VICTORIA
PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD)
FIFTY -FIRST PARLIAMENT
SPRING SESSION 1990
Legislative Assembly
VOL. 399
[From 28 August 1990 to 18 October 1990}
MELBOURNE: L. V. NORTH, GOVERNMENT PRINTER
The Governor
His Excellency the Reverend DR JOHN DAVIS MCCAUGHEY, AC
The Lieutenant-Governor
The Honourable SIR JOHN McINTOSHYOUNG, AC, KCMG
The Ministry [As FROM 10 AUGUST 1990] Premier, and Minister for Ethnic Affairs The Hon. J. E. Kirner, AM, MP Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, and The Hon. J. H. Kennan, QC, MP Minister for the Arts Minister for Industry and Economic The Hon. D. R. White, MLC Planning, and Minister for Major Projects Minister for Health The Hon. C. J. Hogg, MLC Minister for Property and Services The Hon. I. M. J. Baker, MP Minister for Tourism, and Minister for The Hon. S. M. Crabb, MP Conservation and Environment Minister for Local Government .. The Hon. M. A. Lyster, MLC Minister for Planning and Urban The Hon. Andrew McCutcheon, MP Growth Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister The Hon. B. W. Mier, MLC for Prices, and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Minister for Labour The Hon. N. A. Pope, MP Minister for Education The Hon. B. T. Pullen, MLC Treasurer The Hon. T. W. Roper, MP Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs The Hon. B. J. Rowe, MP Minister for Police and Emergency The Hon. M. J. Sandon, MP Services, and Minister for Corrections Minister for Community Services The Hon. K. P. Setches, MP Minister for Housing and Construction The Hon. A. J. Sheehan, MP Minister for Transport The Hon. P. C. Spyker, MP Minister for Sport and Recreation The Hon. N. B. Trezise, MP Parliamentary Secretary of the Cabinet The Hon. R. A. Jolly, MP
FIFTY-FIRST PARLIAMENT-FIRST SESSION Members of the Legislative Assembly -M-e-m--be-r------O-i-st-n-·c-t------P-art---y -M-e-m--be-r------~D~i-st-n-·c-t------P~a-rt-y-- Andrianopoulos, Alex St Albans ALP McGrath, John Francis Warmambool NP Austin, Thomas Leslie Ripon LP McGrath, William Desmond Lowan NP Baker, lan Malcolm John Sunshine ALP McNamara, Patrick John Benalla NP Barker, Mrs Ann Patricia Bentleigh ALP Maclellan, Robert Roy Berwick LP ***Batchelor, Peter Thomastown ALP Cameron Bildstien, Craig Stephen Mildura LP Mathews, Charles Race OakJeigh ALP Brown, Alan John Gippsland West LP Thorson Cain, John Bundoora ALP *Maughan, Noel John Rodney NP Clark, Robert William Balwyn LP Micallef, Edward Joseph Springvale ALP Coghill, Dr Kenneth Alastair Werribee ALP Napthine, Or Denis Vincent Portland LP Cole, Neil Donald Melbourne ALP Norris, Terence Richard Oandenong ALP Coleman, Charles Geoffrey Syndal LP Perrin, David John Bulleen LP Cooper, Robert Fitzgerald Mornington LP Perton, Victor John Doncaster LP Crabb, Steven Marshall Knox ALP Pescott, Roger Bennettswood LP Cunningham, David James Oerrimut ALP Plowman, Sidney James Evelyn LP Delzoppo, John Edward Narracan LP Pope, Neil Albert Monbulk ALP Dickinson, Harley Rivers, South Barwon LP Ray, Mrs Margaret Elizabeth Box Hill ALP KSJ Reynolds, Thomas Carter Gisborne LP Dollis, Demetri Richmond ALP Richardson, John ln~es Forest Hill LP Elder, Stephen Noel Ballarat North LP Roper, Thomas Wilham Brunswick ALP Ernst, Graham Keith Bellarine ALP Ross-Edwards, Peter, AM Shepparton NP Evans, Bruce James Gippsland East NP Rowe, Barry John Essendon ALP Fordham, Robert Clive Footscray ALP Sandon, Malcolm John Carrum ALP **G b M Sh I M Gbh Seitz, George Keilor ALP ar utt, rs erry aree reens oroug ALP Sercombe, Robert Charles Niddrie ALP Gavin, Peter Murray Coburg ALP Grant Gude, Phillip Archibald Hawthorn LP Setches, Mrs Kay Patricia Ringwood ALP Hamilton, Keith Graeme Morwell ALP Sheehan, Anthony John Northcote ALP Harrowfield, John Dyson Mitcham ALP S . Hayward, Donald Keith Prahran LP heehan, FrancIs Patrick Ballarat South ALP Shell, Hayden Kevin Geelong ALP Heffernan, Vincent Patrick, Ivanhoe LP Simmonds, James Lionel Reservoir ALP OAM Smith, Ernest Ross Glen Waverley LP Hill, Mrs Jane Margaret Frankston North ALP Smith, lan Winton Polwarth LP Hirsh, Mrs Carolyn Dorothy Wantirna ALP Spyker, Peter Cornelis Mentone ALP Honeywood, Phillip Neville Warrandyte LP Steggall, Barry Edward Hector Swan Hill NP Jasper, Kenneth Stephen Murray Valley NP Stockdale, Alan Robert Brighton LP John, Michael Bendigo East LP Tanner, Edgar Miles Caulfield LP Jolly, Robert Alien Doveton ALP Ponsonby Kennan, James Harley, QC Broadmeadows ALP Thomson, Kelvin John Pascoe Vale ALP Kennedy, Andrew David Bendigo West ALP Trezise, Neil Benjamin Geelong North ALP Kennett, Jeffrey Gibb Burwood LP Vaughan, Or Gerard Marshall Clayton ALP Kirner, Ms Joan Elizabeth, Williamstown ALP Wade, Mrs Jan Louise Murray Kew LP AM Wallace, Thomas William Gippsland South NP Lea, David John Sandringham LP Walsh, Ronald William Albert Park ALP Leigh, Geoffrey Graeme Malvern LP Weideman, George Graeme Frankston South LP Leighton, Michael Andrew Preston ALP Wells, Dr Ronald James Dromana LP Lieberman, Louis Stuart Renambra LP Herbert McCutcheon, Andrew St Kilda ALP Wilson, Mrs Janet Tindale Dandenong North ALP McDonald, Maxwell John Whittlesea ALP Calder *Elected 4 March 1989 **Elected 15 April 1989 ***Elected 2 February 1990
FIFTY-FIRST PARLIAMENT-FIRST SESSION Speaker: THE HON. KEN COGHILL Chairman of Committees: Mr T. R. NORRIS Temporary Chairmen of Committees: Mr Delzoppo, Mr Emst, Mr Evans, Mr Harrowfield, Mr Jasper, Mr McDonald, Mr Plowman, Mrs Ray, Mr Richardson, Mr F. P. Sheehan, Mr Shell, Mr Steggall, and Dr Vaughan. Leader ofthe Labor Party and Premier: THE HON. J. E. KIRNER. AM Deputy Leader of the Labor Party and Deputy Premier: THE HON. J. H. KENNAN. QC Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition: MR A. J. BROWN Deputy Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party and Deputy Leader of the Opposition: MR A. R. STOCKDALE Leader ofthe National Party: MR P. J. McNAMARA Deputy Leader of the National Party: MR W. D. McGRATH
Heads of Parliamentary Departments
Assembly-Clerk of the Parliaments and Clerk of the Legislative Assembly: Mr R. K. Boyes
Council-Clerk ofthe Legislative Council: Mr A. V. Bray
Hansard-ChiefReporter: Mr L. C. Johns
Library-Librarian: Mr B. J. Davidson
House-Acting Secretary: Mr W. F. McKelvie
THE MINISTRY
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 1
Tuesday, 28 August
The SPEAKER (Hon. Ken Coghill) took the chair at 2.5 p.m. and read the prayer.
THE MINISTRY Ms KIRNER (Premier) (By leave)-I- Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! I suggest that all honourable members remain silent while the Premier makes her announcement. Ms KIRNER-I desire to infonn the House of the responsibilities that will be undertaken by Ministers in this Parliament. The names of the Ministers selected and the portfolios held by them are as follows: Legislative Assembly The Hon. J. E. Kirner-Premier, Minister for Ethnic Affairs, and Minister responsible for women's affairs. Hon. J. H. Kennan-Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, and Minister for the Arts, who will answer on behalf of the Minister for Consumer Affairs, and the Minister for Education in another place. Hon. S. M. Crabb-Minister for Tourism, and Minister for Conservation and Environment. Hon. Andrew McCutcheon-Minister for Planning and Urban Growth, who will answer on behalf of the Minister for Major Projects in another place. Hon. N. A. Pope-Minister for Labour, and Minister responsible for youth affairs, who will answer on behalf of the Minister for Local Government, and the Minister for Health in another place. Hon. T. W. Roper-Treasurer, who will answer on behalf of the Minister for Industry and Economic Planning in another place. Hon. B. J. Rowe-Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Hon. M. J. Sandon-Minister for Police and Emergency Services, and Minister for Corrections, who will answer on behalf of the Minister responsible for the aged in another place. Hon. K. P. Setches-Minister for Community Services, and Minister responsible for child care, who will answer on behalf of the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in another place. Hon. P. C. Spyker-Minister for Transport, who will answer on behalf of the Minister for Prices in another place. Hon. N. B. Trezise-Minister for Sport and Recreation, and Minister responsible for the Olympic Games. Hon. I. M. J. Baker-Minister for Property and Services, and Minister assisting the Minister for Sport and Recreation. Spring Session 1990-1 DEPUTY LEADER OF THE UBERAL PARTY
2 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
Hon. A. J. Sheehan---Minister for Housing and Construction, and Minister assisting the Treasurer with responsibility for expenditure review. Legislative Council Hon. C. J. Hogg-Minister for Health. Hon. M. A. Lyster-Minister for Local Government, Minister responsible for the aged, and Minister assisting the Minister for Education with responsibility for further education. Hon. B. W. Mier-Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Prices, and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Hon. B. T. Pullen-Minister for Education. Hon. D. R. White-Minister for Industry and Economic Planning, and Minister for Major Projects.
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE LmERAL PARTY Mr BROWN (Leader ofthe Opposition}-I advise the House that the honourable member for Brighton has been elected Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! The Leader ofthe Opposition is as entitled to be heard in silence as was the Premier. Mr BROWN-I wish also to place on record my congratulations to the new Leader of the Labor Party and new Premier on her elevation to the leadership of her party, which is certainly a significant personal achievement. The Opposition wishes her well in the clearly difficult circumstances she will face during her tenn as Premier between now and whenever the next State election is held. Mr McNAMARA (Leader of the National Party}-I also add my congratulations to the Premier on her elevation to her new position, and I wish her all the best in some very difficult times ahead. Mr 'CRABB (Minister for Tourism}-On a point of order, Mr Speaker- Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! I have given the call to the Minister for Tourism to enable him to raise his point of order. I ask all honourable members to remain silent so that the point of order can be heard clearly. Mr CRABB-From the announcement made by the Leader of the Opposition it remains unclear who is the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. He announced that the honourable member for Brighton had become the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! I remind the honourable members for Mornington and Syndal of the provisions of Standing Order No. 107 which requires them to remain silent while the Speaker is on his feet, and which requirement also applies to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. DEPUTY LEADER OF THE UBERAL PAKTY
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 3
Mr CRABB-I am aware that the announcement of the new Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party was met with less than enthusiasm by his colleagues behind him, but notwithstanding that we have all been aware of statements by honourable members- Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! The point of orderis being addressed to the Chair. It is of interest to all honourable members, and it is important for the Chair to be able to hear it so it may rule on it. Mr CRABB-If there is one coalition Opposition, as we have been led to believe by the media during the time between now and the end of the last sessional period, there must be a Leader and a Deputy Leader of that Opposition. Ifthere are two separate parties sitting across from the government, they must each have a Leader and a Deputy Leader. The opposition parties cannot have it both ways. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! The Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs is out of order. Mr CRABB-Therefore, my point of order is that, at this point, the House is still unaware of who is the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. It would be interesting for all h~nourable members, even those on the Opposition side of the House, to be told who the Deputy Leader of the Opposition is. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! The honourable member for Warrnambool has been in this place long enough to understand the Standing Orders. Mr BROWN (Leader of the Opposition}-On the point of order, Mr Speaker, it is clear that all other honourable members understand exactly what has transpired. We know that the Minister for Tourism cannot count, but today we have also been infonned that he cannot listen or learn either. The reality is that I issued a statement at the time that the honourable 'member for Brighton was elected Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and I made it very clear that, of course, with his new position, he remains Deputy Leader of the Opposition. There is no other change. No other change was foreshadowed. ,Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! This is an extremely important matter for the Chair to consider. I ask honourable members on both sides of the House to remain silent so I can hear the Leader of the Opposition clearly. Mr BROWN-I was just making the point that, as the entire community knows, the honourable member for Brighton is also the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Nothing has changed the Opposition in this State. I made it every clear on the day that I announced the elevation of the honourable member for Brighton to the position of Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party that he was also the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Nothing in that regard has changed. Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton)-On the point of order, Mr Speaker, this matter is beyond dispute. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! It is impossible for the House to proceed with this level of interjection when an honourable member is attempting to address the Chair. I ask the honourable member for Shepparton to heed Standing Order No. 107, and I ask the Deputy DEPlffY LEADER OF THE LIBERAL PARTY
4 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
Leader ofthe National Party and the Minister for Property and SelVices to cease their personal exchanges by interjection. Mr STOCKDALE--This matter is of official record and is beyond dispute. On 17 August 1990 I wrote to you, Mr Speaker, on the letterhead of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and I signed as Deputy Leader of the Opposition. If it will be of assistance, I will write to the Minister for Tourism in the same tenns, and he can have someone read it to him! The SPEAKER-Order! The Minister for Tourism has sought clarification of matters that have been reported publicly but about which the House has not been fonnally advised. I thank the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition for the infonnation they have provided to the House, but it will assist the Chair and, no doubt, other honourable members if the Leader of the Opposition would clarify the matters raised in the point of order. Mr Kennett-He has done that! What are you trying to set up? The SPEAKER-Order! I advise the honourable member for Burwood that he is equally subject to Standing Order No. 107 as are other honourable members. I particularly ask the honourable member for Hawthorn to obselVe the provisions of that Standing Order. If he wishes the Chair to act against him, I shall have no choice. I ask the Leader of the Opposition to clarify the nature of the arrangements between the two opposition parties, which were referred to in the point of order raised by the Minister for Tourism. Mr BROWN (Leader of the Opposition)-The Minister for Tourism has exercised his right to seek clarification, and I have answered the question. I made it clear on the day I made the public announcement that the honourable member for Brighton was elected as the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party-nothing has changed since that time-and that he was also the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and will continue to be so. If the Minister for Tourism is seeking infonnation about whether the National and Liberal parties in Victoria have combined or merged and that neither of the parties exists separately, the answer is no; both parties are legal entities. An Act of Parliament makes clear what constitutes a political party in this State with regard to the number of representatives in Parliament, and the National Party exceeds that figure significantly. The National Party is still the National Party in this State and is a separate entity. It is distinct from the Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division), which likewise is still a separate entity. I have infonned Parliament of the only change in the composition of the opposition parties which may be of relevance to the proceedings of the House during question time: namely, that the honourable member for Brighton is, as I have said three times now, the Deputy Leader of not just the Liberal Party, but the Opposition. Mr McNAMARA (Leader of the National Party)-On the point of order, Mr Speaker, I add for the edification of the Minister for Tourism, who is obviously smarting overthe recent drubbing he received from his party colleagues- The SPEAKER-Order! I suggest that the Leader of the National Party confine his remarks to the point of order.
Mr McNAMARA-It might be of some assistance to the recently demoted ~1inister for Tourism to examine the Parliamentary Salaries and Superannuation Act, which contains the definition of a political party. Mr Crabb interjected. QUEST/ONT/ME
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 5
Mr McNAMARA-The Minister has his own problems-the Opposition knows that your colleagues have told you what they think of you. The SPEAKER-Order! The Leader of the National Party should ignore interjections and confine himself to the matter before the Chair. Mr McNAMARA-The Parliamentary Salaries and Superannuation Act defines political parties; it prescribes what a Minister is and sets out the number of members of Parliament required for recognition as a party. Under the provisions of the Act the National Party has many more members than the minimum number prescribed in the Act. It is clear from what the Leader of the Opposition has said that he is the Leader of the Opposition, that the honourable member for Brighton is the Deputy Leader ofthe Opposition, that I remain Leader of the National Party and that my colleague, the honourable member for Lowan, remains the Deputy Leader of the National Party. Nothing has changed. I understand the venom of the Minister and the reasons why he expresses that venom through a point of order, but this is not the appropriate time. The SPEAKER-Order! The point of order sought clarification as to the correct status of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. The Leader of the Opposition, the Deputy' Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the National Party have advised the House of the situation as they have defined it. The Chair is naturally obliged to accept the infonnation provided by the respective parties, the Liberal Party and the National Party, and accordingly does not uphold the point of order.
QUESTION TIME The SPEAKER-Order! I advise the House that, in the expectation of such issues being raised, I have considered the operation of question time and other matters to which these issues may have been relevant. I have examined the arrangements which have existed in this Parliament and which exist in comparable Parliaments for the call of questions from the various parties and the various arrangements between parties in government and in opposition. Mr Leigh interjected. The SPEAKER-I suggest to the honourable member for Malvern if he is interested in treating this place seriously that he should abide by the provisions of Standing Order No. 107. Honourable members will be aware that for some time, certainly for the period of my membership of this House, the convention for question time has been to call questions, firstly from the Opposition, secondly from the National Party, thirdly from the government, fourthly from the Opposition, fifthly from the National Party, sixtbly from the government, seventhly from the Opposition and eighthly from the government; thus the National Party misses the opportunity of asking a question on the third rotation-in other words a cycle of eight questions. For many years the arrangements in the Commonwealth Parliament, during various relationships between the opposition parties, has been quite different in that there has been an alternation of questions called from one side of the House to the other, irrespective of the relationship between the opposition parties whether it be the present arrangement that exists of a coalition or other agreement between the parties in opposition. QUESfION TIME
6 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
Another factor of which I have had to take regard is the opportunity of all honourable members for asking questions of Ministers. There are 88 members of this House, 13 of whom-Ministers and me, as Speaker-are not entitled to ask questions. The current arrangements have meant that there has been a disproportionate right to ask questions by backbench members of each of the political parties. Accordingly, I have reviewed the order which will operate and I shall continue to keep that matter under review. The rotation that I intend to implement, subject to further review, will involve fewer questions from the National Party but nonetheless will be based on a similar type of rotation. Mr BROWN (Leader of the Opposition}-By leave, I move: That Standing and Sessional Orders be suspended in order to now allow the House to forthwith debate a motion: That this House dissents from the ruling of Mr Speaker. The SPEAKER-Order! Is leave granted? Ms KIRNER (premier)-Leave is refused. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! The Leader of the Opposition has sought the call again. It is impossible to give him the call because ofthe level ofinterjections from honourable members behind him. When the House comes to order I shall call the Leader of the Opposition. Mr BROWN (Leader of the Opposition}-I give notice that at the appropriate time I will move dissent from your ruling, Mr Speaker. The SPEAKER-Order! This is not the time for notices. The Leader of the Opposition will have an appropriate opportunity. I call questions without notice. Mr W. D. McGRATH (Lowan}-On a point of order, Mr Speaker, you gave an interpretation a few moments ago about the entitlements of the National Party in relation to question time and indicated what was taking place at the Federal level. I remind you, Sir, that this is Victoria. The fonner arrangement has been in place since before you became Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. The arrangement has always been to call one speaker from each party and the rotation has been in order. In contradiction of this afternoon's explanations you have taken it upon yourself to introduce a new rule, even though you unders.tood and accepted the fonner arrangement when you first took the chair. With due respect to your position as Speaker, Sir, I believe making a ruling as you have this afternoon is improper. I ask you to reconsider your ruling, particularly in light of the Parliamentary Salaries and Superannuation Act, which specifically states: "Speaker" means the Speaker of the Assembly. It then mentions the third party: "Third party" means a reco,-nised party which consists of eleven members at least of the Parliament of which party no person is a responsIble MInister of the Crown. The National Party does not hold a Ministerial portfolio; it is a third party in its own right I do not believe it is within your province at this time, Mr Speaker, and in this place, and considering you have held the chair now for two years, to change the question allocations. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! I have made a ruling. The Leader ofthe Opposition has indicated the nature of a notice of motion he will have the opportunity of proceeding with and, in those QUESfIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 7 circumstances, it seems to me that it is not necessary for me to hear further argument on the point of order raised by the Deputy Leader of the National Party. I make it clear that the rotation that I intend to adopt for the time being, subject to review, will reflect very closely the numbers of backbenchers of each party in the House who may wish to ask questions. An Honourable Member-That is the difference. The SPEAKER-Order! The matter is not made easier by the honourable member for Forest Hill flouting Standing Order No. 107. The rotation that I intend should apply, at least for the time being, is similar to the one that applied previously, but more closely reflects the number of members who are backbench members of each of the parties in the House. The rotation that I intend is that the first question will be called from the Opposition and, in the usual circumstances, the first would be from the Leader of the Opposition; the second will be called from the National Party; the third from the government; the fourth from the Opposition; and the fifth from the government. That ratio very closely approximates the ratio of membership of the parties in this House and may in fact slightly under-represent the government backbench members. Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton}-On a point of order, I put it to you, Mr Speaker, that in fairness the clock should be reset. You called questions without notice as the Deputy Leader of the National Party raised the point of order. The point of order related to the previous business. You accepted that point of order. A large proportion of question time has now been taken up with that point of order and you are reiterating your ruling. In fairness, the clock should be reset. Mr CRABB (Minister for Tourism}-On the point of order, Mr Speaker, the point of order I raised originally, which seems to have caused so much excitement among Opposition members, was raised before question time. The time taken discussing spurious points of order during question time was because of a matter raised initially by the Deputy Leader of the once National Party . .The matter that oUght to be addressed in this point of order is not when question time should start, but rather whether we have an Opposition coalition or two separate parties. The SPEAKER-Order! I have heard sufficent from the Minister to understand his comments on the point of order. Ordinarily, I would not uphold the point of order as, clearly, the Deputy Leader of the National Party rose after I had called questions without notice. However, in the interests of preserving decorum and good order within the House I am prepared to reset the clock and now call questions without notice.
QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
TRICONTINENT AL CORPORATION LTD Mr BROWN (Leader of the Opposition)-In view of the Premier's purported commitment to open and accountable government, I ask: will she guarantee that the proposed Royal Commission into the Tricontinental scandal will authorise the commissioner to investigate the business relationships between both boards and executives of State Bank Victoria and Tricontinental Corporation Ltd, and the government, the Labor Party and the State bureaucracy? QUESTIONS WfTHOlff NOTICE
8 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
Ms KIRNER (premier)-I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. The government has taken decisive action in announcing the broadest possible inquiry into the Tricontinental group. Not only is the government determined to instigate a Royal Commission-the view expressed by the Opposition for some time-but also the government has decided to hold an inquiry under the Companies (Victoria) Code. This means that the commissioner will be invested with the powers of a Royal Commissioner and the powers of an investigator under the Companies (Victoria) Code, and will exercise delegated powers under the National Companies and Securities Commission to conduct hearings. \Vithin the next week or so the government will announce the commissioner, and we would hope to receive an interim report, by the middle of next year, with the final report being completed by the end of next year. I do not think there is any doubt that when people have had time to examine the tenns of the inquiry they will realise it is the most powerful inquiry ever held in Australia. And so it should be because what we are facing is one of the great-- Mr Brown-Who caused it? Ms KIRNER-Exactly! The SPEAKER-Order! I suggest the Leader of the Opposition should listen to the answer to the question he has asked. If he is dissatisfied, he will have the opportunity at a later stage of asking a further question. Ms KIRNER-The Leader of the Opposition asked who caused it. That is exactly why we are holding the inquiry. I find it interesting that when the Opposition knows that the government has made a correct decision in the interests of the people of Victoria it is not prepared to say that it is an appropriate decision. It is an appropriate decision and this will-- Mr Leigh interjected. The SPEAKER-Order! I have already called the honourable member for Malvern to order once today. I warn him I do not wish to act against him but, if necessary, I shall do so. Ms KIRNER-In fact the government has gone further than the request by the Opposition. It has moved beyond a Royal Commission to include, as well, an inquiry under the Companies (Victoria) Code. That has been done because, under the code, witnesses cannot refuse to answer questions on the ground that they may incriminate themselves. The combination of the Royal Commission and the Companies Code inquiry will produce the broadest possible inquiry and will cover the issues raised by the Leader of the Opposition. The Royal Commissioner will be able to subpoena witnesses, documents or other material and take evidence on oath. Concerns have been raised about commercial sensitivities and pending criminal charges. Honourable members would want to be sure that cases involving people with current or future criminal charges will not be delayed. Mr Cooper-We want the truth. Ms KIRNER-I imagine the courts are capable of finding out the truth. These investigations need to proceed and the inquiry can be held in camera. Clearly it is for the Royal Commissioner to decide which parts of the investigation should be held in camera and which should be held in public. Mr Coleman-Is that a Royal Commission? QUESTIONS WrrHOUf NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 9
The SPEAKER-Order! I also remind the honourable member for Syndal that I have already cautioned him once today. I do not wish to be forced into the position of acting against him but, if necessary, I will. Ms KIRNER-Among the matters to be investigated-and this goes to the heart of the question asked by the Leader of the Opposition-are: whether any person has contravened or failed to comply with the law in Victoria or other State or Territory; what matters, events or circumstances caused the collapse of the group; whether any director of any corporation in the group breached any of his duties; whether any transaction or dealing of any of the corporations in the group or any other person was unlawful or improper or corrupt-and I direct the attention of the Leader of the Opposition to the words "or any other person' '; and whether any director of any corporation in the Tricontinental group or any other person is liable to make restitution to the group. The losses recorded by the Tricontinental group have been a matter of grave concern to all Victorians. This inquiry will have both far-reaching powers and terms of reference to find the answers to all the questions in the minds of the community, the Opposition and the government.
STATE BANK VICTORIA Mr McNAMARA (Leader of the National Party}-I ask the Premier whether the Commonwealth Bank conducted a full and proper audit of the books of State Bank Victoria and whether the State government has given any guarantees against further losses by the State Bank and, if so, what is the extent of those guarantees and what are they? The SPEAKER-Order! The first part of the question sought information on the Commonwealth Bank, which is not a responsibility of the Victorian government or any Victorian Minister. I invite the Leader of the National Party to reframe his question. Mr McNAMARA-I ask the Premier whether the books of State Bank Victoria were made available to the Commonwealth Banking Corporation so that a due and diligence audit could be conducted to enable the Commonwealth Bank to satisfy itself to the extent it needed to be satisfied, and what guarantees, if any, the government has given to the Commonwealth Bank in the event that there are further losses in the State Bank. Ms KIRNER (premier}-I shall inform the honourable member as to the proper process in the sale of State Bank Victoria. As the honourable member knows, six banks were invited to submit expressions of interest in acquiring the State Bank as part of a commercial process. Merrill Lynch provided all contenders with an information memorandum which detailed financial infonnation- Mr Maclellan interjected. Ms KIRNER-During the evaluation phase of ten days Merrill Lynch assisted banks with additional information on an equal basis. Mr Maclellan-Are you going to read the whole lot? The SPEAKER-Order! Honourable members are wasting the opportunity available for questions without notice. The honourable member for Berwick is a longstanding member and is well aware of the provisions of Standing Order No. 107. I ask him to remain silent. Ms KIRNER-The Commonwealth Bank will have four weeks of due diligence to evaluate State Bank Victoria's property and loans book. QUESTIONS WITHOfJ[ NOTICE
10 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
UNIFORM DEFAMATION LAWS Mr COLE (Melbourne}-Is the Attorney-General able to infonn the House of the outcome--
Honourable members interjecting.
The SPEAKER-Order! The Chair cannot hear the question because of the level of interjection, and I can only speculate on whether the Attorney-General can. I ask the House to remain silent and ask the honourable member to recommence his question.
Mr COL~ls the Attorney-General able to infonn the House of the outcome of discussions he has held with other States in relation to the establishment of unifonn defamation laws throughout Australia?
Mr KENNAN (Attorney-General}-I thank the honourable member for his continuing interest in the matter of unifonn defamation refonn. Honourable members will be aware that in the late 1970s the Australian Law Refonn Commission published a report on uniform defamation law refonn, and there was an endeavour in 1983 and 1984 to find out whether there could be a national agreement on this important topic. Unfortunately that agreement broke down, particularly around the question of defence: whether it be truth alone, as in Victoria, truth plus public interest, or truth plus public benefit, as it is in New South Wales and Queensland.
Following the initiative of the Queensland Attorney-General, who placed this item on the agenda for the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General, discussions have taken place between Mr Wells, the Queensland Attorney-General; Mr Dowd, the New South Wales Attorney-General, and me with a view to reaching unifonnity on the eastern seaboard of Australia between the States of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, and on the question of whether other States will join in.
We have this week published a discussion paper that the three States have agreed upon and, importantly and most encouragingly, it records agreement on the defence of truth alone together with a protection for privacy. It also addresses other issues which are current, particularly in New South Wales and Queensland, relating to the size of jury verdicts and the roles of juries in assessing damages, as well as addressing the important issue relating to forum shopping between jurisdictions.
That discussion paper will be available for public consultation with interested parties, of whom there are many, and the government looks forward over the next couple of months to reaching a unifonn position so that a common proposed Bill can be introduced in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, perhaps later this session-although it is not likely to be dealt with this year-but with a view during the first half of next year of reaching agreement on a single piece of proposed legislation in the three States.
It would be hoped that, as a result of that, other States may join in but, as the overwhelming majority of defamation issues and cases arise in those three States, we believe we have made significant progress in getting the level of agreement that we have achieved. If we can reach agreement in the first half of next year on unifonn defamation laws between Victoria and the other two States, we will have made a significant step forward. QUESTIONS WrrHOlff NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 11
STATE BANK VICTORIA Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton)-Does the Treasurer stand by the fulsome praise of State Bank Victoria made by him on 4 April in this House? In particular, does he stand by his statement that State Bank. Victoria is in a healthy position? Mr ROPER (Treasurer)-As has just been demonstrated, two of the major banks in Australia believe the retail franchise of State Bank. Victoria is the best retail franchise in Victoria. That has clearly caused them to offer prices for the State Bank. that were well in excess of what most commentators in the market thought would be achieved. It was with great reluctance that the government decided to sell the State Bank. because it believed that, had it not been for the Tricontinental issues that the Premier has already commented upon in the Parliament, the State Bank. would have continued as a very healthy and sound institution. It was the huge Tricontinentallosses about which we have provided information to the public and to the other parties that caused the State Bank to be in a very serious situation at the end of the last financial year. The arrangements that have been entered into with the Commonwealth Bank. are very satisfactory from the State's point of view, and we look forward to continuing good health in the banking sector in this State.
ETHNIC AFFAIRS COMMISSION Mr DOLLIS (Richmond)-My question without notice is directed to the Premier in her capacity as Minister responsible for ethnic affairs. Is the Premier aware of recent suggestions that the Ethnic Affairs Commission should be scrapped? If so, can she assure the House that the government proposes to maintain this very important commission and continue with its very important work in this State? Ms KIRNER (premier)-I thank the honourable member for his continuing participation in matters that assist the ethnic community. I was astonished, as were various members of the ethnic communities, when the Leader of the Opposition announced his intention on SBS television to scrap the Ethnic Affairs Commission. I was even more astonished when, since the Opposition has been in opposition for eight years, the Leader ofthe Opposition announced that he was about to develop an ethnic affairs policy and that he would like community input. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! I ask the Premier to address her remarks to the Chair. Ms KIRNER-This encouragement to the ethnic affairs community to develop an ethnic policy was again repeated by the acting shadow Minister for Ethnic Affairs as the stand-in for the shadow Minister at the Ethnic Communities Council's ball where he again repeated that it was important for the Opposition to develop an ethnic affairs policy and asked people for input, especially in the area of the aged. He was firmly informed by one of the leaders of the ethnic communities that it could be important to develop this sort of policy but the issue of the aged has been around for a long time and what the ethnic communities wanted was a clear statement of policy. The Ethnic Affairs Commission is made up of representatives of ethnic communities. It is an important base for obtaining appropriate infonnation and advice without the interference of the bureaucracy. I welcome the Liberal Party to the 1990s in its decision to implement an ethnic affairs policy but, if the 1990s is to be a decade of community consultation, to get rid of the Ethnic Affairs QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
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Commission-which is based on community consultation-would be cutting across that intention. The commission is not just a base for community consultation. It is also a base for working through some important policy issues. No ethnic community wants to go back to what existed before this government came to power-that is, direct Minister to small group payola in the ethnic affairs community. What they want is the addressing of major policy issues such as the qualifications of ethnic people being recognised in this country and the provision of the best language services in Australia via the policy work done by the Ethnic Affairs Commission. It is a pity that the Leader of the Opposition has so little understanding of where the ethnic communities want to go that he has to say that their key consultative mechanism should be part of his government restructuring which, if he follows down that line, he will never have the opportunity of putting in place.
STATE BANK VICTORIA Mr BROWN (Leader of the Opposition)-I direct a question to the Premier and I thank her for her confidence in referring to my government's restructure, which will be the case after the next State election. The SPEAKER-Order! Would the honourable member come to his question? Mr BROWN-Will the Premier undertake to table all documents relating to the State Bank Victoria sale? The SPEAKER-Order! It is not clear to the Chair what aspect of State Bank Victoria and its administration the Leader of the Opposition is referring to. The question in its present form is too broad. I ask the Leader of the Opposition to define his questions more closely. Mr BROWN-I refer to the sale of State Bank Victoria which has been referred to as a give-away by the State of Victoria to the Commonwealth Bank. I ask the Premier whether she will table all documents supplied as part of the process and the consultation which we understand was undertaken over a less than eight-day period to divest the State of this bank. Will the Premier table all documents pertaining to the sale of the bank supplied to interested tenderers and any other documents relevant to the disposal of the people's bank? Ms KIRNER (Premier)-The Leader of the Opposition has gone from confusion to confusion in his approach to the State Bank. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! As honourable members on my left are well aware, it is up to a Minister as to the manner in which he or she answers a question. In this case the Premier had not even got to the substance of any answer before the barrage of interjections prevented her from proceeding. I ask honourable members on my left and the honourable member for Springvale to observe the provisions of Standing Orders. Ms KIRNER-Yesterday the Leader of the Opposition was saying there was no tender process; today he says the Htenderers" He wants to see the document that was given to the tenderers. Throughout this issue the Leader of the Opposition has revealed no concern about the future of either State Bank Victoria or its purchaser. Honourable members interjecting. TOURISM
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 13
Ms KIRNER-He has revealed no understanding of proper commercial processes. The Leader of the Opposition well knows that on Sunday afternoon I rang him and offered him a full briefing on these matters. Mr Brown interjected. The SPEAKER-Order! The Leader of the Opposition asked the question and if he is interested in the reply I suggest he listen to it. Ifhe wishes to ask a further question he should await the appropriate opportunity. Ms KIRNER-I also asked him to pass on to the Leader of the National Party the offer of a briefing, which it seems did not happen but now that we know that there is not a coalition I am not surprised-- Mr Brown--I did telephone, that is not true. Ms KIRNER-That is not what he said to me. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! Honourable members are simply wasting the opportunity of question time. Ms KIRNER-The appropriate course, ifhonourable members are interested in the future of State Bank Victoria and a proper purchase, is for the Leader of the Opposition and the Leader ofthe National Party to take up the offer of a proper briefing, and that will include-- Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! The Minister for Police and Emergency Services is out of order, as are the Leader of the Opposition and his deputy. Ms KIRNER-I suggest that what should take place is the offer of the briefing with not only the Treasurer but also the chairperson of the State Bank Victoria board, Mr Ralph Ward-Ambler, because the State Bank is still operating. It is very important that in a search for political kudos the Opposition does not undermine the future of the bank. Mr W. D. McGRATH (Lowan}--I ask the Premier: how did State Bank Victoria last year lose $510 million on its operation in addition to $1045 million lost by Tricontinental Corporation Ltd? Ms KIRNER (Premier}--The details of the State Bank Victoria losses, which were covered by our guarantee, are fully contained in the report that was released yesterday by Mr Ralph Ward-Ambler, and I suggest that the Deputy Leader of the National Party read that report.
TOURISM Mrs HIRSH (Wantirna}--Following the recent promotion of Victoria as a tourist destination-it is also a great place to live-will the Minister for Tourism inform the House of the latest advice he has received on the number of tourists visiting the State? Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! The Chair could not hear the question clearly because of the level of interjections. I ask the honourable member to recommence her question. QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
14 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
Mrs mRSH-Following the recent popular promotion ofVictoria as a tourist destination, will the Minister for Tourism infonn the House of the latest advice he has received on the number of tourists entering the State? Dr Napthine-He knows nothing about numbers; what does he know about numbers? The SPEAKER-Order! If the honourable member for Portland wishes to remain in the House for the remainder of the day's proceedings, I suggest he remain silent. Mr CRABB (Minister for Tourism)-Last week the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported a significant growth in the number of overseas visitors to Australia in the first five months of this year, suggesting a substantial recovery since the effects of the pilots strike last year. However, it is interesting to examine the disaggregation of those numbers. The increases in the numbers of tourists from North America and Europe have been relatively stable but there has been an enonnous increase in visitors from Asia, including Japan. The honourable member for Berwick looks the happiest that I have seen him for a long time. What happened to him during the recess? Did he make a new friend, or something? Goodness me, something must have happened in Berwick, or perhaps South Yarra! There has been a large increase in the number of Asian tourists to Victoria, more so from destinations other than Japan. The increase has been particularly significant in Victoria because people from those countries provide the largest market share for Victoria and other southern States. The increases over that period have been substantial: 26 000 from Singapore; 25 000 from Hong Kong; and 21 000 from Malaysia. As honourable members may recall, the Victorian Tourism Commission ran a $1.3 million tourism campaign in those places at the end of last year featuring a wombat. The campaign has been remarkably successful. Honourable members may recall my telling them of the campaign which featured a wombat. Given the Leader of the Opposition's continued emulation of the character attributes of wombats, and given the new Premier's penchant for collecting stuffed wombats, we may hear a lot more of wombats before long! The commission deserves the congratulations of the House for the good job it has done. Mr Cooper interjected. The SPEAKER-Order! I have had cause already to caution the honourable member for Momington. There was no cause whatsoever for his recent inteljection. I warn him that I do not wish to have to act against him but if necessary I shall do so. I similarly caution the Minister for Property and Services. He now occupies a responsible position and is expected to behave accordingly.
STATE BANK VICTORIA Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton)-They are like Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber over there! I ask the Premier: why did the government not accept Westpac Banking Corporation's offer for State Bank Victoria which was $55 million more than the Commonwealth Bank offer? Ms KIRNER (premier)-As the honourable member for Brighton is aware, the total package for the Commonwealth Bank offer in tenns of goodwill and net tangible assets, plus the additional money obtained by compensation for tax forgone, plus the amount available for writing off the tax losses of Tricontinental Corporation Ltd came to $2·013 billion. Financial commentators, including Chanticleer of the Australian Financial Review, have clearly said that that was a very good price. QUESTIONS WITHOur NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 15
There was little difference between the offer from the Commonwealth Barlking Corporation and that of the Westpac Banking Corporation with regard to net tangible assets. As to goodwill, the Westpac offer was slightly ahead. Almost the only consistent line running through the Opposition's statements is questions on the compensation for taxation forgone. It is important to note that the arrangement or agreement is exactly the same as the agreement the Federal Treasurer, Mr Keating, offered the Premier of New South Wales, Mr Greiner, in the event that the NSW State Bank is sold, which the Premier of New South Wales has announced he may do over the next twelve months. There is no difference at all, and the offer was made to the Victorian government after the advice of the Treasurer was sent in response to Premier Greiner's statement. There is no difference between the description of compensation for taxation forgone in the case of the sale of State Bank Victoria to the Commonwealth Bank and the offer made to Mr Greiner. The additional issue the Victorian government had to address, which was raised by the honourable member for Berwick, was that, if the compensation for taxes forgone had been applied to the offer from Westpac, the offer would have been less than that from the Commonwealth Bank. In the total package the government accepted, Victorian taxpayers are some $23 million better off and still have the opportunity of choosing to bank with a publicly owned bank, which many of them had chosen in the first place.
RAILWA Y WORKSHOPS Mr F. P. SHEEHAN (Ballarat South}-In view of the important role played by V/Line workshops in Ballarat and Bendigo, will the Minister for Transport infonn the House what action is being taken to confinn the future role of these extremely important facilities? Mr SPYKER (Minister for Transport}-Honourable members will be pleased to know that, following the railway workshops strategy, which was commenced some two years ago by my predecessor, the current Deputy Premier, both the Ballarat and Bendigo workshops have undergone enonnous changes and have responded to the challenges. Some $2.9 million has been invested in the Ballarat workshops and some $3.7 million has been invested at Bendigo. Recently I visited the Ballarat workshops, and I know the honourable member for Ballarat South has been actively involved in ensuring that the changes necessary to make the workshops competitive have been made. I shall be visiting the Bendigo workshops in the near future. The honourable member for Bendigo West has been involved in the discussions that have been held to ensure the implementation ofthe strategy. Enonnous cooperation has been given by the staff of V/Line to ensure that the needed changes in Bendigo and Ballarat can be made. The Ballarat workshops have achieved their target of a staff level of 303, but the Bendigo workshops are still a little above their target figure but will achieve it soon. I am pleased to have seen the enthusiasm of the workers and management of the workshops, particularly in the general engineering area. Unlike the Opposition the government will continue the role of the workshops on the agreed basis under the workshops strategy. The Opposition has said that it would sack 7000 workers in the transport area which would mean there would be no station staff and of course the workshops would be closed. The Opposition does not have a commitment to the provincial cities. However, the government will continue to operate the workshops in Bendigo and Ballarat. Mr Stockdale interjected. QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
16 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
The SPEAKER-Order! I have already cautioned the Deputy Leader of the Opposition today, but he is continuing a barrage of interjections while the Minister is trying to respond directly across the table from him. In so far as I am able to pick up the honourable member's interjections they appear to be absolutely irrelevant to the answer being given by the Minister. I ask the Deputy Leader of the Opposition to show the respect for Standing Orders which is expected of a person in his position. Mr SPYKER-The workshops strategy shows that the government is committed to the continuation of the workshops. Although the public has been advised of the coalition agreement between the Liberal and National parties apparently there are two opposition spokespersons on transport and neither knows what the other is saying.
STATE BANK VICTORIA Mr BROWN (Leader of the Opposition}-I ask the Premier: what amount of cash will the government receive as a result of the sale of State Bank Victoria and how will that money be used? Ms KIRNER (Premier}-The money for the sale of State Bank Victoria will be paid over to the government at the end of the due diligence process and the passage of legislation through this Parliament and Federal Parliament and will be applied in the way that will be described in much more detail by the Treasurer in the Budget; that is, the money will be applied to writing off State debt. The SPEAKER-Order! I ask honourable members who are wearing their pagers to ensure that they do not emit sound in the Chamber. Mr McNAMARA (Leader of the National Party}-Will the Premier guarantee that the entire proceeds of the proposed sale of State Bank Victoria will be used to retire debt and that no portion will be used for recurrent expenditure? Ms KIRNER-I know there was a time delay on the telephone call coming through to the Leader of the National Party because we just heard his beeper, but I did not expect that he would have an understanding delay to my answer to the last question. The SPEAKER-Order! The Leader of the National Party has been reminded many times of the provisions ofStanding Orders. I do not wish to have to act against such a senior member of the House, but if necessary I will. Ms KIRNER (premier}-I know he is not concentrating on what the Leader of the Opposition says because he is not the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, but I stated that the proceeds of the sale of State Bank Victoria will be applied to write off the debt; they will not be applied to recurrent expenditure.
HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS TASK FORCE Mr ANDRIANOPOULOS (St Albans}-Will the Minister for Labor advise the House of the further action taken, following the establishment of the Hazardous Chemicals Task Force, to protect the Victorian community, and particularly people in the western suburbs, from the effects of toxic chemicals? Mr POPE (Minister for Labour)-As I indicated to the House in the last sessional period the government has established a Hazardous Chemicals Task Force to examine a number of issues including long-term land use planning with respect to the chemicals industry. PERSONAL EXPlANATIONS
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 17
Although the chemicals industry is extremely important to the State we have to ensure that workers, residents and the environment are protected from chemicals. In the short tenn, an audit team has been established and is conducting inspections in a number of areas. The inspections started in mid-July, and to date 31 inspections have taken place throughout Melbourne. Those inspections are carried out by inspectors from the Dangerous Goods Branch, the Occupational Health and Safety Division of the Department ofLabour, the Environment Protection Authority, Health Department Victoria, local councils and the fire services. From those 31 inspections, 150 actions have been taken under seven different Acts. The inspectors have found such violations as acid leaking into residential streets and sites ankle deep in chemical sludge. It is clear that the task of the government in cracking down on chemical risks is a tough one; the government does not want to close down businesses, but it cannot walk away from the sites that pose serious threats to the safety of workers and residents and as such the government will continue with the inspections in a coordinated way to ensure the safety of workers, residents and the environment in this State. The SPEAKER-Order! Before the time for questions without notice has expired, I direct to the attention of the House the fact that only thirteen questions have been asked and answered in question time today, and that is largely because of the necessary intervention of the Chair to restore order in the House.
PERSONAL EXPLANATIONS Mr BROWN (Leader of the Opposition)-I desire to make a personal explanation in relation to the Premier's comments to the House regarding her offer to provide briefings to the Opposition regarding the sale of State Bank Victoria. The Premier did contact me over the weekend and offered briefings from three separate parties. The first was from the Treasurer of Victoria, the second was from the Chainnan of the State Bank, Mr Ralph Ward-Amber, and the third was from the Federal Treasurer of this nation, the Honourable Paul Keating. I accepted the Premier's offer, and stated that the Opposition would like briefings from all three parties as soon as possible. I contacted the Treasurer of Victoria; the Honourable Tom Roper, and he set the time for the briefing at 6 p.m. last night. I was then contacted and told that he was unable to abide by that commitment and wanted to know whether it would be possible to change the time to 9 p.m. this evening. The SPEAKER-Order! Personal explanations have traditionally been treated with respect. The Leader of the Opposition claims to have been misrepresented and he should be given the opportunity of making his personal explanation without interruption. Mr BROWN-I was contacted late yesterday afternoon by the Treasurer. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition was in my presence and the Treasurer infonned me of his inability to attend the 6 p.m. meeting due to other pressing matters as a result of the State Budget. I understood and agreed that the meeting could be transferred until 9 0' clock this evening. Two hours ago my office was infonned by the Treasurer's staff that there was a difficulty in providing one of the officers the Treasurer believed should be there to brief the Opposition, and asked whether the Opposition would agree to a second defennent until tomorrow. I made it clear that that defennent is not suitable to the Opposition. The Opposition wants the briefing as soon as posssible-as it has from the outset-and wants it at 9 0' clock tonight. PERSONAL EXPlANATIONS
18 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
It is wrong of the Premier to indicate, as she has done not only in this House but also in the media today, that the Opposition has rejected her offer of the briefing. Honourable members interjecting. Mr BROWN-It is in the Herald. The SPEAKER-Order! The Leader of the Opposition claims to have been misrepresented. This is an opportunity for him to present the facts as he understands them and to correct the misrepresentation he believes to have occurred. However, I ask him to complete his personal explanation quickly. Mr BROWN-In today's press a person speaking on behalf of the Premier has stated that the Opposition has not taken up the offer that was made. That statement is untrue. I suggest the Premier not only check with her own Treasurer but also with her own spokespersons. The SPEAKER-Order! This is not an opportunity for debate. The Leader of the Opposition has explained what he believes to be the misrepresentation. Unless he has further facts to present I will not hear him further. Mr BROWN-I have one more point to make and that is that the Opposition has vigorously pursued its desire to have the briefing, and I place on the public record its desire to have the briefing not onl y with the Treasurer of Victoria, as was offered, but also separately and independently, as was offered, with Ralph Ward-Ambler, and the Federal Treasurer, Paul Keating, again as was offered. Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton)-During the grievance debate on Thursday, 31 May, I raised certain financial dealings involving the State Bank group, Tricontinental and certain other authorities. One instance dealt with in that speech concerned the financing of a new brickworks at the old Midland abattoir site in Western Australia. I referred to this matter by reference to the Midland site and used the expressions: "the Midland brickworks scandal" and "the Midland brickworks deal". It has been brought to my attention that, although those references are not inaccurate, the use of the particular expressions is ambiguous and could lead to a misunderstanding adversely impacting on an innocent party. Honourable members interjecting. Mr STOCKDAL~The hecklers from the other side would do well to investigate their associations in Western Australia. Two brick manufacturers are involved in this matter. One is named the Midland Brick Co. Pty Ltd and is the innocent party. The other is known as the Prestige Brick company. An honourable member interjected. Mr STOCKDALE--You will get a reputation for having your foot in your mouth. The SPEAKER-Order! The honourable member should ignore interjections and should confine his remarks to the matter of the personal explanation and to the text which he showed me previously. Mr STOCKDALE--The other company is known as the Prestige Brick company which attempted to establish operations at the old Midland abattoir and saleyard in Western Australia. I make it clear to the House and to anyone else concerned that I was referring to the Prestige Brick company and not to the Midland Brick Co. Pty Ltd. I regret any inconvenience caused by the tenninology I used and I trust this personal explanation will clarify the position. NOTICE OF MOTION
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NOTICE OF MOTION Mr ROPER (Treasurer}--I desire to give notice that tomorrow I shall move: That I have leave to bring in a Bill to amend the Pay-roll Tax Act 1971 and for other purposes. Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton)-On a point of order, Mr Speaker, I seek a ruling on the rule of anticipation by virtue of the notice just given for an amendment of the Pay-roll Tax Act when there stands on the Notice Paper under Government Business, Orders of the Day, No. 14, Pay-roll Tax (Further Amendment) Bill. The SPEAKER-Order! There is no point of order. It is in order for the Minister or for any honourable member to introduce a matter of this nature. It would be out of order only if the substance and effect of the Bill were similar to the Bill listed on the Notice Paper. Mr STOCKDALE-On a further point of order, with the greatest respect, Mr Speaker, you cannot make that ruling without seeking from the Minister an indication ofthe substance of the proposed Bill. It is clear that item No. 14 on the Notice Paper and the notice of motion the Minister has just given both relate to payroll tax. Through you, Mr Speaker, I seek from the Minister an assurance that the substance of the proposed Bill does not include any matter within the substance of the existing Bill. The SPEAKER-Order! There is no point of order. The Minister has simply given notice of a motion. The Bill already on the Notice Paper is listed for second-reading debate. The House has not yet made a determination on it.
PETITIONS The Clerk-I have received the following petitions for presentation to Parliament: Operation Arbiter To THE HONOURABLE THE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF THE l..EGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY IN PARLIARMENT ASSEMBLED: The humble petition of the undersigned citizens of the State of Victoria respectfully sheweth: Grave concern at the introduction of the police system known as Operation Arbiter which provides for one police vehicle to be on call after hours for the area between the Gurdies and Phillip Island. Your petitioners therefore pray that the government take immediate action to reinstate the fonner system. And your petitioners, as in duty boWld, will ever pray. By Mr Brown (1294 signatures) Desexing of cats and dogs To THE HONOURABLE THE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY IN PARUARMENT ASSEMBLED: The humble petition of the undersigned citizens of the State of Victoria showeth that members of animal welfare organisations and other community members are concerned at the number of stray cats and dogs which have to be cared for and destroyed by animal welfare services. Your petitioners therefore pray: That the government of Victoria acknowledge the work of accredited animal welfare organisations by improving the level of funding and thus enabling them to provide an adequate service to the community; and that the government enact a law to ensure that all cats and dogs, other than those registered for breeding purposes, are desexed. And your petitioners, as in duty boWld, will ever pray. By Mrs Barker (406 signatures) PEl'fl'IONS
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Home and community care To TIlE HONOURABLE TIlE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF TIlE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY IN PARUARMENT ASSEMBLED: The humble petition of the undersigned citizens of the S tale of Victoria sheweth that the home and community care-HACC-budget for Victoria in this the financial year 1989-1990 is insufficient to meet the objectives of the HACC program. HACC services include home help, delivered meals, home maintenance and renovations, and home nursing. These services are provided in the main by local government and district nursing. These objectives are to increase access by people of all disabilities and all ages-including people of Aboriginal descent, of non-English speaking background from remote and outlying areas and people who are fmancially disadvantaged-maintain their dignity and independence and to prevent their institutionalisation. Your petitioners therefore pray that the State home and community care budget allocation for this and subsequent years be increased by 20 per cent annually as allowed in the Commonwealth-Victoria HACC agreement. And your petitioners, as in duty bo\Uld, will ever pray. By Mr Perrin (5646 signatures) Community bus service in Flinders To TIlE HONOURABLE TIlE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF TIlE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY IN PARUARMENT ASSEMBLED: The humble petition of the undersigned citizens of the State of Victoria sheweth: We are concerned about the inadequate public transport existing in the Shire of Flinders. This area is characterised by the highest number of retired persons in Australia other than the Gold Coast in Queensland and has no cross-peninsula or suburban public transport Your petitioners therefore pray that the Victorian government provide such services or, without delay, provide a fmancial subsidy for the Shire of Flinders community bus service on a per capita basis equivalent to that provided to non-government private bus services. And your petitioners. as in duty bo\Uld, will ever pray. By Dr Wells (30 signatures) Australia Day holiday To TIlE HONOURABLE TIlE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF TIlE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY IN PARUARMENT ASSEMBLED: The humble petition of the undersigned citizens of the State of Victoria sheweth: We are concerned that the Victorian government supports holding Australia Day on a holiday Monday. We think this is wrong. Your petitioners therefore pray that the Victorian government. on behalf of all Victorians. adopt the actual calendar date 26 January. starting in 1991. And your petitioners. as in duty bo\Uld, will ever pray. By Dr Wells (106 signatures) Riddells Creek sewage treatment works To TIlE HONOURABLE TIlE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF TIlE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY IN PARUARMENT ASSEMBLED: Receive the humble petition of the \Uldersigned citizens of Victoria which relates to the works approval application-WA 1391/6-to construct a sewage treatment works for Riddells Creek. Your petitioners request that the House take action to ensure that this application does not proceed since it does not comply with the Environment Protection Act 1970, State Environment Protection Policy-Waters of Victoria. The scheme and its discharge into Jacksons Creek which flows into the Maribyrnong River and Port Phillip Bay is unsound on health, conservation, environmental and ecological grounds. And your petitioners, as in duty bo\Uld, will ever pray. PEIlTlONS
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 21
By Mr Reynolds (30 signatures) Dietetic Outpatients Clinic at Royal Children's Hospital To THE HONOURABLE THE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF TIlE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY; IN PARLIA,MENf ASSEMBLED: The humble petition of the undersigned citizens of the State of Victoria sheweth that the Dietetic Outpatients Clinic of the Royal Children's Hospital has been closed causing possible brain damage or death to genetic metabolic patients. Your petitioners therefore pray that the government guarantees funding to the Royal Children's Hospital dietetic department to enable the resumption of services without delay. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. By Mr E. R. Smith (6486 signatures) Infertility (Medical Procedures) Act To THE HONOURABLE TIlE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF TIlE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY IN PARUAMENI' ASSEMBLED: The petition of the undersigned citizens of the State of Victoria respectfully showeth: Human life begins when the sperm penetrates the ovum; each human life is worthy of respect and protection at every stage of development from the very beginning; the removal of one cell from an embryo prior to differentiation in embryo biopsy constitutes cloning, which is prohibited under section 6 (2) (A) of the Infertility (Medical Procedures) Act. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that the Parliament of the State of Victoria: 1. Legislate to ban all experimental procedures involving the human embryo; 2. Enforce section 6 (2) (A) of the Infertility (Medical Procedures) Act protecting cloning. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. By Mr Seitz (43 signatures) Sexual abuse of children To THE HONOURABLE TIlE SPEAKER AA!]) MEMBERS OF TIlE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY; IN PARLIAMENI' ASSEMBLED: The humble petition of the undersigned citizens of the State of Victoria sheweth: That urgent changes to the laws of evidence in relation to the sexual molestation of children are needed. Victorian law, in its present form, rejects the use of videotaped evidence of children who have been sexually assaulted. Victorian law does not provide our law enforcers with the power to take"body samples of persons suspected of serious crimes, nor can they require a suspect to take part in an identification parade. Section 23 of the Victorian Evidence Act states that the evidence of a child under fourteen years may be admitted in evidence, not on oath, if the court is of the opinion that the child is possessed of sufficient intelligence to justify the reception of the evidence and understands the duty of speaking the truth. Where the child gives evidence not on oath then that evidence must be corroborated outside the section. This means that the offender virtually has to be caught in the act or admit to the offence before any action can be taken. Videotaped evidence of children in sexual abuse matters, and mandatory body samples testing must be introduced into the Victorian court system and introduced now to protect our children. Statistics show that one in four will be a victim. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. By Mr Cooper (90 signatures) Ambulance station for Mornington To THE HONOURABLE THE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF TIlE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMllLY IN PARUAMENI' ASSEMBLED: The humble petition of the undersigned citizens of Victoria sheweth: AUDlfOR-GENERAL'S REPOKf
22 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
That the present ambulance service available to the residents of the Shire of Momington is hopelessly inadequate. Your petitioners therefore pray that the government take urgent action to provide a fully manned 24-hour ambulance station in the Shire of Momington to cater for the needs of its rapidly growing population. And your petitioners, as in duty lX)\Dld, will ever pray. By Mr Cooper (197 signatures) Melbourne-Warrnambool train To TIlE HONOURABLE TIlE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF TIlE LEGISLATIVE AsSEMBLY IN PARLIARMENT ASSEMBLED: The humble petition of the undersigned citizens of the State of Victoria respectfully sheweth that: We request the Minister for Transport to alter the timetable of the Melbourne to Wannambool train to allow a I-minute stop at Birregurra station at or about 2.30 p.m. to enable residents of Birregurra and surrounding district to make more effective and convenient use of the rail service for shopping and medical appointments. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that their rights will be recognised and protected. And your petitioners, as in duty bOlDld, will ever pray. By Mr I. W. Smith (274 signatures) Land tax system To TIlE HONOURABLE TIlE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF TIlE LEGISLATIVE AsSEMBLY IN PARLIARMENT ASSEMBLED: We, the undersigned, call on the government to: Immediately place a moratorium on land tax notices for 1990 and issue new notices limiting all increases to a maximum increase equivalent to the increase in CPI; immediately set up an independent inquiry into reviewing the equity and efficiency of the existing land tax system and, in particular, the social and economic impact of the 1989-90 assessment with the object of; reducing current increases to a maximum increase so that, as Mr Cain promised, land tax increases do not exceed the movement in CPI; providing automatic equitable indexation of thresholds and tax rates for subsequent years; ftmdamentally reviewing the basis aggregation principle and foreign ownership surcharge; and introducing a principal residence exemption as is the case in every other State in Australia.
In Simple Terms
This tax is unfair on both landlords and tenants and needs to be completely reviewed starting with the notices already sent out And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. By Mr Hayward (23 signatures) Petitions laid on table.
AUDITOR·GENERAL'S REPORT Accident Compensation Commission The SPEAKER-Pursuant to the provisions of the Accident Compensation Act 1985 I have given to each member of the House a copy of the Auditor-General's report in relation to the financial statements of the Accident Compensation Commission quarterly report for the March quarter 1990. PAPERS
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY\ 23
I present to the House a copy of the report, which I have received pursuant to the provisions of the Act. Laid on table.
PAPERS Laid on table by Clerk: Border Groundwaters Agreement Review Committee-Report for the year 1988-89. Chiropodists Registration Board-Report and Statement of Accounts for the year 1989. Chiropractors and Osteopaths Registration Board-Report and Statement of Accounts for the year 1989. Education Act 1958--Teachers Registration Board (Amendment) Regulations 1990. Latrobe Regional Commission Act 1983-Latrobe Regional Strategy Plan. April 1990. Parliamentary Officers Act 1975- Statement of Appointments and Alterations of Classification in the: Department of the Legislative Council. Department of the Legislative Assembly. Department of the loint House Committee. Department of the Parliamentary Library. Department of the Reporting Staff of the Victorian Parliamentary Debates. Statement of Persons Temporarily Employed in the Department of the Legislative Council. Department of the Legislative Assembly. Department of the Joint House Committee. Department of the Parliamentary Library. Department of the Reporting Staff of the Victorian Parliamentary Debates. Physiotherapists Registration Board-Report and Statement of Accounts for the year 1989. Planning and Environment Act 1987-Notices of approval of amendments to the following planning schemes: Alberton Planning Scheme-No. RI. Altona Planning Scheme-No. L9. Ballaarat (City) Planning Scheme-No. L12. Ballarat (Shire) Planning Scheme-No. lA. Bass Planning Scheme-No. L15 Part IB. Bendigo Planning Scheme-Nos L8, L12, LB, L19. Berwick Planning Scheme-Nos L17, LI8 Part I, L21. Bulla Planning Scheme-Nos L14, L25, L37. Buln Buln Planning Scheme-Nos L5, L8 Part 1. Camberwell Planning Scheme-Nos L9, LB. Camperdown Planning Scheme-No. L3. Coburg Planning Scheme-Nos L6, L8. Cranbourne Planning Scheme-Nos L27, L28 Part I, R49. Deakin Planning Scheme-Nos L7, L8. Diamond Valley Planning Scheme-Nos L2, L6. Doncaster and Templestowe Planning Scheme-Nos L13, L19, L24. Eaglehawk Planning Scheme-No. L9. Eltham Planning Scheme-No. L6 Part 1. PAPERS
24 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
Flinders Planning Scheme-Nos L33. 1.51. L67. Frankston Planning Scheme-Nos L9. L13. RL106. Geelong Regional Planning Scheme-Nos L36. R18 Part 3B. R29 Part 2. R43 Part 1, R45 Part 1, RLI2, RL38 Part 1. Hastings Planning Scheme-Nos L7 Part 2. L13 Part 1. Hawthorn Planning Scheme-No. L13. Hea1esville Plaming Scheme-Nos L13 Part lA, L32. Heidelberg Planning Scheme-Nos LS. L19. Horsham Planning Scheme-No. L23. H\Dltly Planning Scheme-No. L9. Keilor Planning Scheme-No. RL104. Kew Planning Scheme-Nos L6. L7. Kilmore Planning Scheme-Nos L26A. L43. Knox Plaming Scheme-Nos L11. L15. L18 Part 1. Korumburra Planning Scheme-No. L13. Lillydale Planning Scheme-Nos L44. L51. L55. L60. Malvern Planning Scheme-No. L1. Marong Planning Scheme-No. L20. Melbourne Planning Scheme-Nos L27. L49. RLl16. Melton Planning Scheme-No. L7. Metropolitan Region Planning Scheme-Nos R91. R96. RL130. RL132. Mildura (City) Planning Scheme-Nos L7. L16. L21. Mirboo Planning Scheme-No. RI. Moe Planning Scheme-Nos L14 PartB. RI. Moorabbin Planning Scheme-No. LS. Momington Planning Scheme-Nos L19. L24. Morwell Planning Scheme-No. RI. Myrtleford Planning Scheme-No. L19. Narracan Planning Scheme-Nos L15. L16. RI. Northcote Planning Scheme-No. LS. Oakleigh Planning Scheme-No. L9. Orbost Planning Scheme-No. L15. Otway Planning Scheme-No. LlO. Pakenham Planning Scheme-Nos L19. L28. L31. Phillip Island Planning Scheme-No. L11 Part B I. Portland (City) Planning Scheme-Nos L12. L14. L15. L16. L19. L20. Pyalong Planning Scheme-No. L7. Ripon Planning Scheme-No. L6. Rosedale Planning Scheme-No. RI. Sale Planning Scheme-Nos LI2, RI. Sandringham Planning Scheme-No. L2. Seymour Planning Scheme-No. L21. Shepparton (City) Planning Scheme-No. L25. South Gippsland Planning Scheme-Nos L19. RI. PAPERS
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 25
South Melbomne Planning Scheme-Nos L12. LIS. Stawell (Shire) Planning Scheme-No. L16. Stawell (Town) Planning Scheme-No. L14. Strathfieldsaye Planning Scheme-Nos U. L6. Swan Hill (Shire) Planning Scheme-Nos U. LS. Tambo Planning Scheme-No. L25. Traralgon (City) Planning Scheme-Nos L27, RI. Traralgon (Shire) Planning Scheme-Nos L34, RI. Warmambool (Shire) Planning Scheme-No. U. Whittlesea Planning Schem~Nos L19, L22. Wimmera Planning Scheme-No. L2. Wodonga PlamUng Scheme-No. L7. Woorayl Planning Scheme-No. L24. Yackandandah Planning Scheme-No. Ll. Yalloum Works Area Planning Schemes-No. RI. Yarrawonga Planning Scheme-No. L 7. Police Regulation Act 1958- Determination Nos 527 and 528 of the Police Service Board. Determination No. 23 of the Police Service Board for Protective Services Officers. Statutory rules under the following Acts: Accident Compensation Act 1985- SRNo.126; SR No. 149 together with a copy of Public Service Determinations 1985-Nos 4.1 to 4.5, 4.12 and 7.1; Tables 2,5 and 6 of Appendix E (as amended by Nos 6 and 9 of 1990) as required by section 32 of the Interpretation ofLegislation Act 1984 to accompany the statutory rule. Alpine Resorts Act 1983-SR Nos 103-105, 127, 188. Animal Preparations Act 1987-SR No. 136. Annual Reporting Act 1983- SR No. 144 together with a copy of the Statements of Australian Accounting Standards, AAS 12 issued by the National C01mcils of the Australian Society of Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Acc01mtants in Australia as required by section 32 of the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 to accompany the statutory rule; SR No. 145 together with copies of the following documents as required by section 32 of the Interpretation ofLegislation Act 1984 to accompany the statutory rule: Statements of Australian Accounting Standards issued by the National Councils of the Australian Society of Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. AAS I-Profit and Loss Statements or other Operating Statements; AAS 2-Measurement and Presentation of Inventories in the Context of the Historical Cost System; AAS 3-Accounting for Income Tax (fax-effect Acc01mting); AAS 4-Depreciation of Non-Current Assets; AAS 7-Accounting for the Extractive Industries; AAS IS-Disclosure of Operating Revenue. Audit Act 1958-SR No. 189. Bees Act 1971-SR No. 137. Boilers and Pressure Vessels Act 1970-SR Nos 206, 207. Building Control Act 1981-SR Nos 133, 134. PAPERS
26 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
Chiropodists Act 1968-SR Nos 142, 205. Chiropractors and Osteopaths Act 1978--SR No. 185. Conservation. Forests and Lands Act 1987--SR No. 183. Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1983--SR No. 208. Co-operation Act 1981--SR No. 192. Country Fire Authority Act 1958-SR Nos 115, 143, 180. County COlD't Act 1958- SR Nos 106, 129; SR No. 130 together with a copy of Public Service Detenninations 1985 Nos 4.1 to 4.5 and Tables 2 and 5 in Appendix E as required by section 32 of the Interpretation ofLegislation Act 1984 to accompany the statutory rule; SR No. 191. Crimes Act 1958--SR No. 138. Discharged Servicemen's Preference Act 1943-SR No. 209. Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981--SR No. 141. Evidence Act 1958--SR No. 172. Fisheries Act 1968--SR Nos 101, 182, 193. Forests Act 1958-SR No. 155. Grain Elevators Act 1958-SR No. 150. Health Act 1958--SR Nos 184, 186,210. Health Services Act 1988- SR No. 120 together with a copy of the Medicare Benefits Schedule Book, Commonwealth Department of Community Services and Health (as amended) as required by section 32 of the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 to accompany the statutory rule; SRNo.159. Hospitals Superannuation Act 1988-SR No. 128. Industrial Relations Act 1979-SR No. 211. Intellectually Disabled Persons' Service Act 1986-SR No. 117. Lifts and Cranes Act 1967-SR No. 212. Lotteries Gaming and Betting Act 1966-SR No. 160. Magistrates' Courts Act 1971-SR No. 147. Magistrates' Court Act 1989- SR Nos 148, 168, 169; SR No. 170 together with a copy of the Commonwealth Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Reprint No. 2) as required by section 32 of the Interpretation ofLegislation Act 1984 to accompany the statutory rule; SR Nos 171,203. Marine Act 1988-SR Nos 121, 151. Martial Arts Control Act 1986-SR No. 176. Medical Practitioners Act 1970-SR No. 195. Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works Act 1958-SR Nos 107-113, 118, 125. Metropolitan Fire Brigades Act 1958-SR No. 181. Metropolitan Fire Brigades Superannuation Act 1976-SR No. 190. Motor Car Traders Act 1986-SR No. 194. Optometrists Registration Act 1958-SR No. 202. Pay-roll Tax Act 1971-SR No. 198. Penalties and Sentences Act 1985-SR No. 169. PAPERS
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 27
Pharmacists Act 1974-SR No. 196. Post-Secondary Education Act 1978-SR Nos 139. 140. 157. 158. Private Agents Act 1966-SR No. 215. Professional Boxing Control Act 1985-SR No. 174. Public Authorities Marks Act 1958-SR No. 119. Public Service Act 1974- SR Nos 135. 187.201; Public Service Detenninations Nos 10-23; PSD No. 24 together with a copy of the Victorian Building Industry Agreement 1989-92. as required by section 32 of the Interpretation ofLegislation Act 1984 to accompany the statutory rule. PSDNo.25. Racing Act 1958-SR Nos 116. 161-167. Reference Areas Act 1978-SR No. 156. Road Safety Act 1986-SR Nos 122. 152, 173. Scaffolding Act 1971-SR No. 213. Sport and Recreation Act 1972-SR No. 175. State Bank Act 1988-SR No. 100. State Electricity Commission Act 1958-SR No. 146 together with copies of the following documents as required by section 32 of the Interpretation ofLegislation Act 1984 to accompany the statutory rule: Draft Australian Standard 89220:R Performance of Household Electrical Appliances-Clothes Washing Machines. Australian Standards 3163-1985 Electrical Washing Machines for Household Use (as amended). 2442-1981 Rotary Clothes Dryers. 1284.1-1985 Electricity Meters Part 1 General Purpose Watthour Meters. 1284-1973 Electricity Meters Pan 2 Portable Alternating current rotating standard watthour meters (metric \Dlits). Electrical appliances as proclaimed by the Governor in Council by an Order dated 19 December 1989 (GoverwnentGazetteNo. G1. 3 January 1990). State Superannuation Act 1988-SR No. 177. Supreme Court Act 1986-SR Nos 124.131, 132,153, 154. Teaching Service Act 1981-SR Nos 178, 179. Transport Act 1984-SR No. 197. Transport Accident Act 1986-SR No. 123. Water Act 1989-SR Nos 199,200,204. Weights and Measures Act 1958-SR No. 114. Wildlife Act 1975-SR No. 102. Youth Affairs Act 1986-SR No. 214. Tobacco Leaf Marketing Board-Report for the year ended 31 March 1990. Victorian Dried Fruits Board-Report and Statement of Accounts for the year 1989. Western Metropolitan Trust-Report for the year ended 30 September 1989. • • • • • Proclamations fixing operative dates laid on table by Clerk, pursuant to Order of the House dated 2S October 1988: Agriculture Acts (General Amendment) Act 1989-Section 17; 17 July 1990 (Gazette No. G23, 13 June 1990). WORKS AND SERVICES (ANCIlLARY PROVISIONS, 1990-91, No. 2) BIU
28 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
Building, Co-operative Housing and Friendly Societies (Amendment) Act 199O--Sections 7 and 8; 4 July 1990 (Gazette No. G26, 4 July 1990). Crimes (Blood Samples) Act 1989-Sections 1-6, 9 and 10; 1 June 1990 (Gazette No. G2l, 30 May 1990)-Section 7; 1 September 1990 (Gazette No. G29, 25 July 1990). Deakin University (Warrnambool) Act 1990-Sections 5-15 and Part 3; 1 August 1990 (Gazette No. C30, 1 August 1990). Fire Authorities Act 1989-Sections 18,24,26 (1), (8) and (9),31,37,44 (1) and 49; 3 July 1990 (Gazette No. S31, 3 July 1990)-Section 52; 31 JUly 1990 (Gazette No. S38, 31 JUly 1990). Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1989-Section 7; 1 June 1990 (Gazette No. G21, 30 May 1990). Land Conservation (Amendment) Act 1990-27 June 1990 (Gazette No. G25, 27 June 1990). Local Government Act 1989-Section 101, 1 March 1991; Sections 97, 100, 102-110 and Schedule 7, 1 October 1991; Parts 6, 7 and 8, sections 207, 221, 229, 230 and Schedule 9, 1 October 1992 (Gazette No. G26, 4 July 1990). Magistrates' Comt Act 1989-Part 1, Part 2 [except sections 16 (4) and (5)], Part 3, Part 4 [except section 52;], Parts 5-7, Part 8 [except section 141 (3)] Schedules 1-8; 1 September 1990 (Gazette No. G29, 25 July 1990). Magistrates' Court (Consequential Amendments) Act 1989-Sections 1-3,5 and the Schedule; 1 September 1990 (Gazette No. G29, 25 July 1990). Medical Treatment (Enduring Power of Attorney) Act 1990-6 August 1990 (Gazette No. G30, 1 August 1990). Murray Valley Citrus Marketing Act 1989-Section 12; 6 June 1990 (Gazette No. G22, 6 June 1990)-Sections 1-11, 13-62 and 64-93; 1 July 1990 (Gazette No. G25, 27 June 1990). Petroleum (Submerged Lands) (Amendment) Act 1990-1 July 1990 (Gazelle No. G24, 20 June 1990). Renewable Energy Authority Victoria Act 1990-1 July 1990 (Gazette No. G25, 27 June 1990). Road Safety (Amendment) Act 199O-Section 6; 1 July 1990 (Gazette No. G25, 27 June 1990)-Sections 5 and 10; 1 August 1990 (Gazette No. G29, 25 JUly 1990). Shop Trading (Amendment) Act 1990-20 June 1990 (Gazette No. G24, 20 June 1990). Victoria University of Technology Act 199O-Parts 1-7 inclusive, Sections 60, 69 (1), 70 and 71 (1); ] July 1990 (Gazette No. G24, 20 June 1990).
WORKS AND SERVICES (ANCILLARY PROVISIONS, 1990-91, No. 2) BILL Mr ROPER (Treasurer}-By leave, I move: That I have leave to bring in a Bill to make further ancillary provisions for certain works and purposes for the financial year 1990-91. The SPEAKER-Order! Is leave granted? Mr McNAMARA (Leader of the National Party)-Leave is refused. Mr ROPER (Treasurer}-I desire to give notice that tomorrow I will move: That I have leave to bring in a Bill to make further ancillary provisions for certain works and purposes for the fmancial year 1990-91.
TELEVISING OF PROCEEDINGS The SPEAKER-Order! I advise the House that I have approved a request front the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to film the Treasurer's delivery of the Budget speech today. This approval includes the use of two cameras in the Public Gallery and, with the approval of the House, one on the floor of the House. The filming will be conducted on a shared basis with other television channels under the usual guidelines. On a similar basis I APPROPRIATION (1990-91, No. 1) BILL
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 29 have also approved the filming of the responses of the Opposition and the National Party at a later date. I should also advise the House that the small microphones which honourable members may note are attached to the House microphones are there to assist in picking up the Treasurer's voice during the filming. Permission has been granted also to 3A W to make a direct radio broadcast of both the Treasurer's speech and, in due course, the replies of the Opposition and the National Party. In addition I have given pennission for the Age, the H eraid, the Australian, the Sun and the Sunday Herald to take still photographs of the Treasurer during his speech. No additional lighting or flashlights will be used. Mr McNAMARA (Leader of the National Party)-Mr Speaker, the Treasurer sought leave and I refused leave. Mr Micallef-Who are you? Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! The matter on which the Leader of the National Party refused leave has been dealt with in another way. Mr ROPER (Treasurer)-By leave, I move: That Standing Order No. 28 be suspended so far as may be necessary to permit the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to r1lm from the floor of the House the Budget speech of the Honourable the Treasurer and the speeches in reply thereto by the opposition parties. Mr McNAMARA (Leader of the National Party)-Leave is refused.
APPROPRIATION (1990-91, No. 1) BILL Introduction and/irst reading Message read recommending appropriation and transmitting Estimates ofexpenditure for 1990-91. Mr ROPER (Treasurer), pursuant to Standing Order No. 169 (b), introduced a Bill to appropriate certain sums out of the Consolidated Fund for recurrent services and for certain works and purposes for the financial year 1990-91 and to appropriate the ~upplies granted under the Supply (1990-91, No. 1) Act 1990 and for other purposes. Read first time. Second reading Mr ROPER (Treasurer)-I move: That this Bill be now read a second time. The 1990-91 Victorian Budget has been prepared in the most difficult circumstances faced for a generation. The Kimer government will confront this challenge and provide realistic solutions. The Budget represents a substantial shift in the financial management practices, not just of this government, but of previous governments in this State. In a changed economic environment, Victoria can and will pay its way. We will restore confidence in the financial institutions of this State. APPROPRIATION (1990-91,No.l)BILL
30 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
By facing up to hard decisions now, Victoria will avoid a constant and substantial erosion of the government's ability to provide the services Victorians expect at a price they can afford. It will not be easy, nor without pain. The government's task has been to minimise that pain and protect those who are least able to cope with the changed environment. Accordingly, the Budget puts in place an enhanced debt management program, provides for more efficient service delivery and for better targeted services. Economic and financial conditions have changed dramatically over the past eighteen months. A sharp decline in credit growth, from an extraordinarily high peak of25 per cent in mid-1988 to 10 per cent in mid-1990, has been accompanied by a massive decline in asset values. This has affected the Budget in two ways-a loss ofState-sourced revenue, particularly from land transfers, and problems within the financial sector. This has been a Victorian, national and international problem. Victoria's exposure to these problems was made considerably worse by the irresponsible and sometimes unbe1ievable investment decisions of the Tricontinental Bank. The former managing director of that organisation, Mr Ian Johns, has been committed for trial so I will refrain from comment on his role. The government has decided that this immense cost to Victorian taxpayers must be thoroughly examined by a Royal Commission. A further difficulty being faced by all State governments is the continuing reduction in Commonwealth revenue sharing. This will be the sixth successive year of real reductions in Commonwealth General Purpose Revenue Grants to Victoria. If Victoria's recurrent funding from the Commonwealth had maintained its 1984-85 share of Commonwealth revenue, this Budget would have benefited by more than $1000 million. This is a measure of Victoria's contribution to both the Commonwealth Budget surplus and the series of income tax cuts, that have been made possible. Victoria's problems are compounded by fiscal equalisation policies that mean every Victorian contributes $163 each year to the cost of services in all other States except New South Wales. Without policy changes we would have received less State-sourced revenue dollars in 1990-91 than predicted for 1989-~a real fall of 8 per cent. Hard decisions have been taken in framing this Budget to deal with these issues on an ongoing basis. The Budget involves a mix of restraint in outlays, decreased net borrowings and an increase in the State's revenue. Following extensive review, current outlays have been reduced by $508 million relative to unchanged policy projections. The expenditure review process, initiated in the preparation of this year's Budget, will become an ongoing part of government in Victoria. The work of the Expenditure Review Committee continues tomorrow. APPROPRIATION (1990-91, No. 1) BIlL
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 31
This watchdog committee will be taking an intensive and rigorous interest in increased government efficiency as outlined in this Budget. The process will complement efficiency improvement mechanisms, such as the 1.5 per cent per annum productivity savings pioneered by this government. This government has an excellent record of restraining outlays. Australian Bureau of Statistics data show that the growth in public sector outlays in Victoria for the last six years was lower than for the Commonwealth and the States as a whole. The government will implement a stronger, more comprehensive and explicit debt management strategy. This strategy will be the prime focus of the 1990--91 Budget and has a number of key features: • Budget sector debt will decrease in dollar terms by $139 million, a real reduction of 8 per cent. • Victoria will not take up its full share of global borrowings allocated at the Loan Council. • New borrowings will be constrained. Financing transactions in the Budget sector will fall by more than one-third. • The government will establish a Debt Retirement Fund. • Victoria's debt will be reduced through the identification and sale of suitable government business assets. The cost of servicing our debt, in the face of sustained high interest rates, has become prohibitive. COMMONWEALTH-STATE FINANCIAL RELATIONS Fundamental refonns of Commonwealth-State financial relations are necessary. The annual pilgrimage of State Premiers and Treasurers to Canberra, the delivery of the Commonwealth "Offer Document" under hotel doors at 7.30 a.m. on the morning of the Premiers Conference, the lack of meaningful dialogue during the day, the lack of forward plaJUling in fiscal relationships, the very high degree of fiscal imbalance between State revenue and expenditure responsibilities-this must change. There must be a better way. With neither State nor Federal elections due for almost two years in Australia, now is the time to act. In his speech outlining plans for a special Premiers Conference, the Prime Minister indicated a willingness to seriously debate and consider these issues. This government will play an active role in facilitating change. We wholeheartedly support the spirit of the Prime Minister's speech. However, as all State Premiers indicated at their unprecedented joint media conference in Canberra, refonn of our financial relationship is not optional, it is essential and urgent. The States provide 85 percent of the nation's essential infrastructure. We provide more than half of the essential services taxpayers expect of government-schools, hospitals, transport and police. APPROPRIATION (1990-91, No. 1) BIU
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Yet, the State's tax base produces only 22 per cent of national revenue, and in the case of Victoria, our borrowing allocation for essential works is less than the Commonwealth allocated for Qantas jumbos and cellular telephones. DEVELOPMENTS IN FINANCIAL MARKETS The financial sector has suffered a very considerable shakeout following the deregulation policies pursued in the mid-1980s. I referred earlier to the massive growth in credit during the latter part of the eighties, the equally dramatic decline in recent times, and the sharp fall in asset values that followed. High interest rates have become the norm, placing enormous pressure on all sectors of the economy. The major trading banks have had to significantly increase their provisions for bad and doubtful debts. At considerable cost, this government has been forced to play a major role in supporting Victorian-based financial institutions. In February, the government announced a package of measures to deal with the State Bank problems after further bad debt provisions amounting to $795 million were reported. This included an agreement to assume bad debts equivalent to the new provisions, appointment of a new board and new reporting requirements. A first-class chief executive officer, Mr. Paul Rizzo, was subsequently appointed. New credit and prudential guidelines and policies were developed and international experts Booz, Allan and Hamilton commissioned to review credit policies, procedures and practices. The services of Mallesons and Arthur Anderson were engaged to report to the bank on instances of wrongdoing, incompetence and the capacity for additional recovery. More than 40 legal actions have been initiated. After a thorough examination of accounts and the deterioration in economic conditions, it became obvious that a new agreement would have to be put in place to maintain the bank's compliance with Reserve Bank prudential guidelines. This agreement involved a total exposure for the government of some $2700 million. Clearl y, the Budget could not realisticall y sustain servicing costs on this amount which would have reached $400 million a year. The government explored options for dealing with this problem. After a commercial tendering process a decision was made to accept an offer by the Commonwealth Bank. I pay tribute to the professionalism and integrity of all involved in this tendering process. The decision means the government will reduce its exposure to the bank's liabilities by more than $2000 million. The people of Victoria will retain the identity of their bank and it will remain in public ownership. The "People's Bank of Victoria" will be moving into an expanded role to become incorporated with the "People's Bank of Australia". Together, the State and the Commonwealth banks will provide Australians with a new and more powerful force in banking services, particularly in the home loan area. APPROPRIATION (1990-91, No. 1) BIU
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The government has also provided assistance to depositors in the Farrow group of building societies and established a liquidity support scheme for the other Victorian building societies. In relation to the Farrow group depositors, provision has been made in this Budget for $55 million to meet the cost of this assistance and to provide the funds required to carry out the government's undertaking. The government introduced new measures in relation to building societies during the autumn session and a further major overhaul is planned for this session of Parliament. The Attorney-General has instituted an inquiry under the Building Societies Act and the Companies Code into the circumstances of the collapse. MACROECONOMIC OUTLOOK The Australian economy has moved into a period of slower growth, at least in the short term. This is true for Victoria also. GDP is projected to grow by just under 2 per cent in 1990--91. While unemployment is expected to grow in 1990--91, the Victorian unemployment rate is expected to remain below the rate for Australia as a whole, as it has been for the last seven years. Labour force participation has reached record levels with three more out of every 100 working age Victorians being in the labour force than is the case in New South Wales. Real income levels and savings in Victoria remain higher than for Australia as a whole. Victoria is Australia's major manufacturing State. Exports in most sectors continue to grow at a healthy pace. As we enter the 1990s, this State is in a stronger position than it was at the start of the 1980s. Victoria has a broad manufacturing base and significant knowledge and technology intensive .industries, crucial for the future growth of the economy. It is well placed to ride out the current downturn and to sustain growth over the medium to longer term. Every Victorian has reason to be confident about the future of this State. But equally, every Victorian has a role to play in ensuring we maintain the momentum that put this State at the top of the table during the 1980s. BUOOET STRATEGY In this year's Budget process, the government was faced with a $1.2 billion problem. This Budget, the first of the Kimer government and my first as Treasurer, represents a considerable departure from previous years. The Budget has reduced the projected net financing requirement from $2·0 billion to $660 million, more than a third lower than that required in 1989-90. We have taken account of the changed attitudes towards debt and the very high cost of borrowings. We are restructuring our finances so as to reduce debt and the need for borrowings. We have taken account of diminished revenues through an ongoing process of expenditure review and by tightening the focus of service delivery. Spring Session 1990-2 APPROPRIATION (1990-91. No. I) BIlL
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The government is also moving to a three year Budget planning process. It is clearly inadequate to run a $12 billion Budget on an annual budgeting process. This year it will not be possible to continue to restrain the growth of taxes. Both the Prime Minister and Federal Treasurer made it abundantly clear at this year's Premiers Conference, that in their view our selVices were too good and our taxes were too low and adjusted our grants accordingly. Victoria can no longer withstand the financial pressures imposed by the Commonwealth. Nevertheless, this government will maintain its commitment to providing excellent standards in health care, education, police and other key community selVice areas. This government will not abandon its commitment to the vulnerable and disadvantaged. We will maintain our commitment to sustaining Victoria's economic development through the provision of training and essential infrastructure. DEBT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY Net Budget sector debt will decline by $139 million in money terms. The government will repay $100 million through the newly established Debt Retirement Fund in 1990-91. The underlying and fundamental aspect of the 1990-91 Budget is debt management. As I mentioned earlier, Victoria can pay its way and will reduce its dependence on borrowings. Let me first clarify a few misconceptions about debt. Victoria does have a high level of debt, for two reasons. The first is the size of our public sector. Victoria's public sector includes two significant enterprises that in other States are either wholly or partly in the private sector. In New South Wales, gas supply is largely in the hands of the private sector. In Victoria it is in the public sector. Similarly, in New South Wales coal for electricity is mined by private companies not by the government. Borrowings for these activities in Victoria therefore appear in government accounts whereas in other States they do not. The second reason is historical. Victoria has always managed its business with high borrowings and high debt. It has been a policy of successive governments. Governments believed it was fair that the cost of State infrastructure should be borne by future generations that derived the benefit. Sir Henry Bolte referred to the need for States to borrow for the provision of schools and other capital projects in his 1968 Budget Speech. "Is it any wonder that State finances are beset with such intolerable difficulties," Sir Henry said, "when we are short changed on income tax reimbursement, and also have to carry the burden of the national debt." Net debt as a proportion of Gross State Product has been declining consistent! y. In the 1930s net debt as a proportion of Victorian output was about 150 per cent; this fell steadily to about 55 per cent by the early 1960s and has fallen to less than 30 per cent for most of the 1980s. By the end of this financial year, net debt as a proportion of non-farm Gross State Product will have fallen to 25.2 per cent, the lowest level since 1981. APPROPRIATION (1990-91, No. 1) BIU
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The cost of servicing debt however, has now reached a point where the policies of the past need fundamental change. That is what the government's debt management strategy will address. The government intends to move to a position where it can make a stronger contribution to capital works from recurrent revenue. This will be achieved through ongoing restraint in Budget sector outlays. The expenditure review process to which I referred will be important in this regard. Total outlays, excluding grants for on-passing, are projected to rise by 6.3 per cent in 1990--91. Current outlays on the same basis are budgeted to rise by only 5.2 per cent in 1990--91, clearly a significant fall in real terms. Gross fixed capital expenditure for the Budget sector is projected to rise only 5.3 per cent, again a significant fall in real terms. As has already been foreshadowed, there will be significant sales of public business assets where the current nature or extent of public ownership is not necessary in order to meet the objectives and priorities of government. Apart from the recently announced sale of State Bank Victoria, other assets being developed for sale are the State Insurance Office, State-owned pine plantations and the government's share of the Portland Smelter. This sales program is projected to reduce State debt by more than $2.6 billion. While the government is taking action in regard to asset sales as a means of significantly reducing debt, sales will only occur on terms advantageous to the government. This is part of a process of fundamental change in the government's approach. It is not just about this year's Budget. The financial position ofthe Transport Accident Commission, the Rural Finance Corporation and WorkCare have also improved. The government's reforms to the third-party insurance system have resulted in considerable savings to Victorian motorists. Recently, the New South Wales government was forced to initiate a police blitz on its residents in Albury who were registering vehicles in Victoria to take advantage of the lower costs. In Melbourne the ongoing cost of a family car is $267 a year for third-party insurance. In Sydney, the same car owner pays $345 for third party, a $40 levy to cover unfunded liabilities, $33 registration and a road tax of $145, more than twice his or her Melbourne counterpart. The Rural Finance Corporation has had a successful year following the absorption of the VEDC. The corporation's accounts indicate a substantial profit in the order of $25 million. I am pleased to report also that the WorkCare scheme achieved a significant improvement in performance during the year. Claims reported for the year ended June 1990 were down 8.9 per cent on the previous year despite a year on year growth in Victorian employment of 4.1 per cent. APPROPRIATION (1990-91, No. 1) BIU
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WorkCare long tenn claims, those of more than twelve months duration, also recorded a net reduction during the year despite a further twelve months of claims experience. The WorkCare scheme improved its funding position-the ratio of assets to outstanding liabilities-from 14 per cent at June 1989 to 29 per cent at June 1990. It is clear that, as a result of the legislative and administrative changes announced by the government last August, together with the levy increases effective from October 1989, the financial future of WorkCare is secure. On behalf of the Government, I wish to pay tribute to my predecessor for laying the groundwork for this achievement. SAVINGS MEASURES As I mentioned earlier, this year the government devoted considerable effort to the process of expenditure review in preparing the Budget. An Expenditure Review Committee has been established as an indication of the government's detennination to produce ongoing savings. The process requires each Minister to reassess programs to ensure that they meet government objectives, to encourage efficiency, better targeted services and reduced costs. The committee, which includes my colleague, the Minister for Housing and Construction, will assist Ministers in achieving these goals. Savings have been identified throughout the government in ways that will enable the public sector to be more productive. It is expected there will be a reduction in the order of 8000 Budget sector positions as a result of expenditure decisions I am announcing today. Major savings will occur through: Restructuring and organisational change; Reducing operating expenses; Efficiencies in ancillary services such as maintenance and cleaning; and Restructuring practices related to service provision. Let me detail some specific proposals in each of these areas. Organisational change. Measures will include: The government has decided to transfer the industrial tribunal function of the Public Service Board to the Industrial Relations Commission of Victoria as part of its program of rationalisation to achieve consistency and remove duplication. There will be a review of the remaining functions of the Public Service Board to improve efficiency, preserve independence and bring the Victorian Public Service into line with the changes that have occurred throughout the rest of Australia. The continued amalgamation of the Metropolitan Transit Authority and the State Transport Authority is realising savings including 600 positions without any adverse impact on services. The Department of Water Resources is being integrated into the Department of Conservation and Environment. APPROPRIATION (J99{)-91, No.}) BIU
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Rationalising administration throughout the Education Department and State Training Board will enable 800 positions to be shed. Operating expenses. Measures will include: Base funding of all agencies has been wound back. There will be no scope for agencies to exceed their budget and outside recruitment will be kept to a minimum. Publications and publicity will be cut. Staff will be retrained or redeployed. Through the ongoing work of the Expenditure Review Committee, inefficiencies identified through the year will be acted upon immediately. Ancillary services, cleaning and maintenance measures include: Positions will be reduced across the public sector by about 800. Agencies such as Property and Services will be obliged to recover costs for services to other government agencies and the public. The user pays principle will be applied to non-core activities and services that provide an essentially private benefit. In relation to service practices, measures will include: An incremental adjustment toward the national benchmark figure for teaching conditions resulting in class sizes for years 7 to 10 being increased by one this year. This is expected to achieve significant savings on a Statewide basis. There will be full cost recovery within the fast freight forwarding operation ofthe Public Transport Corporation by June 30 saving at least $11 million in a full year. In the health system and institutional care, employment conditions will be reviewed to improve efficiency while maintaining standards of care. As has been pointed out in previous Budget speeches, the government has been achieving significant expenditure savings in the Budget sector over a number of years. Between 1985-86 and 1989--90 annual productivity savings totalled some $345 million. A more recent requirement has been for agencies to absorb 10 per cent of national wage increases, and supplementary savings measures. The 1990-91 Budget will also benefit from a change in the payment schedule of grants to non-government schools, pensioner rate concessions and municipal libraries. The government has implemented this change as an alternative to cutting the level of grants. It will produce a one-off saving of$69 million which in future years is expected to be covered by the full year impact of savings measures put into place by the Expenditure Review Committee. Mr Speaker, Parliament must lead by example in this process of expenditure reduction. I am announcing today that the subsidy to the Parliamentary refreshment rooms will be abolished. We will pay for our meals. This year, the subsidy has been reduced from $610900 to $207 900 in order to facilitate an orderly phasing out process. Total savings in this Budget amount to $508 million. APPROPRIATION (1990-91, No. 1) BILL
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Staff losses over and above those made possible through attrition, management of vacancies and redeployment, will be facilitated by voluntary redundancies from the $100 million provided for micro-economic reform. REVENUE INITIATIVES Revenue increasing measures are now being put in place to address the decline in Victoria's revenue base. For instance, revenue from stamp duty on land transfers is expected to decline from about $960 million in 1988-89 to a projected $711 million this financial year. The revenue initiatives included in this Budget encompass greater uniformity between the States. State and Territory Treasuries have met to improve tax harmonisation. The European Community will have harmonised taxes by 1992. Victoria has taken a lead in this process. One outcome of these discussions was the announcement by NSW, Victoria and the ACf that similar changes would be made to the financial institutions duty and to payroll tax. The fmancial institutions duty will rise from 0.03 per cent to 0.06 per cent and the maximum payment from $600 to $1200. In the case of payroll tax, the marginal rate will be increased to 7 per cent but the tax free threshold will be raised in two stages from $320 ()()() to $500 ()()() and will be available, for the first time, to all taxpayers. Community concern and awareness of the health implications of tobacco and alcohol consumption are shared by the Government. Taxpayers suffer significant costs as a result of tobacco consumption and alcohol abuse. At the last Health Ministers' Conference a recommendation was made that tobacco franchise fees should be increased throughout Australia as a disincentive to smokers. As an indication of the government's continuing efforts to reduce cigarette smoking, tobacco frdllchise fees will rise from 35 per cent to 50 per cent. This will add about 28 cents to a packet of 20 cigarettes. In relation to alcohol, the government will continue to exempt low alcohol beverages from licence fees, however it has decided to increase the fee on normal strength alcohol from 9 per cent to 11 per cent. This will add about 1 cent to the cost of a pot of beer or 2 cents after publicans add their mark-up. The government proposes to increase petroleum franchise fees applied to motor spirit from 7.8 to 11 per cent. The government also proposes to make the transfer of businesses dutiable so as to bring Victoria into line with other States and avoid penalties imposed by the Commonwealth Grants Commission. In relation to land tax, the government proposes to change land tax arrangements so as to limit the increase in land tax collections to 7.8 per cent for 1990-91 and to ensure that increases for most individual taxpayers across the scale do not greatly exceed that average figure. This will cost $43.8 million in 1990-91 and $77.5 million in revenue forgone in a full year compared to standard indexation. APPROPRIATION (1990-91, No. 1) BIU
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This will make a significant contribution to limiting the impact of rising values during the period used for assessment. Special attention has been given to restricting the growth in tax for owners of properties in the Central Activities District. The Minister for Industry and Economic Planning is reviewing the retail tenancies legislation. At my request the review will involve lease arrangements that pass on land tax to retail tenants. I believe these measures will go a long way to meeting the genuine concerns of the many groups I have met to discuss the land tax issue. In addition, user pays measures form an important element of this Budget, particularly as they affect the achievement of conservation and environment objectives. Some examples of this are a major re-scaling of the EPA' s licence fees to ensure greater cost recovery and a levy to be applied to the use of chlorofluorocarbons in line with the agreed National Strategy for Ozone Protection. User pays principles will also be adopted in relation to national, State and regional parks, as well as supervision of wildlife and control of game. As announced by the Premier, the government has had to review its commitment to the Family Budget Pledge. It would not have been financially possible for the government to maintain that commitment in full. Substantial elements of the pledge will remain in terms of keeping down the costs of gas and electricity charges. There will be no change to pricing already announced by the Gas and Fuel and SECV. The Budget does provide for increased transport charges and an adjustment for water pricing for conservation purposes. As a result of the changed circumstances, the Education Expense Allowance initiated by this government will be deferred and reviewed. Victorian families have been delivered substantial gains through restrained increases in household charges. Over the three-year period from 1987-88 to 1990-91 there have been real decreases in the prices of the base covered by the pledge. The estimated savings for an average metropolitan family relative to inflation are $241.47 per year or $5 per week. PROGRAM INITIATIVES Earlier I mentioned this government's commitment to protecting the vulnerable, caring for the disadvantaged and ensuring an appropriate standard of service for all Victorians. Notwithstanding the severe restraint imposed in this year's Budget, the government will meet these commitments and where possible improve services and facilities. It will do this by using limited financial resources more efficiently and better targeting capital and recurrent funds. This years's Budget expenditure gives priority in a number of areas: social justice and community care; APPROPRIATION (1990-91, No. 1) BIU
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environment protection and conservation; community security and law enforcement; and urban development and infrastructure. Social Justice and Community Care The Budget makes provision for a number of initiatives in the area of social justice and community care. For example, the 1990-91 Budget provides $26.2 million for the State plan for people with intellectual disabilities. As announced by the Premier previously, an Office ofPre School and Child Care is to be established to improve the provision of preschool and child-care services. A Commonwealth-State program of $5.9 million will provide 22 new centres, 200 new occasional care places and 3580 before and after school places. The government will proceed with the introduction of a Seniors Card to be issued to all people over 60 who are not in full-time employment. This initiative, in cooperation with the private sector, will build on the successful Sixty Plus Transport Concession and provide a range of discounts in the retail, hospitality, travel, commercial and entertainment sectors. It is a concrete expression of the government's commitment to enhancing participation of older people in community life. A sum of $1.6 million has been allocated for child protection services to continue six pilot programs in the phase out of the dual track system and implementation of the single track system. Additional funds of $105 000 will be available for the second year of the Youth Homelessness Pilot Program. Despite Budget difficulties, health funding has been maintained in real tenns. $219 million has been provided for the Health Capital Worlcs Program with funds allocated for worlc at the Monash Medical Centre, the Sunshine and Footscray campuses of the Western Hospital, Ballarat Base Hospital and Frankston Hospital's psychiatric unit. The government is committed to the staged redevelopment of St Vincent's Hospital. Discussions are currently underway with the trustees of the hospital concerning funding arrangements for stage 1 to allow design to proceed and site clearance worlcs to be carried out this financial year. Purchase of land in the Mill Parlc area for the development of a new community hospital is scheduled with an allocation of $2 million. Environment Protection and Conservation The environment, conservation and sustainable development programs have received priority in this year's Budget. The government has exempted the EPA from the requirement to implement savings such as those required of all other agencies, effectively adding more than $1 million to the authority's budget. Provision has been made for an allocation of $1.5 million to the new Mallee National Pm. APPROPRIATION (1990-91, No. 1) BILL
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A further $1.1 million has been allocated to programs such as national parks development, penguin management and vegetation retention. $1 million has been allocated to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs for sustainable development initiatives. More inspectors will be appointed as part of the government's tougher approach to health and safety in the workplace. Public Safety and Law Enforcement The government has allocated $1 million to set up a Major Fraud Strike Force. It will include police, lawyers and accountants with the expertise necessary to get behind sham transactions. Crimes committed by Australian companies take a heavy toll on Australian society. White collar crime is not "victimless" as many believe. While the weapon may be a fountain pen or computer instead of a sawn off shot-gun, the cost of the robbery is borne just as squarely by governments, shareholders and the general public. The Strike Force will contain an Assets Forfeiture Unit to freeze and confiscate the ill-gotten gains of corporate crime. Within the transport budget, provision has been made for improved security including an increased transit police profile, roving guards and improved station lighting. Outer Urban Development and Infrastructure The provision of adequate urban infrastructure has been a major concern of the government. This issue will become the focus of a new Ministerial Task Force. The Task Force will consider the opportunities for private sector participation in the provision of public infrastructure and the coordination of resource allocation across portfolios. The Minister for Housing and Construction has arranged for the Urban Land Authority to establish an infrastructure fund of $12 million this year to enable infrastructure works and community services to be developed in metropolitan areas, particularly the growth corridors. Development of Melbourne's cultural assets will not be neglected. The Spotswood Science and Technology Museum will be completed this financial year. The long overdue redevelopment of the State Library will commence with an allocation of $7.5 million and assembly of the Southbank Museum site will be completed. Our commitment to major projects such as Bayside will continue with an allocation of $8.6 million to fmalise cleanup work on the site. Training expenditure is obviously a key element in maintaining the State's efficiency-both public and private sectors-and has been given a special boost with the advent of the Commonwealth government's training levy and the structural efficiency requirements associated with national wage decisions. The Budget provides ongoing and significant support for the T AFE sector. CONCLUSION This State will pay its way in the 1990s. The Budgets brought down by the Cain Government from 1982 to 1989 were right for their times. In 1990 the Kirner government faces changed circumstances and more difficult times. PARUAMFNI'ARY REFRESHMENT ROOMS
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This Budget for 1990-91 faces this head on. We have taken the hard decisions. We have made the extremely difficult but essential decisions on major business asset sales. We have increased taxes in a responsible way. We have cut back the public sector. We have tackled debt management in a more forceful way than any Victorian government in the past 35 years. It is a tough Budget for tough times, but the bottom line is that it will put Victoria on a realistic path to prosperity. I commend the Budget to the House. Debate adjourned on motion of Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton). Debate adjourned until Tuesday, 11 September.
PARLIAMENTARY REFRESHMENT ROOMS The SPEAKER-Order! The dining facilities at Parliament House provide an invaluable service for honourable members, staff and others whose duties require them to work at the building. These facilities are under the statutory control of the Joint House Committee on behalf of Parliament. The availability of dining facili ties enables honourable members and staff to have meals and snacks without leaving the building while Parliament is in session and during meal breaks. This enables those people to remain available for urgent recall, such as for divisions if Parliament is sitting, and reduces the likelihood of absence due to delays at restaurants away from the building. Meals and refreshments have been available with excellent service to meet the need for large numbers of meals to be served within short periods and subject to widely fluctuating and often unpredicted demand. Quality and price have been comparable with those expected at other establishments catering for similar levels of service. The salaries and wages incurred in respect of dining facilities have traditionally been subsidised from the Consolidated Fund. The level of subsidy was reduced in 1989-90 from 100 per cent to approximately 80 per cent of the costs of associated wages and salaries, and it became obvious over the past few weeks that there would be a substantial further reduction in this year's Budget Reference to the Budget delivered today indicates that the subsidy has been reduced by more that half to $207 900. The Auditor-General has also made strong comment on major deficiencies in the operation of the dining rooms in reporting to Parliament. The Auditor-General has highlighted issues including outstanding payments due by customers. In 1989 the House Committee commissioned a report by Keith Byron, a highly qualified catering industry consultant who is a former head of department at the William Angliss College, President of the Australian Society of Chefs and Cooks Associations (Inc.) and Regional Manager of Spotless Catering Services Ltd. His report made sweeping recommendations for reform of the operations of the dining facilities. The report has been closely examined by the catering subcommittee of the House Committee which considered a range of options in consultation with the catering manager. Only two PARUAMENrARY REFRESHMENr ROOMS
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 43 approaches proved viable, and the subcommittee prepared detailed reCommendations for implementation of the preferred approach. The House Committee considered the recommendations of the catering subcommittee with both the reports I have mentioned and the present difficult budgetary situation in mind. The committee regretfully made a number of decisions which, although unpalatable, were absolutely necessary to meet the demands of the Budget, place the dining facilities on a more financially viable footing, maintain the best possible range of services in the circumstance-and in some respects broaden them-and make major improvements in the economy and efficiency of this aspect of Parliament's operations. The entire first floor dining area will provide an Ala carte service for members, their spouses, staff, permanent passholders and their guests. Advance bookings will be requested. A full range of meals will be available at weekday lunchtimes and at dinner when Parliament is scheduled to sit after dinner. Bistro-style self-service meals will be available in the second floor dining room for members, staff and permanent passholders. Second floor bistro service will also be available at weekday lunchtimes and from 6.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. on sitting Wednesdays and on other days when Parliament is scheduled to sit after dinner. Appropriate areas will be set aside for members of Parliament requiring to dine separately. On sitting nights supper will be available at an appropriate charge after 8.30 p.m. in the second floor dining room. Salad, fruit, tea, coffee and biscuits with meals will no longer be included in the price of main courses but will be available at an appropriate charge. Morning and afternoon teas will be available in the corridor of the first floor dining room. Prices of all food and drinks will be adjusted to enable the dining facilities to operate profitably within the Budget allocation. Naturally, prices in the second floor dining room will be lower than for A la carte service, to reflect the costs of bistro-style service. Overall there will be a 4 per cent net income on sales and no restriction on the gross profit margin. Credit facilities will be withdrawn should an account be outstanding in excess of 60 days, and arrangements will be made to enable amounts outstanding for more than 30 days to be deducted from salary payments. The arrangements will come into operation on Wednesday, 29 August. The House Committee does not expect the new arrangements to be greeted with the acclamation of members. However, in the view of the committee, the decision was infinitely better than the alternative option which was to close the dining rooms. Mr KENNETT (Burwood)-On a point of order, Mr Speaker, I ask whether your statement can be debated by the House. I have no objection to the increase in prices. Given your recent public statements I think there will be very real erosion in the ability of members on all sides of this House to do their work in confidence if the room where they currently dine is not retained exclusively for members. I do not think it is a matter of this side, the government side or the corner benches being involved on a political basis. You have always said, Mr Speaker, that the running of this House is in the hands of Parliament We accept the removal of the subsidy and the relevant increases in prices, but I suggest that this House should not deny itself the opportunity of being able to eat privately without being overheard or witnessed by people other than the duly elected representatives in this Parliament and some of the table officers. PARLIAMENIARY REFRESHMENI ROOMS
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Given that you have indicated that these arrangements will come into force tomorrow, I ask that you immediately review the change of usage of the current members' dining room; and, if not, I suggest that your statement be taken into account forthwith to allow honourable members to decide on the matter. The SPEAKER-Order! Before dealing with the point of order, it is important that I repeat a point that was made in the statement because it seems to be central to the point of order raised by the honourable member for Burwood. That sentence reads: Appropriate areas will be set aside for members of Parliament requiring to dine separately. In respect of the point of order which asked what opportunity there would be for the House to consider the statement, that would require a motion to be before the Chair. Such a motion could be debated at this stage of the proceedings only by leave. Mr KENNETT-With the pennission of the Premier and the Treasurer I seek to move, by leave, that this House takes note of your statement and debates only that point that relates to the location for dining of members of this Parliament. It is important that this be resolved today because, if the new arrangements are put into place tomorrow, based on past history debate on your statement will not happen. I ask the Premier to give Parliament leave now to resolve this one issue. I ask that all members on all sides of the House recognise that this is not a political matter; it is a matter about the way we conduct our affairs in this place. The SPEAKER-Order! If the honourable member wishes to proceed in this manner it would be more appropriate to have a simplified motion such as that this House take note of the statement. That would enable any matters relevant to the statement to be canvassed. If the honourable member wishes to seek leave for such a motion I now invite him to do so. Mr KENNETT-By leave, I move: That this House takes note of Mr Speaker's statement That way, Mr Speaker, the matter can be dealt with quickly. All honourable members must be prepared to accept the reduction in finances that are available across the State. If that means that some of the services of this Parliament have to be reduced or charges have to go up as a result of subsidies being reduced, then so be it The Treasurer, in his Budget speech, clearly stated that we must set an example. I am not directing my comments towards cost factors but towards the importance of the duly elected members of Parliament and the table officers being able to dine in an area that is set aside exclusively for them. I know of no other Parliament in Australia where the same sort of proposal is being recommended. We will be a laughing-stock if visiting members of other Parliaments find themselves in a general area. As I understand the arrangements, it is suggested that an appropriate area be made available for members on the second floor. Ifthat is in the existing main dining room, obviously it will be in an area partioned off in a larger area that will have to be shared with other members of either the public or the staff. We all know that, even though we have our political differences in here from time to time, it is important in the conduct of the work of the public that we can meet and deliberate in one area privately and confidentially. If the room referred to is the smaller dining room, obviously it will be too small to meet the needs of all Parliamentarians in this Chamber and in the other place. I simply suggest that honourable members accept the broad terms of your submission, Mr Speaker, based on the PARLIAMENTARY REFRESHMENT ROOMS
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 45 recommendations of the House Committee, but I strongly ask the House to:endorse my plea that the existing dining room continues to remain available to members. If members wish to pay for a silver service, obviously they can do so; if they want a cheaper meal, they can go upstairs; but if you want to increase the area available for a silver service so as to increase the revenue of this place during sitting weeks, that can be done in the upstairs dining room. When Parliament is not sitting at night perhaps, Mc Speaker, you can open up the area at present available that is not available to honourable members anyway. As in the past, it is imperative that that area should remain, not because honourable members seek a club environment but because we seek an area of Parliament where we can have some moments away from the public glare that obviously we are placed under here; it must be a place where honourable members can meet to have meals and to prepare for further Parliamentary proceedings. I am sure that if Parliament accepts my submission it will in no way affect the rigours that have been imposed upon us as Parliamentarians because of the government's budgetary approach. We accept those rigours. This subject is one on which commonsense should prevail. I ask honourable members on both sides of the House to consider the issue as not political. My suggestions will ensure the ongoing efficient operations of Parliament. Mr McNAMARA (Leader of the National Party)-I support the comments of the honourable member for Burwood. He stated the position very clearly, certainly so far as the National Party is concerned. My party has no objection to raising the cost of meals to a level that reflects a full cost recovery over a period. The Treasurer quite properly has set that matter in train. Like every Parliament in Australia, the Victorian Parliament has traditionally had certain areas in Parliament House where honourable members have had the opportunity of meeting to discuss matters without being in view of or being interrupted by people from outside Parliament. In my time in Parliament the dining room has been one venue where members of my party have discussed matters and have brought ourselves up to date, for instance, on what is happening in the other place; likewise, that facility has been used for members of the National Party in the other place to be fully informed on an hourly basis about what is happening in this Chamber. It is very important that honourable members retain that right. Time and again you, Mr Speaker, have said that this is a House that is provided for the members; certainly the refreshment rooms facility-that small area of privacy-should be totally retained in its present form irrespective of the cost of meals. My party accepts the notion of full cost recovery. This morning the National Party advised you by letter of its views and clearly stated the unanimity of National Party members. This morning while I was in the chair at the coalition meeting a similar motion was passed. Mr Crabb-Did you get in the chair? You must be the deputy! Mr McNAMARA-I was in the chair in the absence of the Leader and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. A similar motion was passed. I did not detect any member expressing opposition to the view. Honourable members on this side advise me that the motion was passed unanimously. The strong view was that cost was not of concern to any member in the opposition parties; however, access to a venue with a degree of privacy, in which a member can operate as a member of this place, to discuss matters relevant to their representation in this and another place was a key point of discussion. Parliament must examine more of the fundamental issues concerning the operation of the House. If the cost of running the House is of concern, other measures need proper PARLlAMENIARY REFRESHMENI' ROOMS
46 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 investigation. I need not make a public statement but you, Mr Speaker, well know that about twelve months ago matters that required serious investigation arose. Mr Maclellan interjected. Mr McNAMARA-As the honourable member for Berwick said, there are possible criminal actions. Those matters have not been satisfactorily resolved. That area should be further pursued and Parliament needs to examine operations concerned with the management of the affairs of this place. You, Mr Speaker, as the principal officer-effectively the Ministerial head of this department of Parliament-have a responsibility and an accountability to members of Parliament for the operation and perfonnance of this section of government administration. A number of issues must be examined concerning a broad range of Parliamentary management issues so that Parliament may be more efficiently administered. Such consideration may even go to the provision of catering selVices as an alternative measure to the provision of meals in this House. None of those matters has been seriously canvassed with members in Parliament and, certainly, they are matters that have not been raised with Parliamentary Leaders. I am aware that the matter of dining room operations has been raised by members of the House Committee on which all parties are represented but many senior members in this place have found out about the proposals only in recent days. There must be a better system of communication so that other matters are not dropped on us, as has happened today. Then honourable members from the front benches to the back benches must have the opportunity of having some input. That has not happened on this occasion. Honourable members are annoyed at the fashion and manner in which this advice has been given to them. Mr NORRIS (Dandenong)--I address my remarks to the point at issue, namely the separate dining room facilities for members. I am a member of the House Committee that has discussed this matter over many meetings with representatives of all political parties. On many occasions the privacy of honourable members has been discussed. I take the point made by the honourable member for Burwood, and supported by the Leader of the National Party, that when dining on many occasions many members do not want to be hassled or lobbied by outsiders. Certainly that feeling was very evident in discussions of the House Committee. I have not visited the new Parliament House in Canberra but I understand that there are no separate dining facilities for members. Honourable members interjecting. Mr NORRIS-I am prepared to stand corrected on that There are no separate facilities for members to dine alone but I understand that alterations will be made there following an experiment, and I understand that $700 000 for Chinese screens became an issue there. The measure here is for a trial period, and for this sessional period. Honourable members interjecting. Mr NORRIS-It is up to the House Committee, upon which all parties have representation. It is not a government fait accompli; it is a House Committee that is representative of all parties in this Parliament. The measure will be for a trial period. However, ifthere is to be a bistro or calVery on the second floor many members will probably use that facility rather. than the sit-down silver selVice dining room facility on the first floor. P~AMENTARYREFRESHMENTROOMS
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If honourable members insist on retaining the current dining facilities o:n the first floor of Parliament House for members only they will be able to shoot stags in the back stalls because not many of us will dine in the large members' dining room that is there at present I suggest a reconsideration of the matter. It has been stated that separate facilities will be provided for members in the bistro area on the second floor. I suggest honourable members should consider the provision of separate facilities in the current members' dining room for members only, but not the entire floor. Mr Richardson-Why not? Mr NORRIS-Because the area would be wasted as many honourable members will use the second floor facility. The proposed arrangement for the first floor offers the opportunity for spouses to bring their friends in for meals. It opens up the facilities to all sorts of people to dine there. That is surely an advantage. The Opposition wants to deny those people the privilege of having a silver service, It la carte meal in pleasant surroundings. If they insist on retaining the entire floor for members only dining, they will be denying other people that opportunity. I suggest the Opposition reconsider the arrangements and consider dividing the dining area on the first floor so that part of the area is screened off for members only with the remaining area being a dining room available for It la carte bookings by current permanent passholders, members' spouses and so forth. Honourable members may not want to be bothered by outsiders but I suggest the House Committee consider that suggestion, allowing a compromise position for this session only. Mr LEIGH (Malvem}-The honourable member for Dandenong was not in the dining room today; ifhe had been he would have noticed that it was full. He is backtracking slightly by saying that a partition should be put up in the members' dining room. I accept what the Speaker has said about the principles of the Westminster tradition and the roles of members of Parliament. This building provides several areas for use by members only. One of those is an area in the Library and last year the bureaucrats in this place attempted to seize that area from members. They wanted prior rights in there as well. The other room is the dining room. The only other areas that are for members only are the members' offices which most members, unless they are Ministers, Leaders or Whips, share. There are only two or three places in this building where members of Parliament can be with each other, their colleagues. It does not seem too much to ask to request that those facilities be retained in the circumstances. No-one has criticised the fact that the meals will no longer be subsidised. I have no problem accepting that change. I was interested in the comments of the Leader of the National Party and would like to know why certain people were not pursued for the payment of their outstanding accounts. If more space needs to be made available in the building, some of the bureaucrats should be sent across the road to Treasury Place. For heaven's sake, this building is part of the democratic process, the Parliament of the people, and surely one of the prerequisites is that members of Parliament have somewhere to go and talk to each other during mealtime. It is the only time when many of us can talk to our Upper House colleagues because at other times we are involved in our electorates and have few opportunities of communicating with each other. That comment is not made only by Liberal Party members. National Party and Labor Party members have the same problem. Members of the Labor Party are as interested in this issue as Opposition members. The tragedy is that, once again, executive government has pushed something onto Parliament. The government has said, "This is what you are going to get; it's tough; it's too bad; you figure it out". It is an outrage that the executive is prepared to abuse our democratic system. The Kirner government ought to be ashamed of itself. PARUAMENI'ARY REFRESHMENI' ROOMS
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In conclusion, members of Parliament should have been consulted about the proposed changes. The government Whip is laughing but if she bothered to talk to other Labor Party members she would find that they are not laughing and that they are just as concerned about the issue as I am. This place belongs to the people of Victoria not executive government. Members of Parliament, collectively, should have been consulted so that we could make a decision and not be faced with a decision made by a small group of executives and certain members who represent each party. The SPEAKER-Order! Before calling the next speaker, I wish to clarify a misapprehension that seemed to be evident in the remarks of the honourable member for Malvern. The decisions that I announced today are decisions that were made by the House Committee, without outside influence, as a consequence of the budgetary situation in which Parliament finds itself. Mr I. W. SMITH (Polwarth)-I move: That the following words be added to the motion: "but requires Mr Speaker to take steps to preserve and retain the existing ftrst floor dining arrangements". Unless the motion is fonnally amended in that way, the House does not have the opportunity of expressing itself and taking any decision contrary to the decisions announced in the statement. It is clear from the comments that have been made that many honourable members do not favour the arrangements the House Committee has decided upon and which have been announced this evening. It is not a question of members wanting a subsidised meal service. No-one has spoken, nor will they speak, in favour of a subsidised service; rather, members are expressing their wish to retain the existing dining arrangements where, in meeting our busy schedules, we have the opportunity of sitting with our colleagues away from pressures and interruption by other people who are not elected representatives. There are times when the House is in session and there are places outside Parliament House where, if one wishes to have the company of others, arrangements can be made to do so, but most members do not choose that course of action. They choose, for obvious reasons, to dine among themselves, with their colleagues, and to share experiences and to make plans for whatever it is that they have on their minds in providing a service to their constituents and carrying out their Parliamentary duties, and a meal time is an excellent time for that to occur. It seems to me and the majority of members that it is practical and reasonable to maintain those arrangements, although it may cost us more to do so. By moving the amendment to the motion moved by the honourable member for Burwood, I have given Parliament the opportunity of making that decision. Mr PLOWMAN (Evelyn)-I second the amendment moved by the honourable member for Polwarth. It is extraordinary that this proposition has been brought to the House as a fait accompli in this statement, which has been presented by the Chair and which gives an indication of the deliberations of the House Committee. The nonnal procedure in this House is that the House Committee, the Standing Orders Committee or any other committee of the Parliament makes a report to Parliament, and if it thinks fit, Parliament then acts on the report through debate on a motion moved by the Leader of the House. To present a fait accompli to Parliament is the wrong way of approaching this matter. I am not saying that we do not have to face financial strictures in the current economic climate. I am not arguing whether·what the House Committee has said is right or wrong, but I strongly PARLIAMENTARY REFRESHMENT ROOMS
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 49 support the ongoing right of honourable members to enjoy dining on their own if they so choose-and I believe the vast majority of honourable members of this place would so choose. I make two points: firstly, if the House Committee is to make a report to Parliament, it should not present a fait accompli-as it has done with this report that you, Mr Speaker, have presented-about what should happen as from tomorrow. Such a report should be presented to Parliament in the normal way that other Parliamentary committees present their reports. Parliament should be able to decide what action to make on such reports as it sees fit. Secondly, from time to time there is much tension in this place between opposing parties, and one area where the barriers can be broken down and a camaraderie developed is in the relaxing atmosphere of the dining room, where honourable members do not have minders, staff or press leaning over their shoulders. I strongly support the amendment to the motion. I should like you, Sir, to consider carefully the procedure by which this report has been presented to the House. I believe you should reconsider the position, withdraw the report and ask the House Committee to present a report to Parliament in the normal manner, at which time Parliament can determine the matter properly, as it would be expected to do. Mr CRABB (Minister for Tourism)--I move: That the debate be now adjourned. There are a number of technical difficulties in determining how the House should proceed with this matter, not the least of which is the fact that the House Commi ttee, of whose decision you have made the House aware, Mr Speaker, is not a committee of the Legislative Assembly only but is a joint committee of both Houses of Parliament. Therefore, I do not believe it is directly within the capacity of the Assembly to accept or reject a report of or even give a term of reference to the House Committee. That would need to be done by both Houses. I have not quite worked out the technical or procedural difficulties because, in the time that I have been a member of this place, honourable members have always accepted whatever the House Committee has put to them from time to time, and that has occurred on a few occasions. However, it is fair to say that there is a general unease among honourable members about these changes. Given the other weighty matters on the agenda, it seems to me more appropriate that the debate on this matter be adjourned so that you, Mr Speaker, can have the opportunity of conferring wi th the President of the Legislative Council and hence working out a way of proceeding with this matter in a way that is more acceptable to members of the Legislative Assembly; and ifmembers of the Council share the views ofhonourable members in this place, it may well be necessary for some other procedure to be adopted. Mr Gude interjected. Mr CRABB---I am not on the House Committee. The two Houses of Parliament have delegated to the House Committee the responsibility to do whatever it does in working out how much a pot of beer will cost and so on. The reality is that the Assembly does not have the capacity to detennine what happens in the dining rooms in that it is a joint committee comprising representatives of both Houses. I am not keen on the idea of organiSing a joint sitting of Parliament within the next 5 minutes; that would be going a little overboard on this issue. To achieve a balance on this matter, as people have had an opportunity of expressing their views, it would be appropriate to adjourn the debate at this time. Mr Plowrnan-And for the status quo to remain. LAND (IOOF)BIIL
50 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
Mr CRABB-I do not recall the House Committee changing anything as quicldy as that in the past, particularly during the term as Speaker of the honourable member for Evelyn. I am not sure about the point the honourable member raises. Motion agreed to and debate adjourned. Debate adjourned until next day.
LAND (IOOF) BILL Second reading Order of the Day read for resumption of debate. The SPEAKER-Order! I have examined this Bill and am of the opinion that it is a private Bill. Mr CRABB (Minister for Conservation and Environment}-By leave, I move:
That this Bill be treated as a public Bill and that fees be dispensed with. Motion agreed to. Debate resumed from 29 May; motion ofMr CRABB (Minister for Conservation and Environment). Mr COLEMAN (Syndal)-The Land (lOOF) Bill concerns the removal of a permanent reservation under Crown grant over some land at 380 Russell Street, Melbourne. The Independent Order of Oddfellows, for which the grant was made in 1878, was established to assist Melburnians by providing a range of services. The grant was initially made for an asylum and a hall. 1be subsequent use of the site necessitated legislative change in 1930, which occurred through the Oddfellows Hall (Melbourne) Land Act, to accommodate uses other than that for which the grant was originally made. At present the IOOF has an office complex on the site and a building which is occupied, as I understand it, by the Emily McPherson College. The IOOF wishes to have the grant revoked and the ability to enter into a Crown leasing arrangement to enable it to make better use of the site. This would enable the IOOF to bring the site into its accounts and give it capacity to charge for use of the site. The Opposition supports the Bill. Mr EVANS (Gippsland East)-The Bill deals with a small area of land that has been under the jurisdiction of the Independent Order of Oddfellows, as was outlined by the honourable member for Syndal. The National Party has examined the Bill and has no objection to it. Mr CRABB (Minister for Conservation and Environment}-I thank honourable members for their support. Motion agreed to. Read a second time. Passed remaining stages. BREAD INDUSTRY (REPEAL) BIU
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 51 BREAD INDUSTRY (REPEAL) BILL Second reading Debate resumed from 15 May; motion of Mr POPE (Minister for Labour). Mr GUDE (Hawthom}-I simply outline that I wish to propose amendments during the Committee stage. Mr CRABB (Minister for Tourism}-I welcome the Bill because, having once had the responsibility of what was then known as the Department of Labour and Industry, I was also responsible for this intriguing piece of proposed legislation which, for reasons that are hard to fathom, made it a crime against the State to cart bread for more than 48 kilometres-it used to be 30 miles-unless one had a special permit. I recall one case directed to my attention regarding a bakery at Swifts Creek, about which the honourable member for Gippsland East would be aware. The bakery had closed down and there was no bread in the place so an exemption was given for another bakery to deliver bread to Swifis Creek. Some years later, 10 and behold, a guy reopened the bakery at Swifts Creek and objected to the permit for the other bakery to deliver bread. In another case doctors in Geelong were advising their patients who had dermatological problems to buy an allergy-free bread to avoid allergies. The bread was baked in Ferntree Gully and therefore they were criminal loaves of bread when they arrived in Geelong. Although the Bread Industry Act may have had some value when it was originally promulgated at a time when different transport and industry arrangements existed, it is a long-outdated piece of legislation and it should have been repealed some time ago. I am sure people in country Victoria can make arrangements to accommodate adequately the problems. Another case I remember involved a fast food chain with franchises across the State, which wanted to have a standard-size hamburger bun. The Bread Industry Act prevented the chain from delivering standard-size hamburger buns to its various outlets throughout Victoria and it had to obtain an exemption. Mr EVANS (Gippsland East}-The Bread Industry Act has been around for some 30 years. Before I became a member of this place I remember the consternation that was created among country bakeries with the advent of mass-produced bread and the establishment of factories in the metropolitan area making inroads on their businesses. The decision to introduce the Bread Industry Act obviousl y caused a great deal of controversy. It was decided that a 30-mile limit would be placed on the distances over which bread could be delivered from the point it was baked, and that led to a number of large bakeries being established throughout rural areas. The Act has been a rearguard action to try to protect the traditional country bakery from the onset of competition from large bakeries. It is a matter of one's philosophy as to whether it is good or bad to protect country bakeries; it has its advantages and disadvantages. The Minister for Tourism referred to the situation at Swifis Creek. In another case a bakery at Omeo had for years been under the protection of the Act and there had been a number of complaints from local people that the quality of the bread was not up to standard. Some country bakeries have sheltered behind the protection the Act has offered them. It was certainly difficult to arrive at a compromise that would protect the small country baker without giving him a monopoly. One of the difficulties that arose-this refers particularly to the Swifts Creek bakery referred to earlier by the Minister for Tourism-is that many small country bakers persisted with home deliveries for many years after the advent of BREAD INDUSTRY (REPEAL) BIU
52 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 mass-produced bread. Some honourable members may not remember when bread, meat, groceries and many other products were delivered to the home. The Bread Industry Act was designed to protect that service. Farmers who live 4 or 5 kilometres from their local town would have to travel a long way to obtain their bread, and that commodity would prove to be expensive if the cost of transportation were added to the cost of the bread. One of the main reasons for the implementation of the Act was to protect the home delivery services provided by country bakeries. Mass production bakeries were designed to deliver vast quantities of bread to supermarkets that were being built approximately 30 years ago, with the idea that a person wanting to purchase fresh bread would go to the supermarket. The bread was not priced to cover the cost of putting it on the kitchen table. Nevertheless, over the years other factors have changed the practices of country people. For instance, many people now have deep freezers, and they buy their week's supply of bread and put it in the deep freezer. That facility was not available in the days when the legislation was first introduced. The National Party believes there is still a need to protect the country baker. Bakeries provide employment and are a resource when emergencies arise such as fires, floods and so on, when the normal transport arrangements are disrupted and it is important that bread is available to remote communities. The provision in the Act should be maintained, even though there are not the same reasons as were behind the original legislation. The National Party believes the provisions of the current legislation still have a role to play and for that reason it opposes the Bill. Mr JOHN (Bendigo East}-The Bread Industry (Repeal) Bill is a devious Bill because it is not genuinely about deregulation of the industry. Honourable members have heard a lot of rhetoric about deregulation of the bread industry and deregulation generally from mem hers of the government. The introduction of the Bill is a devious attempt to increase union power in large bakeries in the metropolitan area that are owned by multinational companies and not controlled by Victorians or Australians. I have in my electorate a number of bakeries including Bake House Bread, which is owned by Roy Raggatt Pty Ltd. I received a letter date 19 May 1989 from the manager of that company, Mr Ken B~ard. Among other things Mr Barnard says: The suggestion is made that people in the country are obliged to pay more for their bread than those in metropolitan areas. I can assure you that our bread would probably be purchased in Bendjgo for the lowest prices within the State. We are possibly the only bakery in the State to still \Dldertake home deliveries. Certainly not a profitable practice, but purely to keep faith with many very elderly folk who have patronised us for many years. Our company has invested a large amO\Dlt of capital, centralising its bakery operations in Bendigo to conform with the current Act of operating within a 48.3 km radius. No doubt if this rule is changed the multinational companies will move into the area. therefore disadvantaging local manufacturers. Roy Raggatt Pty Ltd employs approximately 50 people in the Bendigo region. It is associated with another company that operates a flour mill at Bridgewater, Waterwheels Hounnills Pty Ltd, which employs approximately 80 people; so I am talking of a lot of jobs in regional Victoria. I am concerned that those jobs may be lost in a price war resulting from unfair competition and price subsidies by large multinational companies that can afford to keep the price below the cost of manufacture to kill off competition. Although I completely favour deregulation of industry, this Bill is not a genuine attempt at deregulation because the bread industry has a highly regulated labour market. Victoria or Australia does not have adequate anti-monopoly CO-OPERATWES BIU
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 53 legislation and there are many examples of large multinational companies overcoming competition by unfair means; in other words, there is not a level playing field in this industry. If there were a level playing field-anti-monopoly legislation and a deregulated labour market-I would totally support the deregulation of the bread industry. Until that occurs I cannot support the Bill, especially as it would result in severe job losses in the area that I represent Debate adjourned on motion of Mr SEITZ (Keilor). Debate adjourned until later this day.
CO-OPERATIVES BILL Second reading Order of the Day read for resumption of debate. The SPEAKER-Order! I am of the opinion that the second reading of this Bill requires to be passed by an absolute majority. Debate resumed from 28 March; motion of Mr McCUTCHEON (then Attorney-General). Mr GUDE (Hawthom)-The Co-operatives Bill relates to the formation of cooperatives and the types of cooperatives, and was introduced by the government in the last sessional period. The Bill provides for the registration of cooperatives and obliges the registrar of building societies, cooperative housing societies and cooperative societies to register cooperatives once he is satisfied with certain licence criteria and prescribed procedures for the registration of bodies corporate. The proposed legislation sets out prescribed records, the duties of the registrar and the documents required to be kept by cooperatives on behalf of those people who are involved in this area. The role of cooperatives in Victoria is important because of the responsibilities they have in facilitating the savings opportunities of their members so that they may enhance their quality of living. It is important that legislation is appropriate and takes account of all of the various matters that relate to and can have an effect on members' savings. The proposed legislation places stringent responsibilities on the directors of cooperatives. We have seen in Victoria and throughout Australia that companies and organisations managing financial affairs do, from time to time, need to have the duties and responsibilities of directors clearly spelt out. The proposed legislation substantially amends that area. Part 6 provides for the active membership. Clause 70 amends the main purposes and prohibits the making of loans and the taking of deposits as the primary objects of a cooperative. These amendments are made to protect the interests of cooperative members and also to ensure that cooperatives are run in a responsible and serious manner. Significant changes are made to the provision of accounts, the maintaining of accounts and the auditing ofthose accounts. Subject to exemption by the registrar Part VI of the Companies (Victoria) Code applies such modification. This is another example of the way the government is applying the provisions of company law more closely to cooperatives. The Bill provides a qualified privilege for the auditor and that is a responsible and sensible course because of the special position of responsibility and accountability and the role of protector that an auditor of any books of account, whether it be a cooperative or a private CO-OPERATWES BIU
54 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 company, takes. It is important that an auditor is properly placed and well qualified to carry out that function. The Bill provides also that at least fourteen days before the day on which the annual general meeting of the cooperative is to be held the cooperative must lodge an annual return in the prescribed fonn with the registrar. This again demonstrates the accountability of the process. This provision should be supported by those who have an interest in the preparation of accounts. The Bill provides a procedure by which cooperatives may make application for a merger. That is an important provision when one takes account of the difficulties that may be confronted by major financial institutions and the benefit that often accrues from a merging of interests which will ultimately protect the investment of those who have deposited funds with the cooperatives. It makes good sense that there has been a change in this area. Part 8 provides that where a registrar is satisfied that the cooperatives have complied with clause 89 and that the new rules are adequate the registrar must register as one cooperative those cooperatives which have merged. That is a sensible course to follow. Clause 91 provides for the issuing of a certificate for a merger. The Bill provides for government guarantees in Part 10. Amendments to those provisions are contained in clause 107 which provides for the prerequisites for a cooperative obtaining a loan which has a government guarantee. It is important when the investment of individuals is sought that it is safeguarded. In the case of cooperatives the moneys tend in large measure to be the inveSbnents of-for want of a better tenn-the little people or ordinary decent folk who are seeking to put aside money for future purposes and to borrow against those moneys in a collective sense. The proposed legislation sets out a new procedure for the registration of a foreign cooperative. It stipulates that a foreign cooperative must establish a principal office in Victoria and it must notify the registrar of that office and the address of its agents. In this way the registrar will be aware of precisely what is taking place because of the reporting procedures so that adequate control can be maintained over the functions of cooperatives. That is an essential process and I hope the measure will be adhered to strenuously by those entrusted with this responsibility. Administrative changes are contained in clause 119, which establishes the Victorian Co-operatives Council. The council will advise the Minister on the promotion, integration and development of the cooperative sector and of the effect of government policies, activities and developments on the cooperative sector as well as any other matter that might be specified. The establishment of the council to advise the government and the registrar is important. The council also has the responsibility of making recommendations to the Minister and the registrar on matters relating to the operation of cooperatives. When other people's money is being dealt with one cannot too strenuously recognise the significance and importance of good advice to government. The Bill amends the membership of the council which is to consist of thirteen members appointed by the Minister, including the registrar or a person nominated by the registrar; a person nominated by the Treasurer; five persons to be nominated by the Minister from a panel of nine names submitted by bodies representative of the cooperative movement at the invitation of the Minister; three are to be members of the cooperatives and three are to be persons nominated by the Minister as appropriate to the cooperative area. When one examines the structure of the council, one will observe the way those members are appointed by the Minister. Responsibility is placed on the Minister to be careful in his selection of those council members because ultimately accountability for the final performance of cooperatives in Victoria will rest with the Minister. The council will be CO-OPERATWES BIU
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 55 l advising the Minister and if the advice is not good the Minister would then only have himself-or herself if there is a change of Minister-to blame. The way the appointments are made certainly does place some onus on the Minister in this regard. The Bill contains a number of miscellaneous provisions. I note that clause 135 makes it an offence to destroy, mutilate, alter or falsify books or records. When one thinks about it, one can only support such an amendment. I recall the process of cover-up and charade that went on with respect to the destruction of records by certain persons involved in the Youth Guarantee scheme and caused great pain and anguish to the government, as it rightly should. We would not want to see that circumstance apply to credit cooperative financing. The Bill makes it an offence to make false or misleading statements in any document required under the Bill and one could not argue with that provision. As I went through the Bill-at very short notice-it seemed to me that there were an enormous number of deficiencies or areas that had required improvement and which led to the introduction of this 90-page Bill dealing with credit cooperatives. One really has to question whether it has all been necessary. However, I am aware that the Minister has had numerous discussions with the industry and that it also wanted changes and improvements made. With those remarks I trust that the Bill in its current or ultimately amended form has a successful passage through Parliament and that it brings for the cooperative movement the sort of result that all decent Victorians would want to see: a secure, sensibly run, well administered, efficient cooperative system in this State.
Mr MA THEWS (Oakleigh~The government, and I believe the cooperative movement, welcomes very warmly indeed the wholehearted support for the Bill that has been expressed by the honourable member for Hawthorn on behalf of the Opposition. Honourable members heard an appropriate contribution from the honourable member for Hawthorn and I believe it will be widely hoped that spirit of cooperation will characterise debate on the measure at all stages in both Houses of Parliament. I should emphasise at the outset that the Bill is the product of one of the most thorough consultative processes on record. It is now eight years since the then Minister of Housing, the former honourable member for Carrum, the Honourable Ian Cathie, set up a Ministerial AdviSOry Committee on Cooperatives and gave it four areas of responsibility. Firstly, that the committee should examine and report upon all aspects of the cooperative sector in Victoria and bring forward recommendations through which that sector could be revitalised, brought into tune with contemporary conditions and enabled to achieve the sort of contribution to the well-being of this society that many of us have for a very long time supposed was within its capacity.
Secondly, that there should be new cooperatives legislation brought forward, strengthening those parts of the old Act that were good and remedying the deficiencies that have been identified over the years. Thirdly, that there should be established, initially under the auspices of the then Ministry of Housing and later within the sphere of the Attorney-General, a cooperative development unit that would be able to interact effectively with the independent and autonomous cooperative sector to ensure that the needs perceived by that sector were met in every respect without government at any time intruding on the independence and autonomy of the cooperative sector. Finally, that we should in due course bring forward new legislation providing a charter for the credit cooperatives which are such an integral part of the cooperative sector and which potentially have so much to contribute to the development of that sector. CO-OPERATWES BIU
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I want to put on record this evening the appreciation of the government towards the number of people whose efforts are behind the fact that this Bill comes before the House, in so comprehensive a form-as has already been noted by the honourable member for Hawthorn-and with the square and wholehearted support of all sectors of the cooperative sector, both in this State and nationally. It is fair to say that this is trailblazing, pathfmding proposed legislation that is being watched with the closest attention both in other States and in countries outside Australia through affiliates of the International Co-operative Alliance, which represents national organisations of cooperatives around the world. The list of people I want to single out for acknowledgment is far from exhaustive: first and foremost I mention the Honourable lan Cathie himself, who took the initiative of setting up the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Cooperatives; secondly, my predecessors and chairmen of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Cooperatives, the Honourable Andrew McCutcheon and the Honourable Barry Pullen in another place; two registrars who have served during the currency of the work of the committee, Mr Bill Kilpatrick, and the current registrar, David La Franchi; representatives of the Australian Association of Cooperatives Lld, Brian Macintosh, Tony Gill and Bill Rawlinson; and representatives of the Australian Federation of Credit Unions, David Dennings, Bill Meares and Tim Dyce. Having placed on record the appreciation of the government for the work of those contributors to the proposed legislation I should like to say something about the potential that cooperation has for contributing to the well-being of this State of all Victorians. In so doing I emphasise the importance to members of Parliament of the opportunities of travelling to other countries, through Commonwealth Parliamentary Association overseas study tours, to see what countries comparable with Australia are achieving in fields like cooperatives. After all, in Australia the predominantly successful forms of cooperation have been the great agricultural cooperatives which have contributed so greatly to the well-being of various primary industries and continue to do so. I am not talking just of the dairying cooperatives, although they spring most readily to mind, but one should also keep in mind rural cooperatives across the entire field of primary production in Australia. A huge development has taken place, in addition, among credit cooperatives in Australia since the early 1950s when they were first introduced. This was done to give ordinary Australians access to consumer credit on a·basis more favourable than was available to them through the hire purchase and finance companies of the time. However, in noting the success of agricultural cooperatives and credit cooperatives in Australia we need to be aware that the potential of cooperation ranges far beyond those two relatively restricted fields. I shall refer to four examples as I have had the opportunity of observing them, largely through the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association overseas study tour arrangements that are made available to honourable members. Last year I was fortunate, in the first instance, to travel on a study tour to Canada, and in particular to Toronto, where the principles of cooperation are being used for the provision of a standard of housing of which we simply do not dream in this country. I refer to the large rental housing developments which have been provided by housing cooperatives for the people of Toronto. Each tenant is an equal co-owner of the development in which his or her home is situated and he or she exercises an equal say in the management of that development The person shares equally in meeting the costs, and shares also in the benefits both in economy and in the quality of housing which flow from the arrangements in force. I saw rental housing cooperatives in Toronto that met the government's requirement that at least 25 per cent of the members of any cooperative should be in receipt of incomes low enough to qualify them for government rental assistance. A social mix was being achieved, where those people were able to live successfully, interact successfully and share in the governance CO-OPERATWES BIU
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 57 of the housing they occupied with people whose incomes range up to and beyond $100 000 per annum. These developments reflected, in every respect, everything for which ordinary decent families could hope in the housing sphere. How very much we could achieve in this country if we more widely applied these cooperative principles to the provision of rental housing for the unprecedentedly large numbers of people currently in need of housing. I move from Canada to Great Britain, which has one of the largest retail cooperative developments in the world. A large percentage of British people are still members of the retail cooperative and are accustomed to the notion of doing their week-by-week shopping from "Co-op" stores in their local communities. These people receive, at the end of each financial year, a rebate or dividend on their purchases over that period. They are businesses which, in aggregate, engage in $5 billion worth of trade each year. That experience has not been restricted to Britain, but has been replicated in most of the countries of Western Europe. It is now being applied with enonnous success in Japan, where the retail cooperative store movement, the development of great cooperative supennarkets, is expanding with explosive velocity. Cooperative retailing is on the way to becoming dominant in much of the Japanese retail sector. I refer, thirdly, to the wider experience of cooperation as it is exemplified through the International Co-operative Alliance, whose world headquarters in Geneva I visited and whose regional headquarters in Delhi I likewise visited on my way back to Australia last year. The International Co-operative Alliance is representative of a worldwide cooperative movement with no fewer than 600 million members practising cooperation in a wide variety of fonns. They include the consumer cooperation organisations of Great Britain, Western Europe and Japan, the housing cooperatives, which have achieved such success in Canada, and agricultural cooperation, which accounts for the largest proportion of those 600 million people involved worldwide in the cooperative sector. I was impressed by the developmental work the International Co-operative Alliance is doing in the Third World, enabling previously impoverished people to take control of their productive lives, to be provided with the necessities oflife and to live, in many cases for the first time, with an element of hope which was previously totally absent. As a result, throughout our region of the world-the Asia-Pacific region-new agricultural cooperatives are being fonned literally daily as huge numbers of people adopt the idea of cooperation as the principle which can bring about a transfonnation of their lives. Two years prior to the visits to which I have just referred I saw a fine example of this transfonnation when I visited the great complex of industrial cooperatives which has developed at the town of Mondragon in the Basque region of Spain. Mondragon is an old town; many of the Spanish soldiers who came to a bad end on the shores of England as a result of the defeat of the Spanish Annada were carrying swords forged by the smithys of Mondragon, but the town was totally devastated in the course of the Spanish civil war, and that devastation continued throughout the second world war and into the post-war period, to a point where, even as late as the early 1950s, Mondragon had unemployment levels chronically in excess of 30 per cent. There was widespread poverty and deprivation, and an absence of hope. In the early 1950s a couple of dozen people at Mondragon decided that they had had enough of that way of living; they had had enough of the misery that had been their daily lot. They fonned themselves into a small industrial cooperative using hand tools and sheet metal to CO-OPERATNES BIU
58 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 turn out small domestic heating and cooking stoves for the local market. So successfully did the cooperative principle take hold that today, some 35 years later, at Mondragon and in its environs no fewer than 100 major industrial cooperatives are making everything from computers, the full range of domestic white goods-refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers and so on-furniture and ultra sophisticated machine tools to ocean fishery vessels and heavy earthmoving machines and a wide range of other products, 34 per cent of which are exported largely to the European Community in competition with some of the most advanced and sophisticated conventional manufacturing concerns in the world. The cooperatives now consist of more than 20 000 members representing four or five times as many people in the aggregate, taking into account their families. The members exercise an equal voice in the management of the cooperatives to which they belong on a one member, one vote basis; and they share equally in the profits and losses of the cooperatives. They also share in the wide variety of services that the cooperatives have been obliged to develop as a result of the fact that under Spanish law a member of a cooperative is not classified as an employed person but as self-employed. Accordingly, that person is not eligible for social security benefits and must contribute for the full range of social security provisions through a secondary cooperative which has been set up in Mondragon for that purpose. Now, what is the secret? What is the factor that has enabled two dozen impoverished people putting together that first industrial cooperative in 1955 to see their project grow to the point of some 20000 people in more than 100 industrial cooperatives, with matching housing cooperatives, supermarket cooperatives and credit cooperatives in the immensely impressive enteIprise that I was able to observe four years ago at first hand? The crucial factor is that, after the first half-dozen cooperatives at Mondragon had been established, the members of those cooperatives decided to form a credit cooperative-the Caja Laboral Popular-which has now grown to be the third largest bank in the Basque region and one of the largest banks in Spain. The purpose of that bank is to ensure that the growth of the cooperative group at Mondragon maintains its dynamics on the basis of being capital self-sufficient; that the group no longer has to raise capital from anywhere outside but can meet all its capital requirements internally. To meet that process of growth, the bank, the Caja Laboral Popular, has set up the Empressarial Division which has the job of working with groups of people who want to establish new cooperatives, of carrying out market research for and with them, of working with them to identify whether there is a market or niche available for the products to which they propose their new cooperatives should be committed and preparing business plans. If the proposals prove in every respect to be sound, the Empressarial Division recommends to the bank that the necessary capital should be advanced and the bank then makes available an experienced manager who can stay with the cooperative during the early stages of its existence until it finds its feet in every respect. There is an important lesson for Australians to learn from the structure of the Mondragon group of cooperatives and, in particular, from the establishment of the bank, the Caja Laboral Popular, from which this great prosperity has stemmed and from which the capacity of the group to expand its activities so dramatically has originated. Within the framework that this proposed legislation will make available to us we must turn our minds to the question of how we, in Australia, can have the equivalent of a Caja Laboral Popular, enabling the cooperative movement in this country to be capital self-sufficient, enabling a wide variety of forms of cooperation to have access to the capital that under current conditions is often difficult for people to acquire from conventional financial intermediaries, which often poorly understand the specific requirements of cooperatives. We must turn our CO-OPERATWES BIU
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 59 minds to how new impetus can be added to the growth of agricultural cooperatives which in recent years has been relatively static. New impetus must be given to the credit cooperative community. The commitment to housing cooperatives should be lifted. For the first time Australian working people should be given the opportunity of being equal owners of enterprises in which they work on a one member, one vote basis, as has been achieved with such triumphant success in Mondragon. I express my indebtedness to the Parliamentary intern system which has been introduced under Professor Power from the political science laboratory at the University of Melbourne and also to the Speaker of the Victorian Parliament who has worked with Professor Power in putting the intern arrangements into place. The intern system has let me have the benefit in recent weeks of a research assistant who otherwise would not have been available to me. His name is David Ward and he is one of Professor Power's political science students. David Ward has been assessing the various ways it might be possible for us to build an equivalent of the Caja Laboral Popular of Mondragon in this country-a source from which the capital could flow on a self-sufficient basis for the cooperative movement, and on which entrepreneurial services could be based. Nothing could be more timely than a development along those lines in this country. Indeed, this legislation could not have come at a better time. What have we seen in recent months? We have seen the collapse in Eastern Europe of the whole school of socialist belief which has pinned its hope on the command economy and the statutory corporation. We have seen at the same time the total discrediting of what might be described as the' 'Gordon Gekko school of market economics" , which has had much to do with the downfall of great financial institutions such as State Bank Victoria and Tricontinental Corporation Ltd. I believe people are looking for a new and completely different way to harness their energies and imagination and capital for productive purposes. It is significant that the whole principle of the Mondragon group has been summarised as the institutionalisation of entrepreneurship. People want a way they can cooperate with one another, and the proposed legislation currently before the House provides them with the charter through which that can happen. Government must never come between the cooperative movement and the autonomy and independence which are its central strengths. However, we must also provide arrangements which allow cooperation to flourish and become the third sector of our economy, which it has the potential to do. This legislation is the starting point from which that process can begin. . Mr LEA (Sandringham)-In many ways the proposed legislation is a milestone in relation to the cooperative movement. Honourable members have just heard an erudite commentary of the progress of the cooperative movement. My objective is to support the honourable members for Hawthorn and Kew and other Opposition members in examining the Bill. The cooperative movement is a very significant one, and it may well create a significant third sector, so there would be public, private and cooperative. I can foresee a day when these three defined economic areas will be more familiar to people than they are today. In spite of the sad organisation and large growth of cooperatives, I think. an article in the Australian Rural Times of 25 April 1990 indicates the level of developments. It states: There are about 1174 general cooperatives in Victoria. with more than 270000 members and assets of more than $110 million. That is a fonnidable and potent force, but is largely unknown by the public. Tonight's debate will go a long way towards making the rest of the public familiar with the operation and organisation of cooperatives. CO-OPERATIVES BIU
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The cooperative movement has a very long history. It began in England in 1844. It was a halcyon time when social movements were star-studed with Chartists and moves for political refonn. With migration the first cooperatives came to Australia in the early 1840s. They provided a way for the working man to have a say in his life, a share in the profits of his organisation and to be democratically involved in his future. One has only to read Oliver Twist and David Copperfield to see how bleak the future of the working man was in nineteenth century England and how little power over society he had. This Bill has a long history, and I am sure its progeny will go on down the ages, but it is there for all people and all times and the charter of cooperatives was for the people, irrespective of their religion, race or creed. The belief in that ideal is something shared by members of Parliament not only in Victoria but also in Australia. I should like to make the point that the cooperative movement has a long history, and it is shared by all and has no racial, religious or political background. I should also like to comment on the International Co-operative Alliance, which is an international body, and to quote certain principles because with a 190-nation membership the organisation is a fonnidable force for good. What are its aims? The International Co-operative Alliance: ... helps the development of cooperatives throughout the world by providing financial support, technical assistance, education and training and ensures that government legislation and policies allow for the development of independent, strong national organisations. I do not think anybody could argue with that. I do not think in their wildest dreams anyone would argue with an idea that embraces the whole world in a unity of purpose or function which is independent of government, politics, race and religion. Tony Gill, who is the executive officer of the cooperative movement in Victoria, has done a lot of work with members on both sides of the House to try to reach agreement on what this legislation should be about. I should like to refer again to the article in the Australian Rural Times. It says:
The legislation aims to enable the fonnation. registration and operation of all cooperatives; promote cooperative philosophy. principles. practices and objectiVes; protect the interests of cooperatives. their members and the public; and encourage and facilitate self:management and self-regulation. and the development and integration of the cooperative sector. The legislation would also give cooperatives powers and responsibilities similar to companies. Before the House tonight is a simple chance to put into practice the very best of consultation that is going on between honourable members of all parties with the cooperative movement. Indeed, I do not think anyone would disagree with the purposes and objectives of the Bill. It is interesting to examine another definition of a cooperative. I shall quote from sources previously indicated that a cooperative is a way of organising activity, and it is also an organisation which its users own and control and where the profits or losses are shared in direct proportion to the way they are used. This is a fair outcome for an ordinary person in tenns of the fmancial value he puts into an area. The benefits from a cooperative are based upon use, not ownership, while at the same time the entitlement to use of the cooperative depends on being an owner, shareholder or member. Cooperatives belong to and are controlled by the user customers, nonnally on a one member, one vote basis. CO-OPERATWES BIU
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I shall dwell for a moment on the fact that the cooperative movement is a democratic movement. It is essential that each person have a direct vote in proportion to the value that person puts in. No-one would argue against such a precept. Cooperatives are owned by the people and are profit orientated. The Opposition would not argue with that Cooperatives are in the business of making a profit; ideally, a good cooperative would break even. Cooperatives theOretically achieve a perfect result for the value that is put into the shared result, without profit for anyone. Everybody has his use out of the goods and services within the profit margins of the cooperative. Ifthere are surpluses, cooperatives should restore profits to the members. That is an essential practice which is to their credit. In many businesses and organisations that is not the case. Previously I made the point that cooperatives are non-political organisations and that they are user-member organisations fonned on the basis of equality, self-help and mutual self-respect. The international body, which is not well known in Australia, has sound principles that are shared by Victorian and Australian members. Membership is open and voluntary; there is no coercion into membership of a cooperative. That is not always the case in other organisations, but we in the Opposition would agree that that is a good point. I have already alluded to the democratic control: there is a democratic outcome. A lot of the organisation of industry in West Gennany today is based exactly on that principle. There is democratic control of the outcomes of profit taking in industry in companies like Mercedes-Benz and BMW where the worlcer participation is in direct relation to their productivity. No-one could argue with that. The Japanese work along the same lines in relation to their profitability. It is good for workers to be repaid for their efforts. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. In relation to limited interest on shares, the capital value in a share issue does not appreciate proportionately according to its value. In many organisations there are other factors that relate to capital growth or value. For the ordinary person the share factor is one which is limited in capital growth so that it is not unfair to any particular member or members. I now refer to the fourth principle referred to in clause 5, the principle of equitable distribution of any surplus. In the cooperative industry there are many areas of production such as milk powder, wheat, or any other commOdity, primary or secondary. It may be a supennarket where the members get together and try to cut prices so that they get a fair and equitable return for the money that they put in. No-one can argue with that. In many ways one could equate a good profit-making cooperative to the best of private enterprise. Marlcet forces take into account profitability and price, which is what we are all looking for when we head off to the supennarket or down the road to buy a pair of shoes. We look for quality of service and we look at the price. In many ways our cooperative is in the marlcetplace. If it is going to survive with its cooperative members it has to compete in tenns of pricing. The Opposition has no argument with that. The fifth principle referred to in clause 5 is the principle of cooperative education. I wish there was more of that in schools. In my 27 years with technical schools I do not think I heard the word "cooperative" mentioned once. That is a sad thing; and I was in the humanities department, so I do not know where that places me. What is lacking in the cooperative movement is a proper marketing and education process, and if we are going to sharpen the tools of competition in the marketplace we must have more effective cooperatives which relate to the ordinary person being able to purchase goods CO-OPERATWES BIlL
62 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 and services at a reasonable and economic price. 1bere is room for cooperatives to work within themselves and between themselves. Not many people would know exactly where to fmd a cooperative. Where would one look? In what part of the telephone book would one look? Would one look under "cooperative''? Not many people would know exactly where to find one. One needs to know the first word of the name, and I guess that is a problem. I hope this Bill will do a lot, if it is publicised, to explain to people the purpose of cooperatives and their value to the general community and the public at large. I have examined the Bill closely and would like to thank Tony Gill for his efforts. He spent two and a half hours in my office explaining to me the purposes of the Bill and the way it would work. This is one time in politics when one can have a bipartisan approach: one can deliver a Bill which goes across politics and is doing good for all people, irrespective of their race, religion, politics or any other particular distinction that they have. It is something that I value now because I am more familiar with it. I am proud of the history. I had my origins in the United Kingdom and I am very familiar with English history and the history of the Charists, the history of the cooperative movement and the movement for democracy which has extended here in Australia. This is a seminal Bill, a milestone, one that should be taken seriously. In the years to come I hope we will see more cooperation in this area. It is a major initiative and the Opposition sees it as a worthwhile measure. Sitting suspended 6.30 p.m. until 8.4 p.m. Mrs WADE (Kew)-This is an important Bill. More than 1300 cooperatives are registered in Victoria and between them they have more than 800 000 members. These cooperatives range over every area of endeavour: child-care, agriculture, finance, "housing and so on. Over recent years cooperatives have gone from strength to strength. Cooperatives help people to help themselves. The Liberal Party and our colleagues in the National Party are in favour of the self-help principle. Cooperatives embody that principle. Their members are the owners of the cooperative, they are involved in the decision making and, as a result, the services provided meet the needs of the members. Worldwide the cooperative movement has generated interest and enthusiasm and the guiding principles of the cooperatives--open membership, democracy and equity among members-receive wide support. The Liberal Party has always supported cooperatives in their many different foms. The Bolte government was initially elected on a platfonn which gave a high priority to the encouragement of the housing cooperative movement in Victoria. In the period of the initial Bolte government home ownership appeared to be moving out of the reach of ordinary people-perhaps it was a period not unlike the present-and one of the first pieces of legislation enacted by the Bolte government was the Co-operative Housing Societies Act 1958. That Act provided government funding and government guarantees to housing cooperatives, which has been an enonnous success over the years and has received support from all political parties in Victoria. The Liberal Party supports self-regulation of cooperatives, which has been a feature of the cooperative movement in Australia, but it also recognises that governments have the responsibility of protecting members of cooperatives and people dealing with cooperatives. Governments must set liquidity requirements and prudential standards, and ensure the right of participation by members is protected as this is one of the major principles of cooperatives. CO .. OPERATWES BIU
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We must also ensure that the duties of management of cooperatives are established by legislation. One of the failures of legislation in this area, not only in relation to cooperatives but also to building societies and other financial institutions, is that the government has failed to provide the resources to enforce that legislation. This is not the first time I have raised this issue with the Attorney-General. We have had discussions and correspondence on this issue over a number of years. I should not like to see history repeated. We have seen a deterioration in the supervision of companies and fmancial institutions culminating in the failure of both the Pyramid Building Society and the other societies associated with the Farrow group and Tricontinental Corporation Ltd. Perhaps the Attorney-General has been a slow learner in the past, but one would hope that these disasters will have focused his mind on the need to go beyond legislation and provide the proper resources. It is important to consider the experience of the Pyramid Building Society which is under the same jurisdiction as cooperatives. The registrar is responsible not only for cooperatives but also for building societies, friendly societies, industrial and provident societies, trade unions, benefit associations and various housing cooperatives. In fact he exercises supervision over more than 3000 cooperatives and societies and at the moment he is endeavouring to do that with approximately 48 members of staff. A couple of documents have been circulated widely in recent months. One is the submission of the registrar of building, cooperative housing and cooperat.ive societies on the Budget for 1889-90. The registrar makes a number of points in his submission and refers to the lack of resources in his office for monitoring the 3000 cooperatives and societies. I mention in particul ar his comments on page 7 of the submission on the Budget. He notes that the 1988-89 Budget Papers provided an additional allocation of $1.2 million to enable him to expand the number of his staff and that, despite that specific commitment, the staff complement was not expanded but was cut by two positions! It is important to focus not only on the legislation but also on the need to properly supervise all of the societies that are the subject of the Bill. This need is underlined also by a review undertaken independently of the registrar by Mr Brady, who is a member of the board of State Bank Victoria. It was prepared for the Victorian Building Societies Council. Mr Brady considered the position of the registrar's office in respect of building societies in particular . but noted also the other responsibilities of the office. He said that the registrar currently has a staff complement of 48 to undertake the administration and supervision of more than 250 institutions which accept deposits from the public and of close to 3000 other societies registered under various other Acts of Parliament. Mr Brady said that the level of supervision of building societies in Victoria is minimal. The observation is important because obviously the registrar would be allocating his staff in accordance with the particular dangers associated with organisations. Building societies that take large deposits from the public-as honourable members have seen in recent times-would attract the greatest number of staff that the registrar could possibly spare. If the staff supervising building societies is minimal, one would hate to think about the staff supervising the other cooperatives and societies that do not have the same possibility of running hundreds of thousands of people into the ground. At page 18 of his report, Mr Brady said: Verification of infonnation received from building societies is an integral part of the process of supervision. A regular inspection program, or some satisfactory alternative, needs to be introduced. CO-OPERATWES BIU
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To the best of my understanding, based on the infonnation I have received from the cooperatives and their association, currently no inspection of cooperatives is being undertaken. As I said earlier, one wonders how the registrar could possibly inspect cooperatives if he does not have sufficient staff to inspect the large financial organisations such as the building societies. Cooperatives should be followed up, particularly during their first year of operation, to ensure that they are operating properly. Subsequently sufficient monitoring of their operations should be undertaken to provide their members and others dealing with them with a feeling of security in being members and dealing with the organisations. The Co-operatives Bill has a strong bias towards active membership, an aspect supported by the Opposition. However, the Bill must provide flexibility to ensure that it includes the most efficient and effective type of regulation for all sorts of cooperatives. The Bill should be able to provide not only for small cooperatives but also for the larger organisations, including cooperatives currently registered under the Companies (Victoria) Code that may wish to take the opportunity of moving over to regulation by the new cooperatives legislation. I understand that some eighteen to twenty big cooperatives are registered under the Companies (Victoria) Code because they are not provided for by existing legislation. It would be desirable for them to be able to take advantage of the proposed legislation and come back into the cooperative fold. I turn now to the particular provisions of the Bill. I shall move through them in a fairly wideranging way, making some general observations. Clause 1 shows that the Attorney-General may have learned something from his previous experiences. I compare clause 1, which sets out the purpose of the Bill in fairly technical terms but is straightforward and does not make any overwhelming promises, with section 1 of the Building Societies Act that is trying to achieve a similar purpose. One of its purposes is: ... to provide a system of prudential regulation to ensure that deposits made with building societies by members of the public are safe ... As honourable members know, that has not turned out to be so. The Attorney-General has obviously gained some understanding about this matter and in preparing the Co-operatives Bill he has set out purposes that are not quite so grandiose. I move on, leaving aside the defInitions clause, to clause 4, which lists the objects of the Bill. The Attorney-General has included clause 4 (c), which provides that the objects are to: ... protect the interests of co-operatives, their members and the public in the operations and activities of co-operatives and the co-operative sector ... Again, the Attorney-General has not gone so far as to say something along the lines of "and ensure they are absolutely safe". Again, I compliment him on returning in his proposed legislation to what he can actually achieve. Clause 5 sets out the six principles of cooperation. I shall not read them out as I am sure they are well known to all honourable members. However, I wonder why these principles are included in the Bill. Legislation is for the purpose of setting out people's rights, duties and powers. It is not appropriate to set out in proposed legislation principles such as the international principles of cooperatives. Indeed, the interpretation of the Bill may be affected by the inclusion of the principles. I shall return to that point later because some dispute seems to exist about whether some clauses of the Bill comply with the principles of cooperation. The inclusion of the principles may affect the interpretation of the Bill in ways that cannot be anticipated. CO-OPERATNES BIU
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Clauses 6 and 7 provide for the application of the Bill to all cooperatives except credit societies, which remain under the Co-operation Act. Clause 8 provides that the Companies (Victoria) Code does not apply to cooperatives except as provided by the Bill. I shall return to this clause because in some instances it would have been appropriate to apply certain provisions of the Companies (Victoria) Code rather than attempting to rewrite them in a way that has no history and may well not be effective. The Bill provides for the transfer of cooperatives registered under the Companies Act but in a way that will possibly not enable them to effect the transfer and continue to operate as efficient organisations. Part 2 of the Bill provides for the formation of cooperatives. It sets out the types of cooperatives and provides that cooperatives have limited liability. It sets out certain provisions about cooperatives that have government guarantees and must have certain types of membership. Clause 20 provides that members who are members of bodies corporate must reveal their shareholdings in a cooperative. Clause 20 is the first of the provisions that endeavour to regulate the takeover of cooperati ves by companies. Mr Maclellan-Unwelcome takeovers. Mrs WADE-Yes, unwelcome takeovers. The first provision is found in clause 21; that sets out a system of assessing relevant interests. It places limits on voting rights in relation to a cooperative to ensure that no-one holds more than 20 per cent of the voting rights of a cooperative, and in the case of a cooperative with fewer than five members, no less than 40 per cent of the voting rights. The other relevant interests provisions are found in clause 38 and concern restrictions on holding shares that represent more than 20 per cent of the capital, or in the case of a cooperative with fewer than five members, more than 40 per cent of the capital. Subsequent requirements have been inserted for notification of substantial shareholdings, including relevant interests, that are 10 per cent or more of the nominal value of the issued share capi tal. A relevant interest is defined in clause 21 (2); it includes a situation where the person concerned or an associate of that person has the power to exercise or control the exercise of the right to vote. These requirements repeat the provisions of the Companies (Victoria) Code although not in quite the form set out in the Companies Code. . I have found the provisions very difficult to understand. They have not picked up all the provisions of the Companies Code that would be required to be picked up if the provisions are to be effective. The test is not the legal right to control the voting rights in a cooperative but the practical ability to control those voting rights. I ask the Attorney-General to consider whether the provisions should have picked up the whole of section 8 and of the Companies Code; he has attempted to pick up some of the section 9 provisions in clause 38 but not in clause 21. He is not on the right track. The Bill results in a prohibition on the right to vote and appears to be inappropriate. No similar provision of prohibition is contained in the Companies Code. The problem is that the right to vote and the ability to control the right to vote may be obtained by a member if he or she not only holds his own shareholding but also has a young child who has a shareholding, and thereby he or she has the practical ability to control the vote of that child. It may be that a number of members of a family have the right to vote in a cooperative; one may give to Spring Session 1990-3 CO-OPERATWES BIU
66 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 another the power of attorney that is exercised in the absence of the first member or in the case of illness of that member. In that case, the person who had been handed those rights would be in breach of the Act. The Law Institute of Victoria has proposed that it would be more effective to stipulate that no-one can vote on behalf of more than 20 per cent of the issued capital. There is no prohibition on the rights to vote but when there is a block of people voting who are associated, the total of their votes may not amount to more than 20 per cent. The provisions are repeated in not quite the same fonn in clause 38; the clause picks up provisions of the Companies Code that are different from those picked up by clause 21. The provisions also pick up the concept of an associate. That subject may be better handled at the Committee stage, and I shall not now go into detail. However, clause 38 (6) gives a cooperative the power to cancel the shares of a person if they exceed more than 20 per cent of the value of the issued shares. That can happen in many different ways when relevant interests are included. It is unclear which shares would be cancelled. If a block of shares amounting to more than 20 per cent are owned by a number of people some of whom are adult and some of whom are children, but one person has a relevant share in all of them, whose shares are cancelled so that the value of issued shares returns to 20 per cent? The Law Institute of Victoria has made submissions to the Attorney-General about this matter and I understand he proposes to move amendments at the Committee stage. I presume the Attorney-General will have taken note of those submissions so that the amendments are in a fonn that can be readily understood; then the House can have some idea of the real Bill to be debated as opposed to the Bill now before the House. Part 3 of the Bill deals with the registration of cooperatives and with associated provisions, such as the requirements for books rules, and powers of cooperatives being set out, as well as the transfer of bodies that are registered under the Companies Code or other Acts. Those provisions are straightforward but their enforcement will be all important. Part 4 deals with capital and funds of cooperatives. It contains a number of problems. Oause 37 (1) provides: Shares of a cooperative must be of one class ranking equally on a winding-up of the cooperative. Clause 37 (2) stipulates that: Shares must not be issued at a discount or at a premium. Some people have difficulty with those provisions. The Australian Association of Cooperatives Ltd (Victorian Division) has disputed the Attorney-General's second-reading speech in which he has asserted that the cooperative principles provide only for shares of one class. That is an example of the situation reached when principles are inserted into an Act. A dispute arises as to what the principles mean. The association considers that the provisions will not allow cooperatives to handle their business in the best possible way if the limitation remains. The submission from the association states: The association submits that as cooperatives become larger and their business activities become more complex, it can be advantageous to issue shares of different classes. The differences may relate to time of redemption, price payable upon redemption etcetera. So long as voting rights of a member are maintained and equity between the various classes prevails, then there would seem no point placing restrictions which could impinge on a cooperative's activities. CO-OPERATWES BIU
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The Attorney-General should have given attention to that concern when he drafted his proposed amendments. It will be difficult for large cooperatives to move from the Companies Code to a cooperatives legislation unless there is a change to the clause 37 provision. There is also a problem about shares not being issued at a discount or premium; the association supports the issue of shares at a premium. So far as possible cooperatives should be able to run their own affairs to suit themselves on the basis that people are not disadvantaged. The problems I have referred to could be resolved by providing more choices to individual cooperatives. Clauses 51 and 52 in Part 5 of the Bill refer to the management of cooperatives and provide for disqualification in certain circumstances. Clause 52 (7) sets out a number of circumstances including various offences that would lead to a person who has been convicted of any offence being unable to manage a cooperative. I ask the Attorney-General to note that the clause does not disqualify people who have been disqualified under section 562 of the Companies (Victoria) Code. It does not mean that all of the people who are disqualified under that section will necessarily fall within one of the other paragraphs of the clause. I ask the Attorney-General to address that because we must make sure that those people who have been disqualified from acting in the management of companies are disqualified from acting in the management of cooperatives. The Bill requires directors to exercise skill and diligence, but the penalties for failing to exercise skill and diligence are not very high-the general penalty is only $1000 if such failures involve bodies corporate, and only $1000 and twelve months imprisonment if they involve natural people. The penalties applying to failures involving bodies corporate are clearly inadequate for all of the offences referred to in the Bill. I ask the Attorney-General to turn his mind to those problems, also. Part 6 of the Bill refers to and encourages the active membership of cooperatives. Active membership is one of the primary objectives of cooperatives, and the Opposition is in favour of it. However, the clause that provides for the forfeiture of shares of non-active members presents problems. If the object is to have only active members of a cooperative, something must be done about getting rid of those members who are not active; but to provide for the forfeiture of their shares in circumstances when those affected will receive only par value and may have to wait for a considerable time before obtaining par value for their shares seems unfair, particularly when many cooperatives are running successful secondary markets in shares. It should be possible at least to provide an exemption for people who are'running effective secondary markets. However, I anticipate the Attorney-General 's amendments will make changes to this clause. Part 7 of the Bill applies to accounts and audits. It will be more appropriate to consider those provisions during the Committee stage, together with the provisions in Part 8 concerning mergers. I shall raise one last matter in the brief time available to me, which concerns the appointment of administrators. The powers contained in the Bill are similar to those in the Building Societies Act. The Attorney-General should ensure that any changes he proposes to make to the Building Societies Act, about which he gave notice earlier today, are reflected in the Co-operatives Bill. It appears to me that there are considerable difficulties in the way the administrator of the Farrow group of building societies is carrying out his duties; and it may be that his administration is not in accordance with the provisions of the Building Societies Act. If those powers are to be widened, the relevant provisions in the Bill should also be remedied. CO-OPERATWES BlU
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Mr COLE (Melbourne)-In supporting the Bill I pay tribute to all those who have been involved in its preparation and introduction. The Bill is the culmination of many years of hard work.. It has broad community support and, except for some of the matters raised by the honourable member for Kew, has the support of all Parliamentary parties. I shall comment specifically on one matter raised by the previous speaker concerning the principles espoused by the Bill. Clause 5 says what the Bill is about and in particular I refer to clause 5 (1) 5, which concerns the principle of cooperative education. Honourable members who have worked with cooperatives will be aware that one of the most difficult aspects of the running of cooperatives is the education of member. The clause refers to the objects of cooperatives, the democratic control of them and the equitable distribution of surpluses, which I shall refer to later. I am a strong supporter of cooperatives, the principles of which are clearly defined in the Bill. In particular I support the concept that a person can work in a cooperative without the need for his or her endeavours to be controlled by the imperatives of private property and wealth, and that people can work. together to raise capital, trade and generate income without having to resort in any way to private ownership for wealth creation. More specifically cooperatives do not require the earning of large sums of money as rewards or incentives for the creation of wealth. Although it is accepted that in any economy there is a need to create wealth, it is not necessary to have wealthy people to do so. Cooperatives are vehicles for the generation of wealth for the benefits oftheir members and for the community at large rather than for a few individuals. Wealth creation should not be the preserve only of those individuals who have the initiative and capacity to do so and, so far as possible, we should attempt to share wealth throughout the community. They should be the aims of cooperatives and, as the Bill points out, such methods of shareholdings lend themselves to those concepts and principles. It is evident that the many agricultural, trading and credit cooperatives have worked for the benefit of the people in them, which has meant that the income generated has been returned to the members to fulfil a wider community role. Cooperatives provide the means for people to work together as communities. If workers in cooperatives work. to control such organisations in a cooperative fashion such principles and policies tend to be transferred from their working lives to their everyday lives. We live in a society where people are alienated from the communities in which they live, and much of that alienation stems from what happens in their workplaces. The experience gained by those who work in cooperatives is of benefit to our society: those who work in cooperatives benefit from the experience and that benefit is transferred to the wider community. That is the value of cooperatives. The Bill is the culmination of the work done by the Labor government on cooperatives. Since 1982 the cooperative movement has proliferated. One cooperative in which I was involved, the Aemington and Kensington Legal Service, operated as a community service where the administrative, secretarial and legal staff were treated as equals and paid at the same rate. All members of the cooperative were involved in decision making; and by and large that system worked well and, importantly, gave the administrative and secretarial staff equal status with legal staff within the organisation. That, by defmition, meant that they felt equal with lawyers by reducing the status and so forth that normally is attached to persons with legal qualifications, and it also enhanced the performance of the service because it was working in a cooperative fashion to improve itself beyond the role it was previously playing. Our organisation invariably employed people who had been long-term unemployed, and it was a great experience for those people to work alongside other people who normally would CO-OPERATWES BIU
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 69 be highly paid and would work as employers rather than fellow workmates. We also set up a high-rise security selVice in the area, which was an important exercise in providing security to the high-rise estate in Aemington. The selVice, which was run by Wormald Security and other security selVices, including multinational companies, was reasonable but people considered they did not have control over it It was government tenure and the community decided to set up a cooperative and train younger security guards to provide a security se IVice to people on the estate. Firstly, it provided a cheaper selVice to the government because tenders by community group cooperatives are generally lower than other tenders. Secondly, the committee already selVes an important role in providing employment to unemployed people who live on the estate. The selVice has been geared towards the needs of the community because the members on the committee running the cooperative were also people who lived on the estate. They knew what was needed for security. People involved in the cooperative were making decisions about the operation of the business. Some of the people had been long-term unemployed or had worked only for large organisations and had been dictated to as to what they should be doing in their day-to-day lives. Suddenly, the people were determining what they should do in their jobs and how those jobs should be carried out, and those duties included submitting tenders and running a business. That successful business still operates in Aemington. It is an indication of what a community can do as a cooperative that it would not be able to do as a business. Everybody can become involved in deciding in which direction to go, and there is a mutual benefit of maintaining that cooperative which, without wishing to overstate the case, on balance works better in the provision of the selVice that is needed. Rental housing cooperatives have also been developed in the area. From my perspective, I see the rental housing cooperative movement, the concepts of this Bill and the way the government has pursued the development of the housing property movement as some of the most rewarding aspects of the government's activities over the past nine years. Many people who were formerly living in Ministry of Housing and Construction accommodation and whose only task in selVicing their accommodation was to pay their rent each week-people on low incomes and invariably rebated rent-were then able to make decisions, and still do, involving the maintenance of their houses, the colours they should be painted and other basic decisions in which everyone is brought together to determine how operations will be financed by the rental housing cooperative. We also employed community development workers who were paid for out of rent moneys. It has been a fantastic movement because it has changed people who were invariably unemployed, in high-rise accommodation and with little hope of getting out of that situation and little hope of tenure, from being renters to being landlords. They would not otherwise have had that possibility of having de facto ownership of the property and control over it. It has been a significant movement, and we will continue to provide the rental housing cooperatives with money; we are told it will be maintained in future. The Macaulay Credit Cooperative is a good example of what was referred to by the honourable member for Oakleigh and what one sees in the Basque region in Spain-the Mondragon program-which I have not seen-but have read about-and which provides the capacity to finance its programs. Our local cooperative has set up its own investment fund, which has raised more than $100 000. People can borrow from the fund at low rates of interest. The money is given to community groups and community cooperatives to create employment. There are obviously concerns about the prudential guidelines and where the money will be given out. CO-OPERATIVES BIU
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Credit cooperatives will have to be conscious of those things in the future. There is no doubt that it is a facility that nobody would nonnally dispute but the cooperatives would not otherwise exist because the banks would not lend to cooperatives because of security problems. The Macaulay Credit Cooperative, together with other credit cooperatives, other cooperatives and community groups, have put their money into cooperatives which generate income for themselves and employment by developing support networks of groups within the area. Although those objectives of the credit cooperatives have to be applauded, in my view they will be enhanced considerably by the proposed legislation. There are a couple of points to which I shall refer later regarding the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, which the honourable member for Kew just mentioned. The prudential guidelines and control over credit cooperatives by the registrar have been stringent, at times almost to the point of being prohibitive to their development, but there is no doubt that the controls that have been placed on credit cooperatives have been second to none in the State and probably the country. People are now suffering because building societies and banks have not been subject to the same level of control to which credit cooperatives have been subject. I refer to the cooperative principles set out in clause 5 of the Bill. The sixth principle is the principle of cooperation between cooperatives. It is crucial to the development of cooperatives that they help each other. Unfortunately, in our society, it is not a case of what one knows but of who one will know. There is a network of businesses that operate in a manner that I do not understand at times, and for cooperatives to survive they must work cooperatively with other cooperatives. Financial institutions that are trading in Aemington and Kensington must trade with the Macaulay Credit Cooperative and support each other. The Bill sets down that principle by which cooperatives must be guided. They must look after each other if they are to survive in the future. Credit cooperatives cannot trade and provide finance to trading cooperatives if they are not supported by cooperatives around them. The fifth principle, which has been alluded to earlier, is also vital to the development of coperatives; it is the principle of education. It is not a case of educating the community about what cooperatives are, but of educating people who are members of the cooperative as to what cooperatives are. Democratic control is crucial to their ongoing viability. It is an ideal they would like to have but it is hard to transfer to the operation of the cooperative in an essentially capitalist society. Working-class people are not used to the concept of being involved in the decision-making process in the workplace and are not used to making decisions about raising capital, distribution of surplus or profit or even to working out which way they want to go with their lives. When those people become members of cooperatives it is difficult for them to change their mode of thinking. They often do not realise that they need to become involved in decision making and to make decisions for the collective good rather than just by being told what they should do. In my experience, it has been one of the most difficult aspects of running a cooperative. People should work cooperatively, not just for self-interest, and make decisions for the group, rather than waiting for somebody else to make a decision. Given the complexity of setting up cooperatives and their day-to-day operations, input from government on what a cooperative is, how it should work and, in the case of credit cooperatives, how the credit guidelines should apply is important. Trading cooperatives must ensure that the balance sheets are balanced and that they make profits. It is difficult to achieve those goals with people who suddenly become involved in cooperatives. Taking a group of people who have been long-tenn unemployed-I have been involved with such people for many years-and asking them to work cooperatives presents many problems. CO-OPERATWES BIlL
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There is no doubt that it will be very difficult. The Bill covers many of the difficult aspects of the issue. It includes sufficient safety valves to ensure that cooperatives are not taken over by businesses, that there are guarantees on the shareholdings and that there is control by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies. I take the point made by the honourable member for Kew, who said that resources to assist with the development of community cooperatives must be available at the offices of the registrar and the Attorney-General's Department. One cannot just pass a Bill and encourage people to set up cooperatives without providing the resources necessary to monitor them properly and foster their development. I refer now to the distribution of surplus funds. If an organisation makes a profit, it is often difficult to convince people to put it back into the business. Human nature is such that people want to take out the surplus funds rather than putting them away for next year. That issue also relates to education. In a way, the Bill also prevents the exploitation of cooperatives and clause 41 ensures that a surplus is not generated solely for the benefit of those who have major shareholdings. When one considers the development of cooperatives in this country over the past ten years, one cannot concentrate only on trading cooperatives. One cannot just separate the credit, trading and agricultural cooperatives from the rest. One must also consider the plethora of cooperatives that have been established in the community. In the child-care area, where the government provides funds or where parents pay for child-care, the concept of a cooperative has probably been a most important vehicle for getting people involved in this crucial issue. When one thinks of success stories, one realises that child-care cooperatives are the best examples simply because parents are elected to boards as directors of cooperatives and become involved in the decision-making process. To all intents and purposes child-care cooperatives operate on the collective ideals and models and have been a tremendous success. Of course, there are aberrations, and some honourable members could probably provide examples of cooperatives that have not operated as they should. However, on balance, the concept of a cooperative has been an effective vehicle for the provision of child-care and should not be lost. People involved in the operation of neighbourhood houses have also fonned cooperatives and become involved in the decision-making processes. One cannot discuss this Bill without mentioning credit cooperatives, which attract special attention for many reasons. The deregulation of the financial sector has created difficulties for credit cooperatives in competition. In that regard, what the honourable member for Kew said earlier is pertinent: there must be adequate control and regulation of credit cooperatives through the Registrar of Cooperative Societies. Unless that occurs, there is a risk of repeating the sorts of problems experienced by the Pyramid Building Society. When talking about cooperatives and cooperative principles, it is important to recognise that there has been some concern about the issue of transfers of credit cooperatives to other cooperatives; they sometimes lose the plot, particularly as they grow. When a cooperative grows, the management sometimes divorces itself from the members. When only 50 people are involved everybody knows everybody; everyone is involved and knows the manager and who to deal with. However, if thousands of people are involved the organisation does not have the collective approach it should have and, unfortunately, the members are either exploited through financial arrangements or their money is used to create some other business. CO-OPERATIVES BIlL
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Often the growth of an organisation has been the product of amalgamations, and credit cooperatives in particular have been created in a particular environment where they have probably expanded at a rate that is unacceptable to the financial community. Often this has led to undesirable consumer practices, which concern me, and it becomes very difficult to ensure accountability to the membership for some of the consumer practices undertaken simply because of the size of the organisation. It would be fair to say that the nexus between membership and management has been totally lost in some cooperatives, and it is important that the principles contained in this Bill are not forgotten. I suppose the most important principle is democratic control. Again I refer to the remarks of the honourable member for Oakleigh who said that the financial sector of cooperatives is most important and that unless we develop a substantial financial sector for cooperatives there is little hope that they will develop in a way that is desirable and in the best interests of the community. I shall relate to the House the experience that I had when I travelled to England and visited Wolverhampton, which is in the Midlands. For a whole range of reasons, steelworks in Wolverhampton were closed down but some facilities remained. The workers asked to use those facilities for the establishment of community cooperatives that would operate a hotel-cum-social club. The owners were receptive to the idea and allowed them to use the facilities without charge. The establishment of profitable social clubs and businesses followed. The important point is that the people involved, some of whom were formerly steelworkers and others who were railway workers, were able to be involved in decision making. One worker who was employed in the railways said that in all his working life he had never really been involved in the decision-making process. He was a signalman who had never been able to make decisions other than to put up the signals to tell the trains when to come and go. When he became part of the cooperative he was able to involve himself, as did many others in determining how 'the organisation should operate. I suppose the one true way of achieving democracy in the workplace is by establishing a cooperative. However, if a cooperative becomes too large, one runs the risk of losing much of that democracy in the workplace. The only way one can retain it is to ensure that all members have voting rights on who will be the manager on a year-by-year basis. That issue relates to democracy as well as education. I am a great supporter of the cooperative movement, and the Bill will enhance its development over the next 30 or 40 years. What the government has done so far in encouraging cooperatives has been good, but it ~s not enough and more must be done. The Bill will go a long way towards encouraging the cooperative movement in this State. Mr MAUGHAN (Rodney)-Having been involved in the cooperative movement for more than 30 years, it gives me great pleasure to support the Bill. The cooperative movement has a long history, having started in the United Kingdom in the early 1800s and becoming evident in this country in the 1840s when cooperatives, particularly dairy cooperatives, played an extremely important part in the development of this State and nation. Cooperative butter factories were important to the development of the Victorian dairy industry. The Bill is a result of a report from the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Cooperation entitled The Cooperative Way: Victoria's Third Sector. The cooperative sector is the third sector along with public enterprise and private enterprise. It bears noting that in this State there are some 1000 individual cooperatives with more than 250 ()()() members with assets totalling more than $100 million. It is a significant movement in terms of people, money and the potential it has to offer its members. CO-OPERATWES BIU
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The objects of the Bill include enabling the fonnation, registration and operation of cooperatives, cooperative associations and cooperative federations and promoting cooperative philosophy, principles, practices and objectives. More must be done to promote cooperative principles and practices in this country because it will benefit everyone. The Bill also has the object of protecting the interests of cooperatives, their members and the public in the operations and activities of cooperatives and the cooperative sector as well as encouraging and facilitating self-management and self-regulation by cooperatives at all levels. The honourable member for Melbourne has just pointed out some of the benefits of encouraging and facilitating self-management and what that means in tenns of personal growth and development The Bill also aims to encourage the development and integration of the cooperative sector. The cooperative principles are set out in the Bill. I shall refer to them briefly because they have been adopted by the International Co-operative Alliance and, therefore, apply to cooperative organisations throughout the world. 1bey include: the principle of voluntary association and open membership, which means that there should be no barriers to membership of a cooperative; the principle of democratic control, and cooperatives are the epitome of democracy at work with one vote, one value and the exercising of democratic rights; the principle of limited interest on share capital, that is, that capital should be used for furthering the business of a cooperative rather than to provide a return of interest on capital; the principle of equitable distribution of surplus, which can be done in a number of different ways including reinvesting in the business for the benefit of the members of that society, distributing the profits according to the business the members have done with the cooperative or in a number of other ways; the principle of cooperative education, which is an important aspect that has not been supported as strongly in this country as it should have been and certainly not as strongly as it has been in some of the European countries; and, finally, the principle of cooperation between cooperatives, which is that it makes sense for cooperatives to cooperate with each other. I have had some experience with cooperatives in the dairy industry and, as I suggested earlier, they were an important part in the development of that industry. Today there are fewer cooperatives than there were because ofamalgamations and there are now basically two large cooperatives: the Murray-Goulburn cooperative, of which I was privileged to be a shareholder for many years and a director for five years, and the Bonlac cooperative. They play an important part in the dairy industry today not only in Victoria but also nationally and they demonstrate what can be achieved by successful cooperatives. Cooperatives are also involved with other aspects of primary industry. Unfortunately, history is littered with failed cooperatives that were involved with grain marketing, but livestock cooperatives have been more successful. Two that readily come to mind are the Gippsland and Northern Cooperative, which unfortunately is no more, and the Victorian Producers Co. Cooperative. Both of those organisations selVed their members well over a long time and returned significant benefits to their member shareholders. They dealt not only in livestock but also in wool, other produce, real estate and insurance. Cooperative enterprises in the meat processing industry do not have a good record. A number of years ago there was a cooperative known as the Victorian Farmers and Graziers Direct Meat Supply Ltd. I shall not go through the entire history because many extraneous factors are involved, but at one time that cooperntive purchased approximately 30 per cent of the Newmarket sheep yarding and it had a significant impact on livestock prices, which benefited the producer shareholders. It built a state-of-the-art abattoir and a cold storage complex at Brooldyn which, at the time of construction, was as good as anything in the country. It developed export markets and increased returns to producers. However, because it upset a CO-OPERATWES BIU
74 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 number of vested interests, and for other reasons, the cooperative ultimately failed. The most significant reason for the failure was its under-capitalisation and the failure of its producer supporters to come up with the money. Mr Maclellan-That is a kind view of it. Mr MAUGHAN-I accept that intention, but the honourable member for Berwick will be interested in my first association with a cooperative-the Berwick Artificial Breeders Cooperative of which I was a director many years ago. Another cooperative which is still an important part of agriculture in this State is the semen production centre at Bacchus Marsh, the Victorian Artificial Breeders Cooperative Society Ltd, which has been in existence for 30 years and which has played an important role in livestock breeding. Other cooperatives have been involved with the manufacturing of superphosphate, one of which failed because of under-capitalisation and the pressures put on it by competitors. Cooperative stores have not been as popular in Victoria or Australia as in other parts of the world. Some very good cooperative stores exist that are trading profitably. I wish there were more. They are not as numerous as in the United Kingdom or some European countries. I have had an association with cooperative stores, having been the chairman of directors of the Pakenham Fruit Growers and Producers Cooperative Co. Ltd, which dealt in stock-feed, hardware, the marketing of fruits and the supply of other requisites. Cooperative stores are a part of people's lives in the rural industries in the United Kindom and collectively have a large financial turnover. The same applies in Canada and the United States of America, where cooperatives are far more numerous than they are in Australia. Cooperative buying groups have come and gone. Some are still in existence, but they have had a chequered career. They sell groceries, fuel and other commodities. They have not realised their potential. Cooperatives have been involved in the insurance industry for some time, but again have not realised their full potential. Housing cooperatives have been far more successful and many people owe the fact that they own a home to the existence of cooperative housing societies. They are one of the success stories of cooperatives in this State. Credit cooperative societies are becoming increasingly popular and provide competitive interest rates to commercial institutions. They encourage small investors to get into the habit of saving and pooling their resources for the benefit of all. Generally speaking they compete effectively with the large commercial institutions and, in some cases, have competed too effectively with the large financial institutions for their own good. Victoria has a long history of successful cooperative ventures and, although the cooperatives I am now going to mention are not cooperatives in the true sense of the word, they are certainly cooperatives in spirit and have abided by many of the principles that have been referred to in the debate today. I refer to Aetcher Jones and Staff Pty Ltd, which more than 50 years ago adopted cooperative principles, although not in the sense of a fonnal cooperative. It has encouraged part employee ownership, the distribution of profits and the participation in profits by the management. The Lincoln Electric Co. (Aust.) Pty Ltd, which has adopted similar cooperative principles to Aetcher Jones, is another outstanding example of the cooperative spirit. The Lend Lease Group is another most successful company that has adopted the cooperative principles that are being discussed in the Co-operatives Bill. Other successfullagricultural cooperatives are the Murray--Goulburn Cooperative Co. Ltd and Bonlac Foods Ltd. No debate on cooperatives would be complete without talking about the failures of many cooperatives. It is difficult to analyse the reasons why so many have failed, because they are CO-OPERATWES BlU
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 75 many and varied. In most cases it is because of the inadequacy of the directors where the organisation has outgrown the ability of the directors to maintain control. It is a problem all cooperatives have to deal with and be cognisant of. Mr Maclellall-Like putting the Labor Party in charge of the State! Mr MAUGHAN-Similar, yes. The other reason is under-capitalisation. I do not understand why so many cooperatives are under-capitalised. Perhaps it has something to do with the rugged individualism of Australians to do their own thing rather than participating in cooperatives. It may have something to do with the Australian psyche that cooperatives have not been as successful in this country as they have been in Denmark, the United Kingdom or some other parts of the world. Another reason for the failure of cooperatives is that, as the shareholders retire from active participation in the cooperative, they still hold onto their shares. In other words they are "dry" shareholders and ultimately they become the majority of shareholders and are, therefore, subject to takeover bids. Mr Maclellall-Where can they get rid of their shares? Mr MAUGHAN-"Dry" shareholders can get rid of their shares to participating members, or keep them as preference shares where they do not have voting rights. Successful cooperatives are able to retain their identity by paying a good rate of return on the non-voting shares, while keeping control of the cooperative in the hands of those who benefit from it. Cooperatives have been most successful in Denmark, which has a large number of them; most of their business enterprise is done through cooperatives rather than through privately owned organisations. The United Kingdom has cooperatives throughout its length and breadth; they are the normal way of doing business in that country. Canada and the United States of America have a large number of successful cooperatives. The honourable member for Oakleigh gave an eloquent and erudite contribution on his Commonwealth Parliamentary Association study tour and gave some of the background of the Mondragon group and the importance of cooperatives in other parts of the world. I mention in passing that the Japanese seem to be better in dealing with cooperatives than we are. They seem to have the ability to swallow their individual differences and work together in a cooperative manner, although not in a formal cooperative sense as is being discussed today. Although it should be the object of cooperatives to make profits which they then distribute to their members, it is not essential for them to do so in order to provide benefits for their members. Numerous examples exist where simply having a well-run cooperative that is competing vigorously with privately owned companies can confer real benefits to the shareholders of the cooperative even though the cooperative may not make significant profits. In closing, I simply state that I am and have been for 30 years not only a shareholder in a variety of cooperatives, but also a participant at board level in at least three cooperatives. I strongly support the objectives of the Bill, the principles and the objects that are spelt out in the Bill, and I wish it a speedy and successful passage. Mr F. P. SHEEHAN (Ballarat South)-I appreciate the opportunity of speaking on the Bill. Honourable members have made useful contributions during the debate, particularly the honourable member for Rodney. There is no doubt that the experience of a person in the cooperative movement comes through from what he was saying. I also have had extensive experience with cooperatives in a variety of ways. I was able to be a part of the formation of CO-OPERATWES BJU
76 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 a cooperative community development society, which was a new experience for me. Not many of those sorts of cooperatives have actually been established in Victoria. Historically, the cooperative movement goes back many centuries and our modem history, as the honourable member for Rodney has indicated, only goes back to the last century. If one examines the way cooperatives have developed one will note that they had their beginnings in the village scene before the industrial revolution. They have to be put in a modern context but nevertheless the spirit and well-being that comes from the notion of cooperation still exists in modern cooperatives. Mr Maclellan interjected. Mr F. P. SHEEHAN-I find it interesting that the honourable member for Berwick interjects in that way because he is one who embraces the spirit of private enterprise. From the way members of the Opposition speak one would assume that cooperatives were cream to their food. There is a continuing role for the cooperative movement in Victoria and in Australia. There is a much more established cooperative movement in other countries such as Japan. The Mondragon experience has also been referred to and there are other countries that have also taken up this philosophy. As recently as last year I was able to experience the cooperative philosophy when I attended an international conference in Sydney which was based on agricultural cooperatives which were small to begin with but have grown to large cooperative corporations competitive with the private enterprise system. The object of working together with common objectives for the common good is basic to any cooperative in any field. However, today the notion that competition is important for the economic good and that there must be competition otherwise there will not be effiCiency, or qUality products produced, has taken hold of our imagination as a community and as a nation Rarely in the history of the world has a resolution been found to any problem through competition One has only to examine the current events occurring in the Middle East where there is competition. Some people in that community are trying to work through the problems in a cooperative way, but the spirit of competition is also playing its distructive part. I do not believe cooperation can be taken out of human endeavour or existence. The role of competition is more limited than that of cooperation. Cooperation has much more to offer the world and particular communities. Nothing is resolved by competition. I have had experience of cooperatives in our community. One of my earliest experiences with cooperatives was when I was living in Newcastle where cooperative stores were well developed. In earlier times they operated using tokens instead of cash. It was a different lifestyle and way of purchasing than that with which I am familiar. Tokens were used to purchase food and general household goods, but this system was not in use when I lived there. The cooperatives were part of the industrial experience of Newcastle; they were part of its steel soul because they were based around the steel industry and the industrial environment. Credit unions are now much bigger operations. I note the remarks of the honourable member for Melbourne about credit cooperatives being large institutions and to an extent I fear for them, but these community cooperatives are facilities that many of us have used. In fact, I bought my first motor vehicle through a small credit society from which I was able to borrow five hundred pounds to buy an FX Holden. Subsequently I became involved in housing cooperatives. Many thousands of people throughout Victoria have also had that experience. CO-OPERATNES BIU
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I was a director of three housing societies. As directors we took it on ourselves to ensure that the membership were infonned and cared for when they were having difficulties paying their mortgages. Often those people were visited by the directors to ensure that the financing of their homes could be rearranged so that they did not lose them. In that cooperative way problems were resolved, whereas other fmancial institutions appear to foreclose on these people causing them to lose their homes. The cooperative spirit of endeavour overcame the problem, but that is not always the case with other credit providers. I am attached to the cooperative concept because I believe it has much to offer. I was involved in establishing the Cooperative Community Settlement Society and I am sure that the Bill will address the issue of community cooperative societies such as that, where seven or eight people got together and bought land which was subsequently subdivided and was then sold to its members and to others who wanted to build homes on that land. I live in a house built on one of the subdivided blocks. That is not a practice that occurs frequently but it is something that provides another dimension that can exist as a result of the passage of the Bill. The honourable member for Melbourne mentioned the wide variety of cooperatives, and also mentioned the fact that because they grow bigger they tend to lose the personal touch. I suspect that one of the reasons why that happens is that the cooperatives of various types have had to operate under a range of Acts. For example, housing cooperatives have operated under different Acts from the ones dealing with agricultural cooperatives. The Acts have been diverse-the Credit Act is another one-and the different types of cooperatives have tended to be separated in spirit as well as in practice because of having to operate under so many Acts. One of the many advantages of the Bill is that the cooperatives will be drawn in under an umbrella of legislation while retaining their own identities, but nevertheless operating to a large extent under an Act which has as its base the cooperative philosophy. If one were to ask what drives the cooperative movement, I suspect that part of the answer would be the power for people to control their own situations and take power out of the control of other people. These matters are important to a person's well-being. One of the more developed sections of the cooperative movement has been housing, and no doubt the interest that people have in providing a home for themselves and their families is behind that. The present difficulties with some of the building societies do not involve the tenninating building societies that historically have been providing homes to the community, and in so far as is possible the community should continue to develop those special types of cooperative housing societies which have provided so much benefit to the community and to individuals. I have mentioned the conference I attended in Sydney. In many respects the highlight of the conference was to see the wide range of people from different countries who have developed cooperative structures and the cooperative philosophy in their own circumstances. The agriCUltural cooperatives, in particular, were of special interest, and the honourable member for Rodney has mentioned Japan. In discussions with the people representing those agricultural cooperatives, I recall concern that the Bill might not address their special needs; however, that is not the case. It may not address them fully and it may fall short in some areas, but it does attempt to address all of their needs. Some of the cooperatives have become rather large corporations, even though they are cooperatives in nature. Of course the difficulty then has been dealing with cooperatives with CO-OPERATWES BIll..
78 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 multimillion-dollartumovers trying to be brought under the umbrella of the same Bill as the community radio type cooperative and the child-care type cooperatives. There is obviously a difference between the multimillion-dollar cooperatives and special interest group cooperatives, such as the Aboriginal cooperatives and the common equity rental cooperatives and those involving child-care. All of those interests had to be addressed in the Bill, and the Bill has addressed them with great success. It may well be that we will have to trim the edges or make some adjustments later, but at present there is widespread support, which goes back to the point I made earlier: it is driven by the fact that the people who are members of the cooperatives are the owners and they control their own resources and their own skills. The Ministerial Advisory Committee on Cooperatives report states that all of us are the poorer for our inability to cooperate. Cooperatives are about individuals, groups and other cooperatives working together rather than competing against each other. I have mentioned my fear about membership control. I see that as one area that has to be under continual surveillance. The Bill will address that area to a large extent. One of the reasons for this fear is that when the cooperatives become larger they become more impersonal and lose that feeling of ownership and control, and we must continue to watch that area. In many ways the increase in the size of cooperatives which is no doubt happening, has been forced on the cooperatives by values in our community that are foreign to the philosophy I mentioned previously. Obviously the main one is the competition-type philosophy, and it is one we need to keep in focus. However, the fact that the Bill embraces cooperation gives greater strength to the notion of cooperation, and will flow through. The Bill highlights the fact that some cooperatives have not lasted the distance, and it highlights the need for cooperatives to be businesslike in the approach they adopt to their own operation and the way that they meet the need for accountability in their practices. It also focuses the attention of the community on the cooperative movement in a way that has not existed before. It will also facilitate a much smoother transition when and where it becomes available-and it has become available in some instances-for business organisations to switch from, say, private enterprise to a form of cooperative. I presume from the words that have been spoken tonight by the spokespersons for the Liberal and National parties that the Bill has their support, so its passage is virtually guaranteed. I have great pleasure in supporting the Bill. It enhances and focuses on cooperatives and translates in a real way the philosophy of cooperation, which is the only way many of our difficulties will be resolved because competition certainly has not done it. Mr MACLELLAN (Berwick)--The honourable member for Ballarat South has an optimistic view of the Bill and of the cooperative movement, which brings a welcome element into the debate. I represent an area which has had cooperatives for many years. It had a community settlement which was sponsored by a cooperative arising from the National Catholic Rural Movement at Maryknoll. It was one of the most successful group settlement schemes, which triggered, in part, the collapse of the former Cain Labor government under the former Premier's father. The honourable member for Ballarat South, like the honourable members for Rodney and Melbourne, is giving the House his views on cooperatives. The honourable member for Melbourne believes when cooperatives stay in the social area as opposed to the trading area, such as security cooperatives for high-rise flats, child-care cooperatives and small-scale housing cooperatives, they remain intimate, successful, democratic and desirable. CO-OPERATWES BIU
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It seems the honourable member for Ballarat South has a strong aversion to competition. I do not know whether that aversion extends to election campaigns but he certainly has a strong aversion to competition. Mr F. P. Sheehan-Don't take it out of context. Mr MACLELLAN-I regret that the honourable member was offended by my earlier interjection. His history is totally wrong ifhe believes the peasants of middle Europe were happy to bring in their landlords' harvests. I do not believe they were. Indeed, the reason why the cooperative movement received such a boost in Europe was as a result of those Dark Ages when the people who had to bring in somebody else's harvest, work somebody else's land and take their orders, recognised that they were being exploited. The cooperative movement was the opposite of all that, and intentionally so. lf the honourable member intends to address history, he should address it in terms of the cooperative movement and not romanticise about the fact that happy and splendid people really believed in cooperation before they thought of it; in other words, that this was in the minds of nice people even though they did not know it. The reality is that the cooperative movement took its greatest root in Western society and especially in the Anglo-Saxon society in the rural areas. The honourable member for Rodney strongly and fairly put that view in the debate. He also referred to the critical nature of the supply of capital for successful cooperatives. While cooperatives remain small scale, intimate, democratic and cooperatives of active members there will not be this problem, but if commercially successful-and in a mixed society they must compete with other organisations-inevitably, as the honourable member for Rodney said, the crisis involving capital will arise. If cooperatives work for a number of years, the question of the dry shareholder will arise. As it is not properly dealt with in the Bill, the Attorney-General. will have to deal with this issue while the Bill is between here and the other place. The Opposition is not opposed to the purge of dry shareholders, people no longer actively involved but merely holding shares or interests in the cooperative without being active or trading or dealing with it. The Opposition is happy to have those people taken out, but they should be removed on the basis that they are paid a fair price for their shares. That view has been put strongly to the Opposition by Victoria's surviving and perhaps most successful cooperative. The honourable member for Rodney may not agree with my identifying the Pivot organisation as the most successful cooperative, but it is a highly successful, active trading organisation in Victoria. If the Pivot organisation is to be successful and to reach a higher scale of operation, it suggests it would not be appropriate for an Act to provide that the cancellation of the shareholding of a no longer active farmer who has sold his property and, therefore, is not buying superphosphate should attract for him the par value and not the real value of the shares. The cooperative suggests that is grossly unfair on the individual and on the organisation because it prevents it from becoming too successful and from reaching a new level. This is certainly "don't compete" proposed legislation. The Opposition agrees we should have cooperatives but that successful cooperatives should be given the opportunity of taking out of their shareholdings these dry shareholders. In terms of the dairy cooperatives the dry shareholders may be the ones who have changed their farming methods or sold their farms and are no longer active in the cooperatives. The view of the honourable member for Ballarat South that cooperatives become impersonal if they are forced to operate under a number of Acts is romance taken to the extreme. Does he really argue that the Pivot organisation is impersonal not because of its size, because it is CO-OPERATWES BIU
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successful or because it is dealing in thousands or millions, but because it has to operate under different pieces oflegislation than that covering a babysitting cooperative, a child-care cooperative or a high-rise flat security cooperative that may be established in a community group? 1be honourable member has not thought the matter through if he believes that is the reason a cooperative becomes less intimate, less democratic or less attuned to the philosophy or ideology of cooperation. The Opposition believes in the philosophy of cooperation. It believes Parliament should make legislation available for cooperatives on various scales. It should provide for the small community cooperative comprising a small number of people who wish to cooperate with each other, to the larger trading cooperatives that can be covered by appropriate rules under legislation. The ideology of the honourable members for Melbourne and Ballarat South is that a cooperative is good if it is small and intimate and not too successful, but it becomes dangerous and worrying when it starts to compete and succeed in the big world. They believe the Bill is a bit of a leveller. The honourable member for Melbourne suggested that the property must be distributed . evenly and there should not be any distinctions. That view encompasses the whole ideology question as opposed to philosophy. My view is that if people wish to cooperate they are entitled to have a proper legal framework in which to do it. Those who choose to do it on the small scale should have rules on the small scale. Those who wish to be engaged in larger trading cooperatives ought to have rules appropriate to that. Honourable members should not be supporting the theory that those who succeed in large-scale trading cooperatives are disowning the proper principles of cooperation or, worse still, are sabotaging the romantic view about cooperation. Unfortunately, the romantic view is what is being strongly put forward by government members. They have a splendid view of romantic cooperation which simply does not fit the large-scale trading model. At the same time they attempt to ignore the fact that cooperatives are not so actively engaged in our society as they are in Japan or Europe, and they will not be while this sort of leveller attitude is implanted in the BilL The cooperative movement has brought to the Opposition elements of the Bill which it believes fail to meet the test The proposed legislation imposes unreasonable restrictions on the transfer of shares in small cooperatives: if there are not many shareholders and there are two transfers within twelve months, the second transfer will be held up because there is no provision to transfer more than 20 per cent of the capital in anyone year. It is obviously a stupid rule for a small-scale cooperative and one which is likely to tangle somebody up in still holding shares, in effect, being a dry shareholder in a very small community cooperative unnecessarily and stupidly. The Opposition is not saying that cooperatives should be vulnerable to takeover. One can protect them against takeover by a completely different mechanism than the one chosen in the draft Bill. I hope the Attorney-General has amendments which will cure that problem. The Opposition does not see that because somebody who sells his fann and no longer buys superphosphate, or turns from dairy production to beef production or wool or some other fonn of agriculture, should not immediately be rob~ of the real value of his cooperative shares that he has established over many years as a good supplier to a fanning community-an example is a dairy cooperative. In an area such as the fruit industry, because somebody's trees are pulled out under some reduction scheme and that person is no longer a supplier of fruit, I do not believe that person should be purged out of the local canning cooperative, or something like that. 1be Opposition agrees that it is quite proper to expect them to be taken out, but taken out for fair value. That is the critical factor which is missing ADJOURNMENf
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 81 from the Bill. The Opposition does not have total commitment to the Bill in the sense that it wishes to see the amendments to be moved by the government. If those amendments do not cure the problems which the honourable member for Kew has put so eloquently, the Opposition, including the National Party, will have to reserve its right in another place to look at further amendments. These are the issues which the Law Institute of Victoria and the cooperative movement have shared with the Attorney-General. These issues were raised with the previous Attorney-General when the Bill was introduced. We are not engaged in an ambush; we are not trying to make difficulties where they do not exist; we are simply saying that the cooperative movement has brought these issues forward and it is Parliament's responsibility to deal with them. They will be dealt with either by the Attorney-General 's own amendments in the Committee stage or perhaps after consultation between the government and the Opposition while the Bill is between here and another place. Debate adjourned on motion of Mr G AVIN (Coburg). Debate adjourned until next day.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr KENNAN (Attorney-General~1 move: That the House, at its rising, adjourn until tomorrow, at half-past ten o'clock.
Mr MACLELLAN (Berwick~1 understand that there have been discussions on this matter, but I also understand there may not have been agreement between the parties regarding the resumption of the House at an earlier time tomorrow. It has been put by some honourable members that this will disrupt the meeting of Parliamentary committees and make impossible what has recently been the practice of the House, which is to have meetings of Parliamentary committees on Wednesday mornings. Whether the respective Deputy Leaders and people who are acting as Leaders of the House for the various parties have reached agreement on the subject, I am not sure. I think the House deserves to know that what is happening is, in effect, a partial repeal of the Sessional Order which prescribes that the House would nonnally sit at 2 o'clock tomorrow. It also means, whether the media and honourable members like it or not, we are to assemble here at 10.30 a.m. tomorrow. I presume question time will be taken at 10.30 in the morning and not at 2 o'clock. These are issues that ought to be advised to the House and they should be advised by the Attorney-General on behalf of the government, or by those honourable members who are in a position to say what agreement has been reached between the parties. Motion agreed to.
PARLIAMENTARY REFRESHMENT ROOMS The SPEAKER-I advise the House that, following my statement earlier today on dining room operations and subsequent comments by members, consideration has been given to implementation of the decisions of the House Committee. I have asked the chairman of the catering subcommittee to convene a meeting of that body to report to a meeting of the full House Committee which I have convened for 9 a.m., Thursday, 30 August. I have also had discussions with the Deputy Chairman of the House Committee, the President of the Legislative Council. ADJOURNMENf
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Having regard to the particular concern expressed by members that a members-only dining area be provided, I have directed that only those fonnerly entitled to use the members' dining room will be admitted to that area. Further implementation of the relevant decision of the House Committee will be considered by it at the forthcoming meeting. Other decisions reported to the House which have not been the subject of comment will be implemented as previously advised.
ADJOURNMENT Daylight-saving-East Gippsland floods-Compensatory higher school certificate passes-Colac District Hospital kitchen-Farrow group-Sandringham Secondary College-Warrnambool toy library for disabled-Compulsory land acquisitions, Keilor. Mr KENNAN (Attorney-General)-I move: That the House do now adjourn. Mr LIEBERMAN (Benambra)-I direct to the attention of the Premier and, in her absence, the Attorney-General a matter concerning Commonwealth-State relations and the need to achieve unifonnity between the Eastern States, particularly on the vexed question of daylight-saving. Unfortunately, there is a difference in the finishing time of daylight-saving between Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria compared with New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory. The first-mentioned States end daylight-saving in the third weekend in March. The second-mentioned States end daylight-saving in the first weekend in March. As a result ofthe fortnight's difference-that is the continuation of daylight-saving in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania-there is enonnous disruption in the Eastern States to commerce and industry, to tourism and to the everyday life for families living in the border areas. I and a number of my colleagues, including the honourable member for Mildura, the Federal member for Indi, Ewen Cameron, and other members of Parliament in the eastern parts of Australia have been campaigning to have the Premiers agree on a uniform ending date for daylight-saving. The reason is simple: for as long as Australia continues to have needless differences in these fundamental matters, we will never become truly competitive and efficient. Overseas visitors regard the differences in time from one State to another as a humbug. Airlines must be rescheduled. The General Manager of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation infonned my office that the difference in times earlier this year cost the ABC an extra $200 ()()() for reprogramming. Together with my colleagues, the honourable member for Mildura and the federal member for Indi, Ewen Cameron, I attended the Premiers Conference in Canberra in an effort to have the Premiers resolve the matter there and then. The Prime Minister and the Queensland Premier were helpful and arranged for the Premiers to have an infonnal discussion. Because of the problems with the financial position of the States during that most recent conference, only a short discussion could be held on the need forunifonnity of times. However, the Prime Minister and all the Premiers agreed that it was important to achieve uniformity. As a result of that discussion the Premiers left Canberra agreeing to come back for a further Premiers Conference on Commonwealth-State relations in October this year. I understand that all ADJOURNMENr
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Premiers clearly recognise that they are expected to reach agreement by then so that this needless anomaly can be resolved. I raise this issue for the Premier's attention on the first day of this sessional period because it is almost September and it is absolutely incumbent on the Victorian Premier to take a lead in having the necessary discussions with her officers before she goes to Canberra in October. If the Premiers leave the conference without resolving the issue of unifonnity they should be severely criticised, regardless of which party they belong to. Premiers have a responsibility to help Australian States work with more cohesion and unity. This is a fundamental issue and there is no reason why the Premiers cannot compromise and perhaps shift the start of daylight-saving to a different date. In this situation there are no winners or losers. I ask the new Premier, the most recently appointed Premier in Australia, to take note of my remarks. The SPEAKER-Order! The honourable member's time has expired. Mr EV ANS (Gippsland East}-I raise a matter for the attention of the Premier and I ask the Minister for Transport, who is at the table, to bring the matter to her attention. In the weekend of 22-23 April East Gippsland experienced an extraordinary event with the floods that hit the area and the damage that was inflicted on private property and individuals received much attention and sympathy from the then Premier. However, I refer tonight to the flood damage to public installations, especially to roads and river frontages, because no decision has been made about providing finance to rectify that damage. Last weekend I visited one of the more remote corners of the electorate I represent, the small community of Crooked River. The road leading to Crooked River is an unsealed, winding road and every bend on this steep, mountainous road has been washed out. The Shire of Avon, which has the responsibility for that area, has had to stop all its other road works and employ its work force in rehabilitating that road to enable even rudimentary communications to be established. Ironically, because the Shire of Avon was so busy carrying out flood restoration work, it was not able to expend its usual road funds. Now it has been told that those road funds cannot be carried over to this fmancial year. So the shire loses the road funds it would have expended had it been able to carry on with its nonnal program and it has no promise of funds to recompense it for the money it has spent on rehabilitating the roads affected by the floods. That is, the shire has been hit both ways: its nonnal funding has been denied and no emergency funding has been offered to it. The state of affairs is shocking and I do not believe the government intends that this situation should prevail. Additionally, a number of properties on the Wonnangatta River have access only by way of suspension bridges that are footbridges. With a high flow in the river, the owners of the properties have access only by way of these bridges, a number of which have been destroyed totally or so severely damaged as to be unusable. The people affected cannot see any way of getting to their stock or their properties to look after them except in circumstances in which the river is at a level low enough to ford it with a tractor or a four-wheel drive vehicle. Given the amount of snow on some of the high country, it could be a considerable time.in the future before people have access to their properties because, as the snow melts, it will cause the river levels to be maintained. The river has suffered much damage. The river management boards will require funds to at least stop the damage. There is evidence of continuing damage in the higher reaches of the river, which will require work. ADJOURNMENT
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Will the Premier give assurances that the shires worst affected-that is, the shires of Maffra, Avon and Bairnsdale-will be given infonnation in the near future about what money will be made available, firstly, for road and access restoration works and, secondly, for river protection works so that the circumstances I have described can be rectified? Mr MA THEWS (Oakleigh}--I direct a matter to the attention of the Minister for Education and ask that the Minister for Transport, who is at the table, convey it to him. I refer to the predicament of a small group of young people who have been prevented by illness from sitting the higher school certificate examination and who have been awarded compensatory passes in that examination. The predicament arises from the fact that, although those students received compensatory passes, they have no Anderson scores that can be used for the purpose of obtaining entry to tertiary education institutions. They find themselves left, in effect, in a twilight zone where they are holders of the higher school certificate but cannot pursue what should be the expectation of those holders; namely, the opportunity of proceeding to the next stage of their education. I am aware of one incident in particular where a highly talented young man, much admired by teachers at the school where he pursued his HSC studies, was ill when he was to have taken his examinations. He was awarded a compensatory pass on the recommendation of his teachers but he has found tertiary education institutions across the board unreceptive to his approaches for a place in the institutions because there is no Anderson score on which the merits of his claim could be assessed relative to the claims of other applicants for admission. It may well be that under the enlightened Victorian certificate of education arrangements to which-under the leadership of this government-our State is now moving, this will become a problem of the past because the availability of continuous assessment mechanisms will mean that the possibility of students being ill for a sufficient period to rule themselves out of the continuous assessment process will be reduced virtually to vanishing point. But this still, in effect leaves in limbo a number of students who have obtained compensatory passes at HSC level in these circumstances in recent years. I ask the Minister for Education in the other place, through the Minister for Transport, to intervene on behalf of the students and to investigate whether some mechanism for dealing with their claims for an assessment of the merits of their applications vis-a-vis those of the other applicants, and for their removal from that state of limbo, may be devised as a matter of urgency. It may be that such an arrangement will necessarily involve some dimension of risk of miscalculation. It may be that is some instances an applicant who, had he or she obtained an Anderson score, would not have been appropriate for admission to a tertiary institution will now secure entry to such an institution. I am sure the Minister for Education will agree upon reflection that that risk is less than the certainty of injustice being done in the present situation. Mr I. W. SMITH (polwarth}--I direct to the attention of the Treasurer and the Minister representing the Minister for Health in the other place the problem that has occurred as a result of the Treasurer's clampdown on public works projects. That has stalled the reconstruction of the Colac District Hospital kitchen redevelopment, a project that was promised by the Minister for Health in April 1989. At that time the Minister reaffinned that Health Department Victoria had a commitment to the project that would result in a major improvement in services at the hospital. In her news release of 20 April 1989, the Minister for Health states: ADJOURNMENf
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Ms Hogg said the kitchens at the hospital were in urgent need of improvement, as inadequate accommodation had meant staff were unable to provide an efficient service. She said the government recognised the urgent need to improve the facilities. Following that announcement the hospital called for tenders. To date it has been involved in expenditure of $370 000. Returned tenders disclosed a successful tenderer at a cost of $4.3 million. The hospital board of management was about to accept that tender when the clamp came down from the Treasurer. That has placed the hospital in a most invidious position. The government wants the program to proceed. Certainly the kitchen area does not meet any reasonable health standards. If the local health inspector were required to certify building improvements he could not approve the building because it is an utter disgrace. Only because it is a government building is it removed from the public standard of conditions. Sooner or later the project will proceed anyway. Colac is in an area that has been adversely affected by the Farrow group closure. It is a capital works project which can inject some badly-needed funds into the area but, more particularly, it will meet the Minister's promise to redevelop the kitchen area. The problem needs some urgent personal attention from the Minister for Health and the Treasurer to ensure that the project does not finally cost a lot more because of the delay. I appeal to the Minister for Transport to direct the matter to the attention of the Minister for Health. Mr SHELL (Geelong)-I raise a matter for the attention of the Deputy Premier in his capacity as the chainnan of the task force dealing with the effects in Geelong of the collapse of the Pyramid-Farrow group, and in his absence I ask the Minister for Transport to raise the matter with him. Without going through all the details of the Pyramid disaster, a week before the closure of the Pyramid and Geelong building societies Bill Farrow called me to his office to tell me that within seven to ten days the Pyramid group would run out of cash. After the collapse an administrator was appointed; and at that stage it was intended that the building societies would close for only one week. As events have turned out it is most unlikely that they will reopen. Following the closure the government gave a guarantee to the depositors of the Pyramid and Geelong building societies, and recently those depositors have received 25 per cent of their deposits. The specific issue I direct to the attention of the Deputy Premier concerns the non-withdrawable nature of the shares issued by the Geelong and Pyramid building societies. Statements guaranteeing their security made by counter staff, over the telephone or by home visits run counter to statements made in the prospectus or memorandum sent out at the same time as the share certificates. Among other things the documents said, firstly, that the funds were not guaranteed and, secondly, that in the event of a wind-up the holders of the certificates would be second-last in line for the payment of any dividends. I direct that matter to the attention of the Deputy Premier, in his capacity as chairman of the task force, as well as the matter of cheques being dishonoured despite their being issued prior to the closure of the Geelong and Pyramid building societies. The details of the cheques do not appear in the accounts or any other records of the group. All the people affected have are cheques that are no good to them; and because their cheque accounts do not appear to be registered with either the Pyramid or Geelong building societies they have been unable to participate in the 25 per cent pay-out. Also, some small businessmen who had deposits with the building societies have yet to receive their 25 per cent pay-out. ADJOURNMENT
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I ask the Minister for Transport to pass on my remarks to the Deputy Premier because Geelong, like many other rural towns and cities, has been devastated by the collapse of the Farrow group of companies. We must make sure that the government guarantee is enjoyed by all those affected so that people can get back their money to either reinvest it or spend it locally on housing extensions or purchasing new cars. Mr LEA (Sandringham)-I ask the Minister for Transport to direct my remarks to the Minister for Education in the other place. I request information concerning the building of the second stage of Sandringham Secondary College. The college has made clear to the Minister its desire for the building of a performing arts and drama centre. The school has a proud tradition of producing drama going back to its Highett High School days. I have visited the school to see its productions on more than a dozen occasions over the past five years-and I know that the Minister for Transport has also enjoyed such productions. I pay tribute to three people in particular-Charles Slucki, David Taylor and Russell Davies---who have all played an important part in the development of both Highett High School and Sandringham Secondary College. The performing arts and drama centre would provide a significant additional community resource. It would be funded principally by the Ministry for Education, and the local council has guaranteed funds. Community groups are prepared to back the significant development. The college is regarded as a lighthouse college; it is the best amalgamated secondary college in Victoria. If the Ministry wants to continue using the college as a Statewide showpiece it must put its money where its mouth is. On behalf of the Sandringham Secondary College I urgently request details of the new performing arts and drama centre and a clear indication of the date when building will commence. It is about time the government continued the good work it has done in the area. I believe all honourable members would like to see the development of this significant State educational performing arts and drama centre in the Sandringham electorate. I commend it to the Minister for Education and the Minister for Transport, who is at the table, and seek an urgent response so that the Sandringham Secondary College can undertake the project. Mr J. F. McGRATH (Warmambool)-I raise a matter for the attention of the Minister for Community Services, but because she is not present in the House I direct it to the attention of the Minister for Transport, who is at the table. The issue was previously raised with the Minister for Trmsport when he was the Minister for Community Services. Mr W. D. McGrath-Has he done anything about it? Mr J. F. McG RATH- Yes, he did something about it. The issue concerns services to the disabled in Victoria, specifically toy library services in the Warmambool area. Under what was called the South West Support Group for the Handicapped, which is now known as the South West Region Disability Service Inc., a toy library facility was established with a small grant but largely through voluntary fund raising activities raising several thousand dollars. The group provided a service for a broad community, not just in Warmambool but in areas :tround Warmambool as well. Readers of the government Budget will have noticed that in recent years an orgnisation known as Noah's Ark Toy Library and Parent Support Resources received significant grants from the Labor government of approximately $500 ()()() from memory. I was concerned at the time that the Noah's Ark service was concentrated specifically in Melbourne and did very little to fund initiatives or to assist in establishing facilities throughout country and regional Victoria. ADJOURNMENT
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When I raised the issue with the former Minister for Community Services in debate on the motion for the adjournment of the sitting he responded quickly, and within a short time an instruction went out to Noah's Ark to provide to him or the Ministry a report revealing their actions, including their expenditure of the Budget grant. The report was called for several months ago and was due to be released in April, but it has still not been issued. With the assistance of the Minister we were able to arrange for people from the Noah's Ark service to attend a meeting with people in the Warmambool area who need the facility, but the meeting did not produce results. In fact, the report that the Minister called for is still with the Noah's Ark organisation. It has not been released and is not available to the people to whom it should be available. Therefore, it has been necessary for me to raise the matter in this House again and ask the Minister for Transport, through his colleague the Minister for Community Services, to ensure that the Noah's Ark Toy Library and Parent Support Resources is called to account for the tremendous amount of funding that the government has provided to it for the purpose, I understand, of making the service available to all Victorians, and not just those who happen to live in Melbourne. It is deplorable that this organisation should now ignore the Minister's direction. I ask the Minister to take up this issue as a matter of urgency, because the situation is becoming more difficult each year as a result of escalating coSts. I should like to see the issue finally resolved in the short term. Mr SEITZ (Keilor)-The matter I raise for the attention of the Minister for Planning and Urban Growth concerns an area in my electorate to which I shall refer as the Calder wedge, which is the area between the Calder Highway, the Maribymong River and Jacksons Creek. A mishmash of planning ordinances applies to that area, from conservation to rural and from 5-acre lots to residential developments. I urge the Minister to examine the area in that wedge so that he and his department may gain some understanding of which parts are required for open public space, such as some areas along the river banks, and perhaps consider rezoning some areas for special purposes, such as agriCUlture, or residential use in cases where people wish to build houses on blocks of land of reasonable size. Because of the widening of the Calder Highway, many people lost large parts of their properties. The then Road Construction Authority purchased parts of their land and the remainder seems a fairly small area on which to establish houses. Consideration should be given to those people. Compulsory acquisition of the remainder of their properties for use as public open space or for conservation purposes-which would be beneficial as the area is fairly close to the city-would enable them to purchase larger blocks elsewhere. People have spent much time in developing the area and many had visions of building their dream homes there. I also ask the Minister to ensure, if it is necessary to acquire that land compulsorily, that the land is purchased at realistic market values rather than using a method of downgrading the value of the land by refusing to issue permits to develop it in various ways. The SPEAKER-Order! The honourable member's time has expired. The time for raising matters in the adjournment debate has also expired. Mr SPYKER (Minister for Transport)-The honourable member for Benambra raised an important issue. At a time when progress can be made in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, it seems ironic that the Eastern States of Australia cannot get their act together on daylight-saving. He pointed out the different problems that arise between Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, the costs to the airline industry and the inconvenience to local communities because there is not a standard summer time in those States. ADJOURNMENT
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I have spoken with the Premier, who has had discussions with the Queensland Premier, Mr Wayne Goss, about what can be done to ensure that Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and indeed the Australian Capital Territory agree to a uniform summer time. It seems ludicrous for the States to argue about a week here and there. The Premier assures me that this is not a matter of politics between Victoria and New South Wales and that the daylight-saving issue will be raised at the conference in October, as the honourable member for Benambra has requested. As an honourable member who represents an electorate that includes Albury-Wooonga, the honourable member for Benambra would be well aware of the difficulties and dislocation caused to local constituents, commerce and the airline industry by the States having a different summer time. The Premier has assured me that she will take up the matter to ensure that there is agreement between the eastern seaboard States on a uniform summer time. The honourable member for Gippsland East referred to flood damage in his area. I am pleased to inform him that I have given authorisation to ensure that the Baimsdale railway line is reopened after the flood damage has been repaired. He also referred to the damage caused to local roads in the Shire of Avon and requested that repairs be made. He also mentioned the successful snow season and the fact that the snow will soon be melting, which will also damage local roads. I shall ask the regional office in that area to ensure that the roads are repaired so that both industry and local constituents can use the roads safely. The honourable member for Oakleigh raised a problem of a constituent with higher school certificate scores, and I shall refer that matter to the Minister for Education. The honourable member for Polwarth referred to public works projects at the Colac District Hospital and spoke of commitments given by the Minister for Health to complete the renovations at the hospital. I shall refer the matter to the Minister for Health. The honourable member for Geelong referred to the Farrow Corporation and the Pyramid Building Society trauma. I congratulate the honourable member for Geelong and other members representing that area in dealing so sensibly with the trauma of the collapse of the Pyramid Building Society. The honourable member for Geelong referred to non-withdrawable shares and the impact on small business. The government is sensitive to those problems, and I shall direct the matter to the attention of the Attorney-General. The honourable member for Sandringham referred to Sandringham Secondary College, and he would be well aware that one of my sons was a student at that college. I know it provides wonderful educational opportunities for people in the south-eastern area. I speak of that school in glowing terms because I served my apprenticeship as a fitter and turner in the Sandringham area during the late 1950s and early 1960s, so it is a father and son episode. The honourable member for Sandringham mentioned drama and music classes, and it is important to maintain high standards at the school so that educational opportunities are provided for people in the Sandringham, Cheltenham and Highett areas. I shall direct the matter to the attention of the Minister for Education. The honourable member for Warmambool referred to services for the disabled, and I know of his long-term commitment to disabled people. As a previous Minister for Community Services, lam concerned that the distribution of funds for the Noah's Ark Toy Library and Parent Support Resources has not spread across the State because it has a responsibility to ensure that children with disabilities-they are a most vulnerable section of the community-have the opportunity of participating in such programs. I shall direct that matter to the attention of the Minister for Community Services to ensure that the problems that have occurred are dealt with. The honourable member also directs my ADJOURNMENT
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 89 attention to a report that was to be tabled in April and I shall also direct that to the attention of the Minister. Mr Plowman interjected. Mr SPYKER-Tbe honourable member for Evelyn inteljects to say that it has taken some time. The government is proud of the amount of money it has allocated towards assisting people with disabilities to lead normal lives. It should not matter whether those people live in Melbourne or in the electorate of Warmambool. I have a personal commitment to ensure that people with disabilities, wherever they live, have the right to lead as near normal lives as possible. It is not just an obligation of the government; disabled people have a right to equal opportunities so they can develop their full potential. I feel strongly about that and will ensure that happens. The honourable member for Keilor raised an issue for the attention of the Minister for Planning and Urban Growth relating to the Calder wedge along the Calder Highway. The honourable member indicated that members of Parliament must be aware of local sensitivities. I shall direct that matter to the attention of the Minister so that the issue is discussed with him as the local member and the outcome is satisfactory, not just to him but also to his constituents, who he so ably represents. Motion agreed to. House adjourned 10.37 p.m.
DEATH OF RAYMOND JOHN WILTSHIRE, ESQUIRE
29 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 91
WEDNESDAY, 29 AUGUST 1990
The SPEAKER (Hon. Ken CoghiU) took the chair at 10.34 a.m.and read the prayer.
DEATH OF RA YMOND JOHN WILTSHIRE, ESQUIRE Ms KIRNER (premier}-I move: That this House expresses its sincere sorrow at the death of Raymond John Wiltshire, Esquire, and places on record its acknowledgment of the valuable services rendered by him to the Parliament and the people of Victoria as member of the Legislative Assembly for the electoral district of Dandenong from 1955 to 1958, the electoral district of Mulgrave from 1958 to 1967 and for the electoral district of Syndal from 1967 to 1976. Raymond John Wiltshire died on 22 July last. Ray, as he was better known, was a member of this House for more than 20 years from 1955 to 1976. He entered this place as the honourable member for Dandenong and he held that seat until 1958. From 1958 to March 1967 he held what was then known as the new seat of Mulgrave and in April 1967 he became the sitting member for the new seat of Syndal. He remained the sitting member for Syndal until his retirement in 1976. Ray was born in Macedon and was raised on a farm. He was educated at Macedon State School but he was not to follow in the footsteps of his father, David, who was a farmer and grazier, as Ray's interests were in things more mechanical. He attended the Footscray Technical School and upon completion of his schooling worked as a mechanical engineer at a sawmill. As with so many men and women of his generation, Ray's life was dramatically changed by the emergence of world war in 1939. These years were to be eventful ones for Ray. He joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1940 as a fitter-a good trade-and in April of the following year he married Doris Hore. His training, experience and his mechanical aptitude enabled him to broaden his horizons considerably. By 1943 he was a flight test engineer and he remained so until the end of the war. After the war Ray opened a garage in Tally Ho, but it would seem he was not content to tinker with the underside of automobiles forever. He had an entrepreneurial side, a drive to succeed in other areas. In 1949 he went into real estate in the Dandenong area and he became a local representative for the then Housing Commission. It is not difficult to imagine how his interests in politics would have developed. His work brought him into contact with people on a daily basis. He would have been well placed to understand their needs and be aware of the problems they faced. He joined the Liberal Country Party and later became secretary of its Dandenong branch. He acquired an interest in antiques and he and his wife, Doris, opened their own antique business. He enjoyed his sport and was a keen shooter and golfer. Ray was an active local member involving himself in the issues and organisations he considered were important to the constituents that he represented. He was the Chairman of the State Development Committee from 1968 to 1971 and he served on this committee from 1964 to 1976. He was a member of the Printing Committee from 1955 to 1961, of the New Zealand Insurance Trustees Co. Ltd Committee in 1972, of the Trustees Companies (Trustees Executors Bill) Committee in 1973, of the Privileges Committee from 1974 to 1976 and he was a Temporary Chairman of Committees from 1964 to 1976. DEATH OF RAYMOND JOHN WILTSHIRE, ESQUIRE
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On behalf of the government, I offer my sincere condolences to his daughter, Diana, and son, John, and to his six grandchildren. Mr BROWN (Leader of the Opposition)-On behalf of the Liberal Party I join with the Premier in expressing the sympathy of the House to the family of the late Raymond Wiltshire. Raymond died on 22 July in Devonport, Tasmania. His Parliamentary career spanned 21 years, commencing in May 1955 when he was elected to represent the Liberal Party in the electoral district of Dandenong, until April 1958. Following redistribution he was elected to the seat of Mulgrave until March 1967. Again an electoral redistribution occurred, after which he held the seat of Syndal from April 1967 until February 1976. Macedon is where Ray Wiltshire was born and educated. He later attended the Footscray Technical School and trained as a mechanical engineer. He served as a fitter in the RAAF from 1940 to 1945 and as a flight test engineer from 1943 to 1945. In 1941 he married Doris and there was one son and one daughter from that marriage. After the war Ray owned a service station and then moved into real estate in Dandenong in 1949. Daily contact with people provided Ray with local knowledge that equipped him well to embark on his Parliamentary career. As a member of Parliament he was a member of the State Development Committee from 1968 to 1976, a member of the New Zealand Insurance Trust Co. Ltd Committee in 1972, the Trustee Companies (Trustees Executors) Bill Committee in 1973 and the Privileges Committee from 1974 to 1976. In Mr Wiltshire's maiden speech to Parliament on 21 September 1955 I note that he made reference to the fact that he was speaking for the first time in this House as a representative of some 36 000 people in the Dandenong electorate which, at that time, was the largest electorate in Victoria. He further added that he had heard comments with regard to the size of certain electorates and he took the opportunity in his speech of pointing out that as the honourable member for Dandenong he represented not so many snakes to the square mile, but real people, and I thought that comment probably typified the man. He clearly had a sense of humour and was prepared to say publicly exactly what he thought. He raised the matters that were of most concern to him in his constituency, which at that time involved a shortage of school accommodation, a lack of adequate water supplies, the need for residents to be consulted on whether a hotel should be established in Box Hill South and the duplication of Dandenong Road. At that time growth in his electorate was highlighted by industrial expansion, with General Motors Holden being established in the district. The SPEAKER-Order! A condolence motion is a serious matter that has always been treated with the greatest respect by the House. I ask all honourable members to continue that tradition by remaining silent while honourable members are speaking on condolence motions. Mr BROWN-At the time of the establishment of General Motors Holden in the region, and its associated growth for the area, Ray recorded his community's pride in the Dandenong Festival of Music and Art for Youth. It is quite evident that Ray was dedicated to the people of his electorate. His sincere interest in education was demonstrated in his membership of three school councils-namely, Jordanville Technical School, Glen Waverley High School and Monash High School. For five years from 1972 to 1977 Ray was the President of the Melbourne Family Care organisation and remained on the committee until September 1984. He was of great assistance to the organisation in the passage of legislation through Parliament, in particular to enable the sale of the Emerald Hill estate in 1974, which was the site of the old Melbourne orphanage. The proceeds of the sale were reinvested in industrial and commercial enterprises DEATH OF RAYMOND JOHN WILTSHIRE, ESQUIRE
29 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 93 providing an income to the organisation and I am aware that Ray was centrally involved in having that legislation proceed through Parliament. He had also taken a keen interest in the development of the Upper Murray Family Care and Mallee Family Care organisations, and was made a life governor of the parent organisation in 1983. On behalf of the Liberal Party I extend my sincere condolences to the family of the late Raymond Wiltshire. Mr MeNAMARA (Leader of the National Party)-I join with the Premier and the Leader ofthe Opposition in the condolence motion for Raymond John Wiltshire. He served in several electoral districts in the Legislative Assembly, firstly, in the district of Dandenong from 1955 to 1958, then in Mulgrave from 1958 to 1967 and then Syndal from 1967 to 1976. He was Chainnan of the State Development Committee from 1968 to 1971 and a member of the State Development Committee from 1964 through to 1976. He also served on other Parliamentary committees including the Printing Committee from 1955 to 1961. He was a member of the New Zealand Insurance Trustee Co. Ltd Committee in 1972, and a member of the Trustee Companies (Trustees Executors) Bill Committee in 1973, a member of the Privileges Committee from 1974 to 1976 and a Temporary Chainnan of Committees from 1964 to 1976. He was born at Macedon into a family of fanners and graziers. He was educated at Macedon State School and then at Footscray Technical School. He worked as a mechanical engineer in a sawmill and at the outbreak of war he enlisted in the RAAF and served from 1940 until 1945. From 1943 to 1945 he was a flight test engineer, and at the conclusion of the second world war he opened a garage at Tally Ho which he operated from 1945 to 1949. In 1949 he opened a real estate agency, which showed great initiative-moving into a reputable profession. He was very successful in that business, and obviously the standing he had was supported by people within the bureaucracy, as he was given the then Housing Commission agency at that time. He also operated as an antique dealer and grazier and he served as President of Melbourne Family Care. He was a member of the Chamber of Commerce and also had a great interest in educational matters, being involved with Jordanville Technical School, Glen Waverley High School and Monash High School. He served for a number of years with the Dandenong branch of the Liberal Party, and he had a continuing interest in this area following his retirement. I extend the condolences of the National Party to his daughter, Diana, who is living in Albury and to his son, John, who is living in Devonport. I understand Ray was living in Devonport at the time of his death and our condolences are extended to his entire family. Mr COLEMAN (Syndal)--I knew Raymond Wiltshire for most of my life. He came to the Mount Waverley district in 1941 and married Doris Hore, who was a member of a well known family. He returned to the area immediately after the war to open a service station in a district that was essentially rural, growing horticultural produce. The vision he demonstrated a number of times during his life is illustrated by the fact that he came to that district at a time when mechanisation within the horticultural and rural industries was just beginning to occur. He survived in that business until 1949 and the business is still operating today, although it is not being operated by his family. He then opened a business in Dandenong, once again demonstrating a vision, because it was prior to any of the big companies-General Motors Holden, H. J. Heinz Co. Aust. Ltd or International Harvester Australia Ltd-being DEATH OF RAYMOND JOHN WILTSHIRE, ESQUIRE
94 ASSEMBLY 29 AUGUST 1990 established there. At that time he recognised that he could be a part of the growth of that area, and of course that proved to be so. Ray Wiltshire operated that business until after he was elected to Parliament for the seat of Dandenong in 1955. He was preselected by the Liberal Country Party, as it then was, in a tied ballot with my father, and the ballot was determined by the chairman of the preselection committee. Our lives have essentially crossed on a number of occasions since then. During the period he was the honourable member for Dandenong there was significant growth in the Dandenong electorate which, in 1955, extended from Canterbury Road in Box Hill to the Cardinia Creek at Clyde and from Cockatoo to Mordialloc. There were 36 000 people in an area which now comprises all the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The seat was redistributed on three occasions, and on each occasion after redistribution there were more than 36 000 people in the electorate. In 1967 the seat was named Syndal and at that election the now honourable member for Footscray, the Honourable Robert Fordharn, was the ALP candidate. Ray Wiltshire was one of those people who could turn a hand to a whole range of activities. After having gained a qualification as a mechanical engineer at what was then Footscray Technical School prior to the second world war he had been a sawmiller, a mechanical engineer, a real estate agent, a valuer, a farmer, a successful antique dealer and a member of this House with all that entails. He certainly made a significant contribution to the community in a wide range of areas. Most importantly, he was a member of the State Development Committee from 1968 through to his retirement in 1976. Under his chairmanship of that committee the State went through a dramatic growth period. Ray Wiltshire was part of that and was always proud of the fact that he was associated with much of the growth that occurred in Victoria at that time. He purchased a property at Barry Beach as a result of his association with the State Development Committee. Barry Beach was where much of the work was done for the Gippsland oilfields. He had an interest in seeing that development proceed. He also had an interest in developing his property which he did at times with the aid of a tank, as I recall. He could certainly turn his hand to a wide range of activities. Ray Wiltshire was approached by the Melbourne Family Care organisation to shepherd through Parliament an amendment to lift a Crown grant over the Emerald Hill estate in South Melbourne in 1972, at a time when Tom Uren, Minister for Urban Affairs in the Whitlam government, took an interest in urban conservation. That area has been preserved as a direct result of his and Tom Vren's negotiations, because the organisation was not in a position to maintain it. At that time the Commonwealth government took a leading hand in ensuring the preservation of the area. As a result of his training as a valuer, Ray Wiltshire was instrumental in reinvesting the proceeds of that sale in properties for the organisation, and as a result of that investment it is now benefiting from a real estate portfolio worth some $15 million. I have known Raymond John Wiltshire, for most of my life. I extend to his daughter, Diana, and son, John, the condolences both of the electorate of Syndal and of my family, which had a long relationship with him. Mr RICHARDSON (Forest Hill)-Raymond John Wiltshire served in this Parliament for more than twenty years and distinguished himself as a diligent servant of the people of the electorates he represented. The redistribution of 1974, finalised in 1975, led to the division of the vast seat of Syndal into two seats, the seat of Syndal which was represented after the DEATH OF THE HONOURABLE JOHN WllLlAM GALBAlLY. CBE. QC
29 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 95 ensuing election by the present honourable member for Syndal and the seat of Forest Hill to which I was elected in 1976. I had not known Ray Wiltshire prior to my preselection for the seat of Forest Hill, but I soon found him to be of great assistance. He quickly took me around the new electorate and did the things that an outgoing member does for a younger and newer candidate. He introduced me to the key people in those portions of the electorate with which I was unfamiliar. I do not bring to this condolence motion the same experiences as those described by the honourable member for Syndal whose family had a long association with the Wiltshire family. I know the father of the honourable member for Syndal and the late Ray Wiltshire were very close friends. I am not able to refer to that type of association but I record my appreciation of the assistance that the late Mr Wiltshire gave me when I was first seeking election to Parliament by inheriting part of the seat which he had represented with such distinction for many years. I convey the sympathies and condolences of the people of Forest Hill to the family of the late Raymond John Wiltshire. Mr E. R. SMITH (Glen Waverley)-I join the debate on the motion to pass on the condolences of the Glen Waverley people to the family ofMr Wiltshire. He was the member for the area I now represent at a time when the Shire of Mulgrave was terminated and the City of Waverley was formed. Over that period the city has grown into the largest municipality in Victoria. Mr Wiltshire was highly respected in the area and people still speak with affection of him and for the services he carried out on behalf of the electorate. I join with previous speakers in extending my condolences to his family. The SPEAKER-Order! I support the comments of the Premier, the Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the National Party and the honourable members for Syndal, Forest Hill and Glen Waverley who have fully outlined the broad and illustrious career of Raymond John Wiltshire. He certainly demonstrated great talent in turning his hand successfully to an enormous range of personal and professional activities. As a member of Parliament he clearly played an influential role over many years through his activities, particularly as chairman and a member of the State Development Committee, and it is a record of which his family can be proud. I pass on my sympathies and condolences to his daughter, Diana, his son, John, and his six grandchildren. I suggest that this motion and the following condolence motion be agreed to in the traditional manner together, following consideration of the next motion.
DEATH OF THE HONOURABLE JOHN WILLIAM GALBALLY, CBE,QC Ms KIRNER (Premier)-I move: That this House expresses its sincere sorrow at the death of the Honourable John William Galbally, CBE, QC, and places on record its acknowledgment of the valuable services rendered by him to the Parliament and the people of Victoria as member of the Legislative Council for the electoral province of Melbourne North from 1949 to 1979, Minister of Electrical Undertakings from 1952 to 1955, Minister of Forests from 1952 to 1954 and Minister of Labour and Industry from 1954 to 1955. Jack Galbally was one of the greats of this Parliament. His death on 8 July last has brought a great sense of sadness and loss to members of this place and to all Victorians who knew him, and there were many. The gathering for his State funeral at St Patrick's Cathedral was DEATH OF THE HONOURABLE JOHN WIUlAM GALBAILY, CBE, QC
96 ASSEMBLY 29 AUGUST 1990 testimony to the esteem and respect with which he was held by the Victorian community. He was one of the most impressive foremost public figures and refonners of the post-war era in Victoria. Like so many of the great figures of the Victorian Labor movemen4 he came from humble beginnings. He was born on 2 August 1910 in Port Melbourne, the second eldest of a family of nine, one of a remarkable family that has left heavy imprints in the fields of law ,medicine and education in this State. Jack Galbally was born into a Catholic family and was educated at the former St Patrick's College in East Melbourne. He matriculated from Melbourne High School with a scholarship for Newman College, University of Melbourne. His life, like so many of his generation, was profoundly affected by the depression years in Melbourne. His father, Willi am , was a salesman and floorwalker who went without work during those times. In a close family, Jack and his brothers and sisters helped each other to achieve their academic and professional goals based on their experience of the depression. While studying law Jack Galbally worked at a variety of jobs to meet the financial costs of his tertiary education. He worked as a car salesman, a shop assistant, a primary teacher, a fruit packer and a wharf labourer. Those experiences and his devout Catholic faith shaped his values. His dedication to higher learning was balanced with an understanding of, and empathy with, the values ofcommon people. His sympathies were always with the underdogs of society; not in a rhetorical sense but instinctively so. Jack Galbally's sporting prowess is legendary. He played two seasons ofleague football with his beloved Collingwood in 1933 and 1934, although I do not hold that against him. He said this experience had a lasting influence on his life. Many of the players at that time were unemployed and relied absolutely on their playing fees to keep their families. Jack recalled the occasion of a match against Carlton when a big crowd rolled up at Victoria Park. The Collingwood committee proposed to reduce payments to players from 3 pounds to 2 pounds 10 shillings. There was a meeting of players and one advocated a strike. "Over my dead body," roared the captain, Syd Coventry, "there're thousands of people out there who have paid to see us play, and half of them are out of work, too! We'll play and we'll bloody well give them their money's worth!" Jack never forgot that kind of commitment to delivering to the ordinary people. He was later the Vice-President of the Collingwood Football Qub, but his devotion to Collingwood went a lot further than the sniff of the guernsey; Collingwood represented the spirit of working people. When Collingwood won-which was more often than not in those days-it was a triumph of the underdog. At about that time Jack Galbally joined the Collingwood branch of the Australian Labor Party. He also established a legal practice in Collingwood and he became the solicitor for the Collingwood City Council. His sporting achievements extended beyond football to golf, where he achieved a handicap of one and qualified for and played in the French open-no mean feat. He was a member of no fewer than four Victorian golf clubs, including Royal Melbourne and Victoria. He also played pennant tennis and was the Murray Valley champion in 1932, 1946 and 1947. He was a member of the fonner Lawn Tennis Association of Victoria. Jack was a keen runner and often could be spotted running to and from Parliament via the Royal Botanic Gardens. On 14 October 1939 Jack married Sheila Marie Kenny and they had two sons and three daughters. Jack Galbally is remembered as one of Victoria's great criminal lawyers. He appeared in many historic trials. One of the most notable of those trials was a case in which a woman claimed that the Kyneton District Hospital gave her newborn daughter to another patient. DEATH OF THE HONOURABLE JOHN WIUIAM GALBAILY, CBE, QC
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The case went through the Australian courts and Jack paid his own costs to fight the Privy Council appeal in London. It has been said that a good deal of his skill and success derived from his knowledge and experience of the needs of ordinary people. One can trace it back to his football, one can trace it back to the depression and one can also trace it back to his being a young solicitor in Collingwood, where he cut his legal teeth and learned to detest the insufficient means provisions of the Vagrancy Act, which put into gaol so many people whose only fault was that they had no money. As Jack said: It was shameful. the way people. mostly men. were put in gaol for the terrible crime of not having any money. They were dealt with very harshly. We were a very frightened society in the depression days. and the establishment looked to the courts to keep down any sign of insurrection from the poor. It is not surprising that with those views Jack should have entered State politics for the Labor Party. He was elected as member for Melbourne North Province in the Legislative Council in June 1949. At 39 he was the youngest member in the Legislative Council and he brought his thirst for reform and social justice with him. In 1955 he became the Leader of the Government and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council. Jack Galbally was a tireless campaigner for human rights, a man of the strongest convictions. His aim was always to assist the poor and those who were unable to help themselves. He was convinced that the law operated most harshly on those in the greatest need of its protection and his private member's Bills were designed to change the balance. In Parliament, Jack Galbally became the master of the private member's Bill. He introduced more than 60 Bills. He sought to abolish the law of vagrancy that he said made poverty a crime, and the law of consorting. He failed to obtain abolition but he inspired major changes. The campaign for which he will probably be best remembered was his unyielding pursuit of the abolition of capital punishment. The reason for his fervent opposition to capital punishment is best described in his own words: Hanging is an obscenity. The gallows is a futile record of a barbaric age in the history of man. On 21 occasions Jack Galbally introduced in the Legislative Council his private member's Bill to abolish capital punishment. The Bill was rejected every time until the Liberal government, under the enlightened leadership of Dick Hamer and Alan Hunt, introduced its own Bill in 1975. Everyone knew that the drive for that Bill belonged to Jack Galbally. The reform of which Jack Galbally was fondest was one achieved with his first private member's Bill, which resulted in contributory negligence being taken into account in road traffic accidents and which was adopted by all Australian States. Just a few of the causes that Jack Galbally espoused over the years, with varying degrees of success, were: prison reforms, equal rights for women, consumer protection, the rights of the unborn child to sue for damages, the establishment of an independent electoral commission, liquor reforms, protection of parldands, the abolition of flogging, animal welfare and the banning of scientology. In 1952 Jack Galbally became the Minister of Electrical Undertakings and the Minister of Forests in the Labor government. He cared about the environment of Melbourne before it was fashionable to do so and he urged support for the legislation which became the Cultural and Recreational Lands Act to preserve Melbourne's parks and reserves. From 1954 to 1955 he was the Minister of Labour and Industry. When the Labor Party split in 1955 he must have been just about torn in half. He had two great faiths: one was the Catholic Church and the other was his political party. He was the only Roman Catholic Minister in the government of John Cain Sr who refused to join the Democratic Labor Party. People who attended Jack Galball y' s funeral would know what that Spring Session 1990-4 DEATH OF THE HONOURABLE JOHN WIWAM GALBAlLY, CBE, QC
98 ASSEMBLY 29 AUGUST 1990 meant to John Cain Sr and John Cain Jr. For years Jack Galbally was snubbed by the Melbourne Catholic hierarchy for his decision. Ironically he fell out with the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party in June 1970 over his support for State aid to private schools, a debate I well remember. The Labor State Conference suspended him for twelve months, a suspension that was overturned two months later by the party's Federal Executive, which reinstated him as Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council. During his Parliamentary career Jack selVed on eight Parliamentary committees. The best words that I have heard to sum up Jack Galbally's career were those of another leading Parliamentarian in the Legislative Council, the now President, the Honourable Alan Hunt, who was reported in the Age on the day that Jack's death was reported as saying: Galbally was a great 'Parliamentarian because he respected the institution of Parliament. He had unsurpassed knowledge of its procedures and always used them to the greatest possible advantage to the party and the cause he represented. He was a great tactician. with quick wit, flair and a ready turn of phrase, a master wordsmith. Many people wrongly thought his speeches were made "off the cuff' because he was so natural in presenting them. But his phrases were always carefully honed, his sentences polished and his paragraphs pruned to say what he wanted in the fewest words and to do so with the greatest effect. He could strip the humbug from any argument; he could tear to shreds any Minister who fell short of the standards he believed were required; he could trenchantly criticise policies or administrative acts that he considered unfair or oppressive. But his attacks were always directed to the issue and not the man. As in his beloved football, he played the ball and not the man. Would that he were here to coach! Jack Galbally, a "Christian gentleman" as described by my predecessor, came to the Legislative Council on a program to abolish it. Instead he fell in love with the place after a few weeks and stayed for 30 years, 24 of them as the Leader of the Opposition in the Council. The farewell he received upon his retirement in June 1979 was of a kind that has never been seen before or since. His achievements speak for themselves and they serve his memory well. On behalf of the government I offer my sincere condolences to his sons and daughters, Peter, Ann, John, Pat and Jane and to their children. Jack Galbally will always be remembered by Parliament and the Victorian community. Mr BROWN (Leader of the Opposition)-On behalf of the Liberal Party I join with the Premier in expressing the sympathy of the House to the family of the late John William Galbally, CBE, QC. John Galbally-Jack, as he was known-was born on 2 August 1910 in Port Melbourne, educated at the fonner St Patrick's College in East Melbourne and matriculated from the Melbourne High School with a scholarship for Newman College at the University of Melbourne. While at university he worked part time on the wharf and as a fruit picker at Mildura along with a range of other occupations. From his marriage to Sheila there were two sons and three daughters. His wife passed away in August 1977. Jack Galbally was elected to Parliament in 1949 to represent the Australian Labor Party in the Upper House seat of Melbourne North Province; he retired 30 years later in July 1979. Much has been said and written about Jack Galbally. He was a great Australian. He was a modest man who had a great passion for Greek and Roman history. According to Jack Galbally, it was Shakespeare who expressed the best ideal of justice and Jack focused on justice. He regarded public life as a crusade against all fonns of injustice. Social justice was his genuine concern and he, unlike some people in this day and age, was no latter-day convert. Before it was a catchphrase he was truly and genuinely interested in social justice; he DEATH OF THE HONOURABLE JOHN WIWAM GALBAUY, CBE, QC
29 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 99 espoused it and directly ensured that Bills were introduced into Parliament as a result of his interest in that area. His legal profession and Parliament provided the arena in which Jack could convey his thoughts and ideals and successfully get his message across. Everyone knew what he stood for. He conveyed his message loud and clear. His fine oratorical skills meant there was no doubt about what point he was wanting to make at any particular time. He set up his first legal practice in Collingwood in the early 1930s and in 1933-34 he found time to play two seasons of league football with Collingwood. When the Labor Party came to office in 1952 he was appointed the Minister of Electrical Undertakings and Minister of Forests and early in 1955 he became the Minister of Labour and Industry. Following the Labor Party split in 1955 he chose to remain with the ALP and became the Upper House Leader, he held that position for many years, until 1979. He was the Leader in the Legislative Council although he initially pushed for its abolition. In his maiden speech he attacked the then limited franchise of the Legislative Council as undemocratic, unjust and outmoded-a tattered relic of an age of acute class consciousness. We note his attitude changed towards the Upper House and he mellowed his stance because of the change of election procedures. He then added that moves for its abolition were impractical and that its main role should be in the appointment of all-party committees to investigate reforms. Following his widely stated and well-known views, changes were made and a system of Parliamentary committees was established that continues today to have not just direct relevance to Parliament but, more importantly and properly, to the community overall. His first major reform was a private member's Bill to allow accident victims to claim compensation despite contributory negligence on their part. He was concerned about individuals in our society. He will be remembered for his prolific introduction of private member's Bills, many about the freedom of the individual especially in regard to law and the environment. The campaign for which he will probably be best remembered was his strong advocacy for the abolition of capital punishment. Although not all Victorians or Australians would share his view, he tried nineteen times to have the death penalty removed from the Victorian statutes and it was finally removed in 1975. He worked hard towards obtaining social justice and working for the under-privileged. To him social reform was the key to a better society and he used that term many times in the research material that I looked at in the past few days. He was concerned about children. He had experience in the courts and had seen young children who had committed crimes. He said he found that children who had pets were rarely found in the Children's Court. His view was that a child who was given the opportunity of taking care of an animal developed a certain compassion and respect for another living creature and he or she was less likely to be cruel. That is possibly something that people in society-honourable members and others--could reflect on. I am sure there is a large degree of truth in his observation. Unlike some people in closely settled urban areas, people from rural backgrounds who have an opportunity of having animals when they are children develop a degree of compassion not only towards animals but also towards their fellow man. A photograph of Jack Galbally's golden cocker spaniel took pride of place in his office. He was concerned also about the welfare of animals. He proposed a motion in the Legislative Council in March 1974 expressing grave concern at the increasingly callous disregard for the welfare of animals. DEATH OF THE HONOURABLE JOHN WIUIAM GALBAUY, CBE, QC
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The excessive road toll was another issue on which he campaigned vigorously and he referred to our urge for self-destruction on wheels as autocide. It is not a tenn that is used much but it is a good one because it is a reality. He sought to abolish the law of vagrancy that he said made poverty a crime. Although he did not manage abolition of that law he was responsible for many other significant changes. He became a Queen's Counsel in 1969. He was awarded a CBE in the New Year's honours list in 1979 for his services to Parliament, the Ministry and the citizens of Victoria. The President of the Legislative Council said when Jack retired from Parliament that not only was he the father of the Legislative Council but also he was the father of the Parliament. It would be a rare occasion when an honourable member gives his final speech to Parliament and receives a I-minute standing ovation from the 40 members of the Legislative Council. As we know, exactly that happened when Jack Galbally gave his final speech in June 1979. Jack Galbally regarded himself as a practical or pragmatic idealist. He was the eldest brother of a distinguished family and he will be very much missed. The words spoken today about Jack Galbally have given us much to think about and he has left behind on the public record thoughts and ideals that deserve thinking about. I am honoured to have this opportunity of paying a tribute to Jack Galbally. On behalf of the Liberal Party I extend sincere condolences to the family of the late John William Galbally. Mr McNAMARA (Leader of the National Party)-I join with the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition in the condolence motion for the late John William Galbally. As they said, he served as the member for Melbourne North Province from 1949 to 1979. He was a Minister in the first John Cain government. He held the positions of Minister of Electrical Undertakings from 1952 to 1955, Minister of Forests from 1952 to 1954 and Minister of Labour and Industry from 1954 to 1955. He became the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council in 1955. He carried on for an unprecedented period as Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council from 1955 to 1979, a period of some 24 years, which was interrupted only by a break of a matter of some six or seven weeks when-over the State aid issue-he was expelled from the Australian Labor Party and subsequently reinstated by its Federal Executive. One of the comments that I should make about John William Galbally-or Jack Galbally, as he was known to all-is the high respect that everyone who knew him had for him. That was felt by honourable members on both sides of the Chamber. A number of our colleagues in the other place who served in the Legislative Council during Jack Galbally's period there have made glowing comments about him, particularly in respect of his personality, the way that he,related to people, and his genuine concern for the welfare of the underdog. Stuart McDonald, a fonner member for Northern Province, and a former Leader of the National Party in the Legislative Council, and who is now the Federal Leader of the National Party on the organisational level, often mentioned to me the personal relationship that he and other members of our party had with Jack Galbally. It was a warm relationship although they did not always agree with the views that he put forward. The fonner Premier, Mr Cain, spoke at the Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral. He related the background of his association and that of his family with Jack Galbally. I was not aware that the fonner Premier did his articles with Jack Galbally and obviously had a long association with the Galbally family. I have known members of the Galbally family from my school days; some of Jack Galbally's nephews were at school with me. I often saw Jack Galbally at Kooyong at tennis matches conducted by the fonnerLawn Tennis Association of Victoria; he was a regular player there. DEATH OF THE HONOURABLE JOHN WIWAM GALBAILY, CBE, QC
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He was an enthusiastic sportsman. He was a personable man in every sense of the word. I suppose it could be said that he wore his emotions on his sleeve. As the Leader of the Opposition said, he went into battle for the underdog because of his great concern for people. He talked about the vagrancy laws because as a young man growing up during the depression he had seen that people had to suffer. My father also knew the Galbally family. As he will be 86 years old this year he is of a similar vintage. He saw what Jack Galbally and other people of that generation had to live through. It is a period that not many of us understand because we have grown up in an era of unprecedented prosperity. Today, if no jobs are available, people can obtain government support. If one reflects on an era when people had to line up in soup kitchens for support, one can see the picture of the period during which people like Jack Galbally grew up. Jack Galbally came to Parliament with strong emotions because of his personal experiences. He sought to ensure that society was more equitable. In the post-war years changes have been effected which have provided the opportunity for people from all walks of life to succeed on their merits. Members on both sides of the Chamber have taken that opportunity and, irrespective of their backgrounds, have reached the highest positions in their political parties. Jack Galbally would be particularly proud that those changes have been effected over the years. The areas in which Jack Galbally served have been detailed adequately by the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition, so I shall not refer to them again. In many respects I suppose Jack Galbally was a typical Australian; he had a strong sense of mateship and he had a great love of sport. We can all excuse him for supporting the Collingwood Football Qub and we can all relate to his maintaining his interests throughout his life. I join with the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition in extending my sympathy on behalf of the National Party to the Galbally family and to his surviving children, Peter, John, Ann, Pat and Jane. The former Leader of the National Party, the honorable member for Shepparton, will add his comments as one who served in Parliament during the period that Jack Galbally was so much involved in this place. Jack Galbally was one individual who has left his mark on Parliament and he will be remembered by honourable members on both sides of the House. Mr KENNAN (Attomey-General)-I want to add some brief remarks to what has been said by the Premier and the Leaders of the other two parties. The list of causes that Jack Galbally was involved in, as the Premier so eloquently presented them, are impressive in their range and breadth. They are impressive also because during the time he was taking them up, in the 1950s and 1960s, it was much harder to take on reform than in the 1980s or 1990s, particularly in the area of reform of the law relating to vagrancy and capital punishment When Jack Galbally was taking up those issues the climate was much more hostile to reform than it is now. In the 1960s the work Jack Galbally was doing in trying to effect changes in those areas was of profound importance to students in the law school because few others were taking up the issues. As I said, at that time the political climate and public opinion resulted in a more hostile atmosphere. The Premier referred to Jack Galbally's description of capital punishment as an obscenity and futile. I remember attending a lecture in 1966 during which Jack Galbally described capital punishment as an obscene futility. I was sympathetic; I have always had an abhorrence DEATH OF TilE HONOURABLE JOHN WIWAM GALBAUY, CBE, QC
102 ASSEMBLY 29 AUGUST 1990 of capital punishment because the cold-blooded execution of an individual by the State is an obscenity and it is futile in the sense that it does not achieve anything. As I said, during that time those words were harder to articulate and engender support for than they are now. As the Premier indicated, on 21 occasions Jack Galbally introduced Bills to abolish capital punishment. The atmosphere was hostile and it is remarkable that he persevered until the time of a more enlightened Premier, Mr Hamer, when he was able to achieve his goal. The things that Jack Galbally stood for are indicative of enormous integrity and courage, particularly as at the time he was a member of the Opposition. That can be a soul-destroying experience, but particularly so over such a long period and with the causes that he was embracing appearing to be futile. Like his brother, Frank, Jack Galbally was a gifted advocate as such. In some sense, that style of advocacy has passed and we no longer have people like Frank Galbally and Ray Dunn. There is no doubt that Jack Galbally's skills as an advocate had much to do with his power as a politician albeit one senses his greater political achievements were made from the Opposition benches. The fonner Premier, the honourable member for Bundoora, did his articles with Jack Galbally; and I know that Jack made a great impression on John Cain, who adopted many of Jack's philosophies about civil liberties. The tenets of the administration of justice have always stuck with John Cain and they fonned a very important part of his legal and professional life. For those reasons, I very much place my remarks on record, and join with the Premier and others in extending my condolences to the Galbally family. Mr ROSS-EDWARDS (Shepparton)-I join with the Premier and other party Leaders, and the Attorney-General, to pay tribute to the late John Galbally. I express the sympathy of my wife and I to the members of Jack's family. I knew Jack Galbally and his wife, Sheila, very well. She was a delightful woman and Jack always recognised the tremendous part she played in his success in public life. They were a delightful couple to be with. Jack was a member of one of the best-known legal families in Victoria and he played a very important role in making the Galbally family a leading legal family in Victoria. He could well be described as the patriarch of the Galbally family. Those who know the family well realise how much he did for his younger brothers and sisters in those very tough early times, and the part he played to ensure that his brothers and sisters had good opportunities in life, and were able to pursue their education and chosen professions.
Jack G~lbally was a member of the Legislative Council for 30 years, and was Leader of the Opposition there for 24 years. That record will be hard to beat. The National Party has some records but it cannot match those 24 years. I remember well the two months in 1970 when he was, shall we say, suspended from the leadership. Honourable members who were here then remember the unreal situation because he was the Labor Party, and he ran the whole show-this place, the other Chamber, the lot. The party did not want to vote to replace him; in the end Jack Tripovich got the job but very much against his will and inclination. Everyone knew very well that Jack Tripovich did not want to take Jack Galbally's car because that car was assigned to Jack. Jack Galbally's suspension was meant to be for twelve months but lasted for only two months. It was felt that the quicker the suspension was rectified the better because it did not fit the scene of the day. Every honourable member was pleased to see Jack returned as the undisputed official leader of the Labor Party. Jack was honoured by the Queen when he was made a Commander of the British Empire. Although such an honour was not in accord with the feelings of all members of the Labor DEATH OF THE HONOURABLE JOHN WIUIAM GALBAILY, CBE, QC
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Party, it was an honour of which Jack was proud; he received it graciously and he was a credit to that particular order. Jack lived in a different era. In my twelve years with him in Parliament he practised as a barrister in Victorian courts. In those days the Legislative Council did not start until about 4 p.m-and I think he had something to do with that commencement time! The adjournment time of courts was usually before 4 p.m. so that on most days he was doing his stuff in the Supreme Court. Today that would not be tolerated. For much of that time the other House was not as busy a place as it is today. The fact that Jack was practising in the courts was not all bad-and that is not said in any form of criticism-because it kept him in touch with the law and that made him a better politician. While he was a member of the other place he must have handled hundreds of legal matters. Jack Galbally was a giant among men. He had a very broad background in the law, and in every sport, in the business community, and socially. Unlike so many of his Labor Party colleagues he was an equal and a part of the total community. He believed if a person was a member of the Melbourne Oub or a businessman that was not a worry to him; he was as comfortable in those surroundings as he was in Collingwood, where his roots were founded. That made him a giant of a man. He was highly regarded and his legal ability was very much respected. The Attorney-General has summarised it well-he was a good lawyer but a great showman. Those two attributes became a great combination. Aside from my association with Jack Galbally in Parliament, I served with him as a trustee of the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He made a major contribution to that trust; that is not surprising because of his extensive sporting background. I remember Jack Galbally very affectionately. He lived life to the full and he worked hard; he played a major part in the running of Parliament. I add my condolences to his family and so many other members of the Galbally family of which he was so much a part. Mr TREZISE (Minister for Sport and Recreation)-I add my sincere condolences to the family of Jack Galbally at his passing. Jack was a man who made so many different contributions to Victoria in so many progressive ways. I entered Parliament as a comparatively young man; I was a stranger here and a little like a duck out of water when I walked into this building. I appreciated the fact that Jack was very kind; he showed me around Parliament House. I appreciated that particular interest because Jack was then a Leader of the Labor Party and a very busy man. There was no doubt that he was a first class leader of the party and a fine leader in Parliament even though he was merely Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council. Jack had very many strong views on different issues. He trod on corns even in his own party with some of his views but at least everyone admired him for his principles. He was adamant about many subjects, particularly on the anti-hanging campaign which he saw through to its conclusion when the government of the day accepted his stand. Jack had a tremendous knowledge of the law. If ever any honourable member should have been appointed to the judiciary in Victoria it was Jack Galbally, not only for his knowledge of the law but also because of his feelings for people-particularly the battlers. He was a Collingwood man through and through as well as being a Collingwood footballer. Much of his law work would have been involved in defending the people of Collingwood in their battles against the law. DEATH OF THE HONOURABLE JOHN WIWAM GALBAlLY, CBE, QC
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I appreciated that Jack gave me so much assistance and set such an example in the way he led the Upper House. He was a great orator and a man of great knowledge, particularly of the law. His loss has been not only to his family but also to the Victorian public. The name of Jack Galbally has made an indelible mark for so long as there continues to be a State of Victoria. Mr FORDHAM (Footscray)-I wish to add my comments regarding the late Jack Galbally. The Premier and other honourable members have outlined Jack's tremendous record. The documentation in the hands of honourable members contains but a few of the examples of the breadth of his interests and of his work. The record of Jack Galbally was not established because he thought of his work as ajolr-it was done out of his convictions. His convictions emanated from his religion. Obviously he was a committed Catholic while being committed to working with Christians from all denominations. His commitment was a reflection of his social values, which were influenced by his background, his family, his reading and his sense of social justice. His work in both the House and in politics generally was influenced by those convictions. He saw the law and the political process as vehicles for social change. His campaign against the abolition of capital punishment, his work in a number of key conservation issues and the dozens of social issues he took up in Parliament and in the courts were all based on his concern for ordinary men and women; and he strongly believed that those who had the capacity or ability to represent ordinary men and women should undertake that task to the best of their ability. From the time I first knew of his work and throughout the time I had the privilege of working with him, that was his constant cry. As Parliamentarians and as members of society we should recognise the need for more people like Jack Galbally to demonstrate such strength of conviction throughout their lives. His Parliamentary record is outstanding. Anyone who serves as a member of Parliament for 30 years is a remarkable person in his or her own right; but to maintain a strength of commitment such as that displayed by Jack Galbally is also remarkable. I extend my condolences to his family. I commend the record of Jack Galbally to this and future generations of Parliamentarians as one to be followed by both politicians and citizens. Mr COLE (Melbourne)-I support the motion and I extend my condolences to the family of Jack Galbally. Jack Galbally sponsored my admission to the practise of law in 1980 and also signed my nomination for membership of the Australian Labor Party. I place on record my thanks for all that he did for me in those days. I first met Jack in 1979 after I had fmished my law degree and when he was about to finish his political career. He was detennined that I should join the ALP, but he said to me that I would have to change my values, which he thought were too extreme! I think I have moderated my views somewhat. He also encouraged me to practise criminal law and was of great assistance to me at that time. One of his most significant achievements was his fight for the abolition of capital punishment. No doubt he would regret that the consorting laws against which he fought have not yet been abolished. In my early days as a lawyer I was working for the Aemington legal service. One day I bumped into him and asked him for advice about defending some kids who were charged with breaches of the consorting laws. In particular I asked him for advice about tactics. He told me that some 25 police officers were needed to prove the charges. He urged me to make sure all of the police officers attended the court and that I cross-examined each of them for three days at a time! He said that they would soon discover that it was not a good idea to DEATH OF THE HONOURABLE JOHN WIUIAM GALBAUY, CBE, QC
29 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 105 charge people with consorting. Although I did not go to that extent I was one of those to stop people being charged with breaches of what is an unfair law. As I said, it is a shame it has not been changed. Our attitudes to vagrancy and vagrancy laws have been shaped by what occurred in the depression. During that time vagrancy laws were enforced to stop people from standing around and talking on street corners. This unfair law was also used to stop unemployed people from stealing things, often to feed their families and themselves. Jack Galbally did many courageous things, which gained my sympathy and understanding. As the fonner Premier said at the State memorial service for Jack Galball y, there were three important Labor figures who, at the time of the split of the 1950s, decided to stay with the ALP and not become members of the Democratic Labor Party-and they were Arthur Calwell, Pat Kennelly and Jack Galbally. I live in Aemington and my church is St Brendan 'so Although it was his church, after the split Arthur Calwell never again attended St Brendan's. The feelings of that time had a disastrous effect on his daughter, Mary Elizabeth, who is a member of my branch of the ALP. Such were the effects of the split on the Flemington community that even today some Catholics in my area will not attend St Brendan' s because of what happened to Arthur Calwell. That such feelings remain so strong is an indication of how difficult it must have been for those men to have remained in the ALP, because for them the split affected not only their party but also their church. The way Jack Galbally stood up for his principles should be admired and respected as much as his achievements, such as his campaign for the abolition of capital punishment. I found Jack Galbally to be very kind. Kindness was one of his greatest attributes; it is a quality that is all too often forgone in debates not only in Parliament but also in the Australian Labor Party. Mr SIMMONDS (Reservoir)-I join with previous speakers in paying tribute to Jack Galbally. Those of us in the ALP before the split knew Jack as the Minister of Electrical Undertakings. When I was a shop steward at Siddons Pty Ltd I invited Jack to talk to our workers about something of interest. Prompted by the sight of the workers eating their lunchtime sandwiches Jack talked to them about the then current dispute in the bread industry. It was typical of Jack that he was able to relate such a simple example to politics. Like many in the ALP involved in the first election after the 1955 split Jack was concerned about whether a Labor Party candidate would win the second Upper House seat of Melbourne North Province that was then held by Jack Little. Other members of the West Heidelberg branch of the party and I received the election material for the province on the Thursday night before the election. Together with some others it was my job to put the material in letterboxes in the West Heidelberg area, which in those days, had many bad roads and ditches. I remember it was raining heavily that night. I was still working at 3 0' clock in the mOming-the milkman was on his rounds--and at one stage I put m y foot in a puddle and let fly with some bad language. As I looked up the street I saw someone walking down the other side also putting election material in letterboxes. As fellow members of the West Heidelberg branch of the ALP we were doing our best to get Jack elected. Jack was a man who left little to chance. On the following morning election material was posted to electors in the area using threepenny stamps. In other words Jack had the si tuation well under control! It is an indication of the spirit of those times that people from all walks of life came together to ensure that they were represented in Parliament by people like Jack Galbally. In the hurly-burly of politics the fundamental point that "you can't do anything unless you're here" is sometimes forgotten. Workers compensation was one of Jack's areas of expertise; and he was very proud of the fact that the first Australian Labor government introduced the ADJOURNMENT
106 ASSEMBLY 29 AUGUST 1990 best workers compensation Act in the world. These days some of us tend to forget the political climate of those times; and there is a danger that some of those hard-won refonns are allowed to slip away too easily. I join with other honourable members in recalling the work of Jack Galbally and I extend my sympathy to his family at his passing.
The SPEAKER-Order! I also wish to pay tribute to the late John William Galbally. I first met Jack shortly after becoming an active member of the Australian Labor Party. The election at which he retired was the election at which I became a member of this House.
At that time Jack Galbally was very much a giant within the Labormovement and Parliament. He was also a gentle man and a gentleman in every sense of the word. He was a kind man with considerable strength of conviction, which stood him in great stead and earned him much respect throughout the community and in Parliament.
Jack Galbally is well remembered for many of the considerable achievements in his role as a Parliamentarian and for his knowledge and understanding of the law. Considerable reference has been made to his role in the abolition of what he properly described as the obscene futility of capital punishment. What he did in that instance, as in other instances, was to demonstrate the strength of Parliament and the way a member, not necessarily a member of the governing pany, is nonetheless able to achieve significant reforms for the benefit of the entire community.
As the honourable member for Reservoir has pointed out, Jack Galbally was associated with major reforms in government, particularly in the workers compensation area. It is important that we, as Parliamentarians, remember and place on the public record the achievements of people such as Jack Galbally because they have made enonnous contributions, improving the quality of life that is currently enjoyed by us as Victorians, and enhancing the authority and prestige of Parliament and the respect in which it is held through the manner in which Jack Galbally and the few other members who have achieved the same standards have been able to act. I pay tribute, as other honourable members have done, to the memory of John William Galbally.
Motions agreed to in silence, honourable members showing unanimous agreement by standing in their places.
ADJOURNMENT Ms KIRNER (Premier)-I move:
That, as a further mark of respect 10 the memory of the late Raymond John Wiltshire, Esquire, and the late Honourable John William Galbally. CBE, QC, the House do now adjourn. until 2 p.m. this day.
Motion agreed to.
House adjourned 11.53 a.m.
The SPEAKER took the chair at 2.4 p.rn. QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
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QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
BUDGET STRATEGY Mr BROWN (Leader of the Opposition)-I refer to the claim that the government has targeted reduction of the State's interest balance as its No. 1 priority, and I ask the Premier to explain how interest on State debt will still consume 22 cents in every $1 of State taxation this year, despite a $2600 million sell-off program and a massive increase in State taxation? Ms KIRNER (premier)-I believe the debt management strategy that the government has put in place in this Budget is one of its cornerstones. The Leader of the Opposition knows that the government's first priority was to get rid of the debt created by Tricontinental Corporation Ltd, the albatross around Victoria's neck. Even that is an important move forward. As well as that, having set up the debt retirement fund, in this financial year the government will be going beyond the Tricontinental debts to ensure the interest that will have to be paid on debts this year other than Tricontinental will be less. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! There is far too much interjection from honourable members on both sides of the House. I ask the honourable member for Syndal and the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs to contain themselves.
BANKRUPTCIES Mr McNAMARA (Leader of the National Party)-I direct the Treasurer's attention to the fact that there has been a 43 per cent increase in bankruptcies in the quarter to June this year. Could the Treasurer give an estimate of how many additional bankruptcies he envisages will occur as a result of the substantial tax increases introduced in the Budget? The SPEAKER-Order! The question is somewhat hypothetical. I invite the Leader of the National Party to rephrase it in such a way that it is narrowly related to the Treasurer's portfolio responsibilities. Mr McNAMARA-Could the Treasurer give details of what studies have been undertaken by the Treasury to estimate the number of increased bankruptcies from the very substantial increase of 43 per cent in the last three months? What additional impact on the rate of bankruptcies will the Treasurer's additional taxes have? Mr ROPER (Treasurer)-As honourable members heard yesterday-and I repeat today-there are three aspects to the Budget. Firstly, there is a debt management strategy, which the Premier has already commented upon. Secondly, there is a series of revenue items that impact on a wide variety of groups in the community, and one would have liked to see fewer groups affected than there are. Victoria has to pay its way, and its tax increases over time have been less than those of other States. The third part is expenditure review. If one examines those three points one will see over the past 12 hours the biggest industry in press releases has been generated by the Victorian Liberal and National parties. They have issued a series of press releases saying there should be more spending on this, on that or on something else. QUESI'IONS wrrHour NOTICE
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Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! There is far too much inteIjection. The Leader of the National Party has asked his question and, if he expects to be treated as a Leader should be treated, he should show the respect which is due to the House. I ask other honourable members similarly to refrain from inteIjection. Mr ROPER-In this morning's paper the Leader of the National Party was quoted as busily saying that the cuts in spending in country Victoria should be put back. The Deputy Leader of the National Party was quoted in the newspapers today saying, "Budget hits fanners; there should be more money in that area". The shadow Minister for the aged, the honourable member for Bulleen, was quoted as saying, "Budget cuts for the aged; there should be more money there". The shadow Minister for the Arts-I did not know who it was but I now know that the shadow Minister is the Honourable Haddon Storey in another place-said, "Libraries hit in Budget". The shadow Ministers went through one afterthe other with at least half a dozen press releases that I have seen. Presumably there are more that have been released that I have not seen and more on the way. The National and Liberal parties are calling for additional expenditure but if that occurred there would have to be a further increase in revenue. While the Liberal and National parties are not together in Parliament-- Mr LIEBERMAN (Benambra)-On a point of order, the Treasurer is obviously debating the issue. In any event the Budget is an item listed on the Notice Paper and he is out of order by debating it. I ask you, Mr Speaker, to direct him back to answering the question. The SPEAKER-Order! On the second part of the point of order, I would have had to rule the question out of order if that were the case and, indeed, the first question asked today was an example. On the first part of the point of order, I do not uphold the point of order as there are many precedents for such questions being allowed. I find it difficult to relate some of the Treasurer's remarks to the question that was asked, however, and I ask him to relate his answer to the question. Mr ROPER (Treasurer)-The Leader of the National Party asked a question about the situation so far as revenue measures were concerned. Mr McNamara-Bankruptcies! Mr ROPER-He asked whether any bankruptcies or any other economic activities in Victoria had increased. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! If question time is to proceed in an orderly manner it is essential that the Minister be able to be heard by all honourable members, including the Chair. It is impossible with the current level of inteIjections for that to occur. I remind the Leader of the National Party that he has had the opportunity of asking a question; if he wishes to pose another question he will be called at the appropriate time. Mr ROPER-If the Liberal and National parties had their way and there were not the same level of reductions in expenditure that has been achieved in the Budget, taxes and charges would have to rise even more. The government has attempted to gain a balance between expenditure restraint and increases in revenue. QUESTIONS WITHOur NOTICE
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Some consistency in the opposition parties is needed. It has been helpful to get their press releases because I now know who a number of the shadow Ministers are-I could not name them before. If I can have the whole set of press releases not only will I know what their various Budget bids are but also I shall know who the shadow Ministers are, and that will be helpful to us all.
PUBLIC SERVICE BOARD Mr MATHEWS (Oakleigh)--I ask the Premier: in regard to the recent announcement about the Public Service Board, how will the new arrangement be put into effect? Ms KIRNER (Premier)--Part of the ongoing task of government is to continue public sector reform. An important part of the Budget both in the savings and the reform sense is the changes that we intend to make to the Public Service Board. Firstly, we will be transferring-as have many other States-the industrial function of the board to the Industrial Relations Commission. This will mean that there will be some uniformity of decision making on salaries, allowances and other industrial matters for the Public Service. Not only will the government be reviewing the whole area of responsibilities of the board, but one of the most important parts of the review will be to improve the personnel development of the Public Service. The role of the Public Service Board will be reviewed over the next few months to address three main areas: firstly, personnel development; secondly, merit protection; and, thirdly, equal opportunity. It is not just Victoria that is taking such action. Public service boards across Australia have been reviewed. The Commonwealth government has undertaken significant refonns of the Public Service, as have New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia. I am sure the work that will be undertaken will provide the community with much better public sector management. Public servants will be able to move more easily between departments. The transfer of the redeployment unit to the Industrial Relations Commission will ensure that this difficult task of removing 8000 jobs from the public sector will be fairly and equitably carried out.
FAMILY PLEDGE Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton}--Will the Premier confinn that the abandonment of the family pledge alone will cost the typical Victorian family $396.64 a year and that overall the average family will be $12 every week worse off under this disastrous Budget? Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! I advise the Deputy Leader of the Opposition to consult the Standing Orders concerning language used in questions without notice. He should not use tenns such as "disastrous". Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! If honourable members require me to read the ruling on that matter I shall oblige them, but that will take further time. Ms KIRNER (Premier)-There is obviously still some confusion within the government-- QUESI'IONS wrrHour NOTICE
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Honourable members interjecting. Ms KIRNER-That's your last free kick. There is obviously still some confusion within the Opposition, the community and the media about the government's handling of the family pledge. Under the family pledge Victorian families have become greatly better off than they would have been without the pledge. I believe Victorian families understand that, faced with a Budget where one had choices- Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! The Leader of the Opposition should know better than to interject, as should the honourable member for Berwick. I ask all honourable members to remain silent while the Premier completes her reply. Ms KIRNER-The community has a great deal more sense than does the Opposition. Victorians understand that one has to make choices between major cuts in essential services and reviewing the family pledge; they are prepared for such action and would have been disappointed if the government had not reviewed the family pledge. Mr E. R. Smith interjected. The SPEAKER-Order! The honourable member for Glen Waverley knows full well the provisions of Standing Order No. 107 and also knows that interjections are out of order. I do not wish to act against him but, if necessary, I will. Ms KIRNER-In referring to the family pledge perhaps I should point out what many people have forgotten. The family pledge has meant that since June 1988 all Victorians have benefited substantially because the prices of household items controlled by the State government have been held down. Had the price of household items increased in line with the increase in inflation, those items would have increased 15.6 per cent over the past two years, which would have meant that the average family with two children and a car would be paying $241 more per annum. The restraint has helped keep down the rate of increases in Victorian government charges. It has also helped to keep down the charges for local government. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! Again I ask the honourable members for Momington and Portland to cease interjecting. I suggest the honourable member for Derrimut similarly observe Standing Orders. Ms KIRNER-If we had not increased some charges previously held down under the family pledge, as referred to in press releases by the shadow Ministers opposite, which so savagely criticised spending cuts in their favourite areas, those cuts would have had to have been greater. When one is in opposition one has the lUXUry of not having to say how things are to be paid for. The Budget clearly enables Victoria to pay its way. What is more, in the review of the family pledge we have been careful to ensure that the two most significant cost elements in the family budget, gas and electricity, have not been increased beyond the movement in the consumer price index. Those honourable members who manage the family budget would know those charges are a significant impost on the family budget. We have kept them down below the consumer price index. The Opposition and its conservative economic commentators well know that Victoria has been way behind the other States with increasing taxes and charges. Honourable members interjecting. QUESfIONS Wll'HOur NOTICE
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Ms KIRNER-Opposition members obviously did not bother to read page 35 of the Commonwealth Budget Papers, which clearly showed-- Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! Again I appeal to the frontbench on my left to remain silent to enable the Premier to complete her reply. I have cautioned the honourable member for Berwick a number of times. I warn him. If he continues to defy the Chair it will be necessary to act against him. Ms KIRNER-I can understand Opposition members getting excited because they thought that this would be a Budget that the Victorian people would not respect. In my view, that is not the case. It is clear from the reactions of the community this morning, both on talkback radio and in the newspapers, that this is a fair Budget. Mr Brown interjected. Ms KIRNER-It is interesting that in his unparliamentary performance today the Leader of the Opposition had to rely on a one-line headline in the Sun when he does not have the Australian Financial Review anywhere. I should have thought that the front page of the Australian Financial Review-- Dr Napthine interjected. The SPEAKER-Order! I have already cautioned the honourable member for Portland. I warn him. I advise him that ifhe continues to flout the rulings of the Chair he will be subject to the action of the Chair. Ms KIRNER-I should have thought that any Opposition that wanted to have half a claim to proper economic analysis would look at the economic commentaries in newspapers such as the Australian Financial Review and the Age editorial that have actually congratulated the government on its balanced Budget and its willingness to take tough decisions. I make a further comment on the impact of the Budget on the family because two other issues are important. The Opposition would note, although it has not done so publicly, that the government has decided not to reintroduce motor car registration fees. That means that in Victoria it is much cheaper to run a car than in New South Wales, which can be set against the petrol increases which only bring Victoria into line with New South Wales. Finally, the education expense allowance: although it will not be paid in this financial year, it will be paid in the next calendar year and will be available to families.
SPEED CAMERAS Mrs HIRSH (Wantima}-I ask the Minister for Police and Emergency Services to inform the House of progress in the initiatives being taken by the government to reduce the speeding levels of drivers on Victorian roads-- Honourable members interjecting. Mrs IDRSH-It is a very important issue. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! I can understand honourable members sharing the interest of the honourable member for Wantirna, and I shall ask the honourable memberto recommence her question. QUESfIONS WITHOur NOTICE
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Mrs mRSH-I hope the Minister for Police and Emergency Services can inform the House ofthe initiatives being taken by the government to reduce speeding on Victorian roads, particularly the use of traffic cameras. Mr SANDON (Minister for Police and Emergency Services}-I thank the honourable member for her question, and her continuing interest and participation in the subject. The introduction of speed cameras in Victoria has been an outstanding success. The presence of cameras has helped reduce the number of speeding motorists by approximately two-thirds and has assisted in the reduction of accidents, slashing Victoria's road toll during this year. When the government introduced the cameras in December 1989 it was noted that approximately 23 per cent of motorists were speeding; that figure has fallen to approximately 7 per cent. The figures get better when one considers the speeds travelled in the lOO-kilometres an hour zones. In December the number of motorists exceeding 120 kilometres an hour in lOO-kilometres an hour speed limit zones was approximately 30 per cent but that figure is now 3 per cent. The aim of the speed cameras is to slow down motorists. The government set a target of reducing the speed of motorists by some 10 to 15 kilometres an hour, that target has been reached already. Victorians should be congratulated on the way they have responded to the government's speed cameras. Victoria is now heading for the lowest annual road toll in 30 years. Speed cameras have been an integral part in reaching that objective. The equation is simple. When fewer cars speed, fewer collisions occur, and there are fewer injuries and people killed. The cynics should now eat their own words; those who suggested that the cameras were no more than a revenue-raising tool must realise that speed cameras have been a major factor in reducing the Victorian road toll.
STATE BANK VICTORIA
Mr BROWN (Leader of the Opposition~-I refer the Premier to the $1600 million cash that the government will receive from the sale of State Bank Victoria, if that sale proceeds. Will the Premier give an unequivocal commitment that the money to be raised will be used exclusively to meet the debts arising out of losses by State Bank Victoria and Tricontinental Corporation Ltd, and that the discharge of those liabilities will not simply be deferred? Ms KIRNER (premier}-That is exactly the same question as were the questions asked by the Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the National Party yesterday. I understand that the Leader of the Opposition has now been carefully briefed on the issue by the Treasurer. I gave the assurance yesterday that the proceeds from the sale of State Bank Victoria would be used to retire debt.
MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND CONSTRUCTION Mr LEIGHTON (preston}-Has the Minister for Housing and Construction had examined recent claims about the sale of Ministry of Housing and Construction mortgages and, if so, can he indicate to the House the outcome of that examination? Mr A. J. SHEEHAN (Minister for Housing and Construction}-I thank the honourable member for drawing this matter to my attention. The Sunday newspapers featured comments in a press release from the Opposition spokesperson on housing. Mr Richardson-It was not a press release; they were just comments. PERSONAL EXPLANATION
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Mr A. J. SHEEHAN-I thank the honourable member for Forest Hill for his contribution; I shall explore it in more detail later. Three allegations about the sale of $34 million worth of housing mortgages to IOOF financial group were made: firstly, that the proceeds would go to consolidated revenue; secondly, that the sale was at a discounted price so that the State was missing out on some of the possible proceeds; and, thirdly, that other mortgagors were facing increased interest rates as a consequence. For the benefit of honourable members I inform the House that the honourable member was wrong on all three counts. Mr Stockdale interjected. Mr A. J. SHEEHAN-I wouldn't say ''Trust you", I might say ''Trust me". Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! If the honourable member for Forest Hill wishes to contribute to question time he should await his opportunity. The more interruptions he makes, the fewer opportunities he will have. Mr A. J. SHEEHAN-Firstly, under the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement, which has existed only from about 1940, the State is prohibited from using those proceeds in any way other than for housing. The second point is that the bonds were sold at the prevailing market prices. The third allegation referred to an increase in interest rates from about 10.5 per cent in some areas and 12.5 per cent and 13.5 per cent in other areas, rates that were less than the 15 per cent average rate that was prevailing at the time. In other words, the people holding those mortgages were not disadvantaged. The honourable member did not attempt to verify his claims with any officers of the Ministry, but that is not surprising. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! Honourable members are simply wasting the opportunity of question time. I ask the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the honourable member for Forest Hill to control their behaviour so that other honourable members may hear the answer being given by the Minister. Mr A. J. SHEEHAN-I have written to the honourable member for Forest Hill offering him a full briefing not only on that issue but also on other issues relating to the portfolio. I hope that next time he makes allegations my strike rate in proving him wrong will not be three out of three again.
PERSONAL EXPLANATION The SPEAKER-Order! Does the honourable member for Forest Hill wish to raise a point of order? Mr RICHARDSON (Forest Hill)-Mr Speaker, I desire to make a personal explanation. The SPEAKER-Order! The honourable member will be aware from his long experience in this place that it is a requirement for an honourable member wishing to make a personal explanation first to approach and get a clearance from the Speaker. I shall be pleased to receive the honourable member in my chambers at the appropriate opportunity during the afternoon. Mr RICHARDSON-On a point of order, Mr Speaker, I seek clarification and your guidance, and I request that I be able to provide you with a two-sentence statement on the remarks I wish to make. PETITIONS
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Honourable members interjecting. Mr RICHARDSON-I seek your pennission, Sir, to provide you with a very brief statement, probably of only two sentences, of the remarks that I wish to make within the next few moments so that you know what I intend to say, and so it will not be necessary for the personal explanation to be delayed. I would then be able to make it at the first available opportunity and you would know precisely what I would be saying. The SPEAKER-Order! There is no point of order. I refer honourable members to the rules affecting the making of personal explanations which were established by Speaker Plowman and which are recorded in Hansard, volume 356, page 6153, of 19 March 1981.
PETITIONS The Clerk-I have received the following petitions for presentation to Parliament: Funds for community library services To TIlE HONOURABLE TIlE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF TIlE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED: We the undersigned residents of Victoria lodge objection to State government funding cuts to the arts, in particular public libraries in rural areas of the State. In particular we object to cuts to the Mildura Regional Library Service, which is the most isolated in the State and the most fmancially disadvantaged in terms of State government funding. Your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray that adequate funds are made available to ensure that community library services and resources are not reduced, particularly in remote country areas. By Mr Bildstien (2163 signatures) Surf Coast Plaza To TIlE HONOURABLE TIlE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF TIlE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED: The humble petition of the undersigned ratepayers of the Shire of Barrabool, Shire of Barwon and people of the City of Geelong and citizens of Victoria sheweth that they object to the granting of a permit in respect of an application by Norlane Hotel Pty Ltd for a general licence (hotel licence) in respect of the tavern-bistro and drive-in bottle shop in relation to the land known as the Surf Coast Plaza, south-west corner of Geelong Road and Beach Road, Torquay, part of Crown allotment 67 Parish of Puebla. Your petitioners therefore pray that the Geelong Regional Commission, as owner and an authority subject to the provision of the Geelong Regional Planning Scheme, withdraw their permission, consent and support for the use of the land in question as a hotel and oppose such use. The proposed use is an inappropriate facility, and use for an area that is frequented by primary schoolchildren, adolescents and ratepayers participating in activities in the community hall. The use is contrary to the proposed use for the buildings in the original building permit. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. By Mr Dickinson (563 signatures) Laid on table.
ST ANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE Mr NORRIS (Dandenong) presented a report from the Standing Orders Committee on questions without notice, time limits of speeches, grievances and private members' statements and maintenance of order; together with appendices. Laid on table. Ordered to be printed. PAPER
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PAPER Laid on table by Clerk: Industrial Relations Commission-Report of the President for the year ended 31 October 1989.
ST ANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE Mr ROPER (Treasurer)-By leave, I move: That this House grant leave to the Standing Orders Committee to meet during the sittings of the House. Motion agreed to.
BUILDING SOCIETIES (PRUDENTIAL STANDARDS) BILL Introduction and first reading Mr KENNAN (Attorney-General) introduced a Bill to amend the Building Societies Act 1986 to strengthen controls over building societies, to amend the Co-operation Act 1981 and the Friendly Societies Act 1986 and for other purposes. Read tirst time.
LIQUOR CONTROL (FEES) BILL Introduction and first reading Mr KENNAN (Attorney-General) introduced a Bill to amend the Liquor Control Act 1987, to increase fees for licences and for other purposes. Read first time.
PAY·ROLL TAX (AMENDMENT) BILL (No. 2) Introduction and first reading Mr ROPER (Treasurer) introduced a Bill to amend the Pay-roll Tax Act 1971 and for other purposes. Read first time.
STAMPS (ACCOMMODATION BUSINESS) BILL Introduction and first reading Mr CRABB (Minister for Tourism) introduced a Bill to establish a Tourism Marketing Trust Account for the purposes of the promotion of tourism, to make provision for duty on certain accommodation, to amend the Stamps Act 1958 and for other purposes. Read first time. FINANCIAL INSTlfUl'IONS DUlY (FURTHER AMENDMENT) BILL
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FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS DUTY (FURTHER AMENDMENT) BILL Introduction and first reading Mr ROPER (Treasurer) introduced a Bill to amend the Financial Institutions Duty Act 1982 and for other purposes. Read first time.
BUSINESS FRANCHISE ACTS (FURTHER AMENDMENT) BILL Introduction andfirst reading Mr ROPER (Treasurer) introduced a Bill to amend the Business Franchise Acts and for other purposes. Read first time.
ST AMPS (AMENDMENT) BILL I ntroduction and first reading Mr ROPER (freasurer}--I move:
That I have leave to bring in a Bill to amend the Stamps Act 1958 and for other purposes. Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton}-On a point of order, Mr Speaker, the Stamps (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill is listed on the Notice Paper under Orders of the Day and I raise the question of anticipation. I understand your ruling yesterday, Mr Speaker, was that if there were any substantive correlation between the two Bills, that is, if they covered the same subject matters, the rule of anticipation would arise. I ask you to establish whether any of the subject matter of the Stamps (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill is contained in the Stamps (Amendment) Bill. I make one fmal comment: on previous occasions the government introduced business which covered some of the grounds of a pre-existing Bill and on each occasion, on my recollection, the government sought and obtained leave to have the previous Order of the Day read and discharged. I seek through you an indication from the Treasurer as to the substance of the proposed new measure. The SPEAKER-Order! On the point of order, in fact, it is not the rule of anticipation which is relevant to the issue raised by the honourable member for Brighton, but the same question rule. I am advised that on the basis of precedent, the same question rule does not arise while the second reading of the Bill referred to in the point of order has not been resolved by the House. When the House has made a determination on the Bill presently listed on the Notice Paper, then the same question rule may arise. There is no point of order. Motion agreed to. Read first time. WORKS AND SERVICES (ANCILLARY PROVISIONS, 1990-91, No. 2) BIU
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WORKS AND SERVICES (ANCILLARY PROVISIONS, 1990-91, No. 2) BILL Introduction and first reading Mr ROPER (Treasurer) introduced a Bill to make further ancillary provisions for certain works and purposes for the f.inancial year 1990-91. Read first time.
CO-OPERATIVES BILL Second reading Order of the Day read for resumption of debate. The SPEAKER-Order! I am of the opinion that the second reading of this Bill requires to be passed by an absolute majority. Debate resumed from 28 August; motion of Mr McCUTCHEON (then Attorney-General). Mr GAVIN (Coburg)-History records that cooperatives were active and flourishing back in Babylonian times and also in ancient China, but it took until 1850 before there was a cooperative established in Australia, and that was in Victoria. We have some cooperatives in the consumer, credit and housing areas, but generally Australia is a backwater in the development of cooperatives. One can contrast the backwardness of Australia with a number of other countries in the world. In Sweden 60 per cent of all retail business is conducted by cooperatives. In England the figure is approximately 40 per cent-Dot quite as high-and the honourable member for OakIeigh referred to that last evening. In 1983 I had the fortune to meet some people who ran a group of cooperatives called Instant Muscle, which were a group of cooperatives established in October 1981 by unemployed teenagers who were doing handyman-type things and odd jobs. Because of their success in their first venture they established the franchise across England and, at the time I was there, they had 38 such groups operating small cooperatives and providing employment for unemployed teenagers. The government of the United States of America provides $3 million a year to help educate the public about cooperatives and their uses. In Japan many small business cooperatives have grown to be gigantic cooperatives; today some of them are multinationals. In West Gennany the bank known as the DO Bank is a cooperative bank that finances most of that nation's fanners. The honourable member for OakIeigh referred to Mondragon as a very important organisation in the Basque area of Spain, an industrial town that is almost entirely run by cooperatives. In 1983 I had the pleasure of visiting that town for a couple of days. The cooperatives there deal with a great variety of things such as producing computers, white goods and so on and they have their own bank called Caja Laboral Popular. That bank, which the Basque people love and respect, was established by cooperatives to help, finance the whole cooperative movement. When looking at material on cooperatives I was interested to read an article by Leonie Lamont, an Age journalist. In 1983 she wrote an article for the Sydney Morning Herald on cooperatives in which she said: CO-OPERATWES BlU
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In the European Economic Community more than half a million people work in cooperatives. In France, 900 cooperatives are owned largely by the 35000 people who work in them, while in Italy, 350000 people are member/owners of 5000 cooperatives. In the Basque region of Spain, the Mondragon group of cooperatives is owned by 17 000 workers, spread over 96 separate enterprises with an annual turnover of $400 million. Those figures are largely out of date. The cooperative movement in Europe has grown substantially since that time, but given that the article was written in 1983 by Leonie Lamont, a current journalist in the Press Gallery, I thought it was worth quoting to the House. Despite the success of cooperatives throughout the Western and Eastern worlds, little is known about them in Australia in a fonn other than the credit union fonn, and that is one of the reasons why Australia is one of the most backward nations in the development of cooperatives. Last night the honourable member for Oakleigh went through the history of how the Bill came before the House. It was developed through a review established by a former Minister for Housing, the Honourable Ian Cathie, and it has a number of objectives, including, among others, to revitalise cooperatives in the State and to lessen restrictions on cooperatives. The Bill is the fulfllment of the review. Another aim of the review was to establish a cooperative development unit in the Attorney-General's Department. That has since been established. The last major objective was to develop a charter for credit cooperatives. That will require new legislation and it is hoped that a Bill will be available for debate later this year or early next year. I sincerely thank some members of the Opposition for their contributions to the debate last night, a number of which were quite useful. The honourable members for Oakleigh, Rodney, Sandringham and Melbourne debated the principles of the International Co-operative Alliance and referred to the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers back in 1844, who established those principles. The honourable member for Sandringham went through the history of cooperatives and the principles for which tJ:1ey stand. The honourable member for Melbourne did likewise, and the honourable member for Rodney was supportive. I must point out that the honourable member for Kew nitpicked about the Bill. Her speech would have been more appropriate during the Committee stage. Nevertheless, honourable members did go through the principles and demonstrate the structure and character of cooperatives as well as their economic and social objectives. Enough has probably been said about those matters and if honourable members are interested they should read the four speeches made last evening. Australia is not only backward in the development of cooperatives but also it has widespread and inaccurate perceptions of cooperatives as being financially weak and prone to failure. This does not happen in other parts of the world, where cooperatives cover a wide range of industries. Even in Australia there are cooperatives involving kindergartens, child-care, newsagents, taxis, credit unions, housing and food processing, as well as rural cooperatives of many kinds, so although we are backward we still have a great variety of cooperatives. In an academic piece appearing in a 1981 edition of the magazine Work and People Jeff Carruthers of the Federal Department of Science and Technology talks about the types of cooperatives that exist in Australia. He put them into several basic categories: primary cooperatives, which are basically for farmers----or they make up the major membership; consumer trading cooperatives, whose basic membership comprises consumers; finance cooperatives, the basic membership of which is shown as community users and which provide consumer credit and include housing and building societies; housing cooperatives, whose members are residents; and worker cooperatives, established by workers to provide CO-OPERATWES BIU
29 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 119 employment. He then deals with secondary and tertiary cooperatives that provide coordination and technical services to members. The first five categories I referred to fulfilled a need for primary cooperatives. He went on to detail what was really available in Australia and to make the point that I have made, that we are still very backward compared with a number of other nations. The cooperative movement has a number of problems. One problem is that the legislation is out of date in a number of States. This Bill will help to rectify that problem in Victoria. Secondly, there is a problem with education and training. There has not been much education and training and only recently have courses been conducted at T AFE colleges. I am pleased to say they are successfut but a lot more has to be done. The third and final problem, which in my view is the most serious problem, is that the finance or capital requirements of cooperatives have not been seriously tackled. The only avenues for providing capital to assist cooperatives to develop, and even to form in the first place, appear to be either a federation of credit unions or trade union superannuation funds. In many places in the world, such as India, Singapore and the Philippines, cooperatives have been used as vehicles for disadvantaged groups to gain greater control over the resources available to them. That is the basic reason cooperatives appeal to me. I believe it is not just in the poorer countries that the need exists; in my view the need exists in Australia. I wish there was some way of providing the necessary means of overcoming the three basic problems that cooperatives have so that we could see the more disadvantaged groups in our society become strong supporters of cooperatives and become cooperators. Cooperatives have a distinct feature in that they tend to unite people from all political parties. I think that was evident in the debate last night when members of all three parties supported the Bill. People who are right wing and people who are left wing support cooperatives for what they see in them. Some people regard them as a middle way and some people regard them as a third sector between the public and private sectors. In my view the fact that they appeal to all three parties is one of their strengths. I am delighted that the Bill will be useful to the cooperative movement, and I hope it has a speedy passage. I am delighted the three parties in this Chamber support it and do not wish to hold up the debate. I hope that later in the year we will deal with further legislation dealing with credit cooperatives. There are restrictions on the development of credit cooperatives at present and it is very costly to establish them. I know there is a review under way and I hope later in the year we will see legislation introduced along the lines of this Bill and that it will be passed. My final point is that cooperatives have had a good history in Victoria, although there has not been much written about them. To give two examples of cooperatives and the important role they have played in Victoria I shall quote from The Cooperative Way: Victoria's Third Sector, MACC Report 1986, page 35 of which states: In 1867 a cooperative was successful in securing the Victorian government contract for building a jail in Coburg. That gaol is Pentridge Prison. The next example is: The Age newspaper began as a cooperative in the late fifties, prior to its takeover by David Syme and his brother. Despite the fact that cooperatives have a long history in this country, Australia is regarded as very backward compared with other nations. I hope the Bill will mean we will catch up with the rest of the world. CO-OPERATIVES BIU
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Mr W. D. McGRATH (Lowan)-The Bill is set up to regulate cooperatives and runs in the face of the present philosophy of the Labor government. At times we have seen very strong moves for deregulation, particularly in relation to the marketing of primary products. The Margarine (Repeal) Bill is on the Notice Paper today. We have seen Federal government deregulation of the Australian wheat industry and the Minister for Primary Industries and Energy interfere with the wool marketing arrangements-it is all about deregulation. The Co-operatives Bill is all about regulation. Honourable members on this side of the House are undecided about supporting all provisions of the Bill but will not oppose its progress through the second-reading stage. After that, we shall take the opportunity of considering the proposed amendments that I understand will be circulated by the Attorney-General. A decision will be made only after considering the amendments. The Co-operatives Bill does not favour larger agriCUltural cooperatives in Victoria, many of which have operated successfully. Three large agricultural cooperatives that come to mind are Bonlac Foods Ltd, the Murray-Goulburn Co-operative and Trading Co., and the Phosphate Co-operative Co. of Australia Ltd, known as Pivot. I should declare a pecuniary interest in Pivot because I have some shares in the phosphate company. It is interesting to consider the letter from Pivot, addressed to the honourable member for Kew. Some concerns about the Bill are expressed and reference is made to practical matters. Criticism is levelled at the way capital is raised in the following tenns: ... share premiums can: (i) assist in the raising of capital. A number of our members have found that the maintenance of par value is a disincentive to subscribe to shares because the value of shares has not kept pace with inflation; (ii) lower the cost of capital. Because the nominal value of shares does not keep pace with inflation. a cooperative is required to pay more to members in the form of dividends and bonuses to attract capital; and (iii) be a defence against hostile takeovers. Cooperatives have become attractive to corporate raiders because of the large gap between the price of their shares and their net asset backing. As stated, Pivot has been under attack from corporate raiders wanting to buy large packages of shares so they may gain a monopoly control and use it to further their own best interests, and that in many ways typifies the value of cooperatives. I am aware of a number of fanners in Victoria who have had the opportunity of realising a substantial profit on their shares by selling to a prospective bidder at an offered value of $50 when the shares were worth $12 each. Because the farmers wanted to retain their rights in the cooperative, they denied themselves the capital return and made an effort to protect the farmers cooperative. Pivot has demonstrated that many parts ofthe proposed legislation are not in the best interests of agricultural cooperatives and that the Bill will require substantial amendment. The proposed amendments will be considered carefully and some time will be needed for that consideration so that all interested parties can be protected. I have had some experience with cooperatives. In my home town, the only surviving grocery store was no longer profitable to the owners. A local cooperative was formed so that the town would not die through the lack of a general store. I was a member of the board ofmanagement of the cooperative that was able to carry on the business after having met all of the legislative requirements that are overseen by Corporate Affairs Victoria and others. We were able to save the business and get it onto a good footing. Some four years later we were able to interest a buyer in taking it over. I am pleased to be able to say that the business is most successful. If a cooperative had not been able to be formed so that the business could be salvaged, the town would have lost its general store and might have died. CO-OPERATWES BIU
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I have had experience of cooperatives also as a member of a small farmers buying group which has met all of the legislative requirements relating to cooperatives. The farmers are able to advertise for tenderers and so obtain fuel for their farm operations at the best price; the farmers are members of a buying group that can attract discounts because it can buy in bulk. Other aspects of the cooperative include the capacity to buy machinery that can be used by cooperative members. Such a practice removes the necessity for individuals to buy large pieces of machinery at high prices. The cooperative has bought machinery and made it available at a charge to its members. As the honourable member for Rodney said, not all cooperatives have been successful. The Farmers and Graziers Cooperative Pty Ltd was a cooperative that was set up and running well, having established a good network. Mr Speaker, I am sure you will remember that cooperative and because of your background you will have understood how it operated. However, because of mismanagement by the executive staff that cooperative was brought to its knees. Such an outcome must be guarded against at all times. Like all business undertakings, cooperatives can only be as good as their executive staff and boards of management. While the opportunity is available for shareholders in cooperatives to ask questions and seek answers at annual meetings, sometimes that can be too late. The Victorian Oatgrowers Pool and Marketing Co. Ltd was another cooperative that went into receivership in recent times, which has proved to be a most expensive exercise for a number of unsecured creditors. Many of the members of the farming community that I represent have been penalised financially because they have been unsecured creditors doing business with cooperatives. Proper regulatory controls must be imposed on cooperatives and those regulatory controls must be directed to preserve the best interests of the cooperative and its members. Despite the best of intentions, unless the Bill operates in that way it will not be beneficial to the cooperative movement. I have mentioned some of the cooperatives I have been associated with, all of which were established for the marketing of agricultural products, not only in Australia but also in Great Britain and the United States of America, and all of which have grown into large businesses. But as with other businesses unless adequate regulations and safeguards are established they will run the risk of foundering in hard times; and in such circumstances the unsecured creditors of cooperatives will pay dearly. I should like to think there is some way of cooperatives taking out insurance coverage so that, in the case of financial collapse, both secured and unsecured creditors are reimbursed through the sale of assets. At present unsecured creditors of such organisations rarely receive very much from the disposal of assets-sometimes they receive as little as 5 cents in the $1. The matter should be addressed, whether by the government or by individual cooperatives, so that insurance cover can be provided for unsecured creditors to save them from financial hardship in such circumstances. The National Party will support the second reading of the Bill, but it is not prepared to give the green light to its passing until it is sure that the amendments proposed in the Committee stage deal with the matters directed to our attention by interested parties. Mr KENNAN (Attomey-General)-I thank honourable members, particularly the Opposition spokesperson, for their constructive contributions to the Bill. All of us agree that the Bill needs careful examination before it is passed. The Co-operatives Bill has been almost four years in gestation and is the result, in particular, of consultation with the industry. Not all of the industry's interests and wishes are reflected in the Bill, because not all are necessarily in the public interest. CO-OPERATWES BIU
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This is one of several drafts of the Bill. Some of its prudential aspects are different from those in the draft of the Bill circulated last year, particularly in relation to the powers of investment, which are contained in clause 50. I point out to the Opposition that the government intends to look again at clause 50, which in its present form is too open. It has been suggested that some major cooperatives may seek to be covered by the Bill rather than by the Companies (Victoria) Code. The desirability of such moves must be considered; if they occur the adequacy of the supervision provisions will have to be examined carefully. Depending on the final form of the Bill, we could be faced with an industry that is fifteen or twenty times the size of the present industry regulated and supervised by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies. Even if only two or three of the large cooperatives moved from coverage by the Companies Code to coverage under the Bill, the size of the cooperatives industry would be many times greater. Mrs Wade interjected. Mr KENNAN-That raises an interesting point bearing in mind that Corporate Affairs Victoria will soon be subsumed by the Australian Securities Commission. Mrs Wade interjected. Mr KENNAN-I should be disappointed were the Opposition to block that. Ifthe shadow Attorney-General wishes to recommence her career in that position on the note of blocking the establishment of a national scheme, I wish her well-but I hope she does not succeed! These issues need to be considered carefully, having regard to the fact that the trend for building, friendly, housing and cooperative societies is towards national regulation. The Standing Committee of Attorneys-General will discuss the regulation of non-bank financial institutions at its meeting at the end of September. The Federal government has stated that it is in favour of national, regulation whether, by a Commonwealth body or by legal uniformity or an agreed arrangement involving a Ministerial Council. These issues have been placed on the agenda recently; certainly they were not at the forefront when work started on the Bill in 1986. I point out to the Opposition that the government does not intend to bring on debate on the Bill next week. We want to consider amendments to be proposed in the Committee stage as well as giving the Opposition a reasonable amount of time to formulate its amendments. If everyone agrees we could debate the Committee stage of the Bill next week, but I do not anticipate that occurring. The. Opposition will be given sufficient notice before the Bill is brought back on for debate so that amendments can be considered. We do not wish to ambush the Opposition on the matter. The Opposition has raised important issues during the debate, which must be considered. As I said, the Bill will not be brought on next week and we undertake to give the Opposition a week's notice before amendments are considered in the Committee stage. I thank members of the Opposition for their constructive attitude to the Bill. The SPEAKER-Order! I am of the opinion that the second reading of this Bill is required to be passed by an absolute majority. Motion agreed to by absolute majority. Read second time. Committed. BREAD INDUSTRY (REPEAL) BIU
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Committee Clause 1 Progress reported.
BREAD INDUSTRY (REPEAL) BILL Second reading Debate resumed from 28 August; motion ofMr POPE (Minister for Labour). Mr POPE (Minister for Labour) - The report on which the Bill is based is from a joint Commonwealth-State inquiry into food regulations in Australia. As all honourable members have said, the issue at hand is the 48.3-kilometre limit for delivering bread from where it is baked. All the other issues in the Bill are agreed to by all parties. Members of the Opposition have claimed that large job losses will result from the Bill, and the common figure bandied about is 3000 jobs in country Victoria. Mr J.F. McGrath-Up to 3000 jobs! Mr POPE-It is now up to 3000 jobs. One press release included the figure of 30 000 and that was then changed to 3000 jobs. The Opposition is now saying it is up to 3000 jobs. There are only 2100 jobs in this industry in country Victoria, and yet the Opposition claims 3000 jobs will be lost! That means that not only will every country bakery in Victoria have to close but also an additional 900 jobs will have to be found then lost.
Some small bakeries throughout Victoria sell specialt~l bread and I shall not go through the arguments that have been put by all members of the Opposition. The honourable members for Ivanhoe and Swan Hill accept the government's position that this ludicrous situation be abolished. The honourable member for Hawthorn was rolled in the party room on this issue because he does not believe the 48.3-kilometre limit should remain. It is embarrassing for him to sit in this place listening to speaker after speaker put the government's position because he supports it. The contribution of the honourable member for Hawthorn to the second-reading debate was the shortest he has ever made, for which all honourable members were grateful. I hope that sets a precedent for his speeches in the future. The reason he made such a short speech is because his heart is not in this issue; he knows it is an absolute nonsense to not allow bread to be delivered more than 48.3 kilometres from where it is baked. That is what the Opposition is supporting. Mr Perton interjected. Mr POPE-Because the honourable member for Doncaster has an argument about some issue in the building industry, he thinks that makes it all right for the bread industry. It is unbelievable that the Liberal Party supports the rural socialists with regard to the deregulation of the bread industry. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! There is far too much inteIjection. The honourable member for Benambra is aware of the provisions of Standing Order No. 107, and I ask the honourable members for Derrimut, Malvern and Doncaster to exercise the self-restraint and dignity expected of members in this place. BREAD INDUSTRY (REPEAL) BIU
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Mr POPE-I appreciate the embarrassment of members of the Opposition, especially that of the honourable member for Ivanhoe. Every time this matter is raised he walks out of the Chamber in disgust and I do not blame him. This issue is fundamental to the deregulation policies of the Liberal Party and one must wonder why it is supporting the provision. Why has the Liberal Party turned on its head the position it has taken on deregulation? Is it because ofthe fonnation of a coalition and the deregulation policy was overturned by its rural socialist friends in the National Party or was the change brought about in the party room by the majority of the rural members in the Liberal Party, such as the honourable member for Benambra and others? The change was brought about by one of those two factors or a combination of both. It is certainly not the usual position of the Liberal Party to oppose the deregulation of an area that is so regulated. I think most members of the Liberal Party are hanging their heads in shame. The honourable member for Ivanhoe does that every time he walks in here. He had the courage to say that what the Liberal Party was doing was wrong, as the honourable member for Swan Hill said about the National Party. Mr Kennett interjected. The SPEAKER-Order! The honourable members for Burwood and Malvern have been here long enough to understand the provisions of the Standing Orders. It is difficult to relate the inteJjections of the honourable member for Burwood to any matter before the House. Mr POPE-The state of the Liberal Party in Victoria is striking a chord in the community, as has been explained by Terry McCrann in an article in the Herald which was read out by the Treasurer. The honourable member for Hawthorn does not have the courage of the honourable member for Ivanhoe to state his position. A number of statements that are not correct have been made. The honourable member for Warrnambool said that there had not been consultation with the Country Bakers Association. That is definitely not true. A number of meetings were conducted with various associations. Mr Gude interjected. Mr POPE-The honourable member for Hawthorn just mentioned Mr Sinnet. I understand that over the years they have had a number of discussions, as Mr Sinnet has explained to me, and the honourable member for Hawthorn put up a good show when in actual fact he was not supporting them. Some time ago when the honourable member for Polwarth spoke on this Bill-which he obviously has forgotten he did because he got up to speak a second time-he mentioned the issue of cutting red tape. I recall the days when he was the Minister for Economic Development under a Liberal Government. He mentioned the need to cut red tape and to examine the issue of ensuring that there was free enterprise. It is unbelievable that he had the gall to oppose what the government is doing with respect to this issue. The issue of provincial and speciality bakeries has been explained on numerous occasions and the review which came out stated that there would not be a loss of 3000 jobs. There are only 2100 jobs in this industry in country Victoria, but it was stated that there would be an increase in employment in the bread industry with respect to ongoing operations in breadmaking. I understand that the Victorian Chamber of Manufactures has voiced its opinion on this issue and feels strongly, as Mr Ken Crompton has stated on a number of occasions, about the lunacy of the Liberal Party's position. . Honourable members interjecting. BREAD INDUSTRY (REPEAL) BIU
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The SPEAKER-Order! I have cautioned the honourable members for Doncaster and Malvern once. I do not wish to have to act against them but, if necessary, I will. Mr POP&--Mr Crompton has also said it is a disgraceful position for a party he believed upheld the principles of free enterprise and deregulation. The Bill has been on the Notice Paper for some considerable time and has been debated by many honourable members on both sides of the House. It is evident that the Liberal Party has to uphold that position and explain it to its own following. It will have great difficulty in doing that and I hope a rethink will take place while the Bill is between this House and the next, although one does not hold much hope for that, given the on-again, off-again merger for coalition between the opposition parties. The government could not find out what the parties had done yesterday. It appears that the 48.3 kilometre-limit will remain in Victoria. The situation of exemptions has been explained by some speakers in the House. Exemptions have had to be made because of distance and because of specialty breads being made in certain parts of the State. With respect to exemptions, as the Minister responsible for this matter, I shall be looking at each and every issue. If the Opposition uses its numbers in the Upper House the lunacy will continue and I shall look favourably at the exemptions put forward, as has occurred with previous Ministers. It is a disgrace. I feel sorry for the honourable member for Hawthorn in his embarrassment, but I am sure he will overcome it! I impress upon him the fact that he will get my support in keeping his contributions to the second-reading debate as short as he did on this occasion. House divided on motion:
Ayes, 43 Mr Andrianopoulos Mr Jolly Mrs Setches MrBaker MrKennan Mr A. 1. Sheehan MrsBarker MrKennedy Mr F. P. Sheehan Mr Batchelor Ms Kirner MrShell MrCrabb MrLeighton MrSimmonds Mr Curmingharn Mr McCutcheon MrSpyker MrDollis MrMcDonald MrThomson MrEmst MrMathews MrTrezise MrFordharn MrNorris DrVaughan Mrs Garbutt MrPope MrWalsh MrGavin Mrs Ray Mrs Wilson Mr Hamilton MrRoper Mr Harrowfield . MrRowe Tellers MrsHill MrSandon MrCole Mrs Hirsh MrSeitz MrSercombe Noes, 31 MrAustin MrJohn Mr Ross-Edwards Mr Bildstien MrKennett Mr E. R. Smith MrBrown MrLea Mr Steggall MrClark MrLeigh Mr Stockdale MrColeman Mr Lieberman MrTan.ner MrCooper Mr J. F. McGrath MrsWade MrElder Mr W. D. McGrath MrWeideman MrEvans Mr Maclellan MrGude MrMaughan Tellers MrHayward Mr Perrin DrNapthine Mr Honeywood MrReynolds MrPerton BREAD INDUSTRY (REPEAL) BlU
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Pairs MrCain MrPescott MrMicallef Mr Heffernan Motion agreed to. Read second time. Committed. Committee Clause 1 Mr GUDE (Hawthorn)-I move: 1. Clause l,line 4, omit "and" (where fust occwring) and insert, ", to amend". The amendment provides that the Bill amend and not repeal Division 2 of Part VII of the Labour and Industry Act 1958. The amendment relates to section 104 (1), (2) and (3), which deals with trading on Saturdays and Sundays and which are effectively to be repealed. The balance of the section relates to the 48.3 kilometres distribution area and the issuing of a certificate of exemption to which the Minister referred during his closing remarks to the second-reading debate. Section 104 (1) states: A person who on a Sunday carts or delivers bread in the CO\D'se of trade or business before six o'clock in the morning or after noon shall not be guilty of an offence against this Division. The Opposition proposes that subsection be deleted. Section 104 (2) and (3) states: (2) A person who on Saturday or SlDlday delivers bread at any premises in a quantity weighing less than 7.2 kilograms shall be guilty of an offence against this Division. (3) The provisions of sub-section (2) shall not apply to delivering of bread on Saturday in the areas to which Parts IT ill and IV of the detennination of the Bread Carters Board in force on the 1 January 1967. applied. Subsection (3) relates t.ozoning. The amendmentfonns the basis of the Opposition's proposal to not reject the proposed legislation but to amend it. The amendment meets in part the proposition that the proposed legislation had intended but it does not go to the extent of the removal of the distribution provision. The Minister during his reply when concluding the second-reading debate made great play about the numbers of persons employed in country Victoria. The concerns of people in the country are similar to mine;· I have a son who is unemployed as a consequence of the economic downturn in Victoria. When one is unemployed in a small country town with the prospect of the proposed legislation, passing, which is likely to increase unemployment, one would feel somewhat concerned about the Bill, and that is irrespective of the number of unemployed, which I do not care to debate with the Minister. When legislation of this sort has been enacted in other States jobs have been lost. The Minister who has introduced the proposed legislation is the Minister responsible for employment generation and the protection ofjobs, but he does not care. He has continued the government's tram-track mentality. When one reaches the end of the tram-track at Bundoora one finds that the government does not care what happens to those beyond. There appears to be little concern also within the city precincts because the number of persons who are unemployed is rapidly increasing. This amendment and the other amendments I foreshadow are about jobs, family life and dignity. That is the Opposition's object I encourage the Minister to examine the matter again when the Bill is between here and another place. It is too late to deal with the provision in BREAD INDUSTRY (REPEAL) BILL
29 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 127 this place because the division on the second reading of the Bill made the government's position crystal clear. I encourage the Minister to take this matter back to the party room ifhe wants to salvage any dignity in areas such as Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo and if the government cares for any of the people living in the non-metropolitan areas who will be directly affected by the passage of the Bill. The government will then see the merit of the argument that has been put by the Opposition. Mr LIEBERMAN (Benambra}--I support the amendment proposed by the honourable member for Hawthorn. It is interesting to reflect on clause 1, the amendment and the paradoxical position in which the government has put itself. The government has created so much havoc in the State because of its financial mismanagement and incompetence that employment opportunities will be diminished, perhaps for decades. Victoria is already losing job opportunities in many areas. Victorians have been saddled with a huge debt and must face up to paying increased taxes for a long time. The Minister for Labour says he has consulted on this issue with country Victorians and representatives of small businesses in country Victoria. I, too, have consulted with them and have heard their pleas and arguments. The Minister has told honourable members today that he consulted with these people and that, therefore, the Bill reflects the feeling of country Victoria. Mr Pope-I didn't say that. Mr LIEBERMAN-That is to be the inference one can draw. It is important that the Minister learns from his mistakes. Ifthe Minister were responsible and honest, when he goes around Victoria saying that he has consulted with country people he should also say that they do not want the Bill. All he said today was that he had consulted with them. An innocent bystander would be entitled to presume that the Bill provided amendments that reflected the wishes of country people and had their support. That is humbug. It is dishonest for the Minister to take such action. I hope the Minister will learn from that and be fair dinkum in the future. The second point I make is that the government continues to interfere with the everyday lives of people. Over the past few weeks there has been the spectacle surrounding discussions on the State Budget with pictures of John Halfpenny being shown on television and published in newspapers sitting at the Cabinet table telling the Premier and the government what to do. Those events are on record and took place only two weeks before the Budget was delivered. There has been an increase in the power provided to unions by the Minister for Labour and "the government. Recently staff members at the Royal Melbourne Hospital who did not wish to join the union were blackballed and quarantined by being placed in a part of the hospital where they would not be able to work with other staff who had joined the union. Mr GAVIN (Coburg}--On a point of order, Mr Chainnan, both the clause and the amendment are narrow. The honourable member referred to what John Halfpenny said in negotiations on some industrial dispute and some problem at a hospital. I do not see the relevance of the honourable member's comments and ask that he be directed to return to the Bill. Mr LIEBERMAN (Benambra}--On the point of order, Mr Chainnan, clause 1 provides the purpose of the Bill, which is to repeal some provisions of the Labour and Industry Act and other Acts. Mr Chainnan, you would know from your experience that the matters I have been addressing relate directly to that Act and to the deregulation issue referred to by the Minister. I have no doubt the honourable member for Coburg is concerned about his party BREAD INDUSTRY (REPEAL) BIU
128 ASSEMBLY 29 AUGUST 1990 and government being exposed, but what he has said is humbug. On this issue the honourable member, the Minister and their ilk are in favour of deregulation and criticise the Opposition and the National Party for opposing the Bill. The CHAIRMAN (Mr Norris}-Order! I uphold the point of order. The honourable member for Benambra was straying dramatically from the clause and the amendment, and I ask him to return to them. Mr LIEBERMAN-Clause 1 and the amendment deal with the effects of the Bill and the Labour and Industry Act. I support the amendment because it is designed to enable country people and investors in small business, who are finding it difficult to survive, to continue to cope and offer employment in their finns and factories. The government has not been able to offer any substantial evidence to rebut the arguments put forward by country Victorians. In one Victorian town the owner of a small bakery recently passed away and his widow and family have carried on the business. They spent a substantial amount on new equipment and now face a huge debt. If the Bill is passed they will not be able to repay that debt. Therefore, it is important that the Bill be amended. The view of the opposition parties on changes to the law effecting deregulation is that a government has a responsibility to understand and appreciate the effect the new law will have on people. As Parliamentarians we have a duty to take a balanced, responsible approach and give people the opportunity of recovering from difficult times while certain provisions are phased in or phased out. The Bill does not do that. The amendment proposed by the honourable member for Hawthorn will enable people to make adjustments and to remain employers in difficult times when Victorians have been saddled with additional taxes as a result of the government's incompetence. It is valid for the Opposition to refer to an aspect of deregulation which the Minister rejects outright. I refer honourable members to the question of closed shops and compulsory unionism. The Minister will not soften his attitude on freedom of choice for employees. He says adamantly that closed shops are a good thing. I ask: how can the Minister take the right of choice away from people? How can he attempt to reinforce that dreadful position? Mr POPE (Minister for Labour}-On a point of order, Mr Chairman, you have already ruled once on the wide-ranging debate the honourable member for Benambra is pursuing. I suggest he is going down that track again and should return to the clause. Mr J.F. McG RA TH (Warmambool}-On the point of order, Mr Chairman, the purpose clause of the Bill enables honourable members to deal with the very concept of proposed legislation The fundamental concept of this Bill is the repealing of an Act which in this case provides for the deregulation of the bread industry. The honourable member for Benambra is dealing with the concept of deregulation and how people will be affected by it. He is also analysing issues so that honourable members can detennine whether the Bill is consistent. I suggest he is consistent in the manner in which he is debating the issue and is within the ambit of the Bill. The CHAIRMAN (Mr Norris}-Order! I uphold the point of order. The amendment is specific. This is not the opportunity to engage in wide-ranging debate. Honourable members had that opportunity in the debate on the second reading of the Bill. I ask the honourable member to return to the amendment. BREAD INDUSTRY (REPEAL) BIlL
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Mr LIEBERMAN (Benambra}--I conclude my remarks on clause 1 by referring to the Minister's attack on the Liberal and National parties for their stand on the Bill. At the end of the second-reading debate the Minister exposed the government for all the humbug and nonsense for which it should be exposed. If he intends to be serious about this issue-- Mr W. D. McGrath-They have to take the same attitude on the deregulation of wages! Mr LIEBERMAN-Holiday leave loadings, penalty rates and so on are affected and Mr Crompton from the Australian Chamber of Manufactures has been espousing loudly that Labor governments must change their ways. One of the tragedies of this government's perfonnance over the past eight years is the way it has continually tried to manipulate the industrial scene and to introduce social engineering to achieve its stupid objectives at the same time as driving the State into massive debt. The mess is there for all to see. If the Bill goes through without the amendment proposed by the honourable member for Hawthorn, it will create more unemployment in this State. If government members vote blindly against the honourable member for Hawthorn's amendment they are voting for more unemployment than the government has already helped to create. Honourable members interjecting. Mr LIEBERMAN-There should be open debate on this issue. The honourable member for Coburg and his mates will need to go around the State and defend their actions if they vote against the amendment of the honourable member for Hawthorn. I invite government members to spend a week with me travelling around country Victoria. I can take them to towns where unemployment is on the rise directly as a result of this government's incompetence. I can take them to see small business people who are about to close their doors because of the incompetence of Labor governments. A vote for this Bill and a vote against the amendment of the honourable member for Hawthorn is a vote for more unemployment It will be another mark against the government. Mr J. F. McGRATU (Warrnambool}--I support the amendment moved by the honourable member for Hawthorn because it seeks to put in place a mechanism that will assist and encourage the ongoing employment of people in small bakeries throughout Victoria. At the end of the second-reading debate the Minister argued that 3000 jobs were not affected by this measure. I should like to know how he collated his statistics. It is easy to stand up and make cheapskate remarks about an error that was made. The incorrect figure of 30 000 was changed to 3000 at an early stage of debate and it was not necessary for the Minister to dwell on that today to try to score cheap points. Unlike the Minister, I have travelled throughout country Victoria and spoken to people who will be affected by the Bill. Unemployment in rural Victoria has risen by 108 per cent and bankruptcies in the June quarter have increased to 43 per cent. The passing of this Bill will further escalate that figure. It is important for Victoria for jobs to be created. As the honourable member for Benambra has just said, small businesses, which are the major employers of this nation, are teetering on the brink because of outside influences largely brought about by Labor governments. Honourable members should be debating measures that encourage employment opportunities rather than measures that will lead to an escalation of unemployment. It is interesting that the Labor movement has backed away from the worker. Perhaps we should consider is the deregulation of industrial relations policy and the whole wages issue. Spring Session 1990-5 BREAD INDUSTRY (REPEAL) BIlL
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If the government introduced such a measure for debate it would find out how the National Party stands on the issue. However, the government is not prepared to bring in a gutsy motion that deals with closed shops and the protection of the worker. If it were fair dinkum about reducing the cost of the commodity to the consumer, that is the fundamental place to start. The amendment proposed by the honourable member for Hawthorn will encourage and nurture the continuation of employment within the bakery industry, especially throughout regional and country Victoria. The bakery industry is an important part ofthe business sector. As I have said, the government's own figures show that unemployment in country Victoria has risen by 108 per cent. We must not do anything that will further exacerbate that terrible figure-I did not use the word "disastrous"! The amendment will facilitate the ongoing retention of jobs and perhaps somewhere down the track will provide growth although, because of outside influences, that growth seems limited. The National Party adds it support to the amendment proposed by the honourable member for Hawthorn. Mr POPE (Minister for Labour}-Several speakers, not the least the last speaker, the honourable member for Warrnambool, have invited me to provide figures. It appears the Opposition is well researched and has means of finding out exactly the employment situation in the bread industry. The means used by the honourable member for Benambra was to get in his car and drive around and speak to a few people. The honourable member for Warmambool probably does something similar. My research came from the Regulation Review Unit. Honourable members interjecting. Mr POPE-Honourable members opposite have invited me to give figures. The figures supplied by the Regulation Review Unit are: metropolitan plant bakeries, 1450; metropolitan specialty bakeries, 220; metropolitan hot bread shops and in-house bakeries, 1800; a total of 3470; provincial plant bakeries-Bunge and Goodman Fielder, 600; independently owned bakeries, 190; a total of 790; small provincial bakeries, 500; provincial hot bread shops and in-house bakeries, 800; a total of 1300. These figures are a little more reliable than those that could be obtained by honourable members opposite driving around their electorates. I should also like to quote from the Regulation Review Unit's response to submissions made and specifically to the issue of employment that has been raised with respect to the amendment moved by the honourable member for Hawthorn and supported by the honourable members for Benambra and Warmambool. It relates to the question of 3000 jobs being lost in country bakeries. Mr J. F. McGrath interjected. Mr POPE-The table from which I quote shows that there are fewer than this number of employees in the whole industry in country Victoria. Mr GUDE (Hawthorn}-On a point of order, Mr Chairman, the Minister mentioned three opposition party members when he was quoting figures. I did not refer specifically to numbers. What I said was that one can be certain there will be an increase in the number of persons employed in country Victoria. The CHAIRMAN (Mr Norris}-Order! There is no point of order. Mr MACLELLAN (Berwick}-On a further point of order, Mr Chairman, the Minister quoted figures which he said were from the Regulation Review Unit. He has been quoting from a document and I ask that he make the document available. BREAD INDUSTRY (REPEAL) BIU
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Mr POPE (Minister for Labour}-I am more than happy to make that available. I am pleased to do that to ensure the Liberal Party finds out the true situation rather than using its gut feeling, and by driving around its electorates. The honourable member for Hawthorn said thathe was more concerned about the employment situation and not the numbers. How many people would be unemployed? The Regulation Review Unit, in response to the question of whether 3000 jobs are likely to be lost, states in that report: The answer is no. As the table above shows. there are less than this number of employees in the whole industry in country Victoria. Further. it will be argued later in this paper. that any restructuring in the industry will result in employees finding employment in different types of bakeries. rather than losing employment altogether. In fact. the baking industry as a whole is becoming more labour intensive with the trend toward smaller specialist bakeries. Therefore. the trend toward increasing employment in the industry. as documented in point 7 above. is expected to continue even if the 48.3 km restriction is repealed. Several honourable members, not the least being the honourable members for Benambra and Warrnambool, have said that the employment situation will be worse because of the 48.3 kilometre boundary. No shred of evidence was put by them, except that honourable members opposite drove around their electorates and spoke to a few people. The only area in which research has been done discloses that employment will increase because of this measure. The situation obviously is only about deregulation, and nothing else. The Liberal Party has got into bed with its rural socialist friends and decided that it will oppose deregulation with respect to this issue. I appreciate the position of the honourable member for Ivanhoe, and his courage in standing here, and saying it is nonsense to go down this track. It is unfortunate that the honourable member for Hawthorn did not have the courage of his convictions, and also speak like that. I know that is his position because he has had to toe the party line, and not espouse something different That line is not endorsed by sympathisers of the Liberal Party. Obviously, the government rejects the amendment put by the honourable member for Hawthorn as it goes totally against what the government is trying to do, namely, repeal the 48.3 kilometre limit. Committee divided on omission (Members in favour vote No)
Ayes, 43 MrBaker MrKennan Mrs Setches MrsBarker MrKennedy Mr A. 1. Sheehan Mr Batchelor Ms Kirner Mr F. P. Sheehan MrCole Mr Leighton MrShell MrCrabb Mr McCutcheon MrSimmonds Mr Cunningham MrMcDonald MrSpyker Mr Dollis MrMathews MrThomson MrEmst MrMicallef MrTrezise MrFordham MrPope DrVaughan MrsGarbutt Mrs Ray MrWalsh MrGavin MrRoper Mrs Wilson Mr Harrowfield MrRowe MrsHill MrSandon Tellers MrsHirsh MrSeitz Mr Andrianopoulos Mr Jolly MrSercombe MrHamilton
Noes, 39 MrAustin MrLeigh Mr Ross-Edwards Mr Bildstien Mr Lieberman Mr E. R. Smith MrColeman Mr 1. F. McGrath Mr Steggall MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIU
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Noes-continued MrCooper Mr W. D. McGrath Mr Stockdale MrDelzoppo MrMcNamara MrTanner Mr Dickinson Mr Maclellan MrsWade MrElder MrMaughan MrWallace MrEvans DrNaptbine MrWeideman MrGude MrPerrin DrWells MrHayward MrPerton MrHeffeman MrPescott MrJohn MrPlowrnan Tellers MrKemett MrReynolds MrClark MrLea Mr Richardson Mr Honeywood Pair MrCain MrBrown Amendment negatived. Clause agreed to; remaining clauses agreed to. Reported to House without amendment. Passed remaining stages.
MARGARINE (REPEAL) BILL Second reading Debate resumed from 10 August 1989; motion ofMr ROWE (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs). Mr W.D. McGRATH (Lowan)-The Bill seeks to repeal the Margarine Act. It will become effective as soon as Royal assent is given to the Parliamentary decision. Clause 4 provides that current licences will not be refundable. Given that the government has made provision in the Motor Car Traders Act for someone handing in a licence to be refunded a portion of the licence fee, I should have thought it would have been decent enough to refund any unused portions of the licences provided under the proposed legislation. However, in industry licence fees are not refundable. The dairy industry in Victoria has been a strong industry over many years. It was one of the foundation industries in the State. Not only country people benefit from the dairy industry but also city people through the provision of high quality food. Butter, cream and milk are essential requirements to city dwellers, and that association brings country and city people together. Regulations made under the Margarine Act currently provide that only 5300 tonnes of margarine can be produced in Victoria. My understanding is that approximately 30 000 tonnes of margarine is consumed annually in Victoria and the largest percentage of margarine consumed here comes from New South Wales. Section 92 of the Commonwealth Constitution allows free trade between the States and therefore the flow of margarine from New South Wales to Victoria is pennissible. Once again the government wishes to remove a regulation in a private industry. We would all love to have a deregulated society but there is no deregulation of wages or deregulation of the airline industry. When petrol prices started to increase the other day, regulations were immediately put in place to freeze prices. The National Party is not opposed to the MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIU
29 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 133 government introducing regulations. The Labor Party has made regulations on taxi fares and is not intending to abolish those regulations. It is interesting to note that in years gone by usually one bound volume would contain all the regulations approved by Parliament each year, whereas currently about three bound volumes contain the regulations approved by Parliament each year. Although the Labor government has a certain perception about deregulation, it is very much in a regulation mode and every Bill that is introduced to Parliament includes regulation-making powers. Much of the legislation that has been amended by the opposition parties over the past few years has needed to be brought into effect through regulation and put into place by the government. It is understandable why the Opposition seeks to amend legislation so that a regulation may be allowed or disallowed on a motion introduced in either House of Parliament. The purists in the Labor Party who say they are for total deregulation are not telling the truth. There must always be a balance between some regulation and total abolition of regulation and that is exactly the position with the Margarine Act at this stage. The dairy industry, naturally enough, would like to retain the present arrangements although a number of dairy farmers are prepared to expand into margarine production in Victoria. The coalition has discussed the issue and it appears there is little point in opposing the retention of a production quota in Victoria, bearing in mind that Victoria is the only State in Australia with production quotas restricting margarine production. Such a restriction must penalise Victoria's employment opportunities. The National Party has received correspondence from the Victorian Employers Federation claiming that the quota system disadvantages Victorian consumers in relation to price. The federation also says that Victorian manufacturers cannot economically manufacture margarine in this State. The safflower and rapeseed oil-or canola, which is the other name for rapeseed-industries are important to Victoria. Because of the downturn in the price of cereal crops that has resulted from our inability to trade profitably on overseas markets following the subsidisation and export enhancement programs operated by the European Community and the United States of America, fanners in dry fannland areas of Victoria are turning to growing alternative crops such as rapeseed, safflower and sunflower seeds and also many legume crops at the expense of cereal crop production. That provides an opportunity for us to use the production of canola and safflower at the local level. The Victorian Year Book shows that oilseed production of 1()()() tonnes in 1983 rose to 25000 tonnes in 1986 before falling to 2000 tonnes in 1986-87. However, during the six-year period yields were the highest in 1986-87. Safflower production showed further growth in 1986-87 and reached 7400 tonnes while the area sown increased to 10400 hectares, which is a significant amount of land. The point I make by quoting those production figures is that they demonstrate that we are still not self-sufficient in oilseed production. That is borne out by the amount of oilseed that is used either for cooking or for margarine production. As I said, the margarine manufacture limitation in this State is some 5100 tonnes whereas consumption of margarine is approximately 30 000 tonnes a year. That shows that there is a large amount of oilseed produced in Victoria that can be used in the manufacture of margarine for Victorian consumption. It is in that light that the coalition will support the deregulation of the manufacturing limit. However, I give notice to the Minister that the coalition will not allow the whole Margarine Act to be abolished. We will move to retain the Margarine Act but to remove section 7, which relates to the maximum amount of margarine to be manufactured each year in Victoria, and that is 5180 tonnes. The reason for that is that we want to retain the standard of the product. MARGARINE (REPEAL) BILL
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If we wipe out the requirements that are listed in the Margarine Act relating to production, and they are quite significant, there will be difficulty in ensuring that the production meets standards. I am sure the whole Parliament would agree that the aspect on which we must concentrate, whether it is in relation to production for a local or export market, is qUality. We do not necessarily need quantity simply because the world seems to have an abundance of bread spreads, but we must maintain quality if we are to look after both the dairy and the oilseed industries. It is important to follow through on the requirements laid down in the Act and to ensure that the margarine produced is of the polyunsaturated variety rather than manufactured very cheaply from palm oil, as occurs on overseas markets. The Federal government in particular has failed to come to tenns with the fact that we are importing some $2 billion worth of food items into a country that is agriculturally rich and independent. The government is allowing the importation of such products from corrupt markets overseas into the Australian food system at the expense of domestic producers. I shall digress for a moment to illustrate my point. The importation of Canadian pork has been approved by the Federal government. It is clear that Canadian pig producers are being subsidised by some $38 to $42 a head by the Canadian government, and the Canadian producers are sending their pork to Australia with the blessing of the Australian government to compete against our own producers, who receive little or no subsidy. One sometimes wonders what governments are on about. If Parliaments and governments have one obligation, it is to look after their own people in the first instance. We should safeguard against diseases being brought into the country through agricultural products. People have talked about a minimal risk from imported products. I believe we should ensure there is no risk rather than allowing for minimal risk. The coalition is prepared to allow the removal of the restriction set out in section 7, but that is on the understanding that standards will be retained. As I mentioned earlier when I talked about palm oil, it is of concern that such substandard products can be manufactured cheaply and then released into the marketplace. Unless such products meet adequate food standards, they could be detrimental to people's health, and there is a need to safeguard against health risks. When the Bill is dealt with in Committee and the coalition proposes its amendment, I hope the Minister will accept it. The amendment will abolish the quota provision but will allow all the other aspects of the Act to remain so as to safeguard the margarine manufacturing process. We need to maintain the high standards that exist in relation to butter production in this State; if that occurs community health will also be safeguarded.
The coalition is prepared to allow the deregulation of margarine production in Victoria, but only if the remainder of the Act as it relates to manufacturing, packaging and sale of margarine is allowed to remain.
Mr AUSTIN (Ripon)-This is a small Bill in tenns of the number of pages it comprises, but it is of considerable importance and has caused much comment over a long time. A similar Bill was originally introduced to the House some two years ago, and the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs made his second-reading speech on this Bill almost twelve months ago on 11 August last year. It would be reasonable for the Minister to explain to the House in his contribution to the debate why, if the Bill is of such importance, we have had to wait such a long time for the debate to take place.
The Bill repeals the Margarine Act; it does not amend it; it simply attempts to completely remove the Act from the statute book. By not amending the Act, the safeguards contained within it will also be removed. I ask the Minister what discussions he may have had with the dairy industry and what notice he has taken of the views that may have been expressed. MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIU
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If the Minister is fair dinkum in wishing to repeal the Act, obvious procedures should have been followed. Consultation, particularly in the agriculture industry, is an extremely important process and one the government often seems to ignore. The Minister represents some 9000 Victorian dairy fanners who have been through tough times and who have battled over many years to survive. They will continue to battle because the indicators for the dairy industry are not good. Many dairy farmers have not survived and many will not survive under the present conditions. The dairy industry has a complicated pricing structure and, as a result, unless people are closely associated with the industry they will not understand it. Dairy fanners and others associated with the industry suffer because of unifonned opinion when calls for deregulation are made simply for the sake of it. I would not mind if calls were made for deregulation provided that those making the calls understand the industry. Ever since I have been involved with agriCUlture in the political sense I have heard continuing calls for deregulation. I am now involved in sport, recreation and racing, and I wonder whether people will clamour for deregulation of the racing industry. If that industry is deregulated, there will no longer be any lead in the saddlebags, all horses will be starting with the same weight and all the jockeys will have to be exactly the same weight! The dairy industry has a three-tier pricing system and the most lucrative part of production is the liquid milk market, to which the farmgate price relates. However, that represents only 12 or 13 per cent of all milk produced in Victoria. The domestic manufactured milk sector has a different price and the export manufactured milk sector is priced at less than the cost of production. Despite that, some $700 million of export income is accrued from the manufactured portion of the market. If deregulation were undertaken, export production would cease and it would be the end of the Kerin plan. Dairy farmers would welcome deregulation of their industry if that were the situation around the world, but there is not one country that does not have a heavily regulated dairy industry. Because milk must be sold on the day it is produced on the fann, dairy fanners have no market power. Victorian dairy farmers are extremely efficient by world standards and they produce seasonal milk from grass day by day. Victoria is in the unique position of producing 60 per cent of all Australia's milk and 86 per cent of all butter produced. Victoria, Tasmania and New Zealand produce 3 per cent of the world's milk at 60 per cent of the cost of the rest of the world. As I said before, Victorian dairy fanners have three separate market sectors: market liquid milk, domestic manufactured milk and export manufactured milk. The first two sectors require regulation under the Kerin plan. However, dairy fanners are receiving less and less domestic support under that plan: in 1986-87 the domestic price support was 44 per cent; in 1987-88 it was 41 per cent; in 1988-89 it decreased to 23 per cent; and in 1989-90 it was 18.5 per cent. The support has decreased by a considerable extent and it is worth remembering that domestic price support is funded by dairy fanners and is not part of any government subsidy. By world standards, consumers in Australia enjoy extremely low prices for the milk they drink and the dairy products they purchase. Last time I checked, a litre of milk cost approximately 82 cents and it speaks volumes for the way the dairy industry produces milk so cheaply when one considers that a litre of water that has a few bubbles in it and is sold as soda water costs $1.20. The average income of most dairy farmers is approximately $25 000 a year, which is about the same as a typist earns. I am not being critical of typists, but they have no capital outlays, take no great risks and they certainly do not own or milk cows. MARGARINE (REPEAL) BlU
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Ifone analysed the work involved in producing a litre of milk one would realise that it is not a highly priced commodity. In 1988, the average income of a dairy fanner was $12 800 a year. The forecast for this year indicates that the average income of dairy farmers will be well under the $25 000 a year earned by typists. Ifcurrent policies continue and more dairy fanners are put out ofbusiness, it will be necessary to consider alternate uses of the land. The dairy industry has an employment multiplier of five compared with the beef industry which has an employment multiplier of two to three. So land not used for dairy fanning would not be nearly as productive of employment. Almost 50 000 people are directly employed in dairy farming, Victoria's largest decentralised industry. Many other people have jobs related to the industry, so there is a flow-on effect Approximately 9000 dairy farmers struggle to produce the milk that Victorians now enjoy. The Opposition asks the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs to indicate how his discussions with the industry regarding the recommendations of the Public Bodies Review Committee are going and what are his preferred options. The Minister indicated his preferred options in a paper issued some time ago, but considerable consultation and discussions with the industry have occurred since then and the House and the dairying industry would benefit if the Minister could indicate where the industry is heading. During the annual conference of the United Dairyfarmers of Victoria the Minister indicated that he had some doubts about the effects of the implementation of the preferred options relating to the future of the industry, and he may wish to elaborate on them. I refer the House to figures relating to the decrease in the number of dairy fanners and cow herds in Victoria. I shall not quote them at any length but they indicate what is occurring in the industry. In 1970-71, rounding the figures off to the nearest 1000, there were 16000 dairy fanners; in 1975-76 there were 13000; in 1980-81, 10500; in 1985-86, 10400; in 1987 -88, 9400 and in 1989-90, 9000. There are even fewer today. It indicates the number of dairy farmers who, under the so-called regulated system, are being forced to leave their farms. In 1970-71, the number of cows per fann was 76, and in 1989-90 it was 108. The industry is very fragile, which is why the House wants to know what the future of the industry will be. Under the regulated system and the Kerin plan approximately $32 million is allocated to Victoria from the other States and the government must be careful that the changes it makes to the industry do not jeopardise the assistance plans that at present keep some dairy farmers afloat. Dairy fanners are most concerned about the fanngate price of milk. I know the Minister is well aware of that, but any erosion of the farmgate price or change in the sourcing system could be the death knell of many dairy fanners. The Minister must be careful that he does not introduce measures that return Victorians to the bad old days of the contract system where there were haves and have-nots. If the Bill is passed in its present fonn further distress will be caused to the dairy industry. The margarine quota system is central to the debate. Section 7 of the Margarine Act provides for the total amount of margarine manufactured in this State-at present, 5180 tonnes. As the Deputy Leader of the National Party has already indicated, the coalition has given a great deal of thought to this matter aM on balance has decided that the restriction should be removed. That is a deregulatory step in itself. The Opposition's amendment will remove the restrictions on the total quantity ofmargarine produced in Victoria but the safeguards inserted in the Bill should be retained. MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIU
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Mr J. F. McGRATH (Wannambool}-I join in the debate on the Margarine (Repeal) Bill principally because I represent the electorate of Warrnambool, which is recognised State wide as being one of the important dairy farming areas. One cannot debate the repeal ofthe Margarine Act without dwelling on the importance ofthe dairy industry to the Victorian economy. There are fewer than 10000 dairy farmers in Victoria, but they are recognised as the most efficient dairy farmers in the world. That position has not been reached easily. It has occurred with the assistance of officers from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, through its research and development programs and the hands-on service officers have provided to dairy farmers. That assistance has been important in the gradual appreciation of the expertise that has developed in the production of milk and the products that result from that production. The dairy industry has had to become more efficient to survive because of the many troughs it has experienced in the past, particularly relating to the returns on milk as opposed to the costs that have continued to escalate in line with consumer price index increases and other cost increases that have occurred recently. It is important to note that the Margarine Act was introduced by the previous Liberal government at a time when dairy farmers were experiencing very difficult times, particularly in relation to returns for their labours and investments. It is not very different today in that the comparative price of butter fat or milk litreage has increased. We need to take that into account as well as the consumer price index and the costs that are fundamental to the ongoing performance of dairy farmers. When we examine a Bill that seeks to repeal the Margarine Act we should be mindful of the impact it will have on the dairy industry. It is with that concern in mind that we have negotiated with a range of people over what may fairly be described as a long time. The Bill has been before Parliament for a long time, so it is good to see it here today and to see a decision being made which will be in the best interests of both dairy fanners and consumers, who should be able to make a choice between a spread with a butter base and one with an oil base. Today honourable members are trying to ensure that consumers have the choice of quality products. In this day and age people express concern about the effects of chemical fanning, and they are conscious of food standards-standards of which honourable members should be mindful in relation to the proposed legislation. The point I am trying to make to the Minister through you, Mr Acting Speaker, is that if we throw out the Margarine Act we are taking away the standards that were set in relation to the raw materials that are used in the production of margarine. Whether they are national standards or not, that will impact on the quality of the product. I am sure members on both sides of the House believe food products ought to continue to meet a reasonable standard that will give protection for whatever people choose to consume. It is obvious that the repeal of the Act will take away that mechanism. The Deputy Leader of the National Party has made it clear that we are prepared to agree to the removal of the 5180 tonne limit under section 7 of the Act, which opens up the field of margarine production to those who wish to become involved in it. Most probably it will give an opportunity for people to become involved in the oilseed market. I believe that is the sensible approach and one that dairy farmers will support, because honourable members are prepared to put the mechanisms in place to ensure that quality is retained. Surely in the 1990s it is a backward step to support legislation that could even remotely jeopardise quality and food standards. It is important that honourable members recognise what they are doing today and the potential effect such legislation may have on the dairy industry. MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIU
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The honourable member for Ripon made mention of farm gate prices, the concerns dairy farmers have about that issue and the implications for the welfare of rural and regional Victoria. If one thinks about the number of dairy farmers throughout Victoria one will realise the significant amount of employment they provide and, more importantly, the indirect consequence of those incomes which are spent in rural towns and cities and in metropolitan Melbourne. They are part of the Statewide economy. Although we stand here in the middle of Melbourne we cannot divorce ourselves from the implications this sort of measure will have because it impacts on all of us either directly or indirectly. It is important that we study the consequences of proceeding along the lines of the Bill, not taking account of the amendments that will be proposed at a later stage. It is interesting to reflect on some of the figures the United Dairyfarmers of Victoria put out in relation to dairy farming. I was astounded by the proposed employment figures. I am conscious-probably more so today than ever-ofthe problems all Victorians face with the employment prospects and the ongoing viability of the small business. One of the great tragedies that struck Warrnambool's economy in recent times was the failure of the Farrow group and the implications it has had, with some $50 million being taken out of the local economy. That is an enormous amount of money. Honourable members should be conscious at all times of the communities Parliament represents as a Statewide body, and I am particularly conscious of the Warrnambool electorate because that is my responsibility. Any legislation that goes through Parliament should be supportive of the improvement in today's lifestyles. Many of the people going through the trauma caused by the Pyramid collapse are fanners, and the proposed legislation will place an added burden on them. We need to ensure that people have a choice between butter and a margarine spread with an oil base and to listen to some of the experts such as the nutritionists who have set about trying to correct the tremendous harm caused by misinformation about the health aspects of butter compared with margarine. That is something that the dairy industry is trying to do responsibly, but it is very difficult to turn the situation around, a matter that we as honourable members of this House should be mindful of. I recently had the opportunity of travelling overseas, and when one compares the qUality of the butter that is presented on our tables in Victoria, with some of the substitutes that are proudly marketed as butter in overseas countries, one starts to feel grateful. As a son of a dairy farmer and someone who has lived in a dairy farming community all of his life, I have acquired quite a taste for butter. I assure honourable members that Victorians can stand proud of the products that dairy farmers and those associated in the manufacturing sector are able to provide. Deregulation of the margarine industry could create some employment opportunities in the State, but there is some speculation on whether that will happen. The best that one could hope for would be a mechanism for some dairy farmers to capitalise on this opportunity. In this case it is important to have that mechanism in the Bill to ensure that cheap oils cannot be imported to replace our quality products. I trust that the Bill and particularly the amendment, receive the support that they deselVe in both Houses of Parliament. We must never forget that the dairying sector is absolutely vital to Victoria. I am sure the Minister recognises and understands that. If we are going to follow a deregulation pattern for the dairy industry we must ensure that the playing field is level and does not disadvantage either side. MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIU
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I learnt overseas that our primary producers do not receive anything like the incentives and compensation that are available in some countries. We have to be on a level playing field if we are to compete. If we can start everybody from scratch, the best person, industry or commodity will win in the end. Nobody should have any reservations about that. When people start 10 yards behind scratch one is testing by some imaginative line their ability to make up the gap. People in this State and this country must remember that we have to compete on overseas markets with countries that have a very different approach to subsidy and compensation. If we are considering deregulation we need to be mindful of that and not disadvantage those people who are vital to our community. It never ceases to amaze me that we do not recognise the importance of primary industry. While this Budget is far better for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs than was projected some weeks ago, the department has still suffered a funding cut every year for the past seven years. We should be maintaining the support merchanism for an industry that has proved to be not only capable, but also the most efficient in the world. The role that this industry plays as part of our economy and export earning ability is vital to the welfare of Victoria and to Australia as a nation. We should be nurturing and maintaining in real terms that sort of incentive and assistance. I trust that the Minister will accede to the thrust of the amendments to put forward by the Opposition, knowing that they are in the best interests of the industry, consumers and the State of Victoria. That is what we are here for: to pass legislation that is in the best interests of the State-not of a parochial small sector, but of the State as a whole. It is absolutely fundamental that when dealing with this sort of legislation we take all those aspects into account; I cannot emphasise strongly enough that we cannot talk about margarine in isolation from the dairy industry; they have to run together because they compete for the same market. Because I come from a dairy farm I understand the investment in money and time that dairy farmers have put in. Some of them have been farmers for generations; others have seen their farms passed down through generations. We have a responsibility to them because they are part of this State's heritage, part ofthe economic base of Victoria. We should be out there defending, supporting and encouraging them. That is the responsibility we have, irrespective of whether we represent a large regional electorate, an electorate with a regional-rural balance, or a metropolitan electorate. We have to return to the absolute message of government and legislation for all Victoria. The amendments to the legislation are directed at all Victorians; not at one particular section. We have taken into account all of those factors that are influenced by the passing of legislation If we are looking at supplying food to the masses, the retention of a standard of qUality is vital. If we are looking at protecting the importance of the dairy industry, we also need to retain those standards so that the players are competing on a level playing field, whether it is in the Victorian market or in international markets. If I am competing in a contest on a level playing field, I can accept the end result. If I am disadvantaged by being handicapped I have an axe to grind. That is how the people of Victoria can react if the government does not respond in the appropriate manner and support the amendments that have been put forward by the Opposition. I trust that the Bill will be passed and that we get on with the business of ensuring that some of our vital industries and the consumers of Victoria are given an opportunity to cope with the tremendous demands of the economy of today and to ensure that when they spend a dollar they spend it wisely and get value for their money. That is what it is about: about value for the disposable dollar. MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIU
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Because we have fewer disposable dollars we need to be more conscious of our opportunities and abilities to dispose of those in a frugal and sensible way. The foreshadowed amendments to the Margarine (Repeal) Bill will create that opportunity. Mr EV ANS (Gippsland East)-At the outset I advise the House, in accordance with Standing Orders, that I am a dairy farmer and that the proposed legislation will impact on the dairy industry. It is evident from the tone of the speeches that have been made by mem bers of the opposition parties that the Bill will impact on the dairy industry. I support what each of the opposition speakers has said because they have spelt out clearly and effectively the importance of the measure to the industry. Since the early 1950s I have been involved in dairy farmer politics. Before I became a member of this House I was a member of the executive of the then Victorian Dairyfanners Association. I was involved in many of the battles that occurred in those days when the dairy industry attempted to defend itself against the inroads of margarine production. I remember on one occasion I directed attention to the ingredients of margarine which were little different from the ingredients in soap-but soap was more expensive. I do not believe the situation has changed much over the years. The matter with which I shall deal is that of the consumers of this State who like to have milk on their Weeties of a morning. Many people do not understand that there is a need for a market for the surplus market milk requirements of the State. I invite the Minister to contemplate how the dairy industry could be rationalised so that it produced only milk for human consumption taking into consideration the conditions that exist in this country with the seasonal changes which make it impossible to produce only that amount of milk that is necessary for the market milk requirements of Victorians. There must be a surplus of production to ensure that there is the minimum requirement of milk when the critical seasonal times occur. The Victorian Dairy Industry Authority, on a couple of occasions, has had to seriously consider the possibility of using reconstituted milk because of seasonal conditions which have caused a loss of production. One occasion was the drought in approximately 1982. It is only within the past ten years when situations like that have occurred that the authority seriously considered that a proportion of Victorians would have to rely on reconstituted milk rather than the high quality fresh product to which we are all accustomed. This is a harsh reality in agriculture production and it is a worldwide problem. We have had a big problem with competition from the European Community because the community has set out to become self-sufficient in agriculture. For nineteen years out of twenty the community must produce a milk surplus so that in years when climatic conditions bring about a reduction in ,the milk production there is sufficient milk to meet its needs. Every agricultural country is producing surplus to their requirements; that is the reality that an economist such as the Minister does not appear to appreciate. It is easy when one is producing a manufactured commodity to meet market demand but one cannot do that with agricultural production. Any country that sets out to do that will periodically find that it is short of the product and it must purchase it on the world market. Some Eastern European countries have tried to use communism to bring about a certain level of production to meet their own requirements but they have found that does not work in agriculture. We have a problem with people who believe these principles can be applied to agricultural production. The Eastern European countries found that those principles do not work. Poland did not try to make it work. It is a tragedy that the government is 40 years behind the times in its endeavour to make these principles work. The dairy industry is an important industry that produces an important MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIU
29 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 141 commodity benefiting the whole community. It is also the largest decentralised industry in the State. Conditions that affect the dairy industry have ramifications not only for the industry but also for employment opportunities. It is a labour intensive industry in the non-metropolitan areas, particularly in the three main areas of the northern irrigation area, and Western District and Gippsland. The dispersal of the industry in those three areas is a great protection for the industry because the risk of climatic problems bringing about a shortfall is spread over those areas. The dairy industry is a first-class, well-organised industry, but it has suffered over the years because it has been overorganised. There is a need for simplification of procedures under which the industry operates. I support the amendment foreshadowed by the Deputy Leader of the National Party because it is important that the standards of margarine production are retained to protect the community. Standards should be maintained and it is a pity that the dairy industry must compete with something that strongly resembles soap. I hope the government can see the virtue of the foreshadowed amendment. I commend those members of the Opposition who have spoken on the measure. I am certain the dairy industry strongly supports the view they have expressed. Mr ROWE (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs)-In response to comments made by honourable members about the dairy industry, the government is a strong supporter of the industry in this State for the reasons outlined in the House. It is a significant industry with 9000 producers. We produce the bulk of the liquid milk-some 60 per cent of that production-and nearly 90 per cent of the manufactured milk products emanate from Victoria also. It is an efficient industry by virtue of the input of dairy fanners and because of the climate and the soils in this State. No government would want to take action that could jeopardise a billion dollar industry and, as the honourable member for Warmambool said, the dairy industry has a major impact not only in the Melbourne and regional areas but also right throughout the rural areas of this State. Any changes to either the Dairy Industry Act or the dairy industry following the Public Bodies Review Committee's deliberations over approximately two years would naturally be premised on those sorts of undertakings-that we would want to enhance the dairy industry in this State and not jeopardise it in any way. At a future date I shall be announcing the government's response to the Public Bodies Review Committee's recommendations and to the extensive consultation that has occurred with all sectors of the industry following the release of the report last September. A variety of views were sought because it is a diverse industry. However, it is not appropriate to confuse those issues with the current debate. As has been indicated, this debate is about consideration of the repeal of the Margarine Act and the Bill has been before the House in this fonn on a number of occasions but the opposition parties have not seen fit to support the repeal of the Act for a variety of reasons that do not stand up to logic or to scrutiny. What we see now is the coalition response, and it is a compromise. The coalition is saying it wants to partially deregulate and remove the restrictions from the quota for production of margarine in this State, which is set by legislation. The debate is really about that issue. It is about whether the manufacture of margarine should occur in Victoria or in New South Wales. The government is saying there should be no restrictions on the industry; they ought to be able to compete. It is about competition and there ought to be competition in the industry. MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIlL
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It is about investment and about jobs in Victoria. It will not impact on the dairy industry; no evidence has been produced today in Parliament to show that the removal of this restriction would impact adversely on the dairy industry in Victoria, although a number of speakers have said that that is really what it is all about. They are trying to introduce a situation where there may be some unequal competition between the dairy industry and the margarine manufacturers. The government wants to see investment and jobs coming into this State from other States. The proposal of the coalition is not supported by the government and cannot be supported. The Opposition says it will remove the restrictions on the quota to allow manufacturing to occur while allowing other restrictions to be maintained in the Act. The OppoSition is not certain whether it wants to proceed with this move; it is not sure whether it really wants to allow competition to occur in this State, but if it allows the other provisions of the Act to remain in force it means that we will be the only State in the Commonwealth to have restrictions other than those relating to the Food Standards Code, the Trade Practices Act and the Fair Trading Act. Therefore, a manufacturer of margarine in this State, in addition to the National Foods Standards Codes and the National Trade Practices Act will be subject to overriding conditions with respect to labelling, pack sizes and so on. How can we have a viable food manufacturing industry if one State stands out from all the rest and imposes these unnecessary restrictions? The coalition is in disarray. The National Party has the whip hand in the debate within the coalition parties. It cannot bring itself to allow competition to occur either through greater choice or in relation to investment and jobs in the margarine manufacturing area. Mr W. D. McGrath interjected. The SPEAKER-Order! The Deputy Leader of the National Party has had his opportunity. Ifhe continues to interject and tries to disrupt the proceedings of the House and the response to the debate by the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs the Chair will have no choice but to deal with him. Mr ROWE-As I was saying, it is clear that the coalition cannot get its act together on the first important Bill debated in this sessional period since we have had the announcement of the coalition. The Opposition wants to see a conflict between regulations in this State for food standards and the manufacture of margarine which would not be in place in any other State. It would be in conflict with the Food Standards Code nationally, a code that is supported by the government. The government cannot support the proposal put forward by the coalition Motion agreed to. Read second time. Committed Committee Clause 1 Mr W.D. McGRATH (Lowan)-I move: 1. Clause l,1ine 3, after ''repeal'' insert "section 7 of'. The amendment removes section 7 from the Act. The National Party wants to retain standards. The Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs had the audacity to tell honourable members that Victoria should lower standards and allow MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIU
29 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 143 them to go by the board. As the Minister responsible for agriculture I thought he would have taken the attitude that Victoria should produce the fmest agricultural products and, therefore, be in a position to export to South Australia and New South Wales. Unfortunately, he wants to chicken out and run away from that option. It is extremely sad that the Minister is prepared to sit idly by while the standards of production of any foodstuffis lowered in this State. The raw commodity is produced to a certain standard which must be met to get into the marketplace. The Minister is turning his back on a basic product-margarine-by not insisting that a standard be retained. He is allowing that standard to be compromised. What will happen? Palm oil will be imported and low-quality margarine will be produced, as the honourable member for Gippsland East said, like soap. That would not be in the best interests of the health standards of Victorians and, ultimately, of Australians. I refer the Committee to a letter sent by the Grains Group of the Victorian Farmers Federation to the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs which states: Since that time the attitude of VFF Grains Group Oilseed Section has not changed and the recent Oilseeds Annual General Meeting held in Melbourne on 25 July 1989 adopted the following policy statement: ''That this organisation recommend the removal of quota restrictions on table margarine production in Victoria, provided that the table margarine must be a product containing a fat content of 100 per cent vegetable oils manufactured from vegetable oils wholly grown and processed in Australia." Such product must be clearly labelled to show the percentage and type of vegetable oils used in the product, as well as the degree of polytmsaturation. At present 30000 tonnes of margarine is consumed in Victoria of which 22 ()()() tonnes-73 per cent-is polyunsaturated margarine. By definition polyunsaturated margarine contains a minimum of 40 per cent polyunsaturated fats and a maximum of 20 per cent saturate. The federation then talks about what will happen if the government does not insist on local oilseeds for the production of margarine: It has been suggested that this may not be the case and the importation of cheaper palm oil may be used to manufacture a cheaper product in order to establish market share. As palm oil contains saturated fats, we believe this would be detrimental to the concept of the heal th advantages for the superior polyunsaturated product now being consumed in Victoria. Our organisation considers that Victorian margarine should be manufactured from oil seeds grown locally. That is preferably in Victoria or at least in Australia. It has been shown that sunflower, soybean and canola oils that can be grown and produced in Australia will produce a superior product. The Minister is turning his back on the people he is supposed to represent. He is ignoring the oilseed growers who want to retain a standard. Victorian dairy farmers are willing to compete in a marketplace if the standards are adhered to. Unfortunately, the abolition of this Act will do away with standards. Section 12 of the Margarine Act provides: A person who (otherwise than for export beyond the Commonwealth of Australia) ... (c) manufactures packs or sells any margarine- (i) which does not comply with the standards prescribed for that margarine; or (ii) which contains an ingredient-which is prescribed as an ingredient which shall not be used in that margarine; or which does not comply with the prescribed standard for that ingredient ... shall be guilty of an offence against this Act. Section 17 provides: (1) An inspector may at any time- (a) enter and search any place where margarine, or any fat or other substance of any kind commonly used in the manufacture of margarine, is manufactured stored packed or sold or is suspected by the inspector to be manufactured stored packed or sold; MARGAR1NE (REPEAL) BILL
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(b) inspect any margarine fat or other substance and any plant machinery apparatus or utensil in or upon any such place; and (c) without payment take samples of any margarine fat or other substance and for such purpose open or cause to be opened any package which contains or which the inspector suspects to contain any such margarine fat or other substance. The Act provides for an inspector to carry out and analyse the various components in the manufacture of margarine. Mr Roper-Why is it different from any other agricultural product? Mr W. D. McG RATH-It is different because we are trying to maintain a standard. How dense can one be! The standard is already in place. The government has complied with it for a number of years. Now it wants to allow cheap palm oil to be imported into Australia to produce a second-rate margarine product. Mr Rowe-What about New South Wales? Mr W. D. McGRATH-I am telling the Minister about standards. This will give the industry the opportunity of manufacturing a good standard of margarine so that it can be exported to New South Wales. The Minister cannot see how an initiative can be taken up so that Victoria can be promoted as an excellent area from which to import margarine? My briefing notes on the Margarine Act state:
All States have a legislative provision to license margarine production and control the content of table margarine as opposed to industrial margarine which is made from tallow. All States have such provisions, so the Minister should not suggest they have other standards. The National Party asks the Minister simply to omit the section providing for the limitation on production so that the Act remains intact. If he is not prepared to do that, he is letting down Victorian agriculture. The Minister is letting down the oilseed producers and, as the honourable member for Ripon suggests, he is letting down 9000 dairy fanners. The Minister should recognise that Victorian dairy fanners are happy to compete if standards are in place. Mr Roper-You were talking about margarine standards a moment ago. Mr W. D. McGRATH-I am attempting to tell the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Treasurer that dairy fanners are prepared to compete where standards are in place. All they require is a level playing field. If the government wants to talk about level playing fields let it talk about transport deregulation, labour deregulation and so on. The amendment would give the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs an opportunity to go into the Victorian country community and say, "Look! I have done something for agriCUlture in this State". Mr ROWE (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs}-The government will not be accepting the amendment as proposed because it can see that the coalition just cannot get its act together. That is what this is about; it is not about food standards or fair competition because those sorts of standards will not exist in any other State. This government supports national food standards and a national code of regulation for the manufacture of food products. The issue really concerns the incapacity of the coalition to come to agreement about greater competition in this State. It is not about the impact on the dairy industry-that is not the issue here tonight. The issue is whether the coalition wants to face up to competition, or whether it wants to allow the manufacture of margarine to continue to occur in New South Wales and then to be imported under an archaic piece of legislation. It is about whether it wants to face ADJOURNMENf
29 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 145 up to those facts and have nationally agreed standards for qUality control. All governments should and do support nationally agreed standards because manufacturers do not operate just in one State; they operate on national codes because they want to have a unifonn set of labelling requirements. Manufacturers do not want to have one set of labelling requirements in Victoria and separate labelling requirements in each of the States. That situation is an impediment to investment and the creation of jobs in Victoria. It is an unrealistic and shallow argument that goes to prove that the National Party under this new coalition has the whip hand. It does not have any logic, and does not understand the issues of a national approach to the food industry, but it is going to stand over the metropolitan Liberals to bring in this measure. The National Party cannot face up to the real issue here, and that is whether it wants competition or whether it wants to have importation of nearly 30 000 tonnes of margarine. It is about jobs and investment in Victoria. We have a quota for the manufacture of margarine. The consumption of margarine is well in excess of that quota, and manufacture of that excess occurs in New South Wales. The Deputy Leader of the National Party is putting fOlWard to the Chamber tonight artificial deregulation. He is saying, "We will remove the quota restrictions but we will allow other restrictions to apply in Victoria that do not apply in other States". It is a sham and it will be seen as such by the community. It shows that the coalition is not working and is not capable of dealing with an issue such as this. Progress reported
ADJOURNMENT Front-end loader fatalities-Deluxe Coachlines-Public transport services for Keilor and St Albans-Advertisements promoting hornosexuality-Closure of regional offices of Community Services Victoria-Education about menopause-Granting of liquor licence, Torquay Mr ROPER (Treasurer}-I move: That the House do now adjourn. Mr GUDE (Hawthom}-I raise a matter for the attention of the Minister for Labour. It concerns material I have received under freedom of information relating to three people who were unfortunately killed in fatal accidents. I raise this matter because I note in the Budget Papers that the government is increasing its financial commitment to occupational health and safety by $12 million, a 94 per cent increase. I wish to offer a suggestion to the government about a way it might assist in saving lives through responsible action at no cost to the taxpayer. The material I have indicates that the death of an individual who was killed in October 1988 followed two similar fatalities. I regret that all three accidents could have been prevented. The third fatality to which I specifically refer was caused by the use of an unsafe front-end loader. Prior to the fatality the Department of Labour was aware of the existing faults in this equipment and, worse, was aware that new equipment was available with the appropriate safety devices. That fact is evident because the accident investigation report of 18 October 1988 contains the inspector's comments: New machinery of this type currently available is fitted with a range of safety devices namely: 1. Safety seat bar; 2. Mechanical and electrical interlocking of foot pedals; and ADJOURNMENf
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3. Electrical warning devices fitted to seat safety bell The section in the standard report, "Supervising inspector's comments" makes interesting reading because the comment is nil. The inspector knew what could have happened yet he made no recommendation to the department, to the pennanent head or to the Minister for Labour. As a consequence, one can draw the conclusion that additional lives were lost partly because of this. Another heading in the report is "Further action recommended". No further action was recommended although the inspector knew full well that alternative equipment was available. The process that has been undertaken is irresponsible and consistent with the sloppy administration of this State and of this department. However, when a human life is lost as a direct consequence of that negligence it is intolerable and the Minister should act. I shall not name the inspector concerned, neither shall I name the people who unfortunately lost their lives. I made a request under the Freedom of Infonnation Act and the relevant material has been made available to me. The Minister can check from within his own department who the inspector was and who were the people who lost their lives. I believe the families of the deceased have ~ justifiable action for negligence against the Crown. The matter raises a number of questions about why no training or proper instruction is required to accompany the hiring out of the equipment; why the use of faulty equipment continues to be allowed even today, especially when new and improved equipment is on the market; why the supervising inspector made no comment in his report to the department on the fatality and why he believed no further action was necessary. I invite the Minister to infonn the House and me why these events took place and what action, if any, he intends to take in the interests of saving the lives of decent Victorians. Spending an additional $12 million may be worthwhile but it will be so only if the people utilising those funds do so in a responsible manner and in a manner different from the practice and perfonnance of this department over the several years I have been watching it. Mr JASPER (Murray Valley)-I raise a matter for the attention of the Premier and in her absence the Minister for Transport, and in his absence perhaps the Treasurer-who does not appear to be interested-and perhaps the Minister for Community Services who will probably become involved in the issue that I raise. The matter I raise concerns yesterday's announcement that Deluxe Coachlines is to be closed down. They have been forced to close down because of action taken by the ANZ Bank in withdrawing lines of credit. Deluxe Coachlines started in Wangaratta more than ten years ago, with a subsequent huge expansion into providing coach services throughout Australia. Currently the company is running 170 coaches and handling approximately 45 per cent of the nation's bus traffic. The coachline started as a small operation in Wangaratta and now employs 900 people throughout Australia. Indeed, it has agencies outside Australia, in particular in London. Some 220 people work for Deluxe Coachlines at Wangaratta. I raise the matter for the attention of the House because the situation at Wangaratta is potentially damaging not only for that city but also for the public travelling throughout Australia. The closure of the company will have a dramatic effect on many people who rely on coach travel as a cheaper or alternative fonn of transport throughout Australia. The Minister at the table, the Minister for Sport and Recreation, asks what is the question. I am coming to my point, but I want to give some background ofthe importance ofthe company to Wangaratta and throughout Australia. I hope to get some action and support from the government for the City of Wangaratta in particular. ADJOURNMENf
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Mr Gude interjected. Mr JASPER-The honourable member for Hawthorn intetjects and suggests that an election should be held so that better support is provided for industry and private enterprise in Victoria than that provided in recent times. The matter must be brought to the attention of the government. It is important that the Premier, the Minister for Industry and Economic Planning and the Minister for Transport are made aware of the disastrous situation that is developing because of the proposed closure of the coachline. I do not have all of the details of what has happened or why the ANZ Bank has foreclosed on the company. I am aware that the company has had difficulties in its financial arrangements but that it has sought funding from other directions. I understand that as late as today funds could have been provided so that the coachline can be saved. I seek assistance not only for the company in its present financial difficulties but also for Wangaratta, which is a resilient city. Like many other cities throughout country Victoria, it is suffering because of the downturn in the economic situation, which affects the income of primary producers. Wangaratta has developed as a textile city, with all the ups and downs that are faced by such a development. IBM Australia Ltd provides a business plus at Wangaratta and that company has indicated an expansion in its employment. I seek urgent assistance from the government, particularly from the Premier, the Minister for Industry and Economic Planning and the Minister for Transport. People from the government who are prepared to listen must speak with representatives of the City of Wangaratta, the Wangaratta Regional Development Corporation and industry leaders. They must indicate what immediate assistance can be provided to the city as well as what longer tenn assistance can be provided through alternative methods of employment by way of industry assistance. I seek assistance also from the Federal government which has indicated that it would be prepared to assist cities that are reliant on textiles, as is Wangaratta. Mr SEITZ (Keilor)-I direct to the attention ofthe Minister for Transport the requirement for a rethinking by the Met about the bus routes through part of my electorate in the Keilor-St Albans area. In particular, I refer to the needs of residents in Alban Meadows, a new suburb that has grown up very quickly in that part of my electorate. They need public transport, that is, buses, to take them to the nearest railway station which is at St Albans. The other matter brought to my attention concerns access to goods and services at shopping centres. That new area at AlOOn Meadows now has the advantage of a shopping centre that was opened last Chrisunas. It has council facilities including infant welfare offices. As honourable members will be aware, in many new areas a husband has to drive the car to work, thereby leaving his wife to walk long distances to public transport. However, no public transport is available to that shopping centre. The retailers there have provided a covered and comfortable bus tenninal, and have provided satisfactory seating arrangements for passengers at the tenninal. I ask the Minister for Transport to consider rerouting the buses operating within that part of my electorate. All honourable members know about modem electronic funds transfers; many people must have access to a bank at a shopping centre to obtain ready c(lsh. That need applies to people not only at Alban Meadows but also those from Taylors Lakes, Sydenham, Keilor Downs and Keilor North. They want access to shopping facilities via public transport for themselves and for their children who do not drive cars. The shopping centre could be used as an interchange for buses between Keilor and St Albans because people from St Albans who ADJOURNMENf
148 ASSEMBLY 29 AUGUST 1990 wish to travel to Essendon or Niddrie must change buses at Taylors Lakes. The small bus shelters are inadequate; but the large facility at the new shopping centre would be ideal for bus operators. I know that the Minister has had difficulties in the region because the operators jealously guard their bus routes. However, commonsense should prevail and the Minister should use his good offices so that the different bus operators use the shopping centre as a safe and comfortable point of interchange. Dr WELLS (Dromana)-I direct the attention of the Premier, through the Minister for Sport and Recreation, to my concern about a recent advertising campaign to promote homosexuality among young men. That publicity appeared in at least two music magazines, Beat and Impress; advertisements were scheduled to appear on five university campuses throughout Victoria. The campaign was produced by the Victorian AIDS Council and was written under the heading of "Say yes to safe sex". Homosexuality is promoted in the advertising pamphlet with such publicity as: Making the first move might be scary but more guys than you think have sex with other guys. It is natural and if you are safe you will have a great time. The advertisement promotes safe sex through a wide range of practices which I do not intend to raise in the House this evening. They are contained in the advertisement that I shall make available to the Premier and include such practices as anal sex with condoms. I found the full-page advertisement very offensive. It received wide publicity at the time because its contents were repeated in commentaries on national television. Certainly the advertisement is against the best interests of public health. These days, when we are hearing so many sad stories about male and female adults and young children being infected by AIDS, it behoves governments to be absolutely sure that their actions do not contribute to this undesirable plague which is now hitting this country and which is scheduled to reach plague proportions overseas, affecting both sexes. I raise the matter in the House in utmost seriousness. It is not good enough for the issue to be ignored; the Parliament of the people of Victoria should have a position on the matter. I am not asking that we should attempt to impose restrictions on what adults may do in private; but I ask that the government, in its public actions, ensures that it does not contribute to these undesirable practices which lead to the spread of infectious diseases of the utmost significance-the most significant of which is AIDS, but there are others involved. For that reason I ask the Premier two questions: firstly, what is her attitude to this particular advertising campaign, and its particular content, by the Victorian AIDS Council; and, secondly, will she prohibit Victorian government funds being used in this way by the Victorian AIDS Council in the future? Mr EVANS (Gippsland East)-I point out to the Minister for Community SelVices that over the past week or so I have received a number of deputations in my office about the operations of the outer regional offices of her department being merged with those of inner regional offices in rural Victoria. For example, it was suggested to me that the Baimsdale regional office will be closed and its operations administered from Traralgon; that the Mildura office will close and its operations be administered from Bendigo; and that the Warrnambool regional office will be closed and its operations be administered from Geelong. I am not sure of the situation in north-eastern Victoria. ADJOURNMENT
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Such proposals are causing a great deal of consternation, particularly as they affect the administration of the Office of Intellectual Disability Services. Since the establishment of the regional office in Baimsdale there has been a marked improvement in the delivery of such services to the more remote parts of the area-through Orbost, Bairnsdale and Maffra. Each of those towns has registered its protests with me. Citizens of those towns are very pleased with the high level of cooperation that exists between the service deliverers and the regional office in Baimsdale. They do not believe it will be possible to receive the cooperation and support they have received since the establishment of the Bairnsdale office if its operations are to be administered from Traralgon. They are concerned that the delivery of services to the needy people of rural Victoria will be adversely affected by the proposed changes. The office has had extra calls on its services because of the recent floods. The Minister has already been told of the community's appreciation of the work done by regional officers during the floods in April. Added difficulties are brought about by isolation in places like Omeo and Swifts Creek. I have been unable to ascertain from the Budget Papers whether there is any intention to close those offices but I urge the Minister to give urgent reconsideration to the matter if that is what she has in mind because it is important that those regional offices remain in operation. Mrs mRSH (Wantirna}-I raise a matter for the attention of the Minister for Health in the other place and ask the Minister for Sport and Recreation, who is at the table, to convey my remarks to her. The matter concerns many women in my electorate and increasing numbers of women as our population ages. I refer to menopause in women and the way women respond to and deal with menopause as they reach their late forties and early fifties. Mr Richardson interjected. Mrs mRSH-Ifthe honourable member for Forest Hill considers this matter is deserving of such trivial remarks, I suggest he consult his wife and other members of his family. I also suggest that Opposition members pass on some of the available information to their spouses. Until recently menopause was regarded as something women merely had to put up with. I recall that when my mother visited a doctor with a number of symptoms she was told, "Go home dear and forget about it; you cannot help it; women have to live with it". Like my mother, many older women in their late sixties have developed the unpleasant bone disease known as osteoporosis. The disease attacks women after the onset of menopause and causes the bones to become extremely fragile, resulting in broken hips from simple falls and so on. Women who may have lived healthy lives during their latter years are often confined to bed. In some cases the disease causes death from pneumonia when women become totally immobile from broken bones. The Prince Henry's Menopause Clinic has been responsible for much of the work in this area. It has been discovered that most of the symptoms of menopause are not due to emotional responses to events such as children leaving the nest but to physiological causes that are preventable. It is important to educate women about the issue. Women should visit qualified persons such as specialists and doctors at the women's health centres that are operating around the State. General practitioners are just beginning to learn about the treatment of the symptoms of menopause but many still do not appreciate that a physiological set of changes takes place and that many of the changes are preventable. It is pleasing to know that research into menopause is being undertaken. Research is being funded by the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation. Two studies are being undertaken by the University of Melbourne-one cross-sectional and one longitudinal-on the effects of menopause on women and their responses to treatment. Treatment for menopausal symptoms ADJOURNMENT
150 ASSEMBLY 29 AUGUST 1990 includes dietary changes, weight-bearing exercise and hormone replacement therapy, which is being increasingly recommended and has been shown to work by the studies that have been undertaken. The Outer Eastern Women's Health Service represents an extremely important initiative of the Victorian government. It promotes and educates women about health issues. The raising of awareness about menopause and other health problems experienced by older women has been promoted. The centre has a library of books, and other institutions in the outer eastern suburbs are able to use the information provided at the centre. I hope the Minister will continue, as has been done in the past, to encourage the education of both the medical profession specifically and women generally throughout the community about the fact that once women reach their mid to late forties they do not need to suffer the unpleasant symptoms that menopause brings about or bone related disorders. Mr DICKINSON (South Barwon}--I raise for the attention of the Minister for Sport and Recreation a matter that I hope he will take up with the Minister for Consumer Affairs. It concerns an application for a liquor licence for premises located in the area known as the Surf Coast Plaza in Torquay. There has been strong opposition from some 600 residents to the granting of a liquor licence in the Surf Coast Plaza area. They have prepared a petition seeking that the Geelong Regional Commission, as owner and an authority subject to the provisions of the Geelong Regional Planning Scheme; withdraw its permission, consent and support for the use of the land in question as a hotel and to oppose such use. Today the principal of the Torquay Primary School, Mr Ken McCallum, forwarded to me a copy of the petition bearing some 600 names of residents in the local community who have asked that the government prevent the licensing of this additional outlet. The principal of the school can be contacted at work on telephone No. (052) 61 2360. I direct to the Minister's attention the perplexing concern that a former officer of the Geelong Regional Commission appears to be involved in the application. For the record I am told that the applicant for the hotel permit is one Darryl lohn Rickey, who was appointed to the applicant company on 15 November 1988. I am not sure on what date he ceased employment with the Geelong Regional Commission, but that could be ascertained. There is a further concern that relates to the Geelong Regional Commission's ownership of the land on which the Surf Coast Plaza is being built. I am advised that the cost of the development of the hotel, alterations to the building and surrounds, landscaping and fighting this appeal amounts to more than $1 million. This is not taking into account the amount of taxpayers money that the Geelong Regional Commission has spent in its attempt to get this application through. The Geelong community is feeling the impact of the Pyramid Building Society crisis, which has affected thousands of families. The residents do not want to see another liquor outlet in Torquay. That area is well catered for; it already has a hotel, liquor shop and other sporting venues that have liquor licences. The Surf Coast Plaza as well as the local hall are places where young people engage in recreational activity. The school and general community are adamant that the additional liquor outlet should not be established. I ask Minister for Sport and Recreation, who is familiar with the Surf Coast Plaza-there is also a surf museum and other facilities proposed in the area-to ensure that the area will attract young people rather than being spoilt by the establishment of this outlet. Mr TREZISE (Minister for Sport and Recreation}--The honourable member for Hawthorn raised a matter for the attention of Minister for Labour. The honourable member for Murray Valley raised a matter for the attention of the Premier. The honourable member ADJOURNMENT
29 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 151 for Keilor raised a matter for the attention of the Minister for Transport. The honourable member for Dromana raised a matter for the attention of the Premier and the honourable member for Wantirna raised a matter for the attention of the Minister for Health in another place. I shall refer all those matters to the respective Ministers and ask them to provide the appropriate replies at the earliest opportunity. Mrs SETCHES (Minister for Community Services)-The honourable member for Gippsland East raised a matter that has concerned him since last week when he learned of the changed arrangements announced by the Director-General of Community Services. I assure him that this government's comminnent to rural Victoria remains firm and that it will not reduce services in that area. The arrangements being considered at present relate to structural changes that will result in a reduction in the number of management positions. That will free up resources so that they can be allocated to direct care. The honourable member for Gippsland East may know that the following regions are to be integrated, he will certainly know that the East Gippsland and Central Gippsland regions are to be integrated with the outside boundaries remaining the same. Other regions to be integrated are: the Upper Murray and Goulburn regions; the Loddon Campaspe and Mallee regions; the Central Highlands and Wimmera regions; and the Barwon and Glenelg regions. The new regional boundaries will align with those of other providers of government services, such as Health Department Victoria and the Ministry of Education. I assure honourable members that there will be minimum impact on direct care services. The honourable member for Gippsland East referred to the real needs of people in his electorate, such as those with intellectual disabilities. During times of budgetary constraint it is important to ensure that there is no duplication, such as senior management positions, so that resources can be allocated to direct care services. Separate measures are being taken to reduce head office and regional overheads. It is a worry to workers when such changes occur, but I assure the honourable member for Gippsland East that a regional office will be established in the Traralgon-Morwell area and the major centre at Bairnsdale-which I visited a number of times during the recent floods-will remain. A minor centre will also be established in the Warragul-Sale area. Honourable members can be assured that service delivery will continue to be of the high standard expected from Community Services Victoria. Motion agreed to. House adjourned 6.27 p.m.
DISTINGUISHED VISITORS
30 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 153
Thursday, 30 August 1990
The SPEAKER (Hon. Ken Coghill) took the chair at 10.34 a.m. and read the prayer.
DISTINGUISHED VISITORS The SPEAKER-Order! On behalf ofthe Legislative Assembly I welcome distinguished guests to the Speakers Gallery. They are Ms Zoya Krylova and Mr Andrey Gavrilov, members of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. They are accompanied by a senior Soviet English-speaking journalist, Mr Alexander Gumov. They are the guests of the Minister for Labour.
QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
STATE INSURANCE OFFICE Mr BROWN (Leader of the Opposition}-I ask the Premier: now that it is clear that a number of entities in the private sector are prepared to pay more for the State Insurance Office, why is it that the State Insurance Office-- Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! The Leader of the Opposition is entitled to put his question without interruption. I particularly ask the honourable memb~rs for Richmond and Mitcham to remain silent. Mr BROWN-I ask the Premier: now that it is clear that a number of entities in the private sector-- Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! I made my direction very clear to the honourable member for Richmond. I do not wish to act against him, but the Chair is prepared to do that if it is necessary. Mr BROWN-Now that it is clear that a number of entities in the private sector are . prepared to pay more for the State Insurance Office, why is it that the SIO will not be sold by public tender or public float to ensure that the taxpayers of Victoria, for once, receive maximum benefit from a proposed sale? Ms KIRNER (premier)-Just as the taxpayers of Victoria will receive maximum benefit from the sale of State Bank Victoria so will they receive maximum benefit from any sale of the State Insurance Office. It is interesting to note that the Leader of the Opposition is so interested in concentrating on the elections that he is quite unable to concentrate on the real issues that are facing Victoria. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! The Leader of the Opposition has asked an important question and many honourable members would have an interest in the reply from the Premier. It is difficult to hear that reply because a small minority of honourable members are mounting a barrage of interjections. I ask all honourable members to remain silent. QUESTIONS WJrHOur NOTICE
154 ASSEMBLY 30 AUGUST 1990
Ms KIRNER-At the moment, the Leader of the Opposition has absolutely no sense of the important issues which are facing Victorians and which have to be resolved in a careful way. The State Bank Victoria issue was resolved in a careful way, as will be the rest of our debt management strategy. The sale of the State Insurance Office forms part of the debt management strategy. Members of the Opposition already seem to have advice from their mates on whether they will buy the State Insurance Office. I wonder whether one of their mates is, in fact, Mr Greiner, the Premier of New South Wales. He may be interested in having the Government Insurance Office buy the SIO. That seems to be the other issue. It is a matter of whether dollars are the only interest of the Opposition. Mr Brown interjected. Ms KIRNER-The Leader of the Opposition says they are not. That is a fair admission. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! Ifthe Leader of the Opposition is genuinely interested in hearing the reply to the question he asked, he should remain silent. Ms KIRNER-I am delighted to have an admission from the Leader of the Opposition that dollars are not the only issue that matters. Of course they matter but they are not the onl y issue. Victorian ownership and continuation of dividends flowing to the Victorian taxpayer are issues that matter in making this decision. If the Leader of the Opposition were slightly interested in the future of Victorians he would wait until he received the government's proposition and would go through it with the govrnment in order to deliver to the public that which it most needs: a proper debt management strategy and not the Opposition's two bob each way scheme. Mr Cooper interjected. The SPEAKER-Order! I advise the honourable member for Momington that his interjections are out of order.
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION BUDGET Mr McNAMARA (Leader of the National Party}-Given that the Premier overspent by $83 million while in her education portfolio and that she has budgeted for a 27.4 per cent increase in the Central Policy Coordination Unit of the Department of Premier and Cabinet, is it time that the only savings that have been achieved as a result of this have been made by transferring costs to other departments? Ms KIRNER (Premier)-We know that the Leader of the National Party has considerable trouble with numbers. He could not find enough of them to become Deputy Leader of the Opposition. However, the education budget last year-- Mr McNamara interjected. The SPEAKER-Order! The Leader of the National Party asked a question, and it is reasonable to assume that he is interested in both the question and the reply, but he has continued to interject since the Premier commenced her reply. I ask the Leader of the National Party to remain silent while the Premier makes her reply. Ms KIRNER-As the honourable member well knows, last year the education budget came in right on line with a saving of $56 million. I know that telephone calls take a long QUESJIONS wrrHour NOTICE
30 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 155 time to get through to the Leader of the National Party but so do the results of last year's education budget! So far as the Department of the Premier and Cabinet is concerned, the major savings are in cuts to the Public Service Board in the area of personnel and operations, and in my view it is important for the central agencies to show the lead as the Department of the Treasury and the Department of the Premier and Cabinet have.
SENIORS CARD Mrs WILSON (Dandenong North)- Will the Premier provide to the House details of the steps being taken to implement the government's decision to provide people over 60 years of age with a Seniors Card? Ms KIRNER (Premier)-The Seniors Card is an innovative new program for Victoria's elderly citizens, and I thank the honourable member for Dandenong North for her assistance as chairperson of the consultative council in this matter. The Seniors Card has been developed in partnership with the private sector and public organisations. It will enable all Victorians over 60 years of age who do not have full-time jobs to gain discounts at many outlets and stores. These discounts and selVices will be available in the areas of retail, travel, the entertainment, hospitality and health and fitness, as well as the sporting, cultural and education areas. The aim of the Seniors Card is exactly the same,as the aim of all aged policies in Victoria; that is, to ensure that our senior citizens have both independence and quality of life. It builds on the Minister for Transport and his predecessor's 60-plus travel concession program, and the senior savings card launched recently by the Minister for Tourism. Honourable members know that the 60-plus card is probably the most successful innovation by the Victorian government in tenns of transport. The senior savings card has allowed some 60 000 of Victoria 's active older people to take advantage of special attractions in Melbourne and in Victoria. The new Seniors Card builds on these two initiatives. It also builds on a successful introduction of the senior savings card. Mr Elder-ALP propaganda! Ms KIRNER-The honourable member should go to Western Australia and have a look. The new card also builds on the successful introduction of the scheme in Western Australia. It will resemble a plastic credit card with the holder's signature on it. The holder will have to apply to obtain the card. It will not have a photograph on it. It will be issued in April during Senior Citizens Week. I have been interested in the comments of Opposition members over the past two days calling for more money to be spent in almost every area while at the same time calling for public sector savings. I note today that the Leader of the Opposition and the shadow Treasurer had to correct that and detennine that they wanted the increased spending only in the areas of health and police. I find that fascinating. Honourable members interjecting. Ms KIRNER-I thought the opposition was concerned about cutting out 40 000 jobs in the public sector. Honourable members interjecting. QUESfIONS wrrHour NOTICE
156 ASSEMBLY 30 AUGUST 1990
The SPEAKER-Order! The Leader of the Opposition is out of order in interjecting, as he well knows. I ask the Premier to address her remarks to the Chair. Ms KIRNER-However, in tenns of being able by our savings to make sure that we spend the available funds on some targeted priority areas, of which the aged is one for our government, by savings in this Budget we have been able to ensure that home and community care services to older people are increased by 12 per cent. The government has been able to limit cuts to the health budget and maintain current transport services. With the new Seniors Card our senior citizens will not only be stretching their dollar further, but also having a good time in the process.
STATE BANK VICTORIA Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton)-I direct to the attention of the Premier the proposed sale of State Bank Victoria and ask: is it a fact, as Mr Keating has said, that the Premier decided to accept the Commonwealth Bank's offer before the Commonwealth government quantified the revenue compensation package, thus accepting an offer $55 million below the Westpac Banking Corporation's offer simply because that was the only offer she could get through Labor's factions? Honourable members interjecting. Ms KIRNER (Premier)-I have already explained to the House how, via the process which was carefully carried out by Merrill Lynch, a finn with a considerable reputation in the financial area-- An Honourable Member-Like Paul Keating. The SPEAKER-Order! The honourable member for Brighton has asked his question. He should allow the Premier to answer it in accordance with the practices of this House. I also advise the honourable members for Glen Waverley and Springvale that interjections are disorderly. Ms KIRNER-The Opposition wants only to play politics in this House, not to find any real answers. Merrill Lynch went through a careful process in offering the State Bank for sale. There were two major bidders, Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank. Each of those bids was around $1.6 Billion and the government carefully examined those bids. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! I have already cautioned the honourable member for Mornington.lfhe wishes to participate in the remainder of the day's proceedings, I suggest he remain silent. I ask all honourable members to observe the provisions of Standing Orders and the practices of the House. Ms KIRNER-There was a difference in those bids of $55 million in Westpac's favour. When the decision had to be made-and it was carefully examined by the government-there were three issues: firstly, the price; secondly, the importance of offering current State Bank depositors the ability to continue to invest in a bank that was run and controlled by a government-- Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! I have already cautioned the Leader of the National Party and I remind him and the Minister for Property and Services that it is disorderly to attempt to carry on a debate across the Chamber during the Premier's reply. QUESfIONS WrrHOUTNOTICE
30 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 157
Honourable members interjecting. Ms KIRNER-I have plenty of time. If it is an important issue the Leader of the Opposition might control his people and get them to show some interest. The first issue was the protection of the depositors, \vho are entitled to continue to have a choice to invest in a government-run bank. The second issue that influenced the government was that by selling to the Commonwealth Bank there was a major improvement in the Commonwealth Bank's ability to influence the economy and, finally, there was an ability for the employees to maintain their conditions of employment. After those issues had been examined, discussions were then had about the compensation for tax forgone. I stand firmly by the view that the decision to sell to the Commonwealth Bank, even though there was a $55 million difference initially, was an appropriate decision for the depositors of the State Bank and the Victorian community.
TICKET SCALPING Mr GA VIN (Coburg)-I direct a question to the Attorney-General, representing the Minister for Consumer Affairs in the other place. In light of the widespread community concern about the need to control ticket scalping, will the Minister inform the House what steps the government is taking to protect-- Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! I ask honourable ~embers on the backbench on my left to remain silent to enable the honourable member to ask his question and to enable that question to be heard by both the Chair and the Minister and, of course, by other honourable members who have an interest in the fact that the honourable member is asking a question and the nature of that question. I especially ask the honourable member for Doncaster to remain silent. Will the honourable member for Coburg recommence his question? Mr GA VIN-I direct a question to the Attorney-General, representing the Minister for Consumer Affairs in the other place. In light of the widespread community concern about the need to control ticket scalping, will the Minister inform the House what steps the government is taking to protect the public against this practice, especially for the forthcoming Australian Football League final series? Dr Napthine--They are going to introduce scratch tickets! The SPEAKER-Order! The honourable member for Portland is out of order! Had the question been directed to him, it would have been in order to call him; he would have had the opportunity. As the question was directed to the Attorney-General, I ask all other honourable members to remain silent while the Attorney-General replies. Mr KENNAN (Attomey-General)-I know the community is very concerned about scalping. Indeed, the Minister for Consumer Affairs had a helpful letter from the honourable member for Sandringham, who wrote saying that: 11lere needs to be a clarification of the law with regard to this immoral practice ... He went on to say that: Supporters of Australian rules football clubs in particular appear to suffer the most with regard to scalping practices. He enclosed a letter from a constituent in which he was thanked for returning her call of that day and for taking the stand that he did in respect of this immoral practice. QUESfIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
158 ASSEMBLY 30 AUGUST 1990
That is to be contrasted with the attitude of his colleague in the Upper House, Mr Connard, who has said that the practice is part of the free enterprise system. He said also that he intended to go to Sydney to get a ticket from a scalper for the finals here! That is the attitude of a member of the Upper House of the same party as the honourable member for Sandringham! He has said that the practice is what the free enterprise system is all about! He was a strong supporter-- Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! There is far too much interjection. I remind the Attorney-General that it is contrary to the practices of this House to quote from documents when giving answers to questions without notice.
Mr LEA (Sandringham}-On a point of order, Mr Speaker, I hope the Attorney-General will table the document so that all honourable members can see it. I hope he will table his reply and explain to the House what he is trying to achieve with this inane contribution. The SPEAKER-Order! There is no point of order. There is no provision for such documents to be tabled in these circumstances. It would have been in order for the honourable member to have asked for the documents to be made available.
Mr KENNAN (Attomey-General}--I am more than happy to make available the letter from the honourable member for Sandringham condemning this practice as immoral, and Mr Connard' s statement that it is an extension of the free enterprise system, that he strongly supports scalping and that it is his intention to go to Sydney to buy a ticket from a scalper.
In relation to the government's position on this immoral extension of the free enterprise system, I indicate that the government will not be prepared to engage in the scalping of tickets for his preselection! Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-I have difficulty in relating the Attorney-General's last comment to the question.
Honourable members inte~jecting. The SPEAKER-Order! The honourable members for Bendigo West and Berwick are out of order by interjecting. The honourable member for Narracan is well aware of the Standing Orders, particularly as he is a member of the Standing Orders Committee. I ask the honourable member to observe the provisions of Standing Order No. 107. I ask the Attorney-General to confine his remarks to the response to the question.
Mr KENNAN-The Minister for Consumer Affairs introduced a Bill in the Legislative Council in May of this year seeking to outlaw the practice of scalping. That followed a Bill which was introduced and passed in this Chamber last year by the then Minister for Prices and which was defeated in the Upper House. When the Minister for Consumer Affairs in the Upper House sought to reintroduce part of that Bill in May of this year to outlaw this correctly described immoral practice, the Opposition refused leave to suspend the Standing Orders to allow the Bill to proceed. It would not even let it be debated. We now seek, with the leave of the Opposition, to bring that Bill back so that this practice can be outlawed before the finals series commences. QUESTIONS WrrHOUT NOTICE
30 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 159
FARROW GROUP Mrs WADE (Kew)-Will the Attorney-General assure the House that the government has complete confidence in Mr Ken Russell, the administrator of the Farrow group? Will the Attorney-General also assure the House thatMr Russell is continuing his work independently of government intervention? Mr KENNAN (Attomey-General}-I understand the Opposition is the captive of the Farrow group, and that it runs issues in concert with a group which has carried out management practices that led to a management induced liquidity crisis which- Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! The honourable member for Ivanhoe is out of order by interjecting when the Speaker is on his feet. The honourable member for Springvale is similarly out of order. Mr KENNAN-In relation to a number of serious issues, which included the ch'uging of up-front fees, creaming off huge amounts in excess of $1 0 million to one person 10 relation to a management contract and which, importantly, also involved the selling of non-withdrawable equity shares on the payment to tellers of commissions not disclosed to the investing public, the Opposition- Mr PLOWMAN (Evelyn)-On a point of order, the question, which was very specific, referred to the confidence of the government in Mr Russell and whether he is able to do his job without interference from the Attorney-General and the government. The Attorney-General is debating the question, he is not addressing the question at all but is avoiding it. I request, Mr Speaker, that you require him to answer the question and not to follow the line he is taking at present. The SPEAKER-Order! The requirement is that Ministers may answer questions in the manner they see fit and their answers must be relevant to the question asked. At this stage of the Attorney-General's reply it is not obvious how his comments are related to the question and I ask him to relate his comments to the question. Mr KENNAN (Attorney-General)-What the Opposition has done, and what it is seeking to do by this question, is an attempt to undermine the position of the administrator. Of course the government has confidence in the administrator. It does not interfere in what the administrator is doing. However, the Opposition continues both to sledge what is happening in relation to that and to prop up a wholelot of false allegations and bad management practices of the Farrow group. Members of the Opposition are deeply embarrassed.
TRICONTlNENTAL CORPORATION LTD Mr W.D. McGRATH (Lowan)-I ask the Premier: is it a fact that the government has retained ownership of Tricontinental Corporation Ltd and that the Victorian taxpayers will have to finance repayments of the $2300 million Tricontinental debts to State Bank Victoria by 1996? Ms KIRNER (premier}-The sale of State Bank Victoria will be placed against the debt of Tricontinental Corporation Ltd. The remaining debt, which is likely to be about $600 million, will be covered by the sale of other government assets through the debt retirement fund, which includes the State Insurance Office and pine plantations. By the end of that PERSONAL EXPLANATION
160 ASSEMBLY 30 AUGUST 1990 process, which should take about twelve months, the Tricontinental debt will be taken from around the necks of Victorian taxpayers.
PERSONAL EXPLANATION Mr TANNER (Caulfield}-On 23 May last I presented to the Legislative Assembly a petition signed by 355 people relating to Janelle Maree Lavery, a person who is severely brain damaged coupled with a profound intellectual disability, praying that her mother, Mrs Mary Lavery, be automatically granted the right to act and speak on Janelle's behalf. The petition requests that this right be granted as if Janelle' s age was "obitary"; in the printing of H ansard the word "obitary" has inadvertently been replaced with the word "arbitrary". I ask that this matter be noted and a corrected version appear in the bound volumes ofH ansard. On 15 June last I wrote to the Minister for Community Services and brought the petition to her attention, requesting consideration that Mrs Lavery be appointed Janelle' s legal guardian, and that J anelle be cared for at Kew Cottages. I trust that the Minister will reply to the request as soon as possible.
PETITIONS The Clerk-I have received the following petitions for presentation to Parliament: Home and community care To TIlE HONOURABLE TIlE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF TIlE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY IN PARIlAMENT ASSEMBLED: The humble petition of the undersigned citizens of the State of Victoria respectfully shows their great concern for the hardship and distress caused to aged and disabled people and their carers caused by inadequate funding for the home and community care--HACC-program. Your petitioners therefore pray that the Parliament will give urgent attention to providing additional funding for the HACC program to restore it to the 20 per cent 8JUlual indexation as provided for under the Comrnonwealth-State HAeC Agreement. By Mr Jasper (24 signatures) Infertility (Medical Procedures) Act To TIlE HONOURABLE TIlE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF TIlE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY IN PARUAMENT ASSEMBLED: The petition of the lDldersigned citizens of the State of Victoria respectfully showeth: Human life begins when the sperm penetrates the ovum; each human life is worthy of respect and protection at every stage and development from the very beginning; and the removal of one cell from an embryo prior to differentiation in embryo biopsy constitutes cloning, which is prohibited under section 6 (2) (A) of the Infertility (Medical Procedures) Act. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that the Parliament of the State of Victoria: 1. Legislate to ban all experimental procedures involving the human embryo; and 2. Enforce section 6 (2) (A) of the Infertility (Medical Procedures) Act prohibiting cloning. And your petitioners, as in duty lxnmd, will ever pray. By Mr Sercombe (109 signatures) PAPER
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Support for the arts To THE HONOURABLE TIlE SPEAKER AND MEMBERS OF TIlE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY IN PARUAMENT ASSEMBLED: The humble petition of the undersigned citizens of the State of Victoria showeth that there is widespread community concern at the current loss of Victorian government support for the arts in Victoria. We call on the government to recognise that the arts in all their diversity are both crucial to the quality of life in Victoria and contribute significantly to our economic well-being. Your petitioners therefore pray that the government of Victoria acknowledges the real value of the arts by improving the level of support necessary to maintain Victoria's pre-eminent position as Australia's cultural capital. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. By Mr Dollis (29 379 signatures) Laid on table.
PAPER Laid on table by Clerk: Groundwater Act 1969--Groundwater Investigation Program-Report for the year 1988-89.
NOTICES OF MOTION Mr PERTON (Doncaster) (By leave)-I seek to have removed from the Notice Paper Notices of Motion, General Business, Nos 26 and 27. Notice of Motion, General Business, No. 26, relates to Statutory Rule No. 130 of 1990, Pathology Services Accreditation (General) Regulations 1990, which were made under section 40 of the Pathology Services Accreditation Act 1984. They prescribe procedures to ensure that pathology tests are safe and of sound quality. Rules for advertising are included in them. When considering the regulations the Legal and Constitutional Committee noted restrictions on advertising that prevented adequate publicising of routine health screening programs provided by community heath centres. The committee asked the Minister for Health for help to amend the proscriptive advertising regulations to allow community health centres to advertise their preventive screening programs more extensively and in a manner more appropriate to their functions and purposes. Due to concerns that the regulations could have an undesirable impact on legitimate health promotion activities, a notice of intention to disallow was moved in Parliament pending the Minister's response. The Minister has now assured the committee that the advertising provisions in the regulations will be replaced by provisions that should satisfy the needs of community health centres and other public screening services. The Minister has indicated that the necessary changes will be proceeded with as quickly as possible. In the light of those assurances, the committee considers it appropriate to withdraw the notice of intention to disallow. Notice ofMotion, General Business, No 27, relates to Statutory Rule No. 395 of 1989, Crimes (Fingerprinting) Regulations 1990, which prescribes the offences for which police officers may fingerprint persons without their consent and without a court order. Amendments to the Crimes Act have enabled police officers to fingerprint persons convicted of prescribed offences in this manner. Spring Session 1990-6 RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREAS-GOVERNMENI DISCRIMINATION
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When considering the regulations, the subcommittee noted that certain relatively minor offences appeared on the list These included offences under the Fireanns Act such as hunting game without a current authority to hunt The subcommittee asked the Attorney-General to remove the minor offences from the regulations. Due to concerns that the regulations allowed the rights and liberties of a person to be abrogated for relatively minor offences, on behalf of the committee I gave notice in Parliament of a motion to disallow the regulations, pending their amendment. Honourable members interjecting. The SPEAKER-Order! There is too much audible conversation in the House. It is difficult for the Chair to hear the honourable member. The honourable members for Narracan and Syndal are not ·helping the situation by flouting requests of the Chair to be silent. They are making it difficult for honourable members to hear the statement being made. Mr PERTON-The Attorney-General amended the regulations on 26 June 1990 to remove the minor offences from the list of prescribed offences. In those circumstances, I seek to withdraw the notice of motion to disallow.
RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREAS-GOVERNMENT DISCRIMINATION Mr LIEBERMAN (Benambra)-I move: That this House notes with concern pledges and promises by the government which discriminate against people living in rural and provincial areas and calls on it to give equal treatment to all Victorians. The cumulative effect of Labor governments in Victoria, unfortunately aided and abetted by Federal Labor governments since 1982, has been disastrous for the welfare and well-being of country people in this State and have severely impacted on their prospects of improving the quality of life of their communities, families and businesses. It is well recorded that when the government was elected in 1982 it adopted an interventionist economic strategy based on Keynesian economic philosophy. Honourable members are well aware of the mammoth propaganda that was undertaken by the government Books, publications and discussion papers blatantly and deliberately stated that the government proposed to use the reserves of the Victorian people that had been built up for more than 145 years and that it intended to use future revenue from increased taxes and charges to fund its massive intervention in the marketplace and in almost every sphere of life-including commercial, economic, social and family-in this State. Coupled with that, the government made it clear that it intended to work towards achieving socialist social engineering objectives which would substitute and in many cases diminish and depreciate the role of the family in Victoria and ignore the special needs of country people particularly. As those pledges and policies started to bite, unfortunately, the opportunities for country people in particular began to be adversely affected. It is well-known-and this will be reinforced as I give the House an overview of the government's perfonnance over the past eight years-that the State became less able to fund new programs that were desperately needed and justified and other programs to expand existing ones, because funds were being transfered from traditional sources from the State Budget to fund the programs and objectives of the Keynesian economic strategies of the Labor governments that Victoria has had to put up with since 1982. Therefore, the opportunities for country communities to tackle their problems, establish projects and fund programs diminished even further than previously. RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREAS-GOVERNMENf DISCRIMINATION
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In the context of all that has occurred leading up to this year, we now have the most devastating substantial and dramatic losses of public funds that have ever occurred in the history of the Commonwealth of Australia and, of course, have not been exceeded in this century in any other country in the free world that I know of. The magnitude of the losses caused by the incompetence and doctrinaire commitment of Labor governments in this State since 1982 has had an enormous and devastating effect on Victorians, particularly country people. For years to come Victorians, especially those in the country, will suffer, more so under Labor governments, than they have suffered in the past because of the lost opportunities and the situation that is now being forced on them because the funds to provide for programs and selVices are no longer available, will not be available, and cannot be made available for many years to come. As a result of that, the Budget delivered this week is not only totally incompetent and inadequate but also again increases taxes, which will make Victorians the highest taxed people in Australia and which will again unfairly disadvantage sections of the State. I refer in passing to the proposal to increase the petrol franchise fees which will mean an increase of2 cents a litre to cover some of the losses incurred in the Pyramid disaster, which is directly attributable to the government's mishandling and lack of supelVision in that area. I know your background in the country, Mr Speaker, and I am sure you know that this will impact severely on country people. That increase will affect country people more severely than city people simply because of the tyranny of distance. Country people have to use more fuel because motor vehicles are their major form of transport to and from their places of business and to and from schools. The 2 cent a litre increase in the petrol price will be a further burden on country people; and they will suffer as a direct result of this government's stupid policies and its failure to appreciate the role of country people. Even more sinister and difficult issues flow from this situation, and I shall refer to them briefly. The extent and knowledge of losses of State Bank Victoria were not disclosed or addressed early enough by this government. As a result-I shall provide some evidence that I am sure will worry many honourable members-the opportunities for people, both city and country, to address the issues, arrest the problems and stop the losses and incompetent management have been delayed to the point where further losses are being suffered and have been suffered by country and city people; the losses are even greater now. For example, the debt burden of the State Bank and Tricontinental Corporation Ltd as a result of interest and administration charges are increased and the opportunity of recovering from defaulters is reduced because the government failed to address the issues and failed to be honest and to make disclosures to Parliament and the community when it should have done so. I was disturbed to read at page 19 of the Australian of Tuesday, 28 August in a full report filed by Margo Towie statements made by Mr Ralph Ward-Ambler concerning State Bank Victoria. Mr Rowe-This is not relevant to the motion. Mr LIEBERMAN-It is relevant to the motion, and if the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs waits a moment he will understand exactly what I mean. Mr Ward-Ambler referred to the knowledge of the board of directors appointed in February this year of the mounting losses ofTricontinental Corporation Ltd and State Bank Victoria. Mr ROWE (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs}-On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker, the motion is about selVices delivered to and policies affecting rural Victoria. The government is pleased to debate its fine record of selVice delivery to regional Victoria, but the issues being raised by the honourable member for Benambra do not relate to the specifics RURAL AND PROVINCIAL ARFAS-GOVERNMENf DISCRIMINATION
164 ASSEMBLY 30 AUGUST 1990 of the motion. He is canvassing issues involving State Bank Victoria and is reading from a newspaper article without infonning the House about how it relates to the motion. Mr LIEBERMAN (Benambra}-On the point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker, at the beginning of my remarks I made it clear that part of the motion addressed the loss of opportunities country people must now put up with as a consequence of the pledges and policies of the government In that context, I put it that I am entitled to give the House a graphic example of how the funds available to be spent on selVices in country areas have been and will be adversely affected as a result of the statements I am about to read. The Minister has asked me to be more specific; I shall give the House two or three examples of statements made by Ministers in this House which failed to infonn honourable members of material infonnation that would have benefited the State's resources had it been revealed, thereby protecting selVices to country people. The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Norris)-Order! I do not uphold the point of order. Mr LIEBERMAN-The article in the A ustralian reports thatMr Ward-Ambler said State Bank Victoria first got a "smell" about April that "all was not well" and had given verbal advice to the government to expect the worst. Mr Ward-Ambler states: It was not until the latter part of May that we started to get numbers that gave us the ramifications of what was happening and we verbally briefed the government, obviously, as we got that knowledge. I have read some of the questions asked of Ministers and reported in H ansard of 3 April 1990. The honourable member for Lowan asked the Treasurer whether the government's guarantee to pick up the $795 million of State Bank liabilities covered the full extent of the losses. In answering the question the Treasurer is reported as having said: As was clearly explained to this House, action was taken by the government to ensure that State Bank Victoria was protected. In doing so the best legal and commercial advice was sought to ensure that the State Bank can return to its best state of health, and that advice is quite properly a matter for the government and the people of Victoria. The actions that have been taken will ensure that the people of Victoria continue to have confidence in the State Bank and that confidence is properly upheld. On Wednesday, 4 April at page 637 of Hansard, in answer to a question from the Leader of the Opposition about State Bank losses, after referring in part to the OppoSition's supposed attempts to destroy public confidence in the bank, the Treasurer is reported as having said: I can \Dlderstand that the Leader of the Opposition is in no way supportive of the State Bank. I make it clear to him that the government has acted so far as Tricontinental Corporation Ltd is concerned and that the State Bank is now in a healthy position. We expect that the bank will continue in its efforts, together with government, to ensme that it plays a major part in Victorian banking. I emphasise that in this House on 4 April the Treasurer made a deliberate statement that the State Bank was in a healthy position. On Thursday, 5 April at page 721 ofH ansard, in answer to a further question from the Leader of the Opposition about the liabilities of Tricontinental Corporation Ltd, the Treasurer is reported as having stated: If one had to make provision for someone issuing a press release saying he or she was taking legal action. there would be great difficulty ahead. Mr MACLELLAN (Berwick)-On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker, I note that there is only one government member in the House, and that is the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs, who is at the table. In the circumstances, there ought to be some understanding between the government and the Opposition that Parliament should at least look as if it is a Parliament and not as if it has been deserted by members of the government. I am not saying RURAL AND PROVINCIAL ARFAS-GOVERNMENf DISCRIMINATION
30 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 165 this should involve calling for quorums all the time, but you, Mr Deputy Speaker, should give some indication that it is expected that reasonable representation will be maintained and that the situation where the government is represented by one Minister sitting at the table is not acceptable. That disgrace to Parliament should be corrected by a statement from the Chair made as soon as possible. The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Norris)-Order! The honourable member for Berwick has posed an interesting proposition. Is the honourable member calling for a quorum? If he is simply asking the Chair to make a ruling, I inform him that the Chair is not in a position to do so at this stage. If the honourable member for Berwick wishes to call for a quorum, that is his right. Mr Maclellan-What does the Chair suggest? The DEPUTY SPEAKER-I suggest that if the honourable member for Berwick is concerned about the numbers in this place he should call for a quorum, which is his right. If the honourable member does not wish to do that, I shall call the honourable member for Benambra to continue his contribution. Mr LIEBERMAN (Benambra)-It is interesting to note the contempt with which the government treats the House. Mr Rowe-It is because you are so boring! Mr Maclellan-Mr Deputy Speaker, I direct your attention to the state of the House. Quorum formed. Mr LIEBERMAN-On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker, while the bells were ringing for the quorum the Whip for the government, the honourable member for Wantirna, appeared to address me and indicate that if we-the Opposition-were going to call for quorums, action would be taken against the Opposition. I believe it is important to address these matters immediately they arise. If that is not what the honourable member intended to convey, she has the opportunity of indicating that now. If, on the other hand, it was what the honourable member intended to convey she now has the opportunity of indicating, on behalf of the government, the action or retribution the government intends to take against the Opposition for raising a matter of great importance and requiring the House to address that issue by calling for a quorum. Mrs IDRSH (Wantima)-On the point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker, the honourable member for Benambra should not have been listening to a conversation between the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs and myself. He did not understand the content of the conversation. If the honourable member considers the conversation so important that he needs to interfere in it he can do so. Other than that I do not understand what he is talking about Mrs WADE (Kew)-On the point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker, I was sitting immediately behind the honourable member for Benambra and it was clear to me that the honourable member for Wantima entered the Chamber during the ringing of the bells and appeared to threaten the honourable member for Benambra by suggesting that action would be taken against him or the Opposition if quorums were called. Comments like that are a serious interference in the operations of the House. The explanation given by the honourable member for Wantirna was less than satisfactory and she should take the opportunity of making clear what she intended by those remarks. I ask the honourable member for Wantima to confirm whether the words I heard were addressed to the honourable member for Benambra or to the Minister. RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREAS-GOVERNMENT DISCRIMINATION
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Mr MICALLEF (Springvale)-On the point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker, I should like to know whether it is alleged that the honourable member for Wantirna threatened all of the 6 foot 3 inches of the honourable member for Benambra? The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Norris}-Order! I shall direct the attention of the Speaker to this matter during the luncheon adjournment. Mr LIEBERMAN (Benambra}--It is in your hands, Mr Deputy Speaker. I raise the issue as a matter of concern. The honourable member for Wantirna has made her explanation; it is now on the record and speaks for itself. I do not wish to say any more about it, except that I would have accepted unqualifiedly and unreservedly a statement by her that she did not intend to make a threat. I was saying before the quorum was called that the statements by the Treasurer, Mr Roper, in the Legislative Assembly, in answer to questions about the extent of liability of Tricontinental Corporation Ltd and State Bank Victoria, did not reveal the extent of the knowledge of the Treasurer based on the obvious briefings that the Chairman of the State Bank, Mr Ward-Ambler, had given the government. Four months have passed since April and we are now at the end of August, yet only now has the magnitude of the losses of the State Bank and Tricontinental been revealed to the community and Parliament. Because of the nature of the sale of State Bank Victoria to the Commonwealth Bank it is also evident that the interest-holding charges and loss of opportunity funds have increased significantly because of the government's failure to address the issue earlier and to reveal to the House the full extent of those losses. It follows, therefore, that all Victorians-particularly country Victorians-will be even further disadvantaged by the loss of the huge sum that would normally have been available for the provision of government services and programs. It is a serious matter. Mr Deputy Speaker, I direct your attention to the fact that the Treasurer had the opportunity on the days I mentioned to indicate the knowledge he had gained from the briefings of Mr Ward-Ambler and the directors of the State Bank as referred to in the Australian. I shall repeat what Mr Ward-Ambler said to the Treasurer as reported in the Australian of 28 August because there are members of the government now in the House who were not here before. The Chairman of the State Bank said that the bank first got a smell about April that all was not well and had given verbal advice to the State government to expect the worst. Mr Ward-Ambler then went on to say: It wasn't until the laner part of May that we started to get the numbers that gave us the ramification of what was happening and we verbally briefed the government obviously as we got that knowledge. On 22 "May 1990, reported at page 1703 of Hansard, the Leader of the National Party addressed a question without notice to the Treasurer concerning the liabilities of State Bank Victoria and Tricontinental Corporation Ltd. The Treasurer's answer was extraordinary and I shall read it in part: The premise is wrong in another way: it has been made clear that Moody's will be discussing those maners with Treasury officials before it makes any decision. As to State Bank Victoria and Tricontinental Corporation Ltd. my predecessor made a detailed statement on the matter ... The Treasurer, of course, was referring to the statement made by the former Treasurer, the honourable member for Doveton, in February assuring the community and Parliament that the extent of the rescue package from the Budget and assets of the State was no more than approximately $700 million. The Treasurer, Mr Roper. then went on to say: ... Since then there has been the significant appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer of State Bank Victoria, and I look forward to his work in the bank for Victoria. RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREAs-(]OVERNMENI DISCRIMINATION
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On any view, and in the context of the disclosures made this week in the Australian by Mr Ward-Ambler that have not been denied by the government or any senior Minister, it is clear that Parliament has evidence that the government prior to this week and last week-well before-had knowledge of the extent of the massive losses that have now been made public. During the period over which the Treasurer answered questions in the House on this issue he clearly omitted to reveal his knowledge of material matters to Parliament and the community of Victoria, who were entitled to assume that the approximately $700 million provision for rescuing State Bank Victoria and Tricontinental Corporation Ltd was all that was required. It is my view that because of the serious nature of the magnitude of the loss of the State Bank in February the Treasurer was under an obligation to inform the House that the position of the bank was different, in fact very different. How could the government and the Treasurer continue to assure the community and Parliament there was no need for the people of Victoria to make further sacrifices beyond the $700 million-odd after they had briefings from the Chairman of the State Bank, Mr Ward-Ambler in May about further losses? I raise this issue as a serious concern and I intend to pursue it because the House and the community has been misled. Material information has not been disclosed as it should have; there has been deliberate concealment from Parliament and the community of facts and material which has, regrettably, resulted in even further losses to the people of Victoria. In brief terms, those losses are such that if further defaults and losses by Tricontinental and State Bank Victoria had been identified and revealed to the government, firm action to address the losses, claimed by the Premier to have been taken by her last week, would surely have been initiated in April, May, June, July or even in early August. You, Mr Deputy Speaker, would know from your knowledge of the world that with the vast sums of money and the assets at risk in the whole enterprise, every day that goes by without action being taken results in huge sums of additional damages and losses. The interest alone on moneys borrowed from the money market which have to be repaid by Tricontinental and the State Bank mounts up. The fact that people are in default and action has not been taken to preserve the equity and realise on it is a factor which involves further losses. Mr Maclellan interjected. Mr LIEBERMAN-As the honourable member for Berwick indicates, those losses are the reason why country services in particular have been slashed and are at greater risk than they were before. That is the tragedy. The people are the losers. They are worse off-if that is possible under this government-than they should be. If the Treasurer, the then Premier and the then Deputy Premier-who is now the Premier-had told the truth in Parliament in April and May, action could and would have been taken earlier, and the Opposition would have insisted that it be taken. Vast sums of money have been lost. For the three months of non-disclosure of which I have given prima facie evidence I suggest a ballpark figure on the $2.5 Billion that we know to be involved in this debacle would be a further loss of a minimum of $200 million. Of course, only the Royal Commission will establish the magnitude of the losses. What effect will the losses have on country people? I shall give some examples of how country people will be affected by the tragic pledges and policies of the government, which has abused its powers for the past eight or nine years and has contempt for Parliament. What are some of the programs that country people have missed out on and will find under further threat as the years grind by and as Victoria groans under the debt the government has created RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREAS-GOVERNMENJ DISCRIMINATION
168 ASSEMBLY 30 AUGUST 1990 for us? I can think of many in my own electorate and, if given the opportunity, I am sure many honourable members could also provide a list of such programs. I was given a particularly graphic one by a Parliamentary colleague this morning. It was in relation to young offenders who are brought before magistrates. As honourable members would know, under the alternative system of sentencing young offenders would not be sent to prison. Unfortunately, the alternative system of punishment or correction is not always available in country areas because there is not enough staff and funds are not available for training or supelVision. Young offenders in country Victoria-- Mr Maclellan-Aged sixteen and seventeen! Mr LIEBERMAN-Sixteen and seventeen-year-old offenders have been and will continue with greater frequency to be sent to gaols such as Pentridge Prison, put into the yards and subjected to assaults and rapes. Of course, the damage to those young people is irreparable. That is a graphic illustration of what I am on about and what the Opposition is on about in moving this motion, which the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs said disdainfully was being dealt with by someone boring. If the Minister thinks I am boring I invite him to intetject and to put on record in this context how he thinks young offenders will be assisted in the future. I can tell him now that cases have occurred of young offenders being sent to Penridge Prison where they have been raped and assaulted because funding had not been provided to allow for an alternative sentence. The country magistrate who sentenced them wished that he could do otherwise. That is something society has not been able to address because the government has deprived it of the opportunity to fund additional programs in those areas. Mr Maclellan-There are no drug treabnent programs in youth training centres. Mr LIEBERMAN-The honourable member for Berwick is right, and that situation is again a direct result of the massive loss of funding which has led to losses of opportunities for all people, particularly country people who, because of the tyranny of distance and the fact that they do not live in large assemblies of population, find it very difficult to get services that are desperately needed. I was Assistant Minister for Health for a while, and was president and later a member of the board of a country hospital for about ten years, and I have maintained my interest in health administration over the years I have been in Parliament. Every hospital and health care provider in my electorate could tell you, Mr Deputy Speaker, the heart-rending stories of people who cannot get pain relieving surgery and who are suffering dreadfully because of inadequate and diminishing services available in country Victoria. The problem also exists in the city, and I care about that, but as a member of Parliament from the country, I can say that country people face even greater hardships because of the loss of funds, reserves and assets of the State. It is with regret that I say the waiting lists for people in country Victoria for pain-relieving surgery will grow even longer than they are now. Waiting lists for pain-relieving surgery in country hospitals have increased from 6 or 7 per cent, when I was a Minister in the last Liberal government, to probably 25 to 30 per cent, and it is getting worse. This is inevitable because Victoria is facing an increase in taxes and revenue of around $100 million in the Budget The Premier has just signalled her intention to sell off nearly $3 Billion in round figures of assets-State Bank Victoria, pine forests and other assets. All of that money will be sucked into the abyss of the losses suffered by Tricontinental and the State Bank-nothing else! The State debt will still be $27 Billion after all of this. The State will still need at least 22 or 23 cents in every dollar of revenue to pay RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREAS-GOVERNMElVI' DISCRIMINATION
30 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 169 the interest alone on the State debt. There will be nothing left for country people. How will Victoria sUlVive? Senior citizens, many of whom choose to remain in country areas after they retire-thank goodness-will suffer funher disadvantage because the pensioner rate rebates are to be deferred. The meaning ofthis is very obscure, and when the Budget is debated the Opposition will be asking many questions about it. I know many senior citizens in country Victoria are proud of the fact that through thrift and hard work they have saved for and retained their own residences in their retirement. However, they are finding it increasingly difficult to do so because of high interest rates and costs and inflation. One of the ways they have been able to do it is with assistance by a pensioner rate rebate which helps them cope with the ever increasing rate bills. Now we find that this Budget threatens that and the pensioner rate rebate is to be cut. What a tragedy for our senior citizens! They do not deselVe this in the last years of their retirement. Why should they be treated this way? Why should they be singled out and put in this burdensome position? In country areas it is even worse because there are infrastructure problems. Over the past ten or fifteen years water and sewage treatment programs have been put in place with funds that have been borrowed by communities to pay for them through rate revenue. When the government came into power it inherited a system whereby, through consolidated revenue and grants from the Commonwealth, subsidies were made available to soften the blow. That has meant that a sewage treatment plant and reticulation system in Bright, Myrtle ford , Wodonga, or Yackandandab-towns in my electorate-has been installed and paid for over a period of years with the people of Victoria contributing something towards it by way of a rate subsidy. It is a Commonwealth system based on social justice, equity and sound government management; it is in the nation's interest that people are encouraged to live, not just in the major capital cities, but also in country Australia. We do not want to see an increase, which regrettably is happening under Labor, of our populations which are increasingly becoming concentrated in the major capital cities of Sydney and Melbourne. Nearly 80 per cent of Australians live in Sydney and Melbourne. When travelling the world one sees cities like New York and other places where there are great social problems, and the cost of running those cities becomes unmanageable. It is important that any government the State may have maintains policies that work to encourage people to make their lives, work and investments in places outside of the major capital cities. That is fundamental to this nation's well-being and future. Through incompetence over the past eight years the government has lost the funds that would nonnally be available to help country communities provide basic infrastructure such as water, sewerage and the like that make those communities viable. The result of the government's mismanagement is that from now on country communities will face massive increases in rates, water and sewerage charges to pay the infrastructure costs that the people of Victoria would generally be happy to contribute by way of a subsidy. Now all that is gone. One will fmd in the next five years that water and sewerage boards and councils in country towns will have to increase their rates and charges by a minimum of 1000 per cent just to pay the interest on loans taken out in good faith over the years. Those loans would nonnally be subsidised partly from the Consolidated Fund, but because of the government's incompetence and the fact that funds have been lost that will no longer occur. How can senior citizens living in those country towns on fixed pensions, facing inflation due to government mismanagement, and facing increased taxes and charges, address those issues? In many cases people will be forced to sell their homes; they will have to provide for themselves. The inevitable will happen-which is what the socialists want anyway-and these people will have to join the queues for welfare assistance. They will no longer be self-sufficient; they RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREAS-GOVERNMENT DISCRIMINATION
170 ASSEMBLY 30 AUGUST 1990 will have to join queues and seek elderly people's units through the Ministry of Housing and Construction. They are wonderful projects, and we fully support them, but many Victorians do not need to join the queue because they own their own homes. There will be fewer people owning their own homes as a direct result of the government's squandering of opportunity and demolishing the chances of many people to make a decent life for themselves independent of government and free to make their own judgments and inveSbnents. These opportunities are lost forever-at least in our lifetime; perhaps our children will be able to pick them up. Because of the government's mishandling of the State and its invesbnents, our generation is sentenced to an annual increase in borrowings and debts. Consequently, a greater share of revenue is needed to pay interest and that means there will be an annual increase in taxes and charges simply to sustain that dreadful cycle, because of the government's incompetence and mismanagement.
I feel strongly that the government needs to be taken to task for what it has done to the people of Victoria. Every member of this government has a case to answer. I know that government members are not in the House to hear me speak because they are either too arrogant or too frightened to face up to the truth, but I am heartened by the fact that the people of Victoria are listening and are concerned and angry. Whenever the next election takes place the people of Victoria will deal very effectively with the government and this Premier. The Premier now postures and says cleverly that she is the new face, that she is the community Premier-the one that listens and consults. She has been in the Cabinet for years. She was the Deputy Premier when questions were asked of the Treasurer in April and May this year but she sat there smiling smugly when the Treasurer did not answer the questions and reveal the infonnation that I alleged he had at the time. She was a party to the extra $200 million-odd that I claim it has cost the Victorian people because the government did not come clean when it should have. How can she as Premier now say, "It is all new; it is all going to be fine; I am tackling the issues and making the decisions''? What sort of decisions are they? They are decisions that deprive us of further opportunity . Let us consider the State Bank Victoria announcement concerning the sale to the Commonwealth Banking Corporation. God help the Commonwealth Banking Corporation! Having had some commercial experience myself, I consider it is not a bad deal because the Commonwealth Banking Corporation is getting the State Bank Victoria, shed of all liabilities. It is getting all the depositors and all the goodwill and hard work that the excellent people in the State Bank have built up over many years. Mr Maclellan-All the branches. Mr LIEBERMAN-Yes, all of the branches; no wonder the Commonwealth Bank is happy about it That is why Dr Hewson, the Leader of the Federal Opposition, said he probably would not oppose the proposed legislation because he is experienced in these matters. The Commonwealth Bank is getting State Bank Victoria with a government guarantee on all undisclosed and undiscovered liabilities of Tricontinental and the State Bank. That is not a bad deal. The State Bank comes with the key to the door of all the branches, all the existing deposits, everything. From the day of the takeover there will be no need to worry t so long as the bank is efficiently and well run because all the risks have been removed. Guess who has the risk? The people of Victoria have to carry the risk because their brilliant Premier has made a deal that guarantees all undisclosed and undiscovered liabilities of Tricontinental and State Bank Victoria. RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREAS-GOVERNMENf DISCRIMINATION
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The Premier has acknowledged that the $1.6 billion we will get from the Commonwealth Bank when the float occurs, if the ALP left wing in Canberra does not overturn it and apparently it will not do so at the moment-is to go into this so-called debt rehabilitation account. That will be sucked off straight away to repay the money that Tricontinental and the State Bank borrowed to lend out and that was subsequently lost due to the government's failure to supervise. However, the Premier has admitted that is no enough; a further $600 million-odd has to be found to help pay those debts. The Premier will flog our pine plantations, many of which are in north-eastern Victoria and all of which are in country Victoria. She also intends to flog other assets including the State Insurance Office in a funny money deal. The net result will be worse services and less revenue for country people. Mr Maclellan inteIjected. Mr LIEBERMAN-I appreciate the incisive and correct comments of the honourable member for Berwick because he has a good knowledge of country Victoria and its economy. In future the royalties that we currently receive from pine plantations will not be paid into consolidated revenue. I would not mind that so much if the sale of the pine plantations would bring in a capital sum that would enable us to reduce our debts. However, it will not do that; we will be left with a debt of $27 Billion. The money from the pine plantations will go to pay for the government's disasters, and we will still owe $27 Billion. I am not against the concept of selling the pine plantations but I do not like the idea of the proceeds going towards paying for the debts and liabilities incurred by an incompetent government. We still do not know where the money has been lost or who the hell has benefited by it. I feel strongly, as a member for country Victoria, about seeing our country assets being flogged to pay for the profits that have been made by some people because they were not properly supervised by the government. The dividend from State Bank Victoria that is usually paid to the government each year, under the hollow logs policy introduced by Dr Sheehan, will also be lost forever. We have lost our bank and we will get no money for it from the Commonwealth because it will go in paying off the liabilities incurred by TricontinentaI Corporation Ltd. The people of Victoria are entitled to receive the dividend from the State Bank's profit before the State Bank is sold off. But that has been lost, too. All of these losses mean less money for country services. Mr Maclellan-I think we should have a quorum. Mr LIEBERMAN-No, I shall not call for a quorum but I should like it placed on the Hansard record that it is 12 noon and the only government member in the Chamber is the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs-a city member. The honourable member for Bendigo was here a while ago but he has now gone. I should have thought he would be here because he would have a viable interest in country Victoria. The honourable member for Morwell is not here. I wonder where the honourable members for the Geelong electorates are. I have heard that some of the Geelong representatives will be considering the by-election position soon as a result of their anger and shame at what their government has done to their community. One can imagine how one would feel living in Geelong and paying an extra 2 cents a litre for petrol because the fonner Premier and the current Premier put in place a rescue plan for those affected by the collapse of the Pyramid Building Society. The neighbours and fellow businessmen of the Geelong members of Parliament put their money into Pyramid because the government told them it was safe to do so. Now they will have to pay an extra 2 cents a litre for petrol to help cover that loss. One can imagine how the Minister for Sport and RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREAS-GOVERNMENT DISCRIMINATION
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Recreation and the honourable member for Bellarine will feel in the next few months as their friends and constituents fill up their cars in Geelong. Maybe, as I have disclosed this apparent weakness in the political armoury of the Labor government, an emergency meeting will be held tonight by the Premier and the Treasurer to exclude Geelong from that levy. That is what they do from crisis to crisis. They will probably issue a new press release and say that the extra 2 cents Pyramid levy will not be payable by the people ofGee long-problem solved. The Premier is fond of saying, "I am the community Premier; I consult". I can imagine her going to Geelong in a white car, being met by the honourable member for Bellarine and other worthy members of the Labor Party and holding a news conference to infonn the people of Geelong that they will not have to pay the 2 cents levy. That will probably make her feel warm inside but I wonder how the people of Victoria feel. Mr Maclellan inteIjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Norris~rder! The honourable member for Berwick is out of order; the honourable member for Benambra has the call. Mr LIEBERMAN-The compassion of the honourable member for Berwick is always there and it has just bubbled forth again. He has reminded me about the 700 people who worked for Pyramid in Geelong who are now out of work. I wonder how they feel when they fill up their cars. I have received some graphic examples of the sorts of things being suffered by country people from Parliamentarians representing our constituencies. Those examples show that the government no longer has a mandate to govern. It has lost our reserves and it has put our future at risk. It has sentenced the current generation of taxpayers to increased taxes for many years. It has flogged the family silver to pay for the groceries. It has introduced a stupid Budget that is ineffective. It is being condemned roundly by those who know and care. Families and country people continue to suffer. Education expense allowances have been deferred. That is an extraordinary Budget strategy. The Treasurer has brought in a Budget but said that the government would not fund the programs already in place under its pledges. The Treasurer said the education expense allowance would be deferred until next year. One wonders how it will be funded next year. Will the government bring in another Budget? The Premier's philosophy seems to be that she will incrementally care for the community. She introduces a Budget and then she goes out and consults with each area affected and takes away the provision for that area. Her garbled network of propaganda today proposes a new system of incremental budgeting. It will be left until next year but we are not to worry about it because it will all work out all right. When I go back to my electorate on Friday I will probably be asked by councillors of the City of Wodonga what they are to do because the pensioner rate rebate is to be deferred but the council has already struck its rates ready for rate assessments to be sent out in October and November. They will want to know how they will fund their projects. I shall have to tell them that they must assume that they will eventually receive their share of the $70 million allocated for pensioner rebates throughout the State and borrow that amount in the meantime. Mr Maclellan interjected. Mr LIEBERMAN-Local government borrowing has been curtailed. Councils were told earlier this year that their borrowings had increased by $2 million, but suddenly there was another press release that it was to be decreased by $1 million. The message around town is that funds will be frozen because one of the Premier's strategies is to use the local government borrowing power to pay for some projects in the suburbs of the marginal seats. The Premier RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREAS-GOVERNMENf DISCRIMINATION
30 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 173 will probably bring in a Budget every three or four months. It will be known as the incremental Kirner Budget, an innovative way of handling the State's disasters. I look forward to the response of the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs who is representing the government on these matters. I wish him well in his task. I know his programs have been further cut after a 20 per cent cut in the previous two years. The Minister is probably putting on a brave face and saying not to worry. The productive arm of our economy, representing about 40 per cent of the total economic worth C'f the State, is agriculture. The Premier's attitude is that that can probably be cut by 25 per cent, but we should not worry because she will look after us; she is a community Premier. The speech delivered by the former Premier at the Labor Party country conference a couple of months ago was the worst speech I have ever read, both for content and lack of commitment to country people. The government should be condemned. It is damned because it does not govern for all Victorians; it does not govern for city and country Victorians; it governs purely for the factions of the Labor Party. The State of Victoria is governed on the basis of what John Halfpenny tells the government it can do each day. The government does not even realise what it has done. A short time ago the people of Victoria were treated to a real spectacle: there was John Halfpenny, with government Ministers, sitting at a table, framing the Budget for the State of Victoria. The government was indicating that Parliament and the people of Victoria do not matter; what matters is what is said by the trade union representative, the unelected representative of the people. He was there, saying, ''Tick''; or "No, that is no good". The government should go. It should have gone before. It is damned and it deselVes to be condemned by every Victorian. Mr J. F. McGRATH (Warmambool)-I support the motion of the honourable member for Benambra. I congratulate him on displaying what could be described as considerable foresight Honourable members should remember that the motion being debated appeared on the Notice Paper a long time ago. The honourable member for Benambra has shown what is present on the Opposition benches: a perception of what government policy and plans should be about. I remind honourable members that the motion was written shortly after the October 1988 State election and that is when it first appeared on the Notice Paper. It could be said that the honourable member for Benam bra is a great philosopher because he has predicted accurately what is now understood to be a fact by all Victorians except those who sit on the other side of the House. They should he referred to as ostriches because surely they have their heads in the sand if they believe the Budget delivered this week will address the sorts of issues that must be addressed in this State! The motion is important for two reasons: the first is the phrase, "equal treabnent" and the second is the word "all", which relates to Victorians. In his closing remarks, the honourable member for Benambra made reference to a Melbourne government, one that has not shown concern for all those for whom it has responsibility, including people who live outside Melbourne. This is not a government for all Victorians. The Minister at the table, the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs, laid claim to being the "rural Premier of Victoria", but he has failed dismally in that role. His statement was a fundamental admission that the government was not addressing the issues of rural Victoria. He indicated that he was prepared, as the Minister with the important portfolio of agriCUlture, to take on the self-appointed role as "rural Premier of Victoria". Rural Victorians welcomed his statement because it was hoped RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREA~OVERNMEN/' DISCRIMINATION
174 ASSEMBLY 30 AUGUST 1990 that perhaps for the first time some recognition would be given to the needs of all Victorians by the all-important decision-making body that allocates the resources and services of the State. As a member representing a country electorate, I should be the first to recognise that 70 per cent of the State's population lives in urban metropolitan Melbourne and therefore it is right that the majority of Budget allocations are aimed at providing adequate services for those people. However, that must be done in a manner that acknowledges the need to provide services for those who do not live in the metropolitan area. More importantly, resources must be allocated on the basis of taking into account the geographical dislocation and other disadvantages of the people who live in country areas as compared with the benefits enjoyed by their city cousins. The government has used an interesting ploy which has failed. It has attempted to divide the State, to set up an adversarial position of country versus city people. It has failed because if honourable members take the time today to walk down Bourke Street, for example, or in any other part of Melbourne, and talk to people in the street-or, more importantly, to the people in the shops-a ready acknowledgment will be heard of the importance of country people even though they are fewer in number than those who live in the city. Some 30 per cent of the State's population lives in the country but that does not relieve the government of the responsibility of providing adequate services for them. An important aspect of the Budget delivered this week has been the open acknowledgment by the Premier that the former Premier's family pledge has had to go, and that changes had to be made. Honourable members must ask the question that the people of Victoria obviously are asking-- Mr Kennedy interjected. Mr J. F. McGRATH-There is plenty of that coming. If the honourable member for Bendigo West took the cotton wool out of his ears and put it in his mouth, there is a slight chance that he might learn something! He has probably missed the train but there is some chance that he will learn something if he is prepared to listen! The government's changed attitude to the family pledge will have on impact on Victorians in general but in particular it will have an impact on country Victorians. I was interested to hear the honourable member for Benambra refer to the effect of increased petrol prices on the people of Geelong and particularly on the Labor Party members from Geelong, because the increases in petrol prices are the result of the failed economic policies of the Labor government. I should be interested to know also what the people of Bendigo or other country areas think about the petrol price increases, particularly those areas where Labor Party members have to go out and defend the government's record. I am glad that it is they and not I who will have to defend the government's policy because they have an absolutely impossible task in attempting to defend the financial performance of the government and the change of policies. Those members of the Labor Party will have to try to fill the black hole that is becoming a feature ofthe cartoons running in recent newspapers. It is interesting to note the decided shift in the media inrecenttimes. It has gone from either supporting the government or maintaining a central position to suddenly becoming constructive and forthright in its criticism of the government, and rightly so. The black hole is clear evidence that this government's financial policies have failed and we have a bandaid Budget that will not deal with the real debt in Victoria. I listened with interest to the concept raised by the honourable member for Benambra about additional budgets being brought in. It will be interesting as the months go RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREAS-GOVERNMENr DISCRIMINATION
30 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 175 by to reflect on the strategy of the new Premier as she gets her riding instructions from the Trades Hall Council. It is fairly clear that during the fonner Premier's absence some time back the Deputy Premier was publicly driven in her decision-making by John Halfpenny of the Trades Hall Council. It is now patently obvious that John Halfpenny will not just have a say; he will be leading the debate in policy development. The people of Victoria did not vote for that in 1988 when they went to the polls on the record of financial management selVed up to them through the high-powered Government Media Unit. History reveals that shortly after the 1988 election the legacies of this government started to become public knowledge. It is interesting that mem bers of the government see as laughable the fact that they were able to deceive, con and mislead the Victorian public. As Victoria today faces the greatest disaster in the political history of the Western World members of the Labor Party, who we believe are responsible people, laugh about the plight we are in. They are like an ostrich with its head in the sand; they are not prepared to accept government policies have failed and, more importantly, they are prepared to laugh about the fact that they deceived the Victorian public. That is exactly what the government has done. I suppose honourable members opposite might as well laugh-they can cry if they like-because the next election will take away any smiles they might have on their faces, and rightly so. At the next election the people will be able to make a judgment on the facts that are now known, not those that were suppressed or hidden during the 1988 election campaign. The centralisation of departments is one area that has greatly affected the functions of rural people. Taking departments from areas such as Warmambool, Horsham and other areas and putting them in places such as Geelong or Ballarat-- Mr Kennedy interjected. Mr J. F. McGRATH- They are not put in the city, but in electorates held by Labor members of Parliament. It is interesting to reflect on that point. They were never quite taken to Melbourne but the government certainly tried to bolster the very marginal support that the local members have in those areas. I guess the honourable member for Bendigo West wouid know all about marginal electorates and about the need to bolster support for a forthcoming election. It is not of any great consequence to me, but I hope he has addressed the issue of what he will do after the next election and what sort of practical contribution he might endeavour to make to his community or to Victoria as a whole. The centralisation of departments has been a major problem. It has taken away from country people, particularly those in my municipality, the opportunity to deal with decision-making powers first-hand. One could talk about health, education or planning-the list goes on and on-where it has been difficult for people to deal first-hand with decision-makers. That is a decided disadvantage. In relation to the process of regionalisation it was admitted one night on the floor of a public meeting in Warrnambool by a member of the regional office of the Ministry of Education, in answer to a question, that he did not have a charter that allowed him to take the concerns of the community that he so responsibly selVed back to the Minister. He had a responsibility to take the message of the Minister to the community, but not the reverse. That does not seem like a very good communications network. It is intended as a buffer in the hope that those people who write letters or make expensive STD telephone calls will become frustrated by the obstruction they receive at the regional offices and let issues die. That is the strategy. We are opposed to the centralisation of departments for the following reasons: firstly, centralisation protects the decision-makers and, secondly, and more importantly, RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREAS-GOVERNMENI DISCRIMINATION
176 ASSEMBLY 30 AUGUST 1990 centralisation has taken away the opportunity of people charged with the responsibility of giving service from talking to those who make the recommendations or who might even make the decisions. That is not government for all the people, it removes from a section of the community the opportunity for input into the direction the government takes and into policies that affect their lives. A classic example of the governmenCs bias, of which there are plenty, is the Premier's appointment of a special Ministerial team to look after the Pyramid depositors in Geelong. One needs no better example because, although both the Mayor of the City ofWannambool and I have requested that the tenns of reference be expanded to deal with people from other parts of Victoria who were affected by the Pyramid collapse, the Premier has clearly said, "We are not interested in those other areas, we are principally interested in Geelong". That is blatant discrimination, it is not government for all Victorians and that goes to the very heart of this motion. The Wannambool community lost $40 or $50 million in Pyramid and it gets that sort of answer from the Premier. That is a disgrace and in itself evidence enough that the motion deserves the support of the House. It is an absolute disgrace when one considers the towns of Shepparton, Baimsdale and probably Bendigo and other places; why should people in these places not have an opportunity of having an input or contact with the Ministerial team? Does it have something to do with the fact that there are very marginal seats in Geelong? That is what it is all about and that is why this action is so blatant. The Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs shakes his head. He can shake his head all he likes; the reality is that the Premier has refused to enlarge the tenns of reference to service the community of Victoria and that is an absolute disgrace. The honourable member for Bendigo West supports that position. He should go back to Bendigo and tell Pyramid depositors about it because he is a disgrace as well. Mr Kennedy- What's your policy? Mr J. F. McG RA TB-When we come to government after the next election our policy will be for all Victorians and not just for those who support the ostriches on the other side of the House who have their heads in the sand. What more blatant example could one find to support the motion than the Premier's appointment of that task force? There can be no more compelling argument in support of the motion. If one considers the effects of the decisions on and the talk about petrol prices one can appreciate the tremendous anomaly that has existed for the past seven or eight years because of this government's failure to interfere in petrol prices. The government is happy to interfere with consumer prices of supennarket goods and with a whole range of other issues. Honourable members may remember that the provisions of the Essential Services Act were implemented when the farmers went on strike about the milk issue. But, because petrol prices do not directly affect the majority of their constituents, the various Labor Premiers and the Ministers responsible for prices have been totally silent. They have not been prepared to act. The honourable member for Bendigo West interjects. He is sitting on the front bench, he is out of order, out ofms place and out of his mind. Does he support country Victorians having to pay 12 to 15 cents a litre more for petrol than do city people? Mr Kennedy interjected. Mr J. F. McGRATB-Already a policy has been established. I know the honourable member for Bendigo West cannot read but perhaps the honourable member for Wantima RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREAS-GOVERNMENf DISCRIMINATION
30 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 177 could read it for him. I will get that policy and she can read it for the honourable member. The policy equally distributes petrol prices as a proportion of the cost of delivery. Mrs Hirsh-Is that coalition policy? Mr J. F. McG RA TH-The maximum freight charge for delivery of fuel from Melbourne to Mildura is 2.1 cents; yet, Labor Ministers and Premiers are prepared to sit on the fence while people outside that area pay up to 15 cents a litre more for fuel. That is not government for all Victoria! Perhaps I should call on first aid for some cotton wool to put in the mouth of the honourable member for Bendigo West; I have responded to his inteIjections, but his mouth is still banging open and shut very loudly. The ACTING SPEAKER (Mr Shell~Order! The honourable member for Warmambool should ignore inteIjections; they are disorderly. Mr J. F. McGRATH-The inteIjections are difficult to ignore because they are so stupid. Petrol pricing is fundamental to the lives of all Victorians but particularly to those who live outside the metropolitan area, and in areas that do not have the population base to support expansive population systems. Those residents, of necessity, must use their own vehicles; they pay their own way and are not being subsidised through a public transport system. They pay the full cost for fuel from their own pockets. The honourable member for Benambra spoke about the hospitals disgrace. Probably there would be no better example of what has happened to the delivery of health services in Victoria than--- Mr F. P. Sheehan interjected. Mr J. F. McG RA TH-The deputation from the honourable member for Ballarat South was responsible for removing funds from the Portland and District Hospital. That hospital will now not be funded. Obviously he does not know the facts. Mr F. P. Sheehan interjected. Mr. J. F. McGRATH-The hospital at Portland was built in the late 1940s and is ready to fall down. The conditions could best be described as deplorable. The government has continually promised funding. It even allocated funds but it subsequently shifted the funding from that hospital. Victorians are on hospital waiting lists lining up for beds; they are waiting for surgery. Patients are being asked to leave hospitals because acute care beds are needed. I am certain honourable members on both sides have received representations from people who have been moved out of hospitals. The health policy of the government has failed. Unachievable and unrealistic financial penalties are being imposed. The situation is a disgrace. The government moved quickly on the decentralisation policy of the last Liberal government and in many of its publications it has chosen to criticise that decentralisation program. Yet, it is interesting to note; under programs instituted by the former Labor government in New South Wales and the present Labor government in South Australia those States have good decentralisation policies. Their policies are so effective they are attracting business across the borders. Victoria is losing jobs to South Australia. Honourable members may be aware that the Fletcher Jones and Staff Pty Ltd factory at Warrnambool had intended to expand its operations and to create a further 120 jobs. However, the Victorian government was unable to offer any assistance to that company. The South Australian government met the travel RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREAS-GOVERNMENT DISCRIMINATION
178 ASSEMBLY 30 AUGUST 1990 costs of that company's executives to move to Adelaide, and provided many decentralisation incentives to enable that expansion to occur in South Australia. The proposed 120 jobs have now been increased, to the benefit of South Australia. The Victorian government has reason to change its policy on decentralisation which, ironically, is against the policies of its fonner Labor colleagues in New South Wales, and against its South Australian colleagues. Its policy is detrimental to Victorian industry and employment. It appears all the policies that have been put in place by the Victorian government have either failed or are rapidly failing. Mr Kennedy-You still don't have policies, though. Mr J. F. McGRATH-Victorians are looking for an alternative, as was clear from the results of the last Federal election. Constituents of at least the three Federal electorates of McMillan, Bendigo and Ballarat made their views clear-they do not want a Labor government. Decisions taken by the Victorian government were not necessarily as a result of Federal policies. As a result of Victoria 's policies, the government has failed to deliver on its marvellous catch phrase of social justice. What is social justice about? Many Victorians wonder about social justice. One of the babies of this government has been equal opportunity and social justice for the Aboriginal community. The government stands absolutely condemned on its social justice policy for Aborigines. For eighteen months I have been waiting for a Minister for Aboriginal Affairs from the Victorian government to visit my electorate and talk to the Aboriginal community. Mr Kennedy interjected. Mr J. F. McGRATH-The honourable member for Bendigo West may think it is funny but the government has no accountability for funding that was made to the two factions within the Aboriginal community. One of the grandest Aboriginal elder statesmen to have ever lived in Victoria is living with his family in poverty because the government does not have the mettle to approach a very difficult issue. That is sad and reflects on the government's inability to apply itself to social"justice. There is no better evidence of the need for social justice and equal opportunity than the case I have put before successive Victorian Ministers responsible for Aboriginal affairs, but I have failed to receive any response. I will not give up. It is sad also that the government has gone out of its way to use the Aboriginal community as a target for its funding, to give Aborigines a better lifestyle, when the government has not ensured that the same benefit is available for all Victorians. I am asking for social justice to be distributed to all the people. I question a whole range of issues. What is social justice about? Where does it start and where does it end? It has failed dismally in Aboriginal affairs in my area. Perhaps as a result of what I have said today the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs may be prepared to mention that point to his colleague, the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in the other place, because it is a sad state of affairs that honourable members on both sides of the House must be concerned about, but to this stage nobody has been prepared to bite the bullet. I am talking about the fourth priority under the social justice strategy. What has the government done about children in poverty, or the long-tenn unemployed? I refer particularly to the shift in the average age of the unemployed, which is a tremendous problem because increasing numbers of people are becoming unemployed at the age of 30 years or more. They face long-tenn unemployment and do not have many opportunities. For example, there are no technical and further education facilities in Swan Hill or Kerang for people to be retrained. RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREA~OVERNMENT DISCRIMINATION
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Those people are virtually destined for a life of unemployment from the age of 30 or 35 years. Many of them have families and responsibilities for debts they have incurred. What is the government doing for them apart from the social justice strategy? It is not doing enough. The loss of dignity and security of older people is also a significant problem. Older persons lack security for a range of reasons. All sorts of facilities are being withdrawn from them, yet the government has the audacity to spell out what it is doing in a glossy-covered book. I have also referred to people's rights. What about the rights of the elder statesmen of the Aboriginal community? Mr Kennedy interjected. Mr J. F. McGRA TH-I shall be interested to hear the contribution of the honourable member for Bendigo West. The ACTING SPEAKER (Mr Shell}-Order! The honourable member for Bendigo West is out oforder in interjecting, and I remind him that he is out of his place. The honourable member for Warrnambool should ignore interjections which are disorderly. Mr Gude interjected. The ACTING SPEAKER-Order! Provocation is no excuse for honourable members to respond to interjections. Mr J. F. McGRATH-Before the interruption I was dealing with the fourth priority of the social justice strategy. I cannot help but think there ought to be a fifth priority to ensure that the previous four priorities are delivered to all Victorians because the government has failed dismally in delivering those priorities. The events of the past few days really only reach the apex of a whole range of problems of which the people of Victoria are now very much aware. Before I close my remarks to give the Minister the opportunity of responding on behalf of the government, I should like to refer briefly to the drug and alcohol abuse services of government and non-government agencies throughout the State. A service that has been established in Warrnaa"1l.bool will have difficulty in continuing to operate because of the heavy restraints that have been applied. Given that government initiatives have meant additional work, I should like to see at least the recent allocations to those services retained because the issue has been effectively addressed only recently.The clientele for those services is increasing in numbers. There are now needle exchange programs, methadone programs and drink-driving programs, all of which are making more demands on people operating them. It is vital that the government continue to provide those services. Some of the agencies providing them will have to curtail their activities because of funding restraints. Mr Kennedy interjected. Mr J. F. McGRA TH-I cannot resist responding to that interjection. I am disappointed that the honourable member for Bendigo West chooses to laugh and make jokes about the serious drug and alcohol abuse problems facing our youth, not to mention the problems caused by AIDS. He does not take those issues seriously, which is a sad reflection on the Labor Party. Honourable members ought to be concerned about this issue; I am sure the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs is. I ask him to take note of the comments I have made because they are of concern to various communities, particularly in country Victoria, where the National Party is attempting to maintain services. I commend the motion and the honourable member for Benambra for moving it.I believe he has hit the nail right on the head. RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREAS-GOVERNMENT DISCRIMINATION
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Mr ROWE (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs)-As has been indicated, the motion moved today by the honourable member for Benambra has been listed on the Notice Paper since October 1988. In moving the motion and entering the debate the honourable member spoke at length, supposedly on the issue, but his contribution was long on rhetoric and short on specifics, which was unfortunate. I am sure Parliament and the people of Victoria would be interested to hear the coalition's view on how it would provide services to rural and regional Victoria, but they did not hear those views today. The government welcomes the opportunity of being involved in this debate on its record of providing services to rural and regional Victoria. It is a fine record of which the government is proud. 1 am personally disappointed in the contribution by the honourable member for Benambra because he is a member from a rural electorate, and 1 should have thought he would come forward with specifics and policy initiatives, even if the coalition parties cannot produce programs and policies. Their Leader has said they are still considering those. The media and the people of Victoria would like details of those programs and policies, particularly given the fact that they will affect 1 million people living outside the metropolitan area. That is the crux of the issue today. 1 entered the House today wanting to take part in debate on this important issue but 1 was disappointed in the way the debate proceeded. The motion has been on the Notice Paper for a long time, and 1 thought the opposition parties might have got their act together and been able to put forward a set of policies and programs. Any talk about Opposition members taking places on the government benches is hollow because they would not be able to do the hard work that is required to resolve the issues between the coalition parties. The government is proud of its record of achievement in rural Victoria, for very good reasons: firstly, this is a government for all Victorians; it always has been and always will be. We do not make decisions for interest groups. Services are provided on a needs basis. Mr J. F. McGrath-Tell us about John Halfpenny! Mr ROWE- Are you agreeing with that? It does not matter where the need is-whether it is for a new school or sporting facility in Warrnambool or Essendon. The government has provided services on the basis of need and that is the only criterion that any government should follow. The ACTING SPEAKER (Mr Shell)-Order! The honourable member for Warmambool is out of order in inteIjecting. The Chair provided him protection during his contribution, and 1 expect him to show to the Minister the same courtesy that was extended to him. Mr ROWE -I believe every government should use that criterion for the allocation of scarce resources. We know resources are scarce. These are difficult economic circumstances. This is a tough Budget and tough economic circumstances prevail not only in Victoria but also throughout the country and the international arena in which we compete. The government knows that. The Budget has faced up to those issues. People in rural Victoria, and certainly the clients of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, understand that. They know we cannot get by without making these tough decisions. The global issues with which Victoria is faced and with which the Budget has had to deal have been approached in a sensible manner. We have to pay our way. There is no doubt about that To do that we must ensure that we have a range of policies that reduce outlays and expenditure. That is a requirement in the current economic environment. We need to increase taxes and charges at an appropriate level and we must have a credible long-term debt RURAL AND PROVINCIAL AREAS-GOVERNMENJ DISCRIMINATION
30 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 181 management strategy. All these issues need to be dealt with so that confidence in our financial institutions is restored in the Victorian community. That is being done. It is unfortunate that the honourable member for Benambra ignored those issues. He ignored the issue of asset realisation through the sale of pine plantations. The proceeds of the sales will be used to retire debt. That demonstrates a most responsible attitude, which I support strongly. That is what the government is doing: it is retiring the debt in this State. That is the appropriate action to take. Honourable members interjecting. The ACTING SPEAKER (Mr Shell)--Order! I do not wish to have to remind the House again that interjections are disorderly. Mr ROWE--The Opposition does not like what the government is doing: selling pine plantations to retire debt. The Opposition now criticises that. It is now criticising the level of debt in this State and objecting to the action being taken by the government. It is a very interesting disclosure that honourable members have heard today. Unfortunately the Opposition is not prepared to tackle the fundamental issues to which this motion relates. The Opposition is strong on rhetoric but it is not prepared to come forward with programs and policies of its own. With respect to the major area of activity in Victoria that affects rural people, agriculture and primary production, certainly the Budget applies a nominal increase in outlays of some $2.3 million, which represents a real reduction of some 3.9 per cent. I am pleased to note the acknowledgment from the Deputy Leader of the National Party that it does represent a real reduction of 3.9 per cent, because yesterday there was some disagreement about the actual level. I am glad he now accepts the figure that I have provided. As I said, that will be covered by reducing activity in Melbourne and applying resources more effectively in rural and regional Victoria. That is an important activity for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to be involve in because the department is a leading agency in the delivery of services to rural Victoria. The government intends to achieve its goal in this regard by abolishing an inner Melbourne regional office that employs some twenty people and commercialising the depamnenfs publications, which are located mainly in Melbourne. I place on record that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs is delivering its services where it counts: at the coalface, for the benefit of primary producers and fanners in this State. As I have said in debate with the shadow Treasurer on an ABC radio program, the shadow Treasurer still persists in putting forward the case in the media- and particularly on the 7.30 Report-that the department is increasing its allocation for corporate services and cutting services in core research and extension services to farmers. I explained in that debate on ABC radio that he is incorrect. The allocation for corporate services is up because the responsibility for rents has been transferred from the Department of Property and Services to my department. However, the honourable member for Brighton will not recognise that and insists on peddling false figures. If he examined the facts he would understand that the corporate services wages Bill for the department is down by $500 000. That shows that the Opposition cannot get its act together, whether it be on Budget figures or on the formulation of policies for the benefit of rural and regional Victoria. Honourable members interjecting FORMAT OF BIUS
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The ACTING SPEAKER-Order! The Deputy Leader of the National Party should not disrupt the smooth running of the House. I remind him that interjections are disorderly. Mr ROWE-It was interesting to hear the comments of the honourable member for Warrnambool about centralisation. I hope he was not reflecting on regionalisation, which has been the linchpin of the activities of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs across a number of agencies. When he was expressing his opposition to centralisation I hope he was not reflecting on regionalisation, because under this government regionalisation of activities has occurred right across the public sector, and so it should. That is important because under previous Liberal governments country people were required to come to Melbourne to deal with major State government instrumentalities. That is not the case today. During the term of my predecessor in the agriculture portfolio moves were made to regionalise the department's activities. There are now regional headquarters in each major centre of the State: in the North West Region at Horsham, in the South West Region at Ballarat, in the North Central Region at Bendigo, in the North East Region at Wangaratta, and in the Gippsland Region at Traralgon. I believe the regional operations are important. It is important to ensure that country people have real access to government services. I hope the coalition has a consistent policy on regionalisation and that it does not seek to reverse it; it would be a tragedy for country Victoria if it did so. When the Opposition comes up with its policy I hope it will support the government's activities in continuing to regionalise government services. I refer now to the government's initiative of establishing a Rural Affairs Committee of Cabinet. That is an important move. Mr Gude interjected. Mr ROWE-It is interesting to hear the honourable member for Hawthorn ridiculing it. It is clear that he does not get out into country Victoria. The establishment of the Rural Affairs Committee of Cabinet is a tremendous government achievement. The committee meets on a regular basis at various locations outside Melbourne. It meets for two days at a time and receives deputations. Mr Lieberman interjected. Mr ROWE-I am disappointed that the honourable member for Benambra should ridicule this concept. It is appropriate for the committee to continue to meet outside Melbourne because, over the two-day period, it receives up to 200 deputations on matters that range across a number of portfolios. It means that rural Victorians have direct access not only to departmental officers but also to Ministers. The ACTING SPEAKER (Mr Shell)- Order! The time has now arrived for me to interrupt General Business. The Minister may continue his remarks when the matter is next before the Chair. The House will resume at 2 p.m., when Government Business will take precedence. Sitting suspended 1 p.m. until 2.4 p.m.
FORMAT OF BILLS The SPEAKER-Order! I wish to direct the attention of the House to the slightly changed format in the printing of Bills. There are minor changes to the setting-out of the clauses. Where the clause numbers now appear alongside the headings and subclauses they are now more prominently numbered to provide ease of reference. References to other statutes in the text of clauses are shown in bold type, and the spacing and print is expanded. I am advised BUSINESS FRANCHISE ACTS (FURTHER AMENDMENT) BIU
30 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 183 that these experimental changes to the fonnat of Bills are designed to provide easier reference to various provisions and for the Bills to be visually convenient to the reader.
BUSINESS FRANCHISE ACTS (FURTHER AMENDMENT) BILL Second reading Mr KENNAN (Attomey-General}-I move: That this Bill be now read a second time. The main purpose of the Bill is to implement two of the revenue measures identified in the Budget-increases in tobacco franchise fees and petroleum franchise fees. For the past few years the Federal and State health Ministers have been discussing measures to reduce smoking. At the last health Ministers conference a recommendation was made that the tobacco franchise fees should be increased throughout Australia as a disincentive to smokers, and more particularly young people tempted to take up smoking. This position is backed by research undertaken for the Anti -Cancer Council of Victoria which shows that there is strong support for increases in tobacco tax if money raised is earmarked for activities to discourage children from smoking or to replace tobacco advertisements through sports sponsorship. The Bill proposes to increase the ad valorem rate for the calculation of the tobacco franchise fee from 35 per cent to 50 per cent, which will add approximately 28 cents to the price of a packet of twenty cigarettes. It has been estimated that the economic cost of smoking to Victoria is $708 million of which $238 million is to hospital and other health costs. Revenues raised will help pay for those costs which are currently paid for by the Consolidated Fund. The increase in revenue is estimated at $60 million in 1990-91 and $90 million in a full year. A technical amendment is proposed to maintain the percentage of the wholesale price now paid under the Act to the Victorian Health Promotion Fund at 5 per cent. That fund has sponsored a wide range of activities from research to health initiatives to sports sponsorship, all of which are aimed at discouraging smoking. Activities as wide ranging as a project on health in primary schools; the very successful Quit campaign; sponsorship of the Surf Riders Association program to discourage young women smoking; and the sponsorship of sport have been initiated. The Bill also amends provisions of the Business Franchise (Tobacco) Act 1984 to prevent the payments of refunds to persons who have passed on overpaid fees to customers unless they in turn pass on the refunds. The Bill also proposes an increase from 7.8 to 11 per cent in the ad valorem rate applied to sales of motor spirit for calculation of petroleum franchise fees. No change is proposed to the rate on diesel fuel-presently 11 per cent-and the present exemption for diesel fuel for off-road use remains. The increase in revenues is estimated at $57 million in 1990-91 and $86 million in a full year. The Bill provides for the establishment of a trust account in the public account. Each year an amount will be paid into this trust account which will be the equivalent of the revenue from these increased petrol fees. The purpose of this trust account is to pay Farrow group depositors their entitlements under the government undertaking and for debt management. Under the terms of the B ill no revenues will be paid into this trust account until the 1991-92 financial year. The purpose of the lag of one financial year is that the government has already provided for an amount of $55 million in the Budget before the House to meet the government's commitment in respect of the first distribution to depositors in the Farrow group. FINANCIAL INSTrrUI'IONS DUTY (FURTHER AMENDMFNT) BIU
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In future years this fund will be used initially for the purpose of facilitating further payouts to depositors of the Farrow group under the government undertaking. This mechanism of appropriation of these revenues will provide a degree of comfort and certainty to those entitled to distribution. Although this fund will be used initially for the purposes of facilitating payments to depositors, once the government has met its obligations to the Farrow group depositors, proceeds of the fund will be used to reduce debt, a key plank of the government's Budget strategy. The proposed provisions contained in the Bill do not enable any other uses of the revenue. It is intended that the increases of both the tobacco and petroleum franchise fees apply to licence fees payable from December 1990. I commend the Bill to the House. Debate adjourned on motion of Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton). Debate adjourned until Thursday, 13 September.
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS DUTY (FURTHER AMENDMENT) BILL Second reading Mr ROPER (Treasurer)-I move: That this Bill be now read a second time. The purpose of this Bill is to implement the Budget measure to increase the rate of financial institutions duty from 0.03 per cent to 0.06 per cent from 1 November 1990. The maximum duty of $600 on a deposit of $2 million will correspondingly increase to $1200. No change is proposed for the special rate applying to short-tenn dealing accounts. This is one of several revenue-raising measures which have become necessary following a sustained contraction in the States' revenue bases. The Commonwealth has made it clear that it believes Victoria in particular has been too restrained in its taxes and that it now needs to look at increases to match those in the other States. This year the Commonwealth has again cut its grants for the Victorian Budget sector in real tenns-for the sixth year in a row. If Victoria had maintained its 1983-84 share of Commonwealth revenues it would have received $2.8 billion more this year, and an accumulated total of $11.5 billion more since 1983-84. In addition to these cutbacks in revenue from the Commonwealth, the decline in activity in the property market, especially in Sydney and Melbourne, has caused significant falls in State revenues in this area. In Victoria there was a reduction of more than $200 million in land transfers duty in 1989-90, and a further reduction is expected this year. Other States face similar problems and following the Premiers Conference considerable work was undertaken with the other States, in particular with New South Wales, so that a coordinated approach to addressing the problem could be achieved. On 20 July 1990 Victoria and New South Wales each announced their intention to increase financial institutions duty to 0.06 per cent. This maintains the parity between the two largest States in the rate of financial institutions duty. The estimated revenue from the increase is $102 million in 1990-91 and $175 million in a full year. UQUOR CONfROL (FEES) BIU
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The Bill also prevents the payments of refunds to persons who have passed on overpaid fees to customers unless they also in turn pass on the refunds. I commend the Bill to the House. Debate adjourned on motion of Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton). Debate adjourned until Thursday, 13 September:
LIQUOR CONTROL (FEES) BILL Second reading Mr KENNAN (Attorney-General}-I move: That this Bill be now read a second time. Since the proclamation in May 1988 of the Liquor Control Act 1987 a significant expansion and diversification has occurred within the liquor and hospitality industry. The community and the industry have been advantaged by the initiatives achieved under the Act. Since 1983 there has been no percentage increase in licence fees, making the licence fees in this State the lowest in Australia. The Bill addresses this situation by bringing Victoria's licence fees more into line with the fees payable in other States, in particular South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania, where the licence fee is 11 per cent. Clause 4 amends section 113 of the Act by increasing the licence fee payable on purchases or sales of all liquor other than low-alcohol liquor from 9 per cent to 11 per cent. This applies to holders of a residential licence, a general licence, an on-premises licence, a packaged liquor licence, a club licence, licences granted to a producer or a distributor of liquor, and a limited licence where purchases for liquor other than low-alcohol liquor are $10 000 or more. The increase is to apply from I January 1991. The government remains committed to fighting the problem of alcohol abuse and intends to continue with its initiative introduced in 1986 of exempting low-alcohol liquor from licence fees. The government reiterates that this increase makes Victoria's licence fees more commensurate with the fees payable in other States of Australia. I commend the Bill to the House . .Debate adjourned on motion ofMr GUDE (Hawthorn). Debate adjourned until Thursday, 13 September.
BUILDING SOCIETIES (PRUDENTIAL STANDARDS) BILL Second reading Mr KENNAN (Attomey-General}-I move: That this Bill be now read a second time. The Bill makes a number of significant amendments to the Building Societies Act 1986. Honourable members will be aware that in May this year the government sought to amend the Building Societies Act to ensure that building societies maintained capital reserves which were adequate to support their various classes of lending activity, and to provide the BUIWING SOCIEfIES (PRUDENfIAL STANDARDS) BIU
186 ASSEMBLY 30 AUGUST 1990 responsible Minister with flexibility in detennining the capital requirements of building societies. Additionally, the amending Bill provided for building societies to pay an administration levy which would have funded heightened supervision of those societies. As honourable members will also be aware, these important amendments were not passed by the Legislative Council. Moreover, the Opposition sought to defer the amending Bill to the next session, despite warnings by the government that there should be tighter supervisory and regulatory controls. The Bill was proceeded with that session only after the government won a division against the Opposition seeking defennent of the Bill to the spring session. The Upper House then blocked the passage of key prudential requirements. There is therefore currently no capital adequacy requirement in the Act, nor is there an administration fund. Fortunately, amendments setting up a liquidity support scheme for building societies were passed. However, the government said that it would bring forward further legislation to seek to reinsert the blocked provisions. The building societies industry resisted tighter regulation in 1990 as it had in the past. Ironically, the calls for greater freedom were led by Mr Farrow as recently as June this year in a magazine advertisement calling for greater freedom from controls. Since last the government tried to tighten the regulatory framework, the necessity to do so has been highlighted by the collapse of the Farrow group of building societies. This collapse is presently the subject of a wide-ranging inquiry. However, on the infonnation currently available it is clear that there have been serious abuses of investor confidence and/or of the spirit of the Building Societies Act shown by the poor management practices of the Pyramid group. This happened while the rest of the building societies industry operated responsibly. We therefore need to change the structure of the Act and regulation to prevent so far as possible this kind of abuse occurring again. In particular, the problems caused by effectively using a building society to operate as a property investment company with a significant percentage of high risk commercial loans, the charging of up-front fees, management contracts creaming off huge amounts to two individuals and the sale of equity shares to the public by tellers on undisclosed commissions must be addressed in the main legislation and regulation. What we have seen is gross abuse of the building society culture and investor confidence by the Farrow group. Breaches of the law will be dealt with by the Habersberger inquiry. But the responsibility for immediately addressing the abuses that have occurred rests with government and Parliament to help restore confidence. The government intends to address the problems in the following ways: firstly, by imposing Reserve Bank prudential standards on building societies; secondly, by ensuring that building societies fulfil their mandate to provide finance primarily for owner-occupied housing rather than for speculative commercial investment; thirdly, by setting up a supervisory and monitoring structure centred around a body which monitors the operations of building societies through proactive supervision and consultation on a day-to-day basis and has power to apply real sanctions if standards are not met; fourthly, by setting up solvency and liquidity support schemes administered by the regulator, fifthly, by imposing maximum shareholding requirements to ensure that building societies operate in the interests of a broad range of persons, rather than those of a few individuals; sixthly, by imposing restrictions on the ability of societies to enter into management contracts and requiring a quota of non-executive directors on the board of any society. The Bill currently before the House is the first of two Bills to be introduced into Parliament to amend the 1986 Act. It is also proposed to introduce amending legislation to the friendly BUILDING SOCIEIIES (PRUDENTIAL STANDARDS) BIU
30 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 187 societies, cooperative housing and cooperation Acts, which will, ultimately, provide for a comprehensive regulatory structure for all non-bank financial intennediaries operating in Victoria. In June of this year KPMG Peat Marwick were commissioned by my department to review all non-bank financial intennediaries and to make specific recommendations on legislative refonn and on an appropriate supervisory structure involving both industry and government which could ultimately be transposed to the national level. Government has to date been provided with an interim report on building societieS and it is upon these recommendations that this Bill is based. The Bill establishes a Building Societies Reserve Board to conduct the day-to-day supervision of societies and the monitoring and setting of minimum prudential standards. The board will be largely independent of direct government involvement-although it will be subject to direction by the Minister-and will be funded through an industry levy. Board members will have appropriate industrial, commercial and financial experience and will be appointed with the approval of the Minister who may also remove a board member at any time. In order to avert any potential conflict of interest it is intended that the~e be a majority of non-industry members, the balance comprising individuals who have experience in the industry, but do not hold current positions with building societies. The board will receive monthly returns from building societies on their compliance with prudential standards and quarterly audited reports. It will have the power to appoint examiners with extensive powers to investigate any matter relating to prudential standards, and there is compliance with the Act. The Bill provides that the board may direct a society to comply with any prudential standard. KPMG Peat Marwick has recommended that the board have the power, after consultation with the Minister, to override management and directors of individual societies where it is deemed that assets of depositors are at risk and to appoint an administrator. As a transitional measure, the registrar retains these powers. The relationship between the board, the registrar and a commissioner for non-bank financial institutions will be dealt with in a second building societies amendment Bill to be introduced later this session. An essential function of the reserve board is the administration of solvency and liquidity support schemes. Compulsory contributions detennined by the reserve board are imposed upon building societies for the purpose of funding these schemes. It is intended that the industry itself ensure that societies are protected through adequate funding of the schemes. The availability of liquidity support through the reserve board will enable it to take a finn line with recalcitrant societies. The Victorian Building Societies Council will cede most of its functions to the reserve board. Industry input is to be provided by a newly constituted advisory committee. The Bill sets out Reserve Bank prudential standards encompassing capital adequacy, net liquidity, and notification of large exposures. Capital adequacy will be set at 8 per cent of the total weighted assets of a building society phased in over time. Risk-weighted capital will be measured on pennanent shares and reserves and calculated in a fashion similar if not identical to that applied by the Reserve Bank. This has been settled on the basis of the considerable research undertaken to develop the standards of the Bank of International Settlements and the need for consistent regulation between the sectors. The board has been given the power to vary a society's capital adequacy requirements if the society has undertaken excessive risks or if it considers it expedient to do so in the interests of members, depositors or creditors of the society. The net liquidity or prime assets ratio requirement compels building societies to maintain a specified level of prime assets or liquid funds. This will result in constraining the use of BUIWING SOCIETIES (PRUDENIIAL STANDARDS) BIU
188 ASSEMBLY 30 AUGUST 1990 short-tenn wholesale funds by societies and encourage greater emphasis on retail deposits, as well as providing depositors with ready access to their funds when required. Large exposures of building societies are regulated through compulsory disclosure to the reserve board, which may also prohibit a society from incurring such an exposure. The level of exposure required for disclosure will be detennined by the reserve board. In addition to the Reserve Bank prudential requirements, the Bill restricts the investment powers of societies. Fifty per cent of the assets of a society must comprise loans for approved residential purposes. It is intended that this will be defined by regulation as lending for owner-occupied housing only. The regulations will provide that "residential purposes" does not include speculative investments in motels, Gold Coast condominiums and the like. Owner-occupied, single dwellings will provide the largest proportion of building societies investments. The balance of the asset classes will be prescribed by regulation to ensure secure loan portfolios. The government has received recommendations from Peats on this issue. However, final detennination of asset classes will be determined in the process of making regulations. A maximum shareholding of 10 per cent of prescribed shares has been included in the Bill, with a power granted to the Minister to exempt societies from the requirement. This will ensure that building societies are run for the benefit of members-that is, depositors, borrowers and shareholders. Concentration of ownership was a feature of the Farrow group building societies, with the result that the societies were not run in the best interests of those people most affected by their operations. Management contracts were prohibited in the 1986 Act. However, contracts on foot at the time of the enactment of that Act were grandfathered. In the case of the Farrow group building societies, this resulted in the payment of large sums to directors, even when the societies were perfonning poorly. Management contracts are rendered void by the Bill so that the flagrant abuses by Mr Farrow and Mr Oarke of the management contract arrangements cannot be allowed to occur again. The Bill provides a mechanism to facilitate the merger building societies with friendly societies and credit cooperatives. This recognises the interdependency of these sectors and provides societies with flexibility in their long-term operations. Finally, the Bill is consistent with proposed legislation in New South Wales and South Australia and will facilitate the adoption of a unifonn scheme should the Victorian and other State governments decide to proceed with this course of action in the future. In conclusion, this Bill responds in a decisive way to the need for stringent but sensible regulation of the building societies industry. It requires building societies to be prudent and conservative in their operations and to provide lending to ordinary people seeking to acquire their own homes, and it sets up a monitoring and supervisory structure which will ensure that this takes place. I commend the Bill to the House. Debate adjourned on motion of Mrs WADE (Kew). Mr KENNAN (Attomey-General}-I move: That the debate be adjourned until Thursday, 13 September. Mrs WADE (Kew}-On the question of time, this is obviously a very technical Bill. It is brought in in the aftennath of the collapse of a number of building societies and amid great PAY-ROU TAX (AMENDMENT) BIU (No. 2)
30 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 189 hardship being suffered by a very large number of Victorians-in the vicinity of 220 000 depositors. The Bill obviously requires careful consideration. It would be most unfortunate if we had a repeat of the situation that occurred in relation to the existing Building Societies Act that was passed in~1986, which appears not to be sufficient to protect investors. I ask that the Minister undertake to give us additional time if it is required.
~ Mr KENNAN (Attorney-General) (By Ieave)-I am sure we will be reasonable about time. At this stage I suggest two weeks. I emphasise-to the House the importance of passing the Bill in the current sessional period. We do not want the sort of obstruction we had at the end of the last sessional period when we had to revisit the House. The government will be reasonable on the question of time within the confines of this sessional period. Mr SHELL (Geelong)-This is a very important Bill and there are a lot of matters in it to be addressed. Honourable members need to consider it properly, but they also need to act quickly so that no other building society can fall into the same crack as has Pyramid. We need to be able to concentrate our minds on this and forget about the other things we have to do during the week. Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton)-I endorse that view. The Bill obviously needs to be dealt with expeditiously, but there also needs to be proper consultation. It does nothing to expedite the arrangements that will be necessary to ensure that this matter is dealt with promptly for the Attorney-General consistently to misrepresent the passage of the measure during the last sessional period. Motion agreed to and debate adjourned until Thursday, 13 September.
PAY-ROLL TAX (AMENDMENT) BILL (No. 2) Second reading Mr ROPER (Treasurer)-I move: That this Bill be now read a second time. The pUrpose of the Bill is to implement Budget measures to increase the payroll tax rate, to lift the tax-free wages threshold and to modify the payroll tax concessions to exporters. The unique budgetary context in which these moves are necessary has been fully outlined elsewhere and I will not go over that ground again. Suffice to say that, given the magnitude of the problem and the constrained nature of the State's revenue base, it is necessary to increase the rate of payroll tax, the State's largest tax. Other States face similar difficulties and, indeed, the announcement of the payroll tax rate increase on 20 July 1990 coincided with a similar announcement by the New South Wales government The Bill provides for the 7 per cent rate to apply to wages paid from 1 November 1990. It also lifts the tax-free wages threshold from $320000 to $410 000 from 1 November 1990. Importantly, the Bill also provides that from 1 January 1992 the full benefit of the tax-free allowance of $500 000 will be available to all taxpayers. Once the phase-in of the new exemption arrangements is complete, taxpayers with payrolls below approximately $3.27 million will actually pay less payroll tax than under the present scale. In addition, the scale will be simpler, with a single marginal rate applying throughout the scale. At that point too, tax harmonisation will have been achieved with New South Wales STAMPS (ACCOMMODATION BUSINESS) BILL
190 ASSEMBLY 30 AUGUST 1990 in relation to payroll tax. This will be a very significant simplification for businesses with interstate operations. The immediate increase in the exemption level to $410000 will provide tax reductions from 1 November 1990 for about 5700 taxpayers with payrolls below $950000 a year, despite the increase in the nominal tax rate. Of these, about 2100 taxpayers will be released from payroll tax from 1 November 1990. The estimated additional revenue from these changes is $138 million in 1990-91 and $237 million in a full year. This estimate allows for a full year benefit of $40 million to taxpayers from the increase in the exemption level to $410000. The further cost of increasing the exemption from 1 January 1992 to $500 000 and making the full exemption available to all taxpayers is $77 million in today's terms. The Bill provides also for some changes to the payroll tax concessions for exporters in order to update and better target the scheme. The changes proposed are, essentially, to update the "base year" for the calculation of export growth from 1986-87 to 1988-89 to remove the element of assistance related to export size as distinct from growth and to limit the assistance per employer to a maximum of $50 000 a year. The effect of these changes will be to maintain the present level of assistance but target it to smaller exporters and growing exporters. The Bill includes also some technical changes to the Pay-roll Tax Act. These are outlined in the explanatory memorandum distributed with the Bill. I commend the Bill to the House. Debate adjourned on motion ofMr STOCKDALE (Brighton). Debate adjourned until Thursday, 13 September.
ST AMPS (ACCOMMODATION BUSINESS) BILL Second reading Mr CRABB (Minister for Tourism}-I move: That this Bill be now read a second time. The Stamps (Accommodation Business) Bill will provide funds to promote tourism in Victoria. For Australia, tourism has taken on monumental importance. It is Australia's fastest growing industry-employing nearly half a million people across the nation. Last year a survey by American Express estimated that the tourism-travel market is worth $2 trillion worldwide and employs one in sixteen people. In Victoria we need to recognise the enormous size of the tourism market and declare our determination to take full advantage of the great opportunities before us. Tourists are currently spending $4 billion in the State, contributing 7 percent to Victoria's gross domestic product and providing employment for 130 000 Victorians. But we cannot be complacent We must endeavour to achieve a bigger slice of the tourism cake. To achieve a greater share of the tourist dollar we must take a much more aggressive approach to marketing Melbourne and Victoria. However, this means investing more funds in tourism marketing. It is proposed that a Tourism Marketing Trust Account be established to inject new funds into the marketing of Melbourne and Victoria. This trust account will be financed from an accommodation business duty. The duty will be levied on casual lodging in places such as STAMPS (ACCOMMODATION BUSINESS) BILL
30 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 191 hotels, motels, guesthouses and so on but quite properly excluding hospitals, school boarding houses and the like, and will be payable for occupied rooms only. All funds collected through this duty will be transferred to the Tourism Marketing Trust Fund to be used solely for tourism marketing purposes. Exemptions will be provided for rooms let for under $100 each night and for accommodation businesses with fewer than 10 rooms. The Bill has built into it equity and social justice in 'addressing the needs of small business. The levy has been set at 2.5 per cent of the receipts on the accommodation costs only and in a full financial year should provide a further $7 million for the marketing of Victoria as a tourist destination. It is anticipated that about $4 million will be available in the later half of this financial year for campaigns in both the national and international arenas. There can be no doubt that the tourism industry will benefit directly from this new initiative. It ensures also that the accommodation industry, a major beneficiary of tourism marketing, makes a contribution. Our first priority with this new fund will be to develop a series of new targeted marketing campaigns focused on this State's great assets. We must begin to make "'"a coherent and cohesive effort to actively define and promote the image of Melbourne and Victoria, both nationally and internationally, to inspire the interest of visitors and swell the pride and enthusiasm of residents. We must market effectively in the overseas market. Already we have started to feel the impact of the recent Asian campaign developed by the Victorian Tourism Commission. The exposure gained through the concentrated television, press and brochure program in these markets increased overall consumer awareness and intention to travel to Melbourne and Victoria by 15 per cent to 20 per cent. Further marketing initiatives are essential to ensure that we capitalise on this newfound interest in Melbourne and Victoria. We cannot depend on the Australian Tourist Commission. Nor can we depend on joint cooperati ve activities of the Australian commission and industry. An examination of the contents of the Australian Tourist Commission travellers guides shows that only 6 per cent refers to Victoria, in comparison with 45 per cent referring to Queensland and 25 per cent to New South Wales. A quick evaluation of Australian commission's brochures shows that Victorian tourism operators participate minimally. In the New Zealand brochure, Victorian operators placed half a page, and Queensland's operators placed eight pages; in the Asian brochure there was no Victorian product but four and a falf pages of Queensland product. Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton}-On a point of order, Mr Speaker, I have been consulting with my colleagues and the issue of Ministerial responsibility for this Bill has been raised. Although the Stamps Act, which the Bill amends, is, under the Ministerial arrangements provision, the responsibility of the Treasurer, the Minister for Tourism is introducing the Bill. I understand that any Minister can introduce a Bill but I wonder whether some indication can be given of whether this is a tax Bill under the control of the Treasurer or whether the Minister is introducing it in some other capacity. The SPEAKER-Order! There is no point of order. Any Minister is competent to introduce a government Bill. STAMPS (AMENDMENf) BILL
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Mr CRABB (Minister for Tourism)-It is essential that we compete more effectively with the other States. We must ensure the overseas markets are aware of us and our product. Obviously the Australian Tourist Commission travellers guides will not do this for us. This new Tourism MaricetingTrustFund will give us the opportunity ofconducting increased overseas marlceting campaigns identifying Victorian product and specifically designed to reflect the culture of the marlcet It is no use sending local Victorian identities who are completely unknown in the United States or Asia to maricet Victoria. Nor can we afford mariceting campaigns which do not differentiate Melbourne and Victoria from the rest of Australia. The accommodation business duty ensures the accommodation industry contributes to the Tourism Mariceting Trust Fund and ensures we are better able to market Melbourne and Victoria. There can be no doubt that indirectly all Victorians will benefit from these new initiatives as any increase in tourist visitation benefits the State economy, stimulates employment opportunities and provides an incentive for investment. However, of primary importance there can be no doubt that the accommodation sector and all other players in tourism will benefit from the significant increase in marketing which this fund will provide. I commend the Bill to the House. Debate adjourned on motion of Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton). Debate adjourned until Thursday, 13 September.
ST AMPS (AMENDMENT) BILL Second reading Mr ROPER (Treasurer)-I move: That this Bill be now read a second time. The main purposes of the Bill are to extend conveyancing duty to cover transfers of businesses and to provide motor vehicle dealers with concessional stamp duty arrangements that appropriately recognise the peculiar nature of their business. In all other mainland States transfers of businesses are dutiable at nonnal conveyancing rates and, for the purpose of calculating the duty, the value of the business transferred is aggregated with other dutiable items transferred as part of the same transaction. In its assessment of appropriate relativities between the States in their financial assistance grants, the Commonwealth Grants Commission penalises Victoria for its failure to tax the transfer of businesses. Accordingly, in its 1989-90 Budget the government proposed to rectify the anomaly by taxing transfers of businesses at existing conveyancing rates, as do all other mainland States. The Opposition indicated a strong disposition not to pass the legislation and it was not proceeded with. The government again proposes to make the transfer of businesses dutiable and to aggregate the business and any land transferred as part of the same transaction for the purpose of calculating duty. However, the government's present proposal differs from the earlier one in that the impact of the duty is lessened by discounting the duty payable' by a proportion equal to half the proportion that the dutiable value of the business bears to the total dutiable consideration, up to a maximum discount of $15 000. STAMPS (AMENDMENT) BIU
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Under this proposal duty would be no higher than New South Wales rates for all businesses transferred with up to 20 per cent realty and for most businesses transferred with up to 40 per cent realty. The extension of conveyancing duty to include business transfers is estimated to increase revenues by $9 million in 1990-91 and $19 million in a full year. The other major provision of the Bill relates to stamp duty on motor vehicles registered by dealers. The present exemption in the Stamps Act relates to registrations of motor vehicles "solely for the purposes ofthe sale ofthe motor vehicle". Last year the Comptroller of Stamps concluded that this provision did not in fact exempt demonstrator cars and that the longstanding practice in that regard was wrong. Legislation was introduced into Parliament to exempt genuine demonstrator cars. That legislation would not have permitted the duty-free demonstrator cars to be used for private purposes. The provisions were strongly opposed and clearly would not have been passed by the Parliament; the government did not proceed with the Bill. On 8 June 1990 the Comptroller of Stamps sent out a circular announcing that the Stamp Duties Office practice of exempting the registration of genuine demonstrator vehicles from stamp duty would cease from 1 July 1990 on the basis of legal advice. It is clear that within the motor trade the duty-free registration of both new and used motor vehicles used by management and staff and their families had become a common practice. In many cases outrageous rorts had developed where lUXUry vehicles quite outside the range of stock in trade were registered by new car dealers duty free as so-called demonstrator cars and by used car dealers as cars that would be used only for the purposes of sale. It is noteworthy that the cars registered free of State duty were commonly the subject of the Commonwealth fringe benefits tax. Following the failure of Parliament to pass the government's legislation to define demonstrator cars the strict enforcement of the law has led to a stamp duty liability on every vehicle used by car dealers or their nominees for private purposes plus genuine demonstrator cars. Following discussion with representatives of the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce it has been agreed that it is fair in principle to levy stamp duty on vehicles available for private use by a dealer or his or her staff or their families but that the arrangements should take account of the relatively rapid turnover of such vehicles in such a way as to put dealers in a position similar to other businesses that provide vehicles for their management, staff and families. In seeking a formula to achieve this there have been extensive discussions with the industry and data has been collected on the number and frequency of turnover of such vehicles. The arrangements proposed in the Bill follow these extensive discussions although the scheme preferred by the VACC would not have allowed satisfactory audit procedures; it would have been open to evasion and has had to be rejected. The scheme proposed is in fact very fair and the government is therefore proceeding on the basis set out in the Bill. The duty rate proposed in the Bill for new cars is one-tenth of the normal duty rate applicable. The duty is to be paid on each car as from the date of registration and again after four months if the car is still held by the dealer. In the case of used cars the government has accepted the industry's claim that all vehicles in stock are driven in rotation by staff to keep them roadworthy and that as a matter of practicability this entails some private use. The fonnula adopted thus applies duty at a low Spring Session 1990-7 WORKS AND SERVICES (ANCIUARY PROVISIONS, 1990-91, No. 2) BIU
194 ASSEMBLY 30 AUGUST 1990 rate to all used cars held by a dealer. The proposed rntes are $2.50 for each registered vehicle taken into stock and valued at up to $20 000 and 7 cents in every $200 or part thereof for all cars taken into stock and valued at over $20 ()()() for each quarter they are held by the dealer. The scheme does not impose duty on trucks, buses and commercial trailers as they are not vehicles subject to significant private use. The duty to be collected from dealers under this proposal is estimated to be about $2.5 million in a full year. Under the present law much more revenue would be collected although it is difficult to estimate because clearly dealers would modify their practices when faced with full duty on each registrntion of a car used for private purposes however briefly the vehicle is held. The Bill provides for a stamp duty exemption on the registration oftaxis-M50s-especially equipped to transport people in wheelchairs. The cost to revenue is estimated at $72 ()()() for 1990-91 and $100 000 for a full year. The stamp duty exemption will provide an incentive for taxi operators to opernte M50 vehicles and thereby increase the level of service to people in wheelchairs. It will be a condition of registrntion that priority be given to wheelchair users at all times. VIC ROADS will pay M50 operators an additional $3 a wheelchair trip to encournge compliance with the conditional registration. The Bill includes also some technical amendments which are outlined in the explanatory memorandum distributed with the Bill. In particular, the Bill prevents the payments of refunds to persons who have passed on overpaid duty to customers unless they also pass on the refunds. I commend the Bill to the House. Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton)-On a point of order, Mr Speaker, I understand that it may be technically in order for the Treasurer to be introducing a Bill that covers substantively the tenitory covered by item No. 20 under Orders of the Day, Government Business, on the Notice Paper, the Stamps (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, but I request the Chair to seek from the Treasurer an indication of his intentions in relation to these Bills because clearly some difficulties will arise in having two matters simultaneously before the House covering the same matters in substance. Mr ROPER (Treasurer)-On the point of order, Mr Speaker, clearly the House will have to determine which Bill it is considering on conclusion of the second-reading debate, and that will be done after discussion with the other parties. When the House comes to the end of the second-reading debate it will be dealing with only one Bill. Debate- adjourned on motion of Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton). Debate adjourned until Thursday, 13 September.
WORKS AND SERVICES (ANCILLARY PROVISIONS, 1990-91, No. 2) BILL Second reading Mr ROPER (Treasurer)-I move: That this Bill be now read a second time. The Bill provides for non-specific appropriation matters, mainly related to certain works and services expenditure in the Department of Conservation and Environment and the Rural Water Commission, but includes also one section related to education. MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIU
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Mr BILDSTIEN (Mildura)-On a point of order, Mr Speaker, I realise the Treasurer is anxious to get through this long second-reading address, but I did not hear a single word he said. The SPEAKER-Order! There is no point of order. I was listening and I was able to understand every word said by the Treasurer. Mr ROPER (Treasurer)-For the benefit of the honourable member for Mildura, I shall start the paragraph again: The Bill provides for non-specific appropriation matters, mainly related to certain works and services expenditure in the Department of Conservation and Environment and the Rural Water Commission, but includes also one section related to education. The former Department of Water Resources has been integrated into the Department of Conservation and Environment and this change is reflected in the Bill. The clauses in the Bill have the same function as those included in the Works and Services (Ancillary Provisions, 1990-91, No. 1) Act. It is appropriate that this Bill and the Appropriation Bill be debated jointly to facilitate consideration of the matters contained i,n them and joint debate will, therefore, be proposed. I commend the Bill to the House. Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton)-On a point oforder, Mr Speaker, Standing Orders require that speeches in this House be made in English. I do not believe the Treasurer's speech met that requirement. Mr Kennett-It also makes a mockery of the place, but you don't care about that. Debate adjourned on motion of Mr STOCKDALE (Brighton). Debate adjourned until Thursday, 13 September.
MARGARINE (REPEAL) BILL Committee Resumed from 29 August; further discussion of clause 1 and Mr W. D. McGRATH'S amendment: 1. Clause 1, line 3, after "repeal" insert "section 7 of'. Mr W. D. McGRATH (Lowan)-The Committee may recall that the amendment I moved to clause 1 on behalf of the opposition parties sought to remove from the existing Act the clause relating to the quota of margarine that can be manufactured in Victoria, an amount of 5180 tonnes. The Opposition believes the quota provision or restriction on production has outlived its time and therefore agrees that the production or manufacture of margarine in Victoria should be deregulated as proposed in the Margarine (Repeal) Bill. The Opposition believes in this day and age it is inappropriate to abolish the Margarine Act and that quality standards and safeguards, as the honourable member for Ripon suggests, should remain. In moving the amendment I put forward a fair and reasonable argument on behalf of the opposition parties. I believe we allowed the Minister a very real safeguard in relation to health standards in Victoria. It was disappointing to hear in the Minister's response that he was not interested at all in trying to maintain standards of margarine production. We have evidence from the grains council of the Victorian Farmers Federation and from other sources suggesting that the use of locally grown oilseeds-rape, safflower or sunflower MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIlL
196 ASSEMBLY 30 AUGUST 1990 seeds-would give Victorian growers the opportunity ofproducing a crop that could generate jobs and the manufacture of margarine in Victoria. At present most of the oilseed is crushed in Victoria and transported to New South Wales for production. Following production it comes back to Victoria mostly as polyunsaturated table margarine. That is basically the way we want it; we want to retain that standard. The Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs, who has always portrayed himself as being the Premier ofcountry Victoria, trying to uphold the conditions of agriculture, should be fighting the case for the farming community. We gave him the ball and he dropped it. He let the catch go; it will go straight through and open up margarine production in Victoria to imported palm oil. There will be saturation of the market by a substandard product. As the honourable member for Gippsland South interjects, the Minister is not kicking any goals at all. As the honourable member for Gippsland East said last night, the type of margarine that will be produced and put on the market will resemble soap. Mr Gavin-It is for industrial purposes. Mr W. D. McGRATH-I take up the interjection of the honourable member for Coburg who says it is for industrial purposes. Ifpeople want large packages of margarine for cooking and industrial purposes it is already there. We are talking about protecting table margarine-the margarine one spreads on one's sandwich and uses at the table. It is important to retain that qUality. Under the Margarine Act, although it may not be perfect, at least one has had a chance of retaining that qUality. If we as farmers are to survive it will depend on our ability to produce quality foodstuffs. Gone are the days when we can talk just about quantity. There is a big difference between quantity and qUality. One advantage we have in Australia relates to qUality. With our environment-we have plenty of sWlshine and so forth-we have a big advantage over our overseas counterparts. The amendment is proposed by the Opposition in good faith; it is not trying to play politics at all. It is very disappointing to see the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs, who should be representing the fanning industry in Victoria, turn his back on the amendment. Mr MAUGHAN (Rodney)-I support the remarks made by the honourable member for Lowan. I share his concern at the lack of concern by the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs for maintaining quality control on our margarine products. The dairying industry has no problem with the quantity restriction being removed but, as the honourable member for Lowan pointed out, it is most important that we have quality control. In explaining the implications of the recent Budget the Minister stressed the commitment of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to cleaner agriculture. I fully support that position, but in another area we should be looking at the quality control of products that go into margarine manufacture. It is only fair to expect that the ingredients used in margarine manufacture in Victoria should be of a high standard and locally produced, rather than imported oils that come into the country without the quality control we can have in Victoria. The quantity restrictions are no problem and we do not have any argument with that. I stress again the vital importance of maintaining control over the quality of the ingredients that go into the manufacture of margarine in Victoria. Mr GA VIN (Coburg)-The honourable members for Lowan and Rodney are seeking to have repealed section 7 of the Margarine Act dealing with quotas, which would mean that all other sections of the Act would still apply. Part of their argument concerns cheap imported palm oils. The honourable member does not seem to realise that imported palm oils are MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIU
30 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 197 saturated oils and are used only for cooking and in industrial margarine; they are not used for table or polyunsaturated margarines. The argument is therefore totally fallacious. Victorian oilseeds will be used only for table and polyunsaturated margarines and the argument about imported palm oils is fallacious. The second argument is that the packaging, labelling and compositional sections of the Act have to be maintained. The honourable member does not seem to realise that other States do not have these sorts of things either. Mr W. D. McGrath-They do so. Mr GAVIN-They do not. Other States rely on the food standards code, which applies in all other States, and about which there are no complaints from consumers. Ifthe Opposition wants to have any additional powers it can use the Weights and Measures Act of Victoria, which covers these things anyway. If the Opposition thinks there is a weakness that Act can be used. The final point I wish to make about the Opposition's proposal is that it obviously has not gone back to look at the Act. If it did so it would realise how silly it is. All it is saying is that Parliament should repeal section 7. Really one should look at section 8, which deals with pennits to manufacture margarine for export. I shall quote it because the situation is ludicrous. Section 8 (1) of the Margarine Act states: Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act or in any licence- (a) the Minister may. on application being made in the prescribed form and on payment of any prescribed fee, grant to the holder of a licence a special permit authorising him to manufacture or pack for export beyond the Commonwealth of Australia such quantity of margarine for such period as is specified in the permit; That means that if a manufacturer wishes to export, he must rush to the Minister and ask for a pennit. Section 8 (1) (b) states: · .. the holder of the licence may in accordance with the conditions of the permit manufacture the margarine for export. That means that the Minister can put conditions on the manufacturer, which is ridiculous in this day and age. The Opposition is supposedly against deregulation, yet it suggests that the section should be abolished. Section 8 (2) (b) states that every such special permit: · .. shall contain such conditions as the Minister determines to ensure that none of the margarine manufactured thereunder shall be sold or distributed for use within the Commonwealth of Australia and such other conditions as are prescribed; In other words, if a manufacturer exports margarine, he cannot sell that product within Australia. That provision would continue to apply if the proposed amendment were accepted. Section 8 (2) (h) states that every such special permit: · .. may be cancelled by the Minister upon breach of any of the conditions thereof. If an exporter has conditions imposed on him and the Minister believes he has not adhered to them, the licence can be withdrawn. Section 8 (3) states: Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any condition of any such special permit shall be guilty of an offence against this Act. MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIU
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Apparently the Opposition wants to return to medieval times by removing that section. It would be dreadful if the Upper House were so convinced. Ifthat happened, the poor Victorian manufacturers who wished to export would have conditions imposed on them by the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Although the present Minister will not apply conditions, future Ministers may return to medieval times by applying ludicrous conditions and restrictions on exporters in an effort to prevent the exportation of margarine.
Mr AUSTIN (Ripon~I support the amendment moved by the Deputy Leader of the National Party. The attitude of the Opposition has been expressed clearly by the honourable member for Lowan. The comments of the honourable member for Coburg demonstrate that the knowledge of Labor Party backbenchers is sadly lacking. The Opposition proposes the removal of the restriction on the amount of margarine that can be processed in Victoria. The amendment would remove the quota, with the result that no restriction would apply on the amount of margarine that could be produced in Victoria. The present quota of 5180 tonnes has existed for some time to protect the dairy industry. Solid grounds now exist for that protection to be removed. Provided that certain safeguards are in place to ensure the quality of the ingredients in margarine to be produced, the dairy industry will not suffer following the removal of that quota. Unfortunately, yesterday's Daily Hansard has not yet been printed but, from memory, yesterday the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs said-and I think his remarks were supported by the honourable member for Coburg-that the safeguards were unnecessary. The Minister also said that the safeguards did not exist in legislation in other States. My information is that all States have legislative provisions similar to those in the Victorian Margarine Act to licence margarine production and control the content of table margarine, as distinct from industrial margarine, which is made from tallow. Important safeguards exist in the Act that the government wants to repeal. The OppoSition suggests the quota may be removed, but at least the remainder of the Act should remain so that safeguards exist for the quality of the finished product and the ingredients that may be used in future margarine production. I support the amendment.
Mr HARROWFIELD (Mitcham~I oppose the amendment. The Opposition suggests that margarine manufacturers should be let out of gaol but that they should continue to have their hands tied behind their backs and their feet bound. The removal of the Margarine Act is only one part of the package required to enable Victorian manufacturers to compete on not only the national market but also the international market. The effect of the Opposition's proposal would be to require the retention of compositional standards; it would continue to dictate and prescribe in detail the compositional requirements for margarine. The Opposition suggests imposing further constraints on the industry by applying specific packaging requirements within Victorian boundaries. As the Minister said during his earlier contribution to the debate, if the margarine industry is to be truly competitive such restrictions cannot be imposed upon it within Victorian boundaries because they would prevent the industry from competing elsewhere. It is not economically viable to suggest the removal of the quota but a continuance of a requirement for specific and tight controls to be imposed elsewhere. It is a nonsense to say that the government should apply specific compositional and packaging requirements to the manufacturing process in Victoria. It would not be worthwhile for manufacturers to take advantage of the increased quota if the other constraints still applied. It is entirely inappropriate that compositional and packaging requirements for kfARGARINE(REPEAL) BILL
30 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 199 margarine should still apply only in Victoria; they should be applied nationally. Such requirements should not be specified by a State government. The Victorian government is trying to encourage the promotion and development of a Victorian industry that is currently restrained by compositional quotas and packaging restrictions. As the honourable member for Coburg said, section 8 of the Act requires a pennit to manufacture margarine. Through this Bill, the government is seeking to remove all the restrictions, to provide some real opportunity for the margarine industry to be truly national, and to give Victorian manufacturers the chance to compete on national and international markets. The Opposition is suggesting a component of that required package. To accept the amendment and ignore the other restrictions is a nonsense proposition. I support the government's proposal, and oppose the amendment.
Mr ROWE (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs~The argument put by the Opposition in support of the amendment to repeal only one section of the Act is that it would provide protection for the dairy industry. However, when one examines the market shares of butter and margarine over the past few years, one notes that the restrictions in the Act have had no impact on the protection of the Victorian dairy industry. In 1975 butter comprised 53 per cent of the market share, compared with margarine, which comprised 48 per cent. By 1984 the market share of butter had declined to 29 per cent and that of margarine had increased to 71 per cent. In 1989, the latest year for which figures are available, the market share for butter was 28 per cent and that of margarine was 72 per cent. By applying restrictions and opposing certain legislative measures on previous occasions, the Opposition has done nothing to protect the dairy industry. The market share results are due to consumer preference. The Opposition has denied Victorians the opportunity of producing the product here. Currently, the bulk of the product is produced in New South Wales. The Opposition should allow investment and the creation of jobs in Victoria in a real way, not in an artificial manner; the amendment proposes an artificial way. The arguments presented by the Deputy Leader of the National Party and the honourable member for Rodney are that the restrictions that would remain, in essence, would provide additional protection for the dairy industry, but the facts are that the Margarine Act as it has operated has not provided that sort of protection. I understand the sort of protection that the honourable members have been seeking to achieve. It is a result-- Mr W. D. McGrath interjected. Mr ROW&-The honourable member says it would have been worse; that shows that my argument is accurate. The National Party is falsely trying to protect the dairy industry. It thinks it will somehow protect the dairy industry from margarine competition by maintaining that artificial position. It is arguing that, by maintaining the rest of the restrictions, it will somehow slow down the consumer preference for margarine as opposed to butter. That argument has not been supported by the facts. It will not be able to change consumer preference in the way it wishes. Government should not be intervening to change consumer preference. The marketplace reflects whether consumers wish to consume butter or margarine. The government should not intervene but should allow competition to occur. If people want to invest in producing the product in Victoria to meet the demand for approximately 30 000 tonnes of margarine they should be allowed to do so. Such investment will also create jobs. The comments made by coalition members during the debate have been interesting. I also direct the attention of the House to the broader issue of a national approach to food standards, which is vitally important because the food production industry is a national industry. MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIlL
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Restrictions cannot be imposed by States because many of the companies operate on a national basis. If they want to be able to compete internationally there is no sense in one State applying restrictions on labelling and the like. The Opposition is proposing the removal of the quota restrictions and leaving the other restrictions in place. That would present packaging problems. For instance, it would require margarine to be packed in different containers for specified areas. Why should Victorian producers face that sort of impediment because the coalition parties cannot come to terms with the issue? If the Committee adopts what the coalition has put forward today the restrictions on quotas would be removed, but any manufacturer establishing operations in Victoria would face restrictions on advertising under the Margarine Act. No other State would impose those additional impediments. It would be like telling manufacturers that they can produce margarine in Victoria but would be burdened by additional restrictions on labelling and advertising that no other State imposed. That would be the impact of the amendment if it were passed. It is no good for the Deputy Leader of the National Party simply to shake his head while he seeks to maintain restrictions currently contained in the Act that would impact adversely on a manufacturer establishing in Victoria. The National Party is proposing a halfway house situation, saying the quota should be removed but that manufacturers should not be allowed to establish operations in Victoria because they might adversely affect the dairy industry. National Party members are wrong on the first assumption and will prevent firms from coming to Victoria because they would impose an extra cost on them. Manufacturers would need to set up plants to fulfil the Victorian labelling and packaging requirements. Ifthat is the approach of the coalition to industry policy, I look forward to hearing interesting arguments in the years ahead. I shall refer to page 37 of the draft report of the Industries Assistance Commission on the food processing and beverages industries. It states: The second part of the report dealt with Victorian issues. The report recommended changes in the administration of the food laws in Victoria to improve their interpretation and duplication. and the rationalisation of specific Victorian food laws to ease the burden on industry of inconsistent food regulations; for instance. it was recommended that the Bread Industry Act, the Margarine Act and the Tomato Processing Industry Act be repealed. The food processing industry acquires the produce of our primary producers. If we want to increase the demand for primary production it is important to integrate primary production and food production in order to gain access to not only the domestic market but also the world market. Primary production and food production as an integrated industry represent the single biggest industry-the core industry-in this country. It is an export-orientated industry and its future depends on honourable members seeing it in that manner. One cannot divorce those sorts of restrictions from the operation of the whole core industry. I direct the attention of the Committee to the views of people in the food industry in this State on what is being proposed by the coalition. I received a letter dated 30 August 1990 from the President of CAFrA Victoria Inc, which was formerly the Food Technology Association of Victoria Inc. I am happy to make the letter available. It states: I believe that the Margarine Act is currently proposed for repeal. Compositional. labelling etc. standards for margarine and for all other table spreads are well and truly covered by the relevant sections of the Food Standards Code. This is the appropriate means of control. Quantities to be produced should be left to market forces to determine and should not be controlled by quotas. There is thus no reason to have a separate industry Act. CAFrA Victoria as a representative of a large proportion of Victorian food industry. most defmitely supports the current action. MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIU
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Because the coalition cannot get its act together and deal with this issue sensibly, what it is proposing to do through this amendment will impact adversely on Victorians and Victorian industry. The amendment will not achieve what it sets out to achieve. The Opposition parties have been unable to arrive at a satisfactory result on this matter for the past ten years. They have rejected every proposal to repeal this Act on the false assumption that somehow they are protecting the dairy industry. The coalition has it all wrong. The best advice is available from people involved in the industry, and they say that to apply the sorts of restrictions contained in the Act will deny job opportunities to Victorians. The consumption of margarine will continue to increase because of other factors, such as consumer preference; but retention of the Act, with the exception of section 7, will mean margarine will be imported from New South Wales. If that is the position of the coalition, so be it, and it will be judged by the community accordingly. However, I point out that the coalition will not win any support for its proposal from dairy fanners in country Victoria. The dairy industry will see this as a shallow, weak position because it will not assist the dairy industry in any way. As can be seen from the figures I have quoted, the Act has not stopped the increase in margarine consumption in the past ten years. It has not protected the dairy industry even with its current restrictions. It is a false argument. It just demonstrates that the coalition cannot get its act together. The government will reject the amendment. Mr MAUGHAN (Rodney)-I should like to refute a couple of points made by the Minister and members of the government party. I have no difficulty with a national approach to food standards, but I believe we are dealing with a double standard in this instance. On the one hand, we are removing quality control restrictions on margarine production and, on the other hand, we are imposing high quality control measures on our export industries. We ought to be fair about this. If we try to export products overseas we are faced with all sorts of restrictions. However, we do not impose the same restrictions on products coming into the country, such as pig meat, a whole variety of fruits and vegetables, cheese products and canned meats. Mr Rowe interjected. Mr MAUGHAN-As the Minister says, by interjection, the same situation applies to palm oil and other ingredients that are used in the manufacture of margarine in this State. It is not only the dairy industry that we need to consider. I concede that restrictions will not limit margarine consumption in this State. I do not believe the dairy industry is necessarily arguing for that. However, we need to be concerned about other industries such as those involved in oilseed production. The Bill, which proposes to repeal the Margarine Act, will effectively substitute an overseas product for a locally produced product used in margarine manufacturing in Victoria. Honourable members interjecting. The ACTING CHAIRMAN (Mr Shell}-Order! The Deputy Leader of the National Party has had his opportunity of contributing to the debate. I suggest he give the honourable member for Rodney the opportunity of further expressing his opinions. Mr MAUGHAN-The Minister implied that a national manufacturing firm is about to set up in Victoria. I should be interested in receiving some indication from the Minister of whether a deal has been done for that national manufacturing firm to establish operations in Victoria and, if so, what sort of concessions have been offered to induce that manufacturer to set up in Victoria. MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIU
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The honourable member for Coburg referred to palm oil containing saturated fats. I agree that it does contain saturated fats, but we are talking about not only polyunsaturated margarine but also other types of margarine. I presume the honourable member knows that other margarines do not rely on polyunsaturated ingridients. I am concerned about raw materials coming into Victoria that will replace the naturally produced product. For those reasons I support the amendment moved by the Deputy Leader of the National Party and oppose the Bill.
Mr ROWE (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs)-The honourable member for Rodney demonstrates his confusion about the implications of this amendment. He is trying to point out, probably to his constituency as well as to the Committee, that retaining the current restrictions other than the quota restriction on margarine production will somehow stop the use of palm oil in margarine production. I point out that the Margarine Act, which this Bill proposes to repeal, allows the use of palm oil. If the Act is repealed, the use ofpabn oil will still be allowed. There is no difference. Therefore, his argument is wrong.
The quality standards for our export products are set by the Commonwealth government and the importing nations, and we must comply with them. I agree that they are very high standards. In fact, we have an enviable reputation as primary producers in that area and we do all in our power to ensure that we remain in that position and retain those very high standards. Reference to products such as pig meat being imported to Australia does not relate to this debate. Those sorts of issues are firmly in the control of the Commonwealth government
For the honourable member's edification, I repeat that we must consider where the product will be produced. Currently margarine is produced in New South Wales and Victorian consumers buy it in preference to butter. That is their free market choice. The restrictions contained in the Act have not worked. By proposing to retain the Act the Opposition is burying its head in the sand. Honourable members who represent rural electorates now have the whip hand in the coalition and are demonstrating their foolishness on this issue. They do not fully understand the implications of their proposal. I understand what they are trying to do: they think they are protecting the dairy industry. The honourable member for Rodney has demonstrated today that he does not understand the implications of the coalition's amendment
Mr HARROWFIELD (Mitcham)-The contribution to the debate by the honourable member for Rodney shoots down in flames the whole basi's of the argument for the amendment being put forward by the coalition. He has admitted that the restrictions contained in the Margarine Act have not been successful in minimiSing the market share of margarine. Margarine consumption has increased anyway. Consumers have gone into the marketplace and voted to increase the market share of margarine by buying more of the product. Therefore, the restrictions in the current Act have not worked. The honourable member has admitted that.
It seems to me that those remarks undermine the whole basis of the argument that the National Party has traditionally put forward in support of legislation like the Margarine Act. This debate again highlights the tensions and contradictions that exist within the apparent coalition on the issue of regulation. The opposition parties are not prepared to examine the facts and consider the logic. They simply want to stand behind historical dogma, which has proved to be wrong. The honourable member for Rodney has admitted that the Act, which was originally intended to impose restrictions on content, quotas, packaging and advertising of margarine, has not worked. MARGARINE (REPEAL) BIU
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Although I welcome the admission from the honourable member for Rodney, the conclusions he should draw from his comments are different from what his actions will be when he is required to vote on the matter. The result of accepting the amendment will be the loss ofjobs. Honourable members have a chance to increase the number of manufacturing jobs in this State by encouraging the growth of the margarine manufacturing industry. That industry is currently not viable because of the separate packaging, advertising and compositional requirements. The Victorian industry cannot produce margarine for the national market, and removing the quota will not make any difference to that because the fundamental restrictions will remain. I appeal to members of the coalition to reconsider their position. It is interesting that all members of the coalition who understand the marketplace and who do not support regulation have disappeared from the Chamber and who can blame them? They keep getting rolled in the party room; they understand the logic of the marketplace, but they put the arguments fOlward and get done every time by the rural rump. The honourable member for Rodney has admitted that the Act as it currently stands has not achieved its historical objective; it has not stopped Victorian consumers from buying margarine products. I recall the debate about margarine when attempts were made to put in place gruesome restrictions on margarine products so that consumers would be actively discouraged from eating them. That approach has not worked; as the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs said, the market share has increased substantially. The honourable member for Rodney admits that, but he is not prepared to recognise it by voting to repeal this ridiculous Act. Ifmembers ofthe Opposition want to increase jobs in this State and if they want to encourage the manufacturing industry within the agricultural sector of the economy, they must agree to abolish nonsense legislation such as the Margarine Act. There should be national standards, but let us not constrain Victorian manufacturers in competing in the marketplace with other States in this or any other area of agricultural production and manufacture. The Act is a nonsense; it has been proven not to work and it should be repealed. Committee divided on amendment: Ayes, 37 MrAustin MrKennett Mr E. R. Smith Mr Bildstien MrLea Mr I. W. Smith MrClark MrLeigh Mr Steggall MrColeman Mr Lieberman Mr Stockdale MrCooper Mr I. F. McGrath MrTanner MrDelzoppo Mr W. D. McGrath MrsWade Mr Dickinson MrMcNamara MrWaIlace MrElder DrNapthine MrWeideman MrGude Mr Perrin DrWells MrHayward MrPescou MrHeffeman MrReynolds Tellers Mr Honeywood Mr Richardson MrMaughan MrIohn Mr Ross-Edwards MrPerton Noes, 43 Mr Andrianopoulos MrKennan Mrs Setches MrBaker MrKennedy Mr A. 1. Sheehan Mr Batchelor Ms Kirner Mr F. P. Sheehan MrCrabb Mr Leighton MrShell Mr Cunningham Mr McCutcheon MrSimmonds MrDollis MrMcDonald MrSpyker MrEmst MrMathews MrThomson FARM PRODUCE WHOLESALE BIU
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Noes-continued MrFordham MrMicallef MrTrezise Mrs Garbutt MrPope DrVaughan MrGavin MrsRay MrWalsh MrHamilton MrRoper MrsWilson Mr Harrowfield MrRowe MrsHill MrSandon Tellers MrsHirsh MrSeitz MrsBarker Mr Jolly MrSercombe MrCole Pair MrBrown MrCain Amendment negatived; clause agreed to; remaining clauses agreed to. Reported to House without amendment. Passed remaining stages.
FARM PRODUCE WHOLESALE BILL Second reading Debate resumed from 12 October 1989; motion ofMr ROWE (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs). Mr W.D. McGRATH (Lowan)-The Fann Produce Wholesale Bill makes a number of changes to the Fann Produce Merchants and Commission Agents Act. The Bill is divided into many Parts and is a Committee Bill. Clause 1 sets out the purposes of the Bill, the first purpose being: (a) to establish a single licensing scheme for wholesalers of produce; The Opposition does not oppose that provision. It believes single licensing schemes are appropriate because the cry from many small business people is that the numerous licences required to operate small businesses cause considerable concern. Part 2 of the Bill relates to administration. Clause 5 provides for the appointment of a registrar and deputy registrar. Clause 5 (1) states: The Minister must appoint an officer or employee of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to be Registrar for the purposes of this Act However, clause 5 (2) states: The Minister may appoint an officer or employee of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to be Deputy Registrar for the purposes of this Act Subclause (1) states "must", but subclause (2) states "may". I ask the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs to explain what is intended by these provisions. The proposed legislation has been on the Notice Paper since last year and the Minister should now be clear in his own mind about the appointment of the deputy registrar. Part 3 relates to licensing. It provides for applications for licences, objections, grants, renewals and transfers. It also provides for the suspension or cancellation of licenses. Clause 15 (1) states: The Minister may, by written notice served on the licensee, suspend or cancel a licence if the Minister has received a report from the Registrar ... FARM PRODUCE WHOLESALE BlU
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It then provides five different reasons for the suspension or cancellation of a licence. The Melbourne Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market has had an interesting history over many years. It was first controlled by the Melbourne City Council and was originally sited in Elizabeth Street, but has since been transferred to Footscray, where its throughput has increased significantly. That is understandable because the population of Melbourne has grown considerably. Retailers come from all over Victoria to purchase fruit and vegetables from wholesalers who have stalls in the market. I understand that 50 per cent of the vegetable produce business in Victoria is transacted through that market, and about 80 per cent of the transactions that take place are sales of fruit and vegetables going through wholesalers and merchants. The produce may be grown in Bendigo, for example, and sold to an outlet in Ballarat without going through the market. That is a provision in the tenns and conditions of sale and under the licensing entitlements. There has been a great deal of concern about the credibility and accountability ofthe practices within the fruit and vegetable wholesale markets in Victoria. In 1960 a Royal Commission was held into the marketing of fruit and vegetables. Dr E. G. Coppel, QC, appeared for the Melbourne City Council; Mr J. E. Starke, QC, appeared for the Victorian Chamber of the Fruit and Vegetable Industries and Mr R. Searby assisted the Royal Commission. The transcript of the final addresses to the Royal Commission is a very interesting document. It describes how the transactions took place and many aspects of the Royal Commission. The interesting aspect of the Royal Commission is that no report of any great corruption within the marketplace came out. Many people were probably quite amazed. However, even though the Royal Commission gave a clean bill of health to the parties participating in wholesale marketing of fruit and vegetables, the allegations are still about, and by supporting the changes to the Fann Produce Merchants and Commission Agents Act we may go some way towards improving the accountability of the transactions that take place. I would have to say that a previous Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Honourable Evan Walker, took into account many of these considerations in relation to fair market trading by undertaking a review of the Fann Produce Merchants and Commission Agents Act, and in July 1987 an options paper was produced. It addressed the objectives of the review and the need for legislation and amendments, and it is from that review that we have arrived at the Bill before the House. Much of the review focused on the conduct of business, which is a controversial area of this Bill. The provisions relating to indemnities, the collection of marketing levies, the market reporting service and enforcement seem to be generally agreed upon within all sections of the fruit and vegetable industries. Clause 21 relates to indemnities and provides that about $50000 is to be kept in a trust fund in case a merchant in the marketplace defaults on payment to a producer. That fund is established so the producer can be paid. The intention of clause 22 is to allow a producer to make a claim to the registrar for reimbursement for any loss due to the failure of a wholesaler to pay for produce consigned to a merchant. The amount that must be placed in that trust fund is being increased to $150 000. You, Mr Deputy Speaker, would be well aware of the number of matters of concern I have raised in Parliament on a number of occasions relating to not only fruit and vegetables but also to grain trading. Many producers who trade in good faith with what might be called middlemen have found that when particular agents have gone into receivership as unsecured creditors the growers miss out on receiving payment. A larger amount of money is to be established within the trust to be administered by the registrar, and that is a sensible safeguard. FARM PRODUCE WHOLESALE BIU
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It allows up to $150000 to be put into a trust fund, but that amount will be fixed by the regulations. It is an important insurance policy for growers. The collection of marketing levies-under this year's Budget the marketing levies will be the means by which cost recovery is warranted-will be used to fund a market reporting service. That is a very important service. It is carried out mainly through the ABC's Country H OUT, and through that medium it enables growers to keep in touch with what produce is available in the marketplace. That is vital when one is growing produce 100, 200 or 300 kilometres from the actual marketplace. Producers need to be able to get accurate and up-to-date information. The National Party has no hesitation in supporting that provision The nuts and bolts ofthe argument comes down to Part 5 of the Bill-the conduct of business. Yesterday, along with some of my colleagues from both opposition parties, I took the opportunity of bringing together representatives of the merchants and wholesalers from the Footscray market and representatives of the Victorian Farmers Federation and growers affiliated with that organisation in an attempt to resolve differences between the two groups. I express my appreciation to the Minister for making available two of his departmental officers to participate in that meeting. The participants involved were quite willing to discuss the matter, and certainly both sides gave straightforward views on the Bill and the impact it would have on their practices in the foreseeable future. Having the departmental officers there certainly aided in keeping both sides within the framework of discussion of the proposed legislation, yet after a meeting that went for at least an hour and a half we were still not able to resolve fully the differences between the two bodies. 1be Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers Association, under the signature of Dizney Crombie, the Manager Secretary, wrote to me about the proposed legislation on 3 May this year and said:
Furthel' to our meeting with you we have gained the support of 120 individual growers in writing, with the promise of more to come, supporting the retention of the existing method of wholesaling produce in the Melbourne Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market. We are attending in Robinvale tonight a meeting of the Robinvale Table Grape Growers Association at their request to point out the ramifications of the proposed Bill and explain the Melbourne merchant system. We reiterate that the Melbourne merchant system of trading as per section 38 of the Farm, Produce Merchants and Commission Agents Act has successfully operated in the Melbourne market for more than 30 years and was officially recognised by legislation in 1965 after a Royal Commission lasting six months. We wish to retain this section of the Act as it allows the Melbourne market to be the leading central market in Australia. To change this section of the Act as proposed will increase the regulatory control necessary, stifle trade, and most certainly disadvantage the smaller grower. We most earnestly request a deferment of the proposed Bill until some amendments can be presented. The association has presented a number of amendments for Parliament to consider. In contrast, representations from the affiliated growers of the Victorian Farmers Federation have also been received. They support the Bill and would like to see the clauses set out in Part 5 relating to the conduct of business put in place. The Bill does not apply directly to fruit and vegetable producers, but it does cover the marketing of cut flowers, honey and beeswax. The Vice-President of the Victorian Apiarists Association Inc., Mr John Ball, wrote to me on 4 March this year. His letter states: FARM PRODUCE WHOLESALE BIU
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Dear Mr McGrath. Thank you for your letter dated 26-2-1990. re Farm Produce Wholesale Bill and its scheduled second reading in the autumn sitting of State Parliament The Victorian Apiarists Association Inc. considers it essential that apiarists have the protection of the Farm Produce Wholesale Bill to cover their interests when selling honey and beeswax. The Victorian Apiarists Association Inc. believes that the terms of payment to the producer, up to three months in the case of honey and beeswax, should be retained in full. That is a slightly different industry that participates in the wholesale fruit and vegetable marketplace, and it wants the Bill passed. I should like to deal with the arguments about the Bill that have been developed, firstly, by the government, and, secondly, by the Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers Association Inc. As I said, it all relates to the conduct of business. The situation now is that a merchant can act as a merchant only when he buys the produce from the producer and then sells it. An agent has a different role; he has the opportunity of buying and selling on a commission basis. What has happened previously, as I understand it, is that a commission system has been established. In the Melbourne market the commission has been approximately 17.5 per cent of the gross returns, but under the existing Act other expenses can be deducted from the return to the grower or producer, such as cool storage, promotional and advertising costs, and some costs for freight movements around the market. Under the new arrangement the commission charged by the Act has to be all inclusive. It must take into account all additional charges that a commission agent thinks he is entitled to collect. That is a reasonable way to go because a fanner or producer who is 200 or 300 kilometres from the market wants to know exactly what the bottom line cost will be. He wants to know when he sends down the produce whether he will have to pay a 10, 15, 17.5 or even 20 per cent commission rate. He wants to know how much the total deduction will be from the sale of produce by the agent. However, the merchants in the marketplace are concerned that what they have been offering, as outlined in the letter from Mr Dizney Crombie, and what has been in place in the market has provided satisfactory protection for all those who trade in the marketplace. Indeed, they have produced two pages of amendments for Parliament to consider. The Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers Association suggests that clause 25 (3) of the Bill should be replaced by subclauses (3), (4) and (5) to read as follows: (3) In the case of merchant trading the wholesaler shall accept such produce and shall buy such produce at the price determined in accordance with subsection (2) or (3) and shall make all reasonable endeavours to sell the produce immediately at the commencement of the days trading at the Melbourne Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market for the best possible price. (4) The price to be paid by the wholesaler to the producer for the produce shall be such price as agreed between the wholesaler and producer within forty-eight hours of such produce being received by the wholesalers at the wholesaler's place of business at the Melbourne Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market (5) If the wholesaler and producer do not agree on the price for the produce within forty-eight hours of the wholesaler receiving such produce, then the wholesaler shall be deemed to have purchased the produce at a price which represents a fair and reasonable assessment of the gross realisation value of that produce of the kind and quality of that line as at the day of its availability for sale less a percentage for the wholesalers' profit as set out in the wholesaler's terms of trade. The Opposition will not oppose the Bill, but I ask that while the Bill is between here and the other place the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs take a close look at the clauses in Part 5 of the Bill, and the the amendments suggested by the Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers Association. FARM PRODUCE WHOLESALE BIU
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This is a difficult question to resolve. The wholesalers claim that for the past 30 years the selling procedures have stood the test of time. A review of the Act was conducted in 1987, as a result of which the amendments proposed in Part 5 of the Bill are satisfactory. We do not want to see a conflict between those two important groups, which depend very much on each other: the growers depend very much on good merchants to maximise the return on their produce that is sent to the market; the wholesaler and the commission agent depend on the continuity of the commodity coming through the market for their living. ID feeling between the two groups would not be in the best interests of all concerned: it would not be in the best interests of the people I am talking about here this afternoon, or of the consumer of those commodities as they go through the marketplace and come out into the retail industry. This matter has occupied much of my time in the past couple of weeks leading up to this sitting of Parliament in an effort to achieve a satisfactory resolution of the differences between the two bodies. It may necessitate the Minister calling in representatives of the two groups, if he has not already done so. The committee established by the Liberal and National parties brought these groups together, but was not able to resolve the differences between them. The fruit and vegetable wholesalers want to retain section 38 of the old Act While the Bill is between here and another place, I ask the Minister to consider whether to leave all that in the Bill at the moment, but to incorporate in this Bill the provision contained in section 38 of the Farm Produce Merchants and Commission Agents Act, as a further option. Section 38 of the existing Act provides: (1) Except as provided elsewhere in this Act, every merchant to whom farm produce (other than farm produce obtained by contract buying) is consigned shall accept such farm produce and shall buy each line of farm produce described in the advice note accompanying the consignment at a price which represents a fair and reasonable assessment of the gross realisation value of farm produce of the kind and quality of that line as at the day of its availability for sale less a percentage for the merchant's profit (2) The said assessment of gross realisation value shall be ascertained by reference ID- (a) the prices which that farm produce and farm produce of comparable kind and quality is commanding on that day in the principal market in Victoria where such farm produce is ordinarily sold; and (b) current market conditions affecting the realisation value of carry-over of that farm produce and farm produce of comparable kind and quality. That provision does not suit the producers; they would like to have what is in the Bill. I am asking the Minister to consider whether that provision could be included as a fourth option. As I see it, if one grower were selling in isolation in the fruit and vegetable wholesalers marketplace, the merchants or commission agents may be able to isolate that person and say to him, "You have to sell under our system or not at all". If the growers themselves were better able to lobby, they would be in a position to say to the merchants, "We prefer the first options as they are in the new Bill rather than the fourth option." They should then win the day. After all, it is their produce and they should be able to sell in a manner which will give them the best returns. I am pleased to note that, by interjection, the Minister indicates agreement. The Bill has been brought about through much thought and consideration. The former Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Honourable Evan Walker, should be congratulated on taking the initiatives to resolve some of the differences relating to the transactions that take place at the Footscray market. He put into place some safeguards for the producers of this State. FARM PRODUCE WHOLESALE BILL
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In discussions the matter of the market trust has been raised. I do not think it is specified in the Bill. I should like to know how the membership of the market trust is arrived at. I know it may take some time to do, but I ask the Minister to outline to honourable members who are the members of the market trust, how they are appointed, whether they are appointed by the Minister, or by the Governor in Council, and where those nominations come from. I ask the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs to advise the House where the grower representatives will come from. Will they comprise fruit and vegetable wholesalers, or will they be representatives of other groups? The opposition parties, in the main, support the principles as laid down in the proposed legislation, but Part 5 of the Bill relating to the conduct of business is causing some concern, particularly to merchants and commission agents. If that issue can be resolved to the satisfaction of the two main players in the game-the producers and merchants-Victoria will benefit by having good legislation that will ensure fair trading and equitable returns for the producer. The question of accountability of merchants that arises in the market from time to time will be overcome. There will be much more trust between merchants, commission agents and growers. The Liberal and National parties do not oppose the Bill but would like the Minister to consider their suggestions while the Bill is between here and the other place. The opposition parties will decide their attitude on the Bill when the government makes known its intentions in the other place.
Dr NAPTHINE (Port1and~I take this opportunity of congratulating the Deputy Leader of the National Party as the coalition shadow Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs. I am sure the Liberal and National parties will work well together in this portfolio. The Deputy Leader of the National Party has clearly outlined the position of the opposition parties. The Bill seeks to repeal the Farm Produce Merchants and Commission Agents Act, and establish new legislation for the wholesale marketing of fruit and vegetables, cut flowers, beeswax and honey in Victoria. It is interesting to examine the history of the fruit and vegetable wholesaling industry, a complex operation with growers spread not only throughout Victoria but also along the eastern seaboard. These growers operate through Victorian wholesale markets, particularly the market at Footscray. The complexities that have developed in that marketing system are unique to Victoria and, to some extent, have been adopted in other States. The Farm Produce Merchants and Commission Agents Act 1965 to be repealed by the Bill resulted from a Royal Commission into the marketing of fruit and vegetables undertaken in 1960-61. The repeal of the Act must be considered thoroughly because it came into being after a Royal Commission held 30 years ago examined the whole marketing operation and made recommendations which were included in legislation. In considering the repeal of that legislation, honourable members should ensure that they are doing the right thing by,growers, wholesalers and consumers. Often consumers are forgotten but they are the end users and driving force behind the industry. In that respect, I congratulate Mr Brian Casey, an officer of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, who undertook a comprehensive review of the Act. In an options paper entitled Review of the Farm Produce Merchants and Commission Agents Act published by DARA in July 1987 the objectives of the review were set out. The primary objective was: To provide an environment in which producers and wholesalers of fresh fruit and vegetables can trade produce in an economic, efficient, fair and competitive manner within Victoria. FARM PRODUCE WHOLESALE BIU
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I suggest that is exactly what should be covered by the proposed legislation. Victoria is a major producer of fruit and vegetables. Over the years Victoria has been, to use a tenn, the breadbasket, or the fruit and vegetable basket, of the eastern seaboard. It produces for the local market as well as exporting interstate along the east coast and overseas. Besides traditional markets there is significant potential for the expansion of fruit and vegetable production into more exotic fruits and vegetables and to other markets that have export appeal. Honourable members must remember that our market services an area beyond Victoria. The wholesaling system services South Australia and the eastern seaboard States. There is significant traffic along the eastern seaboard using the Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne markets. We must ensure that Victoria has a competitive market so that produce will not move to other States. In considering any review or repeal of an Act one must examine the fundamental question of what the government's role is in that process. Many people argue that the government should not have a role in the fruit and vegetable market. They believe it ought to be free from government interference. The options paper I referred to earlier makes the point: The analysis described earlier in this Part, suggests that there is no sustainable economic argument for government intervention in the wholesaling of fresh fruit and vegetables, with the exception of the provision of market information. A sustainable argument can be put that the government should not interfere in this market at all; that there should be a free market approach. However, if one considers that argument further, one may question whether growers have the same market force as do wholesalers, and whether consumers are protected in the whole process. On balance there appears to be a need for legislation but the system should be carefully monitored. In the not too distant future I foresee a period when there will not be a need for such legislation. The Melbourne Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market Trust, wholesalers and growers will enter into a privately contracted, legally binding arrangement that will protect all participants without the need for government intervention. However, it is important that an ongoing monitoring role be put in place preparing for that change so that the government can take a step back when that time is reached. The Bill refers to fruit and vegetables, cut flowers, beeswax and honey. I have discussed the issue with representatives of the cut flower industry and basically they agree with the following comments which appear on page 38 of the options paper: On the basis of an assessment of previous complaints about the wholesaling of cut flowers, there would be little need for the legislation to cover this area of produce. The argument could be advanced that the mere existence of legislation in the past has prevented complaints concerning this type of produce; however, no evidence submitted to the review supports this argument I suggest the Minister should seriously consider whether cut flowers should be covered by the Bill. The Deputy Leader of the National Party has suggested that some sections of the honey industry want to be covered by the Bill. There have been other views that the honey industry should not be included. On balance, I believe it is reasonable to include the honey industry in these amendments. Some clauses in the Bill have caused confusion and I hope the Minister can clarify the situation. Clause 4 (1) (b) (ii) states that if payment in full for the produce is made when it is received the Act will not apply to the resale by wholesale of produce. Oause 4 (2) states that Part 3 of the Act does not apply to a wholesaler who engages only in transactions of the kind referred to in Oause 4 (1). There is confusion about whether that applies to transactions covered by the entire Act or only by Part 3 of the Act. FARM PRODUCE WHOLESALE B/U
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The honourable member for Lowan has already expressed concern about clause 5, but I wish to take it further. Qause 5 (1) states: The Minister must appoint an officer or employee of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to be Registrar for the purposes of this Act The appointment should be for the best person for the job rather than that the person appointed should come from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. I know the department has a history of having very good officers. Mr Rowe-This is the registrar. Dr NAPTHINE-Yes, the registrar should be the best person available for the job whether or not that person comes from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. That limitation should be reconsidered. Part 3 refers to licensing. I am pleased to see that clause 20 allows a person affected by a reviewable decision to apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of the decision. Some concerns were raised by people who had read the Bill briefly and thought the Minister was the last source of appeal. Qause 20 clears up that confusion. Clause 21 covers indemnities. The Bill provides for indemnities to be three times the amount of existing cover. That brings the Victorian situation into line with that in New South Wales. The wholesalers and growers to whom I have spoken believe it to be a reasonable provision. I expected when the issue of increasing indemnities was raised that there would be some objection. However, all sections of the industry are happy to accept those changes. The biggest area of difference between the wholesalers and growers is in clause 25, which relates to trading methods. The Bill provides for three different trading methods. The first is the agency method of trading. This is on a strict commission basis -17.5 per cent, 20 per cent or whatever is agreed. The second method is by a merchant who buys the product for a fixed price agreed with the grower. The third is the convertible method of trading. A person may start as a merchant but then go on to commission, and vice versa. The current system of trading in the wholesale market is a different system again. The main system used at the Melbourne Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market in Footscray is known colloquially as the Melbourne merchant system. The Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers Association has made the following comments on the method of the Melbourne merchant system: The Melbourne merchant system was recognised and accepted by the Royal Commission in the early 1960s and incorporated in the Farm Produce Merchants and Commission Agents Act 1965. Whilst the "true" merchant system of offering the grower a net price before sale is in fact practised with some product lines, the vast majority of product lines must be sold before a net price be given the grower. Our association represents 85 per cent of the Melbourne market trade, 100 per cent of which sell using the Melbourne merchant system. The Melbomne merchant system has proved itself and there is no point in any group, government or otherwise, altering a system that had proved extremely practical long before it was recognised by the Act of 1965. I do not claim the Melbourne merchant system is the best way of selling. In fact, I believe the grower who produces and owns the product should have the choice of deciding how he sells it. I agree with the honourable member for Lowan that the Melbourne merchant system should be incorporated as a fourth choice for the grower because growers have told me they fear they will be bullied by the wholesalers into adopting the one system. Growers should be able to stand on their own two feet or with the backing of organisations such as the Victorian Fanners Federation. If they do not like the way agents are selling for FARM PRODUCE WHOLESALE BIlL
212 ASSEMBLY 30 AUGUST 1990 them, they should be allowed to set up their own cooperative system or deal with one of the many agents who are prepared to sell for them under a different system. Having the four options will give everybody the opportunity of trading as he or she wishes. It is clear that the grower of the product must have a choice. Concern has been raised about the amount of paperwork that will be involved with the provision in clause 27. Wholesalers claim that keeping the records required under clause 27 would be a burden, especially under clause 27 (j). However, I understand that is the subject of a government amendment, which I welcome. Even with that amendment, the wholesalers wish to record their objection to so much paperwork. Clause 30 (2) contains a carryover from the principal Act. It states that in relation to beeswax or honey the prescribed period for payment to producers is within three months unless a longer period is prescribed by the regulations. In relation to potatoes or onions the prescribed period is 30 days, and in relation to any other produce the prescribed period is ten days unless a longer period is prescribed by the regulations. T. Costa and Co. Pty Ltd of Geelong stated in a letter of 25 October 1989: Subsection 2 (c) requires that fann produce other than potatoes. onions. beeswax or honey must be paid for within ten days of receipt of such produce. This particular clause. which is a carryover from the existing Act, has been a bane to all wholesalers since the date of its inception. Given the current credit environment in all forms of business. it is unreasonable to expect anybody. apart from retailers (who. incidentally. are not subject to this clause) to pay for goods received within ten days when their optimum collection period would generally be 30 days. I can see no reason why general fann produce should not be brought into line with potatoes and onions at the 30-day limit, which has operated successfully in that area since 1965. The other area of significant change in the Bill is the market reporting system covered by clause 32. Subclause (3) moves the payment for the marketing system to the trust, which will collect the money from the industry. I have no problem accepting the user-pays principle. Currently the service is operated by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. In moving to the user-pays system it must be recognised who the users are and who will benefit from the system. Clause 33 relates to the appointment of authorised officers, or inspectors. Their operation will also be affected by the move to the user-pays system which all-up will cost the industry an extra $300 000 a year. There is significant public benefit from the inspection system and the market reporting system, although it is not to the benefit of the industry. TIle public benefits because of qUality assurance, infonnation and market confidence, and some value must be put on that. Clause 44 relates to fees. I bring to the attention of the Minister the 300 per cent increase in fees under the proposal. Fees will rise from $150 to $600. That is a significant increase even under the high taxing government that we have at the moment. The opposition parties will not oppose the proposed legislation but we ask the Minister to give serious consideration to the issues raised while the Bill is between here and another place. Mr BILDSTIEN (Mildura)-I shall keep my contribution to the second-reading debate on the Fann Produce Wholesale Bill as brief as possible because I have to return to my electorate. Just for the record, Mr Acting Speaker, in delivering my "hear, hear!", I was not suggesting that the contribution by the honourable member for Portland needed to be brought to an abrupt conclusion; it was an interesting and well-considered contribution. The Bill is the result of a review ordered in January 1987 by a fonner Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Honourable Evan Walker, of the Farm Produce Merchants and FARM PRODUCE WHOLESALE BIIL
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Commission Agents Act. An options paper was prepared by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and, after considerable consultation with interested parties the Bill has come before the House. The proposed legislation is intended to create an environment in which producers and wholesalers of fresh fruit and vegetables, cut flowers, beeswax and honey can trade their produce in an economic, efficient, fair and competitive manner. As has been explained by the lead speaker for the opposition parties, there is no intention to oppose the Bill. The Bill is extremely important for the many fruit and vegetable producers in my electorate. As the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs is aware, the Sunraysia is a premier agricultural producing area, particularly in respect of fruit production. The region has more than 3000 fruit and vegetable producers, growing mainly grapes and citrus, although recently a diversification has taken place, with growers planting melons, avocados, nuts and other fruits and vegetables. With the greater diversification, the area's strong reliance on agriculture has been maintained. Honourable members can imagine the huge number of dollars that come into the local economy as a result of the trade between local fruit and vegetable producers and the wholesale market in Melbourne. One of the matters that particularly concerns the opposition parties relates to the way the marketing arrangements will be altered. The options paper produced in July 1987 deals with collusion. I quote from page 17 where the following paragraph appears: A potential source of market failure is the possibility that wholesalers might collude and offer growers previously agreed prices for particular commodities, rather than allow competition between wholesalers to determine prices. In this way profits to wholesalers would be raised above those they would earn within a competitive environment The matter was discussed extensively by the coalition's agriculture committee members and representatives of the Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers Association. There is no doubt that with the downturn in industry producers have become more critical of the marketing system. It is fair to say that what is tolerable in prosperous times has become less tolerable in this Australian Labor Party-engineered recession. The Bill aims to establish a situation in which agents give value for the commissions they receive and maintain the confidence of growers. Mr Acting Speaker, you will appreciate that with the tyranny of distance between an area like Mildura and Melbourne-it is some 550-odd kilometres-growers must place a high level of trust in the people with whom they are dealing; they rely on their honesty and integrity. In recent times that relationship has been strained and tested. Several years ago a number of public meetings were held in Mildura. They became quite hostile and things got pretty dirty with death threats and what have you being bandied around. I am pleased to be able to say that the Opposition will not oppose the proposed legislation because it is hoped that the Bill will be successful in restoring a close relationship between the agents and producers and will keep them working together. As I said, there have been differences between the parties and they were highlighted at some meetings that the Opposition's agriCUlture committee held over the past few days. I guess it is stretching things a little too far to think we could eradicate every level of distrust but certainly the Bill will go some way towards achieving that aim. Unfortunately, some disagreements still exist. Wholesalers have said the proposed legislation is retrograde and will inhibit or stifle trade and lead to illegal trading. I guess the situation will be that not everybody will be happy with the Bill but, as I said, the growers maintain that the current system is open to manipulation and the Minister's proposal puts everybody onto a more or less level playing field. FARM PRODUCE WHOLESALE BIU
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It was pointed out that, of the 750 000 to 1 million consignments into the Melbourne Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market at Footscray each year, fewer than 50 complaints are lodged each year. However, it is fair to-say that growers are often reluctant-for one reason or another-to come forward and lodge official complaints as they do not, in many cases, have an understanding of the process of lodging official complaints of this nature. Clause 27 (j)-to which my colleague, the honourable member for Portland referred-will be the deciding factor as to whether the proposed legislation will result in things running smoothly from now on. I have had considerable discussions with the president of the growers organisation in Mildura, Mr Tony Panetta. He pointed out that the lack of grower protection has been of great concern to the local group and he believes clause 27 will discourage any alleged underhanded activities by wholesalers. Clause 27 requires the wholesaler to record the name or names of people to whom produce is sold. Mr Panetta believes this one rule, if implemented, would improve returns to growers and keep market operations above board but, in fairness to merchants, that could create a deal of cost and an administrative headache. Mr Panetta has pointed out a means of simplifying the situation. He referred to a buyers licence, ID card or badge that growers could wear at the market. He recently had a trip up north and I understand something similar operates in the wholesale markets in Brisbane. Mr Panetta believes the ID card with a previously issued permit number could be worn by purchasers and would allow transactions to take place speedily. The permit number only would need to be quoted and that would avoid unnecessary paper work. As outlined by the lead speaker for the Opposition and the honourable member for Portland the Bill is not opposed but we hope the Minister will pick up when the Bill is between here and another place the concerns that have been raised. I am concerned about some of the tactics of wholesalers in dealing with the Bill, which has been available for some time. I became aware of a circular that was sent to many of the fruit and vegetable growers in my electorate. The circular can be described only as scare tactics and, for the benefit of the House, under the heading "Growers Beware!" states: WhenMrCainintroduces the farm produce wholesale Bill we will be forced to change the way we do business with you. When the Bill goes through, be prepared for changes. Don't ring your wholesaler to find out prices for your produce because we won't be able to tell you. Don't expect to be paid within ten days for all your produce because we don't have to. To continue our present trading practice with you please have a phone handy by your bed so that we can call you between 11.00 p.m. to 4.00 a.m. to confmn a price for your produce otherwise we will be forced to sell your produce on commission. Do not be fooled into believing a commission agency system is better for a producer than the existing Melbourne merchants system. In contrast to our present arrangement, where we buy the produce from you after you have consigned it, you will now be required to bear the risk for all produce sold. Therefore, if we do not sell your produce, you do not get paid. You only have a couple of weeks to voice your disapproval to the proposed changes. Ring up your local member of Parliament and your local producer association and voice your disapproval and concern to these proposed changes. I was naturally a little concerned at the tactics adopted in circulating that propaganda and I referred it to my local fruit and vegetable growers association. That association also believes many things suggested in the document were not correct. As has been well explained by the Minister'S departmental officers who were made available to us-and which we appreciated-that is not correct. FARM PRODUCE WHOLESALE BILL
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I hope in future when proposed legislation of this type is being dealt with we can have a calm, more rational and civilised debate between the two parties. Mr ROWE (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs)-I take the opportunity of thanking honourable members for their contribution to this important debate. As honourable members have indicated, it is an important industry. The Act dates back to 1965 with the regulations coming into effect following the review of the operations' of the wholesale market. It is true that the current proposals emanate from a review implemented by my predecessor and reflect a more contemporary attitude towards commercial arrangements, which is the thrust of the proposed changes. We accept there is a need for sensible arrangements that protect the interests of growers but do not want to unnecessarily impede the commercial operations of the merchants and commission agents. The old Act would not be appropriate in the 1990s and we have sought to reflect that in the amendments contained in the Bill. I thank honourable members for their contributions. I specifically wish to indicate that there have been extensive consultations with all parties involved in the issue, including the Victorian Fanners Federation and the merchants. There are some outstanding areas where it was not possible to get agreement. One was mentioned by the Deputy Leader of the National Party in relation to section 38 of the Act. He suggested it ought to be provided for in the Bill as a fourth option. We have considered the matter. I appreciate the discussions in which he has been involved, both with officers from my department and with people in the industry. The Victorian Fanners Federation is opposed to that proposal and, on balance, we have said we cannot move our position. I accept that the matter has been raised to try to get agreement between the two sides. We have endeavoured to do that but we have not been successful. I will take up the suggestion of the honourable member to try to arrange another meeting when the Bill is between here and the other place to ascertain whether it is possible to deal with the matter as he suggested. The other matters raised by the Deputy Leader of the National Party relate to clause 5. He directed attention to the fact that the deputy registrar must be appointed by the Minister. The Bill does not provide that appointment of a deputy registrar is mandatory. A deputy registrar would be appointed only if that were thought necessary. One would not want to write into the Act that one was bound to appoint a person if that were not required. Mr Maclellan interjected. Mr ROWE--That is a really stupid comment from the honourable member for Berwick. The person is from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. It is a pity the honourable member does not take some interest in this sort of legislation. There are many growers in his area who would be interested to see the way he reacts in the House to sensible proposed legislation which reforms an important area of commercial activity in this State. The debate in the House has demonstrated support from all parties for the reforms proposed. The other matter raised by the Deputy Leader of the National Party was in relation to requirements for the appointment of persons to the Melbourne Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market Trust. The provision for appointment of trustees is not contained in the Bill, as the Deputy Leader of the National Party will be well aware. Trustees are appointed under the Melbourne Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market Trust Act, and representation on the trust includes producers, wholesalers, retailers, unions and consumers. It is a difficult piece of legislation. The honourable member will be aware that the Public Bodies Review Committee currently is examining the operations of that trust. I understand the committee is about to complete its considerations and will soon report to Parliament on the operations of the trust and the Act. FARM PRODUCE WHOLESALE BILL
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The honourable member for Portland raised a major concern about the inspection and reporting requirements in the Bill. I am pleased that the opposition parties support the approach of full cost recovery and the proposal that where a private benefit applies, the organisation concerned should bear the cost associated with the reporting and inspection services. Decisions about the distinction between private and public benefits are difficult to make; there is an overlap. I accept the point made by the honourable member. However, I am sure he will agree that the reporting service is overwhelmingly an area of private benefit The government has not had strong opposition from the parties involved with the market trust about their paying that cost. However, the point made by the Deputy Leader ofthe National Party concerns the importance of maintaining a viable and independent reporting service. Certainly there is strong support for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs maintaining that service and seeking full cost recovery for it. It is a service that is removed from the industry and remains independent. I have explained the approach the government has taken in this Bill. I thank honourable members for their contributions to the debate. The SPEAKER-Order! I am of the opinion that the second reading of this Bill is required to be passed by an absolute majority. As there is not an absolute majority of the members of the House present, I ask the Clerk to ring the bells. Required number of members having assembled in Chamber: Motion agreed to by absolute majority. Read second time. Committed. Committee Clauses 1 to 26 agreed to. Clause 27
Mr ROWE (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs~I move: 1. Clause 27. page 12, line 7. after "if)" insert "Except if the purchaser pays cash for the produce at the time of sale.".
Mr W. D. McGRATH (Lowan~ause 27 seeks to insert a provision whereby a purchaser who pays cash for the produce at the time of sale will be exempted from the requirement to keep a record of the transaction; it is an attempt to restrict the amount of paperwork necessary for small transactions. I appreciate that consideration from the government; it would be supported by all the players in the marketplace, both merchants and producers. I suggest, while the Bill is between here and the other place, the Minister may give consideration to applying a ceiling on cash sales. I am not sure what that limit should be-perhaps $500 or $1000. The ceiling would apply to exemptions from the requirement to document cash sales up to a certain figure.
Mr ROWE (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs~The Deputy Leader of the National Party is correct. This issue was raised with the government by the Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers Association. The association seeks to eliminate the requirement FARM PRODUCE WHOLESALE BIU
30 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 217 for its members to maintain records because the members consider it to be unreasonable, particularly for cash transactions. The honourable member for Lowan suggests a $500 or a $1000 ceiling; the government will take that suggestion and its implications into consideration while the Bill is between here and the other place. Amendment agreed to; amended clause agreed to. Clause 28 Mr ROWE (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs}-I move: 2. Clause 28, lines 16 to 17, omit "including the identity of the purchaser" and insert "being the details of which a record is required to be maintained under section 27 (2)". This amendment is linked to my first amendment. Its effect is to remove the requirement for wholesalers to provide producers with details of purchases where produce is paid for in cash at the time of sale. Amendment agreed to; amended clause agreed to; clauses 29 to 33 agreed to. Clause 34 Mr ROWE (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs}-I move: 3. Clause 34, line 27, after "person" insert "apparently in charge". The Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers Association believes the provisions as drafted at present are unreasonable because of the requirement for a person working at the business of a wholesaler to provide infonnation about that business. That person could be anyone who happens to be at the business premises. This amendment restricts that requirement by providing that such infonnation can be required only from a person who is apparently in charge of the premises. Mr W.D. McGRA TH (Lowan}-The wholesalers raised this matter with me, and I am pleased that their suggestion has been taken up. The amendment overcomes one of their concerns about the Bill. Amendment agreed to; amended clause agreed to; clauses 3S to 41 agreed to. Clause 42 Mr W. D. McGRATH (Lowan}-The clause states: This Act has effect despite any stipulation to the contrary, and no contract or agreement made or entered into before or after the commencement of this section operates to annul, vary or exclude any of the provisions of this Act 10 its submission to me, the Victorian Fruit and Vegetable Wholesalers Association suggested that the clause be omitted from the Bill. I am not asking the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs to omit the clause at this stage, but I ask him to consider the argument raised by the association. I ask the Minister to do that while the Bill is between here and the other place. Mr ROWE (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs}-The honourable member for Lowan and I commented on this matter earlier. The views put forward by the wholesalers vary with the views put forward by the Victorian Fanners Federation, and a solution has not been found to the problem. I shall take up the further suggestion of the honourable member for Lowan and, once more, I shall endeavour to consider the arguments put forward by the wholesalers. Clause agreed to. FARM PRODUCE WHOLESALE BIU
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Clause 43 Mr ROWE (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs)-I move: 4. Clause 43. line 17. after "sub-section" insert "(1)". 5. Clause 43. line 23. omit "or" and insert "and". The amendments correct minor drafting errors. Amendments agreed to; amended clause agreed to; clauses 44 to 47 agreed to. Clause 48 Mr ROWE (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs)-I move: 6. Clause 48. line 19. after "48." insert "(1)". 7. Clause 48. line 23. omit "1990" and insert "1991 ". 8. Clause 48. after line 25 insert- "( ) The holder of a licence continued in force under sub-section (1) must, within the period of two months after the commencement of this section. lodge an indemnity that complies with section 21. ( ) If. at the expiry of that period, the holder of such a licence has not lodged such indemnity. then, on and from that expiry. that licence is deemed to be cancelled and of no effect". Amendment No. 6 inserts a new subclause to enable a new clause to be inserted at a later time and amendment No. 7 updates a transitional provision. Amendment No.8 requires holders of licences under existing legislation to take out indemnities under new legislation so that failures after the specified two-month period will be covered by indemnities rather than by the guarantee fund or the Consolidated Fund. Since the Bill was first introduced to Parliament a guarantee fund has been set up and a levy is placed on growers to provide a basis for payment in the case of the failure of a wholesale merchant. Because of an unusual number of failures of merchants, the provisions of the Bill would not sufficiently cover the requirements to meet any outstanding debts that may arise, and that would put growers in jeopardy. Mr W. D. McGRATU (Lowan)-I am pleased the Minister has put forward an amendment requiring licence holders to take out indemnity. As I said earlier in the debate, too often through no fault of their own growers of various commodities have been penalised when traders have gone out of business. If a trader goes out of business through lack of finance, that affects not only the trader but also the growers concerned. Those in the trading business should be required to'carry indemnity so that, in the case of financial collapse, those perceived as unsecured creditors will have some safeguards. Amendment No. 8 provides those safeguards and I am delighted to support it. Amendments agreed to; amended clause agreed to. Clause 49 Mr ROWE (Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs)-I move: 9. Clause 49. page 19. line 33. after "that Act" insert "and this Act". 10. Clause 49. page 19. line 33. omit "nine" and insert "eleven". 11. Clause 49. page 19. after line 34 insert- "( ) From time to time during the period referred to in sub-section (1). the Governor in Council may. by Order published in the GovernmenJ Gazette. require each holder of a licence continued in force under section 48 to pay to the Chief General Manager of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs a contribution to the Guarantee Fund in the amount and by the date specified in the Order. ( ) An Order under sub-section (2) may specify different amounts to be paid by different types of licensees. ADJOURNMENT
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( ) Despite anything to the contrary in section 15, failure to pay a contribution as required by an Order under sub-section (2) is a grOlmd for cancellation under that section of the licence continued in force under section 48 or, where the holder has been granted a licence \D1der this Act, of that licence (as the case requires). ( ) Despite anything to the contrary in section 13, failure to pay a contribution as required by an Order under sub-section (2) is a gro\D1d \D1der that section for refusal to lJ'ant a licence. ( ) A person who does not pay a contribution as required tiy an Order under sub-section (2) is guilty of an offence and liable to a penalty of not more than 50 penalty Units.". 12. Clause 49, page 19, line 35, omit "that period" and inset:t "the period referred to in sub-section (1)". 13. Clause 49, page 20, line 17, omit "nine" and insert "eleven". The amendments contain new provisions for the operations of the guarantee fund and are consequential on the adoption of amendment No. 11, which requires wholesalers to make additional contributions to the guarantee fund before it is subsumed into the Consolidated Fund. As the honourable member for Lowan has said, occasions arise where traders default and, through no fault of their own, growers are then put at risk. Over the past few years an average of two to three wholesalers have gone into liquidation and it is important that the fund can cover growers. Recently there has been a sudden increase in the number of merchant businesses failing, and the amendments provide for an additional levy to cover that situation. Amendments agreed to; amended clause agreed to; remaining clause agreed to. Reported to House with amendments. Report adopted. The SPEAKER-Order! I am of the opinion that the third reading of this Bill is required to be passed by an absolute majority. As there is riot an absolute majority of the members of the House present, I ask the Clerk to ring the bells. Required number of members having assembled in Chamber: Motion agreed to by absolute majority. Read third time.
ADJOURNMENT State Bank Victoria-Private security firm in Bayswater-Ministry of Education appointment-Education opportunities for intellectually disabled-Lease of railway land by Shire of Bulla-Bicycle helmets Mr ROPER (Treasurer}-I move: That the House do now adjourn. Mr HEFFERNAN (lvanhoe}-I raise for the attention of the Treasurer a matter relating to State Bank Victoria. I congratulate the Minister for Industry and Economic Planning for announcing yesterday in the Legislative Council that a Royal Commission would be conducted into Tricontinental Corporation Ltd. A number of unanswered questions still remain relating to the State Bank and I am concerned that this inquiry will not get to the bottom of the financial fiasco relating to the corporate loan section of the State Bank-a significant drain on funds and a major concern to the bank. Tricontinental played amajorpartin this financial fiasco and I ask the Treasurer to investigate the hidden agenda of the corporate arm of the State Bank, the part it played in the slow destruction of the bank and its impact on Tricontinental. ADJOURNMENf
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It has been brought to my attention that the State Bank. has accepted as security on loans to a major company the junk bonds of that company. If the State Bank has been involved in accepting junk bonds as security on loans the government is morally obliged to investigate that so that the taxpayers of the State are adequately infonned. As you are aware, Mr Speaker, junk bonds are the highest area of risk in the financial sector, and it has been brought to my attention that $110 million worth ofjunk bonds were supplied as security to the State Bank in its mad scheme for lending money. I ask the Treasurer to look into the matter, and I hope he will examine the extent of the Royal Commission as announced by the Minister for Industry and Economic Planning, who now has to come up with a satisfactory reply, which I believe is the entitlement of the taxpayers of Victoria. There is no doubt it is a major catastrophe. Everybody is very sorry about what has happened to the State Bank and no-one in Victoria will relax until the whole fiasco is laid to rest. I do not accept that the Minister in his endeavours through Tricontinental will reach a satisfactory final result of this matter. I believe the State Bank. was lending money to the corporate sector, and at the same time those corporate people were walking across the road and getting additional money from Tricontinental. There was double dipping by banks working in competition instead of working together as the two boards fought for recognition in areas in which they were out of their depth. I ask the Treasurer to come back with a satisfactory answer to this matter. Mrs HIRSH (Wantirna)-I wish to bring a matter to the attention of the Minister for Police and Emergency Services but in his absence I ask the Minister at the table, the Minister for Community Services, to pass it on. It concerns a matter that was raised in Channel GTV9' s A Current Affair on 20 August. It distressed and disturbed me greatly. Steve Liebmann was the presenter of the program, and the item began by saying that the incidence of crime was on the increase in Bayswater and he went on to say that people cannot do much about it. I find this statement extraordinary, as I have lived in Bayswater for 25 years and am well aware of what goes on there. The item on the program said that residents were tired of waiting for action and had turned to someone they call Big Jim Price. Apparently he is running a private policing firm or a private vigilante organisation and charging each family $2 a week for the services of what he calls Bayswater's private guardian. The item stated that the crime rate in the area had decreased by 50 per cent since Big Jim Price came along. The item flashed to film of young men in a truck. I do not know who they were-they were anonymous-but there was an implication that they were doing something wrong. They were approached by someone in uniform who asked what they were doing and they said they were waiting for someone. The implication was that Big Jim Price was somehow dealing with something offensive that the people were doing. There was a series of interviews with people who said they would call Big Jim before they called the local police. I find this to be a slight on the local police, who do an excellent job, who are extremely quick when they are called and who deal very well with criminal activity-such as it is-in the area. It is a fact that the crime rate has dropped dramatically in the outer eastern areas-certainly in the municipality of Knox, which is included in the electorate of Wantirna-in recent months. The film clip then showed a police car with a voice edited over the top saying, "We need more help. We're flat out here" and the response, "We haven't got anyone else". Goodness knows how that little piece was put together! ADJOURNMENf
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I shall now quote from the item that appeared on A Current Affair. The commentary said something like, "The odds are that you or a member of your family will become a victim of crime, probably an assault or a robbery near your home and at night". For the residents of Bayswater, that is an extraordinprily fear mongering and irresponsible item for Channel GTV 9 to be running on A Current Affair. The item then showed a series of newspaper clippings concerning various crimes tbat have occurred around Melbourne in the past six months or so and a voice said, "Not a week goes by without one of the residents of Bayswater becoming a crime statistic. So they -did something about it-they hired a protector". In the news item there was an interview with Big Jim Price who said "We have caught quite a few; we have caught young people vandalising letter boxes". Certainly that sometimes happens around Bayswater. There were interviews with people who said; "Yes, we paid just $2 a week". It looked like an advertisement for the security finn which the program called Domain Security. I should like to know who this Big Jim Price is and how he gets free advertising on Channel GTV9's A Current Affair. He says he has 600 people who prefer his services to those of the local police. I fmd it unbelievable that a private vigilante finn is preferred to the local police and I should like the Minister for Police and Emergency Services to investigate this person who claims he is responsible for a 50 per cent reduction in the crime rate in Bayswater. Mr LEIGH (Malvern)-On 15 May I raised in this Chamber the issue of the appointment of the new Chief Executive of the Ministry of Education, Ms Ann Morrow. At the time I described her as a political apparatchik-I hope H ansard is able to spell that one! I raise the issue because the appointment of Ms Morrow to head the Ministry for Education is what I would describe as political patronage of the worst order under this administration. Since I made those comments in May, I applied under the Freedom of Infonnation Act to obtain documentation relating to Ms Morrow and her activities prior to the appointment. What has happened is extraordinary. Prior to her appointment-- The SPEAKER-Order! I direct the attention of the honourable member to the longstanding custom that matters raised in the adjournment debate should be of urgent public concern. I look forward to the honourable member indicating the urgency of the matter he raises. Mr LEIGH-I am of the opinion that matters relating to our school-age children and the person administering our school system are most urgent matters. I know Ms Morrow; at one stage she was mayor of a municipality in the electorate that I represent; and prior to her appointment she was the Director of the Social Development Division, Department of Premier and Cabinet. At that time she was an SES 4--- Mrs InRSH (Wantirna}-On a point of order, Mr Speaker, it seems to me that the adjournment debate is for raising matters of importance, not for reading the curriculum vitae of a senior public servant. The SPEAKER-Order! On the point of order, the rules applying to the adjournment debate were set down very clearly by Speaker Christie, and they are recorded in Hansard, volume 292, pages 3531 and 3532, of 18 March 1970, and clearly indicate that the matter raised should be of urgent public concern. The honourable member may well regard the matters he raises as being of public concern, but he has yet to demonstrate their urgency. I further caution him against using the forum of this House to attack individuals who do not have the opportunity of defending themselves. Mr Kennett-Why did you not say that to the Minister for Tourism? ADJOURNMENT
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The SPEAKER--Order! I suggest that the honourable member should be conscious of both aspects in his comments on this matter. At this stage I do not uphold the point of order. Mr LEIGH (Malvern}-I can understand why the government is so touchy on this, but it is an important matter in relation to children's education. The community is not aware that Ms Morrow went from being responsible for a budget containing several million dollars and employing a handful of staff, to being responsible for a budget of about one-third of the State's resources and to being in charge of a department of 60 000 people. She is a personal political appointment of the Premier of this State. It is an outrageous misuse of the position of either the Minister for Education, as she was at the time, or the Premier of this State. I believe that Ms Morrow from an educational point of view is one of the most dangerous women in this State and this State will live to regret it. Mrs SETCHES (Minister for Community Services}-On a point of order, Mr Speaker, this is an unprecedented personal attack on a senior public servant of this State. The honourable member should be ashamed of himself and I call on you, Mr Speaker, to make a ruling on the basis that this is not the way this House ought to be used, and has not been used in the past. The honourable member opposite uses this forum time and again to air his prejudicial political views about public servants. I ask you to rule on that. Mr LEIGH (Malvern}-On the point of order, Mr Speaker, I believe the activities and administration of the government is what the adjournment debate is about. In reply to the point raised by the Minister for Community Services, I certainly never attacked Mr Beitzel in the manner the government did previously. It is my right as a member of Parliament to raise matters that I consider of importance to my community and the State of Victoria. The appointment of the head of the Ministry of Education is a matter of serious consequence to the educational system and to the future of your children, may I suggest, Mr Speaker, if they go to a State school, as well as to the future of the school children of everybody else in this Chamber and in the community. The Minister has no right at all to misuse the debate in the manner that she and the government did. It is a typical misuse of the democratic principles of this Chamber that they have done it so often. Mr HONEYWOOD (Warrandyte)-On the point of order, I find it somewhat hypocritical that the previous speaker, the honourable member for Wantima, spent 4 of the 5 minutes attacking an individual who has no right to defend himself, one Big Jim Price, whom she spent the whole time attacking. I urge you, Mr Speaker, to apply some consistency in your approach to the points of order raised this evening. The SPEAKER--Order! There are a number of matters that arise in this context. Firstly, on the point of order, I remain concerned about the manner in which the honourable member described a particular person in quite pejorative terms; and I will further examine the matter because it is clearly not desirable for any person from either side of the House to use this forum in that manner when people who are attacked do not have the opportunity of defending themselves. I certainly intend to examine that issue further and, if appropriate, to make a further statement to the House on it. Secondly, in relation to the matter raised by the honourable member, in all of his contribution it is not apparent to the Chair that he has complied with Speaker Christie's ruling in respect of the adjournment debate. Mr Leigh interjected. ADJOURNMENT
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The SPEAKER-Order! If the honourable member wants to flout Standing Order No. 107, the Chair will have no choice but to deal with him. The final matter which concerns me is that the time allocated to honourable members in speaking on the motion for the adjournment of the $itting, where time for contributions is limited, is further eroded by the raising of points of order and ruling on those points of order. I will ensure that that matter is considered by the Standing Orders Committee. At this stage I uphold the point of order. Mrs RAY (Box Hill)-I raise with the Minister for Community Services a matter relating to people with intellectual disabilities, and neighbourhood houses, both of which fall within the responsibility of her portfolio. A further education division was created in the Ministry of Education in 1987 with responsibility for adult migrant education services, adult literacy, basic education, and hobbies and non-accredited courses. That coincided with another policy initiative in special schools where people over the age of eighteen years were relocated into settings that were more appropriate to their ages. That was a statutory requirement under the Intellectually Disabled Persons' Services Act. It is entirely appropriate that adults should not be in school settings. Some were able to be placed appropriately in T AFE courses and some in day centres; others have found their way into neighbourhood houses. Neighbourhood houses provide both funded further education courses and non-funded programs. The Minister will be a ware of the juggling efforts and the skilful management practices required to keep these diverse centres operating. Communities in these houses have taken an increasing number of people with disabilities and special needs, with either psychiatric or intellectual disabilities, and have successfully integrated them into programs that match their skills and interests. Neighbourhood houses have been willing to do this and have been successful. However, two issues have been raised with me by an association of neighbourhood learning centres. Firstly, some consideration should be given to the number of people with special needs who are integrated into neighbourhood house programs. It is not in the nature of these centres to deny access to people. Indeed, they have no basis for doing so since many courses are not fee-based. However, a position will be reached where sufficient numbers of people with special needs will be integrated into centres and to go beyond that number would change the whole nature of the programs offered. They have never been seen as primary support programs for people with special needs. Secondly, no funds have been allocated for additional support or resources needed to integrate people with these unique needs. In other areas of the community funds are allocated to assist integration in this way. I understand a report has been prepared for the Minister on neighbourhood houses and people with intellectual disabilities. I ask whether she can advise the House on the contents and recommendations of that report or provide some indication of the date of its release and what action she intends to take arising from the report. Mr REYNOLDS (Gisborne)-I raise with the Minister for Transport a matter involving two blocks ofland,lots 34 and 66, in the township of Sunbury. These blocks have been leased by the Shire of Bulla on a 50-year agreement with a rental review every five years and are used for car parking for the central business district. The 69 traders in the central business district of Sunbury each pay a separate levy known as separate rate No. 1 to the Shire of Bulla which enables the shire to recoup the amount expended in leasing these blocks of land. ADJOURNMENf
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In 1975 the rental for lot 34 was $1800; in 1980 that went up to $2424; in 1985 to $5248, and the rental proposed for 1990 is $52 700, an increase of about 1000 per cent. The rental for lot 66 was $5000 in 1975, $5700 in 1980, $19688 in 1985 and the proposed rental increase for 1990 is to $106 250, an increase of 540 per cent. The Public Transport Corporation has refused to vary these increases other than requesting, at the insistence of the Shire of Bulla, the Valuer-General to review the new rental detenninations urgently in accordance with the respective lease agreements. This madly excessive increase is not a proper impost on the businesses that have to find money over and above nonnal rents and land taxes. These are tough economic times and in addition to the businesses that have been there for a long period many new shops have opened in the township of Sunbury and all the businesses are finding it hard to make ends meet. I ask the Minister to investigate this massive increase. I have written to him but have not received a response. This is a heartless move because it affects small business people who are already experiencing extreme financial difficulties. This rental increase has caused them great heartache. Several traders and the Sunbury Chamber of Commerce have written to me about the matter. Small businesses must pass these increases on to their customers, if they can. I ask the Minister for Transport to respond to this request by the people of Sunbury as soon as he possibly can. Mr HAMILTON (Morwell)-I raise for the attention of the Minister for Transport a matter concerning bicycle helmet legislation that was recently introduced. The problem is not so much with the legislation but with the availability and purchase of bicycle helmets, especially by families in the low-income bracket. A number of families in the electorate I represent are in that bracket and have two or three children. The purchase of helmets, each costing approximately $40 to $50, for the whole family represents a major outlay for people on supporting parents benefits or on low incomes. For people in this bracket the bicycle is a major means of transport because many of these families can afford neither to buy nor run a motor car. Messages, shopping and general moving about are generally done by bicycle. The suggestion that has been made to me by the coordinator of the Parents in Crisis group in the Latrobe Valley is that a similar program to the baby capsules program that was introduced by the government could be introduced for bicycle helmets. Under that successful program, local councils retained baby capsules for loan to low-income families. A similar program for bicycle helmets eould be introduced by the government with local and Federal government support. The bicycle helmets could be available for rental or loan from local government offices or baby health centres. The suggestion is worthy of pursuit because it would help the many people who are finding it difficult to purchase bicycle helmets. I understand that many problems will be confronted in conducting the suggested program. The problems will relate to the numbers of helmets that will be needed and the fact that they will need to be available for longer than baby capsules are needed by individual families because children tend to ride bicycles for a longer time than babies need capsules. However, with a bit of inventiveness and lateral thinking, a system could be devised so that bicycle helmets could be made available for those who cannot afford to buy them. I remind honourable members that the bicycle is the most environmentally friendly fonn of transport; it is something of the order of 1()()() times more energy efficient than a motor car. The government should encourage people to ride bicycles and should stress not only the safety aspect of wearing bicycle helmets but also the energy efficiency of riding bicycles. I urge the Minister for Transport to give serious consideration to the proposal. ADJOURNMENT
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The SPEAKER-Order! I advise that the matter raised by the honourable member for Malvern was out of order. Mrs SETCHES (Minister for Community Services~The honourable member for Ivanhoe raised a matter relating to State Bank Victoria and Tricontinental Corporation Ltd. I shall ensure that the issue is directed to the attention of the Treasurer. The honourable member for Wantirna raised for the attention of the Minister for Police and Emergency Services a matter relating to the episode of A Current Affair on Channel GTV 9 that was screened on 20 August and included an interview with Big Jim Price, who appears to be a private security provider. The honourable member for Box Hill raised with me a matter relating to the government's policy on people with intellectual disabilities who have in the past been obtaining education in special developmental schools or institutions and who now, in increasing numbers, are turning to community houses to take up the activities and courses provided there. Community houses have always been able to deal with the challenges put to them. A public forum on these issues was held as a result of the awareness of the number of people with intellectual disabilities who are moving into community houses and requiring special courses. The people who conducted the forum and took part in it were those who run neighbourhood houses and representatives of the Intellectual Disability Services Division. As a result policy guidelines for the integration of intellectually disabled people into neighbourhood houses have been developed by the steering committee, which had representatives as I have described. The guidelines will provide practical policy assistance for Intellectual Disability Services Division regional teams, referring agencies and neighbourhood houses. It is envisaged that the guidelines will assist towards hannonising the concerns and requirements of people who use neighbourhood houses, along with the concerns of people who have intellectual disabilities. Each of those needs to be locally responsive and specific and the guidelines will deal with that matter. I expect to be able to launch a book of guidelines in the near future. When the guidelines have been launched they will be made available to the honourable member for Box Hill, to neighbourhood houses, referring agencies, regional teams, local government authorities and community support workers. The honourable member for Gisbome raised a matter for the Minister for Transport regarding increasing rentals on property leased by the Shire of Bulla. The honourable member for Morwell raised a very interesting response to a community need regarding bicycle helmet legislation and the purchase of helmets by low-income earners. He proposed that thought be given to a scheme similar to the baby capsule program that is offered through local government. I will relay those matters to the Ministers concerned.
Mr T ANNER (Caulfield~On a point of order, Mr Speaker I raise a matter, on which I ask for your consideration and guidance. It concerns the conduct of the debate on the motion for the adjournment of the sitting. The debate tonight has in effect been reduced to a farce by the fa~t that only one government Minister has bothered to be in attendance. You would be aware, Mr Speaker, that there are thirteen government Ministers in the House and, if the debate is to have any relevance, Ministers should make themselves available for it. Government members, and in particular Ministers, are not good attenders in the House, and tonight we have only one Minister bothering to be present for the debate. If there is a repeat of this situation in future sittings of the House in this session the whole value of the debate on the motion for the adjournment of the sitting will be denigrated and devalued. It drags down the role of Parliament and the institution of Parliament itself. I request your
Spring Session 1990-8 ADJOURNMFNI
226 ASSEMBLY 30 AUGUST 1990 consideration of the role of Ministers in this debate and your guidance on how the House should rectify the matter. The SPEAKER-Order! It is not a matter for the Chair to direct that any particular member or Minister or group of Ministers should be present in the Chamber at any particular stage of the proceedings. I suggest that, if the honourable member is concerned about this issue, he should raise it directly with the government In the meantime, I undertake to ensure that his comments on this point of order are drawn to the attention of the Premier. There is no point of order. Motion agreed to. House adjourned at 6.8 p.m. until Tuesday, 4 September. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
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QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
The following answers to questions on notice were circulated- PAYMENTS TO WELFARE ORGANISATIONS (Question No. 41) Mr DICKlNSON (South Barwon) asked the Minister for Community Services: Whether he is aware that long delays of up to four months are being experienced by Victorian welfare organisations in receiving due payments by government; if so, what action will be taken to speed up the processing of payments so welfare organisations are not financially disadvantaged? Mrs SETCHES (Minister for Community Services)-The answer is: The government is acutely aware of the important role on non-government agencies in the provision of welfare services throughout Victoria. The majority of grants paid by my department to non-government organisations are paid in advance of the period being funded generally quarterly or monthly. The alternative accommodation and care program however has historically experienced some delays in the payment of subsidies. CSV is currently in the process of introducing block funding which will mean that the government's payments to welfare organisations will be placed on a regular monthly or quarterly grant basis. In the interim the department has introduced monthly cash flows to the non-government welfare organisations to alleviate the problem of delays inherent in the previous system for making payments. STATE TRANSPORT AUTHORITY (Question No. 58) Mr BROWN (Leader of the Opposition) asked the Minister for Transport: 1. Whether the State Transport Authority will become the employing authority for all officers engaged in the provision of railway services; if so, will officers employed by the Metropolitan Transit Authority who assume railway duties become employees ofSTA? 2. Whether it is envisaged that ST A officers engaged in the provision of railway and railway ancillary services in the Melbourne metropolitan area will become employees of MTA as a result of the current reorganisation ofMTA? 3. Whether the MTA now has more levels of management than ST A since the introduction of at least twelve directors whose salaries could be in the order of$70 OOO? 4. What is the estimated cost of the additional privileges that would result from the introduction of a common condition of employment scheme, if previous Metrail staff are to become employees of MTA? Mr SPYKER (Minister for Transport)-The answer is: The four parts of this question relate to the integration of the former Metropolitan Rail Division of the Victorian Railways into the Metropolitan Transit Authority. As the honourable member would be aware, the Metropolitan Transit Authority and State Transport Authority ceased to exist on 30 June 1989, their functions being incorporated within the Public Transport Corporation. Employees of the STA and MTA became employees of the Public Transport Corporation from 30 June 1989. The business arms of the PTC-V/Line and the Met-carry out work for each other in certain specific areas on a fee for service basis. Consultants were engaged to review staff structures including staff levels in V/Line and the Met to recommend the most effective and efficient structure for the new Public Transport Corporation. Duplication of positions and unnecessary management levels are being removed progressively as a consequence. The issue of standard employment conditions is being considered through rationalisation of awards as part of the amalgamation process. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
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"ROCKING THE RAILS" POP CONCERTS (Question No. 61) Mr BROWN (Leader of the Opposition) asked the Minister for Transport: With respect to the transport Ministry funded "Rocking the Rails" pop concerts which were held throughout the Melbourne and metropolitan area and at Ballarat during 1986 and 1987: 1. What was the total cost to the taxpayer to fund these pop concerts? 2. How man" pop concerts were held, indicating-(a) at what locations; and (b) how many staffwere involved? 3. Were any trains used to facilitate these pop concerts; if so, at what cost? 4. How much money was paid to staff in overtime payments to facilitate,the concerts? Mr SPYKER (Minister for Transport)-The answer is: 1. The total transport costs relating to "Rocking the Rails" concerts in metropolitan and country areas was $32336. The costs were shared between the transport authorities and the Department of Labour. 2. (a) Concerts were held at: Blackburn Greensborough Macleod Camberwell Hawthorn Oakleigh Caulfield Lalor Sunshine Hinders Street Laverton Thomastown Ballarat Castlemaine Geelong Bendigo Maryborough Sunbury (b) A total of78 staff were involved in facilitating the transport arrangements for all the concerts. 3. Two trains were used to facilitate the concerts, and the cost of providing them is included in the calculation of total costs. 4. Overtime payments to rail staff comprised $18388 of the total transport costs of$32 336.
OVERLOADING OF SCHOOL BUSES (Question No. 200) MR DICKINSON (South Barwon) asked the Minister for Transport: 1. What Road Traffic Authority inspections have been carried out regarding school buses in the Geelong region in the past five years to ensure buses are not overloaded. 2. Whether he will advise what the present policy of the government is on overloading of school buses and what action has been taken to alert the Ministry of Education as to legal requirements of overloading of buses where children's safety is concerned on school bus routes? Mr SPYKER (Minister for Transport)-The answer is: 1. Roads Corporation enforcement officers periodically carry out surveillance of school buses to ensure compliance with all requirements including carrying capacity. These duties are not recorded as they are undertaken as part of the corporation's normal enforcement activities. Checks are also carried out at the request of the Ministry of Education and the Public Transport Corporation. 2. Guidelines for seating arrangements and standing passengers on buses were developed in 1985 by a Working Party comprising representatives of transport authorities, bus operators and unions, the Ministry of Education and the Victoria Police. They were reaffirmed in April 1988, at a meeting of all parties including representatives of the Victorian Council of School Organisations. VIC ROADS is responsible under these guidelines for assessing the maximum number of passengers the vehicle is licensed to carry. This capacity must be displayed in the bus and must not be exceeded. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
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Responsibility of the operation of contract school bus services in rural areas was transferred from the Ministry of Education to the Public Transport Corporation on 1 January 1990. On these services three children under the age of twelve years may be seated equivalent to two adult passengers and a maximum of twelve students are permited to stand for no more than 10 kilometres. On contract school bus services provided by the PTC in the metropolitan and urban areas vehicles may load to the maximum adult passenger capacity.
WARNING SIGNALS ON GEELONG-BALLARAT AND GHERINGHAP-INVERLEIGH LINES (Question No. 210) Mr DICKINSON (South Barwon) asked the Minister for Transport: In respect of the Geelong-Ballarat and Gheringhap-Inverloch railway lines: 1. What action, if any, has been taken by V/Line to install warning lights and bells at all level crossings? 2. Which level crossings have been the scene of collisions involving trains, indicating-(a) which crossings had no warning systems; (b) what action, if any, has been taken to install warning equipment; and (c) when the equipment became operative, and in the event that warning equipment has not been installed, when it is proposed such equipment will be installed? Mr SPYKER (Minister for Transport)-The answer is: 1. Nearly 30 per cent of Victoria's level crossings are protected by flashing lights and boom barriers or gates. This is the highest proportion of protected crossings on any rail system in Australia. Over the past seven years $15 million has been spent providing warning devices and boom barriers at level crossings. Priorities for the installation of warning devices including automatic equipment will continue to be assessed by the Railway Level Crossing Road Safety Coordination Committee chaired by the Roads Corporation, and made up of representatives of the Roads Corporation, Public Transport Corporation and the Ministry of Transport. The committee will continue to consult with local government to ensure that crossings warranting treatment receive early attention. Driver inattention or error remains as the most significant contributor to level crossing accidents. Two thirds of all crossing accidents occur at sites which are already protected by boom barriers or automatic warning devices.
CLAIMS FOR LOST OR STOLEN PROPERTY (Question No. 231) Mr BROWN (Gippsland West) asked the Minister for Transport: In respect of each of the past four years, what was the value of goods claimed as lost or stolen from V/Line, indicating-(a) how many claims were made; and (b) the total sum of money paid in settlement of such claims? Mr SPYKER (Minister for Transport)-The answer is: Pilferage Shortages Period No. Claims Amount Paid No. Claims Amount Paid $ $ 1 July 1985-30 June 1986 534 22585 3793 310 236 1 July 1986-30 June 1987 364 20182 3331 288 109 1 July 1987-30 June 1988 358 40726 2525 256569 1 July 1988-30 June 1989 297 24776 1 984 252445
Figures for the past three financial years indicate a significant reduction in the number of claims being made. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
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ROAD ACCIDENTS IN GEELONG (Question No. 308) Mr DICKINSON (South Barwon) asked the Minister for Transport: In respect of each of the years 1987, 1988 and 1989, to date: I. What was the number of road accidents in the entire region covered by the electoral province of Geelong? 2. What were the locations where those accidents occurred? 3. How many accidents resulted in fatalities? 4. What percentage of road accidents involved alcohol as the cause or a contributing factor? Mr SPYKER (Minister for Transport)-The answer is: The State traffic accident database does not record electoral districts as a data item hence accidents in Geelong Province are not specifically identifiable. The information provided covers the local government areas of- Bellarine Bannockburn Barrabool (Geelong Province) Corio Geelong Geelong West Newtown South Barwon Queenscliffe 1. Accidents reported to the police for the above local government areas are set out in the following table: 1987 1988 1989
Total number of accidents 1691 1823 1771
The data in the above table exclude off-road accidents and take account of accidents on l~al government area boundary roads which are counted two or three times in the accident database. 2. It is not practicable to provide a list of the location of each accident with this answer; however a computer tabulation will be provided to the honourable member indicating those details. 3. The number of fatal accidents was: 1987 23 1988 37 1989 21 4. It is only possible to quote blood alcohol content-BAC-statistics for the proportion of driver-motor cyclists killed or admitted to hospital. For the whole of Victoria, where BAC is known, 38·5 per cent of drivers killed in 1987 were over ·05 per cent. In 1988, 35·6 per cent of drivers killed were over ·05 per cent. The corresponding figure for 1989 is 31·8 per cent. 2. The collision data for the two lines are: Geelong-Ballarat Date Nearest Station Type ofCrossing Injuries 5.8.82 North Geelong Flashing Lights o 6.11.82 Elaine Flashing Lights o 4.4.86 North Geelong Flashing Lights 1 8.7.86 Moorabool Warning Signs 1 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 231
Gheringhap-Maroona (Inverleigh) 22.12.86 Gheringhap Warning Signs 2 27.6.88 Inverleigh Warning Signs o 27.2.89 Gheringhap Warning Signs 1 Between 1982 and the present there have been 7 collisions with 5 injuries and no deaths. Warning devices are installed at level crossings as necessary taking into account usage and accident history. In addition, the Roads Corporation reviews sites both pro-actively and following any submission it receives. The Roads Corporation is currently developing alternative road safety treatments for level crossings including new warning signs, rumble strips, improved pavement marking, traffic islands and new pavement surfaces. The crossings at Evans Road, near Moorabool Station and Burnside Road near Gheringhap Station are being considered for installation of warning equipment in the 1992-93 financial year. Dundas Street, Inverleigh is being considered for upgrading in the 1993-94 financial year.
WORKCARE PAYMENTS IN MINISTRY FOR POLICE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES (Question No. 321) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Minister for Police and Emergency Services: In respect of each department, agency and authority within his administration: 1. What the cost was of WorkCare payments made to personnel employed in the financial years 1985-86 to 1988-89? 2. Whether he will advise the amount paid by each organisation in WorkCare levies for the years 1987-88 and 1988-89, respectively? Mr SANDON (Minister for Police and Emergency Services)-The answer is: MINISTRY FOR POLICE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES 1. WorkCare payments to Ministry employees: $ 1985-86 Nil 1986-87 855 1987-88 1 571 1988-89 3369 2. WorkCare levies paid: $ 1987-88 38392 1988-89 40284 METROPOLITAN FIRE BRIGADES BOARD (MFBB) 1. The information requested cannot be provided accurately for the period 1985-86 to 1987-88 without a manual search of each individual's record. The time and resources for such a search are not available. The cost of payments in 1988-89 was $914 615. 2. WorkCare levies paid: $ 1987-88 2·09 million 1988-89 2· 384 million QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
232 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
VICTORIA STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE (Vic SES) 1. WorkCare payments to Vic SES employees: $ 1985-86 Nil 1986-87 2580 1987-88 33370 1988-89 18653 2. WorkCare levies paid: S 1987-88 25 194.99 1988-89 28473.51 VICTORIA POLICE 1. WorkCare payments to Victoria Police employees: Fiscal year Public Service Police Total S S $ 1985-86 464926 2475900 2940 826 1986-87 428335 3410 700 3839035 1987-88 431 623 3241 500 3673 123 1988-89 446 901 2818800 3265701
2. WorkCare levies paid: S 1987-88 10 484 852.42 1988-89 11 304 582.25 COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY (CFA) 1. At the present time, the office systems at the CFA do not allow an analysis of claims to provide the full range of data requested in question 1. However, the CFA can advise that the Accident Compensation Commission has reimbursed to the CFA the following amounts from the 1985-86 financial year to to the 1988-89 financial year: S Weekly compensation 916338.00 Medical and other costs 301 618.00 Total reimbursement 1 217956.00 2. WorkCare levies paid: S 1987-88 647097.74 1988-89 950559.00
WORKCARE PAYMENTS IN MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT (Question No. 324) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Minister for Transport: In respect of each department, agency and authority within his administration: 1. What the cost was of WorkCare payments made to personnel employed in the financial years 1985-86 to 1988-89. 2. Whether he will advise the amount paid by each organisation in WorkCare levies for the years 1987-88 and 1988-89, respectively. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 233
Mr SPYKER (Minister for Transport)-The answer is: Payments and levies in the years concerned were: Agency Year Payments Levies $ $ Port of Geelong Authority' 1985-86 18901 1986-87 19357 1987-88 32472 264762 1988-89 42717 286872
Port of Melbourne Authority2 1985-86 140000 1986-87 133000 1987-88 129000 740000 1988-89 112000 660000
Port of Portland Authority) 1985-86 1986-87 1987-88 2004 58798 1988-89 5730 62106
Grain Elevators Board· 1985-86 176920 1986-87 197281 1987-88 191 284 421 391 1988-89 138351 344 673
Roads CorporationS 1985-86 381 151 1986-87 1089840 1987-88 1 731 412 4283665 1988-89 3 136244 4571 621
Public Transport Corporation6 1985-86 1 516640 1986-87 2080790 1987-88 2 131058 19520000 1988-89 2 151 355 19 733 000
Transport Accident Commission 7 1985-86 1986-87 53283 1987-88 167052 97483 1988-89 139549 110060
Ministry of Transport ' 1985-86 1 319 1986-87 6839 1987-88 21449 123540 1988-89 25782 89018
I The Port of Geelong Authority figures include the first five days salary and the additional salary above the amount reimbursed by the SIO.
2 The Port of Melbourne Authority figures do not include the first five days salary but do include the salary above the amount reimbursed by the SIO.
1 The Port of Portland Authority's records up to 1987-88 were maintained manually and extraction of the information would require significant resources which are not available. Payments indicated reflect net costs. • The GEB's costs include the first five days salary and the additional salary above the amount reimbursed bytheSIO.
S The Roads Corporation figures do not include the first five days salary and the additional make up pay component.
6 The PTC has included first five days salary and the additional salary above the amount reimbursed by the SIO, except for the Rail Division for which the information would need to be manually extracted.
7 The Transport Accident Commission came into operation on 1 January 1987.
8 The Ministry of Transport costs do not include the first five days salary and the additional salary above the amount reimbursed by the SIO. Ministry of Transport figures include the Marine Board of Victoria. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
234 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
FUNDING FOR WOMEN IN VICTORIAN TOURISM COMMISSION (Question No. 369) Mrs WADE (Kew) asked the Minister for Tourism: In respect of each department, agency and authority within his administration, what are the names and addresses of persons, organisations and groups who received or are to receive funding in each of the financial years 1981-82 to 1989-90 for purposes assisting women, indicating, in respect of each year-(a) the amount of funding received or to be received by each person, organisation or group; and (b) the purpose for which the funding was approved? Mr CRABB (Minister for Tourism)-The answer is: (i) No specific funding-Alpine Resorts Commission and Victorian Tourism Commission. (ii) No specific funding-Alpine Resorts Commission and Victorian Tourism Commission.
PORTABLE CLASSROOMS (Question No. 373) Mr W ALLACE (Gip,sland South) asked the Minister for Education: How many schools with relocatable or portable classroom buildings have more than their entitlement, indicating-(a) the region; (b) the school and its entitlement; and (c) the number in excess of entitlement? Ms KIRNER (then Minister for Education)-The answer is: (i) An audit of relocatables-portables was undertaken in 1989 at the request of the Minister for Education. (ii) The declared excess of re locatable-portable classrooms in Victoria is 847. (iii) The information per school, per region, is contained in eight volumes of information. This is not suitable to be provided in this response, but can be inspected in the Facilities Planning Unit, Resource Management Division. (iv) The regions identified the units they believed to be in excess. This information is provided in the attachments. (v) Of the 847 declared as excess, approximately 150 have been identified as being required at the current school sites to meet future needs. (vi) Over the Christmas vacation period 332 teaching spaces were moved to meet deficiencies, and growth, which were identified by the regions. (vii) The first term vacation of 1990 saw a further 19 teaching spaces moved to schools which were deficient on current accommodation standards, based on actual enrolments. (viii) A process has been developed for the equitable redistribution of the remaining excess stock across the state to meet the proposed 1:27 schedule for primary schools, and to facilitate the Secondary College Schedule. RELOCATABLE AUDIT JUNE/JULY 1989 REGION GIPPSLAND ------Regions ------Regions Declared Declared School Excess School Excess ------Moe PS Warragul------TS TraralgonHS Foster HS Yarram HS Gutheridge PS Yalloum TS Leongatha HS Baimsdale HS Leongatha TS Kumai College-Maryvale Maffra HS Sale TS Mirboo North HS QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 235
Regions Regions Declared Declared School Excess School Excess ~~------Neerim South PS Korumburra PS Orbost HS Kumai College-Morwell HTS Traralgon South PS Labertouche PS Traralgon TS Lakes Entrance Post Primary A. G. Robertson Lardner PS Airly PS Lindenow PS Alberton PS Loch Sport PS Alberton West PS Longford PS Binginwarri PS Meerlieu PS Bona Vista PS Metung PS Budgeree PS Morwell PS Cann River HES Nambrok PS Carrajung PS Nicholson PS Clifton Creek PS Nyora PS Cobains PS Outtrim PS Damum PS Paynesville PS Drouin South PS Ripplebrook PS Dumbalk PS Seaspray PS Fish Creek PS Tambo Upper PS Gormandale PS Toora PS Gormandale East PS Trafalgar East PS Hazelwood Estate PS Warragul PS Hazelwood North PS Willow Grove PS Heyfield PS Woodside PS Kongwak PS Yinnar PS Korumburra HS TOTALS o
RELOCATABLEAUDIT JUNE/JULY 1989 REGION GOULBURN NORTH-EASTERN ------Regions ------Regions Declared Declared School Excess School Excess ------Alexandra HS ------Osbome Flat PS I CorryongHS ili~PS 1 Wangaratta TS PuckapunyalPS 1 Wodonga Technical School Ruffy PS 1 ArdmonaPS Shepparton PS 1 Avenel PS Swan pool PS 1 Aowerdale PS Taggerty PS 1 Shepparton South Technical School Tarrawingee PS 1 Bamawartha PS Thomton PS 1 Bethangaps Walwa PS 1 Beveridge PS WandongPS 1 Bonnie Doon PS Wangaratta PS 1 Boorhaman PS Youanmite PS 1 DevenishPS Bright HES 2 Greta South PS Kyabram HS 3 Harston PS Katunga PS Kergunyah South PS Cobram Consolidated School Lancaster PS Benalla Technical School MerrigumPS CobramHS Myrtleford HS Kiewa Valley Consolidated School QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
236 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
Regions Regions Declared Declared School Excess School Excess ------Mount Beauty HS ------Mooroopna Park PS Rushworth HS Mywee PS Rutherglen HS Shepparton Technical College Shepparton HS St James PS Shepparton PS Tallangatta HS Baranduda PS Tallarook PS Broadford PS Tallygaroopna PS Bunbartha PS Tatong PS Cheshunt PS Tatura East PS Dookie PS Toolamba West PS Euroa HS Wangaratta West PS Everton PS Wodonga HS Glenburn PS Wodonga West HS Katandra West PS Wooragee PS Kyabram PS Wunghnu PS Melrose PS Yackandandah PS Moorilim PS TOTAL 38 Mooroopna HS
RELOCATABLE AUDIT JUNE/JULY 1989 REGION LODDON-MALLEE CAMPASE ------Regions ------Regions Declared Declared School Excess School Excess Red Cliffs PS 2 EppalockPS Maryborough Technical College 1 Epsom PS Murrabit Group School 1 Flora Hill HS KynetonHS Harcourt North PS Swan Hill HS Huntly PS Rochester HS Irymple South PS Eaglehawk HS Lockwood South PS KerangHS Long Gully PS Mildura PS Manangatang HES Werrimull Consolidated School Mandurang PS Kangaroo Flat TS Mandurang South PS Ouyen Secondary College Maryborough HS Robinvale Secondary College Maryborough PS WycheproofEducation Centre Merbein West PS Merbein PS Mildura South PS Pyramid Hill HES Murrayville Secondary College Sea Lake Secondary College Nanneella Estate PS Ballendella PS RaywoodPS Bendigo East PS Red Cliffs HS Bendigo HS Rochester PS Bendigo North PS Sebastian PS BoortHS Specimen Hill PS Colignan PS StArnaudHS Darraweit Guim PS Stewart PS East Loddon HS Swan Hill PS Echuca East PS Tyntynder PS Echuca Village PS White Hills Technical School Elmore PS TOTAL 4 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 237
RELOCA TABLEAUDIT JUNE/JULY 1989 ______~R=E=G~IO~N~E~A~ST~E~RNM--ET-R-O __ PO_L_I_T_A_N ______R~~ ~~ Declared Declared School Excess School Excess ------=~=Macleod TS 10 =------~------~~==Bayswater HS Brandon Park TS 7 Belgrave South PS Montmorency Secondary College 2 Bimbadeen Heights PS Warrandyte PS 2 Botanic Park PS Swinburne TS Chatham PS Eltham HS Chum Creek PS Wellington HS Diamond Creek East PS Mount Evelyn TS Donburn PS Upper Yarra HS Ferny Creek PS Greenwood HS Gladesville PS Syndal HS Glen Iris PS Diamond Creek Secondary College Heathmont East PS Emerald Secondary College Ivanhoe East PS Fairhills HS Knox Gardens PS Mooroolbark TS Knox TS Wheelers Hill HS Monbulk PS Box Hill Technical College Monbulk Secondary College Doncaster East HS Mont Albert PS Doncaster HS Mount Dandenong PS Highvale HS Mulgrave PS Blackburn TS Olinda PS Brentwood HS Selby PS Croydon HS The Patch PS Jordanville South PS Vermont HS Ringwood Technical School Warburton PS Warrandyte HS Wattle Glen PS Watsonia TS Woori Yallock PS Ferntree Guly TS Yallambie PS Templestowe HS Ashwood PS Burwood TS Balwyn North PS Marlborough PS Balwyn PS Parkwood HS Bayswater North PS Ringwood HS Billanook PS Scoresby HS Birmingham PS Upwey HS Boronia Heights PS Auburn South PS Camelot Rise PS Badger Creek PS Canterbury PS Camberwell South PS Croydon Hills PS Canterbury Girls' HS Diamond Creek PS Doncaster East PS Dixons Creek PS Eltham North PS Doncaster PS Eltham PS Doncaster Park PS Glen Waverley HS Eltham East PS Lilydale HS Greensborough PS Livingstone PS Heathmont HS Macleod HS Heidelberg TS Mooroolbark HS Hoddles Creek PS Norwood HS Ivanhoe PS Rowville PS Kent Park PS Wantirna HS Launching Place PS Warrandyte South PS Maroondah HS Watsonia HS Montmorency South PS Waverley Park PS Mount Evelyn PS QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
238 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
Regions Regions Declared Declared ------School Excess ------School Excess Mullauna Secondary College, Mitcham Strathewen PS Mullauna Secondary College Studfield East PS Park Orchards PS Wandin East PS PembrokeHS Wandin North PS Scoresby PS Wantima Heights PS Serpell PS Waverley Meadows PS Sherboume PS Wonga Park PS Solway PS Yarra J unction PS St Helena Secondary College TOTAL Steel's Creek PS 21
RELOCATABLE AUDIT JUNE/JULY 1989 REGION BARWON SOUTH-WESTERN Regions Regions Declared Declared School Excess School Excess Geelong East TS 6 Merrivale PS 1 Warmambool HS 6 Moriac PS 1 Portland TS 5 Mount Duneed PS 1 QueenscliffHS 4 RokewoodPS 1 Bundarra PS 4 Shelford PS I Cobden TS 4 Swan Marsh PS 1 Portland HS 4 Teesdale PS 1 Portland PS 4 TimboonHS 1 Geelong North HS 3 Wallington PS 1 Apollo Bay HES 3 QueenscliffHS-Q Campus Colac HS 3 Corio North HS Grovedale West PS 3 LomeHES Oberon HS 3 OberonPS Casterton HS 2 Balmoral HS ColacTS 2 Bannockbum PS CorioPS 2 GeelongTS CorioTS 2 Grovedale TS-HS MandamaPS 2 Warmambool North TS Ocean Grove PS 2 Aireys Inlet PS Rosewall PS 2 Alvie Cons. School Warmambool East PS 2 Bell Park North PS CobdenPS 1 Bell Park TS BelmontHS 1 Corio West PS Camperdown HS 1 GarvocPS Dennington PS 1 Geelong South PS Freshwater Creek PS 1 Heywood Cons. School GeelongHS 1 Skipton PS GnotukPS 1 St Leonards PS Grassmere PS 1 Warmambool TS Hamilton HS 1 Woolsthorpe PS Hamilton TS 1 TOTAL 88 HeywoodHS 1 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 239
RELOCATABLE AUDIT JUNE-JULY 1989 REGION-SOUTHERN METROPOLITAN Regions Regions Declared Declared School Excess School Excess Moorabbin City Sec. College 8 Ballam Park PS Cranbourne Meadows TS 7 Belvedere Park PS Westall PS 7 Bittern PS Prahran HS 6 ChandlerHS Clayton TS 5 Chandler PS Dromana TS 4 Clayton South PS Wonthaggi Sec. College-S 4 CleelandHS Rosebud HS 4 Clyde PS Coomoora PS 4 Cranbourne South PS Mount Eliza HS 4 Dandenong West PS Parkdale HS 4 Glenhuntly PS Sandringham C. College-HI 4 Harrisfield PS Endeavour Hills TS 3 Kananook PS Noble Park Tech College 3 MontereyHS Mornington TS 3 Mornington PS CoomooraHS 3 Mount Eliza PS Mornington HS 3 Officer PS Aspendale TS 3 Parkdale PS Brighton TS 3 Red Hill Cons. School Carwatha HS 3 Seaford North PS Hampton Park PS 3 Seaford PS Dandenong Tech College 2 Seaford-Carrum HS Noble Park HS 2 Southern Cross PS Oakleigh TS 2 Tyabb Railway Station Karingal PS 2 Wooranna Park PS Mordialloc-Chelsea HS 2 BaxterTS Silverton PS 2 Keysborough TS Tooradin PS 2 Westall HS Baxter PS 2 Springvale HS Berwick PS 2 Ardoch/Windsor Sec. College Chelsea Heights PS 2 Ballam Park TS Cranbourne North PS 2 Cranbourne HS Cranbourne PS 2 Malvern Central School Dandenong HS 2 Springvale PS Dandenong South PS 2 Hastings HS Frankston Heights PS 2 Hastings West Park PS Heatherhill HS 2 Huntingdale TS Karingal Heights PS 2 Cranbourne West PS Koo-Wee-Rup HS 2 Doveton TS LangLang PS 2 Hampton Park East PS Noble Park North PS 2 Langwarrin Park PS Oakleigh HS 2 Pakenham HS Brighton Beach PS 2 Somers PS Langwarrin Sec. College 1 Bentleigh West PS Hampton Park Post-Primary 1 Berwick HS BunyipPS 1 Black Rock PS Carrum Downs PS 1 Brighton HS Malvern Girls' HS 1 Cardinia PS Bass Valley PS 1 Chalcot Lodge PS Moorooduc PS 1 Dandenong PS Pakenham Cons. School 1 Eastbourne PS Port Melbourne PS 1 Garfield PS ArmadalePS 1 Hallam HS QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
240 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
Regions Regions Declared Declared ------School Excess ------School Excess Hughesdale PS Rosebud PS Kingsley Park PS Rosewood Downs PS Kunyung PS San Remo PS Mt Martha PS Seaford Park PS Narre Warren North PS Tyabb PS Noble Park PS TOTAL 167
RELOCATABLE AUDIT JUNE-JULY 1989 REGION-CENTRAL HIGHLANDS-WIMMERA Regions Regions Declared Declared School Excess School Excess Wendouree TS 9 Windermere PS 2 Ballarat North TS 7 Yuille PS 2 Ballarat East HS 5 Glenorchy PS 1 Horsham HS 5 Lake Bolac HS 1 Ararat TS 4 Learmonth PS 1 Ballan PS 4 Linton PS 1 Ararat West PS 4 Little Bendigo PS 1 Ballarat North PS 4 Magpie PS 1 Beaufort HS 4 Minyip PS 1 Horsham North PS 4 Talbot PS 1 Warracknabeal Sec. College 4 Waubra PS 1 Beaufort PS 3 Apsley PS 1 Daylesford PS 3 AvocaPS 1 Forest Street PS 3 Bald Hills PS 1 Golden Point PS 3 Ballarat East PS 1 Lake Bolac PS 3 Brim PS 1 Wendouree PS 3 BuangorPS 1 Stawell Sec. College 2 Bullarto PS 1 Horsham TS 2 Cape Clear PS 1 AraratHS 2 Clarendon PS 1 Jeparit PS 2 Concongella PS 1 Ross Creek PS 2 Creswick North PS 1 Warracknabeal PS 2 Daylesford TS 1 Birchip HS 2 DonaldHS 1 Black Hill PS 2 DrummondPS 1 Brown Hill PS 2 ElmhurstPS 1 Buninyong PS 2 Fiskville PS 1 EdenhopeHS 2 Glen Park PS 1 Haddon PS 2 Glenlyon PS 1 Haven PS 2 Hall's Gap PS 1 Invermay PS 2 JungPS 1 Kaniva Sec. College 2 Kingston PS 1 Miners Rest PS 2 Laharum PS 1 Mount Clear PS 2 Lal Lal PS 1 Redan PS 2 Lexton PS 1 Scarsdale PS 2 Little Hampton PS 1 Scotsbum PS 2 LubeckPS 1 Sebastopol PS 2 Millbrook PS 1 Urquhart Park PS 2 Mount Clear TS-HS 1 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 241
Regions Regions Declared Declared School Excess School Excess Moyston PS Murtoa HS Murtoa PS Woomelang Group School Napoleons PS Birchip PS Newlyn PS Creswick PS Nhill Sec. College Delacombe PS Pleasant Street PS Elaine PS Richards Street PS Goroke Cons. School Rupanyup PS Great Western PS Sebastopol TS Horsham PS Smythesdale PS Horsham West PS Snake Valley PS Pomonal PS Westmere PS RedbankPS Wilkur South PS Stawell PS Yalla-Y-Poora PS TOTAL Yendon PS 172 Ballarat HS
RELOCATABLE AUDIT JUNE-JULY 1989 REGION-WESTERN METROPOLITAN Regions Regions Declared Declared School Excess School Excess St Albans TS 14 Gladestone Park HS 4 Broadmeadows TS 11 Ardeer South PS 4 Niddrie HS 11 Lakeside HS 4 Wilson Park Sec. College 11 LalorHS 4 Whittlesea Tech HS 10 LalorTS 4 Sunbury HS 10 Richmond Sec. College 4 Maribyrnong HS 9 Williamstown TS 3 ThornburyHS 9 Coburg TS 3 Sunshine North TS 8 AItona HS 3 Kingsbury Sec. College 8 Broadmeadows HS 3 MeIton HS 8 Keilor Park PS 3 Thomastown HS 8 Melton PS 3 Keon Park TS 7 Newport PS 3 Footscray Girls' HS 7 St Albans North PS 3 Essendon TS 6 Thomastown Meadows PS 3 Point Gellibrand HS 6 Broadmeadows West TS 2 Sunshine HS 6 Tottenham TS 2 Werribee Sec. College 6 Albanvale PS 2 GlenroyTS 5 Ascot Vale PS 2 Niddrie TS 5 Bell PS 2 Northcote HS 5 Calder Rise PS 2 ArdeerHS 5 Footscray West PS 2 Coburn PS 5 Kingsville PS 2 Essendon HS 5 Williamstown HS 2 Hadfield HS 5 AItona North HS 2 Keilor Heights HS 5 Campbellfield PS 2 KeilorPS 5 Footscray North PS 2 Melton West PS 5 Gladestone Park PS 2 Deer Park North PS 4 KealbaHS 2 Footscray HS 4 Lalor North PS 2 FawknerHS 4 Pascoe Vale Girls' HS 2 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
242 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
Regions Regions Declared Declared ------School Excess ------School Excess Preston West PS 2 Keilor Downs Post PS Reservoir Sec. College 2 Kings Park HS St Albans HS 2 Altona Meadows PS Stevensville PS 2 Brunswick TS Strathmore PS 2 Coburg North PS Sunbury West PS 2 Altona North TS Sunshine East PS 2 Craigieburn PS Sunshine TS 2 Darley PS Whittlesea PS 1 Diggers Rest PS Westmeadows Heights PS 1 Iramoo PS GisbornePS 1 Keilor Downs PS Aberfeldie PS 1 Lalor North HS Greenbrook PS 1 Mill Park PS Lalor West PS 1 Movelle PS Laverton Sec. College 1 St Albans Meadows PS Brooklyn PS 1 Thomastown West PS Brunswick South West PS 1 University HS Debney Park HS 1 Bellbridge PS Diggers Road PS 1 Epping'pS Eastmeadows PS 1 Findon PS Fawkner North PS 1 GisborneHS FawknerTS 1 Glen Orden PS Fitzroy PS 1 Goonawarra PS Fitzroy Sec. College 1 Hoppers Crossing Post PS Gladstone Views PS 1 Kings Park PS Lakeside PS 1 Kismet Park PS Lalor East PS 1 Kurunjang PS Laverton PS 1 Little River PS Maribyrnong PS 1 Macedon PS Melton South PS 1 Mossfiel PS Merrilands HS 1 Northcote PS Moonee Ponds Central S 1 Point Cook PS Newport West PS 1 Rockbank PS North Melbourne PS 1 Taylor's Lake PS Preston East HS 1 Werribee PS Preston East PS 1 West meadows PS Preston PS 1 Woodville PS Preston South PS 1 Yarraville West PS Preston TS 1 Balliang East PS Richmond West PS 1 Brunswick East HS St Albans East PS 1 Bundoora PS St Albans PS 1 Coimadai PS St Albans South PS 1 Craigieburn Post PS Sunvale PS 1 Craigieburn South PS Thomastown East PS 1 Deer Park HS Thornbury PS 1 Deer Park PS Tottenham PS 1 Deer Park West PS Tullamarine PS 1 Doreen PS Wembley PS 1 Erinbank HS Kurunjang Post PS Exford PS EppingHS GlenroyHS Galvin Park Sec. College Kinglake West PS Reservoir PS LalorPS Bacchus Marsh HS Manorvale PS Bethal PS MerndaPS Glen Devon PS Moreland PS QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 243
Regions Regions Declared Declared ------School Excess ------School Excess New Gisborne PS Thomastown PS Northcote PS Wedge Park PS Spotswood PS Werribee South PS Sun bury Heights PS Sydenham PS TOTAL 357
WORKCARE REHABILITATION SERVICES (Question No. 377) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Treasurer: 1. How many applications were received by the Victorian Accident Rehabilitation Council for the registration of new public or private providers for the period 1 July and 30 September 1989, indicating (a) the number of providers now accredited; (b) whether this is an increase or decrease on the previous three months; and (c) the name and location of each public and private provider? 2. How many central referrals were made between 1 July and 30 September 1989, indicating-(a) how these central referrals were distributed across providers, giving a detailed breakdown by provider, both public and private; (b) how many central referrals were accepted into rehabilitation after assessment; and (c) how many direct referrals were made for rehabilitation-by worker, doctor, employer, union or solicitor? 3. What is the proportion of direct referrals to public and private providers? 4. How many rehabilitation plans have been approved in respect of central referrals made between 1 July and 30 September 1989, indicating-(a) the turn-around time between submitting a plan and its approval; (b) how this compares with the Victorian Accident Rehabilitation Council's goal for plan turn around-time; (c) the average cpst per plan and the variance-·over th~ previous three months; and (d) how many cases were closed"aiid the variance compared to the previous three months? Mr ROPER (Treasurer)-The answer is: 1. One applicant. I. (a) 24 providers as at 30 December 1989. 1. (b) A decrease of one. I. (c) List of providers as at 30 December 1989 attached. 2. 2. (a) 690; attached. 2. (b) 252 accepted central referrals. 2. (c) Tota12297 direct referrals; including 560 doctor; 1088 employer; 437 worker; 212 other (includes union or solicitor). 3. 38·6 per cent WorkCare rehabilitation service; 61·4 per cent approved rehabilitation providers. 4. In respect of central referrals, between 1 July and 30 September 1989, 203 plans were approved. 4. (a) Three (3) days. 4. (b) Five (5) days. 4. (c) Total average cost at case closure and return to work for approved rehabilitation providers and WorkCare rehabilitation services (total figures not available prior to September quarter 1989): Return to Work September Qtr June Qtr $ (mean) $ (mean) ARP 2884 2595 WRS 1485 1517 QUESTIONS ON,NPTICE
244 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
4. (d) A total of 4120 cases were closed in the September quarter 1989. 4019 were closed in the June quarter 1989. 2. (a) Number of central referrals sent to providers and a breakdown of which providers they were allocated to. Provider No. Allocated Prol'id('r No. AI/ocated CPS 27 Queen Elizabeth 1 Fairfield House 23 Smorgotis HDA 8 CRSAlbury INTRA 24 CRS Hamilton Optimum 16 CRS Mildura 2 VRS 2 Caulfteld Hospital 20 WorkHealth 63 Cedar Court 194 NRRU 21 WR Dandenong 26 ORS 34 WR Western Suburbs 9 Broadmeadows CHS 20 WRGeelong 14 Anderson Rehab 15 WR Latrobe Valley 16 AHC 30 WR North Eastern Suburbs 1 Bethesda 25 WR Warmambool 5 Blackburn ORS WR Bairnsdale 5 Cognitive WR Moorabbin 8 Loddon-Campaspe 4 WRSunshine 28 Metropolitan 8 WR Shepparton 10 Nissan 4 WR Portland 2 Western Region Health Centre 5 Total 690 Frankston 19
COUNCIL SERVICES WorkCare Rehabilitation Services Bairnsdale Dandenong Geelong 51 A Main Street, 314-316 Thomas Street, 16-18 Brougham Street, Bairnsdale, Vic. 3875 Dandenong, Vic. 3175 Geelong, Vic. 3072 Ph: (051) 52 6882 Ph: (03) 794 6400 Ph: (052) 21 4600 Latrobe Valley Moorabbin North Eastern Suburbs Corner George Street and 348 South Road, 175 Plenty Road, Hazelwood Road, Moorabbin, Vic. 3189 Preston, Vic. 3072 Morwell, Vic. 3840 Ph: (03) 553 2833 Ph: (03) 480 0044 Ph: (051) 33 9100 Portland Shepparton Sunshine 34A Percy Street, 262-264 Maude Street, 12 Hertford Road, Portland, Vic. 3305 Shepparton, Vic. 3630 Sunshine, Vic. 3020 Ph: (055) 23 1599 Ph: (058) 311 738 Ph: (03) 311 8877 Wangaratta Warmambool Western Suburbs 1st Hoor, 26 Reid Street, 96 Kepler Street, 154-160 Bucldey Street, Wangaratta, Vic. 3677 Warmambool, Vic. 3280 Essendon, Vic. 3040 Ph: (057) 22 1363 Ph: (055) 62 9799 Ph: (03) 331 1622 ASSOCIATED SERVICES Melbourne Rehabilitation Ballarat Rehabilitation Knox Rehabilitation Suite 5, 4th Hoor, 31 Lyons Street North, 3A Hughes Street, 517 St Kilda Road, Ballarat, Vic. 3350 Knox District Centre, Melbourne, Vic. 3004 Ph: (053) 33 1321 Wantirna South, Vic. 3152 Ph: (03) 2672611 Ph: (03) 887 1155 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 245
APPROVED REHABILITATION PROVIDERS Anderson Rehabilitation Group Pty Ltd Frankston Rehabilitation Service 18 ElIingworth Parade, 3rd Floor, 54-58 Wells Street, Box Hill, Vic. 3128 Frankston, Vic. 3199 Ph: (03) 899 6188 Ph: (03) 783 8188 Australian Hospital Care HDA Medical Group Pty Ltd Community and Rehabilitation Se.ry,~Gcrs 1st Floor, 279-281 Lygon Street, 40 Mount Dandenong Road, East Brunswick, Vic. 3057 Ringwood East, Vic. 3135 Ph: (03) 387 4588 Ph: (03) 870 3322 INTRA (International Bethesda Hospital Rehabilitation Associates Pty Ltd) 30 Erin Street, I. 5th Floor, 11 Queens Road, Richmond, Vic. 3121 Melbourne, Vic. 3004 Ph: (03) 420 5300 Ph: (03) 267 6833 Blackburn Occupational and 2. 136 Langtree Avenue, Rehabilitation Services Mildura, Vie. 3500 71 Maple Street, Ph: (050) 21 1935 Blackburn, Vic. 3130 3. Warracknabeal Ph: (03) 894 2025 c/o Mildura Office Broadmeadows Community Health 4. Ground Floor, Services 818 Whitehorse Road, Corner Pearcedale Parade and Box Hill, Vic. 3128 Coleraine Street, Ph: (03) 899 6155 Broadmeadows, Vic. 3047 5. Shop 10, Wyndham Mall, Ph: (03) 301 9777 Welsford Street, Shepparton, Vic. 3630 Caul field Hospital, Back Assessment and Ph: (058) 31 2230 Treatment Clinic 294 Kooyong Road, Metropolitan Rehabilitation Services Caulfield South, Vic. 3162 Level 2, The Footscray Plaza, Ph: (03) 528 3182 Paisley Street, Footscray, Vic. 3011 Cedar Court Physical Ph: (03) 689 1244 Rehabilitation Hospital 370 Burke Road, Nissan Rehabilitation Centre Glen Iris, Vic. 3146 Centre Road, Ph: (03) 809 2444 Clayton, Vic. 3168 Ph: (03) 542 6483 Cognitive Rehabilitation Centre Pty Ltd (jor employees and former employees of Suite 1-3, Nissan) Harley Medical Chambers, 171 Victoria Parade, Northern Region Rehabilitation Fitzroy, Vic. 3065 Unit Pty Ltd, Ph: (03) 4190230 301 Sydney Road, (for special referral only) Coburg, Vic. 3058 Ph: (03) 384 1133 Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service 1. 512 Swift Street, Occupational Rehabilitation Albury, NSW 2640 Service Pty Ltd Ph: (060) 21 1622'°·1.' Level 3, 313 Burwood Road, 2. 50 Thompson Street, Hawthorn, Vic. 3122 Hamilton, Vic. 3300 Ph: (03) 819 4450 Ph: (055) 725 488 Q.E. Occupational Rehabilitation Services 3. 109 Lemon A venue, 121 Ascot Street South, Mildura, Vic. 3500 Ballarat, Vic. 3350 Ph: (050) 21 1416 Ph: (053) 37 7735 Fairfield House Rehabilitation Service 276-284 Heidelberg Road, Fairfield, Vic. 3078 Ph: (03) 489 5544 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
246 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
Optimum Occupational Health and Safety Western Region Health Centre Ltd Services Pty Ltd 72-78 Paisley Street, 1. 8 Malvena Place, Footscray, Vic. 3011 Carlton, Vic. 3053 Ph: (03) 689 4888 Ph: (03) 347 6833 Work Health Clinic 2. 81 Chapel Street, 1. 1st Floor, 390 Little Collins Street, Bendigo, Vic. 3550 Melbourne, Vic. 3000 Ph: (054) 43 5255 Ph: (03) 670 9385 Reflex 2. 1286 Heatherton Road, 18 Forest Street, Noble Park, Vie. 3174 Bendigo, Vic. 3550 Ph: (03) 794 9790 Ph: (054) 41 1222 3. 1663 Hume Highway, SCI Rehabilitation Services (Smorgons) Campbellfield, Vic. 3061 433-451 Somerville Road, Ph: (03) 359 0755 West Footscray, Vic. 3011 4. 77 Droop Street, Ph: (03) 3165316 Footscray, Vic. 3011 (for special referral only) Ph: (03) 689 7755 Vocational Rehabilitation Service Pty Ltd 1. 346 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Vic. 3004 Ph: (03) 699 4088 2. 116 David Street, Dandenong, Vic. 3175 Ph: (03) 794 5500
VICTORIAN ACCIDENT REHABILITATION COUNCIL (Question No. 378) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Treasurer: In respect of central referrals made by the Victorian Accident Rehabilitation Council between 1 July and 30 September 1989: 1. Whether he will advise the rehabilitation outcome of case closures? 2. How many rehabilitation employment program applications have been approved? 3. How many clients have been referred for retraining, indicating the average cost of a retraining program? 4. How many clients were deemed unsuitable 'for rehabilitation due to-(a) an employer declining to provide employment; (b) failure to accept a suitable job; or (c) failure to participate in a rehabilitation program? Mr ROPER (Treasurer)-The answer is: I. 48·9 per cent returned to work at case clo:i'Jre. 2. 146. 3. 194. $726. 4. (a) Information not collected. 4. (b) 4. 4. (c) O. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 247
(Question No. 380) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Treasurer: In respect of the Victorian Accident Rehabilitation Council: I. What is the rejection rate for invoices submitted to the council by public and private providers, respecti vely? 2. What was the level of invoices unpaid for 30, 60 and 90 days, respectively, as at 30 September 1989 by public and private providers, indicating the variance over the previous three months? 3. What was the average cheque processing time, between 1 July and 30 September 1989 after the Accident Compensation Council had been notified to pay, indicating the variance over the previous three months? Mr ROPER (Treasurer)-The answer is: I. The rejection rate for the quarter ended September 1989 in aggregate was 19·6 per cent. 2. The level and age of invoices unpaid as at 30 September 1989 cannot be ascertained without reference to the financial records of private providers and third party suppliers. 3. In response to the question, the Accident Compensation Commission advise that the average cheque processing time-that is, the time between the entry of an amount to the ACCtion system for payment and the delivery of the cheque to Australia Post-between 1 July and 30 September 1989 was 4·06 working days inclusive of both the date of entry and the day of delivery. The previous quarter was 4·16 working days indicating an improvement of 0·1 0 of a working day or 2·5 per cent improvement. 4. In response to the question the Accident Compensation Commission advise that the ACC goal in cheque processing time between the entry of the payment to the ACCtion system for payment and the delivery of the cheque to Australia Post is 4 working days inclusive of both the day of entry and the day of delivery.
SEXUAL ASSAULT AT WESTERN SUBURBS COMMUNITY SERVICES RECEPTION CENTRE (Question No. 382) Mr SMITH (Glen Waverley) asked the Minister for Community Services: 1. Whether an eight-year-old boy was sexually assaulted at the Western Suburbs Community Services Reception Centre by an employee of Community Services Victoria on 22 March 1989; if so-(a) whether the matter was reported to police, indicating the date on which the report was made; (b) on what date Community Services Victoria became aware of the incident; (c) whether the then Minister allowed the employee suspected of the offence to be deported before being charged with an offence; (d) whether anyone has been charged with the offence; and (e) whether the Minister announced that the victim and his brother are to be tested for AIDS, indicating the reasons justifying these tests being performed? 2. Whether he will advise of the recruiting procedures used by Community Services Victoria at the time that the suspect employee was employed? 3. Whether current TtX'ruiting.procedures prevent the recruitment of applicants who-{a) are in Australia on tourist visas; (b) have AIDS; (c) are unqualified; or (d) are wanted by overseas police forces? Mrs SETCHES (Minister for Community Services)-The answer is: I. No eight-year-old boy was sexually assaulted at the Western Suburbs Community Services Reception Centre by an employee of Community Services Victoria on 22 March 1989. (a) A Community Services Victoria employee was apprehended on 20 March 1989. Following media reports that the employee was wanted for questioning for alleged offences involving sexual assault of children in another country, attempts were made to identify children with whom he had come in contact. With the assistance of a counsellor experienced in dealing with matters concerning sexual assault, an eight year-old boy was interviewed on Friday, 24 March. Sufficient concern was raised to report this matter to the Altona Community Policing Squad on that day. The mother of the eight-year-old boy was advised in person on the same day that the police had been notified. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
248 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
(b) On Good Friday, 24 March 1989, a counsellor from West CASA, gained a disclosure from the boy and Altona Community Policing Squad was advised immediately that day. CSV requested that the boy be interviewed and that a video be made of that interview. The boy's mother gave her consent for this to occur and also requested that she be present. (c) Where any suspected criminal activities are involved the decision to charge and take any other action is made by the Victoria Police. (d) To my knowledge a videotaped record of an interview with the eight-year-old boy was conducted by police. The police were unable to interview the employee concerned while he was serving a sentence on charges relating to fraud at HM Prison, Pentridge. (e) Following a media announcement that the employee had tested HIV positive, the mother of the eight-year-old boy was strongly encouraged to have her son tested as a precautionary measure. Evidence did not suggest sexual penetration had occurred. To date tests have proved negative. Further testing will continue. Although there was no evidence to suggest any need for testing for his younger brother, arrangements were made for this child also to be tested. 2. Standard recruitment procedures were followed at the time that this employee was employed: (a) Written applications received. (b) Written references were requested and received-now known to be fraudulent-for this employee which indicated he had not worked in this country. Verbal references were sought from referees of other applicants who had worked in this country, prior to interview. (c) An interview was conducted by an experienced panel; the employee was scored as being the outstanding applicant. (d) An original document of qualification, now known to be fraudulent, was sighted by panel members. (e) An original copy of birth certificate, now known to have been acquired fraudulently, was sighted. (j) A Victorian drivers licence, now known to have been acquired fraudulently, was sighted. (g) An Internal Bureau of Records-IBR-check was requested as normal procedure. 3. Current procedures relating to the recruitment of applicants within the categories outlined are the following: (a) Permanent appointments can be made only if the applicant is an Australian citizen or a permanent resident. Selection procedures are such that permanency cannot ensue until either an Australian citizenship certificate or permanent residency documentation is sighted. A temporary employee need not necessarily have permanent residency status but must have a visa which permits him or her to be employed for the duration of the temporary employment contract. Departmental instructions distributed to all staff involved in the selection process include a comprehensive check list covering essential matters, including extensive pre-employment screening and reference checks. The Public Service Board booklet regarding selection guidelines has also been distributed widely throughout the department. (b) CSV personnel HIV/ AIDS policy provides that there be no involuntary and/or compulsory testing of current or potential staff members for HIV antibodies. The provision is based on: • the Worksafe policy statement on AIDS and the workplace, endorsed by all Australian governments, the ACTU, the Confederation of Australian Industry and the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission; • the Equal Opportunity Act 1984, as amended 1989, which protects any person from discrimination on the basis on HIV status, whether real or perceived; • the extensive body of national and international research on HIV infection and AIDS; • the recognition that the usual provision of care conducted in CSV services has not been implicated in the transmission of HI V, either in Australia or overseas. In addition, CSV has developed and issued universal infection control guidelines. Current knowledge of preventing transmission of HIV is through adherence to such guidelines. (c) Current recruiting practices require managers to ensure that unfamiliar overseas qualifications are assessed in terms of an Australian equivalent when considering applicants for employment or otherwise. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 249
Details may be sought from the Council on Overseas Professional Qualifications or from the Australian Association of Social Workers. Authenticity of the qualifications presented is crosschecked with a number of other documents such as birth certificate, passports, reference checks, to verify identification of the applicant. A comprehensive check list covering essential matters such as the verification of qualifications, identity and extensive pre-employment, security and reference checks, has been included in departmental instructions distributed to all staff involved in the selection process. (d) It is mandatory for police security checks to be carried out on all new staff of CSV and staff transferring within CSV to client contact positions, whether permanent or temporary. These checks are undertaken of criminal records in Victoria. Specific requests for checks to be undertaken in other States or overseas are confined to circumstances where an applicant has resided most recently or for long periods of time interstate or overseas. With regard to the protective workers who were recently recruited from Britain, a check of Britain's police records was carried out on all workers as part of the immigration procedures. CSV is currently working with the Victoria Police to assist them in streamlining their systems, thus enabling the provision of more timely information. CSV has assisted the Victoria Police with resources for this purpose and has funded a position in the Victoria Police criminal records area specifically to undertake police checks for CSV and funded agencies.
BUILDERS LABOURERS FEDERATION OFFICIALS (Question No. 392) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Minister for Labour: Whether he will advise of the number of former BLF officials currently employed as safety inspectors by the Department of Labour, giving details of the skills, qualifications and experience of each relevant to their employment? Mr POPE (Minister for Labour)-The answer is: The Department of Labour does not require job applicants to provide all details relating to their union activities. However, on the basis of information available to me the answer to the question is none.
NEWSPAPER WARNINGS ABOUT SKIN CANCER RISKS (Question No. 400) Mr DICKlNSON (South Barwon) asked the Minister for Education, for the Minister for Health: In respect of advertisements placed in the Age newspaper on 13 January 1990 by the government warning of the risks of skin cancer: 1. What was the cost of these advertisements? 2. Whether the Minister will advise all patrons ofufree beaches" in Victoria on the risks of skin cancer? Ms KIRNER (then Minister for Education)-The answer supplied by the Minister for Health is: I. There were no government advertisements warning of the risks of skin cancer placed in the Age on 13 January 1990. However, on this date a sunscreen price check advertisement was placed in the Geelong Echo. The cost of this advertisement was $646.80. 2. Advertisements warning of the risks of skin cancer are directed at all Victorians. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
250 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
BUILDING INDUSTRY NOMINATIONS (Question No. 403) Mr I. W. SMITH (Polwarth) asked the Attorney-General, for the Minister for Consumer Affairs: 1. Whether he will advise of the names and qualifications of all persons who have been nominated by the Housing Industry Association or the Master Builders Association of Victoria to serve as directors or alternate directors on the board of the Housing Guarantee Fund Ltd, pursuant to the house builders liability provisions of the Local Government Act 1958 and the House Contracts Guarantee Act 1987? 2. Which HIA/MBA nominees to the board of the Housing Guarantee Fund Ltd are proprietors of or in any other capacity involved with a builder registered with the Housing Guarantee Fund Ltd pursuant to the house builders liability provisions of the Local Government Act 1958 and the House Contracts Guarantee Act 1987, indicating-(a) the name of the director; (b) the name of each and every registered builder with which he is involved in any legal capacity whatsoever; (c) the date of first registration and, if applicable, the date of termination or cessation, giving reasons in each case; and (d) how many houses have been built by each such builder since the date of first registration under the Local Government Act 1958 or the House Contracts Guarantee Act 1987? 3. How many claims have been filed against builders involved with HIA/MBA nominees, indicating, in each case-(a) the claimant's name; (b) the date on which the claim was lodged; (c) the municipality involved; (d) the list of defects submitted; (e) whether arbitration was involved, and if so, the name of the arbitrator; and (/) the outcome of the claim? Mr KENNAN (Attorney-General)-The answer supplied by the Minister for Consumer Affairs is: The following lists set out the details requested, except- (a) the name ofthe person nominated by the Housing Industry Association or the Master Builders' Association of Victoria but never appointed to serve as a director or alternate director on the board of the Housing Guarantee Fund Ltd. I am not prepared to infringe the privacy of the person concerned by releasing this information; and (b) the details requested for claims filed against builders involved with HIA or MBAV nominees, retrieval of which is impractical given the resources which would have to be diverted for gathering the data from the large number of relevant files. (To obtain the information about claims requested in this and questions 404, 405 and 406 would require perusal of approximately 1750 files.) Disclosing the names of claimants or any information regarding arbitration proceedings would, in any event, be an unacceptable breach of privacy. N DIRECTORS 00 > Date c: Removed 0 Qualification/ Date /rom Reason Houses No. of c: Name Background Appointed Retired Approved Builder Approved Register Removed Registered Claims CIl ~ '" NOMINATED BY HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION \0 -\0 Norman Bale Builder July 84 Dee 88 N. &J. Bale Pty Ltd 11.10.74 30.6.89 Moved interstate 8 0 Blunts Homes 18.12.75 1032 23 Alec Fuller Builder July 84 Sterling Homes (Vic.) Pty 11.10.74 513 39 Ltd lan Sherwen Exec. Director July 84 Apr88 Nil Timber Promotion Council IC:> ~ David Piggott Builder Dee88 A. F. Dewar Pty Ltd 14.10.74 29.3.82 Ceasedbuilding 910 38 ~ A.F.Dewar 15.5.75 21.4.76 Cl.)> ~ CIl Constructions Pty Ltd tr1 ~ V:i A. F. Dewar Homes Pty 21.1.80 106 13 a:: Ltd = ~ NOMINATED BY MASTERS BUILDERS' ASSOCIATION ~ ~ ::j Mordant Mitchell Builder July 84 Mar 86 Spaceline Homes Pty Ltd 11.10.74 19.5.86 Ceased trading 2162 262 @ David Murden Employee MBA July 84 Apr88 Nil Maxwell O'Brien Builder July 84 Sept 85 Commuter Builders Pty 11.10.74 24.6.87 Ceasedbuilding 106 9 Ltd lraga Equity Pty Ltd 20.11.74 27.2.85 235 20 Rapid Homes Pty Ltd 64 1 Leo McCusker Builder Aug86 Aug 88 Oxford Housing (Vic.) Pty 23.2.88 465 15 Ltd Midland Housing Pty Ltd 11.10.74 12.11.76 Ceased building 43 3 John Peeman (Vic.) Pty 3.10.74 17.3.81 1 176 40 Ltd Manu (Vic.) Pty Ltd 12.2.81 124 7 Donald Cockram Builder Sep85 Apr 88 D. Cockram 12.8.85 Cockram Constructions 27.9.76 30.6.78 Ceased building PtyLtd I~ N Date I~ Removed Qualification/ Date from Reason Houses No. of Name Background Appointed Retired Approved Builder Approved Register Removed Registered Claims Howard Armstrong Builder Apr88 Monmia Properties Ltd 29.10.74 5.11. 75 Ceased building 30 2 Howard Annstrong Pty 18.4.78 531 6 Ltd
Brian Wansbrough Builder Oct88 Ma~terplanBuilders Pty 20.2.75 2120 96 Ltd ALTERNATE DIRECTORS Date Removed from Reason Houses Qualification/ Date No.oJ tC Name Background Appointed Retired Approved Builder Approved Register Jor Removal Registered Claims ~ Cl; HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION >Vl ~ Vl Neville Bird Accountant Jul84 Aug85 Nil ~ tr1 Cl; William Young Building Jul84 Aug 85 Nil ~ Surveyor Jul86 Apr88 Nil t:D ~ ,~ Edward Hayes Builder Sep85 Apr 90 Hayes Homes (Sales) Pty 11.10.74 911 61 ~ C ::j Ltd Q Brian Marklew Builder Aug85 Mar 87 B. E. & c. M. Marklew 17.4.75 21.7.77 Ceased building 11 2 Golden Years Pty Ltd 21.7.77 25 Marklew Constructions 24.4.80 596 14 Pty Ltd Keith Robinson Builder Apr87 Civic Constructions (Vic.) 11.10.74 202 24 PtyLtd
Derek Thompson Manufacturer Jul84 Jul86 Nil N 00 MASTER BUILDERS ASSOCIATION > Henry Holdsworth Employee MBA Jul84 Aug85 Nil C 0 Donald Cockram Builder Jul84 Aug 85 D. Cockram 12.8.85 C Cockram Constructions 27.9.76 30.6.78 Vl Pty Ltd ~ \0 Digby Forbes Employee MBA Jul84 Apr88 Nil -\0 0 N Date 00 Removed > Qual(ficat ion/ Date from Reason Ilou..,es No. of c:: Name Background Appointed Retired Approved Builder Approved Register Removed Registered Claims 0 c:: CIl Leo McCusker Builder Aug85 Aug 86 Oxford Housing (Vic.) Pty 23.2.88 465 15 Ltd Midland Housing Pty Ltd 11.10.74 12.11.76 Ceased building 43 3 li John Peeman (Vic.) Pty 3.10.74 17.3.81 I 176 40 Ltd Manu (Vic.) Pty Ltd 12.2.81 124 7 Howard Annstrong Builder Aug85 Apr 88 Monmia Properties Ltd 29.10.74 5.11.75 Ceased building 30 2 Howard Annstrong Pty 18.4.78 531 6 Ltd Ray Smith Builder Aug86 Jul88 John Peeman (Vic.) Pty 3.10.74 17.3.81 Ceased building I 176 40 le Ltd §1 Manu (Vic.) Pty Ltd 12.2.81 124 7 CIj CIl> ~ Trevor Fasham Builder Oct88 Fasham Johnson Pty Ltd 11.10.74 I 724 94 CIl ~. T. J. Fasham 16.6.86 I trJ Cl; Civic Constructions (Vic.) 11.10.74 202 24 ~ ~ ~ Pty Ltd ~ Brian Morison Employee MBA Apr88 Nil ~ ~ ~ &i
v.N w QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
254 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
BUILDING INDUSTRY NOMINATIONS (Question No. 404) Mr I. W. SMITH (Polwarth) asked the Attorney-General, for the Minister for Consumer Affairs: 1. Whether he will advise of the names and qualifications of all persons who have served or currently serve on the Board of Directors of the Housing Guarantee Fund Ltd including alternate directors, pursuant to the house builders liability provisions of the Local Government Act 1958 and the House Contracts Guarantee Act 1987; 2. Which of the past and present directors and alternate directors of the Housing Guarantee Fund are proprietors of or in any other capacity involved with, a builder registered with the Housing Guarantee Fund Ltd pursuant to the house builders liability provisions of the Local Government Act 1958 and the House Contracts Guarantee Act 1987, indicating-(a) the name of the director; (b) the name of each and every registered builder with which he is involved in any legal capacity whatsoever; (c) the date of first registration and, if applicable, the date of termination or cessation, giving reasons in each case; and (d) how many houses have been built by each such builder since the date of first registration under the Local Government Act 1958 or the House Contracts Guarantee Act 1987; 3. How many claims have been filed against builders involved with past or present directors or alternate directors indicating, in each case-(a) the claimant's name; (b) the date on which the claim was lodged; (c) the municipality involved; (d) the list of defects submitted; (e) whether arbitration was involved, and if so the name ofthe arbitrator; and (I) the outcome of the claim? Mr KENNAN (Attorney-General)-The answer supplied by the Minister for Consumer Affairs is: The following list sets out the details requested, except those for claims filed against builders involved with past or present directors or alternate directors, retrieval of which is impractical given the resources which would have to be diverted for gathering the data from the large number of relevant files. Disclosing the names of claimants or information regarding any arbitration proceedings would in any event, be an unacceptable breach of privacy. DIRECTORS IN00 > Date ~ Removed 0 Qualification/ from Reason Houses No. ~ Date of CIl Name Background Appointed Retired Approved Builder Approved Register Removed Registered Claims ~ Norman Bale Builder -\0 July 84 Dec 88 N. & J. Bale Pty Ltd 11.10.74 30.6.89 Moved interstate 8 \0 Blunts Homes 18.12.75 1032 23 0 Alec "Fuller " Builder July 84 Sterling Homes (Vic.) Pty 11.10.74 513 39 Ltd lan Sherwen Exec. Director July 84 Apr 88 Nil Timber Promotion Council David Piggott Builder Dec88 A. F. Dewar Pty Ltd 14.10.74 29.3.82 Ceased building 910 38 to A. F. Dewar 15.5.75 21.4.76 ~ Constructions Pty Ltd V) A. F. Dewar Homes Pty 21.1.80 106 13 CIl> ~ en <:) Ltd tT1 Mordant Mitchell Builder July 84 86 19.5.86 Ceased trading 2162 262 t3 Mar Spaceline Homes Pty Ltd 11.10.74 ~ David Murden Employee MBA Apr 88 Nil t= ~ Maxwell O'Brien Builder Sep 85 Commuter Builders Pty 11.10.74 24.6.87 Ceased building 106 9 t""4 Ltd ~ ~ Iraga Equity Pty Ltd 20.11. 74 27.2.85 235 20 ~ Rapid Homes Pty Ltd 64 1 ~ " " Leo McCusker Builder Aug86 Aug 88 Oxford Housing (Vic.) Pty 23.2.88" 465 15 Ltd Midland Housing Pty Ltd 11.10.74 12.11.76 Ceased building 43 3 John Peeman (Vic.) Pty 3.10.74 17.3.81 1 176 40 Ltd Manu (Vic.) Pty Ltd 12.2.81 124 7 ." " Donald Cockram Builder Sep 85 Apr 88 D. Cockram 12.8.85 Cockram Constructions 27.9.76 30.6.78 Ceased building Howard Armstrong Builder Apr88 Monmia Properties Ltd 29.10.74 5.11.75 30 2 Howard Armstrong Pty 18.4.78 531 6 Ltd Brian Wansbrough Builder Oct 88 Masterplan Builders Pty 20.2.75 2120 96 Ltd James O'Donnell Public Servant July 84 Sept 85 Nil Marilyn Head Solicitor July 84 Nil I~ VI Date Removed I~ Qua/Uicat ion/ Date from Reason Houses No. of Name Background Appointed Retired Approved Builder Approved Register Removed Registered Claims lan Gibson Public Servant Sept85 Oct 86 Nil Roger Arwas Public Servant Oct86 July 88 Nil Andrew Levens Public Servant Aug88 Nil Susan Campbell Solicitor Feb89 Nil
ALTERNATE DIRECfORS
Date
Removed \C:) Qualification/ Date From Reason Houses No. of Name Background Appointed Retired Approved Builder Approved Register for Removal Registered Claims v;~ en> ~ Neville Bird Accountant July 84 Aug 85 Nil en William Young Building July 84 Aug 85 Nil tr1 v;~ Surveyor July 86 Apr88 Nil ~ " " ~ ~ Edward Hayes Builder Sep 85 Apr 90 Hayes Homes (Sales) Pty 11.10.74 911 61 Ltd ~ ~ Brian Marklew Builder Aug85 Mar 87 B. E. & c. M. Marklew 17.4.75 21.7.77 Ceased building 11 2 ~ Golden Years Pty Ltd 21.7.77 25 ~ Marklew Constructions 24.4.80 596 14 PtyLtd Keith Robinson Builder Apr 87 Civic Constructions (Vie.) 11.10.74 202 24 PtyLtd Derek Thompson Manufacturer July 84 Jul86 Nil Henry Holdsworth Employee MBA July 84 Aug85 Nil Donald Cockram Builder July 84 Aug 85 D. Cockram 12.8.85 N Cockram Constructions 27.9.76 30.6.78 00 Pty Ltd > Digby Forbes Employee MBA July 84 Apr 88 Nil ~ Leo McCusker Builder Aug85 Aug 86 Oxford Housing (Vie.) Pty 23.2.88 465 15 0 ~ Ltd en Midland Housing Pty Ltd 11.10.74 12.11.76 Ceased building 43 3 ....:) John Peeman (Vie.) Pty 3.10.74 17.3.81 1 176 40 \0 Ltd -\0 Manu (Vie.) Pty Ltd 12.2.81 124 7 0 N ~ Date 00 ::!. Removed ~ ~ Qualification/ Date From Reason Houses No.oj c::: ~ ."'al11(, Background Appointed Retired Approved Builder Approved Register for Removal Registered Claims Cl ~ c· c::: ;::s CI'.l Howard Armstrong Builder Aug85 Apr 88 Monmia Properties Ltd 29.10.74 5.11. 75 Ceased building 30 2 ~ 100 100 Howard Armstrong Pty 18.4.78 531 6 \0 0 - Ltd \0 I 0 100 Ray Smith Builder Aug86 Jul88 John Peeman (Vic.) Pty 3.10.74 17.3.81 Ceased building 1 176 40 Ltd Manu (Vic.) Pty Ltd 12.2.81 " " 124 7 Trevor Fasham Builder Oct88 Fasham Johnson Pty Ltd 11.10.74 1 724 94 T. J. Fasham 16.6.86 1 Civic Constructions (Vic.) 11.10.74 202 24 Pty Ltd Brian Morison Employee MBA Apr88 Nil 10 Andrew Levens Public Servant Aug87 Aug 88 Nil §i Jenny Steinicke Public Servant Aug88 Nil Cl) I~::j CI'.l CI'.l 0 tt1 ~ ~ t:= ~
~ ~ ::j
~
N VI .....,J QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
258 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
HOUSING GUARANTEE FUND LTD. (Question No. 405) Mr I. W. SMITH (Polwarth) asked the Attorney-General for the Minister for Consumer Affairs: 1. How many committees operate within the fund and what is the function of each committee? 2. What are the names of each member of each committee since the formation of the fund, and what are their qualifications for appointment, specifically building industry backgrounds? 3. Which of the past and present committee members have been registered as builders or in any other capacity involved in a builder registered pursuant to the house builders liability provisions of the Local Government Act 1958 and the House Contracts Guarantee Act 1987, indicating-(a) the name of the committee member; (b) the name of each and every registered builder with which he is involved in any capacity whatsoever; (c) the date of first registration and, if applicable, the date of termination or cessation, giving reasons in each case; and (d) how many houses have been built by each such builder since the date of first registration under the Local Government Act 1958 and the House Contracts Guarantee Act 1987? 4. How many claims have been filed against builders involved with past or present committee members, indicating, in each case-(a) the claimant's name; (b) the date on which the claim was lodged; (c) the municipality involved; (d) the list of defects submitted; (e) whether arbitration was involved, and if so, the name of the arbitrator; and (I) the outcome of the claim? Mr KENNAN (Attorney-General)-The answer supplied by the Minister for Consumer Affairs is: There are five committees operating within the Housing Guarantee Fund Ltd. All assist the board in examining matters requiring board approval. The committees and their specific functions are as follows: I. Approval and Classification Committee: considers applications by builders and other matters related to the status of any currently approved builder, for example, recognition of trading names, approval of limits on jobs allowed per year. 2. Approval Review Committee: considers show cause notices issued by the company. The builder is asked to explain to this committee why his name should not be removed from the register of builders for reasons of breach of one or more of the company rules. 3. Claims Committee: considers claims being approved for payment. 4. Legal Issues Committee: meets on an "as needs basis" to consider any developments in legislation and or any need to change the company's rules or policies. 5. Education and Industry Liaison Committee: meets with industry respresentatives to discuss matters of concern or interest. The following lists set out the details requested, except those for claims filed against builders involved with past or present committee members, retrieval of which is impractical given the resources which would have to be diverted for gathering the data from the large number of relevant files. Disclosing the names of claimants or information regarding any arbitration proceedings would in any event, be an unacceptable breach of privacy. APPROVAL AND CLASSIFICATION COMMITTEE N 00 Date Removed ~ Qualification/ Approved Date from Reason Houses No. of 0 Name c:: Background Builder Approved Register Removed Registered Claims CIl PAST MEMBERS ~ \0 Mordant Mitchell Builder Spaceline Homes Pty Ltd 11.10.74 19.5.86 Ceased trading 21(;2 262 -\0 Edward Hayes Builder Hayes Homes (Sales) Pty Ltd 11.10.74 911 61 0 Brian Marldew Builder B. E. & c. M. Marldew 17.4.75 21.7.77 Ceased building 11 2 Golden Years Pty Ltd 21.7.77 25 " " Marldew Constructions Pty Ltd 24.4.80 596 14 Neville Bird Accountant Nil Leo McCusker Builder Oxford Housing (Vie.) Pty Ltd 23.2.88 465 15 Midland Housing Pty Ltd 11.10.74 12.11.76 Ceased building 43 3 John Peeman (Vie.) Pty Ltd 3.10.74 17.3.81 Ceased building 1176 40 to Manu (Vie.) Pty Ltd 12.2.81 124 7 " " ~ Donald Cockram Builder D.Cockram 12.8.85 Cl) Cockram Constructions Pty Ltd 27.9.76 30.6.78 Ceased building ::j " " >CIl lames O'Donnell Public Servant Nil CIl ~ Norman Bale Builder N. &J. Bale Pty Ltd 11.10.74 30.6.89 moved interstate 8 Cl) Blunts Homes 18.12.75 1032 23 "'~ " " t;g ~ David Murden Employee MBA Nil CURRENT ~ ~ MEMBERS ::j David Piggott Builder A. F. Dewar Pty Ltd 14.10.74 29.3.82 Ceased building 910 38 ~ A. F. Dewar Constructions Pty Ltd 15.5.75 21.4.76 Ceased building A. F. Dewar Homes Pty Ltd 21.1.80 106 13 Brian" Wansbrough" Builder Masterplan Builders Pty Ltd 20.2.75 2120 96 Keith Robinson Builder Civic Constructions (Vie.) Pty Ltd 1.10.74 202 24
APPROVAL REVIEW COMMITTEE Date Removed Qualification/ Approved Date from Reason Houses No. of Name Background Builder Approved Register Removed Registered Claims PAST MEMBERS Neville Bird Accountant Nil Andrew Levens Public Servant Nil I~ Date Removed I~ Qualification/ Date from Reason Houses No. of Name Background Appointed Retired Approved Builder Approved Register RemOl'ed Registered Claim.,; lan Sherwen Executive Director, Nil Timber Promotion Council Anthony Ferrari Accountant Nil Stan Murray Builder D. B. P. Investments Pty Ltd 16.12.76 11 Stan Murray Pty Ltd 20.6.74 95 CURRENT MEMBERS John Brooke Accountant Nil Howard Armstrong Builder Monmia Properties Ltd 29.10.74 5.11.75 Ceased building 30 2 " " Howard Armstrong Pty Ltd 18.4.78 531 6 Marilyn Head Solicitor Nil IC Jenny Steinicke Public Servant Nil I §i ~ ~ ~ C"I'.l tr1 ~v; CLAIMS COMMITTEE s: to Date ~ Removed ~ ~ Qualification/ Approved Date from Reason Houses No. of ::j Name Background Builder Approved Register Removed Registered Claims Q PAST MEMBERS Edward Hayes Builder Hayes Homes (Sales) Pty Ltd 11.10.74 911 61 William Young Building Surveyor Nil Derek Thompson Manufacturer Nil Donald Cockram Builder D.Cockram 12.8.85 Cockram Constructions Pty Ltd 27.9.76 30.6.78 Ceased building lan "Gibson " Public Servant N Nil 00 Roger Arwas Public Servant Nil > Ray Smith Builder John Peeman (Vic.) Pty Ltd 3.10.74 17.3.81 Ceased building 1176 40 C Manu (Vic.) Pty Ltd 12.2.81 124 7 0 Norman" Bale " Builder N. & J. Bale Pty Ltd 11.10.74 30.6.89 Moved interstate 8 C Blunts Homes 18.12.75 1032 23 C"I'.l Maxwell" O'Brien" Builder Commuter Builders Pty Ltd 11.10.74 24.6.87 Ceased building 106 9 ~ 20.11.74 27.2.85 Ceased building 235 20 \0 lraga Equity Pty Ltd -\0 Rapid Homes Pty Ltd 20.11.74 27.2.85 Ceased building 64 I 0 RV Date 00 Removed > Quali/tcat ion/ Date from Reason Houses No. of c: Approved Register Removed Registered Claims 0 Name Background Appointed Retired Approved Builder c: CURRENT MEMBERS V} ~ Alee Fuller Builder Sterling Homes (Vic.) Pty Ltd 11.10.74 513 39 Trevor Fasham Builder Fasham lohnson Pty Ltd 11.10.74 1724 94 -\0 T.l. Fasham 16.6.86 1 \00 Civic Constructions Pty Ltd 11.10.74 202 24 Andrew" Levens " Public Servant Nil EDUCATION AND INDUSTRY LIAISON COMMfITEE Qualification/ Approved Date Date Reason Houses No. of Name Background Builder Approved Removed Removed Registered Claims to PAST MEMBERS ~ Norman Bale Builder N. & I. Bale Pty Ltd 11.10.74 30.6.89 Moved interstate 8 Vj Blunts Homes 18.12.75 1032 23 >V} ~ David" Murden " Employee MBA Nil V} tr1 ~Vj CURRENT MEMBERS 3: LesGroves Employee HIA Nil t;g ~ Brian Morison Employee MBA Nil Marilyn Head Solicitor Nil ~ ~ ~ LEGAL ISSUES COMMITIEE ~ Qualification/ Approved Date Date Reason Houses No. of Name Background Builder Approved Removed Removed Registered Claims
PAST MEMBERS lames O'Donnell Public Servant Nil lan Gibson Public Servant Nil Norman Bale Builder N. &l. Bale Pty Ltd 11.10.74 30.6.89 Moved interstate 8 Blunts Homes 18.12.75 1032 23 CURRENT MEMBERS Alec Fuller Builder Sterling Homes (Vic.) Pty Ltd 11.10.74 513 39 Andrew Levens Public Servant Nil Susan Campbell Solicitor Nil Howard Armstrong Builder Monmia Properties Ltd 29.10.74 5.11.75 Ceased building 30 2 Howard Armstrong Pty Ltd 18.4.78 531 6 Marilyn" Head " Solicitor Nil I~ QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
262 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
REGISTERED BUILDERS (Question No. 406) Mr I. W. SMITH (Polwarth) asked the Attorney-General, for the Minister for Consumer Affairs: 1. What are the names of all registered builders who were removed from the list of Housing Guarantee Fund Ltd registered builders for any reason pursuant to the House Contracts Guarantee Act 1987 during the financial year 1988-89, other than those whose removal was voluntary, indicating in respect of each builder-(a) the trading name and the names of all registered proprietors/directors; (b) the total number of houses built or renovated by each while they were registered; and (c) the reason for removal? 2. In respect of claims filed against each such builder, what was the date of lodgement of each claim indicating-(a) the claimant's name; (b) the municipality involved; (c) the list of defects submitted; (d) whether arbitration was involved, and if so, the name of the arbitrator; and (e) the outcome of the claim? Mr KENNAN (Attorney-General)-The answer supplied by the Minister for Consumer Affairs is: the following list sets out the details requested, except- (a) the names of the registered proprietors or directors of the relevant builders, this information being a matter of public record and available from the Corporate Affairs Office; and (b) the details requested for claims filed against the relevant builders, retrieval of which is impractical given the resources which would have to be diverted for gathering the data from the large number of relevant files. Disclosing the names of claimants or information regarding any arbitration proceedings would, in any event, be an unacceptable breach of privacy. Rule 10 is the rule under which the board may, under specified conditions, remove the name of an approved builder from the register of builders. The specified conditions are identified in rule 10 and include bankruptcy and company failure (rule 10 (b» and failure of the builder to pay the required fee to the Housing Guarantee Fund Limited (rule 10 (c». Rule 47 relates to supply of financial information to the board by an approved builder.
BUILDERS DEREGISTERED BY HOUSING GUARANTEE FUND LTD IN 1988-89 FINANCIAL YEAR Total Builders Name Jobs Comments Claims G L Teasdale 28 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Clarinda Constructions 85 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 9 N & T D'Angelo 17 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 KJ & H R Graham 60 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 F & R Abfaltar 11 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 AT&EMThorp 6 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o F, R, L & L Cerasa 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Mountain District Const P /L 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Roy Glen Constructions 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 DP&BCullen o Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o V & P B Cecchetto 5 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o GHHenry 29 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 GR&DLDrake 118 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) o CJ Guerin 11 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o CW &MTravis 22 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 3 V & T Valkanov 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 NMHomes 12 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 4 BeeancoP/L 16 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 NF&JMKent 54 Dereg-Breacb rule 10 (b) 17 SJ & KFGamble 5 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o McKerley Builders 35 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 5 GR&GDJames 30 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 Haymour Developments 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
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Total Builders Name Jobs Comments Claims G Lebbe 19 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Barresi Nominees P/L 6 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 A&AMancuso 7 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 A J & M Cincotta 10 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Princewood P IL 19 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 A Pecotic 9 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 Miano & Lamesa Investment 17 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 C& S Yardney 8 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 Dixit P/L 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 W D, D M & B W Mitchell 33 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 23 S&DThomas 26 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 GR&BMKing 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 M&RGalea 30 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 3 H & R Jaksetic P/L 171 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 12 Wiljun Properties P/L 0 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 0 N TUicarolo 9 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 Sinni Bros 12 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 F & M Barbalaco 10 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 E Harlacz 51 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 4 A R &J M Rebecca 13 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 1 Blair Homes P IL 30 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 A&EKumar 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 W J &M Doueal 33 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 R&C Aarts 93 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 Lino Da Pos Builders 9 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 S&GDiCola 11 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 R. A. A & F Cunico 21 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 Borelicon Builders 49 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 6 C G & J McMillan 10 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 G& E Rousou 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 S & N Building Co 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 M L & H A Hellsten 6 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 A Versloot 50 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 4 P& D Bagios 9 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 R L & J M Gregory Builders P IL 68 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 7 J C & G L Galtry 7 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 R B Ditty Builder 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 B E& V Mills 38 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 4 D R &S ACooke 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 J. I. D & J Pollock 95 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 S & P Bazzano 9 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 RWJHP/L 1940 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 103 J & Y Barry Building Contractors 18 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 4 DB & AA Dickson 13 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 A & V Clemente 15 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 7 J Heffeman 7 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 G&LPenzo 10 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 S & 0 Pirruccio 10 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 DM&DEPress 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 E & N Kesic & J Mrdjenovic 66 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 0 A & G Licciardello 27 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 7 HL&BACoysh 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 CM Kozicki 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 BR&NCook 7 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 J & Y Harris Homes & StaffP/L 26 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 3 Landoc P/L 597 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 6 J S Lowther 6 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 P & S Del Colle 5 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
264 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
Total Builders Name Jobs Commenls Claims V & M Mijatovic 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 N G & S L Wohlers 5 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 N & L Radmanovic 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 S J & M K Suckling 17 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 4 KR Passmore 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 RJ &N J Morgan 5 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 CSmith 5 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 A&MDeren 21 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 P& A Homes 25 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 D & I Terzopoulos 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 DJ Buckley 84 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 7 R Sasse 11 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 3 D A Callender 7 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 7 Seclusion Property Imprmts P/L 6 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 E& KPDryden 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 Phillip Powell & Associates P/L 5 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 T T & M Holdings P IL 8 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 EA Winchcomb 8 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 Alexander, Squires & Stephens P IL 60 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 5 N & M Daskalov 10 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 J &G Eastoe 5 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 EOchoa 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 T & J Kelleher 14 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 G & J Carpenter 23 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 Martin Sibbel P IL 7 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 Gatti Homes 7 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 Farrelly Constructions P IL 9 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 2 TR&LKeath 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Christopher Adams P IL 5 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 N E & G J Middling 5 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 J & A Tudroszen 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Keats Constructions P IL 44 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 9 V & M Rajic 7 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 3 Woodburn Homes P IL 34 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 G&ARomas 19 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 8 DomaP/L 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Story Builders P IL 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 SE Nowland 7 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 G & I Mazzocca 18 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 4 Ausia Enterprises P IL 8 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 B & C Campbell Plumbing P/L 197 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 22 F & S TaIarico 8 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 B G A BIdg Contractors P IL 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 GD&OParker 7 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 L & L & R Heuzinkveld 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Las Palmas P IL 11 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 N &MSelemba 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 B &J Rudzki 0 Dereg nori-pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 A Balabanidis 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 R M G Home Builders 25 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 G & B Shannon (Yarra Valley) P/L 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Bradbilt Constructions 9 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 CIT Homes 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 J & P Bird Building Contractors 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 3 G & E Chiovitti 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 BezwaxP/L 8 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 J & M Parti 13 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 D&S Pike P/L 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 265
Total Builders Name Jobs Comments Claims Regal Developments 68 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 8 M P& P M Tortoni 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 C Spindler 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 M J & Y J Taylor 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Solar Tech Constructions 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 MW & J K McKendry 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Trentham Builders 1 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 1 M & L Van Den Broek 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Shoreline Homes P IL 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Thomas O'Brien 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 S P M Holdings P IL 9 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 Malu Constructions 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 N G & S J Brodie 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 OB&RAdams 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 G M McAuliffe 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 I I J Builders P IL 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 F J Allan & D J Livingston 3 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 0 M S Bird 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Tim Rodgers Builders P IL 3 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 0 Starline Constructions 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Marque Design & Construction 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 J A Herman 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Nostalgia Homes 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 H Zbornik & T A Howell 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Terracotta Consts (Vic) P/L 7 Dereg Breach Rule 10 (b) 1 B Vondros 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Renco Construction P IL 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 F Allan 1 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 0 Abbott & Coote Constructions 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 The Construction Group P IL 3 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 3 V &J W Peric 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 PG Bradford 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 M & M Batinovic Homes 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 G R & V D Farthing 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 J A & J A HinkIey 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Lim Building Co 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 C & H Archimadritis 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 J C & S A Reynolds 2 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 1 A & K Taasples P IL 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Dormer Home Improvements 24 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 21 C & M Rawlings 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 B R Gardner Builders 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 H D Maling 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Leon Baker Constructions 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 DPP Building Contractors 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 RJ Peagram 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Peninsula Terracotta 9 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 4 RI &LJ Lohde 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Timbrik 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 N & E Mavropoulos 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Nunnari Enterprises P/L 7 Dereg-Breach rule 47 8 P Sinni 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 PYCZee 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 P & M Bames Constructions I Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 D A & L K Goucher 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 A LKinrade 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Rob Olsen Constructions PIL 14 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 31 Exterior Building Products 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
266 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
Total Builde'rs Name' Jobs Comme'nls Claims Shepparton Easy Living Homes 3 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 0 W Pamell Builders 10 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Daytime Homes 80 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 9 A V & G Stewart 49 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Rocdor Nominees P/L 7 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 JRCopeman 12 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 WHo 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Baxter Brothers 20 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 F & DJanssen 26 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 A Van DerWees 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Kalitzki Bricklayers P/L 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Giannenas & Son 26 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 3 EJ Preece 101 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 9 A L & B A Hallett 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 C&CVoet 6 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 H & M Sturre & G & K Van Bockel 8 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 F D & G R Harris 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 A & S Dujela 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Renwar Homes 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 L& A Dibella 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Zentaming P/L 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 T P & C J Robbins 22 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 Granocvil P /L 14 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 I W & L C Kitchin 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Rovic Construction 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 Waiter's Homes 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 R J Rossiter I Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Manjay Investments P /L 46 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 5 C& TNicole 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 99 Projects 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 V & M Samovojska 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 E N Panayiotou & Son 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 R B G Builders P /L 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 G R & LF Mutimer 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 KJ &KM Maher 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 MJNoy 9 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 1 Decorous Homes 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Velebit Homes 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Whitehorse Constructions 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 CH Rees 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 G R&PM Cleaver I Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 CWUnthank 18 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 5 Bob Williamson Nominees P/L 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Standvick Homes 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 S CAD Better Homes 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Alan Sole 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Consonic Design & Const P /L 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 A L & M L Hore & P Burke 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 R&SFanous I Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 J CWhite 5 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 P E B Builders 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 JBHepbum 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 N & M Construction P /L 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 P&J Brunner 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 C E & E J Clarke 10 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 5 J R & D E Denereaz P/L 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Cedar Manor Homes 7 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 St Nicholas Homes P /L 13 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 11 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 267
Total Builders Name Jobs Comments Claims A J Leclcie & Sons 2 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 1 Draftplan Constructions 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 A&MA Werry 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 Newera Construction P/L 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 C&N Burch 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Taranari Nominees P/L 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 K H W Builders P IL 6 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 J A&KNJones 6 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Australiana Homes (Vic.) P/L 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Martech Builders 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 G N Stewart 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Lee & Lee Design & Const 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Premier Concrete Swimming Pools 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 RJ &M HWalton 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 W Begutter 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 V &J Juric 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Warrnambool Constructions P/L 10 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 0 J A Jordan 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 A&LHofmann 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 K M B Constructions 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 N K Housing Constructions 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Deluxe Homes 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 S & M C Aetcher 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Drew Hall Constructions 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Rackson P/L 10 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 3 Orchard Homes 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 J M Z Balint P/L 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 GM Mudbrick Homes P/L 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 B J & L J McWilliam 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 T J & M E Davidson 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Kilcar Holdings P IL 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 HLehmann 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 W A & G L Antonysen 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Peters & Paul Builders 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 J RCarmody 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 KBWood 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 B F &J M Shiells 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 K&KRimac 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 I&RManyk 7 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 5 1& R Manyk & 8 Carolina P/L 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 F & M Aristotite 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 A Tunstall 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 GWWhitmore 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 W J Smith 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 C & T Camovale 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 F G Paisley Builders 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 I & M Antolos 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 McCurdy & Nicholson Const P IL 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Ibis Constructions 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 D & E Stefanidis 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 S & L Kustura P IL 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 DF&LE Esler 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 PG & L M Crouch 5 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 TF&MW Aitken 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 N M & J A M Clothier 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Watmar Constructions 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Olinda Constructions P IL 8 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 LD& LA King 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
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Total Builders Name Jobs Comments Claims G V H Designs & Const P /L o Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Urban Habitat P/L 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o S & M D'Andrea o Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o B N G Design & Const P /L 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o SA&LCelona 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Dreaka P/L 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Bre-And Homes P /L 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 Cambridge Homes P/L I Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Colcheck (Aust.) P/L 50 Dereg-Breach rule 47 38 P G S Constructions 9 Dereg-Breach rule 47 5 RenaHomes 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o J &MKromar 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o C & L Brierley o Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o W H Gist & M A Longhurst o Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o J & J L Vanderree & J A & V M Smith 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o GJ &J LGaroni 11 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Matthell Homes 11 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 3 L Talevski o Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o S&SAsciak o Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Pilgrim Homes 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Mikeron Construction P /L 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o P & K Squazzato Plumbing P /L 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 B & V Elencevski 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Coules & Coules Building Contractors 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Cadorone P /L 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Moorabool Homes 2 Dereg-Breach rule 47 o W J & A E Duiker 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o RV &MASpark 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o B Lepore & K C Smith 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o BD & D LJackson 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o AB & M H Bosman 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Chestnut Crest P/L 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o A C S Constructions P /L 1 Dereg-Breach rule 47 o R P & C A Sikorski o Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o John Colby Homes o Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Alcock Holdings P /L o Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Dell Aquila, Maisano & Cerbone 9 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o D S T Homes P/L 13 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 Gembrook Builders 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Aussie Modular Homes (Victoria) P/L 34 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 5 M & A Zagrovic 11 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 Liedtke Constructions P /L 66 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 8 J E McGuire Constructions P /L 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Stryne Constructions 11 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o K&S Tolley 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o JC&RSSmith 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o J P Ferrari Homes 29 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 7 LA&PABahr 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o J F De Stefanis Construction 6 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 3 Fleming Bros Bricklaying Contractors 6 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o W J &H L Builders o Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Lunar Homes P /L 409 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 113 M&JGDohnt 7 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o Citizen Homes P /L 17 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 4 Artec Developments 11 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 Solitaire Homes and or Greyfr Home Imp 8 Dereg-Breach rule 10 (b) 3 F & E Constructions 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 A S A Forrester 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) o QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 269
Total Builders Name Johs Comments Claims Younger Homes 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 3 Progressive Homes (Aust.) P/L 10 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 J & R Duignan 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 R J & C Bozicevic 9 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 Home Developments 9 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 Star Home Builders 20 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 4 LeroyHomes 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 P Matthews Building Services 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 BPlummer 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 H S Youlden P/L 10 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 FM White 14 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 2 KG&LEWebber 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 R H & P M Powell 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 Big A Constructions 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 DJ & H Gryngras 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Droog Builders & Renovations P /L 15 Dereg non pay fe.;s rule 10 (c) I A & M Builders 13 Dereg non pay ~~s rule 10 (c) 4 E F Leighton 3 Dereg non pay teeS rule 10 (c) 2 N Amoroso 6 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 P G & S D Tilley 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 M &R Bagaric 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 FC& R M Boote 13 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 Aquaro Bros Constructions P/L 11 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Vic Indust & Comm Const P/L 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 1.0 (c) 1 RJ &LMWilson 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Jeftbald Nominees P/L 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 GD&DASmith 16 Dereg-Breach rule 47 0 B E & M E Gilbee 2 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Leijon Enterprises P /b 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Carbeth Homes 5 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 3 The Hand Made Mud Brick S'ppls 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 GMM&JPelle 5 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 T J Jacobs 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 CA Smith 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 1 S W & M Kaitler 3 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Southern Construction 1 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 DWGunn 4 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Leo Constructions 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 Laurie Cassar Homes P /L 9 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 M & K Tunjasevic 0 Dereg non pay fees rule 10 (c) 0 TOTAL BUILDERS REPORTED: 411
YOUTH GUARANTEE PROGRAM (Question No. 413) Mr PERRIN (Bulleen) asked the Minister for Labour: In relation to the Youth Guarantee program: 1. What the actual cost was of funding the program in the 1988-89 financial year? 2. What the Budget outlay was for the program in the 1989-90 financial year? 3. Whether the Youth Guarantee budget has been reduced in the 1989-90 financial year; if so, why? 4. Why funding for the Youth Guarantee activities was made a subprogram of the youth affairs expenditure program in the 1989-90 financial year? QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
270 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
Mr POPE (Minister for Labour)-The answer is: (a) Actual cost of funding Youth Guarantee 1988-89-$10 472573. (b) Budget outlay for Youth Guarantee 1989-90-$8·2 million. (c) Reduction in allocation 1989-90 financial year reflects: (i) the phase-out of salary subsidies for public sector traineeships; (ii) improved labour market and school retention opportunities for fifteen to eighteen-year-olds in Victoria; (ill) Job and Course Explorer Unit funding transferred to Ministry of Education; (iv) the elimination of the Youth Employment Strategy promotions campaign. (d) Funding of Youth Guarantee activities was made a subprogram of the youth affairs expenditure program in 1989-90 in order to- (i) realise savings in the administration and program support areas by the incorporation of Youth Guarantee within the Youth Affairs Division; (ii) foster greater cooperation and coordination of youth affairs policy and programs within the Department of Labour.
YOUTH GUARANTEE TRAINEESHIP PROGRAM (Question No. 414) Mr PERRIN (Bulleen) asked the Minister for Labour: In relation to the Youth Guarantee program: 1. How many traineeships were created under this program in the 1989-90 financial year, indicating how many of those traineeships went to youth from rural areas? 2. Whether all recipients of traineeships created in the 1988-89 financial year met the selection criteria for the program; if not, what percentage of recipients did not meet the criteria? 3. What the total cost was of the Youth Guarantee traineeship program in the 1988-89 financial year? Mr POPE (Minister for Labour)-The answer is: 1. Public sector traineeships created in the 1989-90 financial year: Seven in State authorities (water boards), and all trainees are from rural areas. 2. Proportion of these traineeships to applicants meeting the selection criteria for the program: All Youth Guarantee funded traineeships met selection criteria, i.e. fifteen to eighteen years, unemployed six months or more, and/or otherwise disadvantaged in the labour market. 3. Total cost of the Youth Guarantee traineeship program 1988-89 financial year: $1434168 (see page 139 Department of Labour 1988-89 annual report).
YOUTH GUARANT~E EMPLOYMENT COUNSELLOR AND PLACEMENT SERVICE (Question No. 416) Mr PERRIN (Bulleen) asked the Minister for Labour: In relation to the Youth Guarantee's employment counsellor and placement service for the 1988-89 financial year: 1. How many people sought information regarding job placement under the service? 2. How many youths were placed in employment as a result of that service? QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 271
3. What was the retention rate for job placements over that period? 4. What proportion of the clients of the employment counsellor and placement service who were placed in employment in the 1988-89 financial year met the programs eligibility criteria? 5. What was the total cost of the service? 6. Whether all people who were placed in employment through the service met the program's eligibility criteria; ifnot, what percentage of people did not meet the criteria? Mr POPE (Minister for Labour)-The answer is: (a) Number of young people seeking vocational information from the Youth Guarantee employment counsellor and placement service 1988-89: 2025. (b) Numbers of young people placed in employment 1988-89 financial year: placed jobs 695 placed apprenticeships 150 placed traineeships 84
Total Placements- 929
Not including training and education placements (c) Retention rate for employment over this period: Retention rate % Job % App. % T/ship First six months 87·6 86·2 82·2 Second six months 86·2 92·9 67·7 Average both periods 86·9 89·55 74·95 (d) Proportion of clients who were placed in employment meeting the selection criteria for the program: All clients of the Youth Guarantee employment counsellor and placement service met the selection criteria, i.e. fifteen to eighteen years old, unemployed six months or more, and/or otherwise disadvantaged in the labour market. (e) Total cost of the employment counsellor and placement service for the 1988-89 financial year: $2568082. (I) As stated in (cl) above, all placed clients met the eligibility criteria.
LARA-WAURN PONDS RING ROAD (Question No. 418) Mr DICKINSON (South Barwon) asked the Minister for Transport: 1. Whether the Ministry is planning a major tree planting program along the ring road site and approaches from Lara to Waum Ponds; ifso, what action is being taken; ifnot, why? 2. What plans the Ministry has to develop the land in the vicinity of the proposed Lara to Waum Ponds ring road for subdivision building blocks? Mr SPYKER (Minister for Transport)-The answer is: 1. Proposals and preliminary design of initial stages will be developed in 1990-91. Subject to availability offunds, planting plans will be developed and some planting may be carried out in 1991-92 and 1992-93. 2. Development of land for subdivision is the province of property owners and developers. VIe ROADS does not currently hold any surplus land which, as an entity, is suitable for subdivision. Rather, the small residual areas of surplus land are sold to abutting land owners at market value or on exchange of area basis as the opportunities arise. Some private subdivision is taking place adjacent to the reservation. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
272 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
NATIONAL HERITAGE CLASSIFIED SEWERAGE PIPELINE BRIDGE (Question No. 423) Mr DICKINSON (South Barwon) asked the Minister for Transport: Whether the same team of experts engaged by the government to design and execute the restoration of the historic Fyansford Monash bridge has been engaged to give an estimate of the cost of restoration and maintenance of the national heritage classified sewerage pipeline bridge over the Barwon River; ifso, has an estimate been given for this work, indicating-(i) the estimate; and (ii) the proposed apportionment of costs between Victorian taxpayers, ratepayers ofthe Geelong and District Water Board, and the National Trust of Victoria? Mr SPYKER (Minister for Transport)-The answer is: The Fyansford arch bridge was repaired by VIC ROADS as the agency responsible for the structural maintenance of this historic bridge. The design and execution of the work was done by VIC ROADS staff both at Geelong and at head office. Day-to-day maintenance of the bridge continues to be the responsibility of the shires of Bannockburn and Corio. VIC ROADS engineers have not been engaged to give an estimate for the restoration and maintenance of the sewer aqueduct over the Barwon River. During the progress of work on the Fyansford arch bridge, representatives of the Geelong and District Water Board visited the site. Interest was shown in the techniques used by VIC ROADS in undertaking the repairs. Given the interests, experience and skills of the VIC ROADS engineer and overseer on the Fyansford site, a reciprocal visit was arranged for them to inspect the sewer aqueduct repair work and offer advice. ACCIDENT COMPENSATION COMMISSION (Question No. 426) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Minister for Labour: Whether the Accident Compensation Commission is aware of the requirement of section 37 A of the Accident Compensation Act 1985 that each quarterly report should contain an audited financial statement; ifso-(a) when it is proposed that the financial statements contained in the quarterly report for December quarter 1989 will be audited and presented to Parliament; and (b) whether he will ensure that future reports contain audited financial statements? Mr POPE (Minister for Labour)-The answer is: 1. The Accident Compensation Commission is aware of the requirement of section 37 A of the Accident Compensation Act 1985 that each quarterly report should contain an audited financial statement. (a) The financial statements contained in the quarterly report for the December quarter 1989 will, subject to the resources of the office ofthe Auditor-General, be audited and presented to Parliament at the time of presentation of the annual report of 1989-90. (b) The Auditor-General's certification of the March quarterly report has recently been provided to the President and Speaker. It was not available within the timelines requiring for reporting. (c) All future reports will contain audited financial statements at time of presentation subject to the resources of the office of the Auditor-General.
GENERAL MOTORS HOLDEN'S LTD (Question No. 427) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Minister for Labour: Whether General Motors Holden's Ltd was self-insured under the Accident Compensation Act 1985 and re-admitted to the scheme by way of negotiated contract in 1987; if so, whether moneys are owed by General Motors Holden's Ltd and fall due on 30 June 1990 and, in that event, what steps have been taken to determine the amount owing to ensure that the commission's full entitlement will be received? QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
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Mr POPE (Minister for Labour)-The answer is: General Motors Holden's Ltd (GMH Ltd) was self-insured under the Accident Compensation Act 1985, and its approval as a self-insurer was revoked by the Governor in Council, effective from 1 April 1987. An agreement in the terms of section 151 of the Accident Compensation Act was negotiated between GMH Ltd and the Accident Compensation Commission to assess GMH Ltd's liability arising from the period of self-insurance. The initial contribution provided for in the agreement was paid to the Accident Compensation Commission in June 1987. The balance of total liability assessed in 1987 remains outstanding and is to be reassessed as at 30 June 1990, as provided for in the agreement and section 151 of the Accident Compensation Act. In partial fulfilment of the requirements of both the agreement and section 151 of the Accident Compensation Act, a firm of independent actuaries has been appointed to reassess GMH Ltd's total liability as at 30 June 1990.
MYTTON RODD LTD (Question No. 430) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Minister for Labour: 1. Whether Mytton Rodd Ltd has taken legal action against the Department of Labour with respect to a component-approved by the department under the Boilers and Pressure Vessels Act 1970-which failed and caused the company financial loss; if so-(a) what is the basis of the action; (b) what is the amount of damages sought (if any); (c) whether the department has investigated the matter, indicating the name of the investigator, the investigator's rate of pay, the cost of the investigation to date, and whether the investigator is currently a permanent departmental member of staff and, in the event that he is not, why the department was required to obtain the services of an outside investigator? 2. Whether the department has sought the services of its former Director of Technical Services, Mr Don Robinson; ifso-(a) why; and (b) what are the terms and conditions ofMr Robinson's contract? Mr POPE (Minister for Labour)-The answer is: 1. (a) Mytton Rodd Ltd has served a writ seeking damages against the government of Victoria in connection with an issue which occurred in 1983 and which purportedly resulted in financial losses to the company. (b) Mytton Rood Ltd is seeking damages of$7 million. (c) Investigations are continuing into this matter and are being conducted by the Manager, Equipment Safety Branch, Dr John Higgins, and a number of his staffin consultation with the Victorian Government Solicitor. Dr Higgins is a permanent officer paid at SESl level. The cost of the investigation to date encompasses time spent by officers in the normal course of their duties plus an amount referred to in answer to your question (2) below. 2. Yes. Following discussions with the Victorian Government Solicitor, the department has sought the services ofMr Robinson to provide assistance on administrative and policy matters pertaining in 1983 in relation to the issue. He is being paid at the rate of$80 an hour with a ceiling cap of$5ooo.
PRE-DRIVING EDUCATION TEACHERS (Question No. 432) Mr DICKINSON (South Barwon) asked the Minister for Education: 1. Whether responsibility for the practical component of pre-driver education is to be removed from teachers who are currently teaching traffic safety education; if so, whether the responsibility is to be sub contracted out to local driving schools to be run on Saturdays or after-school on a user pays basis? 2. Whether an in-depth teacher-training course is going to operate during 1990 similar to previous years? 3. Whether the Minister will advise if all future traffic safety education is going to be controlled by VIC ROADS? QUESTIONS ON NOTICE
274 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990
4. Whether VIC ROADS traffic education consultants will be responsible for all future training of teachers on a regional level? 5. Whether pre-driving education teachers have been consulted during the consultation process on the future of traffic safety education involving the ministries of Education, Police and Emergency Services, and Transport; if not, why?
Ms KIRNER (then Minister for Education)-The answer is: 1. The government is now considering a draft traffic safety education action plan. The main direction ofthis plan is to encourage local communities to take some responsibility, in partnership with their local schools, for traffic safety education in their local areas. The major mechanism for developing and implementing this partnership would be local road safety councils, which would represent a range of community organisations including the police and schools. One proposal in the draft plan is that trained community members take responsibility for the "in-car" component ofpre-driver education in such a way as to complement attitude-based school traffic safety education programs from Prep to VCE level. There is no suggestion that local driving schools would assume responsibility for these "in-car" activities, nor is there any suggestion that schools would participate in these arrangements, other than by agreement and in cooperation with their local communities. It should be emphasised that no decision on the draft plan has been made by government. 2. The certificate of traffic safety education course will operate in 1990. Arrangements for its operation are now in preparation. 3. Traffic safety education policy and practice in schools will be determined by school communities within government guidelines. VIC ROADS and the Ministry of Education liaise closely to provide support for schools in traffic safety education. 4. VIC ROADS traffic safety education consultants will continue to support schools in traffic safety education. There is no proposal for them to be responsible for all future training of teachers on a regional basis. 5. A presentation outlining the broad directions of the plan, was made by staff involved in the development of the plan to a major conference of pre- RODDING EMPLOYEES AT PORTLAND SMELTER (Question No. 434) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Minister for Labour: 1. Whether the Occuptional Health and Safety (Manual Handling) Regulations 1988 relate to the requirement for rodding employees at the Portland smelter to "bar down" with a crow bar anode stems into anode blocks; if so, why this practice is required of these employees, despite past accidents and the likelihood of more? 2. Whether forklift trucks operating at the Portland smelter are subject to recurrent faults which would prevent them from meeting safety requirements under the Lifts and Cranes Act 1959. 3. Whether the mode of operation of the fork lift trucks in the rodding section of the Portland smelter conforms with the Lifts and Cranes Act 1959 and with the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985? 4. Whether he will provide details of the number and dates of visits made to the rodding section of the Portland smelter by any inspectors of the Department of Labour; if so, were any breaches of the Lifts and Cranes Act 1959 or the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985 detected? Mr POPE (Minister for Labour)-The answer is: 1. The requirement to "bar down" anode stems has ceased since an accident occurred on 26.5.89. No other previous accidents are known to have occurred. If the task of "barring down" was still occurring, the Occupational Health and Safety (Manual Handling) Regulations 1988 would apply. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 275 2. The only recurrent failures on fork lift vehicles at Portland smelter services involved a brake valve failure on one machine and a hydraulic check valve on two others which allowed the mast to creep forwar4. The failures have been investigated and rectified. 3. The mode of operation of fork lift vehicles in the "rodding section" of Portland smelter services conforms with the occupational health and safety and lifts and cranes Acts. 4. Department of Labour inspectors have visited Portland smelter services on 93 occasions since October 1988. It is not possible to breakdown the number of visits to the "rodding section". No breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act or Lifts and Cranes Act have been reported by inspectors. ACCIDENTS IN PUBLIC HOSPITAlS (Question No. 435) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Minister for Education, for the Minister for Health: Whether Health Department Victoria has undertaken any survey of the extent of accidents in public hospitals associated with the use of syringe needles and other "sharps"; if so: (i) what was the result of the survey; (ii) how many injuries occur on average each month; (iii) what action has been taken to overcome the problem; (iv) whether she will ascertain and advise of any action initiated by the Department of Labour under section 21 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985; and (v) whether any staff at public hospitals have contracted AIDS, hepatitis B or other diseases following an accident using these instruments in the past two years; indicating - (i) how many by category; and (ii) whether anyone has died as a consequence of such accidents? Ms KIRNER (then Minister for Education)-The answer supplied by the Minister for Health is: Health Department Victoria via its Standing Committee on Infection Control has been conducting an ongoing survey on sharps injuries in public hospitals since 1987 (twice yearly). (i) A copy of the survey has been supplied to the honourable member. (ii) The survey indicates that the number of injuries which occur each month are approximately 180. (iii) Health Department Victoria via the Advisory Committee on Hospital Waste Control produced a document entitled Guidelines for the disposal of sharps in Hospitals/Institutions 1987. The guidelines have been widely distributed to all public hospitals in Victoria. In addition, Health Department Victoria, via the Standing Committee on Infection Control, regularly sends bulletins to public hospitals which include the graphs relating to the sharps statistics referred to above and continue to advise health care personnel to observe the guidelines as far as practical to prevent these injuries. (iv) The Department of Labour has informed my department that there has been no record of any action initiated by the Department of Labour under section 21 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985 in relation to accidents in public hospitals associated with the use ofsyringe needles and other sharps. (v) (i) Health Department Victoria has no record of staff contracting AIDS. In relation to hepatitis B, a manual inspection of records for 1988, 1989 and up to 31 March 1990 has failed to reveal any cases of this being reported due to needle stick injuries in health care workers. However, Health Department Victoria is aware of one case notified in 1988 of a part-time employee of a public hospital, who had given a history of needle stick injury but there was some suggestion that the patient may have previously been a hepatitis B carrier. It should perhaps be emphasised that not all cases of hepatitis B-or other infections-are reported to the department and the underlying risk factors are not always specified. (ii) The health department has no record of anyone (public hospital staff) that has died due to sharps injury. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 276 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 ALLOCATION OF VEHICLES TO STAFF OF MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR OLYMPIC GAMES (Question No. 457) Mr DICKINSON (South Barwon) asked the Minister responsible for the Olympic Games: In respect of each department, agency or authority within his administration, how many officers/ employees are allocated motor vehicles, indicating-(a) those with or without official government number plates; (b) the position or job classifications held by these officers/employees, including the respective salary levels; (c) the makes and models of these motor vehicles; and (d) whether these officers/employees pay fringe benefits tax with respect to their private use of the motor vehicles and, in that event, the average amount of fringe benefits tax paid? Mr TREZISE (Minister responsible for Olympic Games)-The answer is: I refer the honourable member to my response to Legislative Assembly Question No. 465 provided for the current sitting. As the Melbourne Olympic Candidature is a public company and not one of my department's agencies I am unable to provide the requested information in respect of that body. However, as a public company it is required to fulfill its obligations in relation to accountability under the Companies (Victoria) Code. ALLOCATION OF VEHICLES TO COMMUNITY SERVICES VICTORIA STAFF (Question No. 464) Mr DICKINSON (South Barwon) asked the Minister for Community Services: In respect of each department, agency or authority within her administration, how many officers/ employees are allocated motor vehicles, indicating-{a) those with or without official government number plates; (b) the position or job classifications held by these officers/employees, including the respective salary levels; (c) the makes and models of these motor vehicles; and (d) whether these officers/employees pay fringe benefits tax with respect to their private use of the motor vehicles and, in that event, the average amount of fringe benefits tax paid? Mrs SETCHES (Minister for Community Services)-The answer is : There are currently ten senior officers within Community Services Victoria allocated motor vehicles. The use of these vehicles is in accordance with the government Senior Executive Service car scheme. (a) All allocated vehicles are registered with private style number plates, as required by the Senior Executive Service car scheme. (b) Vehicles are allocated to the following positions/classifications. Respective salary levels are shown. Position Classification Salary $ Director-General C 8 98 191 General Manager, Child Protection and Major Projects SES 5 67632 General Manager, Community Programs SES 5 67632 General Manager, Resources SES 4 63017 General Manager, Family and Youth Services SES 4 63017 Director, State Plan Implementation SES 4 63017 General Manager, Children and Family Services SES 3 58791 General Manager, Office ofIntellectual Disability Services SES 3 58791 Special Projects-Education SES 3 58791 Project Director, Secure Services Unit SES 3 58791 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 277 (c) Vehicles allocated to participating senior officers are selected in accordance with the provisions of the Senior Executive Service car scheme and the State government motor vehicle contract. Specifically, CSV senior officers are allocated the following vehicles: Mitsubishi Magna Elite x I Holden Commodore Station Wagon Executive xl Mitsubishi Magna SE x I Mitsubishi Magna GLX x3 Nissan Pintara TI xl Nissan Pintara GXE x2 Toyota Camry CSX xl (d) With the exception of the chief administrator, all participating senior executives are required to contribute at a rate determined annually by the Remuneration Review Committee. The contribution is made through a fortnightly deduction from salary. The current rate is: 4-cylinder vehicles-$24·38 per fortnight. 6-cylinder vehicles-$32·19 per fortnight. -Chief administrators are not required to contribute. ALLOCATION OF VEHICLES TO DEPARTMENT OF SPORT AND RECREATION STAFF (Question No. 465) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Minister for Sport and Recreation: In respect of each department, agency or authority within her administration, how many officers/ employees are allocated motor vehicles, indicating-(a) those with or without official government number plates; (b) the position or job classifications held by these officers/employees, including the respective salary levels; (c) the makes and models of these motor vehicles; and (d) whether these officers/employees pay fringe benefits tax with respect to their private use of the motor vehicles and, in that event, the average amount of fringe benefits tax paid? Mr TREZISE (Minister for Sport and Recreation)-The answer is: (a) All employees/officers allocated motor vehicles have been provided vehicles with non-government plates. The number of vehicles allocated per agency are as follows: Greyhound Racing Control Board 8 Harness Racing Board 21 Totalizator Agency Board 6 National Tennis Centre Trust o Department of Sport and Recreation 2 (b) The position and salaries of officers/employees allocated vehicles are: Greyhound Racing Control Board Executive Director $57390 Chief Steward $36 ()()() Deputy Chief Steward $31 584 Stewards (4) $29038 Track Maintenance Officer $35 ()()() Harness Racing Board Chief Executive $66395 Moonee Valley Operations Manager $52458 Administration Manager $46 171 Chairman of Stewards $45934 Racing Manager $45320 Country Clubs Manager $45320 P!'omotions Manager $44 806 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 278 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 Legal Officer $38527 Handicapper $35045 Stipendiary Stewards (12) $26418-$35045 Totalizator Agency Board General Manager $81454 Assistant General Manager (Computer Systems) $64903 Assistant General Manager (Development and $64903 Marketing) Assistant General Manager (Gaming) $60555 Director Finance $60555 Director Marketing $56513 Department of Sport and Recreation Director-General $78 177 Assistant Director-General (Racing and Gaming) $58891 (c) The makes and models of vehicles allocated are: Greyhound Racing Control Board 1 Toyota Camry Sedan 6 Holden Commodore Executive Sedans 1 Ford Falcon Panel Van Harness Racing Board 1 Toyota Land Cruiser 12 Ford Falcon Sedans 1 Ford Falcon Wagon 3 Holden Commodore Sedans 3 Magna SE Sedans 1 Magna Executive Sedan Totalizator Agency Board 1 Ford Fairlaine 5 Ford Falcons Department of Sport and Recreation 1 Holden Calais Sedan 1 Nissan Pintara GLX Sedan (d) No fringe benefit taxes are paid by any of the above officers/employees for the use of these motor vehicles. WORKCARE REHABILITATION SERVICES (Question No. 475) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Minister for Labour: In respect of WorkCare rehabilitation services providing services to Comcare: 1. Whether WorkCare Rehabilitation Services are approved rehabilitation providers by Comcare1 2. How much revenue was received by WorkCare rehabilitation services, and how many clients were treated in the quarter ended 31 March 19901 3. Why WorkCare rehabilitation services are providing services to Commonwealth employees when their mandate is to provide rehabilitation services to injured clients under WorkCare1 4. What delays have been caused to WorkCare patient care as a consequence ofWork Care rehabilitation services doing Comcare work? 5. Whether there is any formal agreement between the government and Comcare and, in that event, will he advise details of the agreement including any financial benefit or franchise deal? QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 279 Mr POPE (Minister for Labour)-The answer is: 1. WorkCare Rehabilitation Services are approved Comcare providers until December 1990. 2. In the quarter ended 31 March 1990, income received for services provided to Comcare by WorkCare Rehabilitation Services totalled $14 491. There were 34 clients who received services from eight WRS locations. 3. The board of the council approved Workcare Rehabilitation Services seeking approval as a provider under Comcare. The board made a condition that statistics should be kept and its impact on the provision of rehabilitation services under WorkCare be monitored. 4. Given the level of clients, only minimal delays, if any, would have been experienced over the period by WorkCare clients as a result of the servicing ofComcare clients. The involvement with Comcare clients is small, particularly when spread across the WRS locations. No WRS centre has a waiting list and all referrals receive prompt and appropriate attention. The WRS involvement with Comcare is to be monitored to ensure that WorkCare clients are not disadvantaged. 5. The WRS centre applied for approval as Comcare providers in a manner similar to the private providers. Continuation of the services is subject to registration by Comcare and meeting their standards and requirements. MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND CONSTRUCTION PROPERTIES IN BARWON AREA (Question No. 478) Mr DICKINSON (South Barwon) asked the Minister for Property and Services, for the Minister for Housing and Construction: With respect to the Barwon Area office incorporating the municipalities of Corio, Geelong, Newtown, South Barwon, Geelong West, Bellarine, Qu::enscliffe and Barrabool: 1. Whether the Minister will advise what rental arrears are owed to the Ministry of Housing and Construction as at 30 March 1990? 2. What steps are being taken to recover such outstanding debts? 3. How many people are currently on the waiting list for Ministry accommodation as at 30 March 1990? 4. What is the estimated waiting period for allocation of a Ministry house or unit? 5. Whether the Minister has any plans to build or purchase additional houses in the above municipalities during the next five years; ifso, how many new properties will be available to ease the waiting list? 6. What is the average cost of each dwelling either built or purchased by the Ministry as at 30 March 1990? 7. Whether the Ministry regularly monitors tenants to ensure that they continue to be eligible for accommodation? 8. What action, if any, is taken by the Ministry against tenants whose financial circumstances have improved to the point where they no longer qualify for Ministry accommodation and have failed to notify the Ministry of that fact? Mr W ALSH (then Minister for Property and Services)-The answer supplied by the then Minister for Housing and Construction is: I. As at 5 April 1990, arrears amounted to $484 804.59. 2. The Ministry has a rental arrears policy which centres on early intervention in all arrears cases. This incorporates counselling and making agreements designed to suit the tenant's financial situation as well as ensuring that moneys outstanding are recouped and tenancies are safeguarded. 3. There are 1965 applicants awaiting accommodation in the municipalities listed. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 280 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 4. Bedsitter-6 months I-Br elderly person unit-Indefinite 2-Br house/unit-2·5-4 years 3-Br house/unit-2·5-4 years 4-Br house-2·5-4 years 5. Under the Ministry's warranted needs targets set for the period 1990-91 to1993-94 there are 513 units targeted to be acquired for the municipalities listed. There are currently 75 dwellings for families and elderly people committed for construction in the Geelong region. 6. Activity Beds Geelong Order homes 2-Br $55250 Design and construct 2-Br $54246 3-Br $49792 Ministry design 2-Br $72092 Medium density (mixed beds) $67576 Elderly persons I-Br $52228 An explanation is provided for the variations in prices as follows: Design and construct-Tender submissions from private builders-Figures provided are tender prices in an ideal situation with a town planning permit. Costs are subject to variation which is not reflected for approximately 1-2 years. Delays occur in obtaining town planning permits. 2-Br-$54 246-These units are dual occupancy. Town planning permits must include more fencing, longer driveways, more drainage, twice the services, turning circles and car parking and landscaping are compulsory. 3-Br-$49792-Does not require town planning permits. Minimal landscaping, no requirement for garage or carport. Ministry design (in house). 2-Br-$72 092-Price includes working drawings, landscape plan and all costs including town planning permits. All costs are paid upfront. Spot purchase-includes cost ofland, building and upgrade. I-Br 2-Br $85475 3-Br $87744 4-Br $94835 7. Tenants on reduced rents are reviewed each year to ascertain their eligibility for rebate. Those tenants who pay the cost rent are not monitored. 8. The Ministry regularly contacts those tenants who are in receipt of rental rebates. If a tenant fails to supply information as requested or is deemed to be ineligible for assistance their rebate entitlement is cancelled. COST OF DEPARTMENTAL TAXI FARES AND CAR HIRE (Question No. 486) Mr DICKINSON (South Barwon) asked the Minister for Property and Services, for the Minister for Housing and Construction: Whether he will provide full details of the annual cost of taxi fares and car hire for all departmental officers, Ministerial staff and Ministers for each department, agency and authority within his administration, for each year from April 1982 to date? Mr WALSH (then Minister for Property and Services)-The answer supplied by the then Minister for Housing and Construction is: The annual cost of car hire for each year from April 1982 to date is detailed in Table A. The cost of taxi fares for each year from April 1982 to date is detailed in Table B. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 281 TABLE A Total of all car hire costs from April 1982-23.5.90 1982 214·98 1982-83 4 990·54 1983-84 461·55 1984-85 3728·89 1985-86 3044·82 1986-87 3 130·90 1987-88 4347·12 1988-89 4437·02 1989-90 1274·11 $25629·93 TABLEB Total of all taxi costs from April 1982-23.5.90 1982 299·20 1982-83 1 276·75 1983-84 2848·49 1984-85 2208·26 1985-86 12703·74 1986-87 10 649·07 1987-88 14464·74 1988-89 25941·31 1989-90 46039·77 $116431·33 (Question No. 490) Mr DICKINSON (South Barwon) asked the Treasurer: Whether he will provide full details of the ~nnual cost of taxi fares and car hire for all departmental officers, Ministerial staff and Ministers for each department, agency and authority within his administration, for each year from April 1982 to date? Mr ROPER (Treasurer)-The answer is: Agency 1982-83 1983-84 1984-85 1985-86 1986-87 1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 Head Office *4319 12 187 18 113 26639 28855 28907 27321 25260 Tax * * 228 351 207 1800 2308 1 248 SBV *1 VicFin N/A N/A * * 600 1 170 3 140 4750 SERB 436 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 7497 10022 ESS N/A N/A N/A N/A 22 90 1 175 1 731 SSB * * 548 347 692 423 594 214 RFC 10488 6997 1272 6190 16708 16434 15265 6093 VEDC 331 1 623 2265 498 1 372 3642 2159 N/A Stamps * 3540 15202 7423 1 806 9329 5260 5776 SIO 4819 2 153 4770 5704 18510 8247 19990 27426 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 282 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 Agency 1982-83 1983-84 1984-85 1985-86 1986-87 1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 VDF * * * • • • 4642 7806 STB Nil 63 126 269 132 144 202 59 1982-83 to 1986-87 1987-88 to 1989-90 HSB 8500 7597 * No records available. * 1 SBV operates as a separately incorporated commercial enterprise and functions within generally established banking industry standards. (Question No. 495) Mr DICKINSON (South Barwon) asked the Minister for Community Services: Whether she will provide full details of the annual cost of taxi fares and car hire for all departmental officers, Ministerial staff and Ministers for each department, agency and authority within her administration, for each year from April 1982 to date? Mrs SETCHES (Minister for Community Services)-The answer is: Costs relating to taxi fares and car hire for Community Services Victoria are detailed below: Period Taxi Fares Car Hire 1981-82 47662 1982-83 43930 1983-84 43808 1984-85 49643 2833 1985-86 47822 5737 1986-87 107933 4887 1987-88 159083 4725 1988-89 160436 7 126 1989-90 N/A 15604 NOTES: 1. Expenditure for the period April 1982 to 30 June 1982 cannot be specifically identified. Therefore costs related to the 1981-82 financial year have been provided. 2. A proportion of client travel is included in the above figures for taxi fares for the periods stated. 3. For the periods 1981-82, 1982-83, and 1983-84 the figures for taxi fares include car hire as the reporting structure combinep both accounts. 4. For the period 1981-82 and 1982-83 the Correctional Services Division formed part of the structure of the department. In 1983-84 the said division was split from CSV and became the Office of Corrections, a separate reporting entity. 5. In 1986-87 the departmental structure altered with the IDS. program being transferred from the Health department. This resulted in the major increase in expenditures in 1986-87 and 1987-88. 6. In 1989-90 the reporting structure of the financial management system was altered, and the cost of taxi fares is not recorded in the general ledger of the department. CROWELL INTERNATIONAL AND SICHUAN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SICHUAN PROVINCE RESTAURANT (Question No. 507) Mr AUSTIN (Ripon) asked the Minister for Labour: Whether he will advise what the outcome was of the department's prosecution against Crowell International and Sichuan Corporation Pty Ltd, Sichuan Province Restaurant, referred to by him in Parliament on 15 August and 12 September 1989, respectively? QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 283 Mr POPE (Minister for Labour)-The answer is: In relation to Sichuan Corporation Pty Ltd,· the matter is in the final stages of preparation prior to the instituting of proceedings. It is intended to serve information within the next fortnight. The activities of Crowell International Pty Ltd have been under investigation by the department since 1988. To date legal proceedings have not been instituted, primarily because of difficulties in establishing the criteria necessary to enforce award provisions that is-an employer-employee relat!onship-but also because of inconclusive jurisdictional coverage and a reluctance on the part of workers to lodge complaints. Recent variations to the jurisdictions of the commercial travellers and various retail shops awards will overcome some of the difficulties associated with award coverage; however the issue of contractor versus employee remains a matter for determination prior to court proceedings. The department will continue to investigate the company's employment practices and will take appropriate action on receipt of any complaint. PORTLAND SMELTER FORKLIFT TRUCKS (Question No. 510) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Minister for Labour: 1. Whether the Department of Labour recommended that the Portland smelter purchase five TCM FD 70 7-tonne forklift trucks for use in the pot room as being suitable for the work to be performed; ifso-{a) who made the recommendation; and (b) what were their qualifications? 2. Whether the operators of these machines complete an approved Department of Labour training course; if so-(a) whether the course included the tuition of operators to drive backwards in an uncomfortable mode for long periods of time over lengthy distances in machines with poor rear visibility; and (b) the name of the organisation conducting the course? Mr POPE (Minister for Labour)-The answer is: 1. No. 2. Yes. (a) All such courses include instruction on the use of reverse operation. (b) Environmental Health Services. REVIEW OF WORKCARE LEVY (Question No. 512) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Minister for Labour: 1. Whether the Minister will advise how many applications for review of WorkCare levy were received for the quarters ended June, September, and December 1989, and March 19901 2. How many applications were dealt with in each quarter? 3. How many applications were outstanding in each quarter? 4. How many of those dealt with had their levies-(a) reduced; (b) unchanged; and (c) increased; in each quarter as a result of their appeal? Mr POPE (Minister for Labour)-The answer is: 1. The number of applications for review of WorkCare levy by quarter are: June 1989-660; September 1989-940; December 1989-2676; and March 1990-2456. These numbers include applications for review in which an employer has advised new detail on the components which are used to calculate levy rate. 2. Applications dealt with by quarter were: June 1989-503; September 1989-748; December 1989-1107; and March 1990-2339. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 284 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 3. Applications outstanding in each quarter were: June 1989-157; September 1989-349; December 1989-1918; and March 1990-2035. 4. An analysis of those dealt with by quarter is: Quarter Reduced Unchanged Increased June 158 300 45 September 306 389 53 December 485 555 67 March 1026 1 167 146 MELBOURNE 1996 OLYMPIC BID (Question No. 519) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Minister for Transport: In respect of each department, authority or agency within his administration, whether he will advise details of each contribution made to the Melbourne 1996 Olympic bid, indicating, in each case, the amount contributed or, in the event of a non-cash contribution, the cash equivalent? Mr SPYKER (Minister for Transport)-The answer is: The information on the matters raised by the honourable member is being dealt with pursuant to his request under the Freedom of Information Act. (Question No. 522) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Minister for Labour: In respect of each department, authority or, agency within his administration, whether he will advise details of each contribution made to the Melbourne 1996 Olympic bid, indicating, in each case, the amount contributed or, in the event of a non-cash contribution, the cash equivalent? Mr POPE (Minister for Labour)-The answer is: This matter has been dealt with under the Freedom ofInformation Act 1982. (Question No. 529) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Minister for Ethnic Affairs: In respect of each department, authority or agency within his administration, whether he will advise details of each contribution made to the Melbourne 1996 Olympic bid, indicating, in each case, the amount contributed or, in the event of a non-cash contribution, the cash equivalent? Ms KIRNER (Minister for Ethnic Affairs)-The answer is: This information is being dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 1982. (Question No. 530) Mr GUDE (Hawthorn) asked the Treasurer, for the Minister for Industry and Economic Planning: In respect of each department, authority or agency within his administration, whether he will advise details of each contribution made to the Melbourne 1996 Olympic bid, indicating, in each case, the amount contributed or, in the event of a non-cash contribution, the cash equivalent? QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 285 Mr ROPER (Treasurer)-The answer supplied by the Minister for Industry and Economic Planning is: The following areas of my department have made contributions to the Melbourne 1996 Olympic bid: DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY AND ECONOMIC PLANNING This matter is being dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 1982. ST ATE ELECTRICITY COMMISSION OF VICTORIA The commission has had indirect contribution through Spoleto Festival-special lighting displays $350000. Planning of the electrical supplies for the proposed facilities at Albert Park velodrome has been provided by the commission free of charge. GAS AND FUEL CORPORATION OF VICTORIA The corporation has had indirect contribution through Spoleto Festival-a contribution of$350 000. EMPLOYMENT OF CONSULTANTS (Question No. 541) Mr COOPER (Momington) asked the Miruster for Tourism: In respect of each department, agency and authority within his administration, what are the names of all consultants employed since October 1988, indicating, in each case-(a) the purpose for which they were employed; (b) what working plans were given; (c) the cost of their services; (d) the duration of their contract; and (e) any additional payments made in excess of the contract price? Mr CRABB (Minister for Tourism)-The answer is: With respect to the Victorian Tourism Commission: This matter is presently being dealt with under a freedom of information request directed to the Department of the Premier and Cabinet by Mr Perton, MP. The information supplied to Mr Perton will incorporate consultancies engaged by the Victorian Tourism Commission where the fees exceed $10 000. For consultancies under $10 000 the answer is: Name ofconsultant (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Moorabbin T AFE Assertiveness Brief 1590 2 days Nil workshop Geoff McComas Speech Presentation skills Brief 1 590 2 days Nil Dynamic Marion Fox Associates & Supervision Brief 1 750 2 days Nil Kevin Smith ODI Aust. Management 2400 2 days Nil Development Ken Daley Service Customer service Brief 4000 3 x 2 days Nil Management Aust. training Moorabbin T AFE Ministerial Report Brief 5250 7 days Nil Writing JKS Consulting Supervision Brief 4800 3 days Nil Management National Institute of Economic Impact of Brief 5358 Nil Economic and Motorcycle Grand Industry Research Prix 1989 AGBMcNair- Additional questions Brief 9000 3 days Nil Adventure Trekking to the Domestic Seminar Tourism Monitor Speedideas-Grampians Workshop co- Brief 1000 1 day Nil Development Program ordination and organisation QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 286 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 Name ofconsultant (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) D. Faggeter and Landscape advice on Brief 2 000 _3 weeks Nil Associations P /L Lake Condah Mission and Environs Bureau of Tourism International Brief 9000 Nil Research visitors survey supplementary 1989 BRIDGES IN BENDIGO AREA (Question No. 564) Mr JOHN (Bendigo East) asked the Minister for Transport: 1. Whether he will provide a list of all bridges which are situated in the City of Bendigo, shires of Strathfieldsaye, Marong, East Loddon, Huntly, Mclvor, Borough of Eagle hawk or the City of Cas tlemai ne or otherwise situated in the area controlled by the Bendigo office ofVIC ROADS? 2. What action the Ministry of Transport has taken in respect of the care and maintenance of these bridges in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990 (to date), respectively? Mr SPYKER (Minister for Transport)-The answer is: 1. The appended table lists all highway and main road bridges in the municipalities identified. The list also includes some local road bridges in the care and maintenance of municipal councils. As the Roads Corporations records do not include a completemventory ofbridges in the latter category, it is not possible to provide a complete listing as requested. 2. In relation to the care and maintenance of bridges between 1985 and 1990t $4 million has been expended on bridge repair, maintenance and replacement in the listed municipalities over the five year period. The table provided itemises funds allocated to each structure during this period. VIC ROADS provides a bridge condition inspection and reporting service to councils to assist them with planning and financial programming. Periodic inspection of highway and main road bridges are conducted by VIC ROADS. This service is provided to councils for bridges on local roads, controlled by them, on a charge out basis. HIGHWAY BRIDGES Expenditure Highway Distance -:------.;;------85-86 86-87 87-88 88-89 89-90 Total Calder Section 2 133·9 '135·2 136·1 , , 146·5 50000 50000 148·5 150000 150000 150-5 155·6 164·3 177·4 187·8 Midland Section 3 1·2 6·7 18·8 19·0 27·0 Midland Section 2 0-12 0-15 Calder Alternative 140-1 30000 30000 147·0 147·9 10000 5000 15000 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 287 Expenditure Highway Distance 85-86 86-87 87-88 88-89 89-90 Total Loddon Valley 5·3 10000 130000 31000 171000 36·2 5000 5000 59·7 4000 4000 Culverts 31000 31000 Northern 94·0 6000 100000 106000 110·6 112·3 51000 110000 5000 6000 172000 121·7 152·3 153·9 Pyrenees 1·6 McIvor 117·5 123·7 133·3 134·9 2000 155000 15000 6000 178000 140·4 2000 2000 153·8 10000 10000 20000 MUNICIPAL BRIDGES Expenditure Municipality/ Road/Bridge 1985-86 1986-87 1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 Total Marong Shire: Maldon-Lockwood Road 50000 50000 Bridgewater-Sebastian Road 60000 45365 29000 7200 141 565 Bendigo-St Amaud Road 2000 80000 82000 Bridgewater-Maldon Road 1 500 2000 3500 Eaglehawk-Epsom Road 32000 32000 Derby Road 32000 32000 Kangaroo Flat-Newbridge Road 58000 58000 General Maintenance 5000 11000 16000 TOTAL 64000 132365 132000 7200 80000 415065 East Loddon Shire: Bridgewater-Serpentine Road 20000 20000 Dingee-Rochester Road 100000 42715 142715 Longs Road 25000 25000 13500 63500 Raywood-Durham Ox Road 63000 26500 89500 Maldon-Lockwood Road 1000 1000 Prairie-Borong Road 12000 12000 Prone Road 7780 7780 General Maintenance 8000 13000 2000 23000 TOTAL 126000 115495 89500 26500 2000 359495 Bendigo City: Miller Street 40000 40000 80000 Mandurang Road (Over Rail) 324300 324300 Chapel Street 43900 160000 32000 235900 Myrtle Street TOTAL 368200 200 000 72000 640200 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 288 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 Expenditure }'llmicipalit)'/ Road/Bridge 1985-86 1986-87 1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 Total Strathfieldsaye Shire: Strathfieldsaye Road-Emu Creek 40000 40000 Strathfieldsaye Road-Axe Creek 143000 147000 290000 TOTAL 143000 147000 40000 330000 Castlemaine City: Gaulson Street 15000 5000 20000 Ray Street 36700 36700 Forest Street 51000 51000 TOTAL 15000 41 700 51000 107700 Huntly Shire: Bendigo-Tennyson Road 2000 2000 Elmore-Raywood Road 1 500 1 500 Racecourse Road 35000 4000 39000 Russell Road 8700 34000 42700 Epsom-Fosterville Road 1 500 1 500 Old Murray Road 32000 32000 78000 110 000 252000 Howard Street 42000 42000 84000 Pitson Bridge 66075 40270 106345 General Maintenance 7500 5000 12500 TOTAL 188775 121 770 87000 110000 34000 541 545 McI vor Shire: Heathcote-Nagambie Road 1000 51000 203000 255000 Heathcote-Redesdale Road 3000 3000 Heathcote-Rochester Road 1000 .. 1000 Northern Highway Service Road 36000 23000 59000 Heathcote-Spring Plains Road 85000 50000 135000 Segafredo's Lane 35000 70000 18000 123000 General Maintenance TOTAL 40000 106000 177000 253000 576000 TREE PLANTING PROGRAMS IN BENDIGO AREA (Question No. 567) Mr JOHN (Bendigo East) asked the Minister for Conservation and Environment: 1. What areas have been designated for major tree planting programs in the City of Bendigo, shires of Strathfieldsaye, Marong, East Loddon, Huntly, McIvor, Borough of Eaglehawk or the City of Cas tlemai ne for the years ending 30 June 1990 to 1994, respectively? 2. How many trees are intended to be planted in each area in each year, and by whom? Mr CRABB (Minister for Conservation and Environment)-The answer is: 1. Specific sites have not been designated in the areas listed. For 1990 to 1994, preferred locations have been specified which are in accord with the State Conservation Strategy. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 289 These are: urban plantings along stream lines and those which will complement public reserves; planting on public and private land where there is limited remnant native vegetation; revegetation of salinity recharge zones on both public and private land; revegetation along major stream lines on public frontages and adjacent private land. 2. The number of trees has not been determined, but will be far in excess of current plantings. Community involvement will be used to the maximum in selection of sites, actual plantings and their maintenance. The Department of Conservation and Environment will also be involving other State government agencies and local government. HERITAGE PROPERTIES IN BENDIGO AREA (Question No. 569) Mr JOHN (Bendigo East) asked the Minister for Property and Services: 1. Whether the government has decided to sell the Shamrock Hotel, Pall Mall, Bendigo; if not, whether such a sale is being considered? 2. Whether any government-owned historic or heritage properties in the Bendigo region are for sale; if so, which properties, indicating whether they will be disposed of by auction or tender? 3. Which government-owned historic or heritage properties in the Bendigo region will be retained? Mr WALSH (then Minister for Property and Services)-The answer is: 1. No. No. 2. No. 3. At this time there are no proposals to sell any historic or heritage properties in Bendigo. APPRENTICESHIPS AT BENDIGO RAILWAY WORKSHOPS (Question No. 571) Mr JOHN (Bendigo East) asked the Minister for Transport: 1. What has been the total intake of apprenticeships by the Bendigo railway workshops in each year since 1982? 2. What is the proposed intake of apprentices for 1990 and 1991 at the workshops? 3. How many persons were employed at the workshops as at 30 June 1982 to 1989, inclusive? 4. How many persons were employed at the Bendigo railway workshops as at 30 April 1990? Mr SPYKER (Minister for Transport)-The answer is: 1. The number of apprentices for these years was: Apprentices Year Intake in Training Total 1982 16 29 45 1983 14 34 48 1984 14 33 47 1985 15 38 53 1986 4 41 45 1987 1 16 35 51 1988 2 37 39 1989 10 22 32 1Including additional apprentices for training under the State Additional Apprenticeship Scheme. 2. Apprentice requirements each year are primarily assessed on current and future workloads. as well as on anticipated tradesperson turnover. On this basis, the intake for 1990 was eight, and the estimated intake for 1991 is four to five. Spring Session 1990-10 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 290 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 3. The number employed at the workshops for the relevant years was: 1982 452 1986 464 1983 470 19872 400 1984 474 19882 343 1985 465 1989 332 2Number reduced under TRRS. 4. Total employment at 30 April 1990 was 325. BENDIGO OFFICE OF THE MINISTRY FOR HOUSING AND CONSTRUCTION (Question No. 573) Mr JOHN (Bendigo East) asked the Minister for Property and Services, for the Minister for Housing and Construction: In respect of the area controlled by the Bendigo office of the Ministry for Housing and Construction: I. Whether the Minister will advise what rental arrears are owed to the Ministry as at 30 June 1989, indicating the steps being taken to recover such outstanding debts? 2. How many people were on the waiting list for Ministry accommodation as at 30 June 1989? 3. What the estimated waiting period is for allocation of a Ministry house or unit? 4. What plans the Ministry has to build or purchase additional houses? 5. What was the average cost of each dwelling either built or purchased by the Ministry during the financial year ended 30 June 1989? 6. What action, if any, is taken by the Ministry in respect of tenants whose financial circumstances have improved to a point where they no longer qualify for assistance and where they have failed to notify the Ministry of that fact? 7. How many granny flats were vacant at 30 April 1990? 8. How many people are on the waiting list for granny flats? 9. How many houses or flats still contain asbestos or asbestos-based products? Mr W ALSH (then Minister for Property and Services)-The answer supplied by the former Minister for Housing and Construction is: 1. As at 30 June 1989 the amount of current rental arrears in respect of the area controlled by the Bendigo office was $163 302.00. The area office has several distinct strategies to reduce this level of debt, including home visits to new tenants and a concentration on negotiating effective repayment agreements. The Ministry has also improved its information systems with a focus on early identification of rental arrears. 2. As at 30 June 1989, there were 1290 eligible households awaiting Ministry accommodation throughout the Loddon-Campaspe area. 3. The average estimated waiting period for accommodation in the Loddon-Campaspe area is three years. 4. The Ministry acquires stock Statewide according to a relative need process. Under this process each local government area-LGA-across the State is assessed in terms of public housing need, taking into account Ministry waiting list figures, demographic projections and Department of Social Security indicators. The aim of this process is to ensure that each LGA receives its share of housing "opportunities". The Ministry plans for acquisition on a four year basis. The draft targeted number of units for the four year phase 1990-91-93-94 for the region covered by the Bendigo area office is 156 units. This figure is currently under review by the Ministry's planning group and the north zone office. The figure also does not take into account housing opportunities provided to people via other Ministry programs such as the housing finance assistance, the home equity scheme and the shared housing scheme, and so on. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 291 5. The average cost of construction for dwellings completed in the 1988-89 financial year: Design and Construct 2-Br $46730 3-Br $51 790 4-Br $54511 Ministry Design 2-Br $57610 3-Br $64023 4-Br $72548 Elderly Person Units I-Br $50094 6. The Ministry regularly contacts those tenants who are in receipt of rental rebates. If a tenant fails to supply information as requested, or is deemed to be ineligible for assistance their rebate entitlement is cancelled. 7. Nine (9) granny flats at various stages of transfer were vacant as at 30 April 1990. 8. There are 11 applications at various stages of allocation waiting for granny flats. 9. I wish to advise that information obtained from computer based data, collected several years ago through a housing condition survey, indicates that of 1788 units surveyed, 1628 contain asbestos. It should be noted that the asbestos figure refers to units which contain asbestos based product whether it is a major or minor component of the main building or its outer structures such as carport, garage, garden shed, and so on. HOMEBUSH ACCOMMODATION CENTRE (Question No. 575) Mr JOHN (Bendigo East) asked the Minister for Community Services: In respect of the Homebush accommodation centre situated at Mclvor Highway, Junortoun near Bendigo: 1. How many persons were resident under the care and control of the Ministry as at the end of each month for the past two years? 2. Whether it is proposed to expand the number of persons to be accommodated at the centre in the next two years? Mrs SETCHES (Minister for Community Services)-The answer is: 1. The numbers of clients registered under the Intellectually Disabled Persons Services Act (IDPS) 1986 who were resident at Homebush Special Accommodation Home, Junortoun, at the end of each month for the past two years are as follows: May 1988 25 Jan. 1989 26 Jan. 1990 26 June 25 Feb. 24 Feb. 26 July 25 March 23 March 26 Aug. 26 April 23 April 25 Se pt. 26 May 23 May 25 Oct. 28 June 23 Nov. 28 July 23 Dec. 28 Aug. 22 Sept. 22 Oct. 22 Nov. 27 Dec. 26 Under the IDPS Act, Community Services Victoria is obliged to provide a general service plan to all registered clients who request one, which specifies the areas of major life activity in which support is required and the strategies to be implemented to provide that support. The department is confident that every registered client at Homebush has a current general service plan. 2. Decisions relating to the expansion of the numbers of people accommodated at Homebush fall beyond the jurisdiction of Community Services Victoria. Any expansion in the number of registered beds available at Homebush needs to be approved by Health Department Victoria. QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 292 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 No clients registered with the department's Intellectual Disability Services team in the Loddon-Campaspe region has a general service plan which makes provision for future residency at Homebush. As Homebush is a privately owned and managed facility, any future admissions are decided between the client seeking the accommodation and the proprietor. TEACHERS ON SICK LEAVE IN BENDIGO AREA (Question No. 577) Mr JOHN (Bendigo East) asked the Minister for Education: In respect ofthe 1990 school year (to date) in the region controlled by the Bendigo office of the Ministry for Education: 1. How many teachers are or have been absent on sick leave, indicating-(a) the nature of the sick leave; and (b) what schools have lowered staffing levels as a result? 2. What action the Ministry has taken to relieve staff shortages, indicating the cost of normal and additional relief staff, respectively? Ms KIRNER (then Minister for Education)-the answer is: In the Loddon Campaspe Mallee Region there are over 200 schools staffed by approximately 3000 teachers. Sick leave absences vary from half days to extended periods. It is a very complex task to state exactly the number of teachers who have taken sick leave or the nature of the illnesses, which in many cases is not known. The resources to compile this information are not available. The Office of Schools Administration authorises the replacement of absent staff on sick leave by: employment of a replacement teacher; deployment of a relieving teacher to the school; provision of extra classes for teachers in post primary schools. For term 1 1990 the number of extra classes allocated to post primary teachers to replace teachers absent on account of illness in the Loddon Campaspe Region was 3798. District relieving teachers in the Loddon Campaspe Mallee Region also replaced absent primary teachers on sick leave for 595 days during Term 1 1990. In addition, seven primary Statewide relieving teachers and nine post-primary relieving teachers have been deployed full-time in the region. From the commencement of the school year until 18 May 1990, the following numbers of replacement teachers have been employed in the Loddon Campaspe Mallee Region: Primary 1324·5 Post-primary 1005·0 Special developmental schools 29·5 2359·0 The total cost of these replacement teachers is approximately $300 000. PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN BENDIGO AREA (Question No. 580) Mr JOHN (Bendigo East) asked the Minister for Education: In respect of each primary school in the area controlled by the Bendigo regional office of the Ministry for Education: 1. What is the current student enrolment? 2. How many teachers have regular class contact in each school? QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 293 3. How many children come from single parent families? 4. How many children have parents who are unemployed? 5. What percentage of children change schools during the year? 6. How many students have disabilities requiring special needs? 7. How many disabled students have fully-funded integration aides? 8. How many schools have adequate ramps, doorways, toilet facilities and other basic necessities for disabled students? Ms KIRNER (then Minister for Education)-The answer is: 1. Current student enrolment. Total Primary Enrolments 21 589. Individual school breakdowns are attached (Appendix 1). 2. There are 1309 primary teachers, including principals and deputies. In each school teachers have regular class contact but principal and deputy principal classroom commitments vary according to individual school policy. 3. Statistics on the number of children who come from single parent families are difficult ·to readily collate. Individual schools have some relevant data within the personal files but the statistics are not gathered at either regional or State level. The Bureau of Statistics and the Statistics and Research section of the Office of Schools Administration have confirmed this advice from the Loddon Campaspe Mallee Regional office. Attached at appendix 2 are Loddon Campaspe Mallee local government area printouts, 1986 census, showing parental data. This indicates the number of single parents but there is no census data related to their government primary school offspring. 4. Response as for question 3 above. 5. The percentage of children who change schools during the year varies across the region. Enrolments are relatively stable in traditional farming areas but there is a significant itinerant element in areas such as Mildura and Swan Hill. A 1988 Statewide analysis by the Office of Schools Administration Statistics and Research section indicated that 12·3 per cent of primary school students-including the non-government sector-changed schools during the July 1987 to July 1988 year. There are no statistics relating to the Loddon Campaspe Mallee Region but the regionwide average would not differ markedly, although some schools have reported annual student turnover of the order of 30 per cent. 6, 7. Students with disabilities requiring special needs, including integration aides. (a) 213 primary school students in the Loddon Campaspe Mallee Region were deemed eligible by the Regional Integration Committee for consideration for integration resources in 1990. (b) 191 primary school students in the Loddon Campaspe Mallee Region requested and received some level of integration aide time in 1990. (c) 125 primary school students receive integration teacher assistance in 1990. (d) Some of the primary school students referred to in (b) and (c) received both integration aide and integration teacher support. (e) Nineteen primary school students requesting integration aide time were not resourced with aide time but were listed for assistance from the integration teacher appointed to the schools for 1990. (f) Three eligible students requesting integration aide time received neither aide time nor integration teacher assistance. In each case it was the consensus view of the Regional Integration Committee that these students could be supported by resources already in the school or from the intervention of School Support Centre staff. 8. All school requests for special building adaptations to suit disabled students have been met. The "adequacy" of a facility varies with the specific needs of individuals; to date, some special provision for disabled students has been made in 53 schools in the region. QUESTIONS ON NOnCE 294 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 PRIMARY SCHOOL ENROLMENT Appendix 1 No. School Enrolment No. School Enrolment 1008 Axedale 84·0 4043 Harcourt North 49·0 3732 Ballendella 29·0 300 Heathcote 189·0 5237 Bandwec 71·0 1004 Hesket 45·0 1687 Baringhup 23·0 306 Huntly 182·0 1007 Barkers Creek 25·0 1052 Inglewood 80·0 749 Bealiba 32·0 3174 Irymple 276·0 877 Bendigo 222·0 3702 Irymple South 146·0 3893 Bendigo East 126·0 4728 Kalianna 52·0 1267 Bendigo North 192·0 981 Kangaroo Aat 396·0 3250 Berriwillock 30·0 3686 Kennington 430·0 4195 Beverford 36·0 1410 Kerang 242·0 1551 Big Hill 133·0 4949 Kerang South 185·0 1070 Bolinda 21·0 1290 Kerrie 9·0 1796 Boort 183·0 2159 Knowsley 6·0 4089 Boundary Bend 19·0 2265 Koondrook 67·0 1097 Bridgewater 62·0 3470 Koorlong 44·0 123 California Gully 109·0 1800 Korong Vale 49·0 1976 Camp Hill 267·0 343 Kyneton 461·0 120 Campbells Creek 94·0 733 Laanecoorie 9·0 4263 Cardross 127·0 3278 Lake Boga 99·0 1030 Carisbrook 136·0 2122 Lake Charm 30·0 3965 Carwarp 7·0 2990 Lalbert 24·0 3762 Castle Oonningon 16·0 707 Lancefield 202·0 119 Castlemaine 154·0 1275 Langley 32·0 2051 Castlemaine North 260·0 1189 Laurel Street 183·0 1480 Charlton 149·0 1317 Leichardt 13·0 1054 Chewton 69·0 2087 Leitchville 66·0 3035 Clarkefield 24·0 6233 Lockington 242·0 6211 Cohuna 359·0 744 Lockwood 73·0 4340 Colignan 41·0 385 Lockwood South 51·0 4929 Comet Hill 410.0 2120 Long Gully 99·0 1187 Costerfield 9·0 1921 Longlea 18·0 3246 Culgoa 11·0 2909 Macorna 8·0 878 Oarraweit Guim 31·0 1592 Maiden Gully 214·0 1473 Drummartin 7·0 1254 Maldon 161·0 1582 Dunolly 99·0 1408 Malmsbury 52·0 210 Eaglehawk 234·0 4958 Malmsbury YTC 38·0 1428 Eaglehawk North 281·0 6235 Manangatang 92·0 6217 East Loddon 196·0 1952 Mandurang 41·0 1245 Eastville 26·0 1628 Mandurang South 27·0 208 Echuca 341·0 5110 Maple Street 359·0 2667 Echuca East 291·0 400 Marong 65·0 4994 Echuca South 230.0 404 Maryborough 473·0 3253 Ech uca Village 24·0 2828 Maryborough East 278·0 3916 Echuca West 29·0 5250 Maryborough SOS 16·1 793 Eddington 13·0 3745 Mead 11·0 1515 Elmore 82·0 3687 Merbein 185·0 220 Elphingstone 37·0 3780 Merbein South 63·0 1788 Eppalock 33·0 3996 Merbein West 72·0 2367 Epsom 161·0 4357 Meringur 24·0 4667 Aora Hill 255·0 851 Metcalfe ·13·0 1598 Goornong 62·0 952 Mia Mia 14·0 1566 Gravel Hill 166·0 2915 Mildura 554·0 264 Guildford 34·0 5251 Mildura SOS 25·0 2231 Gunbower 72·0 4389 Mildura South 491·0 299 Harcourt 66·0 3983 Mildura West 592·0 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 28 AUGUST 1990 ASSEMBLY 295 No. School Enrolment No. School Enrolment 1913 Mincha West 9·0 3505 Spring Gully 293·0 2657 Mitiamo 10·0 1646 StAmaud 292·0 3589 Murrabit 74·0 5266 StAmaudSDS 13·0 3797 Murraydale 18·0 4531 Stewart 61·0 6239 Murrayville 105·0 1211 Strathfieldsaye 273·0 2108 Muskerry East 11·0 4416 Sunnycliffs 52·0 3271 Myall 19·0 1142 Swan Hill 517·0 3927 Nandaly 9·0 4743 Swan Hill North 398·0 4184 Nangiloc 68·0 5268 Swan Hill SDS 17·2 3708 Nanneella 40·0 614 Taradale 53·0 457 Newbridge 23·0 1023 Tamagulla 48·0 1913 Newham 82·0 3581 The Lake 111·0 452 Newstead 102·0 1207 Timor 28·0 3163 Nichols Point 148·0 1225 Tooborac 26·0 4189 Normanville 6·0 2227 Tragowel 10·0 3301 Nullawil 27·0 1588 Trentham 100·0 3263 Nyah 52·0 3868 Tresco 17·0 3922 Nyah West 107·0 621 Tylden 82·0 3615 Ouyen 155·0 3579 Tyntynder 23·0 4164 Piangil 68·0 3168 Tyntynder South 20·0 1712 Pyramid Hill 79·0 3426 Ultima 55·0 2443 Quambatook 49·0 3819 Underbool 58·0 1165 Quarry Hill 132·0 4150 Vinifera 27·0 1844 Raywood 73·0 3747 Walpeup 40·0 4057 Red Cliffs 184·0 1419 Wareek 24·0 4123 Red Cliffs East 127·0 794 Wedderbum 146·0 2571 Redesdale 13·0 4041 Welton 32·0 528 Riddells Creek 316·0 6257 Werrimull 41·0 6251 Robinvale 401·0 1916 White Hills 273·0 795 Rochester 257·0 652 Winters Flat 209·0 366 Romsey 301·0 647 Woodend 452·0 3273 Sea Lake 106·0 3945 Woorinen 30·0 1510 Sebastian 31·0 4148 Woorinen North 14·0 935 Sedgewick 9·0 4456 Woorinen South 60·0 1316 Specimen Hill 131·0 1757 Wycheproof 98·0 4200 Speewa 29·0 1903 Yapeen 8·0 Employment statistics for single parents LCM area by LLGA TX Tx EMPLOYED UNEMPLOYED NILF NOT STATED Bendigo (C) LLGA 240.00 52.00 334.00 11.00 Bet Bet (S) LLGA 4.00 2.00 13.00 0.00 Castlemaine (C) LLGA 41.00 11.00 65.00 2.00 Charlton (S) LLGA 8.00 0.00 5.00 2.00 Cohuna (S) LLGA 18.00 2.00 24.00 4.00 Eaglehawk (B) LLGA 60.00 21.00 111.00 2.00 East Loddon (S) LLGA 2.00 0.00 4.00 0.00 Echuca (C) LLGA 53.00 16.00 84.00 2.00 Gordon (S) LLGA 12.00 0.00 12.00 0.00 Huntly (S) LLGA 13.00 2.00 23.00 2.00 Kara Kara (S) LLGA 2.00 0.00 6.00 0.00 Kerang (B) LLGA 14.00 4.00 44.00 4.00 Kerang (S) LLGA 11.00 2.00 13.00 0.00 Korong (S) LLGA 14.00 2.00 30.00 2.00 Kyneton (S) LLGA 40.00 11.00 59.00 2.00 McIvor (S) LLGA 7.00 4.00 24.00 0.00 Maldon (S) LLGA 13.00 0.00 21.00 0.00 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE 296 ASSEMBLY 28 AUGUST 1990 Tx EMPLOYED UNEMPLOYED NILF NOT STATED Marong (S) LLGA 63.00 13.00 72.00 2.00 Maryborough (C) LLGA 25.00 17.00 98.00 2.00 Metcalfe (S) LLGA 15.00 2.00 22.00 4.00 Mildura (C) LLGA 106.00 41.00 205.00 7.00 Mildura (S) LLGA 90.00 20.00 147.00 2.00 Newham and Woodend (S) LLGA 28.00 5.00 27.00 2.00 Newstead (S) LLGA 10.00 4.00 16.00 0.00 Rochester (S) LLGA 23.00 3.00 39.00 0.00 Romsey (S) LLGA 38.00 2.00 21.00 0.00 St Arnaud (T) LLGA 4.00 2.00 19.00 0.00 Strathfieldsaye (S) LLGA 98.00 18.00 67.00 4.00 Swan Hill (C) LLGA 37.00 23.00 79.00 2.00 Swan Hill (S) LLGA 33.00 5.00 73.00 0.00 Tullaroop (S) LLGA 6.00 0.00 18.00 2.00 Wycheproof(S) LLGA 19.00 0.00 18.00 2.00 Walpeup (S) LLGA 8.00 0.00 12.00 0.00 BENDIGO OFFICE OF THE MINISTRY FOR HOUSING AND CONSTRUCTION (Question No. 581) Mr JOHN (Bendigo East) asked the Minister for Property and Services, for the Minister for Housing and Construction: In respect of the region controlled by the Bendigo office of the Ministry in each of the years ended 30 June 1983 to 1989: 1. How many spot-purchase houses were acquired? 2. How many houses were purchased by cooperative groups? 3. What total expenditure was incurred in purchasing spot-purchase houses? 4. What are the names of each estate agent through whom the various houses were purchased, indicating the value and the number of houses purchased through each agent? Mr WALSH (then Minister for Property and Services)-The answer supplied by the former Minister for Housing and Construction is: 1. Financial Year 1982-83-27 1983-84-14 1984-85-27 1985-86-47 1986-87-25 1987-88-35 1988-89-17 2. None 3. Financial Year 1982-83-$1 305457 1983-84-$ 748204 1984-85-$1 425 290 1985-86-$2650 767 1986-87-$1390879 1987-88-$2 389 846 1988-89-$1 400 519