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VICTORIA PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) FIFTY-THIRD PARLIAMENT FIRST SESSION Legislative Council Vol. 435 Autumn 1997 [From 20 May to 29 May 1997] By Authority: VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT PRINTER INTERNET Hansard is available on the Internet http://www.vicnet.net.au/vicnet/ vicgov / parl! parlia.htrnl The Governor # His Excellency the Honourable RICHARD E. McGARVIE, AC * His Excellency the Honourable Sir JAMES AUGUSTINE GOBBO, AC The Lieutenant-Governor # His Excellency the Honourable Sir JAMES AUGUSTINE GOBBO, AC ** Her Excellency Professor ADRIENNE E. CLARKE, AO The Ministry [FROM 6 JANUARY 1997] Premier, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, and Minister for the Arts ............... The Hon. J. G. Kennett, MP Deputy Premier, Minister for Agriculture and Resources ........................ The Hon. P. J. McNamara, MP Minister for Education ................... The Hon. P. A. Gude, MP Minister for Industry, Science and Technology ........................... The Hon. M. A. Birrell, MLC Minister for Health, and Minister for Aged Care ................. The Hon. R. I. Knowles, MLC Minister for Police and Emergency Services, and Minister for Corrections .... The Hon. W. D. McGrath, MP Minister for Finance, and Minister for Gaming. .. The Hon. R. M. Hallam, MLC Treasurer, and Minister for Multimedia .... , The Hon. A. R. Stockdale, MP Minister for Small Business, and Minister for Tourism ................... The Hon. Louise Asher, MLC Minister for Transport ................... , The Hon. R. F. Cooper, MP Minister for Roads and Ports .............. The Hon. G. R. Craige, MLC Minister for Housing, and Minister responsible for AbOriginal Affairs ....... The Hon. A. M. Henderson, MP Minister for Tertiary Education and Training, and Minister assisting the Premier on Multicultural Affairs ........ The Hon. P. N. Honeywood, MP Minister for Planning and Local Government ......................... , The Hon. R. R. C. Maclellan, MP Minister for Youth and Community Services .............................. The Hon. D. V. Napthine, MP Minister for Sport, and Minister for Rural Development. .. The Hon. T. C. Reynolds, MP Minister for Conservation and Land Management ......................... The Hon. M. T. Tehan, MP Attorney-General, Minister for Fair Trading, and Minister for Women's Affairs ....... The Hon. J. L. M. Wade, MP Parliamentary Secretary of the Cabinet ..... The Hon. Rosemary Varty, MLC # To 23 April 1997 .. From 24 April 1997 .... From 14 May 1997 Members of the Legislative Council FIFTY-THIRD PARLIAMENT -FIRST SESSION President The Hon. B. A. CHAMBERLAIN Deputy President and Chairman of Committees: The Hon. P. R. HALL Temporary Chairmen of Committees: The Honourables G. B. Ashman, B. W. Bishop, Bill Forwood, Jean Mc Lean, D. A. Nardella, B. T. Pullen, and C. A. Strong Leader of the Government The Hon. M. A. BIRRELL Deputy Leader of the Government The Hon. R. I. KNOWLES Leader of the National Party: The Hon. W. R. BAXTER Deputy Leader of the National Party: The Hon. R. M. HALLAM Leader of the Opposition: The Hon. T. C. THEOPHANOUS Deputy Leader of the Opposition: The Hon. M. M. COULD Member District P~ Member District Party Asher, Hon. Louise Monash LP Katsambanis, Hon. Peter As~,Hon.GeraldBany Koonung LP Argyris Monash LP Atkinson, Hon. Bruce NormanKoonung LP Knowles, Hon. Robert !an Ballarat LP Baxter, Hon. William Robert North Eastern NP Lucas, Hon. Neil Bedford Eumemmerring LP Best, Hon. Ronald Alexander North Western NP Luckins, Hon. Maree Therese Waverley LP Birrel!, Hon. Mark Alexander East Yarra LP McLean, Hon. Jean Melbourne West ALP B~on. B~ Wilfred North Western NP Nardella, Hon. Donato B , Hon. lair Antonio Melbourne North ALP Cameron Chelsea LP Nguyen, Hon. Sang Minh Melbourne West ALP Bowden, Hon. Ronald Henry South Eastern LP Powel!, Hon. Eliza eth Brideson, Hon. Andrew Jeanette North Eastern NP Ronald Waverley LP Power, Hon. Pat JikaJika ALP Chamberlain, Hon. Bruce Pullen, Hon. B~ Thomas Melbourne ALP Anthony Western LP Ross, Hon. John illiam Cover, Hon. !an James Geelong LP Gameliel Higinbotham LP Craige, Hon. Geo~ Ronald Central Highlands LP Smith, Hon. Kenneth LP DaVIS, Hon. David clean East Yarra LP Maurice South Eastern Davis, Hon. Philil Rivers Gippsland LP Smith, Hon. Wendy lrene Silvan LP de Fegely, Hon. 'chard Stoney, Hon. Eadley Graeme Central Highlands LP StraChan Ba11arat LP S~:on. Christopher Eren, Hon. Tayfun Ergun Doutta Galla ALP Higinbotham LP Forwood, Hon. Bill Templestowe LP Theophanous, Hon. Theo Furletti, Hon. Carlo Angelo Templestowe LP Charles JikaJika ALP Could, Hon. Monica Mary Doutta Galla ALP Varty, Hon. Rose~ Silvan LP Hall, Hon. Peter Ronald Gippsland NP Walpole, Hon. Doug Hallam, Hon. R~er Murray Western NP Thom~on Melbourne ALP Harti~, Hon. illiam Wells, on. RonaldJames An ony Neville Geelong LP Herbert Eumemmerring LP Hogg, Hon. Caroline Jennifer Melbourne North ALP Wilding, Hon. Sue deCarteret Chelsea LP Heads of Parliamentary Departments Council - Clerk of the Parliaments and Clerk of the Legislative Council: Mr A. V. Bray Assembly - Clerk of the Legislative Assembly: Mr P. J. Mithen Hansard - Chief Reporter: Mr Eric Woodward Library - Librarian: Mr B. J. Davidson House - Secretary: Ms C. M. Haydon ROY AL ASSENT Tuesday, 20 May 1997 COUNCIL 843 Tuesday, 20 May 1997 Roads: freeway lighting Hon. B. C. BOARDMAN (Chelsea) - Will the Minister for Roads and Ports inform the house of the state government's freeway lighting policy? The PRESIDENT (Hon. B. A. Chamberlain) took the chair at 2.32 p.m. and read the prayer. Hon. G. R. CRAlGE (Minister for Roads and Ports) - On the day I want to answer this question, ROYAL ASSENT Mr Power is not in the chamber. I will make sure he hears about it and shine a light on it for him. Message read advising royal assent to: Because of their design freeways usually have low Anglican Welfare Agency Act accident rates and traffic can operate on them safely at night without continuous route lighting. Fire Authorities (Amendment) Act Although continuous lighting is therefore not normally provided on freeways, it is realised that Livestock Disease Control (Amendment) Act some sections of urban freeways may require such lighting. Areas that have been approved for Police and Corrections (Amendment) Act continuous lighting are, for example, those with significant night-time accident rates, those with APPROPRIATION (1997/98) BILL narrow median strips with continuous median barriers, and those on which a substantial number of Introduction and first reading vehicles change lanes and continually weave in and out of traffic. Received from Assembly. Overpasses and underpasses on sections of urban Read first time on motion of Hon. R. M. HALLAM freeways where continuous lighting is not approved (Minister for Finance). will be lit in accordance with current standards for freeway lighting, including AS 1158.1-1986 SAA Public Lighting Code. Those standards are met on QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE all Victorian freeway interchanges, including those on the Western Ring Road. There are two technical categories under the AS 1158.1 standard: category A Minister for Conservation and Land ~ghting is for arterial roads and category Blighting Management IS for collector and local roads. Freeways are lit to category A standard. On other types of arterial roads lighting is aimed at illuminating side frictional Hon. M. M. GOULD (Doutta Galla) - I refer the aspects of the traffic-road environment, and many of Minister for Health to today's revelation that those aspects are eliminated by the access control Mr Olszak had in February 1996 prepared a briefing and functional form of freeways. note to the then Minister for Health outlining irregularities in the Intergraph tendering process. I Category A lighting sets the following specific further refer the minister to his statement in the minimum standards: average carriageway house on 24 April that he had raised the matter with luminance of 0.5, overall luminance uniformity of the former health minister, Mrs Tehan, and that she 0.33, longitudinal luminance uniformity of 0.5, a had absolutely no knowledge of any such suggestion minimum discomfort glare control mark of 4, a and had received no briefing on the matter. Will the maximum threshold increment of 25 per cent and a minister now admit that he has been misled by minimum surround illuminance ratio of 50 per cent. Mrs Tehan? The standards are met by a combination of luminaire light output distribution and installation Hon. R. I. KNOWLES (Minister for Health) - No, I do not believe I have been misled. I have geometry appropriate to the given road configurations and dimensions. In particular, the always found Mrs Tehan to be wholly honest. realisation of the objective carriageway luminance values will depend on the reflection properties of the road surface. QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE 844 COUNCIL Tuesday, 20 May 1997 I am pleased to announce to the house today a new most significant business, government and media lighting standard WS TT LO FT LP-97, This has leaders. been a technical answer, so that standard will clearly need a technical explanation. It means: will someone The millennium summit will be a special, one-off turn the lights on for the Labor Party? event to mark the year 2000, complementing the World Economic Forum annual conference held in Minister for Conservation and Land Davos, Switzerland. The summit will take place Management immediately before the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. It will further boost the world's focus on Hon. T. C. THEOPHANOUS (Jika Jika) - I refer Australia and, importantly, it will provide direct the Minister for Health to his answer to a previous economic and publicity benefits to Melbourne in the question in which he said that Mrs Tehan had not lead-up to the publicity surrounding the Olympic misled him. Will the minister say whether he has Games. sought an explanation from Mr Olszak as to why Mr Olszak did not provide the briefing note of It has been a clear agenda of the Kennett 19 February 1996 to Mrs Tehan, because if he did government, and today it is pleased to draw the provide that briefing note clearly Mrs Tehan has attention of the public to this official announcement.