wales Incorporated, for his thoughtfulness, and assure him that the material, in particular the list of pre-election commitments, will come in handy as both my electorate and I judge the Government's performance. Such flagrant misuse of the public purse for partisan political purposes is, of course, outrageous, but it is perfectly in line with the current politicization and spate of pogroms in the public service. But on to points of specific concern in my electorate of Camden. My election was successful due to the hard work of many people who were able to counter the lies of the Liberal Party during the campaign. Under the climate set by this Government, some of those people would be persecuted if I mentioned their names in this place, so I will mention none. They know who they are, and they and their families have my heartfelt thanks. Two names that I can mention, however, are those of my wife Jan and my son David, who put up with all the hardships of a long campaign in a marginal seat. Jan also had to suffer vicious personal insults under privilege from the now Premier, as, in typical style, he sought to pay me back by attacking my wife. Jan was not intimidated by his insults, which merely invigorated Labor Party members and supporters to work harder against his arrogance. The needs of my electorate are diverse, and the pain being inflicted already by this Government is being felt hard. Before the election, the now Premier came to the electorate and personally promised that a pedestrian overbridge over the coal road at Camden would be constructed. Now, after the election? The Government has announced that no bridge will be built. Before the election, a glut of Liberals haunted the railway level crossings in the area, promising immedjate action to build bridges. The now Premier personally promised funds to build a bridge that would eliminate the dangerous Leumeah level crossing, which is regularly used by my constituents from Woodbine, Claymore and other suburbs. But, after the election? The Government has not only told the local council that funds will be delayed but, in the greatest about- face so far, has said that funds will never be made available for Leumeah, and has removed the promise from the list. Before the election, the now Minister for Police and Emergency Services described the number of police in the electorate as deplorable. But, after the election? He wrote to me and told me that no additional police were needed- for one of the fastest growing areas in the southern hemisphere-as the current police staffing level was adequate. Before the election, the Liberals promised to investigate building a police station in the Claymore-Eaglevale area. After the election? They announced that there is no need to build one. Before the election we had promises of reduced rail fares. After the election? Our rail fares went up almost immediately by 12.5 per cent. A weekly ticket from Campbelltown station rose from $16.70 to $18.70. Before the election we had promises of improved health services. But the first action of the new Minister for Health 634 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988 was to close maternity beds at Campbelltown Hospital and threaten to close the children's ward at Camden District Hospital. The threat of privatization continues to hang over Camden District Hospital, and people in my electorate find it ominous that the Minister has failed even to address that spectre, despite the widespread concern. Before the election we were promised increased law and order, and a return to better community standards. But after the election concerned parents in my electorate are now fighting government proposals to allow 24-hour trading by hotels and taverns, and we have had our community justice centre scrapped. Before the election we were promised increased protection for the environment. But after the election the new Minister for Environment tried to back out of undertakings to provide air pollution monitors for the area; and my constituents have joined with others to fight the death sentence that the Minister has imposed on the koala colony at Wedderburn by his inaction. The Government however has approved a new rifle range in the Wedderburn area, so perhaps the new Minister for the gun lobby will open that and take the first shot. Ramps for those with disabilities were designed for Campbelltown railway station. But there has been only silence since the election, despite our attempts to find out when this commitment would be kept. Fitzgibbon Lane at Rosemeadow was to be finally finished. Again, since the election there has been only silence. The Elyard Street extension was to be built at Narellan, to help relieve some of the traffic chaos in that area. But again since the election there has been only silence. And the list goes on. The former Government provided an initial grant to Camden council to commence a heritage protection plan. But now there is only silence on the funds needed to develop the plan. The chamber magistrate's position is under a cloud, like so many of his colleagues. The Minister for Family and Community Services has refused to build any child care centres next year in the electorate despite the crushing need. Before the election, the Liberals promised to reduce the urban sprawl at Camden and Narellan. After the election-silence, and the rush to sell off unserviced land for home sites and ride roughshod over council concerns about burgeoning medium density developments. Local councils have been advised to stop school swimming classes using municipal pools because of the risks caused by the ill-considered cutback in the number of experienced swimming teachers. Flood relief has been totally inadequate, and cuts in the rate of increase in grants to local councils have been a severe blow. There has been the destruction of technical and further education, more restricted access to legal aid, the emasculation of consumer protection, and the rise of the principle of "let the buyer beware7' to a prime operating principle of government. The list goes on and on. I have not even detailed the effects on pensioners and poor working families in my electorate of the increased costs of transport, electricity, rent, school transport and the other joys of the mini-budget. I am proud of my electorate and the people in it. We will not stand by and cop it sweet from this Government. I fully intend using this Chamber as a forum to point out the pain being inflicted on people in my electorate, and to demand action to stop it. I will also use this Chamber as a means to expose cover-ups that our current laws will not allow to be exposed elsewhere. One such instance in my electorate is the case of Dr Stewart Fleming, who is perhaps best known for his threats to deliver the baby of a woman with intellectual disabilities by Caesarian section in his office. Following long-term and extensive allegations of malpractice against Dr Fleming, the former Macarthur Area 25August7l988 ASSEMBLY 635
Health Service, of which I was chairman at the time, established an inquiry into the allegations. The three-member inquiry included Professor Roger Houghton, of Westmead hospital. The other two members- Mr DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Order! I am loath to interrupt the honourable member for Camden in his maiden speech, but I remind him that members should not use the Address-in-Reply debate as a means of attacking people. I refer to two rulings of Speaker Ellis and Deputy-Speaker Cahill. I ask the member for Camden to bear my cautionary remarks in mind during his address. Mr PRIMROSE: The other two members were a medical specialist nominated by the health service and one nominated by Dr Fleming. The review was intense, legalistic and very cautious but the findings against Dr Fleming were damaging in the extreme. Dr Metherell: On a point of order. It is clear that the honourable member for Camden is flouting your ruling and continuing with his prepared speech, utterly unchanged, and is launching an unprecedented attack upon somebody's character in his maiden speech. Mr Primrose: On the point of order. I believe I am following the basic operating principle of this Parliament. I am merely giving a brief example. I shall finish within a couple of minutes and will certainly come to the point. Mr DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Order! I am mindful of the fact that this is the honourable member's maiden speech to this House. I have listened to his speech and noted that he has made specific reference to people. His maiden speech should not be used to make a personal attack on another member or a member of the public. I am willing to listen further to the honourable member for Camden but I ask him to conclude his remarks on this subject and move on to other matters. Mr McManus: On the point of order. Mr DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Order! Is this the same point of order? Mr McManus: Yes. Mr DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Order! I have already ruled on it. Mr PRIMROSE: Very briefly, the review was intense, legalistic and very cautious but the findings against Dr Fleming were damaging in the extreme. Babies and their mothers had been horribly injured by Dr Fleming's actions, which often involved experimental techniques. Some died. The inquiry, including Dr Fleming's own nominee- Mr DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Order! The member for Camden is continuing to read from his prepared speech. He will either abide by the rulings of the Chair or resume his seat. Mr PRIMROSE: I therefore conclude, leaving out the sections that obviously are found offensive by some people in this House, and perhaps finish with this. In regard to the saga that I was outlining in the earlier part of the speech, I believe the most damaging aspect of it is the conspiracy of secrecy. Patients and the general public have not been told of the horrible, pitiful outcomes of the techniques used by this man on women and their babies. The Department of Health- Mr DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Order! The member for Camden is continuing to refer to the matter on which I have already ruled. It is not a question of whether his references are found to be offensive to members of this House. I 636 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988 have drawn his attention to rulings by previous Speakers and also to guidelines for the Address-In-Reply debate. I direct the member for Camden to desist from referring to this matter. If he does not, I shall have to ask him to resume his seat. Mr PRIMROSE: As I can no longer continue on this particular matter, I reiterate that I will raise it again at the appropriate time in the future because I believe it is a matter of public importance. It indicates, along with other matters I have raised, the need for members to speak out against cover-ups. I intend to use this Chamber as a means to expose matters, such as the case of Dr Fleming, and the refusal of the Minister for Health and the Department of Health to allow this matter to come before the public, despite an inquiry and the findings of that inquiry being presented to a board set up by the New South Wales Government. If all this material is not made public immediately, I will return to this topic at another time in this place. [Mr Deputy-Speaker left the chair at 12.50 p.m. The House resumed at 2.15 p.m.] Mr ACTING-SPEAKER (Mr J. D. Booth): Order! Before proceeding with the business of the House I wish to make a brief statement to all members about maiden speeches being delivered in this Address-in-Reply debate. For many years, under the guidance of rulings from many former Speakers, it has been the custom in this Chamber that, as a member delivering his first speech in the House is accorded the privilege of silence, that speech should not contain contentious or offensive material. This practice has been the subject of concern to the Speaker, the Deputy-Speaker, and to me. On several occasions that custom has been transgressed. 1 warn all members who have yet to deliver their maiden speeches that it is the expectation of the Chair that the custom be followed and that members who are extended the privilege and courtesy of being heard in silence should not abuse that privilege by taking the opportunity to launch offensive, challenging or controversial attacks either on other members of this Chamber or on any member of the public. Mr BOOKS (Parramatta) [2.16]: It is with pride, awe, and a great amount of humility I speak in this debate as the member for Parramatta. Apart from Sydney, no other place in Australia shares the historic background that Parramatta has. My electorate also celebrates its bicentennial in 1988; on 2nd November, 1988, Parramatta will be 200 years old. It is well documented that but for Parramatta the fledgling colony under the leadership of Captain Arthur Phillip would have foundered. The first colonial crops were harvested in late 1789 at Rosehill, as Parramatta was then known. Parramatta can claim to have produced Australia's first wheat, first wool, first grapes, and first wine. Parramatta's historic and pivotal role continues today. My electorate provides services for more than 1 million people. Today, more people live west of Parramatta than live to its east, that is, between the city of Parramatta and our seaport of Port Jackson. Responsible government came to New South Wales in 1856, and well recorded in our history books is the dominant role that William Charles Wentworth played in the establishment of the Legislative Assembly. I am sure that at times he looks down on this Chamber and is bemused at its deliberations. Here in this Chamber we cannot escape Parramatta's influential role in Australian history. I stand before you as the twenty-fourth member for Parramatta, and I follow a proud heritage. In that first year, 1856, Parramatta enjoyed the services of New South Wales' third Premier, Sir Henry Parker, who served for just one year. In 1877 he was followed by James Farnell, who also served as Premier for one year only. I trust that trend will not continue. Almost 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 637
50 years passed before a member for Parramatta was again elected as Premier, and that was in the personage of the legendry Jack Lang. He served as the member for Parramatta from March 1920 to September 1927. Although the honourable member for Auburn claimed ownership of him, Jack Lang was elected Premier in 1925 when he was the member for Parramatta. In more recent years the State seat of Parramatta has been well served by its members. I make special mention of James Arthur Clough, who wrested the seat of Parramatta from Labor. He was an outstanding member who had strong associations with the Parramatta district hospital. My good friend Jim later represented, with great distinction, the seat of Eastwood. He rose to ministerial rank and retired at the March elections. Jim was followed by Daniel John Mahoney, who served Parramatta with distinction for 17 years. Although not of my political affiliation, Dan and his wife Eileen were believers in Parramatta and gave great service to people who are now my constituents. Dan Mahoney served as mayor of Parramatta, as did his successor Barry Wilde- my immediate predecessor. Barry had a long career in local government prior to entering this historic Chamber in 1976. He served the district for almost 12 years. It has been my honour to serve as mayor of Parramatta during my 20 years in local government. For a Balmain boy who travelled to Parramatta via the Port Kembla steelworks and the Bell Bay aluminium smelter, it certainly has been an exciting journey. My election to the Blacktown council in 1968 was to be a landmark in my life. That absorbing new career took me to the offices of deputy mayor of Blacktown, deputy chairman of Prospect County Council, mayor of Parramatta, and now Chairman of WSROC, the Western Sydney Regional Organization of Councils. I continue to serve local government in the role of deputy mayor of Parramatta city council. It is my driving ambition to have the office of mayor of Parramatta elevated to the office of lord mayor in this our bicentennial year. Moves are at present under way to award this much deserved status to Australia's cradle city. To win a seat that has been a Labor stronghold for almost 30 years has taken a huge effort-an effort no one person can give. This was particularly true in the Parramatta electorate. It must be said and enshrined within my maiden speech that without my campaign director David Demery and his dedicated team I would not be standing here before you today, in this, the oldest and most historic Parliament in Australia. Supporting David Demery were his wife Chantel, daughter Peta, and a campaign committee that worked long and hard, and were prepared to run that extra mile. I mention the director of administration, Owen Bayliss; the director of finance, Frank Bill, and his ever helpful wife Carolyn; the director of manpower, Brian Dudley; and the director of operations, Frank Thomas. Then there were the endless number of voluntary workers who manned the campaign office. I name only a few: Betty Leaver, Sylvia Stanley and Eileen James. The sheer dedication of David Demery and his team enabled us to outstaff, outdeliver, and outmanoeuvre our opponents. Naturally behind every aspiring candidate there is a family that picks up the pieces each and every campaign evening, puts the pieces back together, and, each morning, rolls the now brand new candidate out the front door. For support, advice, confidence, and belief I thank my wife Lyn, and daughters Michelle, Kelly, and Shannon. I am especially proud that my now famous dad from Balmain, Bill, is in the Speaker's Gallery today. I am sure I can speak for dad of our great sadness that my much-beloved late mum, Phyllis, could not be here today to savour our joy and victory. Finally, during the campaign my parliamentary patrons, the Hon. Bruce Baird, M.P., Minister for Transport, and 42 638 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988 the Hon. John Hannaford, M.L.C., were sources of great wisdom. For this I thank them on behalf of the people of Parramatta. I have mentioned Parramatta's historic and pivotal role in the development of Sydney and Australia. This continues today, with Parramatta named as the fastest growing city in Australia. When I read this proud statistic I am reminded of the fact that in 1972 when I was appointed to the Parramatta city council by the then Minister for Local Government, the Hon. Pat Morton, the council did not have a town planner. Town planning was then carried out part-time as a hobby by the city engineer. In 1974 when the non-Labor group gained control of the council, its first action was to appoint a fully qualified town planner. He stills heads the council's town planning department, despite more lucrative and possibly prestigious offers of employment, choosing to stay at Pasramatta and have a major input in the development of Australia's most historic city. It is with pride that I note that of all the historic building stock that existed in Parramatta, 50 per cent still stands today. An outstanding example is Elizabeth Farm, which was completed in 1793 and is Australia's oldest building. Old Government House, Experiment Farm Cottage, and Hambledon Cottage also remind us of Parramatta's rich past. This catchment of history has remained because early development passed my electorate by. This has meant that with our more enlightened and sympathetic developers, I can see Parramatta grow and the environment remain unharmed. In the past 10 years we have witnessed a massive migration from the seaport of Sydney to Parramatta, led by the regional offices of major banks, international accounting firms, and all major stockbroking firms. Westfield Shoppingtown in Parramatta is the largest shopping centre in the Southern Hemisphere. As proof of the Westfield company's belief in western Sydney, the centre is undergoing a major facelift and expansion. World-class accommodation is available at the Parramatta Parkroyal hotel which has won a number of national and international tourism and restaurant awards. Western Sydney's only tertiary teaching hospital is at Westmead. I am proud of my involvement in the establishment of this centre of excellence through my membership of the Westmead Hospital Action Committee more than 10 years ago. Parramatta has benefited from Government decentralization. The list is long and includes the Department of Family and Community Services, the Department of Business and Consumer Affairs, the Office of State Revenue- most important-the Valuer-General's Department, and the nomadic Department of Water Resources which, depending on the by-election results or the whims of the former Government, was to be sited in Blacktown, Bankstown, or Hurstville. Thank goodness it has found a home in Parramatta. The controversial federal Government office block will open soon. At one stage this costly edifice was to house more than 7 500 new public servants. However, we are now informed that only 2 500 to 3 000 public employees will call this building home, and a large number of these will be relocated from other buildings in Parramatta. I shall continue to pursue the federal Government so that it honours many election pledges in this area. One of my proudest actions as mayor was to complete final negotiations with the State Government for the construction of the Parramatta Stadium. This 30 000-seat world-class venue provides more comfortable surroundings and better sight lines than the Sydney Football Stadium, and was built for a mere $15 million. I shall continue to be relentless in my pursuit of a separate "stad~umtrust" for Parramatta. Already prominent local citizens are offering innovative and exciting uses for the stadium that will ensure its maximum usage 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 639 and commercial success. The magnificent Parramatta cultural centre was also commenced during my period as mayor. Unfortunately, because of poor management controls, improper promotion, and undisciplined choice of shows, the centre is in a financial crisis. I am told constantly that such performance centres always run at a loss-a claim I do not accept. However, I, together with my fellow directors, have a number of innovative and cost-efficient ideas to rescue the centre. I have spoken of Parramatta becoming the second central business district of the Sydney conurbation. Unfortunately, there is a sad side to this brash and bright modern development. As a dynamic and new centre, Parramatta has become a magnet to homeless men and women. Though we do not have the overt problems of the city, it is disturbing to see increasing numbers of obviously itinerant men and women with no shelter. It is only since my election that I have been introduced to a far more heartrending statistic. At least 32 children between the ages of 14 and 17 years wander the streets of Parramatta without a home. This was stunningly revealed to me when I was returning to my office at about 8 p.m. one night. I was engaged in conversation by four young persons outside a pinball parlour. One of the youngsters had recognized my photograph from a local paper and he asked me what I might be able to do for the "street kidsw-their description, not mine. I was shocked then to learn that these children were one of a number of groups living in squats round Parramatta. About a week later three of the "street kids" visited my office where a long discussion was held on their plight, the reasons for their plight, and possible solutions. To a person, they revealed a desire to have some medium-term accommodation available where the younger children could receive counselling and advice on the wisdom of resuming schooling, and the older youths would have a base for obtaining employment. A number of these children are too young for social welfare and not old enough to work. Some, when they return home, are assaulted constantly by their fathers or their mothers, or both. I have commenced negotiations with local service clubs and church groups to somehow obtain suitable accommodation where we can offer the basics of life to this unbelievably disadvantaged group. Indeed, I have been offered a fully registered thoroughbred racehorse to auction or raffle to raise funds toward the project. However, I cannot say how it will run. We have already an infrastructure of caring people in Parramatta, which includes the Parramatta youth centres. This group runs two child accommodation units. Parrahouse provides short-term crisis accommodation for working-age children and Grandview Lodge provides for school-age children. I have visited both establishments and can offer only the highest praise to the community-spirited staff and management committee who provide this much- needed accommodation. It is important to realize that last year these establishments were able to accommodate only 160 youhg people with a demand of nearly 900. At this time I mention the Parramatta Regional Mission which is affiliated with the Uniting Church, and operates the Hope Hostel in the grounds of Cumberland Hospital. The Parramatta Regional Mission, led, cajoled, and maybe even subjugated by the irrepressible Dr Gloster Udy, provides accommodation for 64 displaced men in the old Ward I at Cumberland Hospital. The future of Hope Hostel is clouded because of possible relocation problems, and I have informed the Parramatta Regional Mission of my complete support for its work. The extreme need in Parramatta for a women's refuge and a family refuge is well known to me. These, together with a medium- 640 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988
term children's centre and Hope Hostel, will be at the very top of my list to receive urgent and constant attention. After servin on the western area health task force, I have an excellent and detailed knowle f ge of health problems in the west. The previous Government's decision in 1982 to close the Parramatta District Hospital has proven to be a politically expedient disaster. "Acute care" patients are now competing with trauma and tertiary patients at Westmead Hospital, to the detriment of all. Similarly, the hastily drawn-up and financially driven plans to close 60 per cent of schedule V beds would have had disastrous results. Now, under the guidance of the Minister for Health, Peter Collins, both Cumberland Hospital and Rydalmere Hospital will remain open, and clients barely able to care for themselves will not be prematurely thrown out on the street. Tremendous pressure is building up for the establishment of a community health centre in Parramatta. Already I have in preparation preliminary plans which include a child and family health centre, a workers' health clinic, a sexual health clinic, a mental health clinic, an outpatients' clinic, a diabetics clinic, a methadone clinic, a health education clinic and a blood donors' facility. Some of these facilities are provided in Parramatta. However, they are spread from one end of the city to the other, in premises which might be described as belonging to the nineteenth century. It will be a prime aim of mine, in my first term, to have a Parramatta district hospital established to right those wrongs of 1982. As in all election campaigns, a number of promises were made to the electorate, and I am proud to say that over 90 per cent of these are in the process of being honoured. I have previously mentioned plans that were well in hand by the former Government to close Rydalmere Hospital, and to throw out onto the street the clients under care there. This, of course, will not now happen. In the area of schedule V hospitals, Cumberland Hospital will be upgraded, and intensive investigations are being held into the most people- effective and cost-effective mechanisms to achieve that end. Of outstanding importance to my constituents is the future of Parramatta Hospital and the possible rebirth of the Parramatta District Hospital. During the election campaign I promised a full investigation into this matter. The investigation has now been completed, and I am eagerly awaiting its findings as I feel confident that in close association with the Hon. Peter Collins, Minister for Health, a satisfactory solution will be found to the re- establishment of the Parramatta District Hospital. It is in the matter of roads that the constituents of Parramatta will see the quickest improvements since the Greiner Government came to power. The duplication of Rings Bridge on O'Connell Street-the major north-south feeder road in Parramatta-has been promised since the Church Street Mall construction commenced in 1984. I am now able to inform the Parliament that construction will commence prior to Christmas this year. Pedestrian and traffic safety has always been high on my agenda. Since my election I have placed in service traffic signals at the insersection of Thomas Street and Macarthur Street, Parramatta-an intersection which was identified as a black spot accident area. A further very dangerous intersection, at the corner of O'Connell Street and Albert Street, North Parramatta, has, over the past two to three years, had a particularly high accident rate. I was informed yesterday that installation of traffic signals at this intersection will commence in September and be completed before the very dangerous period of the Christmas school holidays. 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 641
It was only six months ago that louts were congregating in the Church Street Mall, patrons were being bashed as they waited at the Parramatta railway station taxi rank for a taxicab, and cars were being stripped or stolen from council-owned car parks. Following the actions of the Hon. E. P. Pickering, Minister for Police, to increase police numbers at the Parramatta police station, we now have regular foot patrols through the main streets of Parramatta. And also we have regular car patrols through the car parking stations. I receive daily compliments from workers and shoppers in the central business district about the high profile which the police now have. The reintroduction of the revised Summary Offences Act has given the police real powers to prevent crime and prevent the public planning of crime. I will comment later in this speech about the long-awaited Parramatta ferry service. Suffice it to say that in six short months real progress has been made to reintroduce a very popular service of the 1930's. It certainly does conjure up excitement when you think of a picturesque, fast trip from Parramatta to Circular Quay by ferry. Several of my predecessors have promised the introduction of this service-usually round election time-for over 20 years. Possibly the most emotional issue addressed during the last election campaign was the administration of the Parramatta stadium. When, as mayor, I negotiated the construction of the Parramatta stadium, the Chairman of the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust convinced me that they should be the construction authority. At the time, that seemed a reasonable course of action and agreement was reached on the basis that operation of the stadium on completion would pass to a locally based trust. That, of course, never happened and the Parramatta stadium committee operates as a committee of the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust. The people of Parramatta want and demand control of a stadium which was built with their taxpayers' money. Ground users should have a say in its management, and local businessmen can inject entrepreneurial skills and ensure the financial success of this great sporting venue. My decision to join the Liberal Party nearly twenty years ago followed some five years of Liberal voting. After growing up in Balmain, surrounded by Labor how-to-votes and committed Labor parents, it was my move to Port Kembla as a cadet metallurgist which was to have a forceful and critical impact on my future political output. It was at Port Kembla that I saw raw union power at its worst. Power hungry delegates formed an unholy alliance with a fat, protected employer to allow shareholders abuse and rampant featherbedding. It soon became clear to me that the union delegates were not interested in the lot of the worker and that the fat management were not interested in a fair return to company shareholders. I was forced to make a decision at the time of my first vote, and after much class-conscious agonizing and comprehensive investigation I was attracted to the Liberal philosophy of freedom of the individual. You can understand how irresistible this protection of individual freedoms was to a recently qualified metallurgist exposed to all of the excesses of uncontrolled and untrammelled union power. As a representative of the parliamentary wing of the Liberal Party, it is now of fascination to me to observe the concerted media push to label our proud party as conservative. It has been a successful campaign, for frequently I hear my colleagues refer to us as conservatives. We are anti-socialists and we should never lose sight of this fact. A reading of our manifesto and the manifestos of the world's major conservative parties reveals marked and important differences in philosophies-particularly in the area of individual freedoms. It is because of this difference that the coalition has governed for so 642 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988 long at the federal level; it is this difference which will ensure that we govern long and effectively in New South Wales. On 19th March the people of this State clearly chose a young and dynamic team over a tired, morally bankrupt opponent. It is an honour of indescribable magnitude to be a member of a parliamentary team led by Nick Greiner. The Premier, since winning an overwhelming majority in March, has assumed the mantle of power and responsibility with an easy, confident grace. It is clearly apparent to me and my colleagues that the Premier is in complete control of his and New South Wales' future. I have made mention of my parliamentary colleagues and must say that never, in all my involvements, have I joined such a talented, eager and committed group, a dedicated team who will serve New South Wales well for many years to come. It is now history that our victory at the last election was built on three main platforms-law and order, health and education. We now have the streets being cleared of louts, hoodlums and deviates under the beforementioned restructured Summary Offences Act. The number of police officers is to be dramatically increased, with the recently announced increase in spending from $524 million to $619 million annually. Further gains will be made in law and order when the Independent Commission Against Corruption is operational. I referred previously to our Government's reform in the delivery of mental health services and the implementation of the Richmond report recommendations being frozen. The continued operation of Rydalmere Hospital and the planned upgrading of Cumberland Hospital have been greeted with much approval in Parramatta by both parents of clients and hospital staff. To reduce the Labor- induced horrendous waiting lists for elective surgery, we have authorized the establishment of a 120-bed private hospital at Westmead. Education has been the subject of much uninformed and, at times, downright dishonest debate. Essentially, this Government is asking our school teachers, the majority of whom are totally dedicated and totally professional, to work just that little bit harder. In real terms this is one extra 40-minute period a week for one-third of the workforce and the possibility of two additional periods a week to replace other absent colleagues. Most of the teachers whom I know-and I do know quite a number-could carry this load with ease. May I ask who in society has not been asked to work that little bit harder over the past five years-the five years since Labor assumed power in Canberra. For this additional effort, the students will benefit with spending up to $2,900 million-a record for New South Wales-a $200 million increase on the current year's spending. Upon entry to Parliament all Government members are given the chance to become involved with one or more portfolios. I chose local government and housing. Local government was, I suppose, a natural following from my long association with local councils. However, the attraction was more in the area of reform; and I look forward to involvement and input in the rewriting of the Local Government Act-an ancient document which has had many additions over the years and is now incomprehensible to all but the most skilled legal practitioners. What hope do the 175 town and shire clerks have of interpreting this historic but almost useless tome. What hope does the average elected member have of interpreting an out-of-date, inappropriate piece of history. Housing was my next choice, not because of any skill in this area or any experience other than as a purchaser of several matrimonial homes. With a housing waiting list of more than 60 000, little or no effort has been made by the previous Government to provide public housing for these needy people, or 25 August, I988 ASSEMBLY 643 indeed to provide affordable finance to these needy but, in rnany cases, willing purchasers. By the use of innovative lending systems, home loans can now be extended to those previously denied home purchase finance by developing the affordable and premier low start home loan programs. A record $690 million will be lent in 1988-89. Indeed, with greater federal support these schemes, which provide stamp duty concessions and interest rate subsidies, could be extended to many more marginal borrowers. The Department of Housing is about to embark on an accelerated but controlled program of accommodation production. Tenants of Department of Housing stock will be able to purchase, if they wish, under favourable conditions-linked with years of occupancy. There will be no pressures either overt or covert to force tenants to purchase, if they wish to remain as renters. I especially savour my involvement in the housing portfolio for, if we as a Government fail to get it right and do not substantially and permanently reduce the public housing list, we will not last as a Government. Unasked for, but nevertheless welcomed, has been my involvement in the western Sydney area health task force. We have been given a real conundrum in bringing reality to a health system which had at once been both run down and neglected. The figures so far discovered are staggering. Western Sydney has 3.47 beds per 1 000 persons compared with a city figure of 6.38 beds per 1 000 and a statewide average of 4.40 beds per 1 000. In fact, these quoted figures when translated to beds mean that western Sydney needs 2 000 more beds to merely catch up with the State average. I pledge here and now to achieve these 2 000 beds for western Sydney-no longer will my constituents be treated as second-class citizens. I have made the point that Parramatta is a dynamic centre servicing more than one million people. This dynamism will continue whilst I remain as the member, with the following positive results. The Parramatta River ferry will commence operating once the Parramatta River becomes navigable as far as the Camellia-Rydalmere area. I foresee an explosion in the recreational usage of a beautiful yet neglected river. Obviously, the regenerated Parramatta River will offer an irresistible lure to increased tourist activity. Already a 14-storey international hotel-the Gazebo-is under construction and there are to be three smaller lower cost motels. Whilst $1.5 million has been spent upgrading the historic Parramatta Park, I have a claim before the Hon. I. R. Causley, Minister for Natural Resources, for a further $2.5 million to complete the Parramatta Park management plan. My constituents and I are facing a serious problem with the potential for loss of life and great economic damage. Unless a Parramatta basin drainage authority is quickly formed and adequately funded with access to federal and State money and there is a levy on those properties that produce rainwater within the catchment, western Sydney will face an inundation of the magnitude suffered by Brisbane in 1974. Such an authority could produce $5 million per year using the 2:2: 1 formula and could complete catchment works in five to six years, remembering that any basin construction will offer immediate protection. It is most disappointing that the previous State Government and the present federal Government have treated flood mitigation in such a cavalier fashion. It is most dishonest for members opposite to now accuse the Government of neglecting flood mitigation when they had 12 years on the Treasury benches and did little but react to a few well-organized pressure groups. I attended a meeting recently with the federal Minister for Resources, Senator Peter Cook, who promised a fairer deal for western Sydney and a figure of $2 million annually was mentioned. Tuesday's Budget shows that Senator 644 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988
Cook's influence in the federal Cabinet is almost totally lacking, with the allocation of an insulting $700,000 to the Parramatta district. It is my intention to vigorously pursue this subject in the Chamber and place irresistible pressure on the federal Government to honour Senator Cook's promises to the councils of western Sydney. I will conclude with my commitment to serve the people of Parramatta with diligence and honour and to ensure that each and every one of my constituents has an opportunity to fully utilize their boundless and unlimited abilities. I thank the House for its indulgence. Mr FERGUSON (Granville) [2.46]: I congratulate the many members who have made their maiden speeches in this debate, in particular the honourable member for Parramatta with whom I have had frequent contact in the past five years. A large number of Liberal Party and National Party members were elected to this House, after the predictable but rather devastating defeat of the Labor Government. The expectation of the Liberal Party and National Party was that they would be on the Government side of the House for eight years. That obviously was a very daunting prospect for Labor supporters. It has only been through the tremendous efforts of the Minister for Education and Youth Affairs that that prospect appears to be considerably less likely. There was a redistribution of electoral boundaries before the last election. The result was that in the electorate of Granville 60 per cent of voters now come under the Holroyd municipal council and 40 per cent under the Parramatta city council. I now have a greater appreciation of the relative merits and forward thinking of those two councils. I emphasize that both councils are under the control of Independent members, so I am not seeking to make some petty political point. However, I cannot join the honourable member for Wentworthville and the honourable member for Parramatta in their glowing remarks about the Parramatta city council. Unfortunately, my electorate suffers greatly because Parramatta city council's local government services have deteriorated in the past three decades. From being a pacemaker in providing library and nursing services, recreational facilities-and being the most generous council in metropolitan Sydney in providing pensioner rebates-unfortunately, as I say, in the past few decades all these services and facilities have deteriorated. Much mention has been made of how thousands of adults in New South Wales have been manipulated by a few teachers and trade union leaders. It is said that these people do not know what is going on; they are all stupid; and are ignorant of the issues. One aspect of the education debate of particular importance to my electorate is this Government's cutbacks in library services. Last year this so-called great Parramatta city council, which honourable members have heard so much about from the honourable member for Parramatta and the honourable member for Wentworthville, was exposed by the State Library as having the worst library system in metropolitan Sydney. My electorate has a disproportionate number of disadvantaged schools. A high proportion of the children who attend these schools come from single parent families or are from Turkish and Lebanese backgrounds. The other nail in the coffin of education is the Government's attitude to school library services. Where will children go for adequate library services? Based on a study of 25 criteria, involving reference books, replacement of books, and ethnic materials, it was considered that Parramatta city council library was the worst in the metropolitan library system. That was but one so-called contribution of Parramatta city council. 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 645
In the forthcoming Budget it is hoped that serious consideration will be given to proposals contained in the Granville traffic plan, which was the result of joint federal and council funding. The Granville electorate is cut by Woodville Road, accepted as being the road that carries most traffic volume in Sydney. The traffic plan put forward suggestions about changes to traffic conditions in Campbell Hill Road and Rawson Road, and various traffic control light alterations at intersections involving Woodville Road. Suggestions were made also for more pedestrian islands throughout the electorate. These matters deserve serious consideration. Heavy use of the F4 Freeway has increased the volume of traffic moving northerly across the electorate to gain access to that freeway from south of Granville, and from Bass Hill and Chester Hill. Ways of dealing with that increased volume are tackled in the traffic plan and the Government ought to give deep consideration to the suggestions that have been put forward for better traffic management. Roads in the Granville electorate, particularly in the Parramatta municipality, require a good deal of attention. When the present Minister for Transport was Opposition spokesman on matters pertaining to the transport portfolio, for a couple of days he achieved considerable publicity by setting up a competition to find the deepest pothole in Sydney roads. Potholes are a considerable problem in the Granville ward. In addition to having the worst metropolitan library system, Parramatta city council is the only council to maintain distribution of council funds on a ward basis. The honourable member for Parramatta has played a leading role in that, for he is the deputy mayor. Granville ward has a disproportionate number of unmade roads, and requires a good deal of kerbing and guttering to be done but, unfortunately, that ward received only 25 per cent of the council's funding allocation because it is but one of four wards. Other councils in metropolitan Sydney, regardless of their political persuasion, long ago abandoned that policy and tackled problems of sewerage and drainage on a municipality basis rather than by maintaining the archaic division of funds on a ward basis. The Minister for Local Government should take action to deal with this. I wrote to his ministerial predecessor about it. That action resulted in an investigation that did not go far enough. It is time that Parramatta city council were made to adopt the policies of other councils in the distribution of its funds. Without traversing here all the education issues that have been discussed, and will continue to be discussed in months ahead, it nevertheless remains a matter that particularly affects the Granville electorate, and one that calls for comment. The study of foreign languages in government schools has been threatened. The Minister for Education is considering a proposal that the Turkish language should become a three-unit subject, but this is threatened by the suggestion that the number of classes is to be reduced. The question is whether there will be enough students in my electorate to undertake a three- unit course, regardless of the work that has been done with the curriculum until now. I endeavoured continually to get the previous Government to undertake housing construction in northern Granville, an area that has been moved into the seat of Parramatta. Public housing is needed in close proximity to Granville railway station, which serves a large sector of the population, and is close to Parramatta Road and the Parramatta shopping centre. Unfortunately the previous Minister decided that as the area's proportion of population aged more than 65 years was higher than the State average, this precluded the need for further public housing. I am not of that opinion. The available transport 43 646 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988
facilities already there would overcome their mobility problems. The matter should be tackled by satisfying the need for housing facilities for aged people there, rather than by condemning them to move to areas further west. Much has been heard about privatization and the inefficiency of government services, but my alarm is raised by the inefficiency of private construction in my electorate. A two-storey building of 20 units at 230 Blaxcell Street, Granville, has been the subject of massive cracks. This has been brought to the attention of the department responsible, which has said it would like to see what will happen during the space of a year or two. Recent indication has been that this matter will be speeded up, but it nevertheless continues to cause grave concern. The coalition parties, when in Opposition, made elaborate statements about public housing, saying that the time for speeches and reports on that subject had long since gone and that the time had come for action. They said that Labor increasingly saw its commitment as one of increasing the number of units of public housing stock, while their emphasis was on providing accommodation for the people. The need for public housing is a massive problem in all electorates, and deserves more than simplistic rhetoric by the coalition parties, which seek to remind us that the waiting list was one of 60 000 when they came to office. The reality is that in 1977 the national waiting list was only 27 000, but by 1987 it had grown to 156 000 people. This was not something unique to this country, the problem is world wide and cannot be removed entirely, no matter whether a government is in office for five or even ten years. The housing problem is not one that is confronted by a particular party or by a particular government in Australia; it is faced by all. And the waiting list is growing. Because of massive inroads in the availability of public housing and because of high rentals, the number of families below the poverty line in 1973 has risen from 6 per cent of the population to 12.4 per cent. No solution will be found for the housing problem by throwing mud at opposing political parties. The shortage of housing in western Sydney is getting out of hand. People are coming into my office every day of the week, seeking assistance. Some members might tell them they will write letters on their behalf and do what they can, but I do not do that. They should be told that the sending of letters will not achieve much for them because their case is not worse than that of thousands of others in all electorates. It is to be hoped this Government can make some progress in reducing the need for public housing. The Governor's Speech used code words, presented a facade, in seeking to show how this Government was directing funds to mainstream Aboriginal priorities through various government departments. These code words were a cover for the continuing attack by this Government on the Aborigines of this State. This is manifest in many ways. Much play has been made of the way in which all law and order problems will be solved by the recent introduction of the Summary Offences Act. The Government believes it does not have to worry about other social problems, or why crime is related to certain income levels or other matters. The Government intends to solve the law and order problem by putting more people in gaols, by constructing more prisons. An unfortunate sidc-effect of that policy is that an increasing number of Aboringines will be gaoled. Aborigines constitutc 1.5 per cent of the ~ustralianpopulation but form 14.5 per ccnt of the population of our prisons. On a population proportion basis, seven Aborigines are gaoled for every white person who is gaoled. Their offences 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 647 do not fall into the category of drug-related crimes, or robbery or extortion, but rather fall into the category of offensive behaviour, acting contrary to good order, driving offences and property offences. The Government, in the context of a predictable increase in Aboriginal gaol population that will occur because of its policy, should show a positive reaction to the findings of the Muirhead inquiry. The Government of Victoria has established justice community panels to perform a variety of roles. They liaise with the Victorian police; visit gaols when Aborigines are arrested; assist in court cases when Aboriginal cultural aspects emerge; are involved in diversionary schemes; take Aborigines to their homes in cases where they have been detained but not charged; and arrange bail when Aborigines are charged with offences such as drunkenness. In September last year the Victorian Government put that scheme and others before the Australian ministers' conference on Aboriginal affairs. Even though these initiatives have been taken in Victoria, an increasing number of Aborigines are still dying in police custody. All we get from the New South Wales coalition Government is promises. If the Muirhead inquiry gets too severe on this Government, the Government will cut back on expenditure, and refuse it information from various ministries. That is the kind of reaction we are getting. Mr Schipp: You are making this up. Mr FERGUSON: I can only cite your legal representative. Mr Schipp: No. You are making it up. Mr FERGUSON: Well, the Sydney Morning Herald must be making up quite a few things. As I say, there will be an increase in the number of gaols. That is in the context of a higher proportion of Aborigines dying in custody, Professor Harding, one of this country's leading criminologists, has suggested that the simple explanation is that a higher proportion of Aborigines are being sent to gaol in the first place and therefore there are a disproportionate number of young Aborigines in our gaols. His argument is that Aborigines are not necessarily being murdered while in custody, or that their deaths are related to their culture. It is simply that such a large number of them are being gaoled in the first instance that this leads to a disproportionate number of their deaths in custody. Something must be done about this matter. The Premier has not gone as far as the Leader of the National Party on this matter. The Leader of the National Party demanded that Aboriginal land councils should pay people's private bills. Then there were the infamous comments of the Deputy Leader of the National Party at Queanbeyan before the elections. He put forward certain violent proposals in regard to Aborigines. However, on the few occasions that the Premier has bought into this issue of Aboriginal land rights, he has tried to distort the law in New South Wales, its intentions, and its effect. The Price Waterhouse survey of delivery of Aboriginal services under the previous Government made one point and one only: that a variety of governments over the decades have failed to deliver services, such as housing, education, and health services. The Premier distorted the issue by saying that Aboriginal land rights was the cause of the problem. The Leader of the National Party put forward perhaps a more credible alternative when he said that all govegment-commissioned surveys often seek the result before undertaking the survey. Another example of the Premier's distortion of the issue was his comments on Toomelah. I have had the benefit of visiting Toomelah. I understand that within the next month or two the 648 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988
Premier will finally get around to visiting there with the federal Minister. Once again there has been an attempt to distort the legal position in regard to Aboriginal land rights legislation by the comments made about Toomelah. As Justice Einfield said, it is a question of delivery of services, whether it has been the failure by the Moree Plains Shire Council, the Department of Education, or the Department of Health-but in particular the failure to provide adequate housing. Mr Schipp: You did not even ask us or even make an inquiry. How good are you? Mr FERGUSON: That investigation had nothing to do with Aboriginal land rights. People would well know that, given the restrictions on how money is to be spent and having regard to the number of land councils in New South Wales-even if that came within legislation-the amount of money that would be provided would have very little effect. Another matter of concern is the continuing failure to provide adequate education for the Aboriginal community. Despite the intitiatives that have been taken, the situation is the same as it was in 1985, when the attrition rate for Aborigines in years 11 to 12 was 22 per cent. In 1985 there were only 1 1 1 Aboriginal candidates for the higher school certificate. The Aboriginal student retention rate was 7 per cent compared with a statewide total of 41 per cent. As I say, the previous Government put forward a variety of initiatives. However, the involvement of Aboriginal based community liaison groups, Aboriginal studies in schools, Aboriginal units in technical and further education-and the Department of Education itself- continue to be matters of concern. To my mind those matters and unemployment have much to do with Aboriginal crime in this State, and in particular New South Wales towns. The issue is not merely whether people should be thrown into gaol on Friday nights for drunkenness. The Opposition is concerned at the rather aggressive, so-called consultation process being carried out by the Premier's secretary. That process was predicated by his own statements, on the basis that the Government would proceed with legislation. He talked to everyone but said, "Bad luck, if you do not agree, you will cop it". He said the Government will go ahead with its decision to repeal Aboriginal land rights legislation, and only deferred this action to allow consultation with Aboriginal people. Unfortunately for the Government the so-called consultation process has been disastrous. The Premier's secretary was met with great hostility at the consultation-when he did turn up. On some occasions he did turn up for meetings because it was thought the reaction might be a bit less merry than was hoped. There can be no doubt about the Government's determination, regardless of consultation, to scrap land rights legislation. There is no need for me to reiterate the continued resistance of the Opposition to such measures. I turn briefly again to matters affecting my electorate. A lot of play has been made about how much money will go towards the repair of schools. Guildford Public~School-and during the course of my period as State member I have seen many schools in the electorates of Granville, Fairfield and Bass Hill-is certainly most in need of repair. I understand that plans are well down the track for construction of new facilities at Guildford Public School, but, as I say, some parts of that school are urgently in need of repairs. At this stage I have not had an opportunity to look at the latest rail timetables. I would be concerned if there were loss of services to Guildford and Merrylands stations. My electorate is very much dependent on public transport. It has one of the lowest levels of car ownership in the metropolitan area. This does not reflect 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 649 the income level of people in the electorate, but is more related to the present availability of public transport. Mr SOURIS (Upper Hunter) [3.9]: This is my first speech to the House. As the member for Upper Hunter I am very honoured to follow two most distinguished former members, Mr F. L. O'Keefe and Mr C. M. Fisher. They and Roger Wotton, the honourable member for Castlereagh, a part of whose electorate I have assumed, are close friends with whom I have had a long association. Mr Fisher was my campaign director. 1 am indebted to him for his wise counsel, and his organizational skills and dedication to the cause of the National Party in New South Wales. He earned and enjoyed widespread bipartisan respect throughout the electorate. May I thank also the chairman of my electorate council, Mr J. A. L. MacDonald, and the great branch network that proved to be so formidable. I also pay tribute to my wife and family for their encouragement and help. I thank my parents, and especially my late father who migrated from Greece and served in the Australian army during World War 11. I am sad that his presence in the gallery is only spiritual. My electorate is diverse. It can justly claim to provide New South Wales with a considerable portion of its wealth and export revenue. The electorate stretches from Liddell and Bayswater power stations north to include the Muswellbrook, Aberdeen, Scone, Murrurundi, Quirindi, Coonabarabran, Coolah, and Merriwa districts in which one finds great agricultural richness in wheat and grain, oilseed, cotton, beef and dairying, several abattoirs, wool, thoroughbred horse industries, the great coal resource developments in the Gunnedah and Hunter fields, and power generation. One must not overlook the fact that the electorate of Upper Hunter produces and earns much of the gross State product and export revenue that New South Wales relies upon for its standard of living. It is not possible to represent a rural and resource-based electorate without contemplating the inequality of the value of the produce and taxation raised against the level of services that exist and the great hardship of the tyranny of distance and isolation that my constituents must overcome daily. Undoubtedly, New South Wales has never been in a more perilous financial position. The very existence and viability of many government services are now threatened by the waste and ineptitude of the immediately preceding administration. This Government must and will take decisive action to restructure the finances of the State to unburden its citizens, and its future citizens, of the great debt crisis that exists at present. Far too much money has been wasted on unproductive welfare, which has failed to deal with the social problem it was intended to solve. In addition, far too much of our present debt was incurred to provide a means of recurrent spending without any thought of a rate of return or a program of future debt reduction. Even in productive areas, the State has been living beyond its means to service the debts it created to provide short-term expediency. It is therefore necessary to reduce spending, de- escalate capital planning, and at the same time institute a strong debt reduction program and contingent liability management. A detailed system of estimates review is also needed. The New South Wales Commission of Audit has provided the impetus for this Government, in the first year of its initial term, to radically come to grips with, and restructure, the very financial foundations of the State. The audit revealed borrowings, liabilities, deficits, inefficiencies, waste, and underprovision for contingent liabilities grossly beyond any previously documented, which must reflect seriously on the authenticity of public information prior to the elections. It is for this reason that the Government must undertake responsible corporatization, open and public accountability, full accrual accounting, and the 44 650 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988 implementation of modern management concepts, which include a reward or incentive for commercial efficiency of government enterprises and undertakings, particularly in the monopoly utility sectors. No undertaking, least of all the Government of Australia's leading State, should operate without a corporate plan incorporating aims and objectives or goals. A corporate plan provides the means by which the first step of accountability can be achieved. However, no corporatization of any government undertaking, for example the Electricity Commission, could succeed without also giving the enterprise access to all its equity funds as found in all corporate balance-sheets. Capital requirements and accrued funds should therefore be funded or usea in accordance with the corporate plan. Through annual corporate reporting requirements open and audited financial statements will determine the level of success of the corporate plan. The level of disclosure will in part be determined by the nature of the enterprise. But the Government should not be averse to imposing greater public operational disclosure in the case of monopoly utilities such as electricity generation, electricity reticulation, transport, or the provision of advisory services. I focus briefly on the issues of public accountability and open government. Public accountability is not just a simplistic process of publicly terminating the services of executive public servants who have failed to achieve corporate goals. It is the process of providing information for public scrutiny, which is a public right, and also the means of appraising and formulating ongoing aims and objectives. The corporate plan will fail if it is inflexible. All government instrumentalities should have a corporate plan, therefore, which provides for performance evaluation, either through specific target criteria or by more socially subjective criteria. It is then a matter for judgment whether the reporting and public examination process is undertaken by the Parliament, an independent hearing system, or by media trial. I favour the first option. What is paramount is a mechanism whereby corporatized public undertakings fulfil an obligation of accountability to the shareholders. There is nothing like the incentive of public accountability especially with full operational and divisional disclosure that a proper judgment can be made on operational efficiency. For example it should be a matter for public judgment whether staffing levels in 1987-88 in the Department of Health of 7093, or 64 per cent, operational staff, compared with 4045, or 36 per cent, administrative staff, is indeed a publicly sustainable ratio-whether it is decreasing or increasing and so on. Likewise, in the Department of Main Roads where the ratio is 6435, or 80 per cent, operational, to 1615, or 20 per cent, administrative staff; in the State Rail Authority where the ratio is 31263, or 85 per cent, operational, to 5454, or 15 per cent, administrative. In the same way it should be a matter of public judgment whether the revenue and expenditure accounts of sub-departments are publicly sustainable: for example, the accounts of the Sydney electric train network compared with bulk freight operations, compared with goods and parcels operations, compared with country passenger operations, rather than a less appropriate consolidated financial statement. On the question of disclosure, it would obviously be necessary to impose a greatcr requirement than the present consolidated public company annual reporting. A full divisional and operational information system would need to be formulated. I refcr to a case where such public disclosure, and therefore public accountability, would prove to be in the public interest-the Electricity Commission's Ravcnsworth washery. Thc washery was built in the mid-1980s to wash coal for Liddcll and Bayswater power stations instead of the longstanding practice of burning unwashed, virtually run of mine, crushed coal. 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 65 1
It is a matter of political history that the washery investment, and its $66 millon debt, proved to be an embarrassment to the previous Minister for Energy and the senior officers of the Electricity Commission to such an extent that the selling off of the washery became an all-consuming desire. A proper review of this direction is presently under way. Under a system of a corporatized commission with full divisional disclosure and public accountability, privatization would be seen to be an error that would compound the previous misjudgments quite apart from the likelihood that the achievable sale price would undersell the asset. The Ravensworth washery is exhibiting operational efficiency that public accountability would certainly highlight. In the month of July 1988 the washery operated for a total of 16 days out of an available 21 days, due to strikes, but managed a most remarkable result despite the low number of production days and the manning level of 5 1 compared with a budgeted 56. Taking into account all operating costs, including depreciation but excluding interest, the washery produced coal at a cost of $1.84 a tonne, compared with a budgeted $2.91 a tonne. It would be rare to find another washery, public or private, that could better $2.50 a tonne for jig washing or $3.50 a tonne for heavy-medium washing. Including interest, and allowing wastage from raw to saleable quality, the total all-up cost of coal at Ravensworth washery is $4.12 a tonne, compared with a budgeted $5.35 a tonne. Clearly the washery is operating efficiently and cost effectively and is a credit to the management and the on-site work force. The selling price, which was pre-set at $5.50 a tonne, is almost a $1.40 profit, and in July a gross profit of $630,000 for the month was generated. This implies a potential annual profit of over $7 million per annum, if given the chance. I am suggesting that public accountability would be a vital part of policy determination and I am advocating it wholeheartedly. I have always believed in the basic right of people to freehold ownership of property. May I suggest that it is that ideal, in harmony with our coalition partner, that has enabled the National Party in the Greiner-Murray Government to become the champion of the hopes and aspirations of middle Australia, employees, small-businessmen, family farmers, and all non- metropolitan dwellers. It is the National Party that will fight for freedom of enterprise, and will encourage our youth to stay in the country under a genuine policy of decentralization and incentive. I believe also that the family and a Christian philosophy are the basis and future of our society. Today in many ways the family is fighting for survival while we have a federal Government that subsidizes family break-up. A belief in and defence of the family must encompass a responsibility for children living in poverty. homelessness, and a responsibility not to indulge in social engineering and not to produce a system that discriminates against the two-parent family. Corporatization and public accountability should not be taken to imply that a new bureaucracy or Ombudsman-like watchdog should be established- quite the opposite, as that would lead to more waste. Accountability as part of a corporate plan is a dynamic part of the process of managing the public enterprise. Just as there is a need for a change in corporate approach. so. too. is there a need for change in public and employee perceptions of the enterprise. I include a profit motive and employee corporate ownership concepts in an) package of reform, just as 1 advocate the dismantling of unproductive work practices such as the Government and Related Enlployees Appeal Tribunal. industry unions instead of craft unions, and union-based industry contracts. as 652 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988 well as true competitiveness in government undertakings. On the issue of competitiveness it would be a very worthwhile option to introduce full tendering for the supply of coal to New South Wales power stations instead of by the captive cost recovery supply from commission-owned mines through the Newcom or Elcom mines. Equally, Newcom and Elcom should be encouraged to compete for export contracts. In conclusion, I return to the great agricultural and resource wealth in the electorate of Upper Hunter. I believe the future prosperity of the whole State lies in our ability to strengthen these sectors. There is a need for further reprocessing or added value to agricultural output in the electorate; vast resources of coal in the Muswellbrook and Gunnedah areas hold the key to great wealth creation and job creation in the country. I am keen to develop further the concept of rail electrification from the port of Newcastle through the Hunter Valley to Muswellbrook, and ultimately to the Gunnedah coalfields. I believe that the power produced would be among the cheapest in the world and would lessen our dependence on oil. I believe that it would be possible for an industry- funded investment to develop the electrification with a freight rate that would permit a rate of return. To be elected to the New South Wales Parliament is an honour that I regard as sacred. I will strive always for integrity and justice for all. I will be accessible and understanding, and will give of my best at all times to be of service to the people who have given me their trust. Mr CLEARY (Coogee) [3.23]: I am delighted to support the motion moved for the adoption of the Address in Reply, and to offer congratulations to the Governor, Sir James Rowland, and Lady Rowland on a job well done. As a Minister in the former Government, I became close to Sir James and his family. I had many pleasant experiences at Government House at the conclusion of Executive Council meetings, when we adjourned to discuss more mundane issues over refreshments, to the delight of the Governor's butler, Michel. I am sure that members of the new Government are having equal enjoyment from the splendid hospitality offered at Government House. I take this opportunity to welcome David Martin who is to succeed Sir James Rowland as Governor of this State. David Martin is well known to all members of this House as a man who is close to the people, someone with whom one can talk, possessing a natural personality. His training in the navy will enable him to carry out the most important role as Governor with the decorum that the position requires. All honourable members will know of David's excellent work when he was in charge of the Royal Australian Navy's seventy-fifth anniversary celebrations in October, 1986. Ships from around the world visited Sydney Harbour and staged a marvellous display. The celebrations showed the need for expertise in handling traffic when major events are staged in Sydney. The traffic jams and chaos at Circular Quay railway station on that occasion made it clear that steps would have to be taken to implement a satisfactory traffic control program. Following that experience a blueprint was produced for controlling traffic at the bicentennial celebrations on 26th January this year. The police and the transport authorities were outstanding in handling the huge crowds who came to Sydney to witness that spectacular event. I take this opportunity to congratulate the mover of the motion, the honourable member for Georges River, and the seconder, the honourable member for Northern Tablelands. The honourable member for Georges River took the opportunity to make his maiden speech as a member of this House, and I congratulate him on a fine performance. I welcome the new women members who have been elected to this Chamber, representing the electorates of Minchinbury, Wentworthville, McKell, Balmain and Bligh. I listened intently 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 653 to their maiden speeches; they displayed confidence and commendable presentation, and by their speeches gave the House an interesting tour of their electorates. The honourable member for Balmain gave an interesting history of her electorate and her family. All the new women members paid tribute to those who assisted them in their efforts to be elected as members of Parliament. It is some 14 years since I made my maiden speech from this side of the House after what was an interesting struggle to become the member for Coogee. Honourable members may recall that in 1973 1 contested the seat of Coogee in a battle with the Liberal Party candidate, Ross Freeman, following the retirement of Sir Kevin Ellis. It has often been said that the side of the House on which I sat depended on which party was the first to ask me to stand as a candidate. I take the opportunity to dispel that rumour; my association with the Australian Labor Party, particularly with the New South Wales branch, goes back to 1965. Pat Hills, the member for Elizabeth at that time and the patron of South Sydney Leagues Club, encouraged me to take an interest in politics at the grass roots level in the branches. At the end of 1972 Pat Hills asked me if I would enter the poltical arena. I told him that in my public relations position in the marketing field I had affiliations with all political parties and was a close friend of Sir Robert Askin, but my sympathies were with the ALP. My brother Dennis was then an active member of the Liberal Party and was involved in the formation of that party's Beacon Hill branch. The then Minister for Health, Dick Healy, was also associated with that area. My brother had many battles with Chris Puplick in the preselection contest at the Wentworth Hotel. From the smiles on the faces of some Government members, I realize that my brother was not the only one involved in those struggles. I understand that if the fight had not been so severe, my brother could have been victorious. However, Sir Robert Askin tugged his coat and said, "What you are doing is splitting the vote, and the choice is Webster". So, my brother and Puplick lost the battle and Webster won the seat. I rang my brother and told him that I was sick of playing around; I intended to settle down and become involved in politics. He said that it was about time I did so. At that time my brother was the greenie of the family. He was involved in Liberal Party committees on such things as planning and preservation of national parks. My brother asked what party I was standing for. I said, "I am standing for the Labor Party. You know that I am involved with Pat Hills". When he inquired what seat I was standing for and I told him that it was the seat of Coogee, there was a deathly silence on the other end of the telephone. He used an expletive that Hansard could spell but I cannot repeat. I asked what was wrong and he then told me that he was standing for Liberal Party pre-selection for the seat of Coogee the following day. I began to wonder what might happen. He was captain of the surf club; he was still playing football for Randwick; he was six feet four inches tall, and the heavyweight boxing champion of New South Wales at the time. I told Pat Hills that I did not think I could run for the seat. He replied that everything had been arranged and I would have to run for the seat of Coogee. When I told him that my brother was going to run for the Liberal Party, Pat said, "Don't worry about that; you'll beat him". 1 said, "That is not the point. I cannot run against my brother. Can you imagine the Cleary brothers on Belmore Road belting hell out of each other over an issue? That is what it would get to, and he would beat me. No, I cannot do it". But I was lucky. The message came through-again it might have been at the Wentworth Hotel-that Denis had missed out and Ross 654 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988
Freeman had been preselected to represent the Liberal Party for the seat of Coogee. Mr Wotton: Pat organized the Liberal Party preselection. Mr CLEARY: Well, he did a good job. Honourable members know the result of that election. 1 was defeated by eight out of 32 000 votes. I did not know very much about politics. I knew that the upper House was furnished in red and this House in green. I soon learned more about politics. There was a discrepancy in the postal voting, the result was announced before the ballot was declared: I was two votes in front, then four votes behind, and then six in front. The result was disputed in the Court of Disputed Returns, and another election was called for 20th July, 1974. The result of that election bore a similarity to a recent election result achieved by our former Premier, the honourable member for Rockdale. On that occasion I was 260 votes behind after the primary votes had been counted, but when preference votes were announced I won by 54 votes. So, when our former Premier first won the seat of Rockdale I advised him not to worry, that 54 was a good number. At the 1976 election I retained the seat with a majority of 2 600, and the honourable member for Rockdale also increased his majority. That is the history of my brother being a member of the Liberal Party and my having always been a member of the Labor Party. History will show that on two occasions I was lucky that the Liberal Party did not endorse my brother for preselection. I shall not take the House down memory lane with a long history of Coogee. I did that in 1974 when I made my maiden speech. However, like all honourable members who present their maiden speeches and take the House down memory lane, I should like to extend my appreciation to the people of my electorate who have supported me at a number of elections. I have been invoked in elections in 1973, 1974, 1976, 1980, 198 1, 1985 and 1988. I have contested many elections and gained plenty of experience. The pendulum has swung from results of minus eight to plus 54, as high as 8 600, and now down to 620. However, at the last election the huge swing against the Labor Party averaged 10 per cent, whereas my swing was only 4.2 per cent. The one redeeming feature is that it cannot get any worse; it can only get better. I hope that the next election will be considerably easier than the last election. If history repeats itself and I can sustain my efforts, I will again have the opportunity of sitting on the Government benches and looking at the plaques on the wall above the Opposition benches-which we all do at times. I shall highlight a number of matters that the Governor mentioned in his Speech. He said that next year an exhibition of New South Wales technology and products will be held in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China, to cement the close relationship between New South Wales and our sister province, Guandong. When I read the Governor's Speech I could not help thinking that he had repeated a number of matters mentioned previously in a Governor's Speech when Labor was in office. They were Labor initiatives. Former Premier Wran was responsible for Guandong becoming a sister province of New South Wales. Last year I visited Guandong and attended the opening of an office that the New South Wales Government established to foster interprovince development, including importing and exporting. I call it an office, but building space is so expensive in Guandong that this office was only as big as one small corner of this Chamber. The people of China are anxious to try to foster trade. They have overcome some of their duty free problems in what they call the 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 655 economic free zone of Guangzhou, which is across the border from Hong Kong. The Chinese authorities are slowly educating and training their people about the consequences of the changes now taking place there. I suggest to the Government that its endeavours to continue the good work in China will prove fruitful, and it is to be commended. Some of the matters mentioned by the Governor in his Speech relate to portfolios that I held when I was a Minister. The Governor mentioned tourism, which was highlighted today by the Premier's ministerial announcement about the Olympic Games, and the potential that tourism has for New South Wales. The Governor said that our tourist industry generates an income of $9 billion and employs 140 000 people. That figure relates to the number of people directly employed. Many more people are indirectly involved in the tourist industry. In 198 1 when I became Minister for Tourism the industry was worth $3 billion and employed 90 000 people. Hotel development in New South Wales was somewhat limited. Queensland, of course, was going ahead in leaps and bounds. I am sure that the determination and support that I received from Treasury will be evident in the forthcoming State Budget, and that the tourism portfolio will receive substantial funding. Again I give credit where it is due. I mention those details because the Governor devoted only one paragraph of his Speech to tourism. At the end of last year hotels planned or approved for construction in the central business district of Sydney were valued at in excess of $6 billion. They will provide accommodation for international tourists. At that time there were 13 500 hotel beds in Sydney. The planned additional hotels will increase that figure to 21 000 beds in 1990. Today the Premier said that when one includes tourist accommodation that is available in the suburbs, Sydney has in excess of 50 000 beds. That level of accommodation will enable New South Wales to continue as the leading tourist destination not only for overseas visitors but also for domestic visitors. For a number of years now New South Wales has surpassed all other States, even Queensland, in attracting tourists. Each year, 2.6 million Victorian tourists visit New South Wales, 1.2 million Queenslanders-perhaps attracted by the one-armed bandits in Tweed Heads and other places-visit New South Wales and only about 900 000 people from this State visit Queensland. That reflects how important tourism is to New South Wales. Honourable members will note also that the Governor made referernce to New South Wales being the business centre of Australia. Being the business centre, it must also have appropriate accommodation. I believe the accommodation is being provided by the development of both three-star and five-star hotels. A 900-bed hotel is being built on top of the car park at Darling Harbour. Three-star hotels round the perimeter of the Darling Harbour waterfront will cater for the package tourists from, say, Japan, Canada and even the United States of America. There are a number of backpack hotels in the city, at Bondi and Coogee, and on the north side of the Harbour. The tourism industry is important. Whether tourists come to this State by air, coach, rail or car for a holiday, or to do business, they come with money to spend on food, clothing and hotel accommodation-all of which creates employment. Some 73 per cent of all international visitors to Australia come to New South Wales, and 56 per cent of them arrive in Australia at Mascot. The others first visit Victoria and Queensland. New South Wales has the reputation of being Australia's number one State. Our State is progressing now and if the synopsis in the Governor's Speech is correct, the endeavours of the new 656 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988
Government are to maintain that momentum and make sure that New South Wales remains the number one State and continues to be the mecca for business and tourism. The Olympic Games were mentioned in the Governor's Speech and by the Premier today in this Chamber. I thank the Premier for the very fair remarks that he made in his ministerial statement. Undoubtedly there must be a bipartisan attempt to have Sydney host the Olympic Games in 1996. I very much appreciated the credit that the Premier gave me and I thank him formally. I was deeply touched. Mr Collins: The credit was well deserved. Mr CLEARY: Thank you very much. What is well deserved is the fact that this has been an outstanding team effort by the Sydney Olympic Games Citizens Council. The Premier is the president of that council. The Deputy Premier is the vice-president. I represent the Leader of the Opposition on the council, and the honourable member for Goulburn represents the Deputy Premier. Sir Eric Neal is a member also. The council has a marvellous nucleus of business community leaders, including Sir Peter Abeles, Sam Chisholm, David Clarke from the Macquarie Bank, Mr Fowler, Gerry Gleeson, Ted Harris, Graham Lovett, Frank Lowy, Kerry Packer, Sir Nicholas Shehadie, the Hon. R. B. Rowland Smith the Minister for Sport, Recreation and Racing, Mr Tolley and Mr Willis, and also the executive director Mr O'Connor, who has done a great job. This afternoon at a cocktail reception on the thirty-first floor of the State Office Block the Premier will release the council's submission, which will echo the announcement he made in this Chamber today. Gerry Gleeson, chairman of the Sydney Olympic Games Management Committee, Percy Allan and Ken Brown from the Department of Sport and Recreation, John Devitt, Kevin Humphrey, and also Peter Montgomery have all done an outstanding job. In a very short time they have put together a package that I hope and trust will be Sydney's successful bid for the 1996 Olympic Games. This all came about nine months ago when Kevan Gosper returned from overseas and said that there was a chance that Athens may not be successful in its bid for the 1996 Olympic Games. Honourable members are aware that 1996 is the one hundredth year of the Olympic Games. Athens being the founding city, it was thought its bid for the Olympic Games would be successful. Unfortunately securlty is a big problem-and we are seeing some semblance of that in Seoul-and Athens' track record for security is not all that it should be. Mr Gosper said that Australia should put in a bid for the Games. The former Premier, Mr Unsworth, made the announcement which some sceptics said was an election ploy. The news media was also cynical about the announcement. As was mentioned today by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Carr, in 1982 the Government embarked upon a plan to spend $10 million a year over a 10-year period to bring the sporting facilities in New South Wales up to internatio-la1 standards. I have used the term before but it is the fact that prior to that time New South Wales could not have held an international marbles championship. I note with satisfaction that the Chairman of the State Sports Centre, the former member for Rockdale, Brian Bannon, is sitting in the gallery. The former Labor Government started the development of the State Sports Centre, Homebush Bay. The indoor facilities cost $22 million, $9.8 million of which came from the federal Government. Ken Booth, a former Minister for Tourism was responsible for a questionnaire concerning sporting facility needs which was distributed to all sporting bodies. They replied by saying that an indoor facility was needed. Public Works Department officers have travelled 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 657 round the United States of America and other parts of the world to try to find the correct and best design for a venue. The result of that was the State Sports Centre at Homebush Bay. The indoor facility seats about 5 500 and the seats are removable. Basketball and other events have been held in that facility. An equestrian event has also been held there. Fencing, gymnastics and netball events can also be held in that facility. Next to that facility is a smaller hall that can also be used. There is a centre for gymnastics with permanent pits for the gymnasts' exercises and parallel bars. There is a weightlifting room downstairs. The State S orts Centre has been an outstanding success. A hockey centre was built costing $3.8 million, again a contribution from the federal Government. The hockey centre has a synthetic field, and honourable members may recall that the former Government was criticized when that turf was laid. Some people said it was not of international standard. A bit of skullduggery went on by one of the unsuccessful tenderers who started a rumour which has since been proved wrong. We have.an international standard facility there. At present a second synthetic field is being laid as well as a grass field.
A softball centre was established at a cost of $1.5 million. The Government worked closely with the Penrith lakes development people to provide a 2 000 metres rowing course. Homebush Bay could not be used as a result of problems with roads in that area. That rowing course is included in the Olympic Games submission that I have in front of me. White water canoeing was looked at. When the Eraring power station was built, steps were taken to increase the size of the banks of the river so that the outfall from the turbines provides a white water course for canoeing. With minor modification that facility can be used for Olympic sport. The Sydney Football Stadium has been surrounded by controversy but it appears that it is all settling down. It will be a major facility for the Olympic Games. Two years ago the International Federation of Football Associations introduced a ruling which stated that because of the problems of violence and misconduct they would not allow an Olympic Games or an international soccer match to be played in a facility unless there was a minimum of 40 000 individual seats built in such a way as are the seats in the Sydney Football Stadium. Soccer is now an Olympic sport and only this year Australia has done well against the Brazilians. Australia has a chance of getting a medal of some description in soccer. Everything has fallen into line and worked out well.
The former Labor Government sought to create an athletics stadium. A feasibility study was undertaken at Lidcombe Oval. The present policy of making Lidcombe Oval a velodrome and creating an athletics stadium near the Homebush Bay sports centre is to be commended. The Labor Government sought to make use of 54 hectares of land at Newington used as the naval ammunition storage base but the federal Government wanted more than $50 million for it so our thinking was diverted elsewhere. Ultimately, matters have worked out well. A velodrome was located at Tempe but required a roof before it could be used for Olympic Games purposes, and that would have cost $14 million. Perhaps we should follow the example of the Tasmanians, who developed their own velodrome, and use the wooden floor section of Lidcombe Oval. The dreams and planning of the former Government have been harnessed by the committee and given endorsement by the present Government. Let us hope that the city of Sydney will be successful in its pursuit of hosting the 1996 Olympic Games. 658 ASSEMBLY 25 August, I988
The State sports scholarship scheme brings to mind an interesting tale. When the scheme was to be announced a large press conference was called. A big sign proclaimed the sports scholarship scheme. I had managed to get 10 private companies each to donate $25,000 to the scheme, and the Department of Sport and Recreation allocated another $250,000 to acheive the total of $500,000. The Premier came to make the announcement. The only thing that went wrong was that he announced the construction of the Sydney Football Stadium. He failed to thank the sponsors who had come to the conference expecting thanks for the work they had done with the scholarship scheme. Sir Arthur George was present and was quite delighted by what the Premier said, but later I had to run around and assist the trust in bringing it to fruition. The scheme is an outstanding success. I am delighted the present Government will continue with it. It will enable young people with sporting potential, not necessarily of international standard but of promise, to come to Sydney or to go overseas or interstate to get expert training and share competition. Some of the initiatives of the former Labor Government have been carried foward and will continue under the present Government. Those being implemented deserve applause, and if they continue along present paths New South Wales will continue to be number one for years to come and will deserve its title of the premier State. I thank all those who have been involved in these matters. I also thank Sir James Rowland for the job he has done so well as Governor, and I hope that he and his wife share a happy retirement. Mr ANDREWS (Heathcote) [3.53]: I feel deeply honoured at being chosen by the people of Heathcote to represent them in this House. Not only am I proud to be a member of this Government and Parliament, which has been given a mandate to do so much for the people of New South Wales, I am also proud to be representing the people of the Heathcote electorate, a very special community to which I know I belong. To be a part of this Parliament brings with it a responsibility to set things right, a commitment to improving services for the people of this State, a determination to work hard and overcome obstacles, and a desire to satisfy the needs of my constituents. For the majority of my colleagues, on both sides of the House, who were elected on 19th March, I feel that we have all yet to realize just how great this honour is, and what kind of demands it will make of us all. The electorate of Heathcote extends from the southern fringes of Sydney to the northern reaches of the Illawarra. The character of this area is like neither Sydney nor Wollongong, and provides a pleasant refuge from the hurly-burly of these two major centres. Heathcote electorate contains a sound balance between progress and the environment. Its people live in smaller close communities which larger societies have discarded at temble cost. In the north, my electorate includes the new suburbs of Alfords Point, Bangor, Illawong and Woronora, which extend along the Georges River, and the nearby towns of Menai and Lucas Heights. At the heart of my electorate is my hometown of Engadine, along with the townships of Heathcote, Yarrawarrah and Woronora Heights. These places may, at first glance, look typical suburbia to the outsider, however, they contain many hard-working, middle class, community-conscious people who all care dearly for their area. These are very special places indeed, and I have grown close to them and their people. Nestled in the magnificent bushlands of the Royal National Park and Heathcote National Park are the townships of Waterfall, Darkes Forest, Blue Gum Forest, as well as the township of Helensburgh. Further south, sweeping along the coast from Stanwell Park and Stanwell Tops to Coledale, is one of the most picturesque and lovely stretches of coastline in the world. Very few 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 659 people have not spent some time in awe at Bald Hill, watching the hang-gliders swoop between the clouds and the sea against the magnificent backdrop of the rugged coastline. All of these features make this area a wonderful place to visit, and an even better place to live. It is an area in which I have lived for most of my life. Living in such an area and having been given the oportunity to represent the region in Parliament makes me realize how fortunate I am. That pride will be with me all my life. Some 46 years ago my mother and father were transferred to Heathcote by the New South Wales railways after being moved all over the State seeking work during the Depression. My father worked as a railway fettler at the time, after many of the coalmines were closed where he used to work. My father was pulled out of school at the age of 11 to work in the Hunter Valley coalmines and obviously had very little formal education. My mother migrated from England with her parents when she was 14, and was married three years later at 17 years. These two battlers, my parents, raised one elder brother through the Great Depression. With my birth in 1940, and my younger brother four years later, they raised their children through some of the toughest times the modern world has known. They struggled right through their lives, always putting their family first, and giving us all the inspiration to "fight for what you want and believe in". My formal education commenced at Heathcote Public School, which consisted of one tiny weatherboard schoolroom with less than 40 children in the whole school. Classes 1 to 6 were together in the one room, a sort of composite 1 to 6 class in today's language. We had just one teacher, an elderly, underpaid, overworked but obviously dedicated teacher with a wealth of experience. 1 progressed from primary to high school, then decided to embark on an electrical trades course, studying at St George technical college. Once I completed my trades course, I studied for a further eight years at night college. During this time I also commenced working for myself as a contractor, and was married. My son, Marrin, and daughter, Karla, have been a tower of strength to me during some eventful years recently, and I class myself as a well looked-after dad. My entry to the political arena commenced in 1974 when I won a seat on Sutherland Shire Council. These formative years, in which I learnt so much and was given the opportunity to be involved with the future of the Sutherland shire, were indeed exciting years. Having served with pride as shire president for two years and as deputy shire president for a further two and as chairman of two different committees, my political ambitions were widened and soon had created the feeling of a need to do more. Our area was still very much a Labor stronghold at that time, but all that was changing. Mr Les Johnson represented the area in federal Parliament and he represented it well. The State seat was held by Rex Jackson, a former Minister of this House and a long-time member of Parliament. Rex Jackson worked hard in his electorate, lived at Helensburgh, and many people felt that Rex Jackson was there to stay until he died or wanted to get out of politics. Many of the facilities in Heathcote electorate can be attributed to this member of over 30 years standing. However, as we have all heard before, a day is a long time in politics and Rex Jackson resigned from Parliament. It is unfortunate that that previous member for Heathcote, who gave so much to his electorate over many years, ended his parliamentary career on such a sour note. I am the very first member of the Liberal Party to represent in this Chamber the people of Heathcote electorate. For the past 61 years my predecessors have all come from the ranks of the Australian Labor Party. The 660 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988 last non-Labor member to represent the district was Mr James Shand, who served from 1926 to 1927-twenty years before the modern Liberal Party came into existence. I am tremendously proud of being elected to this House and shall work hard to be worthy of that great honour. I am sure everyone in this House would recall the Heathcote by-election, finally called by the former Premier, the member for Rockdale, on 30th January, 1987. The former member for Heathcote had resigned. However, the Government of the day refused to call an election date. For five months the area of Heathcote was unrepresented. Regardless of the needs of the area, or the desires to have someone to represent their views in the New South Wales Government, the then Premier refused to budge. These were really "full-steam ahead" days. I am sure I do not have to remind members of the Government who were members before the March elections of how hard an electorate such as Heathcote is to work. For 19 weeks we footslogged the hills, the valleys, the roads and the tracks of the entire Heathcote electorate, as the Minister for Health knows only too well. The Government of the day held a 13.9 per cent majority, a formidable target to try to peg back. However, peg it back we did, and on election day, the majority was reduced to 4.2 per cent. The people of Heathcote chose Mr Ian McManus; as honourable members know, he remains in this House now as the member for Burragorang. Immediately after the by-election, the then Premier changed the boundaries, adding a further 10 seats to the New South Wales Parliament. Not long after the by-election win, Mr McManus decided to run for the new seat of Burragorang, which meant I was to face a different candidate in the State election held recently. The rest is history-and will go down in the history books as one of the most amazing wins in the New South Wales Parliament. We gained a majority in our own right, with 59 seats out of 109-winning seats we never envisaged we would such as Cessnock, Minchinbury and others, taking all four seats in Sutherland shire for the first time ever, and obtained a mandate from the people, who were just fed up with the current Government. During both the Heathcote by-election and the full State election in March this year, the Liberal Party took to the streets in unprecedented numbers to find out what the electorate really wanted. Led ever so capably by Nick Greiner, and backed up by an enthusiastic team of members, candidates and supporters, the people of Heathcote electorate could smell a change in the air. And, as mentioned previously, the electorate was really hard to work. It is almost as though there were three different electorates. The northern, the central and the southern areas all had different problems and needed different levels of support. The newer suburbs in the north named their priorities as roads, housing, education, and law and order in that order. The central area's priorities were law and order, health, and education; the southern area was concerned with housing, environment, roads, education, local government and transport. I find it particularly pleasing to be able to stand here in this House, because a mere five months after bein elected we already have an impressive list of achievements to help alleviate tf e many problems left to us as a legacy from the previous Government. Without any question at all, the most significant problem in the total electorate was the lack of an eastwest road link through the Menai area, joining the eastern electorates of Miranda and Cronulla to the suburbs of Padstow, Canterbury and Bankstown. Within weeks, the Minister for Transport, the Hon. Bruce Baird and the Premier stated we intended to honour our promise. The Department of Main Roads has drawn schematic plans and within months work will commence on this very important four-lane motorway through Menai. A medium-level bridge over the Woronora River is also planned 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 66 1
to commence within our first four years of office. As I mentioned, residents from many adjoining electorates, east, west and south will benefit greatly from this proposal. But it does not end there. Our "bikky tin", as the honourable member for The Entrance refers to it, still had some more goodies for the northern part of Heathcote electorate. Every night, vandals would cause some damage in the area-stealing building materials from new house sites, stripping or burning cars, vandalizing schools, house-breaking and engaging in just general juvenile vandalism. The Hon. E. P. Pickering, M.L.C., Minister for Police, has agreed to a police station being constructed on a temporary site at Menai within twelve months of our attaining office. Once the new Menai town centre is approved by the Sutherland shire council, we will construct a new permanent police station to protect all residents on the Menai-Illawong peninsulas. And yet there is more. With a growing population outstripping most other areas of Sydney because of its local, natural beauty, and so close to the Sydney central business district, the need for community facilities is paramount. Two new primary schools will be built in the near future at Alfords Point and Lucas Heights, and after the results of a demographic survey currently being carried out, there is the distinct possibility of having another new high school constructed in the same time frame. The township of Engadine in the centre of the electorate is the largest suburb in the electorate. In many ways it has little area to expand, although the nearby suburb of Woronora Heights will have nearly 900 homes once established. I have been working closely with the local progress association to ensure facilities necessary for this area are allocated on a priority basis. Many of the existing facilities in Engadine have been provided after my representations on the Sutherland shire council. Community centres, youth centres, playing fields, passive reserves, tennis courts, sporting amenity buildings, and many others are the direct result of my representation and support. Another problem, which is present right at this moment, is that of the Engadine community health clinic. This most vital facility for the southern and western section of my electorate has to move from its existing site at the end of this year. It is vital that this important facility be maintained in Engadine, and I am at present negotiating with the Minister for Health, the Hon. P. E. J. Collins, for moneys to relocate the facility to a new permanent site. Because the Minister assisted me on so many occasions in my campaigns, I know he is well aware of the need for this facility, and we expect good news in the very near future. The nearby suburb of Heathcote is the home for one of the most magnificent buildings you could hope to lay your eyes on. Heathcote Hall, on the previously named Bottle Forest Estate-and now Heathcote East-is in private ownership. Luckily for the community as a whole, they are very aware of the importance of retaining such a magnificent building for our future generations. The Hon. T. J. Moore, Minister for Environment, has already been out to inspect the building and is adamant we must assist to bring this building back to its former grandeur. We are negotiating with the owners and trust that in the not too distant future an agreement will be reached which is equitable to all. I am also working at the moment on a scheme which will involve local business people to help attain much needed facilities for the youth of our area. The southern end of the electorate is the most sensitive area and is the only real breathing space left to stop the urban sprawl of Sydney and Wollongong joining together. The Illawarra escarpment will be protected by our 662 ASSEMBLY 25 August, 1988
Government and we are totally committed to ensuring its protection forever. The lack of available building land for housing in Sydney is becoming desperate because of the lack of proper planning by the previous Government. We are committed to addressing this problem and Helensburgh is a very vital part of that process. The township must be made more viable, more productive, become larger and better planned, with a very careful eye always on the sensitive areas of natural bushland surrounding the township. It has actually become a divisive issue in the township because of the previous Government's inability to make a decision. I am working ever so closely with Wollongong city council on this matter. For this, I wish to thank the Lord Mayor and local member for Wollongong, Mr Frank Arkell, M.P., and his staff. All the different interest groups are being kept informed of the progress, and by bringing the facts out into the open, everyone is appreciative of what we are trying to achieve. The southern end of my electorate also has caused some unwanted sadness. Soon after the coalition gained government, I found myself up against the forces of nature. The floods that beset the Illawarra a few months ago tragically took the lives of Mrs Jennifer Hagan and her son at Coledale. At Otford a family lost everything they owned in their house which was destroyed by a mudslide. The Lawrence Hargrave Drive, that scenic coastal road, was destroyed in a section between Coalcliff and Clifton, plunging countless people into a financial crisis caused through the elimination of the tourist trade in the area. The Premier and Attorney General, after strong representations on behalf of the residents of Coledale, agreed to provide financial support in the coronial inquiry of the Coledale tragedy. The people of New South Wales rallied magnificently to the call to assist Mr Terry Hagan and his family, who are now living in another home at Coledale. The Fillery family, who lost their home at Otford, are being assisted. However, more needs to be done in this area, and I am at present working on a long-term plan of assistance. We are also looking at how we can assist the residents affected by the closure of Lawrence Hargrave Drive. At the moment the road is being repaired at a cost of over $6 million and the road is expected to reopen by the end of October. After many years of promises the Illawarra railway was electrified. Once again due credit must be given to Mr Rex Jackson, the former member for Heathcote, for his work. However, the service being provided by the former Government was worse than that provided before electrification. During our campaigning, we travelled on many of the morning peak trains where people were literally crammed into carriages like cattle-and they still are. Once again. we were left the legacy of the complete neglect of the needs of the people of Illawarra. Safe seats somehow or other do not seem to receive the same treatment as marginal seats by the Labor Party. With little new rolling-stock available, the Minister was still able to arrange for two additional carriages on a morning and afternoon peak-hour train, which was widely appreciated. Yesterday, the Minister arranged that when the new timetable commences next month a further two carriages will be provided for another peak-hour train, an additional train from Kiama that will complete the journey to Sydney 18 minutes faster than any previous service, and an extra service on weekends. The Minister for Transport, the Hon. B. G. Baird, should be congratulated by the people of the Hcathcote electorate for introducing such initiatives in such a short term in office. Other projects such as Waterfall commuter car park and the Engadinc rallway station are envisaged in our first term of Parliament. Thc people of Heathcote electorate realize that all Ghese initiattves and projects I havc llstcd would not have been possible under the former Labor Govcrnrnent. It has bcen many, many years since this electorate of ours has received such a bagful of goodies, and I would not be representing it on behalf 25 August, 1988 ASSEMBLY 663 of the Government if it were not for many hard-working, dedicated and loyal assistants. The support I received from so many members of this House, from door-knocking, attending meetings, and generally getting the message to the people, will never be forgotten. I am sure the Premier was in Heathcote electorate more than his own during the Heathcote by-election-as were many others. The loyal and dedicated local branch members were magnificent in their commitment to the cause. Jim Stephen, Harry Widmer, Eric Monckton, Neil Mahler, Judy O'Brien, Dianne Weatherall, and so many, many more worked tirelessly for our first State Parliament win ever. I have never seen so many tears of joy shed on the night of 19th March by so many people. I thank publicly everyone who assisted in this magnificent win. But nobody took more pleasure from the win than two very important members of this Parliament, who became two very important friends. The Hon. Ted Pickering, M.L.C. and Mr Ron Phillips, M.P. and Government Whip, really had me working. I would have been without doubt, the fittest candidate ever for State Parliament. They were very nearly cruel to me with their workload. But, everything they asked me to do, they did the same and more. My deepest thanks to both members and their entire families. As 1 mentioned earlier, I am now in one of the most exciting and rewarding sections of my life. My dedication to the job will be judged at the end of this four-year term, and my commitment to looking after everyone in the Heathcote electorate will never wane. I thank you, Mr Speaker, and all honourable members for your indulgence. Debate adjourned by Mr Newman.
PRINTING COMMITTEE Second Report Mr Small, as Chairman, brought up the Second Report from the Printing Committee.
House adjourned at 4.18 p.m.