TENTH ASSEMBLY 11 MAY 2021 www.hansard.act.gov.au Tuesday, 11 May 2021 Visitor ...................................................................................................................... 1219 Self-government in the territory—32nd anniversary (Statement by Speaker) ........ 1219 Paper (Out-of-order petition) ................................................................................... 1220 Crime—sexual assault (Ministerial statement) ........................................................ 1220 COVID-19 pandemic response—update (Ministerial statement) ............................ 1231 Bradyn Dillon—coronial inquest (Ministerial statement) ....................................... 1236 Planning—Gungahlin town centre (Ministerial statement) ..................................... 1243 Justice and Community Safety—Standing Committee ............................................ 1246 Public Accounts—Standing Committee .................................................................. 1247 Utilities Amendment Bill 2021 ................................................................................ 1249 Questions without notice: Education—schools performance ................................................................. 1256 Education—schools performance ................................................................. 1258 Education—schools performance ................................................................. 1259 Education—teachers ..................................................................................... 1260 Federal government—budget ....................................................................... 1261 Schools—enrolments .................................................................................... 1263 Education—NAPLAN .................................................................................. 1264 Education—schools performance ................................................................. 1265 Planning—Territory Plan ............................................................................. 1267 Government—sexual assault prevention and response working group ........ 1268 Government—sexual assault prevention and response working group ........ 1269 Government—Ministerial Advisory Council on Women ............................ 1270 Schools—hazardous materials ...................................................................... 1271 Planning—active transport ........................................................................... 1272 Canberra Hospital—expansion ..................................................................... 1273 Papers ....................................................................................................................... 1275 A Step Up For Our Kids—update ............................................................................ 1276 Our Booris Our Way—update ................................................................................. 1276 Children and young people—out of home care ....................................................... 1279 Planning, Transport and City Services—Standing Committee (Statement by Speaker) ....................................................................................... 1292 Planning—Gungahlin town centre ........................................................................... 1293 Standing orders—suspension ................................................................................... 1301 Adjournment: Multicultural affairs—peace pole ................................................................. 1307 Ahmadiyya mosque ...................................................................................... 1307 Mr John Marshall—tribute ........................................................................... 1308 Mrs Margaret Reid, AO—commemoration .................................................. 1310 Environment—fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty ....................................... 1311 Wombats—mange ........................................................................................ 1313 Jonty Duvall—parliamentary representation ................................................ 1314 International Compost Awareness Week ..................................................... 1314 Standing orders—suspension ....................................................................... 1316 ME/CFS Awareness Week ........................................................................... 1316 Planning—Kippax group centre flooding potential ...................................... 1317 Women—health services .............................................................................. 1318 Legislative Assembly for the ACT Tuesday, 11 May 2021 MADAM SPEAKER (Ms Burch) (10.00): Members: Dhawura nguna, dhawura Ngunnawal. Yanggu ngalawiri, dhunimanyin Ngunnawalwari dhawurawari. Nginggada Dindi dhawura Ngunnaawalbun yindjumaralidjinyin. The words I have just spoken are in the language of the traditional custodians and translate to: This is Ngunnawal country. Today we are gathering on Ngunnawal country. We always pay respect to Elders, female and male, and Ngunnawal country. Members, I ask you to stand in silence and pray or reflect on our responsibilities to the people of the Australian Capital Territory. Visitor MADAM SPEAKER: I acknowledge the presence in the gallery of Mr Norm Jensen. Welcome; it may have been a long time since you were here. Mr Jensen was a member of the First Assembly. We are glad to see you back. Self-government in the territory—32nd anniversary Statement by Speaker MADAM SPEAKER: Today marks the 32nd anniversary of the first day of sitting of the Legislative Assembly. It is not often that we get to sit on the anniversary of the very first day—11 May. In looking back at 11 May 1989, we can see that a lot has changed. Prior to 1989, the ACT was administered by the commonwealth government. In the late 1980s it was decided that with a population of 270,000 we needed our own system of government. The first election of the ACT Assembly took place on 4 March 1989. We first went to the polls as a single electorate of 17 members. What fun that would have been in campaigning! The first political party to form government was the Labor Party, with five seats. The other parties that made up the First Assembly were the Canberra Liberals; the Residents Rally, which I understand Mr Jensen was a member of; the No Self- Government Party; and the Abolish Self Government Coalition. At the first sitting of the Assembly, Rosemary Follett was elected as the Assembly’s first Chief Minister; Trevor Kaine was elected Leader of the Opposition; and David Prowse was elected Speaker. For the first few years the Assembly was housed around the corner, in Constitution Avenue, until our permanent home here was established for us in 1994. 1219 11 May 2021 Legislative Assembly for the ACT In the last 32 years, the electoral system has evolved from a single electorate to three electorates and now to our current five electorates of Brindabella, Ginninderra, Kurrajong, Murrumbidgee and Yerrabi, each with five members. A total of 89 members have been sworn into the Assembly. I would like to thank all of them for their service and the contributions they have made to the governance of the territory. I also thank their staff, who are an integral part of running any member’s office. I would like to thank the people who have kept the Assembly running smoothly. Without them, we would be quite a disorganised rabble at times, I suspect. Mr Parton: Or even more so than we are. MADAM SPEAKER: Perhaps, Mr Parton. I also thank the staff of the Assembly secretariat, now the Office of the Legislative Assembly. Last, but not least, I acknowledge the people of the ACT. We come here every day to represent them, to do them well, and to provide service to them. Thirty-two years. Who would have thought? Paper Out-of-order petition MS ORR (Yerrabi) (10.05), by leave: I table the following out-of-order petition: Petition which does not conform with the standing orders—Gungahlin—Union Land Playground—Shade sail—Ms Orr (101 signatures). I seek the leave of the Assembly to make a very brief comment on the petition. Leave granted. MS ORR: This is a petition by Mary, who is one of the residents bordering the park. She, along with her neighbours, felt very strongly about getting better shade for the area and spent the summer collecting these signatures. She approached me, in my capacity as a local member, asking how she could deliver the petition. I am very glad today to be able to table the petition and I thank the Assembly for its indulgence because it is an out-of-order petition. I look forward to working with the minister in representing these matters. Crime—sexual assault Ministerial statement MS BERRY (Ginninderra—Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Early Childhood Development, Minister for Education and Youth Affairs, Minister for Housing and 1220 Legislative Assembly for the ACT 11 May 2021 Suburban Development, Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Sport and Recreation and Minister for Women) (10.06): It is my pleasure to be making a statement in the Assembly today on the commitment made by the government to take action on the prevention and reduction of sexual assault in the ACT. The ACT government has acknowledged that this is an issue that affects everyone in our community and is an issue bigger than politics. That is why I am proud to be making this statement today