PROOF ISSN 1322-0330

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

Hansard Home Page: http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/hansard/ E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (07) 3406 7314 Fax: (07) 3210 0182

Subject FIRST SESSION OF THE FIFTY-SECOND PARLIAMENT Page Thursday, 27 November 2008

ASSENT TO BILLS ...... 3855 Tabled paper: Letter from Her Excellency the Governor to the Speaker, dated 25 November 2008, advising of bills assented to...... 3855 PETITIONS ...... 3855 TABLED PAPERS ...... 3856 MINISTERIAL PAPERS ...... 3856 Cairns Base Hospital ...... 3856 Tabled paper: Cairns Base Hospital storm surge re-assessment, May 2007, Department of Public Works...... 3856 Tabled paper: Cairns and Hinterland Health Service District—Master Plan Report for Northern Area Health Service, Draft Issue V1.1 (14-Jul-08)...... 3856 Tabled paper: Email, dated 6 March 2008, regarding 391C-Cairns Hospital and Showground Valuation Information...... 3856 Tabled paper: Email, dated 1 February 2008, regarding 391-Cairns Showgrounds site information...... 3856 Tabled paper: Letter, dated 24 January 2008, to Director (Planning) Capital Works and Asset Management Branch from Aurora Projects regarding Cairns Base Hospital—Master Planning Greenfield Option Fee Proposal...... 3856 Tabled paper: Table providing ratings of options for Cairns Base Hospital site...... 3856 Tabled paper: Extract from document titled ‘Cairns Hinterland Health Service District Master Plan— Indicative Cost Plan, 10 March 2008, Hospital and Health Precinct—[showground site]’...... 3856 Tabled paper: Extract of Record of Proceedings of 29 October 2008, pages 3184 and 3223-3233...... 3856 Tabled paper: Media release by Mark McArdle MP, dated 23 October 2008, titled ‘New Cairns Hospital in five years’...... 3856 MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS ...... 3857 Recycled Water ...... 3857 Tabled paper: Letter, dated 26 November 2008, from Queensland Water Commissioner to the Hon. Paul Lucas MP, Deputy Premier, providing advice on the appropriate trigger at which purified recycled water should be introduced into Wivenhoe Dam...... 3857 Responsible Gambling ...... 3858 Water Supply ...... 3859 Schoolies Week ...... 3859 Clean and Healthy Air for Gladstone Project ...... 3860

M F REYNOLDS N J LAURIE L J OSMOND SPEAKER CLERK OF THE PARLIAMENT CHIEF HANSARD REPORTER Table of Contents — Thursday, 27 November 2008

Bedford Weir, Fabridam ...... 3860 Queensland Ambulance Service, Funding ...... 3861 Skilling Queenslanders for Work ...... 3861 Child Protection, Indigenous Communities ...... 3861 Timber Industry ...... 3862 RentConnect ...... 3862 Queensland Compact: Towards a Fairer Queensland ...... 3863 Residential Parks ...... 3863 Exhibited Animals, Regulation ...... 3864 Tabled paper: Exhibited animal discussion paper, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries...... 3864 Aerospace Project ...... 3864 Climate Change ...... 3865 Gateway Motorway Upgrade ...... 3865 TRANSPORT (NEW QUEENSLAND DRIVER LICENSING) AMENDMENT BILL; ADULT PROOF OF AGE CARD BILL ...... 3866 Cognate Debate ...... 3866 INVESTIGATION INTO ALTRUISTIC SURROGACY COMMITTEE ...... 3866 Report, Motion to Take Note ...... 3866 QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE ...... 3867 Bligh Labor Government, Water Policy ...... 3867 Bligh Labor Government, Water Policy ...... 3868 Obesity ...... 3869 Recycled Water ...... 3869 Australia, Tourism Benefits ...... 3870 South East Queensland Water Strategy ...... 3871 Tabled paper: Graph titled ‘Government SEQ Water Proposal’...... 3871 Infrastructure Planning ...... 3871 Tabled paper: Article in Dalby Herald, 13 May 2008, titled ‘Oil pipeline to supply water’ by Ray Hopper...... 3872 Traveston Dam ...... 3872 Tabled paper: Document titled ‘Review of EIS and supplementary materials on proposed Traveston Crossing Dam, Mary River, SE Qld: ii: Final report prepared by Professor Stuart E Bunn, Director, Australian Rivers Institute for the Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts’...... 3872 Tabled paper: Document titled ‘Environmental impact statement for Traveston Crossing Dam (Mary River, Queensland): A Review with regard for Species of Concern under the EPBC Act 1999’, Report to the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Canberra, November 2008...... 3872 Health Services ...... 3873 Crocodiles ...... 3874 Queensland Health, Capital Works Program ...... 3874 Collinsville Hospital, Asbestos ...... 3874 Urban Congestion ...... 3875 PRIVILEGE ...... 3875 Premier, Alleged Misleading of the House ...... 3875 Tabled paper: Letter, dated 25 November, from Chairperson of the CMC to the Leader of the Opposition regarding the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service...... 3876 QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE ...... 3876 Local Government, Rates Notices ...... 3876 Emergency Services, Infrastructure ...... 3876 SES Vehicles, Speed Limits ...... 3877 Responsible Gambling ...... 3877 Tugun, Desalination Plant ...... 3878 MINISTERIAL STATEMENT ...... 3878 Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) ...... 3878 Tabled paper: Letter, dated 27 November 2008, from the Clerk of the Parliament to the Premier regarding debate by members of the Legislative Assembly on the Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2008...... 3878 PLANNING (URBAN ENCROACHMENT—MILTON BREWERY) BILL ...... 3879 First Reading ...... 3879 Tabled paper: Planning (Urban Encroachment—Milton Brewery) Bill 2008...... 3879 Tabled paper: Planning (Urban Encroachment—Milton Brewery) Bill 2008, explanatory notes...... 3879 Second Reading ...... 3879 TRANSPORT AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL ...... 3880 Second Reading ...... 3880 MINISTERIAL STATEMENT ...... 3892 Collinsville Hospital, Asbestos; Clean and Healthy Air for Gladstone Project ...... 3892 Tabled paper: Document titled ‘Clean and Healthy Air for Gladstone Project Interim Report. Health Assessment Phase 1: Summary of data analysis from existing health data sets’, dated 27 November 2008...... 3892 Table of Contents — Thursday, 27 November 2008

TRANSPORT AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL ...... 3893 Second Reading ...... 3893 Tabled paper: CityLink bus service, bus timetable and route map—Ipswich to Indooroopilly/Indooroopilly to Ipswich...... 3895 Tabled paper: Non-conforming petition in relation to a CityLink service connecting Ipswich regions, Chuwar, Karalee and Karana Downs directly to Indooroopilly...... 3895 Consideration in Detail ...... 3915 Clauses 1 to 155, as read, agreed to...... 3915 Tabled paper: Briefing paper by Gulf Savannah Development titled ‘Driver Fatigue Management’...... 3915 Clause 156, as read, agreed to...... 3916 Clauses 157 to 183, as read, agreed to...... 3916 Clause 184, as read, agreed to...... 3916 Clauses 185 to 222, as read, agreed to...... 3916 Division: Question put—That clause 223, as read, stand part of the bill...... 3917 Clause 223, as read, agreed to...... 3917 Clauses 224 to 313, as read, agreed to...... 3917 Third Reading ...... 3918 Long Title ...... 3918 TRANSPORT (NEW QUEENSLAND DRIVER LICENSING) AMENDMENT BILL; ADULT PROOF OF AGE CARD BILL ...... 3918 Second Reading (Cognate Debate) ...... 3918 Tabled paper: Letter, dated 27 November 2008, from Michael Cope, President, Queensland Council for Civil Liberties to the Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations, in relation to Smartcard drivers licence legislation...... 3919 ADJOURNMENT ...... 3920 Tilt Train Accident; Hinchinbrook Electorate, Schools ...... 3920 Tilt Train Accident; Bornhoffen PCYC Centre for Youth and Community Development ...... 3921 Recycled Water ...... 3922 Tilt Train Accident; Brisbane Youth Detention Centre ...... 3922 Tilt Train Accident; Central Queensland Dental Services ...... 3923 Tabled paper: Non-conforming petition regarding decay in dental health services in central Queensland...... 3923 Tabled paper: Non-conforming petition regarding a fluoride referendum...... 3923 Tilt Train Accident; Logan Hospital ...... 3923 Tilt Train Accident; Department of Child Safety ...... 3924 Tilt Train Accident; United Bonded Fabrics ...... 3924 Bundaberg Steam Train Preservation Society ...... 3925 Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors Worldwide Australian Wildlife Hospital; Crocodiles ...... 3926 ATTENDANCE ...... 3926 27 Nov 2008 Legislative Assembly 3855 THURSDAY, 27 NOVEMBER 2008

Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly met at 9.30 am. Mr Acting Speaker (Mr JM English, Redlands) read prayers and took the chair. Mr Acting Speaker acknowledged the traditional owners of the land upon which this parliament is assembled and the custodians of the sacred lands of our state.

ASSENT TO BILLS Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have to report that I have received from Her Excellency the Governor a letter in respect of assent to certain bills, the contents of which will be incorporated in the Record of Proceedings. I table the letter for the information of members. The Honourable M.F. Reynolds, AM, MP Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Parliament House George Street BRISBANE QLD 4000 I hereby acquaint the Legislative Assembly that the following Bills, having been passed by the Legislative Assembly and having been presented for the Royal Assent, were assented to in the name of Her Majesty The Queen on the date shown: Date of Assent: 25 November 2008 “A Bill for An Act to amend the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991, Associations Incorporation Act 1981, Bail Act 1980, Childrens Court Act 1992, Children Services Tribunal Act 2000, Civil Liability Act 2003, Classification of Films Act 1991, Crime and Misconduct Act 2001, Criminal Code, Dispute Resolution Centres Act 1990, District Court of Queensland Act 1967, Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 1989, Evidence Act 1977, Financial Transaction Reports Act 1992, Industrial Relations Act 1999, Judges (Pensions and Long Leave) Act 1957, Justice and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2007, Justices Act 1886, Justices of the Peace and Commissioners for Declarations Act 1991, Juvenile Justice Act 1992, Land Court Act 2000, Magistrates Act 1991, Oaths Act 1867, Ombudsman Act 2001, Penalties and Sentences Act 1992, Professional Standards Act 2004, Public Trustee Act 1978, Recording of Evidence Act 1962, Small Claims Tribunals Act 1973, Solicitor-General Act 1985, Supreme Court Act 1995 for particular purposes” “A Bill for An Act providing for the adoption of a national law to facilitate the development and implementation of a national registration and accreditation scheme for health practitioners” “A Bill for An Act to amend the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995, the Electrical Safety Act 2002, the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 and the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2003 for particular purposes” “A Bill for An Act to make particular provision for reducing risks arising out of terrorist acts against particular surface transport operations” “A Bill for An Act to provide for the department and the Mater to enter into arrangements about the funding and delivery of public patient health services by Mater hospitals“ These Bills are hereby transmitted to the Legislative Assembly, to be numbered and forwarded to the proper Officer for enrolment, in the manner required by law. Yours sincerely Governor 25 November 2008 Tabled paper: Letter from Her Excellency the Governor to the Speaker, dated 25 November 2008, advising of bills assented to.

PETITIONS

The Clerk presented the following paper petitions, lodged by the honourable members indicated—

Powerlink Easement Mr Wellington, from 342 petitioners, requesting the House to implement policies which support a cleaner, greener alternative to Powerlink’s proposed Woolooga to South Cooroy Transmission Line and Substation Project; and support initiatives that ensure a sustainable future for all Sunshine Coast residents, flora and fauna.

Water Fluoridation Mrs Cunningham, from 3,459 petitioners, requesting the House to place a moratorium on the addition of fluoride chemicals to Queensland public water supplies until such time as a statewide Referendum on fluoridation is held; and provide full rebates for purchase and installation of Reverse Osmosis water filters for people providing medical certificates stating that they are at risk from fluoridated water. Petitions received. 3856 Ministerial Papers 27 Nov 2008

TABLED PAPERS

MINISTERIAL PAPERS TABLED BY THE CLERK The following ministerial papers were tabled by the Clerk— Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning (Mr Lucas)— • Report by the Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning (Mr Lucas), pursuant to s3.6.9 of the Integrated Planning Act 1997, in relation to the Ministerial Call In of a development application by James Barns at 37 Monak Road, Weyba Downs: Report and Annexures A to G • Report by the Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning (Mr Lucas), pursuant to s3.6.9 of the Integrated Planning Act 1997, in relation to the Ministerial Call In of a development application by Brockfield Land Developments Pty Ltd at Woodgate Road, Gleich Road and Olivers Road, Goodwood: Report and Annexures A to L • Report by the Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning (Mr Lucas), pursuant to s3.6.9 of the Integrated Planning Act 1997, in relation to the Ministerial Call In of a development application by Brockfield Land Developments Pty Ltd at 189-197 Windermere Road, Qunaba: Report and Annexures A to L

MINISTERIAL PAPERS

Cairns Base Hospital Hon. S ROBERTSON (Stretton—ALP) (Minister for Health) (9.32 am): I table for the information of the House relevant additional reports pertaining to the assessment by the Bligh government as to whether to invest in expanding the Cairns Base Hospital or build a new hospital on a greenfield site to meet the immediate, medium and longer term health service needs of Cairns. Tabled paper: Cairns Base Hospital storm surge re-assessment, May 2007, Department of Public Works. Tabled paper: Cairns and Hinterland Health Service District—Master Plan Report for Northern Area Health Service, Draft Issue V1.1 (14-Jul-08). Tabled paper: Email, dated 6 March 2008, regarding 391C-Cairns Hospital and Showground Valuation Information. Tabled paper: Email, dated 1 February 2008, regarding 391-Cairns Showgrounds site information. Tabled paper: Letter, dated 24 January 2008, to Director (Planning) Capital Works and Asset Management Branch from Aurora Projects regarding Cairns Base Hospital—Master Planning Greenfield Option Fee Proposal. Tabled paper: Table providing ratings of options for Cairns Base Hospital site. Tabled paper: Extract from document titled ‘Cairns Hinterland Health Service District Master Plan—Indicative Cost Plan, 10 March 2008, Hospital and Health Precinct—[showground site]’. On 29 October during the regional sittings of parliament in Cairns, the Leader of the Opposition moved a motion seeking parliament’s support to order the Premier to produce to the Assembly within 28 days all documents upon which the government based its decision not to build a new hospital in Cairns for at least another 10 to 15 years. This motion was subsequently amended by the Premier to note that the government had already released an extensive amount of information regarding the development of future health services in Cairns and far-north Queensland. Importantly, the amendment also called on the Leader of the Opposition to produce to the Assembly within 28 days all documents that his shadow minister considered in producing his press release committing to immediately building a new Cairns Hospital should they be elected to office. I table the Hansard record of 29 October 2008 and the press release referred to, dated 23 October 2008. Tabled paper: Extract of Record of Proceedings of 29 October 2008, pages 3184 and 3223-3233. Tabled paper: Media release by Mark McArdle MP, dated 23 October 2008, titled ‘New Cairns Hospital in five years’. This amended motion was moved and resolved by a majority of members of this chamber, including the Independent members, 62 for and 25 against. The 28-day period requiring disclosure of the opposition’s information, which was overwhelmingly endorsed by this chamber, expired yesterday, Wednesday, 26 November. Yesterday passed and not one document was tabled by the Leader of the Opposition or his deputy to support their decision to build a new hospital in Cairns within five years should they be elected to office next year. It is clear that Mr Springborg sought to use this parliament as a means to discover documents relating to an important decision by this government. It is clear that it became the will of this parliament that Mr Springborg and his deputy produce the material that they relied on to make their announcement on 23 October. It is clear that, in failing to abide by the decision of this parliament to table relevant documents, Mr Springborg and his deputy have treated this parliament and the people of Queensland with contempt. It is clear that Mr Springborg has blatantly thumbed his nose at a legitimate and binding vote of this parliament and has treated it with absolute disdain. In doing so, he and the LNP have failed any reasonable test of transparency, accountability and respect for this parliament and the people of Queensland. 27 Nov 2008 Ministerial Statements 3857

What started as an LNP stunt in Cairns has now become an LNP backfire in Brisbane. Mr Springborg should either immediately table the documents he is required to by this parliament or admit that no such documents exist. Either way, he should be required to apologise to this parliament and the people of Queensland for this unequivocally gross failure in his leadership and his responsibilities as a member of this Legislative Assembly. Mr Springborg interjected. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition. Mr Robertson: Just apologise. Mr Copeland: Did you have to change Hansard after that? Mr ROBERTSON: I take that interjection— Honourable members interjected. Mr ROBERTSON: I rise to a point of order. I find that offensive and note— Opposition members interjected. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! Members on my left! Mr ROBERTSON: I rise to a point of order on a matter suddenly arising. I note that two days ago the member— Mr ACTING SPEAKER: What is your point of order? Mr ROBERTSON: My point of order is that I note that two days ago the member for Currumbin stood in this place and apologised for an incorrect Hansard record which she changed and suffered no sanction from the Leader of the Opposition. Mr Johnson: Sit down. Mr Robertson: Do you want to go out again? Mr Johnson: Mate, I’ll take you with me when I go. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Minister for Health, I warn you under standing order 253. Member for Gregory, I warn you under standing order 253. I was clearly on my feet. Mr JOHNSON: I rise to a point of order. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: There is no point of order, Minister. I call the honourable member for Gregory. Mr JOHNSON: Mr Acting Speaker, I did not see you standing on your feet. I was provoked by the Minister for Health. I say to you now, Mr Acting Speaker: you can throw me out all day if you like, but I am not going to cop it from him or anybody else. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: There is no point of order, member for Gregory. Please resume your seat.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS

Recycled Water Hon. AM BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Premier) (9.40 am): Late yesterday evening the Deputy Premier and I received a preliminary briefing from the CEO of the Queensland Water Commission in relation to purified recycled water. As a result, we were able to release the fact that a 40 per cent combined dam storage capacity had been confirmed by the commission as the appropriate trigger for the introduction of purified recycled water. Formal advice was finalised last night and I now table a copy of that advice in full for the benefit of the House. Tabled paper: Letter, dated 26 November 2008, from Queensland Water Commissioner to the Hon. Paul Lucas MP, Deputy Premier, providing advice on the appropriate trigger at which purified recycled water should be introduced into Wivenhoe Dam. Our government will accept the recommendations of the Queensland Water Commission. These recommendations are as follows. Firstly, in view of its updated analysis, the commission recommends that if purified recycled water is used only as an emergency supply source to augment Wivenhoe Dam then the trigger should be when Wivenhoe, Somerset and North Pine dams are at 40 per cent of their combined water storage capacity. Secondly, it recommends that the commission provide further advice at a later stage on the specific stand-down trigger for the use of purified recycled water which would be likely to take into account the relevant costs to water users, water balance and climatic conditions. 3858 Ministerial Statements 27 Nov 2008

Thirdly, as an immediate priority the commission recommends that all activities continue to ensure the supply source is available by May 2009 if the trigger is met. This involves progressing the finalisation of the Recycled Water Management Plan and its regulatory assessment by the Office of the Water Supply Regulator on the advice of the independent scientific expert advisory panel and Queensland Health. Fourthly, it recommends that we note that the commission will undertake a detailed assessment with the SEQ Water Grid Manager, western corridor recycled water company and other relevant stakeholders of the operational response required should purified recycled water be used only as an emergency supply source. This assessment will specifically address the configuration of plant operation resourcing requirements and ongoing regulatory oversight. Fifthly, it recommends that, in view of the fact that purified recycled water would remain a supply source which may be required to supplement drinking water supplies at the defined trigger, ongoing public information and education activities be undertaken to continue to provide the community with accurate and relevant information on purified recycled water.

On Tuesday I asked the Queensland Water Commission to provide urgent advice on whether the 40 per cent trigger that it had identified in January 2007 for the introduction of purified recycled water as an emergency response was still sound. I did this because there has been a number of changes in circumstance since the QWC first identified this trigger in January 2007. For example, most recently we have seen advice of a likely deferral of the construction of Traveston Crossing Dam. However, this has been balanced by more accurate and detailed modelling from QWC, the fact that Queenslanders are using less water and improvements in supply. For example, I am advised that the connection of the pipelines alone has resulted in a 14 per cent improvement in capacity. Considering all the changes in circumstances, the QWC has advised that 40 per cent remains a valid trigger.

As a result of this advice, the government’s position is very clear: when our combined dam levels reach 40 per cent or below we will supplement them with purified recycled water to top them up. When the dams get to 40 per cent or below, that is when we will see recycled water go in to top them up so that we maintain our supply and do not drop behind.

Two years ago, when we were in the grip of our worst drought ever, we were in very serious trouble because we had no options. We did not have pipes connecting us to other water supply sources, we did not have desalinated water and we did not have recycled water. It is because of this government’s leadership on the issue of water and this government’s delivery of major projects that we now have those options and we will never again be in the position that we were in two years ago.

Responsible Gambling

Hon. AM BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Premier) (9.44 am): My government is committed to protecting Queenslanders from the perils of problem gambling. We are also committed to providing support to those who already suffer through this addiction. That is why my government will introduce new laws to restrict gambling operators who try to entice problem gamblers back into the game.

The new laws, to be introduced in the new year, will include penalties of up to $4,000. They will be applied to operators who attempt to lure known excluded gamblers with advertising and/or promotional material. This practice is already a breach of the Responsible Gambling Code of Practice, but I feel it is necessary to take this extra step as part of our government’s responsible gambling initiatives. This step introduces real penalties aimed at reducing a problem gambler’s exposure to material which could potentially worsen their situation. We will also increase penalties against casinos for minors found in their premises from $1,000 to $2,500, aligning it with the Gaming Machine Act. Our government believes that a casino or poker machine gaming room is no place for children. By keeping children out of these gambling hot spots we reduce the risk of breeding future problem gamblers.

These new penalties and the reforms to the gaming industry already put in place this year coincide with the latest instalment of our government’s successful ‘Wanna bet?’ campaign. This latest instalment will highlight the plight of the family and friends of problem gamblers, posing the question, ‘Has gambling become more important than other things in your life?’ Worth around $490,000, this instalment of the ‘Wanna bet?’ campaign will reach a wider audience through outdoor advertising. We know that gambling addictions can affect more than just the gambler. In too many cases it is the family and friends of the gambler who suffer the most. Too often that includes their children. The fact is that we simply cannot rely on these problem gamblers to help themselves. It is those closest to those with the problem who can often have the biggest influence when it comes to getting help. The most important message I have to those feeling trapped by gambling addiction is to seek help. Help is available through our gambling help services. 27 Nov 2008 Ministerial Statements 3859

Water Supply Hon. PT LUCAS (Lytton—ALP) (Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning) (9.46 am): Our water situation has improved dramatically since last year. At the beginning of 2007 our dams were just 22 per cent full. They are now double this, at around 46 per cent. Our water grid is now a reality with the desalination plant about to come online. The pipes connecting our dams themselves will increase the yield of our system by 14 per cent. The Bligh government is committed to a responsible approach to water planning based on good science. That is why we have a 50-year water strategy. We have now received detailed advice from the Queensland Water Commission on when purified recycled water will be used to top up our dams. This advice reinforces the fact that the Western Corridor Recycled Water Project remains an important investment in water security for south-east Queensland. Rocket scientists like the member for Burnett oppose a desalination plant at Agnes Water but make it a fundamental cornerstone of their policy at Bribie Island without consultation. Then again, that is what we would expect. The report recognises that in the highly unlikely event of worst-case inflows to our dams purified recycled water would be needed to supplement our drinking water supplies in May next year. But this is not only based on absolutely worst-case inflows over more than the last 100 years; it also assumes that people are using 170 litres a day when our current water use is 147 litres a day. South-east Queensland has averaged under 140 litres a day per person for a whole year. The Queensland Water Commission also recognises that it is considered unlikely that the worst- case inflows would eventuate this wet season. The Bureau of Meteorology national seasonal rainfall outlook shows that we have a good prospect of a proper wet season, with a 60 per cent chance that the south-east will receive a better than median rainfall. Roger Stone, a climatologist from the University of Southern Queensland, backs up this assessment, saying that we can expect an average to wet summer season in coastal areas. He told ABC Radio yesterday that the SIO patterns are quite high at the moment. That is quite reassuring of a good wet season for the north of the state and coastal regions. What this means is that there is every chance that we will not have to use purified recycled water to supplement our drinking water supplies for some time. The Queensland Water Commission’s modelling shows that if our dams receive just the median inflows since 1890 they will be above 50 per cent by the end of the coming season—if they receive just the average. If the weather bureau is right, they may well be even higher. South-east Queenslanders have learned a very important lesson from our worst drought on record: you cannot rely on rain. That is why this government has an insurance policy and will not leave it to chance. This is a responsible approach to water security based on good scientific advice that the people of south-east Queensland should expect from their government.

Schoolies Week Hon. JC SPENCE (Mount Gravatt—ALP) (Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Sport) (9.49 am): Queensland police are conducting a large operation to protect public safety and security during schoolies 2008 celebrations. Crowds of more than 55,000 year 12 students have flocked to the Gold Coast over the first five days of the event to celebrate the end of school. On Saturday night I joined south-eastern region Assistant Commissioner Paul Wilson and the police commissioner to walk through the main streets of Surfers Paradise and see firsthand the excellent job police are doing within the schoolies hub. The newly opened Surfers Paradise police centre on Orchid Avenue is a valuable asset for local police during this kind of large event. The $4 million station is ideally located in the Surfers Paradise entertainment precinct, with state-of-the-art facilities to provide support for police to work in in the middle of the action. I am pleased to report that, overall, schoolies behaviour has been commendable and feedback from police has been positive. Police have so far arrested 376 people on 410 charges, a seven per cent reduction on last year’s arrest figures. It is interesting to note that males have accounted for the majority of arrests, 90 per cent, with 340 males arrested so far compared to only 36 females. Most charges have been related to liquor offences. Police have so far issued 508 liquor SETONS and performed 578 liquor tip-outs. Unfortunately, non-schoolies, or toolies, continue to dampen the celebration for genuine school leavers. Toolies make up 72 per cent of the arrests. People who come to the Gold Coast simply to cause trouble for school leavers will not be tolerated. Police have introduced identifying wristbands for schoolies in an effort to keep toolies away from designated areas in the schoolies hub. The message to schoolies across the state is simple: be safe and watch your mates and avoid becoming another statistic. 3860 Ministerial Statements 27 Nov 2008

Smaller events at Airlie Beach, Magnetic Island and the Sunshine Coast have also been a success, with police reporting no significant incidents at these locations. Given the positive results of schoolies to date, it is clear that the Bligh government’s message about responsible drinking and safe party behaviour is getting through to our young people. Clean and Healthy Air for Gladstone Project Hon. S ROBERTSON (Stretton—ALP) (Minister for Health) (9.51 am): The Bligh government continues to work closely with the Gladstone community to address community concerns about possible health impacts from air quality. That is why in July 2007 we launched the Clean and Healthy Air for Gladstone Project, a rigorous and transparent study into the quality of Gladstone’s air and the health of the community. From day one we have ensured the community has been kept up to date with the progress of this project and has had direct input into it. There has been extensive and ongoing community consultation because we know how important this issue is for Gladstone residents. As part of the health assessment component of the project, public health officers yesterday briefed community and industry reference groups on the preliminary outcomes of an analysis of health and hospital data. At 12 noon today the full report will be released in Gladstone by Queensland Health public health physician Dr Margaret Young. I will table a copy of this report later today to coincide with its public release. Overall, this report shows that the health outcomes of Gladstone residents are generally consistent with those for Queensland as a whole. The rates of death in Gladstone for all causes between 1999 and 2006 were similar to the Queensland rates, as were the hospitalisation rates for angina, heart failure and asthma. Stillbirths and deaths due to congenital malformations and chromosomal abnormalities occurred at rates that were similar to or slightly lower than the Queensland rates. Significantly, lung, respiratory, prostate, liver, stomach and ovary cancers and leukaemia all occurred at rates similar to Queensland rates. There was some fluctuation in hospitalisation rates for heart disease, chronic airways disease, respiratory tract infections and diabetes, but rates for these conditions were not consistently greater than Queensland rates. Death rates from heart disease and diabetes were similar to state and national rates, as were death rates from respiratory diseases in most years. As part of this project, Queensland Health also undertook a telephone survey of Gladstone residents during September. There was an excellent response from the community, with more than 2,000 adults participating and health information being provided on more than 800 children. This survey complements the analysis of health data by providing a comprehensive picture of the social and lifestyle factors which contribute to people’s health outcomes, as well as providing direct insight into Gladstone residents’ health experiences. Further public information sessions will be held in February to present the community with the final report on this health assessment. This survey complements the analysis of health data by providing a picture of the social and lifestyle factors which may influence someone’s health. I thank the people of Gladstone for their positive efforts to ensure the success of the Clean and Healthy Air for Gladstone Project. Bedford Weir, Fabridam Hon. CA WALLACE (Thuringowa—ALP) (Minister for Natural Resources and Water and Minister Assisting the Premier in North Queensland) (9.54 am): Today I will be travelling to Blackwater to visit the site of the tragic incident at Bedford Weir on Sunday. SunWater CEO, Peter Boettcher, and I will meet with the SunWater dam safety engineers, who are supporting Workplace Health and Safety officers investigating the cause of the rapid deflation of a fabridam on the weir on Sunday. Over the past three days engineers and investigators have been working to enable the thorough investigation of the fabridam to be undertaken. The water level in the weir has now been reduced to the crest level of the weir wall, and the fabridam is completely deflated. SunWater, as I advised the House the other day, is also deflating all other fabridams on its weirs across Queensland. An access road has now been constructed to allow access for a cherry picker above the weir, so investigating engineers are able to closely and safely inspect the 1.2-metre wide rubber tube. As I am sure members of the House will appreciate, this is a difficult location for an investigation, and I am advised every precaution is being taken to ensure safety of investigators and the general public. With the water level continuing to decrease, investigators hope they will soon be able to physically walk out on the weir wall to unbolt the bag to allow for inspection of the underside of the fabridam. The site is now under the control of the coroner’s appointed workplace health and safety officer, and all investigations around the fabridam are being overseen by that officer. Sunday’s events have left the community of Blackwater in mourning and it is imperative that the investigations into these events are comprehensive and uncompromised. This government will take all necessary steps to ensure the investigation can go ahead unhindered, and I look forward to updating the House with any progress reports I am able to provide. 27 Nov 2008 Ministerial Statements 3861

Queensland Ambulance Service, Funding Hon. NS ROBERTS (Nudgee—ALP) (Minister for Emergency Services) (9.56 am): The Queensland Ambulance Service has benefited from record funding increases and more ambulance officers and vehicles than ever before, all of which have been funded by the current Labor government. The amount of $18.3 million has been provided this financial year to employ 250 additional ambulance officers on top of the 255 provided for last financial year. This brings the total number of additional ambulance officers funded to 1,008 in the last six years. We have also provided them with the vital resources they need to do their job. The amount of $16.9 million has been allocated this financial year to fund 145 new ambulance vehicles across the state. This follows on from $15.7 million provided last financial year to fund 140 new ambulance vehicles. The 145 new ambulances will be rolled out across the state. Twenty-seven of these vehicles will be additional vehicles on the road and the remainder will replace existing vehicles. Included in these are three specialised bariatric ambulances, with one to be based in northern Queensland and two in south-east Queensland, to deal with the increasing number of obese patients being treated by the QAS. It is also important to note that each of the new 145 ambulances being rolled out will be complete with the new Stryker stretcher and Stryker stair chairs, which can carry patients up to 228 kilograms, to further assist paramedics when handling patients. I look forward to seeing this rollout of the new 145 ambulance vehicles to the regions. The regional rollout will be: 10 in the far-northern region; 16 in the northern region, including one bariatric ambulance; 10 in the central region; 11 in the south-western region; 28 in the north coast region; 39 in the Brisbane region, including two bariatric ambulances; and 31 in the south-eastern region. These resources will help to provide effective and efficient emergency services in our regions. While we continue to plan and deliver resources for emergency services, those opposite have no plans and no policies but they do have ‘come back later’ messages on their web site. Skilling Queenslanders for Work Hon. RJ MICKEL (Logan—ALP) (Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations) (9.58 am): The Queensland government has and continues to lead Australia in the provision of employment programs for the most disadvantaged in the labour force. Our Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative has helped many Queenslanders to gain or regain a foothold in the jobs market. The initiative’s range of programs have helped the young who were at risk of falling through the cracks of the conventional education system. They have given a helping hand to parents and carers who had left the workforce to raise their families and were finding it difficult to break back in. They have helped the long-term unemployed, mature-age people, Indigenous people, people with a disability, migrants and refugees. These programs have assisted and encouraged many Queenslanders to get a job. They have helped make a big difference to people’s lives. While the current international economic downturn is likely to have some impact on jobs in Queensland in the months ahead, it is important that we continue to help people build the skills needed to participate in the workforce. Skilling Queenslanders for Work will remain a highly flexible initiative—and this is one of the reasons for its success—which will adapt to any changes that might occur in the workforce in the future. The key to this success has been the involvement of local people in local communities in these projects. Priorities are set by local communities to meet local needs. In 2008-09, the Queensland government will invest $80 million to assist an estimated 15,000 unemployed or underemployed people. We anticipate that there will be some 350 projects operating across the state. I am sure all honourable members will have personal experience of the valuable work being done throughout Queensland to assist people get into the workforce and to help provide industry with the skills they need. I have seen firsthand the pride participants have in their achievements and the boost in self-esteem that these projects bring to them. The Getting Out and Getting Started project is assisting 196 long-term unemployed people in Logan, Redlands and Brisbane south with a $700,000 grant over 12 months, and the Skilling Central Queensland project is assisting more than 120 disadvantaged participants to gain the skills to get and keep jobs with a $1.34 million grant. I can assure honourable members that we will stand ready to make adjustments to the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiatives should they be required by the current downturn. Child Protection, Indigenous Communities Hon. MM KEECH (Albert—ALP) (Minister for Child Safety and Minister for Women) (10.01 am): The Bligh government is committed to protecting children and ensuring their safety. When the court supports the need for a child to be removed from their own home, the first priority for the Department of Child Safety is to find a family member who is willing to provide the child with a loving home, but the child’s safety must come first. 3862 Ministerial Statements 27 Nov 2008

Of concern is the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in the child protection system. Although only six per cent of children in the general population are Indigenous, around 30 per cent of all children placed in out-of-home care are Indigenous. This number has increased in recent years. Sometimes the best option for an Indigenous child when no suitable Indigenous family member can be found is for the child to be placed with a non-Indigenous carer, providing the child’s links with the community and their culture are maintained. Placement of an Indigenous child with a non-Indigenous carer family does not mean noncompliance with the child placement principle. The safety and wellbeing of the child are absolutely paramount. Currently, there are only 546 Indigenous kinship carers. We hope to recruit more Indigenous carers through our highly successful $15 million foster and kinship carer campaign. The Bligh government’s Toward Q2 strategy promotes fairness. To help achieve this goal, we have invested almost $46 million into the establishment of safe houses with attached family support services in Indigenous communities so that abused children can safely stay in those communities. We have provided $15.6 million in funding for recognised entity services and allocated almost $9 million on family intervention services across the state, including Indigenous communities. We are developing cultural support plans for Indigenous children in care. My department is committed to the Indigenous child placement principle. Recently we released a discussion paper and hosted community forums to engage stakeholders to identify areas for improvement. I have met with a large number of Indigenous leaders, including mayors, who unanimously agree with the Bligh government that, when it comes to placing a child in out-of-home care, their safety and wellbeing must always come first. Timber Industry Hon. D BOYLE (Cairns—ALP) (Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry) (10.04 am): The Bligh government is providing funding worth $2.4 million to five key research projects that will help drive a green forest industry in Queensland. The research and development projects are supported through the Plantation Hardwoods Research Fund, which is designed to help the state move from native forest harvesting to a plantation based industry. We plan to phase out timber harvesting in Crown native hardwood forests by 2025 and have been working with the forest industry to decrease our reliance on native forests for timber production by building a hardwood plantation resource that is economically sustainable. The Plantation Hardwoods Research Fund supports innovative research across the spectrum of industry activities, from the growing of hardwood plantations through to processing and manufacturing the plantation timber. The research will help accelerate the development of a home-grown, commercially viable and green timber industry that has great growth potential. The projects cover important areas of research that would ultimately pay off for Queensland’s environment and economy, both key priorities under the government’s Q2 vision. Housing and furniture industries liked hardwood timber because of its strength, durability and appearance, and these elements have become industry requirements. Little, however, is known about how plantation timber can meet industry requirements, given that it is grown quicker and harvested earlier, so there is obviously a need to make this a research priority. All of the research projects are strongly supported by industry and have industry collaborators and support from eminent organisations, including the University of the Sunshine Coast and the CSIRO. They also, essentially, receive expertise and support from the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries. Unless hardwood plantations are established, the increasing consumption of imported rainforest hardwoods from developing countries, including illegal logging, is bound to escalate. The Plantation Hardwoods Research Fund is a component of the Queensland government’s Statewide Forests Process, which is about securing a sustainable future for the Queensland timber industry. This is just another example of the Bligh government looking over the horizon and building a better, stronger Queensland for future generations. RentConnect Hon. RE SCHWARTEN (Rockhampton—ALP) (Minister for Public Works, Housing and Information and Communication Technology) (10.06 am): The housing affordability crisis facing Queenslanders is well recognised. The crisis has seen low to moderate income earners struggling to access the private rental housing market. As I have previously informed the House, the Department of Housing is currently trialling the RentConnect advisory service as one way of tackling this issue. The fact is that many people just need a little bit of help to get their foot in the door and obtain a private rental property. RentConnect can help with this process by offering advice on everything from how to fill out application forms to what to wear to an interview. The RentConnect trial began in late September in the department’s Caboolture and central Queensland area offices. Since then, the service has assisted 110 clients, with 40 receiving additional support. Twelve of these households have since secured a private rental tenancy. One of 27 Nov 2008 Ministerial Statements 3863

RentConnect’s first successes was helping a young family in the Caboolture area who had no rental history to secure a private rental property. The RentConnect officer provided the family with advice about what a property manager looks for in prospective tenants and what documents prospective tenants should provide with their application. This extra support helped the clients to successfully secure a property. Another success story involved a woman living in insecure circumstances who had inquired about social housing. An officer assisted the client to search for a suitable property and arrange an inspection. The client applied for and secured the rental property. The department also assisted the client with a bond loan to help with the tenancy establishment costs. The Department of Housing’s partnership with the Real Estate Institute of Queensland has helped ensure the early success of RentConnect. The REIQ provided valuable assistance in designing RentConnect to help lower income households find entries into the private rental market. The support of local real estate industry agents will be vital to ensure the scheme’s ongoing success, and I am pleased to report that 25 real estate agents in the two trial regions have already volunteered to participate. I thank the REIQ for their ongoing partnership with the government on this. Queensland Compact: Towards a Fairer Queensland Hon. LH NELSON-CARR (Mundingburra—ALP) (Minister for Communities, Minister for Disability Services, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Seniors and Youth) (10.08 am): Today is a very important day, with the Premier and I launching a new social services agreement to improve services for Queenslanders in need. Called the Queensland Compact: Towards a Fairer Queensland, it will deliver on our Q2 vision to create a stronger and fairer Queensland for the future. The compact has been developed jointly with the non-government human services sector, demonstrating how we intend to work together from now on. It is a new way of doing business, a partnership where we work together on solving complex problems while respecting each other’s unique roles. It will apply to all government agencies and those non-government organisations which sign up to the principles of the compact’s community services sector charter. We have jointly committed to an action plan, which in the first year of our partnership is geared to reducing red tape for the sector, meaning resources can be more strongly focused on delivering services. There will be an easier online sharing of data and research with the sector, with the sector itself having a more active role in the development of policy and service planning at the whole-of-state and local levels. The compact will be overseen by a compact governance committee with representatives from the government and the sector. This committee will provide a forum for raising and resolving strategic issues that impact on the sector and the vital services it provides for government. The committee will issue an annual statement to parliament on progress against the action plan and commission an independent review after two years. The committee’s chair, independent of both sectors, will guide the committee as it undertakes this important work. Following today’s launch, the compact’s goals, principles and proposed actions will be distributed to our respective constituencies throughout Queensland. I am very excited and optimistic about the positive outcomes for tomorrow’s Queensland because of this important strategic direction. Residential Parks Hon. KG SHINE (Toowoomba North—ALP) (Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister Assisting the Premier in Western Queensland) (10.10 am): Around 15,000 Queenslanders now live in what are termed manufactured homes in residential parks. This has proved an important and viable accommodation option. Residential parks have evolved into thriving communities in several areas of the state. Just as we are committed to providing a fair Queensland for everyone into the future, the Bligh government is dedicated to a fair go for everyone who chooses to live in a manufactured home. In a nutshell, a manufactured home is a structure that can be moved from one location to another but still has the character of a more traditional home. Owners rent the land on which their home is located. This government has undertaken an extensive review to ensure the Manufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act reflects contemporary community attitudes and the highest standards of fair trading. Much work has been done so far, and today I want to assure these residents that the next significant step will come early next year when we will seek community feedback on a draft bill designed to improve the operation of the act. The bill will progress consumer protection initiatives while allowing for continued growth of residential parks which, as I mentioned, provide an important housing option to 15,000 Queenslanders. Mr Reeves: Hear, hear! Mr SHINE: I take that interjection. The proposed amendments will enhance homeowners’ security and their right to reside in a residential park by prohibiting fixed-term site agreements and unfair special terms. The amendments will also enhance transparency in the operation of parks by making 3864 Ministerial Statements 27 Nov 2008 sure the terms of site agreements clearly and comprehensively set out the basis of possible site rent increases. The changes will eliminate site rent increases based on market review unless a market review is specifically provided for in the site agreement. Park owners will continue to be entitled to terminate site agreements in certain circumstances. However, the proposed amendments will expand the types of orders the Commercial and Consumer Tribunal can make to assist homeowners in managing the termination of their site agreement. I am looking forward to hearing the views of stakeholders regarding the draft bill in early 2009. Exhibited Animals, Regulation Hon. TS MULHERIN (Mackay—ALP) (Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries) (10.13 am): Native and exotic animals have long been used for exhibition, educational and entertainment purposes across Queensland. Currently, native animal permits are issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and exotic animal permits by the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries. A review by the Service Delivery and Performance Commission identified problems with having the industry administered by two different government agencies. It also found some animals are not covered by any agency, public safety issues associated with exhibiting dangerous animals, and a lack of comprehensive standards for keeping exotic animals. The review recommended that the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries be solely responsible for regulating the industry under a single piece of legislation. This will streamline the process and cut red tape. Today I am releasing a discussion paper seeking community feedback on regulating exhibited animals and proposals for a single piece of legislation. Biosecurity Queensland will lead this process. The new legislation will address the issues raised in the review. It will respond to the current trends in keeping animals and will require zoos to address risk relating to animal welfare, public safety, biosecurity and pest potential. While some people oppose any sort of zoo, the discussion paper lists some of the benefits to keeping and exhibiting animals. These include contributions to conservation, research, education and recreation. The legislation will cover all animals used for entertainment purposes such as those kept by zoological parks, aquariums, ocean areas, wildlife parks, safari parks, circuses, magicians, petting zoos and other mobile animal demonstrations. It will not cover animals in game parks, animal shows, horse racing and other sporting events, pet shops, animals exhibited for sale, feeding of wild animals and fish tanks in surgery waiting rooms. The discussion paper will be on my department’s web site today. I encourage anyone interested in these issues to make a submission by 30 January next year. I table the discussion paper for the interest of all members. Tabled paper: Exhibited animal discussion paper, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries.

Aerospace Project Hon. RJ WELFORD (Everton—ALP) (Minister for Education and Training and Minister for the Arts) (10.15 am): As part of our government’s Toward Q2 vision for 2020, the Bligh government is working towards creating a smarter Queensland. Our schools are playing an important part in driving us towards our targets for tomorrow’s Queensland. Staff in our schools are running innovative programs and delivering world-class education and training to our students every day. Some of Queensland’s brightest students and teachers will be honoured at the Aerospace Education Awards ceremony here at Parliament House today. Twenty-four finalists have been selected from Queensland’s 17 Aerospace Project schools for their achievements over the 2008 academic year. Students and teachers are recognised for outstanding achievement in academic performance, leadership and innovation in aviation education. Three students will be awarded aerospace scholarships to cover the cost of 12 months formal training, including the theory and practical components of a Certificate IV in Aeroskills. Also, one deserving teacher will win the Boeing Education Excellence Scholarship, which includes a study tour of the Boeing factories in Seattle and a place at Space Camp at the US Space and Rocket Centre. Queensland is home to 984 aviation and aerospace companies and the industry employs more than 17,000 people across the state. Through the Aerospace Project, my department and schools are working with industry to ensure Queensland’s young people have the skills to make the most of the many career options this industry offers. Since 2004, the Aerospace Project has expanded from six schools in south-east Queensland to 17 schools across the state. The 17 Aerospace Project schools are located in Brisbane, Ipswich, Townsville, Mount Isa, Toowoomba, Oakey, Mackay, Gold Coast, Cairns and Caloundra. Around 700 years 10 and 11 students are now studying aerospace projects because of this project. Eighteen students from the Aerospace Project schools have gained direct entry to tertiary programs at the University of Queensland, QUT and Griffith University for next year. Boeing Defence Australia, Aviation Australia, the Brisbane Airport Corporation, Australian Aerospace and GE Aviation are also on board as the Aerospace Project partners. The Aerospace Project is just one way the Bligh government is delivering world-class education and training and putting Q2 into action. 27 Nov 2008 Ministerial Statements 3865

Climate Change

Hon. GJ WILSON (Ferny Grove—ALP) (Minister for Mines and Energy) (10.18 am): We are all aware of the urgent need for action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There are tough challenges ahead and the Bligh government is rising to meet them with sensible, workable solutions. We must all play our part in tackling climate change. Industry, government, scientists and the community all have a role to play because tackling climate change is the responsibility of us all. One thing is undeniably clear: the long-term future for Queensland and the world does not include business as usual. We cannot keep doing what we were doing. We owe it to future generations. Saving energy makes good sense. The Bligh government is playing its part to encourage more households and businesses to save energy. We have given away a million energy-efficient light bulbs to readers of the Sunday Mail. We have given out free EnergyWise kits to help struggling households save energy and save money. Energex launched a cool change trial. It is all about using air conditioners more efficiently and it is working. People are saving energy and saving money. Ergon Energy has its ‘10% less’ campaign. It encourages households to use less electricity. There are simple steps householders can take to save energy and keep power costs down. Switching off appliances at the wall can deliver savings of between $50 and $100 a year. Turning off second fridges when they are not needed saves energy and saves money. We know that some Queenslanders are doing it tough. That is why we have got hardship schemes and rebates for pensioners and seniors. That is why we established the Energy Ombudsman to go into bat for consumers. That is why last year we gave regional Queenslanders more than $600 million in subsidies to help keep electricity bills down. That is an average of $1,000 per household. The independent economic regulator is about to release a draft decision on the maximum price for electricity for next year. If it goes up—and that is highly likely in these turbulent economic times—we will once again reach out to help the battlers. That is what Labor governments do. We are not alone. Other states have also been hit with price rises—higher than ours. Queensland’s electricity prices are still some of the lowest in the country. Even so, we know that some people are doing it tough and we will not turn our back on them. There are big challenges ahead for Queensland and the world. This is about tackling climate change in tough economic times. The Bligh government is determined to meet those challenges, and meet them we will by delivering a cleaner, greener energy future for all Queenslanders.

Gateway Motorway Upgrade

Hon. FW PITT (Mulgrave—ALP) (Minister for Main Roads and Local Government) (10.20 am): The Bligh government is delivering a record Capital Works Program that is helping to build tomorrow’s Queensland today. The Gateway upgrade project is a major part of this program, which is building and rebuilding the infrastructure that our community needs. This weekend we will reach another significant milestone on the Gateway upgrade when southbound traffic at the Nudgee end of the project is switched onto a new flyover. This will allow construction of the transition between the existing Gateway arterial road and the new section of the Gateway Motorway. I visited the site this morning to announce this weekend’s traffic switch. I am pleased to report that construction on the Gateway upgrade is progressing very well. This switch is the forerunner to several similar events that will occur throughout 2009, as more completed sections are opened to traffic. By December 2009, all works north and south of the Gateway bridges will be completed. By then, motorists will be enjoying the benefits of six lanes southbound between Mt Gravatt-Capalaba Road and Wynnum Road, eight lanes between Wynnum Road and the Port of Brisbane Motorway, free-flow tolling over the Gateway Bridge and seven kilometres of new motorway north to Nudgee Road, including a second airport access. During the past year, the construction team has conducted four major traffic switches to move traffic onto temporary lanes, allowing the widening of the existing motorway. In addition, the bridges at Old Cleveland Road, Wynnum Road and Greendale Way have been widened. New permanent southbound lanes and off-ramps were opened. Seventy-five per cent of bridges, apart from the second Gateway Bridge, have been opened along the 20-kilometre project site. All northern approach piers are built, seven out of 10 spans of the second Gateway Bridge are completed, three out of five southern approach piers are finished, and the 54-metre high main river piers are nearly complete. The second Gateway Bridge is due to open in mid-2010, providing six lanes southbound, with three northbound lanes remaining opened on the existing bridge as it is refurbished. We are today building the vital infrastructure needed for tomorrow’s Queensland. 3866 Investigation into Altruistic Surrogacy Committee 27 Nov 2008

TRANSPORT (NEW QUEENSLAND DRIVER LICENSING) AMENDMENT BILL

ADULT PROOF OF AGE CARD BILL

Cognate Debate

Trans. (New Qld Driver Licensing) A’ment Bill; Adult Proof of Age Card Bill Hon. RE SCHWARTEN (Rockhampton—ALP) (Leader of the House) (10.23 am), by leave: I move— That, in accordance with standing order 129, the Transport (New Queensland Driver Licensing) Amendment Bill and the Adult Proof of Age Card Bill be treated as cognate bills for their remaining stages, as follows: (a) one question being put in regard to the second readings; (b) the consideration of the bills in detail together; and (c) one question being put for the third readings and long titles. Question put—That the motion be agreed to. Motion agreed to.

INVESTIGATION INTO ALTRUISTIC SURROGACY COMMITTEE

Report, Motion to Take Note Resumed from 9 October (see p. 3020), on motion of Mrs Lavarch— That the House take note of the report of the Investigation into Altruistic Surrogacy Committee. Mrs STUCKEY (Currumbin—LNP) (10.24 am): As a committee member and shadow minister for child safety, I am pleased to speak to the report of the Investigation into Altruistic Surrogacy Committee tabled on 8 October 2008. This investigation stimulated great interest in the community. We heard from a wide range of stakeholders, received 130 submissions and heard evidence from 37 witnesses. We consulted with over 50 people with knowledge or experience of the issue. Altruistic surrogacy is an enormously sensitive issue, representing significant risks in terms of people’s health and wellbeing. It involves legal uncertainties, raises deep moral and ethical issues, and touches the most intimate aspects of people’s private lives. For some, it challenges articles of faith and religious convictions. For all of us, though, it challenges us to define what is in the best interests of a child. It is for these reasons that this legislation may be deserving of a conscience vote over a vote along party lines. I remember well the struggle many honourable members had with the stem cell legislation and the passionate speeches the debate brought forth. Along with my colleagues, over the course of this investigation I have been made acutely aware how our actions in this place impact on people’s lives. I would like to place on record my gratitude to all involved—fellow committee members, research staff, witnesses, everyone who sent in submissions and, of course, the guest speakers who shared their views and expertise in closed sessions. At our public hearings on 7 and 8 July we were privileged to hear the evidence of nine courageous women who came forward to explain how their lives were impacted by the current law in Queensland. While their stories were deeply touching, developing regulation for altruistic surrogacy presented us with numerous challenges. We do not know how many surrogacy arrangements currently occur in Queensland as not all surrogacy requires medical assistance. Some arrangements are made informally through social networks or online. The dilemma, then, of regulating altruistic surrogacy through access to assisted reproductive technology, or ART, is that not all surrogacy arrangements will be captured in the regulatory regime. We note in the report that the ACT, the jurisdiction with the most comprehensive legislative framework for facilitating altruistic surrogacy, only recognises legal parentage where the child has been conceived through ART, the birth mother has no genetic connection and at least one intending parent is genetically related. Again, the dilemma of the ACT approach is that not all surrogacy arrangements go through ART. It does not account for individual circumstances and the capacity of the parties in relation to genetic connection. In addition, the law leaves some children with less legal certainty than others. Just where should the balance lie between prevention of harm and protection of the liberty of consenting adults? Some of these decisions were difficult for the committee to make and further debate on these issues will no doubt ensue. With these few words, I look forward to the timely development of an appropriate legislative and regulatory approach for altruistic surrogacy in Queensland. 27 Nov 2008 Questions Without Notice 3867

Mr WETTENHALL (Barron River—ALP) (10.26 am): As a member of the committee, I support the tabling of the report of the Investigation into Altruistic Surrogacy Committee on 8 October 2008. I would like to add briefly to the discussion of the committee’s report by focusing on the issue of altruistic surrogacy from an equity point of view. The report argues that one of the roles of government is to ensure parity in policy approaches for families created by altruistic surrogacy and other families. This is a notion also commonly applied in law. It is a common-sense approach to justice—treating like with like although the circumstances may differ. In the report, notions of parity underpin the proposed policy principles. For example, principle 3 states— Every child enjoys the same status and legal protection irrespective of the circumstance of their birth or the status of their parents. This is clearly in the best interests of the child, as a child should not be stigmatised by the manner of his or her conception or be disadvantaged by the lack of recognition of intending parents. The current situation does not provide legal certainty for the child in relation to child support or inheritance. That is why the report recommends a specific provision for the transfer of legal parentage in the case of altruistic surrogacy. It is the reason the committee considers it timely to review the status of children born of same-sex parents. It is the reason the committee would like to see consideration of legal status of traditional Torres Strait Islander adoptions squarely placed on the policy agenda. These arrangements refer to the situation whereby birth parents permanently give a child to their extended family network. Sometimes such adoptions occur due to an inability to have children. The committee was reminded during the course of the investigation that Eddie Mabo was a traditional adoptee. The practice is seen as important in strengthening extended family. The practice continues in spite of prohibition under surrogacy or adoption law. The committee noted that the Torres Strait Islander traditional practice does not neatly fit with Western notions of adoption and surrogacy. Indeed, the committee’s recommendation that the legal definition of altruistic surrogacy should only cover arrangements made before conception mean that only those traditional adoptions made pre conception will be recognised by the proposed surrogacy law reform. This is why the committee recommends that the issue of traditional adoptions, most of which are made post conception, needs to be addressed into the future. I commend the report to the House. Hon. AM BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Premier) (10.29 am): I wanted to rise in this debate to thank all members of the committee for the approach that they have taken to what I think everybody would agree is a very complex public policy question. The issue of altruistic surrogacy is one that I have had a genuine concern about for many years. Like other members in this House, I have been contacted by couples who have tragically been unable to have children of their own and who have spoken to me in the most personal terms about their desire to have a family. This does involve some very complex moral issues and it was an issue of public policy that I think we could never have hoped to make progress on if we could not find the grounds for bipartisanship. So I want to thank all members of the committee. I think they have applied themselves to this very difficult and complex moral question in a way that displays a great deal of humanity, compassion and careful thought about a matter that involves the deepest personal issues for many people in our community. I thank them not only for the compassion they have brought to the task but for their diligence to what I think is a very workable set of recommendations. Debate, on motion of Ms Bligh, adjourned.

QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Bligh Labor Government, Water Policy Mr SPRINGBORG (10.31 am): My first question without notice is to the Premier. Premier, Queenslanders are justifiably asking today who runs this state. It is clear the Premier does not have the leadership to determine water policy and the minister— Government members interjected. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! Mr SPRINGBORG: It is clear that the Premier does not have the leadership to determine water policy and it is also clear that the minister for water does not have the authority to determine water policy. Will the Premier now allow Water Commissioner Elizabeth Nosworthy to attend parliament next Tuesday so that we can ask her questions on water policy? Ms BLIGH: I thank the member for the question. I am very pleased to advise the House that the people who have been contacting my office over the last couple of days are absolutely clear about this government’s position on recycled water and are very appreciative of the fact that we have taken the time to listen to their concerns and to take action on those concerns. In my view a good leader listens, and that is what we have done. We have a very clear position on this. We established a Water Commission that brings together the best science on the issue of water management—the best advice, 3868 Questions Without Notice 27 Nov 2008 the most experienced and qualified people who can give us rigorous scientific advice. We sought the advice of the Water Commission to determine the entire water balance and at what point we would need to put this water in our dams. That is what we see from this government: careful, rigorous planning based on the best scientific advice. But what is the alternative? The alternative being presented by the Leader of the Opposition is that he will use recycled water but he will not tell us when, and what he will tell us is that he will not have any scientific advice getting in the way of his decision making— Mr Lucas: And don’t you worry about that! Ms BLIGH: ‘Don’t you worry about that. We’ll get rid of those pesky scientists. We’ll sack the Water Commission. Those rascally scientists! They won’t be getting in the way of our thinking. What we’ll be doing is appointing “Dr” Cripps and “Professor” Johnson to advise on water science’—the hydrological— Mr Lucas: What about Rona Joyner? Ms BLIGH: Yes, bring back Rona Joyner. That is what we will see from the member for Southern Downs. Mr Lucas: Milan Brych. Ms BLIGH: When the member for Southern Downs wants a question on science, he will dial up Milan Brych. It is all on the way back. The great Queensland National Party rolled over the top of the Liberal Party where science does not matter anymore. This is good science, it is careful planning and it will look after the people of south-east Queensland. Bligh Labor Government, Water Policy Mr SPRINGBORG: My second question without notice is also to the Premier. I quote the hardly read Q2 document in which the Premier said— Government members interjected. Mr SPRINGBORG: You know the one—Morris Iemma and Mike Kaiser’s plan for Queensland? You know the one! Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition, please ask your question. Mr SPRINGBORG: It states— The water shortage that faced south-east Queenslanders recently also produced a dramatic turnaround in the way people across the entire state use and value water. It was a harsh lesson about why we need to start planning for our future now ... I ask: as the Premier now has no plans for additional bulk water supplies for south-east Queensland, is it not now true that her only strategy is to pray for rain? Government members interjected. Mr Lucas: Who wrote this! Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! I am on my feet! Ms BLIGH: If that is an example of what happens when the Leader of the Opposition writes his own questions, imagine when he writes the water policy! This is our government’s water policy. Mr Springborg: What? Pray for rain? Ms BLIGH: Extra water storages— Mr Lucas: No, that’s Ray Hopper’s— Ms BLIGH:—Wyaralong Dam— Mr Springborg: You just said it this morning. Mr Lucas: It’s Ray Hopper’s. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition and Deputy Premier! The Premier has the call. Ms BLIGH: Thank you, Mr Acting Speaker. Our government’s water policy is absolutely clear: firstly, new water storages, with one at Wyaralong which is approved and will start construction in the new year—a brand-new dam at Wyaralong opposed by those opposite; secondly, a new dam at Traveston Crossing in the Mary Valley—on its way to approval and will be built; thirdly, a desalination plant at Tugun will be operational on time—done; recycled water, there as an insurance policy whenever we need it—done, built, done—recycled water that is powering our power stations right now. You voted against the dam. You voted against the pipelines. You voted against desalination. You voted against recycled water. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Premier, please direct your comments through the chair. 27 Nov 2008 Questions Without Notice 3869

Ms BLIGH: Those opposite are moribund on this issue. As I said earlier today, two years ago when we were in the worst drought ever we were in terrible trouble because we had no options. And what did we do? There were no options when Wivenhoe Dam dropped to perilously low levels. We now have the broadest set of options whenever we encounter a drought. We are drought-proof against any future droughts in the south-east corner because of this government’s leadership on water! What we see from those opposite is a completely moribund, dishonest, unbelievably poor strategy. What they say they will do is abolish the Water Commission, pick a minister who will lick his finger and put it in the air and decide what the trigger will be and then they will build a great big huge monumental desalination plant that will deliver less water at higher cost. I think the choice for Queenslanders is very clear. Obesity Mrs LAVARCH: My question without notice is to the Premier. Can the Premier inform the House of a recent award Queensland has received for the fight against obesity? Ms BLIGH: I thank the honourable member for the question and I congratulate her on reaching the august age of half a century today. Mr Schwarten: The better half is on the way! Ms BLIGH: I am reliably advised by the minister for public works that the best half is still in front of you. I am very pleased to have a chance to talk about this issue. Make no mistake: the fight against obesity is one that Queensland cannot afford to lose. That is why we set ourselves a very strong Q2 target of making Queenslanders Australia’s healthiest people. Again this morning we heard the opposition deride this target. What would it have? Would it prefer that Queenslanders were not Australia’s healthiest people? Is that the alternative government’s position? We make no apologies for working very hard to get out there and cut obesity rates by one-third. This year obesity will cost Queenslanders $6.9 billion. That adds to the pressure on our busy public hospitals, which are already facing growing demand. Obesity also comes with an unacceptable human toll. It exposes many individuals to diseases that would otherwise be avoided and deprives them of the energy and vitality they need to lead rich and rewarding lives. I am very pleased to tell the House that our government’s efforts to fight this problem have been recognised by the Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society, which last week awarded the Bligh government the inaugural gold medal for tackling obesity. This is part of that society’s inaugural National Couch Potato Awards to recognise the best performing state or territory for obesity prevention activities. One of the judges, Monash University public health researcher Dr Anna Peeters, praised Queensland’s comprehensive raft of initiatives, stating— The strong leadership by the Queensland government on issues related to obesity prevention has lifted Queensland above other parts of Australia. So on this issue we are way out in front. Dr Peeters stated further— Its commitment to ban junk food advertising and make healthy foods more affordable and accessible were highly commended, as was the work of the government to address unhealthy foods in public facilities. Additionally, there has been significantly more funding for public transport, cycle and walkways, with targets set to increase usage. We understand that this award recognises the efforts that are being made right across the public sector and the community, but the fight has only just begun. Our fight against obesity is one we have to get up and work hard on every single day, and that is what people can expect to see from us. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: I take the opportunity to acknowledge in the public gallery students and staff from Beenleigh State School in the electorate of Waterford, represented in the chamber by the honourable Evan Moorhead. Recycled Water Mr McARDLE: My question is to the Premier. The Premier has admitted this morning that the Water Commission’s propaganda campaign will continue so that the public can be softened up for her next backflip. I ask: will the Premier tell this House what will be the total cost of the marketing and advertising campaign for recycled water between now and the next election? Ms BLIGH: I thank the honourable member for the question. I think the public expects the government to provide it with information on these issues, and that is exactly what they will get. I think it is very important to understand what has happened here over the past two years. We have seen a pulling together across government of the best minds on the management of water. As a result, we have seen the most extraordinary achievements in water saving ever seen in the history of this country. How did the Water Commission achieve this? It conducted what I think has to be recognised as an extraordinarily successful public campaign advising people about how much water they were using, telling them how to reduce their water consumption, providing them with information and advertising the 3870 Questions Without Notice 27 Nov 2008 issues. They put all of that together with the government’s rebate systems. What did we see? We saw south-east Queenslanders using water more efficiently and more effectively than anyone else in the country. There is absolutely no doubt that full credit for that has to go to those south-east Queenslanders who have changed their habits forever. But equally, credit has to go to those people who designed the campaign, who worked with the public, who provided information, who updated web sites, who got information out to councils, who were out there in shopping centres and who were out there ensuring that people understood how they could help and how they could make things better. Members opposite may not accept this but I can tell them that, from everybody I know, people wanted to do their bit. People wanted to get behind it. People wanted to pull together. All they wanted was the government, through the Water Commission and through the efforts of the councils, to give them the information they needed and to assist them to effectively save water. So we sent out the $20 plumber. We gave people the four-minute shower timers. We did television advertising. All of that came together. Today we see another attack from the National Party on science—from the member for Southern Downs, the high priest of voodoo science, who does Google research late into the hours of the night. This government relies for its advice and relies for its planning— Mr Springborg: How did they find Dr Patel? Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition, I warn you under standing order 253. Ms BLIGH: What Queenslanders can rely on with my government is that rigorous science will underpin our decision making in this area. Yesterday the Leader of the Opposition said that he would disband the Queensland Water Commission and he would have the shadow minister make a decision on where the triggers should be. Queenslanders should be very afraid. Time expired.

Australia, Tourism Benefits Ms JARRATT: My question is to the Premier. Baz Luhrmann’s new film, Australia, officially opened around the country yesterday. Given north Queensland provided a backdrop for some of this big-budget film, can the Premier inform the House what tourism benefits this global exposure will bring? Ms BLIGH: As the member for Whitsunday well knows, north Queensland will be on show to the world as Baz Luhrmann’s Australia begins to hit cinemas across Australia and across other parts of the world. As someone who was very lucky last night to attend a preview screening of Australia at the brand-new Palace cinemas, I can say that this film is well worth seeing. Before I talk a little about the benefits of the film, I acknowledge the Zeccola family, who are the founders of the Palace cinema group, who I think have put a huge vote of confidence in the entertainment sector here in Brisbane with their investment in a new six-cinema complex at the renovated Police Barracks precinct. I thank them for their investment in our city. As we all know, north Queensland really embraced the opportunity that this production gave it. The government provided a $500,000 investment in bringing the film’s production to Queensland and bringing it to Bowen. It brought great results to the local economy. Estimates indicate that this production created about 230 jobs and spent around $7.5 million over the six-week shoot, including $750,000 in wages for locals who were cast as extras. I would have to say that I did not recognise any of the extras, but perhaps the member for Whitsunday will see some familiar faces. The flow-on effect from all of this is in the vicinity of about $12.6 million, and that is before Queensland reaps any benefits from the tourism exposure. Over recent months we have been working very hard to improve the circumstances for our tourism industry, which has been seeing some downturn. Tourism Queensland has been working closely with Tourism Australia to ensure that Queensland locations feature prominently in international campaigns. One of the things we have done is a series of Australia themed Queensland travel packages developed in partnership with travel trade partners, mainly in the US, the UK and Europe. Our tourism products are dominant in these international travel brochures and make Queensland well placed when international visitors are planning their holidays. We have also launched domestically a special ‘Where Else But Australia?’ web site. The web site includes destination information, holiday packages around production sites and a game that challenges visitors to herd cattle across Queensland. We are already seeing a significant uptake, with 27,000 people playing the game. So this is a way of identifying Queensland as part of this broad campaign. I look forward to seeing the people of north Queensland, and particularly the tourism industry, benefit as a result. 27 Nov 2008 Questions Without Notice 3871

South East Queensland Water Strategy Miss SIMPSON: My question is to the Premier. I table the Premier’s draft South East Queensland Water Strategy, released in February this year. Tabled paper: Graph titled ‘Government SEQ Water Proposal’. I note that the Premier’s final copy was meant to be released by now, but it has been shelved. I ask the Premier: is it not true that the reason she has not released her final water strategy is that her politically inspired backflips over the past few days have blown a massive hole in her water reliability? I ask: will the Premier now adopt the LNP plan of a desalination plant at Bribie Island, or do Queenslanders face yet another backflip as soon as the state election is over? There’s a hole in your bucket, dear Anna. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! The honourable member for Maroochydore will address members by their correct title. You know better than that. Ms BLIGH: I know, as we head into the last parliamentary sitting of the year, that two weeks in a row is a long time for the opposition to sustain any kind of performance, but what we have seen here on the third day of this sitting week—where we have had, I think, a very significant issue for this parliament to consider in relation to the management of water—is the shadow minister in this area asking me exactly the same question she asked me on Tuesday in relation to the 50-year strategy. What I told the questioner on Tuesday was that the strategy had been referred back to the Queensland Water Commission to recalculate the modelling on the basis of changed circumstances. That is not that hard to understand. If you move from having recycled water in the system all the time to a position where you put it in when the dams hit 40 per cent, then that changes the water balance. It is pretty straightforward. If she cannot do the maths on that, God help all of us when she has to determine when she will put the water in the dam. If the member opposite had taken the opportunity this morning to read the recommendations of the Water Commission, which I tabled I think about an hour and a half ago, she would have found quite extensive discussion in this document—it is not that long, only a few pages—on page 5 or 6 where the commission advises the government that the 50-year water strategy will require some recalibration and will be available early in the new year. This government has a determination to plan for now and to plan for the next 50 years—a 50-year water strategy that equips us and the people of Queensland in the future to be drought proof regardless of the circumstances. We know we are entering a time of climate change where we can expect to see longer, hotter, drier summers and we need to plan for it. We need to look over the horizon and be ready for the challenges. What we know from those opposite is that they do not believe in 50-year planning. They do not believe in making arrangements for the future. They are not ready. The facts this week have been absolutely plain: the ‘long nap’ party is simply not ready for the challenges of the 21st century. Infrastructure Planning Mrs SCOTT: My question is to the Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning. Can the Deputy Premier tell the House of the importance of basing major decisions on sound scientific and technical advice and is he aware of any plans to shun independent technical and scientific advice in favour of political decision making? Mr LUCAS: I thank the honourable member for the question—a sensible question. The members opposite have been doing a bit of listening. They went down to schoolies week and got their questions for question time today. Before the drought, the average water use in Queensland was about 300 litres per person per day; now it is about 147. For a year it was 140—not by accident, but thanks to the work the Queensland Water Commission did with its education campaign and the efforts of south-east Queenslanders. What is the response of the opposition to that? Disband it. In fact, the opposition leader will disband it but refuses to nominate a trigger level for purified recycled water in the dams. He will not do it. It is like the situation in relation to the Cairns Base Hospital; he will not provide his analysis. He is refusing to nominate it. What about the expert here, the shadow water minister? Who is that? It is actually the member for Hinchinbrook, but he has not said anything in question time this week about water issues; he has left to it the brains trust up the front that includes the member for Maroochydore. What does ‘Professor’ Cripps have to say about it? Nothing, in fact. The opposition’s plan is no analysis, no science, no trigger, no figure; do not worry about water security, managing growth or climate change. Tell us your trigger now! The member for Burnett does not want a desalination plant at Agnes Water. On whose analysis? His own. The member for Maroochydore wants one at Bribie Island. On whose analysis? Her own. Best of all, the member for Darling Downs does not want water flowing into the Kolan River because there are no environmental flows there. Better than that, he has done a bit of analysis. He said in the Dalby Herald on 13 May— I have recently completed a study and an approximate costing in respect to the piping of 100 megalitres a day from the proposed Nathan Dam near Taroom to supply Dalby, Chinchilla, Oakey and Toowoomba. 3872 Questions Without Notice 27 Nov 2008

He has done that assessment. When is Toowoomba going to run out of water if it does not have a pipeline? Early 2010. When will the Nathan Dam be built? 2014. We are off to a great start from the member for Darling Downs. His quote of the week in the same article was from Clint Eastwood: if something doesn’t come up the way you want, forge ahead: if you think it’s going to rain, it will. Those opposite have no plan, no trigger, no figure, no science, high-cost water and they are letting the people of south-east Queensland down. The opposition leader should tell the people of Queensland what his purified recycled water figure is; he should provide the information. Tabled paper: Article in Dalby Herald, 13 May 2008, titled ‘Oil pipeline to supply water’ by Ray Hopper. Miss SIMPSON: I rise to a point of order. The Deputy Premier is asking a question. I am happy to tell him that our policy is on the web site. We will have a desalination plant. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Traveston Dam Mr GIBSON: My question is to the Premier. I refer to the Premier’s statement regarding the Traveston Crossing Dam EIS when she said, ‘If it passes the environmental tests, then this dam will go ahead’. I table for the benefit of the House independent reports commissioned by the federal government on the proposed dam. Tabled paper: Document titled ‘Review of EIS and supplementary materials on proposed Traveston Crossing Dam, Mary River, SE Qld: ii: Final report prepared by Professor Stuart E Bunn, Director, Australian Rivers Institute for the Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts’. Tabled paper: Document titled ‘Environmental impact statement for Traveston Crossing Dam (Mary River, Queensland): A Review with regard for Species of Concern under the EPBC Act 1999’, Report to the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Canberra, November 2008. These reports are critical of her plans and note that the dam and mitigation strategies will not protect the populations of endangered species, and I ask: in light of the fact that the only reports that support the dam are the ones she has paid for, why will the Premier not listen to these independent scientists? Why does she not have the courage to face the people of the Mary Valley and explain to them why she is ignoring the science on this proposed dam? Ms BLIGH: I thank the honourable member for the question. The reports that the member is referring to are reports that have been commissioned by the federal minister in relation to his assessment of this project. As I understand it, in the last day or so the reports have been posted on the web site. I welcome these reports. I see them as further evidence of the rigour with which this dam is being assessed and the transparency with which both levels of government are approaching the task. Mr Gibson interjected. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Member for Gympie, you have asked the question. Ms BLIGH: Let me say two things: firstly, as one would expect with any of these sorts of reports, there are views about a range of factors and the assessments would differ from one assessor to the other. Secondly, of course, what the member for Gympie will not tell us the reports say is that ‘the input data assumptions within the model are generally sound’. That is a quote from one of the reports. It also says that some of the assumed operating rules are simplistic and generally conservative. Mr Gibson interjected. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: I warn the member for Gympie under standing order 253. Ms BLIGH: That is, they overestimate the likely future impacts of the dam. Similarly, one of the reports by Professor Stuart Bunn in relation to downstream effects states that the proposed dam is unlikely to result in loss, damage or degradation of any of the World Heritage values of either the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area or Fraser Island. In relation to the Mary River cod, it states that restoration of riparian and instream habitat and a continued commitment to the stocking program are important recovery strategies for this species. What these reports tell us is what we told the House here on Tuesday. They back up everything I have said about this dam all week. Mr Gibson interjected. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! Member for Gympie! Mr Lucas interjected. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Deputy Premier! Ms BLIGH: What these reports tell us is exactly what I told the House on Tuesday. These species are vulnerable and they are vulnerable because their habitat has been destroyed by agricultural production. Honourable members interjected. Mr Gibson interjected. 27 Nov 2008 Questions Without Notice 3873

Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! Member for Gympie, having been warned, I ask you to leave the chamber under standing order 253. Whereupon the honourable member for Gympie withdrew from the chamber at 10.59 am. Ms BLIGH: Mr Acting Speaker, I was invited— Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! Premier, please wait. I call the Premier. Ms BLIGH: Thank you, Mr Acting Speaker. I was invited about 10 minutes ago by the shadow minister for infrastructure to look at the LNP web site. What it says here, of course, as it has said all week, is ‘Site maintenance’ So that is their water policy—‘Site maintenance, thank you for coming back soon’—as if anyone would! Miss SIMPSON: Mr Acting Speaker, I rise to a point of order. Government members interjected. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! I am on my feet. I call the honourable member for Maroochydore. Miss SIMPSON: The Premier is misleading the House. I direct her to our policy web site www.climateproof.com.au. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! There is no point of order. Resume your seat. Before calling the member for Barron River, I acknowledge the staff and students from the Beenleigh State School in the electorate of Waterford, represented in the chamber by the honourable Evan Moorhead.

Health Services Mr WETTENHALL: My question is to the Minister for Health. I note the Bligh government is planning and delivering health services to Cairns and far-north Queensland as evidenced by the numerous clinical and health service planning documents published on the Queensland Health web site. Can the minister outline the stark difference between the comprehensive health service planning undertaken by the Bligh government and the policy by press release tactics employed by the LNP? Mr ROBERTSON: It would be my absolute pleasure. What we saw earlier today was the stark contrast between the hard yakka done by the Bligh government to get the planning right for the future infrastructure of health services in this state and the paucity of any evidence of any work ever done by those members opposite. We have had the opportunity since the Cairns regional parliament 29 days ago to see what Mensa graduates Springborg and ‘Emeritus Professor’ McArdle have been doing during the time that they have been trying to be the smallest target possible. One would have thought that they would have used that opportunity to actually do some hard yakka, to do the hard work needed to come up with the evidence that any policy they may have had with respect to health would show that they were heading in the right direction, but no. We saw over the last 28 days, despite the will of this parliament demanding that they produce that evidence, not one skerrick—not one sheet of paper. The only thing that remains as any evidence of their policy is their one-page press release. What an evidence trail that is! What we saw in the further information that was presented today is that what they are relying on is the $450 million from the sale of Cairns Airport to build their new hospital. But, as we saw from the documents that I tabled today, the cost of a new hospital is assessed at about $950 million. I know that they will say, ‘But we would sell the site of the Cairns Hospital and that would contribute to the money.’ If members actually go to the document, they will see that that amount of $30 million to $35 million has been factored in. What are they short? $500 million! Where is the money coming from? This is just further evidence of those opposite, despite being the best resourced opposition in Australia, remaining the laziest. All that time the Leader of the Opposition spent with his feet up on the front porch on the farm at Yelarbon, trying to be the smallest target possible, he could have been doing some hard work. But, oh no, that would have been too difficult for this opposition which wants to sneak into office by being the smallest target possible. Well, sunshines, each one of you has been caught out. This parliament, including with the support of the Independents, wanted and in fact demanded over a 28-day period any skerrick of evidence to be provided to this parliament to back up the opposition’s policy and the opposition has failed miserably. I conclude with this quote, and this sums it up nicely I think— They are the documents that this government has a duty to produce to this parliament over the next 28 days. If the government does not do that, it indicates clearly that it is hiding the fact that it has made a very bad decision that is not in the best interests of the people of Cairns and far-north Queensland ... Who said that? Lawrence Springborg. Time expired. 3874 Questions Without Notice 27 Nov 2008

Crocodiles Mr NICHOLLS: My question is to the Premier. Premier, today you are offering businesses on Magnetic Island $45,000 each as compensation for income lost when a crocodile was moved into the vicinity by your government. Premier, what compensation are you offering to the families of the men killed by crocodiles moved into their path by your government? Ms BLIGH: As the member well knows, this matter is now the subject of a comprehensive investigation. Given that it involves the loss of life, I think it is quite disgraceful to be raising it in this way.

Queensland Health, Capital Works Program Mr O’BRIEN: My question without notice is to the Minister for Public Works, Housing and Information and Communication Technology. Can the minister update the House on the role the Department of Public Works is playing in the Queensland Health capital works program? Mr SCHWARTEN: Yes, I can, and I thank the member for the question. At the moment on foot we have a $1.5 billion job at the Gold Coast Hospital; a $1.2 billion Sunshine Coast University Hospital in the planning stages; a $1 billion Queensland Children’s Hospital; a $75 million Rockhampton Hospital redevelopment in my own electorate; and $20 million being spent on the Yeppoon Hospital in the electorate of Keppel, where the roof installation is 70 per cent completed. Of course, the project of most interest to the honourable member—the one who looks after his constituents when they need to come to Cairns for hospitalisation—is a $446 million project and it is currently in the predesign stage. While the LNP—that is the ‘let’s not pay’ party—was in Cairns, the Project Services people up there were beavering away on this job. I brought to the Cairns regional parliament some of that planning documentation and I had to bring it in a large box. That is the level of detail that we have to go to. Building a hospital is a highly complex job. It is not left open to people who cannot even construct a web site. The LNP cannot construct its own web site, let alone construct a hospital in Cairns. When the Leader of the Opposition is not lazing away in his hammock, he has the time to dictate a press release. That is all he does. We have seen here this morning the outrageous contempt with which he has treated the parliament. His strategy backfired in his face in Cairns when the parliament expressed its will that he provide that documentation, and he has not provided one thing. There is a good reason for that, of course. There is no planning document. There is no estimate. There is no plan. It was just simply some doodling put together when he was not nodding off in his hammock. The fact of the matter is that hospitals are very complex things to construct. They are not to be left to the likes of those opposite who think it is as simple as going out and getting together a press release and it will all fall into place as a result of that. This is a classic example of accountability. We on this side understand accountability. We understand budgets. We understand about going out and talking to people. All the Leader of the Opposition has offered is one press release. In the 28 days that he has been given, he has not provided one single document to this parliament. It could not be a greater example of his incompetence, his unpreparedness for government, and his downright absolute indolence. This is a very serious matter that Queenslanders need to judge these people on. You were at the master builders the other night. I challenge you to go to any of those builders with your plans for the hospital in Cairns and expect to be taken seriously. You are a joke. Time expired.

Collinsville Hospital, Asbestos Mrs MENKENS: My question without notice is to the Minister for Health. I refer to the Collinsville Hospital construction, which was undertaken while medical and nursing staff were still on site. I also note that the men’s ward was knocked down during this time and that, despite concerns raised about asbestos dust, staff were told there were no problems or asbestos. Is it not true that in fact the area is now being hosed down and cordoned off because of asbestos concerns? Can the minister guarantee today that patients and staff at Collinsville Hospital have not suffered potentially life-threatening exposure to asbestos due to his government’s incompetence? Mr ROBERTSON: I will have that matter investigated because the member has raised, for a change, some serious issues that deserve investigation, and I undertake to do that. But this provides me with an opportunity, given that the member comes from north Queensland, to revisit this issue about a lack of planning in terms of the announcements made by the opposition today. The ‘long nap’ party have been asleep so long that they cannot even count to 28. This parliament gave them 28 days to pony up any evidence, any documentation, they had to justify their decision to build a new hospital for Cairns. As we have heard now, not one document has been produced. I think we should offer a challenge today. Mrs Menkens interjected. 27 Nov 2008 Privilege 3875

Mr ROBERTSON: I take that interjection because I think that is a very fine point. Yes, we as a government do have planning information and we have made it available all the way along. You have just committed yourself to $1 billion in expenditure of taxpayers’ funds, yet you cannot provide one skerrick of evidence to support your contention that that is the best decision. I will hammer this home every day that I get the opportunity. You have shown contempt for this parliament in not responding to the motion to table this information which was voted for overwhelmingly by this side and by the Independent members. Let us be fair. Let us give them one more chance. Let us give them until the close of this parliamentary sitting today. Let us give them one more chance to table in this House the information they used to justify their policy. I cannot be fairer than that. They have had 28 days already and I am prepared to give them 29. So we will give ‘Emeritus Professor’ McArdle and ‘Mensa graduate’ Springborg perhaps another 10 hours to provide this parliament with the evidence we have sought to prove that they have given one thought bubble that is supported by some—any—documentation to justify their policy, because that was the will of this parliament. Let us give them until the close of business today. Of course, I will let my good friends in the media know whether they have provided any evidence or not, so stand by. Urban Congestion Ms BARRY: My question is to the Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations. One of the greatest challenges that we face is urban congestion. Can the minister outline for the House the important steps that the government is taking on this particular issue? Mr MICKEL: I thank the member for Aspley for the question. Of course she would be well aware that one of the ways we have addressed congestion is to make sure we have the transport infrastructure in place. She was there for the opening of the Inner Northern Busway. Those members on the south side would be aware of what we have done with the Salisbury-Kuraby railway line, and all members would know what we have done with the Caboolture-Beerburrum line and the Gold Coast line duplication. We are atoning for the sins of the sixties, when the other mob ripped up the railway line and sold off the corridor. The predecessor to the shadow minister, the honourable member for Clayfield, has to be given some credit because on Stateline in May he said— We believe there are a number of things that need to be done. We need a plan for a sustainable future. What was the response? We could hear them on the frontbench saying, ‘Tim’s going to give us up. He’s come up with a plan. We’d better move him.’ So they moved him up to Treasury, where he has never been seen again, and they put in the member for Maroochydore. Members can ask the member for Callide; the only plan the member for Maroochydore has ever had is a self-preservation plan—a plan to save herself as the deputy. I take the earlier interjection on the Premier by the member. The policy web site—call it up— states— To see the policy directions being set out for the future of Queensland by your State LNP team please visit www.springborg.com Is that what it says? Ms Jones: Yes. Mr MICKEL: So visit it. What does it say? ‘Site maintenance! Thank you for coming back soon’. There it is, clear as a bell: ‘thank you.’ Where is the policy? ‘Thank you for coming back soon.’ I can understand the Minister for Health’s frustration, but he is not going to get there. It will be, ‘Thank you for not coming back soon.’ Have a look at what her policy was on the inner-city rail study. The shadow minister said that our plan was going to cost too much and that it would never be done. What did the member for Maroochydore say? ‘We’ve got one and it’s going to be grander.’ They reckoned that they could not fund ours but they can fund theirs. It is grander. Where do you get off? The closer the member for Maroochydore gets to Christmas, the fudgier she gets. Let us have a look at what she said on the busway, the CoastConnect plan for the Sunshine Coast. She is opposed to that at a time when two per cent of people on the Sunshine Coast use public transport. Time expired. Interruption. PRIVILEGE

Premier, Alleged Misleading of the House Mr SPRINGBORG (Southern Downs—LNP) (Leader of the Opposition) (11.16 am): I rise on a matter of privilege suddenly arising. In answer to a question from the honourable member for Clayfield, the Premier said that the CMC was comprehensively investigating the matter of crocodile attacks. Mr Acting Speaker, I refer to a letter which I received only two days ago from the CMC. 3876 Questions Without Notice 27 Nov 2008

Mr SCHWARTEN: I rise to a point of order, Mr Acting Speaker. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: I would like to hear this matter first. I call the Leader of the Opposition. Mr SPRINGBORG: The Premier implied this matter was being investigated by the CMC. Mr SCHWARTEN: I rise to a point of order, Mr Acting Speaker. The point of order is relevance. It is relevant to the point of order being taken. As you can see, I sit two spots away from the Premier. She did not use the words ‘CMC investigation’; she said there was an investigation. So the Leader of the Opposition is actually taking a point of order based upon a false premise, as always. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: I have heard what you said. I call the Leader of the Opposition. Mr SPRINGBORG: As we know, this matter has been referred to the CMC for investigation and the CMC responded to me on 25 November 2008. I table that document. Tabled paper: Letter, dated 25 November, from Chairperson of the CMC to the Leader of the Opposition regarding the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. The last paragraph of that document states— However, with respect to this particular matter, and in light of my previous advice to you and the Minister that there is only a remote possibility that it can be productively investigated without the anonymous whistleblower coming forward— So it is not— Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! The record will be out soon. If you believe or if you wish to allege that the Premier has misled, then please write to the Speaker in relation to that matter. That is the appropriate way to handle it.

QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE Resumed from p. 3875. Local Government, Rates Notices Mr FOLEY: My question is to the Minister for Main Roads and Local Government. There is no doubt that in the context of the current global meltdown there are many Queenslanders doing it tough. In light of the fact that almost every sector of business and government offers payment options to help people budget in hard times, is there any way that the minister’s department can assist regional councils to issue at least twice-yearly rates notices to help alleviate the financial burden on many constituents who cannot afford annual rates? Mr PITT: That is a very simple question to answer. The capacity now exists and some councils do. Emergency Services, Infrastructure Ms van LITSENBURG: My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services. What progress is being made on the emergency services infrastructure needed to secure Queensland’s future? Mr ROBERTS: I thank the member for the question because it gives me an opportunity to outline the range of capital works projects being undertaken by both the Queensland Ambulance Service and the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service. It is important to say at the outset that these capital works projects are the result of careful planning and budgeting by this state Labor government because that is how we do business. But when it comes to the opposition, the Liberal National Party has no coordination, no capacity to plan and no idea what to plan for. I am pleased to advise that the government has built 18 new ambulance and fire stations since July 2007. We have planned and built ambulance stations at Aramac, Balmoral, Birkdale, Carina, Carmila, Coolum, Oakey, Murgon, Gemfields, Highfields, Roma and Warwick. We have planned and built fire stations at Eatons Hill, Highfields, Hollywell, Lowood, Malanda and Yungaburra. But the good news does not stop there. Mr Malone: What about Nerang? Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! Member for Mirani, I warn you under standing order 253. Mr ROBERTS: I look forward next month to joining my colleagues from Redcliffe, Kallangur and Murrumba to open two new fire stations at both Burpengary and Kippa-Ring. That will take the total number of new ambulance and fire stations built by this government since July 2007 to 20. We are also making very good progress on the projects that were committed to in this year’s state budget. This financial year we committed $20.9 million to build three new and 11 replacement fire and rescue stations. There are works underway on the Goondiwindi and Tin Can Bay fire stations. Tenders have been let for Bollon and Southport fire station projects, with works scheduled to commence later this year. Land for the new Nerang fire station has been acquired. Design has started for the Nerang station, the Nambour station, Redland Bay, Pullenvale and Woodridge fire stations. 27 Nov 2008 Questions Without Notice 3877

The government has also committed $31.2 million this financial year to commence two new ambulance stations and 21 refurbished or replacement ambulance stations. Works are underway at Moura, Tamborine Mountain, Townsville and Weipa, and design has commenced on Ipswich, Mitchelton, Redcliffe and Tully ambulance stations. Tenders are about to be called on Burleigh Heads, Clermont, Duaringa, Julia Creek, Mitchell and Mount Morgan ambulance stations. Predesign and land negotiations are continuing on Ashgrove and Springfield ambulance stations. As I said, the Bligh government is getting on with building tomorrow’s Queensland today. SES Vehicles, Speed Limits Mr WELLINGTON: My question is also to the Minister for Emergency Services. Recently we have seen many State Emergency Service volunteers assist in emergency work. I understand there is currently a policy that prohibits drivers of State Emergency Service vehicles driving at a speed greater than 15 kilometres per hour with their emergency service vehicle lights flashing. Can the minister please clarify this policy? I apologise that I do not have a copy of it here to provide to the minister but I am certainly happy to once I receive it. Mr ROBERTS: I thank the member for the question. It is important to note that the primary function of the flashing lights on our SES vehicles and rural fire vehicles is to warn motorists in particular that they are undertaking operational activity. The advice I have on this issue is that there is in fact an administrative function or instruction that was issued in November 1996 which does restrict the speed limit at which SES vehicles are to be travelling when they have their flashing lights operating. The advice I have is that that particular administrative function is being reviewed. Although I cannot indicate what the outcome of that will be, it is under review. Again, I think it is important to put on the record that of paramount importance here is the safety of our SES volunteers, including our rural fire volunteers. Those flashing lights serve the purpose of alerting people that they are in the vicinity, undertaking the excellent work that they do. I am very happy to keep the member informed of that particular review. Emergency Management Queensland has been reviewing a whole range of protocols and procedures with the SES. The SES has a very strong partnership with the state government through Emergency Management Queensland and local councils. A lot of work has been undertaken to ensure that the protocols and procedures they operate under are appropriate. I might also take up the point the member raised about SES volunteer support during our recent storm activity. I acknowledge the support that he gives to his local SES. I also acknowledge that we had many members from the SES, the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service and rural fire volunteers from the member’s area who came down to help the people of Brisbane and those in other areas as well. I sincerely thank them for that support, as we have in this House on a number of occasions this week. We are fortunate to have about 6,400 SES volunteers in Queensland. The member would be aware that we recently undertook a very proactive recruitment campaign. SES units and groups across Queensland should have access through either their local councils or Emergency Management Queensland to recruiting material. I know that the member, who has been showing a very strong interest not just in the SES, will help support that. I take the opportunity to acknowledge the member’s strong advocacy on behalf of the rebuilding and renewal of the Nambour fire station. As he is aware, we have committed $3.65 million—another one of the projects I mentioned earlier—to build a new fire station in Nambour. Tenders are expected to be called shortly for that project. The design phase has begun. Construction based on current scheduling is planned to commence early in 2009. Again, I thank the member for his question. I thank him for his support for emergency services in his region. Responsible Gambling Mr GRAY: My question is directed to the Minister for Communities. Can the minister explain what her portfolio is doing to help overcome the serious problem of problem gamblers? Ms NELSON-CARR: I really appreciate the question; I know that the member knows that gambling is one of the most insidious parts of our society today. It is a disease, and for every problem gambler a number of other people are affected including family members, work colleagues and so on. I can say that this government remains steadfastly committed to early intervention and prevention in helping Queenslanders in need, and certainly gamblers fall into that category. Today I am pleased to be announcing a 25 per cent increase in gambling help services funding. That is over $4.7 million per annum over the next three years. This continues to be a productive partnership between the Department of Communities and the Queensland Treasury, which provides my department with the funding in order to administer it. It is proof that we have the experience and the dedication to do the work that is needed to take Queensland and Queenslanders through some of the toughest times. This is the Bligh government’s Q2 vision in action, helping to create fairer and more caring families. 3878 Ministerial Statement 27 Nov 2008

The funds are being made available to Queensland gambling help services and the gambling helpline. These programs provide personal support, community education and sector development activities to help address problem gambling on the ground and in the community. This assistance will support 13 gambling help services across the state to continue their valuable work. They see an average of some 1,453 clients a year. The Gambling Helpline, which is a free and confidential service, has helped so many Queenslanders, taking an average of some 3,793 calls a year. In 2008-09 the Bligh government will enhance these gambling help initiatives with the funding along with the assistance to expand. I am also pleased to announce that 13 services will soon be 14, with a new hub being planned to be established in Longreach. Tenders are about to be called for the Longreach service, which I expect to be operational as early as July next year. Mr Wallace interjected. Ms NELSON-CARR: I take that interjection. It is a very good service. Queensland also continues to contribute to national gambling initiatives including the development of a national online counselling service which will provide free 24-hour online counselling to problem gamblers. The Bligh government is building a fairer, caring Queensland for the future. Tugun, Desalination Plant Mrs STUCKEY: My question without notice is to the Premier. As the people of Tugun were expecting this Sunday to be the official opening of the new desalination plant, is it now just a heavily promoted public open day? Is the Premier going to turn on the desalination plant this Sunday, or is it just another expensive PR stunt so the Premier can defer the so-called official opening to next year during an election campaign? Ms BLIGH: I thank the member for the question. I am very pleased to have an opportunity to talk about Sunday. Sunday is desal day on the Gold Coast. There has been a massive construction program happening down there now for two years, and I think locals are rightly curious about it. What locals will be able to do on Sunday is visit the plant. They will be able to go through it. They will be able to get tours, guidance and ask questions. They will be able to drink the desalinated water. I thank the residents of that end of the Gold Coast for their patience during this construction period. It has been a very big work site. There has been lots of traffic and many trucks going through. The soccer club had to be relocated. There has been a lot of community disruption, as the local member knows. That is coming to an end as the construction is completed. Obviously, there will now be a phasing out of construction activity as well as a full commissioning of production. We are very pleased to have an opportunity to invite the residents of the Gold Coast along to the open day to see the desalination plant that will not only provide them with desalinated water but also provide desalinated water for the drinking supply of the people of Brisbane. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! That concludes question time.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) Hon. AM BLIGH (South Brisbane—ALP) (Premier) (11.30 am), by leave: I rise to advise the House that I have recently sought advice from the Clerk in relation to the Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2008. As members would be aware, part 19 of the bill amends the Superannuation (State Public Sector) Act 1990. There are a number of members in this House who are members of that scheme in one way or another. I sought advice from the Clerk about whether either standing order 259 or standing order 260 would operate in a way that would prevent members from speaking to or voting on the bill. I have now got written advice from the Clerk. It concludes that neither standing order 259 nor standing order 260 operate to either prevent members from speaking to or voting on the bill, nor are members affected required to disclose their interest. However, the Clerk does make the point that the general rule applied is to advise members that if they have a pecuniary interest in a matter to declare it on the basis that transparency avoids potential criticism. This is reflected in a lengthy ruling on this matter by former Speaker McGrady. I will table this advice for the benefit of members. As I have said, there are a number of members in this House who are members of that superannuation scheme. I have had members ask me whether or not their pecuniary interest in it would trigger either of these standing orders. I thank the Clerk for his advice. I table it for the information of members. Tabled paper: Letter, dated 27 November 2008, from the Clerk of the Parliament to the Premier regarding debate by members of the Legislative Assembly on the Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2008. 27 Nov 2008 Planning (Urban Encroachment—Milton Brewery) Bill 3879

PLANNING (URBAN ENCROACHMENT—MILTON BREWERY) BILL

First Reading Hon. PT LUCAS (Lytton—ALP) (Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning) (11.32 am): I present a bill for an act to protect the existing use of the Milton Brewery. I present the explanatory notes, and I move— That the bill be now read a first time. Question put—That the bill be now read a first time. Motion agreed to. Bill read a first time. Tabled paper: Planning (Urban Encroachment—Milton Brewery) Bill 2008. Tabled paper: Planning (Urban Encroachment—Milton Brewery) Bill 2008, explanatory notes. Second Reading Hon. PT LUCAS (Lytton—ALP) (Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning) (11.32 am): I move— That the bill be now read a second time. The introduction of the Planning (Urban Encroachment—Milton Brewery) Bill 2008 is an important measure in providing clarity and certainty for an existing industry—Lion Nathan’s brewery at Milton— and residents and developers, in an environment of increasing development and intensification. It will create an enabling environment for future urban development in the area. As we are all aware, south-east Queensland has a rapidly increasing population. To effectively manage this growth, infill and redevelopment is encouraged within existing urban areas in the vicinity of public transport hubs—that is, transit oriented development. Queensland has taken a proactive approach to ensuring efficient land use and transport planning that will support the significant population growth being experienced, particularly in south-east Queensland under the South East Queensland Regional Plan 2005-2026. As intended, this development enables increased population densities to maximise available city space. At times, however, this needs to occur in areas where existing industry operations are located. In some cases, this can result in shortened distances between the industry and new residents. The environmental impacts of many of these industries are primarily managed through licensing environmentally relevant activities under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 and establishing emissions standards, such as air and noise, as licensing conditions. Under common law, landowners and tenants are entitled to the ‘quiet enjoyment’ of their property. Where there is interference from another property, either by odour, noise or light, the landowner or tenant may make a claim in nuisance. Should a claim be made, the court determines the remedial action to be taken by the industry to address the activity causing the nuisance. Even though these industries are operating within their licence conditions, they may face an increased risk of litigation from landowners and tenants as new developments encroach on the site of operations, resulting in residents living within closer proximity to noise, odour or light produced by the industry. The Queensland government is taking a proactive approach to ensure efficient land use and transport planning that will support the significant population growth being experienced across the state, while not jeopardising legitimate industries and their operations. The Milton Brewery is an established industry within the Milton area. However, Milton has been identified as a priority growth area. This bill seeks to provide an enabling environment that will allow continued operations by the Milton Brewery and also facilitate future urban development in the area. The bill will achieve its objectives by identifying the categories of development that, under the bill, will be an intensification of the area—that is, material change of use applications and subdivisions of lots relevant to development other than homes, townhouses and non-habitable dwellings. At a technical level, these are class 1a, class 1b and class 10 buildings and structures. Current residents and owners are unlikely to be impacted. Given current planning for the area, a very limited number of developments are likely to be affected by the bill. It will offer statutory protection to the brewery from suit for nuisance where the brewery is operating within its licence conditions. It also specifically acknowledges protection for the brewery with respect to light emissions not currently canvassed in its licence. This will mean protection for the iconic Mr Fourex and XXXX signs. Mr Stevens interjected. Mr LUCAS: We know the member for Robina applauds that. The bill will identify the area in which the protection will apply—the Milton Railway Station precinct plan. It will alert owners, purchasers and residents of relevant development by placing an obligation on the developer to have a notation on the 3880 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008 freehold land register and placing an obligation on sellers to advise prospective purchasers of the operation of the legislation. It will remove the brewery’s protection if it increases its approved emission levels as a result of intensification of its own operations on the site. The bill does not include a retrospective component that protects past emissions from legal proceedings or override the common law rights of residents of existing development. The legislation will be subject to five-yearly reviews. This will enable the government to review the impact on residents of new development, changes to the brewery’s current operation, land use issues in this area into the future and issues that may have arisen due to climate change, technological advancement and population changes. The bill is the first stage of a proposed two-stage approach to address the broader issue of encroachment which is also evident in rural areas and other industries such as the poultry industry. The broader encroachment package will aim to achieve a shared responsibility across industry and the encroaching development. I commend the bill to the House. Debate, on motion of Miss Simpson, adjourned.

TRANSPORT AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL

Second Reading Resumed from 26 November (see p. 3811), on motion of Mr Mickel— That the bill be now read a second time. Miss SIMPSON (Maroochydore—LNP) (11.38 am): I continue my contribution on the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill. Other significant parts of the legislation are the government’s open road policy and issues related to congestion. We strongly support seeing motorists having a fair go on our roads. The real issue is not whether the government has legislation before the House; it is infrastructure. As we have seen, there has been a lack of timely infrastructure built by this government over the decade that Labor has been in power. That is the real reason Queenslanders are facing unprecedented traffic congestion, particularly in south-east Queensland. It is one thing to have a rapid response unit attend an accident—we certainly need rapid response units—but if the road infrastructure is not in place so they can get to that accident then nothing changes. The design of our roads needs to incorporate enough of a road verge to actually allow for rapid response units and emergency service vehicles to get to accidents rapidly to help people in trouble. It is also clear that so much attention has been given to issues such as fixed speed cameras and the revenue of government through speeding fines, but not enough attention has been given to the technology to provide timely information to motorists to avoid hot spots. While there has been a move to bring about more signs with the technology to advise motorists to avoid certain areas, there is still a long way to go with the technology to give timely advice to people of alternative routes that they can take. In addition to signage, we need plans that provide a true road grid where there are alternatives. As we have seen with the upgrade of the Gateway—the upgrade that was so desperately needed and so desperately overdue—when there is a failure in one piece of infrastructure, the impact upon the remaining infrastructure is exponential. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Hoolihan): I want to acknowledge in the gallery students and teachers from the Booyal Central State School and the Givelda State School in the electorate of Burnett, which is represented in this House by Mr Rob Messenger. Miss SIMPSON: There needs to be a true road grid that has alternative plans for people to be able to reasonably divert around some of our major arterials and not have a situation like we saw when the South East Freeway was in dire disrepair and closed in the CBD with the resulting huge impact it had upon the balance of the network. That is something which still has not been adequately addressed within government plans and true good planning for the future. I turn now to the problem of congestion on our public transport rail lines. It seems to be that everything this government does is too late. It does it in a hurry or does it in a crisis and people are still left waiting for trains and waiting for adequate public transport access. Getting reports out of Queensland Rail and this government is like pulling hen’s teeth at times in terms of understanding just the sheer extent of people that they are pushing into overcrowded rail carriages. On a number of the lines in south-east Queensland within the Citytrain network, the overcrowding has got to the point where people are complaining that it is unsafe. On the Ipswich line over 21 per cent of the services are overcrowded, and it is a similar figure on the north coast line. We have asked for the counts for some of these trains, but obtaining that information from the government has not been straightforward. I note that there has been talk that QR will start doing quarterly passenger surveys. I would like the minister to table in this House not just percentages but also the actual numbers that come out of these surveys. It has left it so late that we know there has been a huge problem. It is time for transparency with the figures that the government already has and all figures that are collected in 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3881 relation to addressing this issue in a timely and satisfactory way. It seems that south-east Queenslanders and Queenslanders in general have paid a great price for this government’s inaction, which means that people are finding that the public transport they are being asked to catch is not only inconvenient but also failing the test as a basic public transport service. The go card, though, continues to be an issue about which the complaints flood in. People want to see technology that works and serves their needs and not just serves the PR campaign that the government has launched for the go card. This money would have been better spent fixing the problems which continue to plague this service. Parents have contacted me in the last few days complaining about experiences their children have had with failures with this system. Commuters have continued to flood my office with complaints about the difficulties they face when they are overcharged and try to be reimbursed. At the other end of the spectrum, we also hear stories about trips that are not necessarily recorded on the go card and therefore people are getting free travel. The implementation of the go card seems to be an absolute dog’s breakfast still. In terms of some provisions with the go card, I note that the government is proposing to push out the time frame, probably until after the next election—February or March next year—with regard to the increased penalty for people who have problems tagging on to the system. Is the minister going to give a guarantee today that he will fix the problems of the go card whereby people who are being penalised and having interminable problems getting refunds will have a quick and timely turnaround? Will he guarantee that the problems will be fixed? It has dragged on for so long, and spending money on publicity to tell everyone that it is fine is just a joke. A regular commuter said to me that they had a go card but they are not using it now. We still hear the government say that there has been a surge in the number of people using the card, but there has also been a surge in the number of people who have used the card and who then have put it to the side. This continues to be an issue because there are still failures in the system. People who know what good public transport should be have given up on it and are still saying that it has problems such that they do not want to use it. They simply do not have the time to keep on going online and checking whether or not they have been properly reimbursed or credited with the overpayment that the government has taken from their card. It is time we saw this system fixed rather than just more spin about what the government is going to do with it. I want to go back to the issue of transit officers. We value the work that transit officers already do within the system but we continue to have concerns expressed to us by those who represent the workers in this area that what they are being asked to do under this legislation presents real problems and issues for workers and also potentially for public safety. We are calling for the government to boost the police Railway Squad to improve safety on the rail network and to ensure that there are adequate police numbers to integrate with the transit officers. Some of the figures show that there have been 114 assaults and a number of armed robberies across the Citytrain network in the six months leading up to April. People continue to have grave concerns about safety or hold negative perceptions of how safe they are travelling on certain services, and ultimately it is having more police who are able to support transit officers that will provide that real, as well as perceived, increase in public benefit through greater safety. There was only one officer added to the police Railway Squad in the past four years—that was in answer to questions we put in this place to the government—despite the number of passenger trips growing from 48 million to 62 million during the same time. The assault figures drive home how important it is to get serious about crime in and around the rail network. We believe that the Beattie- Bligh government needs to rethink its stance on safety and immediately boost police numbers on the rail network to increase commuter confidence and to provide that real backup support to the transit officers on these services. There were 53 officers in the police Railway Squad in 2004, and this figure has only increased to 54 in 2008. This dismal increase really calls into question the Bligh Labor government’s commitment to providing a safe public transport system for commuters. If the state Labor government is serious about ensuring more south-east Queenslanders catch trains to ease traffic congestion, it needs to provide a reliable and safe service, and that means having an appropriately resourced police Railway Squad. Queensland Rail is already suffering from serious safety culture concerns and overcrowding issues. This government cannot allow passenger safety problems to grow, adding another deterrent to the struggling public transport system. We support a public transport system that is properly integrated and properly resourced. I want to respond to the minister’s continual attacks on me with regard to another public transport issue in my own electorate, and I draw to the attention of the House that he still has not answered as to when we are going to get a safe upgrade to the Maroochydore bus station. This is probably the No. 1 safety issue and public transport issue within a range of issues on the Sunshine Coast. I have talked to the bus company and I have talked to passengers, and they have advised me how worried they are about this. They have told me that this is in fact creating a cap on future increases through this station, because there are only five bus bays available there and there are 40 bus movements through those five bus bays in Maroochydore. 3882 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008

That is an urgent issue. It was in the government’s budget—a couple of budgets ago; at least 18 months ago. The government was saying that it had allocated funding for this matter. Has it been spent? No. Is it causing a problem in regard to safety? Yes. There has to be additional staff employed—and I understand that has received government assistance—to try to watch these buses as they back out and then pull out again in what is a very busy area. I have written to the minister asking him to visit my electorate and see the area with me, to understand the on-the-ground safety issues and also to address the priority points of this upgrade of public transport on the Sunshine Coast. Perhaps the minister has been badly advised in regard to the issues relating to CoastConnect and the transit lanes through Alexandra Parade. The minister’s current proposals are about extending that particular section of the roadway through Alexandra Parade and Aerodrome Road to six lanes. That is the concern that has been expressed by the community and the businesspeople. It is amazing the wide range of people who are concerned about this issue. That concern cuts across party political lines and it cuts cross socio-demographic lines. I have talked to young surfers who are outraged because they know what this extension will mean for their access points to the beach. The public wants to see a treatment change to this road so that it becomes no longer a state controlled road. The public wants the road to go back to council control. They do not want an expansion of this particular corridor. The minister can mislead this House about what he believes in regard to the increased bus numbers and access to public transport, but he has to understand— Mr MICKEL: I rise to a point of order. I take offence to that. I have not misled the House and I ask for that to be withdrawn. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Hoolihan): Order! The minister has asked for a withdrawal. Miss SIMPSON: I will withdraw what he finds offensive, but I will state again: he has misled the parliament. Mr MICKEL: Mr Deputy Speaker, I asked for an unconditional withdrawal. Miss SIMPSON: I withdraw and I say the minister has not told the truth to this parliament in regard to CoastConnect and the six lanes through Alexandra Parade. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Member for Maroochydore! Mr MICKEL: I rise to a point of order. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have not ruled on your original point of order. Member for Maroochydore, you have been asked to withdraw the comments. A withdrawal in this House is unconditional. Miss SIMPSON: I withdraw. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you. Miss SIMPSON: In regard to the issue of CoastConnect, the minister has been badly advised— Mr MICKEL: I rise to a point of order. The member also said that I told an untruth. That is offensive and I ask that that comment be withdrawn. Miss SIMPSON: I withdraw, and I ask the minister: will he come today and— Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Member for Maroochydore, I have been fairly patient. I can find nothing in this bill that deals with CoastConnect on the Sunshine Coast. Miss SIMPSON: Mr Deputy Speaker, the bill has public transport provisions and it also deals with safety issues. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Please bring it back to dealing— Miss SIMPSON: And transport infrastructure. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you. Miss SIMPSON: In regard to the public transport issues, I take offence to the minister’s comments in parliament this morning, because they are not true. We want express bus lanes on the Sunshine Motorway, but when he talks about expanding— Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Maroochydore, you were just asked to withdraw a comment that the minister had told an untruth. You withdrew it unconditionally and in the next two to three sentences you then made the same suggestion about an untruth. Once the matter is withdrawn, would you kindly not refer to the matter again. Thank you. Miss SIMPSON: I withdraw. Let us get this quite right, or else I am going to be censored in this place. I need to be able to talk in this place about public transport safety issues and infrastructure. What the minister told this House I disagree with, because— Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Maroochydore— 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3883

Miss SIMPSON: What the minister has told this House— Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Maroochydore— Miss SIMPSON: With respect, Mr Deputy Speaker. I withdrew the comments the minister found offensive and I want to address public safety issues. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I am on my feet. Miss SIMPSON: With regard to public safety and transport infrastructure issues— Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Maroochydore, I will call it as order, or you will wait until I give— Miss SIMPSON: I seek your ruling, Mr Deputy Speaker. Am I able to talk about— Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Maroochydore, please resume your seat until I have made a ruling. You are quite free, as is every member of this House, to refer to public transport safety. You are not referring to public transport safety in what you say; you are referring directly to the minister in terms of some personal disenchantment. If you bring your comments back to the bill, then there is no difficulty. I would also remind you that there are standing orders that govern when a member takes their seat. Miss SIMPSON: This issue relates to public transport. Perhaps I can clarify it, for the benefit of the minister. If buses back over people, it is a public safety issue. That is the No. 1 problem with the public transport system on the Sunshine Coast. At this point, we have a situation where the major bus interchange for the whole of the Sunshine Coast is five bus bays, 40 bus movements within an hour. In addition, we have the Kawana Shoppingworld where there are also real safety issues with bus movements. Priority points need to be addressed. These issues are the ones that need to be implemented with solutions, not just today—they were, in fact, due to be implemented several years ago. Now, we have a real safety issue. Resolving the real problem has been delayed because of what the government is doing in regard to a poorly thought through approach as to where it puts bus lanes and as to where it wipes out substantial numbers of businesses and access points to the beach, which creates the other public safety issue of pedestrian safety. I appreciate that the minister may have been poorly advised on this matter, but I invite him—and I have invited him before in writing and I have not had a response in regard to that invitation—to come with me, meet with people, see the issue and understand the issue. The minister may think that he can turn around and say that we are against buses and public transport, but that is not true. We are about investing in appropriate infrastructure that respects the amenity of an area and delivers good outcomes for the whole of the public. That is what it needs to be. It is time there was an integrated transport network that took account of all of the issues and not just this situation where there is a continuing safety risk to the public with un-built infrastructure in the priority points, which are the bus interchanges. Let it be put on the record that the community has also lodged an e-petition on this issue. Once again, the government may continue to tell untruths to this House and misguide people as to the nature of the concerns, but I urge the government to put down its weapons, or its partisanship, and listen to the people—people who do not necessarily hold to one side of politics or the other, people who are united in their concerns. These people say they want enhanced public transport, but they want it to provide an enhancement to the amenity of their community as well. That is also going to be true in regard to many other communities. The transport minister and this government do not understand that you have to listen to communities. They do not understand that when bringing in additional services they have to also take into account the social and environmental impacts to ensure that the services meet all the criteria and that people are not just steamrolled and find themselves literally run over by a bus without any care or concern from the Bligh government. As I have said, this bill makes amendments to 11 acts. I have raised areas of concern and amendments that the opposition supports. I will address those issues further in consideration in detail. Mr JOHNSON (Gregory—LNP) (11.57 am): I rise to speak to the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008. I was not here yesterday to hear the shadow minister’s comments, but I certainly read her comments in Hansard and I have also listened to the remainder of her address this morning. This is very complex legislation and one that I can say at the outset I have a few concerns about. I certainly want to canvass those areas, if I can, with the honourable minister. One of those areas is the issue of passenger safety on the Queensland Rail network. I see in this bill that the minister wants to put in place rail officers to be able to conduct a safety audit so that they can make sure that passengers are safe in the environment they travel in with QR. I support this concept, but I do not support using such officers. I believe this is a role for officers of the Queensland Police Service. I hope that in the minister’s summary he would be able to give us some understanding of what sort of training these officers will receive. The minister said in his second reading speech that these people will be put through very well- defined checks. Certainly, if they have criminal records, or whatever, they will not measure up. 3884 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008

I have concerns about the type of enforcement personnel that will be used for rail and public transport. I hope that we do not see thug type people getting through the net into these positions. People do not get through the Queensland police net. The Queensland police carry out their surveillance very, very well. People wishing to join the police are subjected to very fine scrutiny. As far as I am concerned, the power to detain certainly goes over the top. This is a vitally important part of any sort of security or surveillance. I believe that it should be Queensland police who do this type of work. In the past I know that the Guardian Angels have been successful on certain lines in the urban rail system in Brisbane. I support the minister all the way in trying to make our rail operations safer, but I do question this aspect of it. I note that the shadow minister also made reference to this in her address.

It is very important to make public transport more desirable and I come back to the Queensland police. I think people will have a more confident approach to using urban trains late at night—or regardless of what time it is—if they know they are under the surveillance of Queensland police and not under the surveillance of a Queensland Rail squad. This brings me to the point of police presence. They are the ones who are trained professionally to detain people and put people through the courts if they do the wrong thing. This is an appropriate time for the minister to give an account of how he sees this working. With the screening process that will be put in place, there will be a better outcome if the police do the job. What concerns me is that someone always gets through the net in the screening process.

Another issue in this legislation that I want to canvass is the need to have national uniformity in relation to dangerous goods. I congratulate the minister for having the vision to work with the other jurisdictions on the issue of national uniformity. Many people believe that dangerous goods just travel on ships or on rail, but they do not; they can be travelling the streets of our cities or the highways of our state. Many people are not aware of how dangerous some of those goods are. I represent a mining area, as does the honourable Deputy Speaker, and we have a lot of heavy traffic going through our electorates on a regular daily basis. Many people do not understand the difficulties that a lot of those transport operators are subjected to. Many of those dangerous goods operators cannot park a semi- trailer, a B-double or a road train for that matter on a heavy vehicle pad where there are other vehicles in a rest capacity. This is a difficult situation. Many people take every truck for granted and do not show any courtesy to these heavy vehicles that are carrying dangerous goods. The Capricorn Highway in and out of Rockhampton and the road from Mount Isa through to Townsville are probably two of the roads most highly saturated with dangerous goods. There has to be a better advertisement campaign carried out to make sure that ordinary Joe and Mary Citizen understand fully that they are travelling on the same roads as dangerous goods. The general public needs to be made aware of the pressures that those drivers are under and that they have a right to use the roads, too. The issue of uniformity is certainly a good aspect of this legislation.

The other issue that I will touch on is rest areas for heavy vehicles. I congratulate the government on its initiative to put in place more rest areas for heavy vehicles, especially now that we are witnessing the change in the heavy vehicle driving regulations. There are now journey diaries rather than the old logbook regime. It comes back to driving hours and standards. I have canvassed on a couple of occasions with the minister the penalties that some of our drivers have been subjected to across the state. I have said it before and I will say it again here today that I believe the road transport industry operators in our state are amongst some of the safest drivers in the world. Many of these people do come from backgrounds where they do not have the education that some of us have had the pleasure of having. It is difficult for some of these drivers to accurately record in their journey diaries or logbooks some of the requirements. With the changeover from logbooks to journey diaries, it is paramount that if drivers still have a logbook they carry the governing paperwork so that whoever the apprehending officer is, whether it is a Queensland Transport officer or a Queensland police officer, they will know that the paperwork is right.

I put on the record today that there has been too much misunderstanding for too long about driving hours. We need to take a long hard look at driving hours and put it in perspective. How many times does one see a road train loaded at a certain point to go to a destination where the driver might have had all the necessary sleep or the necessary hours off and then finds that he runs into trouble loading and is still running into trouble down the road. If that driver is tired he will pull up and go to sleep regardless. If he is not tired I think we need some clause that allows these operators to drive in a safe environment with the hours in question. There has to be a panel in these books where these drivers can make a note of the reason why they have not pulled up. If a driver was pulled up in the middle of the day to go to sleep in the roaring hot sun and they had a load on and there was no way in the world they wanted to go to sleep or were ready to go to sleep, they will not sleep for five or six hours. They would not get the proper sleep anyway. We need to look at some aspects of this legislation to make certain that some of these people are allowed to operate in what they believe is a safe environment rather than what the legislation defines as a safe environment. It has always been a grey area and one that causes much angst and concern amongst operators. No-one is more against the violation of the road traffic laws than Iam. 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3885

Time and time again on the Capricorn Highway I have seen heavy vehicles travelling at all hours in the late afternoon going into twilight when I thought they should have been on the side of the road stopped. Some have police escorts, some do not. This causes me a great deal of concern. The real fact of the matter is that we have a situation where the ordinary travelling public who are not aware of the road conditions could find themselves in a very, very dangerous situation. To give an example, I believe that in the case of wide loads, especially, through the Drummond Range between Emerald and Alpha— 160 kilometres of hills and mountainous terrain—the pilot vehicle should be some three or four kilometres in front so that if there is a loaded semi-trailer or a couple in a caravan coming they have ample time to find a safe place to get off. The pilot vehicle being quarter or half a mile in front is not far enough. These are some of the safety implications that we are seeing. Safety has been compromised. Some of these vehicles are travelling too close to the load in question. I think this is an issue that we have to look at very closely. With the growth in the mining industry, every day we are seeing more and more wide loads in the north-west minerals province, in my area around the central highlands, in the Callide region and in the Charters Towers region. Especially through those mountainous areas, I think we can make our road system safer if we adopt some sort of policy like that. I still think there are a lot of people who do not understand their responsibilities in relation to the chain of responsibility. A lot of people say that it is the truck driver himself who is the bloke responsible. But the consignee is also responsible. I do not know how we get that message through. Some of these people have to be made aware of their responsibilities. I am sick and tired—and I am sure the minister is sick and tired, too—of seeing people subjected to abuse when a lot of the time it is not their fault at all. This does concern me. At the end of the day, I think companies have to make their people aware of the chain of responsibility and the importance of upholding the law so that we have a safer environment. At the same time, it will be the police and the transport inspectors who are continually blamed, but a lot of the time the chain of responsibility leads back to the consignee. I think this aspect of the legislation is still not comprehended by many people. Another aspect of this legislation is the open roads policy. I think this is a fantastic initiative and it cannot happen quickly enough. I do not know how many times I have been caught on one of these south-east Queensland roads. I got off a plane here one day at Eagle Farm and got a hire car to go up the coast. I think it took me three hours to get onto the Gateway heading north to the Bruce Highway because there was a car blocking one lane and there was all the traffic coming from the south. There was a tow truck driver there and a fire truck, I think. The police were there, too. I think they had just arrived. And here they were just standing on the road. If this had happened in Germany or somewhere like that, the authorities would have shoved that car off to the side of the road to let the traffic go. I could not see why the car could not have been pushed off to the side to allow the traffic to go. I see this on numerous occasions. I think this policy is a damn good initiative that will get a lot of support from the general public because time and time again we see cars that are stopped for whatever reason that could be just pushed over to the side of the road by a couple of motorists in order to let the traffic flow. These types of situations create an environment where we see people panic and at the end of the day accidents could result. But I think this is a good aspect of this legislation. The other issue I want to touch on is the Queensland Rail name change. QR was incorporated in July 2007 to QR Ltd. As a result of these changes, the bill amends references to Queensland Rail to QR Ltd in various acts. I pay tribute to Queensland Rail. Being a former minister, I think this is a wonderful organisation. It is an organisation that I think every Queenslander can be fiercely proud of. I am proud of it and I am proud of a lot of the objectives it has achieved. I still think there is a lot of work that has to be done, especially in the areas of small freight, livestock and coordination of trains et cetera. Recently there was a management hiccup in relation to the proposed closure of trucking facilities along the northern line, Madam Deputy Speaker Kiernan, of which you are also well aware. At the end of the day, better management practices have to be put in place. There has to be better coordination through the minister or the government of the day. After all, these are CSO operations and they play an integral part in meeting the ongoing needs of people in other areas of the state—not just the mining industry, not just the coal and mineral division and not just the heavy freight industry that runs mainly on that northern line. Those arteries to the west, the central west and the north-west do have a purpose. They certainly carry a lot of goods from time to time. They might not be of a profit-making venture but at the same time they create employment in the south-east corner or on the coast. It is paramount that we keep those operations going—namely, the cattle trains and the freight service that runs into some of those areas. Yesterday I received a letter from Mr Lance Hockridge, the Chief Executive Officer of Queensland Rail, informing me of the impending retirement or resignation from Queensland Rail of Stephen Cantwell. We in this state have been very blessed to have some very good people in QR. We had Vince O’Rourke as our CEO and then Bob Scheuber took over from him—a Queensland-grown product, as is Stephen Cantwell. We must wish these people well in their future endeavours. Stephen Cantwell has a 3886 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008 very good understanding of the network of QR. To lose these types of people from the organisation saddens me somewhat. Thirty-three years is a lifetime of work for many people. I know that Stephen spent a couple of his early years in QR in Longreach and in other parts of the state. I think that sort of background gave those people a very good understanding of the complexities of this great organisation and the future that it will have not only for Queensland but for Australia in general. The other aspect of this legislation I want to touch on is marine pollution. This is also a very good initiative. The Transport Operations (Marine Pollution) Act will be amended to bring the issue of sewage from operations outside of our domestic and Australianised traffic under the mantle of this legislation. I think this is a very important initiative. Many shipping operations from our international trading partners do not have the same set of guidelines as we do. In light of the pollution issue confronting the Great Barrier Reef and many of our waterways, this is a very important initiative and one that the government has to be applauded for. In my time as minister for transport I did a lot of work with Captain John Watkinson. I know that he is still in the department. It is people like Captain John Watkinson, who could have had a career path in private enterprise, that I believe Queensland has to be very grateful for. We should be grateful that people of that calibre and with that expertise have been a part of our government agencies and have given their whole professional life to an industry like the marine industry. A lot of people do not understand the marine area of Queensland Transport. It is a very complex area and one where we have to keep our guard up all the time. I remember the days when David Hamill and Jim Elder were minister and the ships of shame issue. We have to keep our shores clean. I believe this is one way of doing it. Time expired. Ms van LITSENBURG (Redcliffe—ALP) (12.17 pm): I rise to speak briefly in support of the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008. I particularly wish to support the amendments which improve TransLink services for my constituents and all commuters. I will provide some background to the amendments of this bill. The Queensland government initiative to develop the integrated TransLink network in the south- east corner has improved public transport right across south-east Queensland. In fact, it has increased the use of public transport in Redcliffe by 30 per cent. This is because, to ensure continuity and regularity of services around the peninsula, the Bligh government has contracted the local bus company to travel routes which they could not schedule as an independent bus service because they were not large enough to sustain routes which they saw as unprofitable. One ticket can now be used to catch the bus, get on the train to the Brisbane CBD and, if required, also get on the CityCat, all on a reduced ticket price. That is a huge step forward. Then earlier this year, the Bligh government surpassed that service by launching the go card which is a swipe card. It means that users of the TransLink system no longer have to buy tickets. The cost of a single trip is about 20 per cent less when using a go card, making it even easier to use public transport. This is great for my constituents, as the family budget is often tight. Since its launch, about 250,000 regular commuters are using the go card. As more people use the go card, buses need to stop for a shorter time and that means that more buses are on schedule more often. This will add efficiency to our public transport system as well as convenience for our commuters. This bill improves the effectiveness of TransLink services further by increasing security for commuters on public transport. TransLink transit officers will now be on buses and ferries as well as trains. They will work in partnership with police to ensure the travelling public are safe. They will also be able to detain fare evaders and exclude people from public transport who have previously committed offences on public transport. This bill adds the safety of all commuters to the suite of advantages the TransLink network offers Queenslanders, and I am sure it will reassure many of my constituents who are travelling long distances with TransLink. This bill, in line with the Bligh government’s plan for a fairer Queensland, enables a wider variety of Queenslanders to travel safely in the south-east. I thank Minister Mickel for the insightful amendments and I commend the bill to the House. Ms BARRY (Aspley—ALP) (12.22 pm): I too rise to support the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008. The bill makes a number of significant amendments that will make a real difference to the current transport legislation. The first amendment, which is the one I am very pleased about, is the introduction of new powers for TransLink transit officers. The bill also implements reforms related to the safe transport of dangerous goods. Another amendment, which is important particularly for the Aspley electorate, is the open roads amendment. With respect to the introduction of new powers for TransLink officers, the bill, firstly, extends the current powers of TransLink officers beyond the railways to all other TransLink services. Secondly, it enables TransLink transit officers to detain people who commit particular offences so they can be handed over to the relevant authorities like the police. Thirdly, it changes the law to allow courts to exclude from public transport people who have committed certain offences. 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3887

Currently, the legislation authorises TransLink officers to attend to trains, train stations and railway parks but it does not allow them such powers on busways, bus stations, car parks at bus stations, bus interchanges, ferries and ferry stations. This bill addresses that particular anomaly and it will now give authority for those TransLink officers to use reasonable force to attend to people who are misbehaving on trains, train stations, railway car parks, busways, ferries and ferry stations. If we are really serious about tackling traffic congestion in our city in particular, we need the travelling public to feel safe. That means they need to feel safe no matter what mode of public transport they are using. I want to use this opportunity to respond to an article that appeared in our local newspaper a number of months ago with respect to what I consider to be a scare campaign around the Bald Hills Railway Station. At the time, the report indicated how unsafe Bald Hills Railway Station was because a young man had been bashed. What the article in the newspaper failed to acknowledge was that the young man in question was actually assaulted—and that was wrong—at 2.30 in the morning, when indeed he would not have been waiting for a train. In response to that article, people became fearful about this railway station and unnecessarily so. So I got a report from the minister’s office on how Queensland Rail takes passenger safety and travel very seriously. It is interesting to note that the measures to combat crime on our public transport system are being constantly reviewed. The risk of passenger victimisation on the Citytrain network in particular is extremely low. It remains much lower on that property than it does across the general community. In fact, across the network, it accounts for only two to three per cent of such offences, but I know that the minister and his team are working on that two to three per cent. They are doing that through the use of a dedicated 54-member Police Service Railway Squad and 110 transit officers. Also, at least 40 per cent of Citytrain services after six o’clock have private security guards. With respect to the Bald Hills station itself, it has core safety zones which are clearly marked, and these are located on most station platforms. There is an enhanced level of lighting, and there are significant numbers of closed-circuit television cameras as well as emergency help phones. After six o’clock, officers from the Railway Squad are in a control centre to answer those phones if there are any problems whatsoever. Bald Hills is no different to a lot of the train stations across the network. There are some 6,000 CCTVs across the Citytrain network, and the Queensland government has allocated almost $10 million to upgrade those stations. In addition to that, a major upgrade is occurring at the Bald Hills Railway Station. The parliamentary secretary, Gary Fenlon, and I were out there recently and announced that a plan has been put together for a 184-space car park to be built on the southern side of the Bald Hills Railway Station. This is funded by the TransLink Transit Authority and it will feature drainage and lighting, it will have more closed-circuit televisions and it will have security fencing. It disturbs me immensely when there is scaremongering about stations like the Bald Hills Railway Station. This is a very busy, very well- used railway station that in my view is extremely safe for the travelling public. I would like to reiterate that the young man in question was assaulted at 2.30 in the morning, and I know he was not waiting for a Citytrain then. The other thing I particularly want to talk about is banning people from public transport. I think that is really important. If people are known offenders, we should have the right to be able to say to them that anybody who wishes to participate in that kind of behaviour will be banned. That will make a big difference and will be a great deterrent. I want to very quickly thank the minister for the attention to the open roads amendment. There is absolutely no doubt that when a load or a spill goes off on a road like Gympie Road or the Gympie arterial it can cause chaos for thousands and thousands of commuters. It is really important that the police have the capacity to move those loads. I commend the minister and his team for those amendments in this legislation. With those few words, I once again thank Minister Mickel and his team and I commend the bill to the House. Ms LEE LONG (Tablelands—ONP) (12.28 pm): I rise to speak to the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008. This bill proposes to amend eight pieces of legislation, including providing TransLink transit officers with powers of detention to be used where these officers deem it necessary in relation to the users of public transport. Transit officers who will be granted these new powers will be specially trained in ways to use this new authority to detain people. We have seen just this week legislation passed that gives ambulance officers the right to issue notices. Here we have similar powers being given to transit officers. I believe these jobs should be the responsibility of police officers. I do not believe that ordinary workers should be asked to become quasi-police officers. There are also amendments to the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 which relate to heavy vehicle driver fatigue laws which came into effect on 29 September 2008. These amendments will bring Queensland into line with national driver fatigue legislation and also national mass, dimension and loading legislation, which will override section 24 of the Queensland Criminal Code. The important thing here is to know that this state is taking on more and more national legislation which is overriding our own state laws, and I think that is a matter of great concern. 3888 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008

These national fatigue management changes to be adopted relate to driving while fatigued, driving outside prescribed work or rest hours, work diaries that are full, destroyed, lost or stolen and not reported, malfunctioning odometers and keeping inappropriate records. Drivers are expected to have knowledge through training and experience in all requirements relating to their industry. Defendants will not have access to the ‘mistake of fact’ defence, which currently exists under section 24 of the Queensland Criminal Code, as this government claims that to allow honest and reasonable but mistaken belief as a defence would undermine these reforms. The explanatory notes go further stating— ... if a person driving a heavy vehicle is shown to be impaired by fatigue then they should not be able to avoid liability simply because they mistakenly believed they were safe to drive. However, under the new national legislation for a number of offences the person charged will have access to the reasonable steps defence provided they can prove they did not know and could not reasonably have known of the breach and they took all reasonable steps, or there were no steps that could have been taken to prevent the breach. All parties involved in the chain of responsibility must ensure that heavy vehicle driver fatigue offences are prevented and must ensure they act with due diligence and care by taking proactive steps. The mass of a vehicle, its dimensions and the way in which its load is restrained are all critical to its safety. Again, the defence of honest and reasonable but mistaken belief will be cut out from Queensland laws, although the reasonable steps defence will apply as for fatigue. Offences will include drivers failing to comply with mass, dimension or loading requirements, and, for those in the chain of responsibility such as consignors, operators and the driver, failure to comply with container weight declaration provisions. Providing false and misleading information in transport documents will also be an offence. Operators are able to apply for two different types of fatigue management accreditation—either basic fatigue management or advanced fatigue management accreditation. Drivers who hold these accreditations are able to use more flexible hours than those using ‘standard’ driving hours. However, accredited drivers must carry copies of relevant documents at all times and, if not, influencing persons including the owner, operator or any other person who controls or directly influences the operation of a heavy vehicle will have to demonstrate that they have taken ‘reasonable steps’ or were not in a position of influence, or they too will be held liable. The carrying of these documents is to ensure enforcement officers can determine work and rest hour requirements for those drivers if and when they are investigated. Fatigue is claimed to be one of the main causes of crashes involving heavy vehicle drivers, but that understanding is not clear. In an earlier set of explanatory notes relating to a previous bill, it was stated— The precise contribution of fatigue in heavy vehicle crashes is difficult to isolate. Estimates range from about 12 per cent to over 60 per cent. Most fatigue experts consider the true figure to be 20 per cent to 30 per cent. I note the minister for main roads yesterday referred to fatigue related crashes making up some 16 per cent of heavy vehicle accidents. There is nothing in the explanatory notes of this bill to update or correct those very rubbery figures. I would have expected that legislation would be based on a far stronger understanding than ‘somewhere between 12 and 60 per cent’ of accidents. Clearly, much more research and much better understanding needs to be developed regarding this matter. Another issue is that, while new laws and requirements are being passed by the Bligh government to control fatigue, it continues to drop the ball in terms of taking sufficient concrete action to assist the industry. The Bligh government expects drivers to manage their fatigue and will bring down serious penalties on those who stray, yet refuses to provide sufficient rest areas and those which are provided are desperately inadequate. The minister for main roads yesterday said that more rest areas were on the way. That is good news, but the need far exceeds the 11 that will be provided by the state and the 15 provided by the federal government which were promised yesterday. It is a start, but 26 new rest areas will not do much for the massive road network stretching right across this massive state, especially given that many of the promised rest areas will not be built for up to six years or more. They— and more—were needed yesterday. Until adequate rest areas are provided, legislation like this being imposed on the trucking industry should not be introduced. Drivers are often expected to toilet in the bush, but earlier these sittings the Bligh government made that simple act an offence that can attract two penalty points, with police officers now being able to issue infringement notices which could cost drivers $200 each time. Surely that emphasises the fact that there need to be more facilities provided and that they should have been put in place before these kinds of offences were introduced. We have drivers being expected to do the physically impossible, which is just ridiculous. We need to remember that we are debating one of our most vital industries—road transport. It has taken on a greater and greater burden as this government has wound back rail services through corporatising what was essential infrastructure. Now rail is ruled by the profit motive, not the service motive, and it is no longer meeting the needs of vast areas of Queensland. I am personally aware of saleyards unable to access cattle wagons, for example. 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3889

It is true to say that truckies carry this state and this country. Their loads are growing, their equipment is becoming more expensive and sophisticated, and their jobs are becoming more difficult, yet they keep on keeping on. And they do so in the face of unrealistic rules and regulations on a road environment where even relieving yourself can be an offence. I conclude by emphasising that once again the Bligh government is legislating on a serious issue but is failing to put its money where its mouth is by continually not providing enough adequate rest stops to allow our transport operators to carry out their business in a safe manner. When it comes to the chain of responsibility for road safety, the responsibility rests with this government and, sadly, it is continually failing to meet its obligations. Mr MESSENGER (Burnett—LNP) (12.35 pm): The Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008 makes amendment to 11 pieces of legislation, the majority of which are related to transport operations. The focus of my contribution today will be on the proposed amendments to the Transport Infrastructure Act 1994. I will be looking firstly at the amendments to regulation No. 1 2007, section 285B and section 288. These changes are proposed in clauses 287, 288, 289 and 290 and will affect the management and assets of the port of Bundaberg situated in my electorate of Burnett. In summary, though, the Bundaberg Port Corporation has been taken over or has become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Port of Brisbane Corporation. In the explanatory notes it says that because the Port of Brisbane Corporation does not own or control the port facilities and land in the port of Bundaberg, it is unable to prepare a new land use plan or amend the existing one. That land use plan will be of a lot of interest in my electorate, because one of the uses for that land is to store coal before shipping. It is quite a contentious issue that has been raised in my electorate of Burnett. According to library research, the Bundaberg port authority was merged with the Brisbane port authority on 1 October 2007. The merger was driven by changes in the industry and the viability of Bundaberg as a stand-alone port with a throughput of 24 ships per annum compared with 2,600 for Brisbane. So there is quite a difference there. When you look at the cargo statistics for the Bundaberg port during the years 2003 to 2007, general cargo exports in 2003 were 2,632 tonnes. There were none in 2007. Sugar, which is the major exporter through the Bundaberg port, has gradually increased since 2003. You are looking at about 357,000 tonnes compared to 420,000 tonnes in 2007. This, however, is down on the historic levels that used to go through the port 10 or more years ago where I think you were looking at about 700,000 tonnes. There are other exports—cement clinker, molasses and petroleum. One prospect under merger was the possible diversion of freight from the port of Brisbane to the Bundaberg port. During the 2000 election campaign the minister for transport, Mr Lucas, announced that the government would launch a study to investigate a dedicated rail freight line north of the Burnett River to the port of Bundaberg to allow the port’s capacity to be expanded. As I have mentioned before, my community has been deeply affected by the takeover of the Bundaberg port by the Brisbane port authority. There is great concern, worry and heartache about the prospect of the Bundaberg port being used as a coal-loading facility. This was clearly expressed to me and probably to more than 200 other people at a community meeting at Burnett Heads. When they were asked whether they would like to see Bundaberg port used as a coal-loading facility, I think about six people put their hand up and about 200 people were against this proposal. I would like to quote a letter from one of my Burnett Heads residents, Terry Kelly. He has had a long association with the Bundaberg port. He was a member of the community association. He says— I agree with the recent letter from Rob Messenger, Member for Burnett, regard the fiasco of Northern Energy Corporation’s (NEC) proposal to ship coal through Port Bundaberg. At a public meeting at Burnett Heads our mayor, Cr. Lorraine Pyefinch, enthusiastically supported NEC despite the fact that no formal proposal from NEC has been lodged with Bundaberg Port Corporation. So what exactly is our Mayor supporting? Will NEC be the only company shipping coal or is this the thin edge of the wedge? Nobody knows! Last week at public consultation meetings with the Port of Brisbane planning staff, local residents were invited to comment on the new Land Use Plan— which is directly affected by this legislation— for the Port and Burnett Heads area. Manager of strategy and planning Jason Sprott confirmed that public support for the Land Use Plan was almost 100% except for coal, which nobody would support. This is hardly surprising. The local community is savvy enough to realise that the Port can continue to evolve with a mix of commercial shipping, seafood production, recreational craft and associated trades, plus future mixed use development which will benefit the whole community, or, the Port can ship a dirty commodity like coal. It’s one or the other; they cannot co-exist. I think it is a very good point that Mr Kelly makes. He continues— Perhaps our Mayor could reflect on the sometimes bitter battles fought for Fraser Island. Tourism versus timber. The new replacing the old. Who would have thought that a trickle of hippies would evolve into plane loads of tourists direct from Sydney and soon Melbourne? Mining is important to Australia and coal is critical to Queensland, but leave it to the big boys with the very big toys. We can do better without coal. 3890 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008

That is what Mr Terry Kelly from Burnett Heads said. I know that there have been suggestions that the Bundaberg port desperately needs a coal-loading facility to remain viable. I know that there are pressures from the new owners of the Bundaberg port to extract every cent that they can. Indirectly, the new owners are the Queensland government through the Port of Brisbane Corporation. I think there is a degree of hypocrisy in the Port of Brisbane Corporation putting the squeeze on the port of Bundaberg to make extra money when recent media articles highlight what could be called frivolous spending. Steven Wardill in an article said— The Port of Brisbane has defied an edict to rein in spending on salubrious soirees. The corporation’s bosses and business pals will down up to $40,000 worth of cocktails and canapes at a Christmas function tonight. He then goes on to write— Port of Brisbane chairman David Harrison will give a formal address at tonight’s function. State Treasurer Andrew Fraser last night defended the Port event. A spokesman said it satisfied the new guidelines and was the organisation’s only hospitality event over the new $5,000 threshold. It’s important for GOC’s to responsibly engage with key customers and prospective clients to maintain economic performance. His statement is at odds with those made last week when it was revealed that Queensland’s government-owned corporations went on a $1 million wining and dining bender last financial year, with the Port recording the biggest entertainment bill of $340,000. I would just like to note in this place that the Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Brisbane Corporation, Jeff Coleman, defended his parties to Steven Wardill by saying that ‘Unlike QR, the port did not receive government handouts and returned a $439 million profit for Queenslanders last year’. Ms Grace: Pretty big business. Mr MESSENGER: I will take that interjection. It is very good business but I worry about the extra pressure that is being placed on the port of Bundaberg to accept coal loading simply because it is needed to survive. I would suggest that it is not. There are better options than coal loading, especially in the amounts that are contained in the current proposals. Burnett Heads resident Tony Tubbenhauer—quite a famous man in Burnett Heads; a renowned Returned and Services League member and a decorated pilot in World War II—has written to me saying— Hi guys. You’ve both expressed opposition to coal loading at Port Bundaberg. Amen to that. So far all discussion about coaldust pollution seems to have been centred on Burnett Heads where the proposal has been given a nearly 100% thumbs-down. Thinking a bit outside the square, how far will coaldust travel? A resident, who has lived near a coal port, well 20 km’s away from it, says she was driven to distraction with it invading her home. Er, isn’t Bundy CBD about 13 km’s, as the crow flies, down that 80 km/h n.w. wind we’ve just had for days and which we’ll have from time to time over the next few months? Moore Park down the southeaster? Not to mention Bargara, Innes Park, Coral Cove, Elliot Heads. Will the dust obligingly drop out of the various winds at the B.H. boundary? Getting real, some 50,000+ people are in an area facing possible pollution. How will coaldust mix with turtle eggs? Two turtles have just nested here, one on the beach inside the harbour, the other one outside the seawall. And the 250+ that nested on Oaks Beach last year when they return? The melon and vege growers? The cane? The residents? I’ve sent a couple of letters about this to our daily and so far, no cigar. I note in the minister’s second reading speech that he says in relation to the Transport Infrastructure Act 1994 and busway transport infrastructure that the amendments support the government’s infrastructure strategy objectives and pave the way for future government investment in public transport. My message today is: please do not forget families in regional and rural areas. They desperately need public transport to maintain a decent standard of living, especially the elderly, sick people, single mums and working families. A great advocate for increased public services in Burnett is the South West Burnett Community Association. I commend president Margaret Doughty, treasurer Edwina Kelly and secretary Elizabeth Todd, who is a prolific letter writer and advocate for the community. The area representatives are: for Bonna Road, Roy and Joan Smith; for Parklands, Jack Todd; for Kentucky Blue Grass, Kim and Marlene Johnson; for South Bingera, Pat and Judy Hanvin; and for Givelda, Rachel Hill. They have made some very good points in correspondence with the minister over the years. They point out in one letter to the minister— 1. There are in excess of 1,000 residents west of Bundaberg in the region from Bonna Road along the south bank of the Burnett River through to the localities of Givelda and Electra and including the residential estates either side of the Isis Highway. 2. A large percentage of these residents are distributed throughout a rapidly expanding area in the localities or Branyan and South Bingera including the residential estates of Forest Park, Parklands, Kentucky Blue Grass and River Park. 3. Public transport to the west of Bundaberg currently terminates at the Central Queensland University campus. 4. There are a large number of elderly people and families with one car only who need to currently rely on others to provide transport when they need to go out to important appointments such as doctors, dentist, etc. 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3891

5. Our residents are allowed to use the school bus service in lieu of a public transport service but this is only available on school days. In addition, by the time that the bus gets to the estates closest to Bundaberg all seats are taken by school children and residents have to stand which is difficult for elderly people, mothers with young children, etc. 6. Without public transport our local children can’t participate in organised school holiday activities as parents often need to go to work and hence are not available to personally deliver and collect their children. 7. Our local children need access to facilities such as library & swimming pool to improve mental and physical abilities e.g. they need to be able to use the public pool to get fit and fight obesity. I noticed this morning that the Premier was speaking about that particular issue. Tied up in that issue is the obvious problem of public transport, especially for families in rural and regional areas. I have to congratulate the minister. We have advocated on this issue and we have had a positive reply, although it was not fixed overnight. In a letter once again from the South West Burnett Community Association, Ms Todd writes— We would like to thank you for your effort in communicating our community’s need for Public Transport to the Minister. Following the answer received by you that you kindly copied us on, we have received further communication via the Burnett Shire Council. That of course is amalgamated with the Bundaberg Regional Council. Ms Todd continues— While the initial response was in the negative, the minister informed us that our request had been passed on to Queensland Transport for investigation of a possible solution in the form of a demand responsive, flexible public transport service. Following the receipt of the correspondence from the minister we have contacted Queensland Transport directly to ask for an update on the progress of the investigation. This follow up has resulted in contact from a Mr. Rob Jones, Manager Bus & Ferry, who assures us that our request is being dealt with. A local operator who is willing to quote on the business has been located and a submission is expected in the near future. Subject to an acceptable proposition in terms of cost, Queensland Transport will support a 6 month trial. We are hopeful that a weekly or bi-weekly service will be offered. Your assistance with getting our request to the right place is much appreciated and hopefully we will see a satisfactory conclusion without a need for further need of your valuable time ... Of course, I do not mind speaking with the South West Burnett Community Association. That is my job. Once again, I thank the minister for his consideration of that request. The amendments to the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994 are aimed at enhancing the safety of commuters on public transport to manage offensive behaviour by providing TransLink transit officers with limited powers to detain persons who are found to be damaging public transport infrastructure or marking graffiti and using reasonable force to apprehend commuters from such services—that is, trains, buses and ferries—as well as from stations and stops. Many members have spoken about this particular issue. It is a concern that has been expressed through our shadow minister, and I want to offer my support for our shadow minister on this issue. Having to take this measure is an admission by this government that once again it has failed to plan, and it has failed to plan firstly for an increase in the number of people using our public transport system and a corresponding increase in police available to patrol our railways. Police are the right people to apprehend offenders and take them into custody and to use devices such as handcuffs and restraints. Currently, there are 54 sworn officers within the Queensland Police Service Railway Squad and just one police liaison officer. Commuters would be better served and public safety would be better served if we had a concerted effort to increase the number of officers—uniformed and covert surveillance—who patrolled our railways. Probably the best lesson I ever had was when I lived in New South Wales for six months many years ago and had to use its public transport system. You did not hop on the trains after five o’clock, and I fear that Queensland will eventually get to that stage. We have to crack down hard in order to stop that from happening. I note that only one piece of anecdotal evidence is presented in support of the need for transit officers to exercise measures of restraint and detain individuals in the event of an assault taking place or wilful damage of property. Furthermore, the Queensland police union along with the Queensland Law Society, Legal Aid and the Council for Civil Liberties were all opposed to giving transit officers more powers. It is their collective view that the powers to detain individuals should remain with the police force. Police Union President, Cameron Pope, was quoted in the Courier-Mail as saying that the idea was ill conceived and should be scrapped, as it was dangerous to give handcuffs and detention powers to anyone but trained police officers. He said— We do not believe that transit officers should have police powers, this is police work attempted to be done on the cheap. In fact, the majority of transit officers themselves, while they are all for improving security, have spoken out against this idea and do not want these increased powers and also claim that they were not consulted. Rail, Tram and Bus Union State Secretary Owen Doogan stated in the Courier-Mail on 2 May that the majority of transit officers were uncomfortable with the prospect of potentially arresting, searching and handcuffing people and were worried that they would lose their jobs if they refused. It was also pointed out by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union that transit officers were apprehensive about undertaking the six-month unarmed combat training course. Mr Reeves interjected. 3892 Ministerial Statement 27 Nov 2008

Mr MESSENGER: He continued—

There’s a small minority of transit officers who have indicated they would like the powers, but that certainly shouldn’t be a factor because a minority of a group of employees think it’s a good idea. I note the interjections from those opposite. They are there to represent the unions— Mr Reeves: And I speak to them personally! Mr MESSENGER: They do not like it when the unions have an opinion that is alternative to theirs. Mr Reeves: I can get on the phone and ring Owen now. Mr MESSENGER: Rather than giving transit officers more powers, what we would like to see is more police presence; the police have the training and appropriate powers to assist transit officers. The Australian Services Union also believes that there should be a significant boost in the police rail squad and states that the squad’s current staffing and response times are inadequate. I note in closing that a household survey indicated that less than five per cent of representation— Time expired. Debate, on motion of Mr Messenger, adjourned.

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT

Collinsville Hospital, Asbestos; Clean and Healthy Air for Gladstone Project

Hon. S ROBERTSON (Stretton—ALP) (Minister for Health) (12.55 pm), by leave: In relation to the issue of demolition works at the Collinsville Hospital that was the subject of a question earlier today, I can advise that Queensland Health is currently investigating concerns that asbestos has been identified on the Collinsville Hospital site. I am informed that asbestos has been found in samples of soil and broken pieces of fibrous cement wall sheeting taken from the Collinsville Hospital site. The asbestos contained in fibrous cement wall sheeting is considered a very low risk provided it is not disturbed. The soil samples containing asbestos were taken from off-site locations where the contractor, Watpac, disposed of surplus soil material from the hospital site. To date, no on-site soil sampling has identified asbestos. I repeat: to date, no on-site soil sampling has identified asbestos. It is believed the presence of asbestos is related to demolition work that was carried out many years ago and not connected with the work that Watpac has done in the last 13 to 14 months to build the new hospital and demolish the old male ward. Queensland Health has engaged environmental consultants Parsons Brinckerhoff to investigate and provide advice on how to best deal with the asbestos issue. Its occupational health and safety consultant has advised that, based on the current test results and information from the contractor and the distance of the new building from the area of confirmed asbestos, there is negligible risk to staff and patients at the hospital. Further air monitoring and soil sampling is being carried out by Parsons Brinckerhoff and, following testing and analysis of the results, it will report on the most appropriate means of dealing with the contamination. We expect this investigation to be completed next week. The safety and health of our staff, contractors and the community is our No. 1 priority and Queensland Health is taking action to safeguard their health and ensure that they are kept regularly informed. As a precaution, the area has been watered down and access has been restricted until the investigation sampling or remediation works are complete. It is important to remember that the mere presence of asbestos does not constitute a public health risk if people are not exposed to airborne fibres. We take concerns about asbestos very seriously and I will keep the House informed as to the progress of the investigation should any issues of concern arise. In closing, as I indicated this morning in my ministerial statement regarding the Clean and Healthy Air for Gladstone Project, I now table the interim report of the Health assessment phase 1: summary of data analysis from existing health data sets that has been released at midday today by Queensland Health.

Tabled paper: Document titled ‘Clean and Healthy Air for Gladstone Project Interim Report. Health Assessment Phase 1: Summary of data analysis from existing health data sets’, dated 27 November 2008. Sitting suspended from 12.59 pm to 2.30 pm. 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3893

TRANSPORT AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL

Second Reading Resumed from p. 3892, on motion of Mr Mickel— That the bill be now read a second time. Ms STRUTHERS (Algester—ALP) (2.30 pm): The public—all of us in this House—need safe public transport and safe roads, and all of us are determined to achieve both of those goals. I commend the minister and his staff for taking further steps, through this bill, to achieve even higher levels of safety on our roads and on our public transport systems. I want to comment on just two or three elements of this bill. Firstly, I want to comment on the increased powers that the bill gives to the TransLink transit officers. It appears that the bill will enable TransLink transit officers to detain people who commit particular offences so that they can be handed over to the police. Those officers are also able to use reasonable force. Through this bill, those officers are given a number of powers above and beyond what they have currently. It seems as though there are the appropriate checks and balances in the bill and within the officers’ working arrangements to ensure that these powers will not be used excessively. I again commend the minister for that. I think it is important that the public knows that there will be a watchful eye present when they travel on the trains. This bill extends those powers for transit officers to operate on other forms of public transport as well. All of us when we are travelling on public transport—and for a period earlier in the year I was using public transport quite excessively—feel a little unsafe at night, and it is important that people feel much safer. Even seeing etchings on the windows in trains or graffiti unnerves people. People I know who travel on public transport a lot want to be assured that there will be systems in place. Certainly, over the past few years a lot has been done to enhance public safety. So I certainly commend those provisions. According to the metro division of the International Association of Public Transport, the greatest threat to people’s use of public transport is fear about their safety. Obviously, people are also worried about services being on time and those sorts of things. As a government, we are determined to ensure that we increase patronage on public transport. We will not achieve that goal unless people know that public transport is safe. So this bill contains a very important measure. The other area that I wanted to comment on was the amendment that ensures national uniformity with the Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road and Rail. My electorate of Algester is a transport hub in that I have the Queensland Rail freight yards behind my office and also a lot of heavy transport vehicle users operate out of my area. In fact, people often comment to me that my area is the source of a lot of their road problems in that the trucks are emanating from the national rail yards and the transport operators who operate in my area. So I take responsibility for that: I have a lot of road users and rail operators in my area. Some people in my electorate—particularly some former Queensland Rail staff who live at Acacia Ridge and other suburbs in my area—are always on to me about dangerous goods. They are worried that things will be transported into that rail yard and at some point there will be an accident. Those old fellows are pretty worried. So I can reassure them that we are taking further steps to ensure there are enhanced provisions in relation to both road and rail to ensure the safe transportation of dangerous goods. Finally, I want to comment on the further steps that are being taken to manage driver fatigue for heavy vehicle users. As I said, I have a lot of heavy transport operators in my area. The vast majority of them are responsible operators who do the right thing, follow the law and make sure that drivers are not ‘flogged to death’. But it is so important that we continue to be vigilant in this area. It is evident from road crash statistics that heavy vehicles pose a much greater risk on our roads than do cars. For instance, relative to other classes of vehicles, heavy vehicles are significantly overrepresented in crashes causing fatalities. In 2006, heavy vehicles accounted for 10.3 per cent of fatal crashes while comprising only 2½ per cent of registered vehicles in Queensland. So we have a significant problem in relation to which we have to remain vigilant. Again, without going into the details of the bill, I certainly know that steps are being taken through this bill to enhance provisions to minimise driver fatigue. I also noted with interest that yesterday Minister Warren Pitt announced the 11 new rest areas in Queensland. I know that members on this side and the opposite side of the House have been pretty keen to ensure that we have more suitable—and more—rest areas around the state so that drivers can comply with the provisions of the legislation that we have been reforming over recent years and which we are taking further steps with in relation to this bill. So that was a welcome announcement. I commend the efforts of the minister to enhance public transport. I know that in the common area we share in Logan he has done a lot to try to get more public transport into that area, such as the park ’n’ ride at Park Ridge. I commend the minister for all of those initiatives. Knowing that the minister has 3894 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008 laid good groundwork in terms of public transport in that area, I welcome the opportunity to represent that area as part of the new, extended boundaries of my electorate of Algester. I commend the bill to the House. Mr FENLON (Greenslopes—ALP) (2.35 pm): I rise to speak in support of the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008. In particular, I would like to talk about the amendments that the bill makes to the Transport Planning and Coordination Act 1994 which ensure that infrastructure for active transport, which includes pedestrian paths, bikeways and end-of-trip facilities such as the recently opened King George Square cycle centre, showers, lockers and secure bicycle parking, is integrated into land use planning. The proposed amendments will allow Queensland Transport, in its capacity as a referral agency or an assessment manager under the Integrated Planning Act 1997, to place conditions of active transport on development applications. The government is a strong advocate of active transport. Aside from the obvious health and lifestyle benefits that are associated with walking and cycling, active transport is now an important part of congestion management. The recently opened Normanby pedestrian and cycle link, which connects the CBD with the inner-northern, southern and western suburbs, represents, at a cost of $17.1 million, a significant investment in our active transport network. The ongoing role of cycling is underpinned by the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program 2008-20, which provides for the allocation of $556 million in funding over 20 years for cycle network planning and infrastructure. The government’s investment in active transport infrastructure does not stop there. The Tank Street Bridge, which is scheduled for completion in September 2009, will provide additional dedicated access for pedestrians and cyclists between the CBD and the inner south at an expected cost of $63.3 million. The Tank Street Bridge will complement recent government investments in infrastructure, including the highly successful Goodwill Bridge, in providing for improved connectivity. The amendments in this bill in relation to active transport will ensure that the government is better able to protect its significant interests in active transport. They will also assist the government’s strategic intention to promote active transport. I would also like to refer to the amendments the bill makes to the Transport Planning and Coordination Act 1994 and the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 to clarify that a local government must first obtain the approval of Queensland Transport’s chief executive before changing the management of a local government road where there is, firstly, a significant public passenger transport route or, secondly, a possibility for the change to have a significant adverse impact on the provision of public passenger transport. The ability to adequately protect the transport corridors that form the backbone of our public passenger transport networks is essential if we are to provide maximum efficiency and reliability within the public transport system. This amendment will ensure that the government is able to protect these important transport corridors. Finally, I would like to refer to the amendments to the Transport Infrastructure Act 1994 which enable Queensland Transport to enter into commercial arrangements for the construction and/or management of a busway—something very dear to my heart and to the hearts of the members for Mansfield and Chatsworth—busway transport infrastructure, light rail or light rail infrastructure. These amendments will also provide for the accreditation of busway managers and extend the existing unlawful-access provisions for busways and light rail to associated busway and light rail transport infrastructure. The proposed amendments will support the government’s infrastructure strategy objectives and pave the way for investment in public transport infrastructure. This presents an important instrument for managing Queensland’s growing passenger transport task. Major new projects, including the planned development of the northern busway and the Gold Coast rapid transit project, are a reflection of the government’s commitment to investment in public transport infrastructure. I commend the bill to the House. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr O’Brien): I recognise in the public gallery staff, teachers and students from St Mary’s College Toowoomba in the electorate of Toowoomba South, represented in this parliament by Mr Mike Horan. Welcome to the parliament. Dr FLEGG (Moggill—LNP) (2.42 pm): I rise to speak to the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill. I have listened with interest to a number of speeches by other members here today in relation to the transport systems within their electorates. I am particularly disappointed when I see the emphasis on transportation going to areas that are regarded as politically sensitive. Areas such as the western suburbs of Brisbane have suffered severe neglect in transportation at the hands of this government. I represent one community of 5,000 people on the border of Brisbane and Ipswich who are not provided with any public transport—a 5,000-person community in Brisbane provided with no public transport by this government. A government member: What is Campbell Newman doing? Mrs Sullivan: What about the Brisbane City Council? What is Campbell doing about it? 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3895

Dr FLEGG: I hear the interjections from the members in the back row who have not heard of TransLink. Members will be aware that TransLink provides these services. This community is trying to do something on its own behalf. A local private bus provider provided a non-government bus service from Ipswich through Mount Crosby and linking into the rail system at Indooroopilly. I think most members of this House would applaud giving 5,000 residents of Brisbane an opportunity to be able to use public transport instead of buses to access the transport network within Brisbane. For the information of members I will table the route details, the timetable details and some information on that service which is called CityLink. Tabled paper: CityLink bus service, bus timetable and route map—Ipswich to Indooroopilly/Indooroopilly to Ipswich. The commuters who use that service have taken up a non-conforming petition which I table on their behalf. Tabled paper: Non-conforming petition in relation to a CityLink service connecting Ipswich regions, Chuwar, Karalee and Karana Downs directly to Indooroopilly. This petition calls on the state government to give some support to this particular service in order for it to remain functioning. Very few suburban bus services to and from Brisbane are viable without any sort of government assistance. I heard the member for Redcliffe in this very debate say that the viability of her bus services had been significantly improved by integrated ticketing because commuters could buy a ticket, hop on the bus and then connect in with the transport network in Brisbane. This is the very system that we would want to see servicing the Mount Crosby-Karalee area. It is not simply the electorate of Moggill that is affected; it is also the electorate of Ipswich West. This government has a responsibility to ensure that the residents of south-east Queensland have access to public transport. If a person does not have access to public transport their only transportation is a private car and guess where they end up? They end up on Moggill Road with the other tens of thousands of private cars that cannot move every morning and afternoon on that road because this government will not take seriously its responsibilities to provide and support public transport in Brisbane’s western suburbs. This bill covers a whole plethora of different bills and issues. I would like to say a few words in relation to a number of them. There is a segment in the bill about active transport. Once again most people on both sides of this House, if they were being fair, would support measures that would make cycling more accessible to the residents of south-east Queensland and safer for those of us who do venture out into the traffic on a bicycle. Yet in my electorate, which would have one of the largest demographics of people in Brisbane who use active transport, we are yet to have any cycling link. The major arterial roads in our area are state government roads, not Brisbane City Council roads. We are yet to have any safe cycling link between this area and Brisbane city. We have this enormous cycle network within Brisbane at a cost of $1 million plus and an entire community is kept disconnected and isolated without even so much as a bicycle shoulder or a bicycle lane, let alone a bikeway. If we are serious about active transport, if we are serious about giving people the opportunity to get out of a car and get on a bike and improve their health and reduce the cars on our roads, reduce the emissions and pollution on our roads, we have to give people a little bit of basic cycle infrastructure in order to achieve that goal. I note in the current study of the Kenmore bypass that is underway there is some consideration of a cycleway and I hope that we see— Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr O’Brien): Member for Moggill, I have given you a fair bit of latitude for these last five minutes but I do ask you to return to the provisions of the bill, please. Dr FLEGG: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. The bill makes provision for transport corridor protection. Within the electorate of Moggill we have one of Brisbane’s largest transport corridors, the Moggill Pocket subarterial, part of which comprises the Kenmore bypass. A significant issue in relation to the protection of this transport corridor is that the area simply does not have sufficient capacity for transportation—not just cars but buses, public transport and cycleways—to connect to Brisbane. We are talking about the largest geographic electorate within Brisbane, which has a transport corridor preserved as per the bill, which has no bus lane anywhere, no park ’n’ ride anywhere, and no cycle connection to Brisbane anywhere. It is one thing to preserve that transport corridor but it is another thing to ensure that the residents of south-east Queensland have reasonable access to transport alternatives. This morning in this place the Premier referred to the fact that she set targets for cycle use and she set targets for public transport use. Yet those targets cannot be achieved if people are not given the infrastructure and the services to utilise public transport and cycleways. The bill also refers to ensuring the delivery of the government’s transport infrastructure program, to quote from the minister’s second reading speech. We are across-the-board supportive of seeing significant improvement in public transport infrastructure. I come back to the point that if we are serious—and I have been battling this for the five years that I have been in this place—we are yet to see a single park ’n’ ride, we are yet to see a pedestrian crossing at most of the bus stops, we are yet to see any sort of a bus lane, we are yet to see any sort of a cycleway within this local area. It is all well and good to put these sorts of measures before the House that are supposed to improve the efficiency of transport and the provision of transport infrastructure, but we are just talking about it because nothing is happening on the ground. 3896 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008

If you travel in to Brisbane on the western suburbs rail line, there are no extra services, overcrowded trains, rundown platforms, lack of access, no park ’n’ ride facilities, no connectivity between buses and rail. So we are passing enabling legislation that refers to a whole raft of modes of transport, yet on the ground we are seeing absolutely nothing. With those few short comments, I leave with members the fact that passing this bill is one thing; ensuring improvements to public transport and cycle transport is another. The government has certainly failed that test in Brisbane’s west. Mrs ATTWOOD (Mount Ommaney—ALP) (2.52 pm): Mr Deputy Speaker— Mr Mickel: You’re going to tell us about the western suburbs, aren’t you? Mrs ATTWOOD: I am. I rise to support the amendments to the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994 which seek to improve the safety and security of the public transport network. Dr Flegg: You haven’t got a bus lane either. Mrs ATTWOOD: We are working on that, member for Moggill. For a long time graffiti has been a blight on our community in the western suburbs. It devalues property and has a link with other criminal activities occurring in the area. Residents who use the rail network have been appalled by the unsightly graffiti on noise barriers right along the rail corridor. When I was first elected I assisted to set up an antigraffiti group and for many years since two community heroes, Ann and Anthony Lanza, brought other members of the community together and worked hard to rid the area of graffiti and notify authorities of this vandalism. Now that the Lanzas have moved on, the local Rotary Club of Jindalee has taken over the task. I applaud the work of John Papas and his team of Rotary members who continue to fight the good fight against graffiti. This legislation will enhance the safety of commuters on public transport and manage offensive behaviour by providing TransLink transit officers with limited powers to detain persons who have committed or are committing offences against other passengers including assault, property damage or graffiti vandalism. We all know that community perceptions about the safety and security of public transport can influence choice of travel. Queensland Transport and TransLink aim to make personal safety of commuters a key priority to ensure that people have confidence in the system. This I believe will strongly influence the use of public transport. People often comment to me about the amount of investment happening around our suburbs in relation to public transport and road infrastructure. They only have to look at the work happening at Oxley Railway Station, the construction of the third track from Corinda to Darra and the work shortly to commence at Darra Railway Station. This government is building for the future to ensure that Queensland has enough services and is well prepared for a continually growing population in the years ahead. In Brisbane about 14 per cent of adults used public transport in 2006, a growth of around 22 per cent over the past decade. Public transport use in Brisbane in 2006 was higher than in most capital cities. As the local member for the Mount Ommaney electorate, I continue to lobby for enhanced public transport systems—more frequent rail and bus services, more parking facilities around railway stations and more bus services to meet rail timetables. On the other hand, we also need to be encouraging people to opt for public transport in preference to getting into their cars. We all look forward to a Western Busway into the city, with a proposal to upgrade the Centenary Motorway in the future. There are many reasons people state for not using public transport. Some of these include convenience, comfort and privacy, travel time, needing their car for other purposes such as transporting children to school or child care et cetera. I believe this government is endeavouring to make public transport the preferred option for travel but this I know will also take a change of mindset. Another aspect of this legislation is the amendments for clearing obstructions from roads. The amendments to the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 will ensure that delegated officers have access to a uniform and more efficient process for ensuring immobilised and abandoned vehicles and other objects are cleared from Queensland’s roads. This is particularly important in relation to the congestion issues on the Centenary Motorway. When there is one minor breakdown traffic is slowed to a snail’s pace, causing long delays for commuters of the western suburbs. In May this year I formed a local transport committee to make a submission to the Western Brisbane Transport Network Investigation study, WBTNI, in which we made many recommendations including the use of active transport. These amendments support the Queensland government’s policy and plans to promote active transport in Queensland. Active transport is a physical activity, most commonly walking or cycling, undertaken as a means of transport including as part of public transport trips. The focus of active transport is not on the recreational modes of transport—for example, for sport—but rather active transport as a means of travelling to and from a destination. The Centenary Motorway bikeway is a great example of encouraging active transport and is well utilised by early commuters as a means of travelling to work and for general recreation. The Centenary Bikeways Group is a strong advocate for making the most of our bikeway. 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3897

Providing transit officers with a limited power of detention as an effective way to increase safety and security and reduce troublemaking on Queensland railways is commendable. I commend the bill and support the minister in his activities. Mr GRAY (Gaven—ALP) (2.57 pm): The bill before the House today covers amendments which effect changes to many of the activities of the transport portfolio. Some of these will introduce a range of initiatives dealing with open roads, heavy vehicle fatigue management, dangerous goods transport, transport corridor protection, to name but a few. These areas in which I have an interest I will leave to others to debate. My sole interest in the bill today is the TransLink transit officer powers. The Transport and other Legislation Amendment Bill will amend the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994 to create a new class of authorised persons—that is, ‘authorised person (transit officer)’. It is these officers who will have the power to detain individuals who commit certain offences while on public transport or related infrastructure. Such offences will include wilful damage and occasioning bodily harm. These powers need to be balanced by appropriate checks including a rigorous criminal history check for individuals appointed to this new class of authorised person, as well as robust drug and alcohol testing procedures which may apply where transit officers exercise the new powers and may injure a person detained or the chief executive officer has reason to believe that an officer was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. These are sensible protections to be built into the act to provide protections for people from excessive or wrongful use of these new powers. I read in the research undertaken to address the issues in the bill about the investigation of transport officer powers in other jurisdictions, including Western Australia, where such officers have an extended range of powers, including that of pursuit from transit authority properties. I could not find that in the bill, so I ask the minister whether that will be contemplated sometime in the future—that is, they could actually pursue an offender from a railway property, bus property or whatever on to common land, which would normally be the purview of the police force. In 2007, I and a number of members of this House undertook a visit to Perth to investigate road tunnel construction, freeway construction and the rail transit security officer system. Might I give fulsome praise to the transit security system employed by the Western Australian government. It provides a useful and sound example that can be used as guidance in the introduction of these increased powers for Queensland transit officers. If those on the opposition benches gave it close examination, it would dismiss many of the fears they have expressed here today about any wrongful use of the powers these officers have. Western Australia certainly has done it well, and the security provisions within the Western Australian network are extremely good. I also congratulate the minister on the wide range of consultation undertaken in the preparation of the bill. The consultation draft of the bill was sent to the Queensland Police Service, the Queensland Law Society, TransLink, QP Ltd, Legal Aid Queensland, the Queensland Police Union, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union and the ASU. These organisations certainly raised their concerns, and their concerns have been addressed in great part in the final draft of this legislation. I must say that some concerns which seem vital and important to some organisations prove to not have the strength when applied. The need for additional transit officer powers is documented. Queensland Rail travellers have reflected their need for greater security, as we all have witnessed acts of adolescent stupidity, bravado and wilful damage of our transport infrastructure. I travel by train on a regular basis and on the vast majority of occasions I feel perfectly safe, even when returning home to the Gold Coast after witnessing the Wallabies being beaten by the All Blacks at Suncorp Stadium and being surrounded by All Blacks supporters while wearing a Wallaby jersey. That can be intimidating at times but I am always there for the Wallabies. Mr Bombolas: What about the Broncos? Mr GRAY: I am there for the Broncos as well but the Titans are a far better team. They just need time to prove it. I travel down to the Titans games on a regular basis and it is a very well behaved crowd with little— Mr Cripps: What position did you play? Mr GRAY: I locked the scrum in both games—Rugby League and Rugby Union. I was a much bigger boy in those days, Andrew, but I was nowhere near the size of you. Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Hoolihan): Order! I ask the member for Gaven to direct his comments through the chair. I also request that he refer to other members of the House by their designation. Mr GRAY: Thank you kindly. I take your direction. Never at any time did I feel afraid on the trains during these peak travel times. I spent three months travelling daily from the Gold Coast to Brisbane while doing a stint in another position at Education House a while ago, and never at any time did I feel afraid on trains during those peak travel times. I certainly witnessed the acts I referred to before when catching the train home late at night, which sometimes occurred. I witnessed adolescents and younger adults putting their feet on the seat—while that is not a major offence, it is something that annoyed the 3898 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008 hell out of me and, like many others, I often gipped some young guy for the indignity of what they were doing—denying others a seat, eating and drinking on the train and playing loud music. Even when the earphones were in their ears, you could hear their heads vibrating with the music. I see the wilful damage they cause and the graffiti which despoils our trains. Division 1 of the bill, which amends the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994, introduces a number of clauses covering the position of authorised person. Clause 217 establishes the position of a transit officer. The powers given to these TransLink transit officers include directing, and using reasonable force if necessary, people to leave trains, train stations, train station car parks, all bus and ferry route services, busway stations and car parks, major bus interchanges and ferry stations. The clause establishes a separate class of authorised persons—defined as an ‘authorised person (transit officer)’—who meet suitability criteria, physical and criminal history checks and QPS approved training. These people will then have the power, as I said, to detain people who are committing or have committed wilful damage or an assault on public transport and related infrastructure for handing over to the police. Transit officers will be able to use handcuffs on the detainees—and I am very pleased to see that provision—and search detainees for weapons or other illegal materials. The evasion of fares is a major concern. The crackdown on fare evasion in 2008—and I congratulate the department and TransLink on this—resulted in officers giving out warning notices to some 8,600 commuters and issuing 5,818 infringement notices and fines of $150 for fare evaders: more strength to their arm. I pay my way in this society and I have the expectation that all other members will do the same. This bill grants more powers to transit officers to deal with the parasites of society who evade fares, damage our trains and property, and threaten law-abiding citizens to satisfy their own twisted personas. I commend the bill to the House. Mr MALONE (Mirani—LNP) (3.07 pm): I rise to comment on the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill before the House this afternoon. I can only imagine what it would be like to have a bus service because I have to tell the House that in my electorate they are pretty rare on the ground. Any bus service is obviously better than none at all, and I particularly refer to the situation in Sarina where we had a HACC service but it appears that it was operating outside its guidelines. It was able to transport a number of elderly people to Mackay to see specialists and for hospital visits and professional visits, but in the last 12 months that HACC service has been taken away from the people of Sarina. Sarina has a fairly high population of elderly people and people who need specialist treatment from time to time. Losing that bus service has created some difficulties for those people who endeavour to live in their own homes. We have had fairly substantial and extended consultation with Queensland Transport to try to overcome some of those problems. We do have a limousine taxi service in Sarina. However, obviously that service cannot be hailed; it has to be booked. If there is a problem getting a booking for that limousine, we have to access a taxi service from Mackay and that has a delay of at least an hour. Sarina has 3,000 to 4,000 people living in the area, and there is quite an issue with the elderly people getting around the town so we are still proceeding on that. Hopefully, as we move forward with Mackay bus services initially putting some trial services on board, we might be able to work through the issue. The bill addresses dangerous goods, and there are certainly some good amendments to the act in relation to dangerous goods. The transport of fuel from the port of Mackay to the mining areas in the hinterland up the Peak Downs Highway is certainly of major concern. As I have mentioned before, the Peak Downs Highway goes through a suburb of Mackay called Walkerston. It is a narrow corridor through the town past two schools, two pubs and quite a substantial residential area. With possibly 30 B-double fuel tankers going through the area each day, it is becoming a concern. I understand the minister is about to announce a route for the Walkerston bypass on the Peak Downs Highway, and the week after the parliament rises hopefully I will be briefed on that route. The next step is securing the funding to build the bypass around Walkerston. In terms of the dangerous goods amendment, I see that there is an increase in insurance. I have to say that, with the possible downturn in the economy in Queensland, we have to be really careful that we do not impose extra costs on small businesses that will be difficult for them to absorb. Increases in registration, increases in insurance et cetera can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, so I raise that as an issue as we go through. In terms of heavy transport and fatigue of heavy vehicle drivers, I still have some real concerns. We have an area between Marlborough and Sarina where there really are not any areas for transport operators to pull over. There are certainly no toilets or showers except at Ilbilbie, which has a major fuel station. Quite frankly, that is a 2½- to 3-hour drive. A lot of transport operators have to stop in either Marlborough or possibly Ilbilbie. In terms of their driving record, that can either take them over or be an hour short. Under the current circumstances, you do not make money on a truck unless the wheels are turning. I am calling for a major truck stop or rest stop to be built somewhere between Marlborough and Sarina to cater for heavy vehicles. I think it is well past time. 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3899

I know this is a federal issue, but there are very few passing lanes in the stretch between Marlborough and Sarina. Once you pass Marlborough, it is virtually not until you reach Carmila that there are any double lanes. I think there is a real opportunity for the government, particularly the federal government, to put some funding into double-laning in quite substantial sections. Most of the road is reasonably flat, and it would not take a lot of effort to make parts of the highway dual-lane. Particularly during the grey nomad part of the year, when a substantial number of caravans travel that road, it becomes very frustrating for ordinary vehicles but more particularly heavy vehicles that are endeavouring to pass those slower caravans. We have had some pretty horrific accidents on that road between Marlborough and Sarina. I think there is a real opportunity to get in there and put in some double laning and a decent truck rest stop with toilets, showers et cetera. We have just passed through this House legislation that fines people for urinating in public. I do not know how those truckies will get on if they have to pull up. Maybe the minister can answer that. I see in the bill that police powers have been increased to allow them to clear the road in certain circumstances. I believe that is a step in the right direction. Hopefully that power can be used sensibly. We are seeing a number of accidents on the Bruce Highway. Sometimes the highway is closed for a number of hours at a time. Hopefully police with these new powers will be able to clear those accidents fairly quickly and get the crash vehicles off the road. It is a major impediment to the flow of traffic, particularly to people who are on time constraints travelling between Rockhampton and Mackay or who are travelling right through to Cairns. To be held up on the highway for five, six or seven hours at a time, particularly with young children, becomes a real issue. Hopefully the provisions in this bill will enable police to clear the road much more quickly. With those few comments, I commend the bill to the House. Mrs CUNNINGHAM (Gladstone—Ind) (3.14 pm): I rise to speak to the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill. I note that it does change a significant number of pieces of legislation. Perhaps what will have the greatest effect, particularly in the south-east corner, is the changes to the TransLink transit officers’ powers. Whilst I can understand the need for these powers, on reading the information available I believe it will be critically important for a high level of training to be given. These powers, particularly detention powers and search powers, will place those officers in a position of risk different from the one they are currently in. I note that in his second reading speech the minister stated that there will be a rigorous training program approved by the police commissioner. I think it is commendable that there will be a fairly strong selection process, a criminal history check with disqualifying criminal history, and criteria requiring transit officers to be physically and mentally fit, to be of good character and to complete this rigorous training program. That will be essential. I have some concerns about the search powers. The member for Gaven spoke about the search powers being for weapons and illicit drugs, and that is quite understandable. Any power allowing intrusiveness on another person has to be given very carefully and cautiously, and I place that concern on the record. The bill will also allow for these officers to remove people from the train and effectively give them a detaining power, although the minister has clarified that the government is not proposing to give the transit officers police-like arrest powers. For people in the community, particularly the ones who will be affected by these officers, that is how they will see it anyway. They will interpret it as that. As I said, that will place these officers in a new environment of risk. It will be critically important that transit officers given these powers have the right temperament as well. Previous speakers have talked about the ‘open roads’ legislation, which will allow officers to remove obstructions. I would hope that that is done in a way that is time conscious but also conscious of minimising any additional damage to whatever is blocking the roadway. There is a balance there, and I am sure that it will be of great value here in the south-east corner, where the blockage of one lane of a freeway during peak hour causes significant delays and significant difficulties. For more rural and regional areas, the problem may arise less often. The changes to heavy vehicle driver fatigue provisions I also believe are welcome. When this government and previous governments started to focus on the responsibility for drivers to manage fatigue, to have their proper rest breaks, anecdotally much was said about the fact that a lot of the drivers were not taking their breaks because they were pressured by transport owners and others to get their loads to the destination in the quickest possible time. Whilst there is a commercial pressure on drivers to be as prompt as possible it is critically important that those drivers look after themselves. The state government’s ad campaign is that when it comes to accidents at work it is not the workplace that is the most critical but getting the worker home to his or her family safely. The chain of command—that is, everybody in the company who has authority over the driver—is significant and important. Those people need to be held responsible so that they cannot either overtly or covertly put pressure on drivers to drive when they are really not in a fit condition to do so. 3900 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008

There are amendments to QR contained in the legislation. It will now be known as QR Ltd. Quite a number of instrumentalities that came under the control of departments and were subject to the oversight of the CMC will no longer be subject to that oversight. I bring to the minister’s attention the fact that these organisations do not have the same level of oversight. I certainly believe the community would like to see the CMC Act amended to reintroduce oversight by the CMC of these government owned corporations whose structure has changed. There are changes in terms of restrictions on state controlled roads. The bill allows the chief executive of Main Roads to make declarations restricting traffic on state controlled roads. That provision is welcome. It is an important safety matter. I believe that accompanying that power comes the responsibility to ensure that remediation is done promptly so that those transit corridors are re-opened as quickly as possible. Over the years much of our transportation, particularly in rural and regional Queensland, has been transferred from trains onto trucks. When corridors are restricted in terms of weight or the type of vehicles that can use them it significantly impacts on the transportation of commodities. The power to restrict access to our roads by weight or vehicle type is necessary but I believe that there needs to be remediation as promptly as possible. I will make a quick comment on the changes to the Transport Operations (Marine Pollution) Act 1995 and Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Act 1994. The minister, in his second reading speech, gives an explanation of the changes that are going to occur. He stated— This will enable Queensland’s legislation to reflect the current consolidated version of the convention, while also adding a number of offences that will further protect the marine environment from sewage. When I was on the Scrutiny of Legislation Committee it was regularly communicated to ministers and others that it is excellent when legislation is consolidated and a person subject to that legislation can get all the information by going to one place. That is a commendable provision. I wanted to raise the changes to the Anzac Day Act. They allow the trustees on the board to claim travel expenses when previously they could not. The provisions of the Anzac Day Act and the Anzac Day Trust were established to reflect the dignity and respect we have for returned service men and women. We recognise that some commerce was occurring on Anzac Day. The provisions provide for those companies to give a financial donation to assist the spouses and children of deceased returned service men and women. The minister in his second reading speech talks about the difficulty there was in trying to find people willing to volunteer their time when there was no reimbursement for travel costs. The legislation makes it clear that they still will not be able to claim any wages for their voluntary work but they will be allowed to claim travel expenses. Given the increases in the cost of travel over the last few years that is not an unreasonable thing to do. Finally, the changes to the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 will allow for the lodgement of certain forms by telephone. In a diversified state like ours that is a welcome provision. It would be much better if the minister opened up the WorkCover office in Gladstone again. Mr Mickel: It would be better if we never had to have WorkCover and never had any injuries. Mrs CUNNINGHAM: That is true. That would be the ultimate situation. A lot of folk have found it difficult because they have not been able to access WorkCover officers face to face. That is always the best way to deal with things. When those offices are closed it is a significant disadvantage to them. For those people who cannot get out and those people who live away from an office, lodgement by telephone will be convenient. I hope that when people make a lodgement they are told to make a note of the day, the time and the officer to whom they have spoken so they have a record of the lodgement that they made. If anything occurs they then have a paper trail of what they have done and what has occurred. The advantage of a paper lodgement is that people can take a copy and have a record of what has been done. I note there is some retrospectivity in this part of the legislation. It is stated that to remove doubt any application for compensation or application for review lodged by telephone prior to the commencement of this amendment will be taken as valid and in compliance with the act. That retrospectivity should be noted. I support the bill before the House. Mr REEVES (Mansfield—ALP) (3.26 pm): It gives me great pleasure to rise and speak in support of the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill. As people know, I have a great passion for transport, particularly public transport. I am the No. 1 ticket holder of the iconic South East Busway. I know the member for Southport is looking forward to the rapid transit project on the Gold Coast as it will be iconic as well. This bill provides new powers to TransLink transit officers. I and a number of other members went to Perth last June to look at public transport there. We had a good tour with transit officers as they are called there. Their advertising was very effective. They had posters that had a policeman on one half of 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3901 the body and a transit officer on the other half of the body. They said, ‘What is the difference between these people?’ That marketing campaign was very effective. People understood that transit officers have reasonable powers. I would not want to go as far as they have in terms of their powers. They actually have the power to prosecute people. I think that might be going a bit far. It is a very good idea to give our TransLink transit officers extra powers. At the moment officers on the railway, such as on the Cleveland line, have these powers. These powers will apply to transit officers on other TransLink services, whether they be on the South East Busway or in the future on the eastern busway that will go through the Chatsworth electorate. This is very important. We have the great go card that can be used across the different forms of transport. It is important to have sufficient safety and security across the whole transport spectrum so that people using it feel safe. Not only is the South East Busway efficient and effective but people who use it feel safe. I had the pleasure of taking the minister on a tour of the busway on his very first day as transport minister, and he saw the South East Busway at Garden City and Upper Mount Gravatt stations. I commend that part of the bill to the House. It is appropriate to extend the powers of authorised persons to use reasonable force. We cannot have a situation where they become lame-duck transit officers because they cannot use reasonable force, and I congratulate the minister for that. Another section of the bill that I want to address relates to the changes with regard to dangerous goods. I am very proud of the fact that one of my achievements during my time as the member for Mansfield was to transfer the dangerous goods route away from Mount Gravatt-Capalaba Road, although the signs are still there. The people of the Mansfield electorate were very appreciative of that and we will continue to work on issues like Mount Gravatt-Capalaba Road. Another part of the bill I want to speak to relates to the open roads policy. Traffic incident management is a key priority for this government and for road and traffic agencies across Queensland. On behalf of the minister for main roads, I had the pleasure to launch the RACQ tow trucks at Eight Mile Plains—that is, if a car breaks down they can pick the car up and move it. This legislation takes it to the next step—that is, moving heavy vehicles. The bill ensures that delegated officers have the power to order the moving or removal of a vehicle or any other object from the road where it is causing an obstruction to the traffic. Let us take the case of when a person is caught on the Gateway when there is just one accident. It is important that the vehicles involved in that accident can be moved—and in fact it is probably an even more crucial situation at the moment because most of that road is two lanes with no shoulders because of the construction work going on. It is vital that if an accident occurs or a truck breaks down it is moved as soon as possible. Some protesters even decided to park trucks on the Gateway. Everyone is entitled to their democratic right, but not to the extent that it causes the inconvenience that that action did. I congratulate the minister for that part of the bill also. The last part of the bill that I want to address as Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier with special responsibility for veterans relates to the couple of small changes to the Anzac Day Act 1995. One of the changes is that the trust is presided over by a board of trustees. However, the trustees who work on a voluntary, unpaid basis unfortunately have not been able to claim for reimbursement of travel expenses to attend trust meetings. This is a sensible change contained in the bill. I want to congratulate everybody who contributes to the Anzac Day Trust. Obviously the state government is the major contributor to the Anzac Day Trust, but some of the theme parks on the Gold Coast contribute to it, as do licensed clubs and hotels. One campaign that I will be promoting is to encourage any business that trades on Anzac Day, now that they have the right to do that, to contribute to the Anzac Day Trust. I note that a well-known company often uses Anzac Day to promote the fact that it gives a free coffee to veterans—and everyone knows the company I am talking about—but I would like to see it contribute to the Anzac Day Trust. It is all very well for it to use Anzac Day to market its product—that is, McDonald’s—but I would like to see it contribute a lot more to the Anzac Day Trust, and I call on all businesses that trade on Anzac Day to do the same. Society has changed. Today’s society calls for shops and entertainment services to be open, particularly after one o’clock. That is the way society has developed. But those businesses will be profiting on that day, and I call on them to make more contributions to the Anzac Day Trust. The Anzac Day Trust provides great services for those who need it—the veterans and their widows and their families. I take this opportunity during debate on this legislation to encourage businesses to do the right thing, particularly those that capitalise on Anzac Day for profit in terms of their marketing. It is about time they put their money where their marketing dollars are. I commend the bill to the House. Ms GRACE (Brisbane Central—ALP) (3.34 pm): I rise to support the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008 and, in so doing, note that the legislative changes included in this bill will bring about a number of reforms to improve the transport and industrial relations sectors. I want to firstly touch on the issue of safety and say that of course safety on our transport system is paramount for 3902 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008 the government, and it is therefore most relevant that this bill introduces new powers for TransLink transit officers at the same time that the government is making record investments to meet Queensland’s current and future transport challenges. The commitment to public transport safety and security is paramount, and this is mainly due to the firm belief that the public in Queensland expects, and indeed deserves, to travel in a safe and secure environment. This bill contains three main initiatives to improve public transport safety and security, and I will go through those three initiatives. Firstly, TransLink transit officers will have their current powers extended beyond the railways to all other TransLink services. This will mean that the whole of the TransLink public transport network will now be covered, enabling the very important work of TransLink transit officers to be undertaken on all elements of public transport, therefore of course making it much safer for the travelling public. Secondly, TransLink transit officers will work in partnership with police and will be given extra powers to detain people who commit particular offences so that they can be handed over to the police. It is great to see that this cooperative approach is being embarked upon. Thirdly, the bill gives the power to the courts to exclude from public transport people who have committed certain offences on the public transport system. I indeed support the extension and the use of these powers, particularly so in all of the other areas of public transport. Buses and busways, stations and car parks, interchanges, ferries and ferry stations will all now be covered. This is also in recognition of the need to have these areas safe and secure, just like our railroads are. I also welcome the inclusion of provisions relating to reasonable force for fare evaders and troublemakers in relation to a vast number of offences that are included in this bill. This will give these officers the ability to deal with serious offences which may also happen from time to time. For example, I do not think we are going to be making police officers out of these officers, with arrest powers, but we are giving them the ability to detain for further action by the police in cases such as committing assault, assault relating to stealing, wilful damage or sexual offences. It is imperative that we give these powers in order for the police to then come along and assist these officers with what they need to do. The bill incorporates safeguards, checks and balances and ensures that the transit officers will only be allowed to use these powers after undergoing a high-level assessment and training process. It is imperative that that is included in the bill, and it is good to see that the minister has ensured that if we give these powers they are going to be handled in a responsible and able manner. Transit officers must successfully complete the assessment process before they can be appointed as an authorised person and then be able to use these detention powers. The extension of powers is also necessary to enforce court orders that may ban certain persons from using public transport, and allowing them to be detained and handed over to the police for breaching a court order is a practical and sensible step in the right direction. I now want to turn my attention to the open roads initiative which is also included in this bill, because it allows the government to tackle traffic congestion head-on and is also a key priority of this government. The legislation gives officers the ability to confidently and quickly deal with stricken vehicles and other objects that may be causing an obstruction or hazard on our roads. Amendment to the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 and the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 will strengthen the ability of officers to remedy congestion-making hazards on our roads. This is mainly due because in the past there has been an uncertainty regarding the extent of powers to clear roads of disabled vehicles, spilled cargo or other hazards that may find themselves on our roads. These hazards were often left until consent to remove them could be obtained. We know that when these hazards are on the road the prime objective is to get them off the road and make the road safe as soon as possible. Obviously, in order to stop the congestion, we need to give the officers the confidence that they can go ahead with their duties. I think the minister is really on the right track in ensuring that these hazards are not left lying around and that we give the officers the ability to do their job to clear the roads and make them safe. I also fully support and endorse the amendments contained in this bill that further tackle the issue of heavy vehicle driver fatigue. In terms of safety on our roads, I think this is definitely a step in the right direction. As we all know in this House, the proper and sophisticated management of fatigue by heavy vehicle drivers is essential for road safety not only for the drivers but also for all road users. As a package, I fully support the amendments and the new regulation that encourages all parties—and I stress all parties—in the road freight industry to improve and continue to manage driver fatigue issues in a robust and proactive manner. For example, we hope that this will ensure—and I am sure the legislation will bring this about—that drivers carry appropriate fatigue management documentation. The bill gives authorised officers limited powers to require heavy vehicle drivers to take certain action in certain circumstances and, for example, if we find that heavy vehicle drivers have been driving for too long, to order them to immediately take a rest break. The bill will also ensure that heavy vehicles are appropriately and safely loaded. Having now the open roads policy by which we can clear the roads of hazards, it is important that we also put into practice measures to ensure that these things 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3903 do not fall onto our roads in the first place. It is good to see that proactive management of how heavy vehicles are loaded will also take place. That reinforces that all parties in the chain of responsibility take appropriate action and steps to ensure the safety of drivers and the users of our roads. It is important that they are aware and address all issues relating to driver fatigue. In these situations, the reasonable steps defence is most important and appropriate. Under this legislation you cannot have the situation where a driver wants to do the right thing but obviously the employer is not allowing that driver to do the right thing because of the unnecessary and undue demands that are being put on the driver to deliver goods within a specific time period. Equally, if the employer gives ample time, then it is up to the driver to manage that time appropriately so that driver fatigue and making the roads less safe for those users is not something that they are participating in. I would like to further note the changes the bill makes to the Building and Construction Industry (Portable Long Service Leave) Act 1991, which relate to the capping of weekly payments in order to ensure the viability and security of these benefits for all building workers. Portable long service leave in the building industry is a success story of this government. It has given workers in that industry long service leave entitlements that they never had before. I commend the minister for taking the necessary steps to ensure that all workers benefit from the portable long service leave provisions. In conclusion, I also support the changes to the WorkCover legislation that are encapsulated in this bill which will now allow the lodgement of certain forms by telephone. Having had extensive experience in this area, I know how important it is for some workers, who cannot physically or are unable to lodge a claim form in person, to be able to do that. It is much easier for those workers to do it by telephone. I believe this is a most sensible amendment. This bill now allows the lodgement of certain approved forms by telephone or by another way acceptable to the receiver of the forms. This amendment will cut red tape, expedite claim decision times and put in place administrative efficiencies which, in turn, is good news for the most vulnerable in our workplace community, injured workers, and their families. It will help them through these hard times. I commend the bill to the House. Mr SEENEY (Callide—LNP) (3.44 pm): I rise to make a contribution to the debate on the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill, which is being considered by the parliament this afternoon. A number of speakers have already mentioned the provisions of this bill that deal with granting the ability to authorised officers to clear accident debris from the road to allow the resumption of the usual traffic flows. For some time this issue has been the cause of some consternation for a lot of us—not just here in an urban area but also in more regional and rural areas. I am aware of a number of incidents where constituents of mine and members of the general public have been inconvenienced in quite an unacceptable way owing to the time it has taken to clear accidents from roads to allow the usual traffic flow to resume. I think the amendments that are contained in this bill before the House will go a long way to addressing that issue, which has been a problem for a number of years. It is good to see those provisions in this legislation. A number of speakers have also made comments about the provisions within this bill that relate to public transport, and it is that issue of public transport that I want to talk about in my contribution in the consideration of this bill, particularly as it relates to my electorate. My electorate of Callide is unique in that it does not have a major centre as such; it has 12 small communities scattered across the electorate and all of them suffer from a lack of public transport. This is a considerable issue for those people who live in those smaller communities and who have to access medical treatment or a range of other services that are increasingly offered only in the larger regional centres. The fact that there is no public transport available causes an enormous problem for those people who do not have access to their own car or who have become so aged and infirm that they cannot make the trip that is involved. A number of speakers who represent urban areas have spoken about how important public transport is to the people in their electorates and how important it is, as this bill sets out, that people should be able to feel safe and secure using that public transport. Those arguments are equally applicable when applied to my constituents who seek to make use of public transport to make trips to major regional centres. My constituents also need to be able to feel safe and secure in doing that. But first of all, they need the opportunity to do so. There is a grave need for a small amount, or equivalent, of the money that the government spends on subsidising bus services, such as the member for Mansfield spoke about—and he speaks quite often about the busway that he is so fond of that leads to his electorate—to be spent to ensure that my constituents, who live in small rural communities, have access to at least basic public transport. Public transport that provides a service once a week would be a huge improvement so that people from communities such as Monto, Mundubbera and Gayndah can get to places such as Bundaberg and Maryborough to access hospital services that are increasingly offered only in those larger regional centres. Communities across the South Burnett like Murgon and Wondai, where people need to get to Toowoomba or Nambour where the major hospitals are, do not have access to a once-a-week bus service. While we take bus services in urban areas for granted—and they are important; I am not taking away for a second the importance of the bus services that a whole range of members, including the member for Mansfield, have spoken about—they are equally important to small rural communities. And 3904 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008 so it is with taxi services. I think one of the most underestimated services within small communities is the ability to access a taxi service. It is incredibly difficult for taxi operators to operate profitably in small communities, because of a number of fairly obvious factors. The population base of a small community means that there is not a consistency of work to the same extent that taxi operators in large urban centres are able to access and the distances that are involved in the trips that taxis are engaged to undertake when those taxi services are available are considerably shorter. Therefore, it is a lot harder for the taxi operator to make the business pay. In recent times the government has made subsidies available for wheelchair accessible taxis to people who own taxi licences in some of those smaller communities. That move is to be commended. In terms of providing the public transport options that so many people in larger areas take for granted, I believe that the government should be looking at ensuring that taxi licences are available in those smaller communities—not just available for purchase, but it would be a fitting use of public money to ensure that people are able to operate those taxis on an ongoing basis and provide the services that are so important to people who live in those small communities and who need just the very basic access to public transport. While I have sat here this afternoon and listened to a number of members talk about the importance of public transport in Brisbane—in Mansfield and Brisbane Central and a whole range of other electorates where people have quite rightly indicated the importance of public transport and the need for their constituents to feel safe using that public transport—there is also another urgent need that I believe the government should address and that is to make sure that people in smaller rural communities have access to basic public transport to be able to access the services that are important to them. The other part of this bill that I wanted to make a passing reference to was the fatigue provisions that relate to heavy transport operators and the changes that this bill brings about. As was indicated in the minister’s second reading speech, this is a process that has a number of parts and is aimed at achieving national consistency. I echo the words of the member for Gladstone in her contribution when she said that we have to be very careful about how these powers are exercised and that the training that is provided to people who are given the role of exercising those powers is very important. As a local member I have dealt with a number of very dissatisfied transport operators in regard to their interaction with officers of the transport department. I think that is probably true for every member who represents a regional area where heavy transport operators are an essential part of the community. In almost every case that I have dealt with it has come down to personalities rather than regulations—it comes down to how the transport department officer and the heavy transport operator interact. The potential for a personality clash to lead to a very unsatisfactory outcome is very real. The government cannot do much about the heavy transport operators, but it can certainly ensure that the officers within the transport department who are given the responsibility to enforce this legislation are properly trained and are capable of dealing with the wide range of interactions they will encounter in implementing this legislation. Nobody doubts for a moment that there is broad community support for the concept of ensuring that heavy vehicle operators manage the fatigue issue very well and that there is not provision for irresponsible operators to present a danger to other road users. I certainly support that concept. Nobody doubts that or detracts from the necessity for the government to ensure that regulation is in place to protect other road users from heavy vehicle operators who may like to ignore the fatigue issue. In regulating the fatigue issue, in enforcing the legislation, part of which is before the House this afternoon, there is an enormous responsibility, I believe, on the part of the minister and the department to ensure that the officers who are given those powers and responsibilities have a high level of understanding of the situation that they are asked to work within and a very high level of regard for the people who they have to work with. There have been comparisons made between these transport officers and police officers. If we look at the training that is given to police officers before they are put out in the community to exercise the powers that they exercise on behalf of us all, I believe it is a good comparison with the level of training that should be available to transport department officers. Transport officers should receive, perhaps not an equivalent level of training, but training similar to that which police officers receive. This will enable them to deal with the wide range of situations and personalities they will encounter when interacting with heavy transport operators. If mutual regard is displayed I think that many of the issues that I have had to deal with as a local member can be overcome. There are people who do the wrong thing on both sides. There are undoubtedly heavy transport operators who need to be regulated. In my experience there have also been some departmental officers who have pushed to the very limit the regulations which they are given the responsibility to discharge. It is their responsibility to ensure that they and the heavy vehicle operators act responsibly. I commend the minister for the provisions in this bill which address the longstanding issue of ensuring that normal traffic flow is resumed as soon as possible after accidents. I urge him to be aware of the need for public transport in small rural communities and to recognise it as being just as important as the need for public transport in the large urban centres. I say again that just a very small proportion of 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3905 the amount of money that the state government spends subsidising the busway to Mansfield would be more than welcome in the electorate of Callide and would provide a basic public transport system to the people that I represent. Mrs MILLER (Bundamba—ALP) (3.57 pm): I rise in support of the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill. Many people in the Ipswich area catch trains to and from work, to and from school and to and from the Ipswich and Brisbane hospitals. Ipswich people generally love their trains. They are great supporters of Queensland Rail and the Redbank Railway Workshops which is right in the middle of the great electorate of Bundamba. In our area you either are related to someone who works for Queensland Rail or you know someone who is in its employ. I would also like to place on record my thanks to the workers at Queensland Rail, nearly all of whom are members of our great trade union movement. I know that our people will be very supportive of the extension of powers for TransLink officers that is contained within this bill. TransLink transit officers will be able to direct people, with the use of reasonable force if necessary, to leave trains, stations and also railway station car parks and busway stations. This is an important amendment with the aim of making passenger safety a top priority. The community will have increased confidence in the transit officers knowing that they have had several checks undertaken, including a criminal history check, are of good character and also have had mental and physical fitness checks. These are important HR checks. It is important to note that these officers will be well trained as they have to complete a training course approved by the Commissioner of Police. Transit officers are required not to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol whilst at work. This is common sense and common across many occupations. Over the years since I have been the state MP for Bundamba, the Bundamba station has been upgraded. I am very pleased to report that artwork has been supplied to the station by the Bundamba State Secondary College and also Bundamba State School. Ebbw Vale station has also had new fences and the stationmaster house has been removed because it was unnecessary. The Dinmore Railway Station has had upgraded car parks, and there are more on the way next year following the finalisation of plans for the Ipswich Motorway. This car park is full every day, and I would be very grateful if the minister could fit it into his busy schedule to visit this car park and surrounding streets to see firsthand the need for the expansion works to proceed as soon as possible. I am aware that the Riverview car-parking situation is in the medium-term planning of TransLink, and I thank them for their consideration of an expansion of Riverview. Redbank is also a very popular station for the park ’n’ ride. Every time we build more station car parks at Redbank they fill up within a couple of days. So we need more car parking at Redbank and also at Goodna, which is an ideal location for a transport oriented development. I am working with Councillor Paul Tully in relation to having Mill Street and other local streets near the railway station marked for car parking for rail travellers. Redbank Railway Station has had a near total makeover, with the new station headquarters, new lifts and the retainment of the historic building as the police Railway Squad headquarters. The artwork at the station was completed by students of Redbank State School. Goodna station has also had new lifts installed. It is a very busy station, with many people catching the buses to connect with the trains. In our area we strongly support safe, frequent rail travel. We strongly support the police Railway Squad at Redbank and the TransLink officers’ increased powers. At the appropriate time I would also ask that consideration be given to the timetables for trains to and from Ipswich. Many passengers have requested that the express trains run express from Goodna into Roma Street or the city and the same on the return run. These trains could even be called the ‘Ipswich Express’. I am sure that patronage will further increase if this could be made a reality. I thank the minister for listening to our local people and also for his dedication to public safety. I commend the bill to the House. Mr LANGBROEK (Surfers Paradise—LNP) (4.01 pm): I am pleased to contribute to the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008. This is an extensive bill which amends a raft of laws pertaining to transport and road safety and acts incidental to achieving those objectives. In the interests of time, I wish to focus my contribution on two aspects of the bill, specifically part 6 of the bill giving transit officers power to detain a person—which I note the opposition will be opposing—and part 9 of the bill pertaining to rapid transit. One of the most significant policies of the bill pertains to transit officers. Division 1 of the bill seeks to give transit officers the power to detain a person who has committed an offence. Section 129A(2) states that a transit officer may detain a person, using force that is reasonably necessary for the purpose, until the person can be delivered to a police officer. This has a considerable impact on the power of our transit officers. Currently transit officers have the power to require tickets to be produced by passengers and to direct a person to leave a public transport vehicle if the person does not have a fare. Transit officers are also empowered with the ability to inquire about personal particulars for the purposes of issuing infringement notices. This is in addition to the general liberties of citizens which are protected by the common law, the criminal law and the law of torts. 3906 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008

This bill proposes to augment these powers by authorising transit officers to detain passengers for the purpose of law enforcement. Essentially, the bill creates a quasi police force of public servants conferred with powers usually reserved for a special section of the community—namely, the Queensland Police Service. The Police Powers and Responsibilities Act was necessarily enacted to give Queensland police powers beyond those of the ordinary citizen. Central to this is the power to detain offenders where an offence has taken place, is currently taking place or is about to take place, based on a reasonable belief. These powers are enumerated and closely observed. Indeed, if the procedures set out by parliament in the act are not followed by police officers, it can be fatal to the case against the offender. We have seen this in a number of cases in Queensland—and indeed cases handed down from the High Court—where offenders found to be guilty beyond reasonable doubt have had their sentences quashed by the court because the requisite procedures were not observed. These cases invariably involve public outcry and questions of how guilty offenders are freed by a technicality. It is an example of the value the law places on the liberties of the person. Indeed, Australia’s commitment to upholding basic individual freedoms was formally recognised by the ratification of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 9(1) states— Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law. As a result of this principle, procedures pertaining to deprivation of liberty are necessarily heavily regulated. These principles provide the rationale as to why police must observe closely the explicit powers conferred upon them by this parliament in the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act, which establishes appropriate arrest procedures and authorises police to take action which would not be permitted under common law general liberties. Thus, failure to adhere to the procedures and requirements of the act not only would breach the conditions upon the power but in some cases would constitute an offence against fundamental human rights. As members have indicated, this bill seeks to confer powers of detention upon transit officers— powers which are usually reserved for police officers. It is not difficult to see, then, why the LNP has grave concerns about the extension of these powers to public servants. Currently, transit officers have basic powers to carry out their role in ensuring the integrity and safety of our railways. They work in conjunction with the Queensland Police Service Railway Squad. Whilst public safety should be the highest priority for QR, I question the wisdom of extending police powers to public servants in the pursuit of this aim. Surely this objective could be achieved simply by boosting the number of specialist police on duty at train stations or available to respond to incidents in a timely manner. I have long been on the record as stating that Queensland needs more police. Indeed, it was one of the key issues I campaigned on in 2004 and 2006 and will continue to do so. It is an issue which continues to affect residents not only in my electorate of Surfers Paradise but right across Queensland. The fact that the state government is even contemplating extending police powers to ordinary citizens is testament to the fact that we do not have enough police officers in Queensland. The primary concern I have with this legislation is that it is difficult to conceive where the decay of our long-held principles of law will end. If we confer certain police powers upon transit officers, what about other members of the public? Essentially, transit officers are security guards of sorts. Is the Bligh government suggesting we should give security guards powers of arrest as well? Given the problems we have seen with security operations in party precincts such as Surfers Paradise, this would not be a desirable outcome. But where do we draw the line? How can we confer power on one section of society but not on another, particularly where minimal specialised training is required to exercise such power? This is the critical problem with regard to what this bill seeks to achieve. By elevating transit officers to a quasi police role we are starting down a dangerous path. This danger is unacceptable in situations where our transit officers are already equipped with basic powers to maintain safety and security and where they have police support in their operations. Furthermore, the common law recognises a general right to citizen’s arrest in circumstances where police are not available to respond when an offence is being committed and/or public safety is placed in jeopardy. As such, the powers contained in division 1 of the bill are unnecessary to the preservation of safety and security. Furthermore, if we extend powers of detention to persons who have not had the same high level of training as police officers, we simply cannot expect those seeking to exercise these powers to observe the procedural requirements set out in the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act. This has the potential to create problems for public prosecutors and the courts. If rules of evidence are not observed, the courts simply will not uphold charges against persons alleged to have committed an offence on public transport. By empowering individuals who are not police and who are not required to observe established procedures to carry out preliminary investigations and effect an arrest, the risk of evidence being deemed inadmissible is heightened as a result. It is not just members of the LNP who are concerned about the ramifications of this bill. Unlike the Bligh government, we have carried out extensive consultation with stakeholders and we have listened to the people of Queensland. The Queensland Law Society does not support the move to establish a two- 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3907 tier quasi police on Queensland’s public transport systems. The Queensland Police Union also does not support this move to provide transit officers with detention powers. Legal Aid Queensland does not support it, neither does the Council for Civil Liberties, neither does the Australian Services Union. It is simply too dangerous to hand over the handcuffs to anyone but trained police officers. For this reason, I cannot support this aspect of the bill. The second observation I would like to make about this bill relates to part 9 of the bill which contains amendments to the Transport Infrastructure Act 1994 for rapid public transport systems. Obviously, this bill is relevant to the Gold Coast, given that we are expecting construction of a rapid transit system to commence in the near future. I note that the honourable the Treasurer has recently confirmed that the rapid transit system will go ahead despite the global financial crisis. I welcome those comments from the Treasurer. The Gold Coast is in crying need of better public transport. Let us take stock. We have a commitment from the members opposite that Gold Coast light rail will go ahead and a confirmation as recently as last week that the project is still a priority. We have a bill which will allow Queensland Transport to start the tendering process and enter into commercial agreements for the construction and management of the light rail system. The only thing missing is the plan itself. Mr Stevens interjected. Mr LANGBROEK: And the money, as the member for Robina said. The Bligh government still has no idea on a rapid transit system for the Gold Coast. All we have is a tentative route and glossy brochures. I should also mention the interactive CD which is very entertaining. It is so entertaining that I am surprised the minister is not handing it out at schoolies. The minister is big on spin but scant on detail. It is hard to believe the Bligh government is listening to the people if it has not heard the cry from the coast. The residents of the Gold Coast do not want the rapid transit system in its current form. In areas such as Surfers Paradise and Southport, there is still a lot of community objection to the route. Mr Gray interjected. Mr LANGBROEK: Well, member for Gaven, the one thing we do know is that the Helensvale to Parklands phase is not a priority. I wonder what the member for Gaven thinks of this. Obviously he cannot be too upset about it, otherwise he would have stormed cabinet and told the Premier and the transport minister that the northern Gold Coast was far too important to be dropped from the agenda. Mr Gray: Terrific. Mr LANGBROEK: Terrific? The member for Gaven thinks it is terrific that there will not be any Helensvale link on the rapid transit network. I take the interjection from the member for Gaven. ‘Terrific’ was the word that he just used. I would have thought if the Bligh government really was planning for the future it would realise that the northern Gold Coast is experiencing population growth at a higher rate compared to anywhere else in south-east Queensland. Yet what we see is the members opposite ignoring the studies, ignoring the figures and making decisions without public consultation—or ignoring public consultation—on the premise that they know best. Residents of the northern Gold Coast will still have difficulty accessing education and health facilities, such as Griffith University and the new hospital—if construction ever starts there. The people of the western Gold Coast, which the Bligh government seems to think is anyone living west of the Gold Coast Highway, have also been neglected. The minister has refused to release information on whether an east-west link will be part of the rapid transit system. If the minister had visited the TransLink web site lately and checked out the bus timetables, he would know that it is not a hassle to jump on a bus at Coolangatta and go to Southport given the frequency of services along the Gold Coast Highway. Where it becomes a problem is if you are travelling from anywhere west of the city highway. To get to Surfers Paradise from Robina, it can take you two hours and three bus changes. The minister has obviously missed the point. The Bligh government has also conveniently left out one very important detail. The minister has refused to put a completion date on the project. I note that 2015 comes up in conversation but, given the lengthy delays we have already experienced, I wonder just how much faith we can have in the idea that we will all be riding rapid transit in the next 10 years. The very people the Bligh government expects will use the rapid transit system are telling me they do not want it in its current form. I note that the final public consultation on the Gold Coast rapid transit system closed recently. I would like to take this opportunity to urge the minister to take heed of what the people of the Gold Coast are saying. This project will cost at least $1.7 billion. The cost is likely to be more on the back of the current economic outlook. I urge the Bligh government to get this right. We have an opportunity here to build a public transport system that will help ease congestion on our roads and cut greenhouse emissions by encouraging more people to leave their cars at home and jump on light rail, yet if we continue on the current course we will end up with nothing but an expensive Gold Coast city loop tramcar restaurant. 3908 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008

Whilst some of the amendments in this bill put the Gold Coast one step closer to a rapid transit system, we are yet to see a substantive plan for any such development. I believe it is far too premature to be passing laws which give the transport department power to enter into commercial agreements with private sector companies—which will no doubt involve an outlay of public money—for the construction and management of the rapid transit system. With those comments, I note that we are supporting the bill but opposing those provisions already mentioned. Mr DICKSON (Kawana—LNP) (4.14 pm): I rise to speak to the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill. Public transport—or the lack of it—is one of the main issues we are facing on the Sunshine Coast; we just do not have enough of it. We have a situation being put forward by the government where it is pushing CAMCOS, the rail corridor that will happen on the Sunshine Coast sometime in the distant future. We are being told it will be delivered by 2026 and the government is going to build a hospital at Kawana by 2014. That rail line is supposed to deliver people to that hospital but it will not be built. If we do the sums on that, it is pretty easy to work out that this rail system is not going to be delivered on time. My advice to the government is that, if it is going to deliver this hospital and it is serious about it, it would be a really good idea to move that rail system forward. The land that this rail system is going to be built on has to have soil dumped on it and it will have to be compacted for a couple of years, so the time to do that is any time soon. If the government is serious about delivering that hospital, as I said, it needs to put the horse before the cart. In this case, the government is doing what it normally does—that is, it is putting the cart before the horse. This causes a bit of a problem from a planning perspective. If the government wants to deliver people appropriately on the Sunshine Coast without building more bitumen roads, it will deliver this rail system in an appropriate time. Spending $1.2 billion on a hospital but not being able to get people to that hospital is the sort of planning that this government is very good at. Also, the government is building the multimodal corridor that will run right beside the CAMCOS corridor and we have just found out that that will be built through soccer fields. This will affect roughly 1,000 families whose children utilise these soccer fields. The club is roughly 20 years old. It has not been there a long time, but it has generated a bit of tradition on the Sunshine Coast. We are a fast- growing area and the department of transport may wish to think about relocating that corridor. We already have a letter from the Main Roads minister saying he will do it, but it might pay the minister to become a little proactive and relocate these people before they build the road. Again, it is like the hospital and the CAMCOS corridor, where they will eventually build this rail system that will deliver for the people of the Sunshine Coast. Another one of the problems we face on the Sunshine Coast relates to Sunshine Plaza. We have a wonderful bus service there that wants to deliver people back and forth, but I think it will run over a few people if the government does not get on top of the situation. I would like to use harsher words, but I will be polite. This is a really dangerous situation and the minister is well and truly aware of it. They need to deal with Lend Lease and get that matter sorted out as soon as possible because, if they do not, someone will get run over by a bus in that area. I am sure the minister is well and truly aware of that situation. The Kawana shopping centre is another problem. Again, the government is telling us what it will do and that it will happen sometime later down the track, but still we wait. We wait for many things on the Sunshine Coast. We are promised many things by this government, but the government just does not deliver. It is a bit like the water situation we touched on this morning. The government makes a lot of promises and tells us what it is going to do but then government members do that little dance and backflip. We see a lot of that. I will give the government another little tip. There has been a lot of testing done on where the CAMCOS corridor and the multimodal corridor—which is costing billions of dollars—crosses the Mooloolah River. The government may wish to work out how it is going to get across that river. The water is very shallow. They have drilled down about 70 metres and they cannot find a bottom. I think the government needs to look into that situation, because I understand that last little stretch will cost about $1.1 billion. It is a lot of money. If the government is going to spend it, I would suggest it spends it wisely. I would look at the corridor the government has put forward. I think that is another one that the government might have got wrong. There are ways of doing business and delivering for the people of Queensland, particularly the people I represent on the Sunshine Coast. I think the government could do a better job than what it is doing. I would also like to touch on the rail services that are in existence throughout Queensland where the government is proposing to put officers on those trains to police those trains. I think the government will place people in jeopardy, because these people the government is going to give enforcement laws to are not police and they will not know how to deal with situations that arise. If the government is serious about looking after people on the rail systems, it needs to get the police involved. The government needs to create a bigger police force, if that is what needs to be done. There must be a serious problem on our rail networks, otherwise the government would not be considering going down this path. 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3909

There are many holes that we could pick in this policy. I will not carry on too much because I think the minister must be in a bit of a flutter over there this afternoon. If the minister can do the right thing by the people of the Sunshine Coast and deliver CAMCOS in an appropriate time, that would really do this government and the people of the Sunshine Coast a lot of good. The government should stop spending money on bitumen roads and start delivering public transport because that is the key at the end of the day. We all know that—you know it, I know it and the people of the Sunshine Coast know it—but all we hear is promises from the government. I am sure that when the next election is called the government will jump up and tell us, ‘We’re going to deliver this. We’re going to deliver that.’ I will give members the analogy of the Kawana police station. They have been going to deliver it for four years. They are going to deliver it, they are going to deliver it, they are going to deliver it. Then we were told that it was going to be delivered in July. Actually, the Premier got up and said that it was going to be delivered. She must have told a porky on that day— Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I ask the member to direct his comments to the bill. Mr DICKSON: I am happy to do that, Madam Deputy Speaker. I was just referring to those police officers. I just stretched it out a little, but I am happy to get back to the bill. Regarding the CAMCOS corridor, could the minister confirm that it is going to be delivered in time, in 2014, so that people can get on the train and be delivered to the hospital? I would love to hear how that is going to happen. It is a pipedream as far as I am concerned. We hear the promises but we do not see the delivery. I note that the preparatory work has not started yet. We hear about a lot of planning. The government does a lot of planning. It sets up a lot of committees. It likes to talk a lot. It is really good at talking but it is not very good at action. When the government actually gets to the action, it gets it wrong. That is the problem that this government has. It does not deliver and, when it does deliver, it delivers the wrong thing in the wrong place. I think I will leave members with those comments. They are a little bit of food for thought. The rail line and the hospital are two things that need to be married up and the government needs to think about it, otherwise it is right off the track. Mr MOORHEAD (Waterford—ALP) (4.20 pm): I rise to make some brief comments in support of the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008. I want to briefly address the changes to the heavy vehicle fatigue management regime that is currently contained in Queensland transport legislation. The proposed changes will ensure that this regime continues to provide a safe system of travel for people using arterial roads, particularly those roads used by heavy vehicles. We have two major arterial roads in my electorate, being the M1 and the Logan Motorway. Those roads are commonly used every minute of every day by heavy vehicles that are transporting goods around the state, but those heavy vehicles also share the road with people in my electorate doing short suburb-to- suburb trips. For example, someone who lives in Loganholme who wants to take their children to the local high school at Shailer Park has to use the M1 and often the Logan Motorway to get their kids to school. This means that the context of this heavy vehicle management regime is not simply about a heavy vehicle driving long hours on roads in outback Queensland. It is also about how it affects our urban communities and the interaction of local traffic and heavy vehicles going through arterial roads in urban communities, the risk that fatigued drivers cause to families going about their everyday work and play, getting their kids to school, going to the local sporting club, or whatever they may be doing. They share roads with the heavy vehicles of this state. So it is great to see that that regime continues to be updated and is rigorous in protecting the drivers on our roads. I also rise to support the TransLink transit officer powers that are provided in this bill. It is important that public transport is not only convenient and cost effective but also safe for patrons. It is important that these services provide passengers with a sense of security. We currently have on the Citytrain network 54 Queensland police railway squad officers and 110 TransLink transit officers. There is already some ability for the powers of those TransLink transit officers to be used on public transport infrastructure, but this bill will extend those powers to include a further range of public transport infrastructure. Of particular importance in any electorate is the safety of railway stations, car parks and platforms. I know that Queensland Rail has done a lot of work with the Logan City Council to provide safety cameras at the four stations from Trinder Park through to Loganlea. Having local security camera vision provided to monitoring rooms at the Logan City Council which are then provided to the local police communications room is a great partnership. I have recently made representations to the minister. I thank the minister for supporting those representations by extending that program to those four stations which have come into the new part of Logan City Council with the amalgamation of local governments this year. It will mean that QR has, through the minister, provided in-principle support for the extension of that program. I know that the council is currently working through the department of local government and QR and its own financial plans to see when that can be delivered. 3910 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008

We need to be clear that this bill is taking what is currently a grey area for TransLink transit officers and making it certain. TransLink transit officers at the moment have some powers of detention based on the common law citizens arrest powers. That is a grey area where, if I were a TransLink transit officer, I would not want to rely on such uncertain powers and how they apply to every individual case. This bill provides clear powers of detention for certain offences and for those persons to be held while the police are being contacted. This bill will provides continued cooperation between the Queensland Police Service and the TransLink transit officers to ensure safety and security on our public transport systems. Offences for which transit officers will be able to detain people include assault occasioning bodily harm, wilful damage as well as sexual offences and a range of others. These powers are sensible but limited, and are protected through a rigorous training program and extensive criminal history screening, ensuring that the people who will exercise these powers have not been found guilty of disqualifying offences. I would briefly like to consider the changes to the open roads policy. This legislation will provide greater certainty for the exercise of powers under the state government’s open roads policy. This will mean that people who find themselves working at the scene of accidents will be able to provide a clear power to remove those obstacles quickly to ensure that traffic can recover. What the open roads policy suggests is that just building another lane onto a motorway is not the only solution. We have to make sure we are getting the best out of our existing transport infrastructure. This will mean that those really frustrating delays that people suffer when there is a car blocking one lane or a car sitting on the side of the road which people stop to have a look at when they go past can be removed quickly and traffic can recover as quickly as possible. I think this is a great change to the legislation, and I hope that we can continue to have this as part of our congestion-busting strategy. Finally, the bill also contains changes to the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act, and allows for certain forms for the operation of WorkCover to be lodged over the phone. There are already some forms that are lodged over the phone, but these further powers to accept forms that have been lodged over the phone can assist workers to get a quick resolution of claims and to get them back to work as soon as possible, providing certainty to both the worker and to their employer. Often when workers go through a workers compensation claim it is quite a busy time. They spend significant time travelling to rehabilitation, to doctors’ appointments, to further assessment, and anything they can do to reduce barriers to the provision of WorkCover with all the necessary information will be welcome, I am sure. Having this necessary information will enable WorkCover to make decisions on matters such as returning to work and rehabilitation quickly and effectively. This is just another great part of our workers compensation scheme which is the pride of Australia’s workers compensation scheme. We provide lower premiums and higher compensation that other states would be proud to have. I commend the bill to the House. Hon. RJ MICKEL (Logan—ALP) (Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations) (4.29 pm), in reply: How ironic that we are debating the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill when the heavy and melancholy news has hit us this afternoon that while we have been debating this bill we have had a level crossing accident in far-northern Queensland which has claimed the life of someone. At this stage the details are sketchy. It appears that a tilt train has collided with a truck in far-northern Queensland. Obviously, on behalf of the House I extend my deepest sympathies to the family of the loved one who was involved in this. Words at times fail me in expressing my grief at these situations. However, I want the family of the deceased to know that I want them to draw strength from the fact that every honourable member in this House is thinking of them in their difficult time of unimaginable grief. This bill delivers a range of critical reforms to the transport sector. The importance of these changes is reflected in the strong debate it has generated in this chamber. I thank the members who have participated. The bill delivers a range of key initiatives for this government and ensures Queensland continues to play a leading role in the national transport agenda. Briefly, the most significant amendments in this bill are the adoption of a national model legislation for the regulation of dangerous goods transported by road and rail, improved passenger safety by providing TransLink transit officers with limited powers of detention to manage offensive behaviour, and the ability to deal with and remove abandoned or immobilised vehicles and objects from Queensland’s roads. The bill also makes a number of minor changes to ensure delivery of important infrastructure projects and to clarify legislation where required. I will now look at those amendments in a little more detail. I note the member for Maroochydore’s comments about non-express buses using the motorway. As I understood the member, she is opposed to the proposal we have for a busway on the Sunshine Coast. Instead she would prefer that buses travel on the Sunshine Motorway. There would be considerable safety risks with such a proposal which would outweigh any possible benefits. Such a proposal would put buses, motorists and pedestrians at risk. Pedestrians need safe access to public transport. Where would people safely go to enter a bus? 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3911

Miss SIMPSON: I rise to a point of order, Mr Acting Speaker. I appreciate that the minister has understood what I put forward. It was actually about dedicated bus lanes being extended on the existing four-lane road. It was not about removing buses from local roads. Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! There is no point of order. Please resume your seat. I call the minister. Mr MICKEL: I am grateful for that clarification. That is how I understood it—and I would like to go back and look at Hansard. Certainly your web site says that you believe that buses should be accessing the Sunshine Motorway. I thank all members for their comments about transit officers. In response to the issues raised by members, I would like to say the following. The amendments to the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994 will make public transport safer for passengers and the community alike and give effect to an election commitment of this government. In summary, the public transport safety measures are these. The bill will extend the current powers of TransLink transit officers beyond railways to public transport in general—for example, Brisbane City Council general route service buses and ferries. This will allow transit officers to direct people to leave, and when necessary use reasonable force to remove people from, TransLink public transport services. It will provide TransLink transit officers with the power to detain individuals committing criminal offences on public transport, such as wilful damage and assaults related to stealing, serious injury or sexual crimes, until they can be handed over to the police. It will provide TransLink transit officers with very limited powers to search detained individuals for items which may endanger the detained person or the transit officer and to use handcuffs to detain individuals. It provides the courts with a specific power to ban people from or set conditions on their use of public transport. Such powers apply to individuals who have previously committed public nuisance, trespassing or fare evasion offences as well as indictable offences on public transport. I believe it is important to reiterate that the transit officer powers are being introduced to enable officers to better manage the relatively few instances of serious and violent crime on the public transport network. Transit officers have to date only been able to make use of citizen’s arrest powers for such serious situations. However, this practice I think is inappropriate as the transit officers are not trained or equipped to ensure their safety or that of the detained person. I refer to the comments by the member for Maroochydore about the 55 members of the police Railway Squad. The government is pleased with the contribution of the police, but this measure is about enhancing the transit officer powers. That means better safety and security, better revenue protection and superior customer service. As the member for Gaven pointed out, the government has undertaken considerable consultation. I acknowledge some concerns about the transit officer empowerments by the police union, the Queensland Law Society, the Council for Civil Liberties and Legal Aid. The government has worked with these stakeholders to minimise their concerns. I am advised that many of these issues have been addressed. Some members, including the member for Burnett, have suggested that we are taking away from the police. This is simply not the case. It is about transit officers playing a role in complementing and supporting the police. Transit officers will be able to deal with less serious situations themselves, thus lowering the police workload and allowing police to respond quickly to serious situations. I note that the Police Service is supportive of what is proposed in this bill. With these new powers the government recognises that the detention powers are significant. There is a need for a rigorous framework of checks and balances to counterbalance the powers. Consequently, the legislation will require prospective TransLink transit officers to undergo an extensive criminal history check and be subject to a good character test. As well, prospective officers will have to be physically and mentally fit and have successfully completed a training course approved by the Commissioner for Police. TransLink transit officers and their managers will also be subject to the Crime and Misconduct Act and the Public Sector Ethics Act. I recognise the concerns of some members. However, I reiterate that, on an operational level, TransLink transit officers will only exercise these powers while in uniform, with strict identification requirements, and will be subject to robust drug and alcohol tests. The new transit officers exercising these powers will be clearly identifiable to the public and public transport staff with their distinct identification and uniforms. The government would like to emphasise that with this new class of transit officer all current officers remain a part of the government’s plans. Existing officers will continue to provide their valuable revenue protection and customer service roles. Those transit officers who are interested in the new role will be given every chance to undertake the new role subject to extensive training, entry requirements and checks and balances. TransLink transit officers will also be required to complete extensive reports about any detentions. Furthermore, juveniles and vulnerable people will be protected through several additional safeguards. In fact, this bill fully complies with and supports the juvenile justice principles listed in the Juvenile Justice Act. For example, the bill requires TransLink transit officers to operate on the basis that 3912 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008 detention is a last resort for juveniles. Another of the checks and balances relates to the TransLink transit officer search power in that it can only be undertaken by a person of the same sex and limits the search to the detained person’s outer clothing. The government recognises that the introduction of these new powers will mean significant changes for the employment and operation of TransLink transit officers. For instance, we recognise that not all existing TransLink transit officers will be eligible or wish to take on these new powers. Consequently, the amendments allow for two classes of transit officers. The government believes that this new class of TransLink transit officers will provide a robust platform of safety and security to make public transport even more desirable to Queenslanders. In bringing in these new powers, the government would like to acknowledge the ongoing high standard of service provided by our TransLink transit officers to date. Indeed, I have had the pleasure of meeting with many of these officers. I am delighted with the way they conduct themselves. They have always been professional in their manner. I have had the opportunity in the lead-up to the introduction of this bill to discuss with many of them what is envisaged with these new powers to ascertain what they think of them, and I have to say that in the majority of cases of the people I have spoken with they are supportive of this. It is due to their first-class work that the government is confident to give transit officers a larger part of the public transport solution. The government has increased the transit officer force in recent years by 20 officers to a total of 110. The government is considering a further increase in line with our growing public transport system. On this note, the government would like to thank our stakeholders who have assisted us in establishing this initiative as we look forward to a detailed and timely implementation. While talking about the role of the transit officers, the member for Maroochydore raised some issues concerning security on our trains and I want to speak briefly about these. The emergency points on trains allow passengers to communicate directly with the guards who, in turn, can contact the transit officers and/or the police. All CCTV images on trains are recorded and constantly monitored by the guard. If the guard sees any trouble, then they can communicate directly with the train driver and, in turn, to the central control of Citytrain. A police officer is assigned to the central control room from 5.30 pm each night. The central control room and the Queensland Police Service can assess the situation and take appropriate action which may be to dispatch police to the next train station and/or provide instructions direct to transit officers through the radio system. Transit officers cannot stop trains but can communicate directly with the train guard who, together with the train driver, can make a decision to stop the train at the next station. Trains will not be stopped between stations obviously for safety reasons. Passengers also can ring 000 which, in turn, will make contact with the Queensland Police Service Railway Squad to take appropriate action. This may include requiring the train to stop at the next station where police can meet it and where transit officers or other Queensland Rail passenger staff respond to the situation. Other members spoke about the amendments concerning the transport of dangerous goods by road and rail. Those amendments are part of a national reform package developed by the National Transport Commission in conjunction with industry and state regulators to be implemented in all jurisdictions. I want to thank the member for Gregory not only for his support for these reforms but also for the generous remarks that he made about the officers within my department. Equally, I want to thank all of the officers in my department who have assisted in whichever role they have played in bringing this bill before the House. I thank them as always for their courtesy, their professionalism and their impartiality. In joining with the member for Gregory then, let us look at the dangerous goods act. The member for Gregory raised the issue of road users being aware of vehicles carrying dangerous goods. These vehicles travel throughout the road network, so it would be impractical to install signage on each and every road on which a dangerous goods vehicle might travel. It is the case, however, that vehicles carrying significant quantities of dangerous goods are clearly labelled on the front and rear to show that the vehicle is carrying dangerous goods. These labels are primarily for Emergency Service personnel to know what goods are being carried so they can respond appropriately in the event that a vehicle carrying a load is involved in an incident resulting in an emergency. However, they also alert other road users to vehicles carrying dangerous goods. The bill also introduces new open roads powers which will greatly assist in minimising congestion on Queensland roads. These new powers are just one component of a package of congestion management initiatives the government is introducing. The new powers build on existing arrangements which allow authorised officers to quickly remove broken-down or abandoned vehicles from our roads. Importantly, authorised officers will now be able to remove any load or cargo that has fallen from a vehicle or indeed any other object that is obstructing the flow of traffic. To support these new powers, the government has already employed three heavy-duty tow trucks on major roads in south-east Queensland. Further, next year the government is looking to introduce a number of heavy vehicle recovery units that can reposition a disabled truck or other vehicle into a suitable recovery position. In her contribution, the member for Maroochydore discussed the possible destruction of evidence during a road clearance. It is important to recognise that the open roads amendments will, as is the case for existing road clearance powers, be supported by sound operational policies and guidelines which will 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3913 provide further guidance to officers exercising these powers. Where incidents are of a more serious nature, officers will work in cooperation with emergency service providers such as the Queensland Police Service. In those circumstances, the quick clearance powers will not be exercised until police or other relevant agencies have undertaken any necessary investigations. The member also queried liability issues arising from the exercise of these new powers. The amendments will provide appropriate protection to officers exercising the new road clearance powers and to those who assist them. For example, the operator of a service or towing vehicle engaged by the relevant road agency will have the benefit of that protection. The amendments provide that civil liability for a breach of duty will not arise where an officer gave a high degree of importance to clearing a road quickly or to the extent there was an increased likelihood of damage occurring because of the need to clear the road quickly. However, if the contractor is otherwise negligent in carrying out their duties, then liability may still arise. Amendments in the bill will strengthen and clarify new heavy vehicle laws. On 29 September Queensland, along with New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, introduced new laws for fatigue management that were based on our increased scientific knowledge and understanding of fatigue. Prior to the implementation of these reforms, Queensland undertook an extensive program of public education. My department provided public presentations which were attended by many interested parties, including, I am advised, an estimated 1,500 truck drivers and members of the industry. Thousands of free information kits were also distributed. There has been a range of materials designed to educate all parties in the chain about their obligations to manage fatigue and other safety matters. My department is working with a range of industry groups to work through any practical issues with them. These groups will bring together a range of parties, including consigners, primary industries and supermarkets, to work with industry to ensure that knowledge of responsibilities is well understood and can be practically applied. The road transport freight industry and associated sectors in Queensland have promoted the heavy vehicle driver reforms to their members to ensure they are aware of and can meet their responsibilities. I wish to thank the Queensland Trucking Association, the Livestock Transporters Association of Queensland, the Port of Brisbane Corporation—and I note the member for Burnett had a shot at Mr Coleman from the Port of Brisbane Corporation, and I want to place on the public record my admiration for the job that Mr Coleman does, as do his directors, with the port of Brisbane— Canegrowers, AgForce, GrainCorp and Growcom for their efforts in informing their members. In his contribution, the member for Gregory raised the situation of heavy vehicle drivers who continue to drive in the mistaken belief that they are not tired. This is of course one of the precise situations that this legislation is designed to address. We do not excuse drink drivers who believe they were sober at the time they drove, and neither should we excuse heavy vehicle drivers who do not recognise that they are under the influence of fatigue. A driver who has taken an illicit drug, such as speed, is unlikely to recognise their own level of fatigue. These laws put in place a comprehensive and sophisticated means of managing fatigue and must be complied with. Within the legislation there is sufficient flexibility to provide for business and geographical variations under the basic fatigue management and advanced fatigue management systems. I would like to respond to the member for Maroochydore’s request for an example of how the reasonable steps defence for a driver not carrying accreditation documents might practically be applied for influencing parties. I must emphasise that each case will be different and must be treated on its own merits and that there is no limit to the ways they can demonstrate reasonable steps. However, a straightforward example might be where, as part of the induction process of a driver into the operator’s fatigue management system, an operator instructed the driver in relation to their responsibilities to carry such documents. Similarly, these responsibilities could be outlined in a position description or duty statement. The amendments in this bill simply strengthen and clarify the chain of responsibility legislation for heavy vehicle driver fatigue. Some of these amendments are aimed at ensuring that those who are in a position to exert influence over the conduct of heavy vehicle drivers have an appropriate level of accountability placed on them. It would obviously be ineffectual and unfair if the responsibility to manage fatigue rested only with the drivers. In the end, these reforms are about helping drivers of heavy vehicles drive safely for their own benefit and for the rest of the community who work and travel on our roads. Amendments in the bill pick up some final elements from the nationally agreed model legislation and will ensure that Queensland regulates the operation of heavy vehicles in the most appropriate manner. The member for Maroochydore made the suggestion that a safety subcommittee be set up under the road freight industry council to investigate further ways to manage heavy vehicle safety. I am pleased to say that such a group was established earlier in the year and is in fact, I am told, holding its third meeting this very afternoon. This industry focus group includes representation from all the major trucking associations, the Queensland Transport Workers Union, the State Coroner, along with the Queensland Police Service, Main Roads, and Queensland Transport. 3914 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008

Finally, I would like to acknowledge yesterday’s announcement by the minister for Main Roads that 11 new heavy vehicle rest areas will be built as part of a commitment to construct rest areas over the next two years. The bill enhances Queensland Transport’s ability to conduct criminal history checks on applicants for certain approvals under the Tow Truck Act and under the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act. It is essential that only appropriate people are approved by Queensland Transport to conduct these activities. We need to have confidence that there are no improper influences on matters, such as the issuing of safety certificates, or in the assessment of people learning to ride a motorbike. The amendments will also ensure that criminal history checks can be conducted, where necessary, and that appropriate action can be taken in response to these checks. The bill ensures the protection of state controlled roads that have been damaged or made dangerous by weather, natural disasters or other causes. Previous wet seasons in the far north demonstrated the importance of improving enforceability regarding decisions to restrict or close access to state controlled roads which will ensure the protection of these roads in adverse conditions. In essence, the amendment will better empower the state and more clearly inform the public in order to achieve the objective of preserving the state’s valuable road infrastructure and protecting the public from potential danger. By defining 1 September 2008 as the ‘to have been registered date’ of those Land Registry documents that are linked to the QR Ltd restructure documentation, that will remove all doubt concerning the effective date of the restructure and consequently would remove any future conflict in that regard. The amendment of references from Queensland Rail to QR Ltd, a subsidiary or railway manager in various acts will ensure that the correct entity will have the required powers and responsibilities. In response to the member for Maroochydore’s comments concerning the amendments of commercial corridor land, I would like to say that this has nothing to do with the incorporation of Queensland Rail or QR Ltd. Commercial leases have already been seamlessly transferred to these new entities. The bill ensures that the separation of the operation of the rail corridor from the commercial corridor sites between QR and the subsidiary entities is achieved. I am advised that there are no legal actions pending with regard to this amendment. It is purely a technical amendment to ensure that there are no problems with the new structural arrangements. The proposed amendment to amend the busway and light rail provisions of the Transport Infrastructure Act 1994 will ensure that Queensland Transport is able to enter into commercial arrangements for the construction and/or management of a busway, busway transport infrastructure, light rail or light rail infrastructure as well as provide for the accreditation of busway managers and extend the existing unlawful access provisions for busways and light rail to busway infrastructure and light rail transport infrastructure. The amendments support the government’s infrastructure strategy objectives and pave the way for future government and private partnership investment in public transport infrastructure. Major new projects, including the planned development of the northern busway and the Gold Coast rapid transit project, are a reflection of the government’s commitment to investment in public transport infrastructure. The government is serious about ensuring a high level of marine safety and in guaranteeing protection for Queensland’s marine environment. The bill will amend the Transport Operations (Marine Pollution) Act 1995 and the Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Act 1994 to establish that, if a boat owner or master refuses to comply with a court enforcement order, the District Court may order the applicant or another interested party to ensure that the boat complies with the order. The bill will also allow the text of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973—commonly known as MARPOL—to be removed from the Transport Operations (Marine Pollution) Regulation 2008 to enable Queensland’s legislation to reflect the current consolidated version of the convention. It will also add a number of offences, such as to further protect the marine environment from sewage. The member for Maroochydore asked about pump-out facilities. I am advised that there are currently 17 facilities and another six being developed. These facilities provide for the reception of sewage predominantly generated by recreational and smaller commercial vessels. Such facilities are just one of a range of options for vessel operators to meet the requirements for the management of ship- sourced sewage. My department will continue to work with local government authorities and marina operators to assist them in the development of an enhanced network of pump-out facilities to support demand. The government is also determined to maintain a high level of safety in Queensland coastal waters. To achieve that, the bill inserts an evidentiary provision that requires the owner or master of a vessel to present safety equipment when asked to do so by the shipping inspector. This will encourage all ship owners and masters to ensure that the required safety equipment is on the boat at all times. The bill also inserts a head of power to allow the chief executive to approve forms for use under the Transport Operations (Marine Pollution) Act 1994. 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3915

The additional amendments to the Transport Planning and Coordination Act 1994, which provides a clear head of power for including active transport in the integration of land use and transport, will ensure that the government is better able to protect its significant interest in active transport and will assist with the government’s strategic intention to promote active transport. These amendments will provide Queensland Transport, in its capacity as a referral agency or assessment manager under the Integrated Planning Act 1997, with the ability to impose conditions on development applications requiring developers to provide appropriate active transport infrastructure in new developments. Significantly, government investment in active transport serves several purposes, such as reducing congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. The government has undertaken many initiatives to promote the greater use of public and active transport. In the short time available to me, I must come to the rescue of my good friend and colleague the Lord Mayor of Brisbane in the attack made upon him by the member for Moggill. I think the member for Moggill said—and I would like to check the Hansard—that there was no public transport to the western suburbs. Do all members remember that? I will give members a bit of a run-down. The Kenmore Village stop, for example, is in the western suburbs. Routes 425 and 426 will get the honourable member there. If the member is running out to Kenmore Hills, here is the extensive bus route that will take people to the western suburbs: routes 425 and 426. If he catches the 435 it will take him all the way to Brookfield. Is that in the western suburbs? That is in the western suburbs and in his electorate. If the honourable member got out of his car and got onto a bus he would understand that my colleague, the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, under contract to TransLink, is providing services. If the honourable gentleman feels that the Lord Mayor of Brisbane is failing him then that is an internal factional battle between him and the Lord Mayor of Brisbane. The other issue that the honourable gentleman raised was that he needed discrete busways. Here I do have to take issue with the Lord Mayor of Brisbane. He was the one who closed the busway on Coronation Drive. I do not remember the member for Moggill waxing on about that. The point is that it has added, conservatively, I am told, about 20 minutes to a trip into the city. That is a matter that the member for Moggill, who has served in this House in various capacities, could have taken up with his Liberal Party colleagues, all of whom represent the western suburbs of Brisbane. On that happy and concordant note, I commend the bill to the House and thank members for their contributions. Question put—That the bill be now read a second time. Motion agreed to. Bill read a second time. Consideration in Detail Clauses 1 to 155, as read, agreed to. Clause 156— Miss SIMPSON (5.01 pm): I join with the minister in extending our condolences to the families of those who have suffered such a loss as a result of this tragic event that we have just heard about with regard to a crash between a tilt train and a heavy vehicle in north Queensland. Our hearts go out to those involved. We understand at this traumatic time that there are many people who are potentially injured and there are many concerned families. We extend our sympathy and support with regard to seeing people appropriately looked after at this time. This provision that is before the House relates to some of the driver fatigue management issues. We have been talking about the importance of having appropriate driver fatigue management for heavy vehicles. Today I met with members of the Gulf Savannah Development Group who are representing local governments in the Gulf Savannah region. They raised some of the practical applications that relate to the application of the driver fatigue management laws. I understand they have also met with departmental people. I draw it to the attention of the House at this point because they have raised the issue of work crews who are undertaking work on roads. It is timely for me to raise this with the minister. They are seeking appropriate exemptions where they have work crews working on roads who may be caught up in the way that the legislation has been drafted. I am happy for these issues to be taken on notice. I will table their briefing paper but draw to the minister’s attention that there are, in fact, parts of Queensland where work crews can travel eight hours to get to work, in this case in trucks that might be used for repairs of roads or rebuilding roads. They are not of the nature of large, heavy vehicles travelling at high speeds on regular freight routes. These are actually work crews. It is a specific issue that needs some attention. I am happy to table that and seek the minister’s advice even if it is at a further stage. It has been raised as this is an area that needs some practical assistance. I table that document. Tabled paper: Briefing paper by Gulf Savannah Development titled ‘Driver Fatigue Management’. Mr MICKEL: I was listed down to meet with this group if I had not been in here all afternoon. My understanding is that the people concerned have met with officers from my department. I am happy to take the documentation the member has. My understanding is that we will have further meetings with them. 3916 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 27 Nov 2008

Clause 156, as read, agreed to. Clauses 157 to 183, as read, agreed to. Clause 184— Miss SIMPSON (5.05 pm): These provisions relate to the open roads policy and, as stated, we support the principles of the open roads policy in relation to ensuring that roads are able to flow more smoothly if there has been a breakdown or an accident as long as the removal of the vehicles in question is done with the minimal amount of impact or damage and takes into account issues such as evidentiary matters relating to subsequent court cases. I hear the minister’s explanation in that regard and I thank him for that, but one particular matter that has been raised with me by other providers of service—tow truck operators—has been how the government has entered into its contractual arrangements with reference to quick-clearance contracts. They have some questions. Obviously there are other commercial operators in the marketplace who are questioning how some of those contracts have been let—whether in fact consideration has been given to consulting with all those in the industry and appropriate access to potential work in that regard. There have been some concerns as to whether the consultation has been widespread enough with other providers of service who certainly want to ensure that they are considered appropriately in any commercial arrangements in a fair market to potentially provide those services. I seek the minister’s advice. Mr MICKEL: The advice given to me is that this has to go through the normal tender arrangements. Miss SIMPSON: I note the minister’s advice that it has to go through the normal tendering processes. Some in the industry are saying that they believe they have not, in fact, had the opportunity to contribute to some of the tenders for rapid-response contracts. I would certainly seek the minister’s assistance in having that matter further investigated so their concerns can be appropriately addressed. Mr MICKEL: I will give the honourable member a commitment. If she supplies my officers with the details of those people they can be met with within the next week or so. Miss SIMPSON: Thank you, Minister. I will pass those details to you. Clause 184, as read, agreed to. Clauses 185 to 222, as read, agreed to. Clause 223— Miss SIMPSON (5.09 pm): This clause covers about 24 pages in the bill, so there is quite a substantial slab of new legislation being inserted into existing legislation and these sections are the most contentious as far as we are concerned. This part concerns functions and powers of transit officers. We want to see safe public transport but we want to see more appropriate people providing security on those services. We support transit officers receiving appropriate training but we do not support the extension of their powers to detaining members of the public or the extension of their powers to ordering people to remove clothing and to do searches. While the minister has said that there are safeguards in the legislation, we are not satisfied with the safeguards that have been presented. We believe that we need more police to be made available to support transit officers and to support the safety of passengers on public transport in Queensland. This legislation is creating another tier of security providers under the name of a transit officer but who will have quite extensive powers that will go beyond what people would normally expect to be reasonable powers for a transit officer. Concerns have been expressed not only by the union but also by civil libertarian organisations and members of the public. We believe that these provisions are the wrong way to improve public safety. The right way is to ensure more police. The right way is to ensure that transit officers are appropriately supported by more police as well as improving public safety in regard to structural issues at stations in particular. We will not be supporting these provisions. Mr MICKEL: I welcome at last the fact that the opposition has a policy. We support these provisions. As I have said, the TransLink officers with whom I have spoken support these provisions. I think the member has a fundamental misunderstanding. There are already TransLink transit officers operating under this system. All this does is provide them with an additional power. Let me explain to the House what I mean by that. There has been a grey area where if there is a nuisance caused on the train then the only provision left to the TransLink officers under the existing arrangements is this: they can engage in a citizen’s arrest or they can ask the persons causing the menace to get off the train. If those people then get on the next train and start creating the same nuisance, then under the existing arrangements there is precious little that can be done about that. In extreme situations where people are either fighting with other passengers who are innocent on the train or fighting with the TransLink officer who has asked them either to produce a ticket or to desist from the activity that is causing the nuisance, these powers of detention will allow those officers to take those people off the train and detain them until the police arrived. 27 Nov 2008 Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 3917

Yes, this is tough on hooliganism, but so it should be. I have said to some of my colleagues that I took the opportunity to travel on the network on one of the weekend night services. I must say that I applaud the way the TransLink officers conducted themselves on that evening. I must say as a passenger that I was reassured by their presence. In the discussions I have had with them, all they have asked of me is that we give them these powers because what they want is a bit of protection—for themselves, yes, but protection in a situation where there is serious assault occurring. Maybe opposition members are not aware of these circumstances because they do not go near public transport, but I make no apology for saying that I am full square beside working people and the people we are trying to attract on our public transport system by making sure that we have a system that is exemplary and one in which people can be confident that they can travel the entire network in safety, because that is a reasonable expectation. In giving TransLink officers the power of detention, I think that is worthwhile. I did not enter into this lightly. I took the opportunity to go to central station and view the CCTV footage of some of the incidents that occur. They are remarkable in their extreme. I viewed the footage of someone under attack at one of the railway stations. It is sickening because you know what is going to happen. If these powers therefore allow a TransLink officer to intrude himself or herself into a situation to protect that person, then I am all for it, and I believe the Queensland public are all for it. That is why I do not resile from this for one second. Miss SIMPSON: I have just heard the minister giving rousing support for the need for more police. Surely if things are so bad would you not put more police out there? As I have already outlined in the debate earlier, the government has not really increased police numbers on our public transport system, to support people and keep them safe, in alignment with increased patronage or, indeed, with increased population. I just heard the minister saying how concerned he is about public safety on our public transport. That is why the government should put more police on. That has not been the record of this government. What is it doing instead? It is taking a second-rate option which is to train people not just in regard to detention but in regard to putting handcuffs on people, frisk searching people and removing garments. These are strong provisions. Contrary to what the minister has told the House when he said that there was a grey area and that transit officers did not know whether they could or could not detain people, I bet they were not using handcuffs. These are serious provisions. We are concerned for public safety and want to see real police officers providing that level of service in regard to public safety issues, with transit officers operating in their appropriate role, not as de facto cops. What have we got here in Queensland? We have a government that has let its public transport go to wrack and ruin. It has not kept pace with appropriate security—that is, appropriately trained police officers. I do know that there are existing transit officers—I referred to them earlier. What we are saying is that we do not support the second tier of officers who are in effect going to be de facto police when we want more police providing that level of service. I think the minister should listen to himself when he says how concerned he is about some of the incidents occurring and he should support submissions for more police on our public transport. Mr MICKEL: Doesn’t the member for Maroochydore live in a policy paralysis? She cannot hold a consistent line between yesterday and today. Yesterday she was saying what a great service our public transport provides—how safe and all of that. The member should read the Hansard from yesterday. I will tell members of the terrified world the member for Maroochydore lives in in regard to these extra powers. Have members ever been in the Executive Building? The protective security officers there already have the same powers. No wonder those opposite do not want to get into government. They would be terrified of going into the place. The member for Maroochydore yesterday, along with the opposition, voted against measures to increase the penalty unit for offences. What we are starting to see now is a pattern of soft on crime. Yesterday they voted down those penalties provisions. Mr Messenger: So the Police Union is soft of crime? Mr MICKEL: My friend, I am sorry for you; you voted it down. You are soft on crime and you are soft on the sorts of things that happen in extreme cases on our network. These are the same powers that you are terrified of, petrified of, but we are happy for you to vote against them. Members of the opposition should be under no illusions: I am delighted because it gives me the opportunity to go to the TransLink officers—and I will do this—and tell them that the mob over there wanted to give them less protection than protective security officers. That is what is at stake here. Division: Question put—That clause 223, as read, stand part of the bill. AYES, 48—Attwood, Barry, Bombolas, Boyle, Choi, Croft, Cunningham, Darling, Fenlon, Finn, Grace, Gray, Hayward, Hinchliffe, Hoolihan, Jarratt, Keech, Kiernan, Lavarch, Lawlor, Lucas, Mickel, Miller, Moorhead, Mulherin, Nolan, O’Brien, Palaszczuk, Pearce, Pitt, Purcell, Reilly, Roberts, Robertson, Schwarten, Scott, Smith, Stone, Sullivan, van Litsenburg, Weightman, Welford, Wells, Wendt, Wettenhall, Wilson. Tellers: Male, Jones NOES, 20—Copeland, Cripps, Dempsey, Flegg, Hobbs, Hopper, Horan, Langbroek, Lee Long, McArdle, Malone, Messenger, Nicholls, Seeney, Simpson, Springborg, Stevens, Stuckey. Tellers: Rickuss, Elmes Resolved in the affirmative. Clause 223, as read, agreed to. Clauses 224 to 313, as read, agreed to. 3918 Trans. (New Qld Driver Licensing) A’ment Bill; Adult Proof of Age Card Bill 27 Nov 2008

Third Reading Hon. RJ MICKEL (Logan—ALP) (Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations) (5.27 pm): I move— That the bill be now read a third time. Question put—That the bill be now read a third time. Motion agreed to. Bill read a third time. Long Title Hon. RJ MICKEL (Logan—ALP) (Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations) (5.27 pm): I move— That the long title of the bill be agreed to. Question put—That the long title of the bill be agreed to. Motion agreed to.

TRANSPORT (NEW QUEENSLAND DRIVER LICENSING) AMENDMENT BILL

ADULT PROOF OF AGE CARD BILL

Second Reading (Cognate Debate)

Trans. (New Qld Driver Licensing) A’ment Bill; Adult Proof of Age Card Bill Transport (New Queensland Driver LIcensing) Amendment Bill resumed from 12 November (see p. 3490); and Adult Proof of Age Card Bill resumed from 12 November (see p. 3492), on motion of Mr Mickel— That the bills be now read a second time. Miss SIMPSON (Maroochydore—LNP) (5.28 pm): This debate considers the Transport (New Queensland Driver Licensing) Amendment Bill 2008 and the Adult Proof of Age Card Bill 2008 cognately. Protecting the privacy of Queenslanders is an issue which concerns the state opposition, ensuring that big bureaucracy does not cross the line and become big brother. The state government has long promised the smart licence to replace the existing licensing system, at least since 2004. However, it has failed to make a compelling case as to why Queenslanders should pay with their privacy for a system of yet unknown total cost, and certainly yet unknown cost to them personally when they are to front in future to renew their licences. Of most concern, though, is the fact that this system has the potential to morph into an identity card, to morph into what was previously a very controversial issue—a forerunner to the Australia Card which people had previously rejected. The state opposition does not see that there are adequate safeguards to ensure that this card’s usage is not extended in the future. The use of digitised photos and digitised signatures will be accompanied by the inclusion of a smart chip. There are 2.8 million Queenslanders who hold a drivers licence, and in 2007-08 more than one million drivers licences were renewed or new licences were granted. The government says that the new technology will offer protection against fraud and tampering, but there are still major concerns being raised about other impacts of the legislation. There are concerns about whether it will reduce fraud, and that has been touted as the major reason for this legislation being put forward. There are also issues to do with the cost, but let me start with the concern about this card being extended to other uses. I have looked at some of the comments made by the previous transport minister, the Hon. Paul Lucas, and I will quote from some of the articles. An article on 25 September 2007 in the Australian Financial Review reported that Paul Lucas had assured concerned citizens that the card would be confined to its main purpose of licensing drivers. That was one quote. Yet when I looked at other quotes from the same minister, I found that the minister talked about negotiating with the previous federal government about whether this card could be integrated with some of its systems and have its use extended. I will quote from where the minister talked about this particular provision and the federal government. I quote from Hansard of August 2006, where the Hon. Paul Lucas said— The proposal will be developed under PPP guidelines in accordance with Queensland government policies. The industry has been closely consulted in the development of the tender process including market sounding and public consultation. I want to be very clear about this as a custodian of taxpayers’ funds: the federal government has announced through Minister Hockey its wish to proceed to a smart card for national health issues. 27 Nov 2008 Trans. (New Qld Driver Licensing) A’ment Bill; Adult Proof of Age Card Bill 3919

Paul Lucas goes on to say that he supports that idea. He then states— This will not be the same card as that, but we are working with the federal government in relation to common platform technologies and common standards. That is very important because it will require significant identification to have the issuing of this NQDL when it is out, and it will be needed for the federal card as well. I think the general public view with a great deal of suspicion governments of whatever tier bringing in measures not only to secure their data but also to make it more available to other agencies, and not necessarily with their having a choice in the matter. We know that in this state there is no specific privacy legislation, but we sit underneath the federal framework. But there have been genuine concerns that the provisions put forward by the government do not provide the necessary security against this card being extended further into the future. The fact that there is a microchip that has been included that can be extended to carry other information I think very much raises a suspicion that that is what is intended. As far as consultation is concerned, the general concept of government wanting a PPP and wanting to work up this new licence has been out there for so many years that it has forgotten when the legislation has come forward to consult with those who are potentially affected and those who represent concerned stakeholder groups. We contacted the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties to find what its stance was in more recent times regarding this legislation. It was certainly surprised that this legislation was coming before the House at this point. I will quote from a letter that we have a copy of and which has also been addressed to the minister. It states— The Council objects strenuously to the total lack of consultation during the development of this proposal. Despite the fact that the government has been working on this proposal for four or five years we were not provided with a copy of the draft legislation until the day it was introduced. I got the impression from your officers that the debate on the Bill would not occur for some time. I now find that the legislation is to be dealt with two weeks after it was introduced. I table that letter, because these are valid concerns. Tabled paper: Letter, dated 27 November 2008, from Michael Cope, President, Queensland Council for Civil Liberties to the Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations, in relation to Smartcard drivers licence legislation. There is concern about people’s privacy being breached. The nature of the legislation itself has also been a matter for the Scrutiny of Legislation Committee, whose comments I will come to in a moment. I will also quote from an article of June 2005 by Ian Dearden of the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties. He surmised some of the council’s concerns when he stated— 1. There is, in our view, no economic, technological nor practical rationale for the introduction of a ‘Smart Card’ licence. The existing driver’s licence in Queensland is relatively cheap to produce and maintain, continues to perform adequately for the purpose for which it is produced, and will continue to perform that purpose adequately without the necessity to load vast amounts of vulnerable personal information on to the card. 2. Figures have been quoted for the development of a Queensland Transport Department ‘Smart Card’ up to some $60M. We do not consider that there has been any substantive case made out that the alleged benefits of a ‘Smart Card’ will outweigh the cost. We make that comment, of course, without any consideration of the financial and non-financial cost of the potential breaches of privacy. 3. The Queensland Council for Civil Liberties is deeply concerned about the accumulation of digitized photographs which will be held by Queensland Transport under this proposal. Function creep is a constant concern, particularly at the intersection of the accumulation of information by government departments and the perceived interests of law enforcement agencies. The experience of the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties over many years with law enforcement agencies is that they will seek to take advantage of any opportunity to broaden their powers, particularly when it concerns something as attractive as a database full of photographs of all Queensland drivers. 4. The Queensland Council for Civil Liberties does not accept that the proposed ‘Smart Card’ licence will assist in reducing identity fraud. In many ways it may make it easier. In any event, proof of identity is not and should not be a primary purpose of a driver licence. 5. The Queensland Council for Civil Liberties does not believe that it is an appropriate use of government resources to turn the ‘Smart Card’ into a public/private partnership. The Queensland Council for Civil Liberties considers that this is a significant blurring of the role of a driver licence. There are grave concerns about the potential for misuse by relevant commercial organisations and/or their employees. The absence of state based privacy legislation is a major issue in looking at this commercial aspect of the ‘Smart Card’ proposal. When we turn to the Scrutiny of Legislation Committee concerns that have been put forward, we also see major concerns in regard to the smart card. I extend the application of my comments to it being true of the adult proof of age card as well. The Scrutiny of Legislation Committee has raised some breaches of fundamental legislative principles. I think they are also worth noting in this debate because I think they are quite strong matters that need to be considered by this parliament. They are certainly ones that we have taken into consideration. In regard to the Adult Proof of Age Card Bill, the Scrutiny of Legislation Committee noted that ‘the bill would affect the privacy and confidentiality of personal information provided by individuals’. That is not mincing words. The committee also stated— The committee notes that the specified purposes for which the information collected may be used extend well beyond ‘proof of age’ purposes. The committee further stated— The committee refers to Parliament the question whether the provisions of the bill have sufficient regard to rights and liberties of individuals. 3920 Adjournment 27 Nov 2008

With regard to the other piece of legislation that we are debating cognately—the Transport (New Queensland Driver Licensing) Amendment Bill—the committee comments that the bill would affect the privacy of individuals holding proposed smartcard products such as drivers licences. Once again, they are quite strong words from the Scrutiny of Legislation Committee with regard to its review of the Adult Proof of Age Card Bill and the new smartcard driver licensing enabling legislation that is now before the House. We have heeded these concerns. That is why we will not be supporting this legislation. We do not believe that the appropriate protections have been adhered to. We have other concerns. As I have said before, this government has been talking about a smartcard for some time. While it has been talking about it, its estimates of the costs have blown out all over the place. If the introduction of a smartcard is anything like the debacle surrounding the implementation of the go card, God help Queenslanders. The government introduced a go card that is not a go card but a slow card. Now they are talking about a smartcard which could potentially be a dumb card. The poor members of the public when they have to front up and pay for it! How much will they pay for this smartcard? That is still a secret according to this government. To be more accurate, maybe it does not really know how much it will cost. The government’s track record is that it starts out with one estimate and somehow it grows and multiplies. It turns into something that is completely different from what it originally promised people. The total estimated cost of this project has increased another $37 million since last year. It is still in stage 1, the implementation stage. The project cost has increased from $20 million in 2006-07 to $47 million in 2007-08 and now to an estimated cost of $84 million. That is a 320 per cent increase. The government hopes to recoup this from the motoring public and all those people who will be licensed under this regime. We have to ask the question: how much is this going to cost people? People are very aware of their budgets being squeezed. Perhaps this government is not quite as aware as we have seen the costs of this project continue to escalate. I challenge the minister to advise the House and put on the record what he believes the new licensing regime will cost individual motorists. They have a right to know as this enabling legislation is the platform for rolling out a new drivers licence. People will not have much of an option. There is not a lot of clarity with regard to what is happening with the public-private partnership that the government was hoping to pull together to deliver this project. I seek the minister’s advice about the delivery mechanism for this particular licence card. This was supposed to be out years ago. There is talk that it will now be out in 2010. Whenever it finally hits the deck, Queenslanders have a right to know what it will cost them and what it will mean. There needs to be greater safeguards than those contained in this legislation. There needs to be a greater awareness that people’s privacy is something that they hold dear. They do not trust governments when governments say, ‘Trust us, we are going to look after you.’ That is why the provision for this smartcard to contain a lot more information than is normally contained on a drivers licence or on the licences that are specifically outlined in this legislation is a great reason for suspicion. This is a Trojan Horse that will carry something different in the future. Their concerns are ones that need to be put on the public record. That is why we cannot support the legislation as it stands. Debate, on motion of Miss Simpson, adjourned.

ADJOURNMENT Hon. RE SCHWARTEN (Rockhampton—ALP) (Leader of the House) (5.45 pm): In light of the circumstances and the minister having to travel north to attend to that very tragic event, we will adjourn the House early tonight. I move— That the House do now adjourn.

Tilt Train Accident; Hinchinbrook Electorate, Schools Mr CRIPPS (Hinchinbrook—LNP) (5.45 pm): Before I make a few remarks in my adjournment speech tonight, I put on the record my profound sympathy for the families of those people involved in the accident north of Ingham and south of Cardwell today involving the tilt train. Details of the accident at this moment are not precise. I would not like to comment any further on it. It is with profound sorrow that I express my sympathies. I hope that the families of the people who have lost their lives today will be able to understand that the thoughts and prayers of the people in this parliament are with them. At this time of the year, schools across Queensland—state, catholic and independent—are very busy with the approaching conclusion of the academic year. In recent weeks, I have attended speech days at St Teresa’s College, Abergowrie, and Tully State High School and speech nights at Ingham State High School, Gilroy Santa Maria College and Innisfail State High School. 27 Nov 2008 Adjournment 3921

I am constantly impressed with the achievements of young people in my electorate of Hinchinbrook—academic, cultural and sporting. It bodes well for the future of our great state and I recognise the commitment of parents and teachers to giving their children and students respectively the chance to pursue many opportunities during the years of their formal primary and secondary education. On Saturday, 15th November 2008 I attended the 60th anniversary celebrations of St John’s Catholic Primary School in Silkwood. The day commenced with a rollcall of students who had attended St John’s over six decades. Model classrooms had been established demonstrating classroom conditions in 1948 and contrasting them to an adjacent classroom demonstrating 2008 classroom conditions. I was pleased to be involved in a ceremony to seal a time capsule which enclosed teaching materials and student work from 2008 to be opened at a significant anniversary in the future. I was also very pleased to be invited to open a new kindergarten building at St John’s. The building was blessed by the Most Reverend James Foley, the Bishop of Cairns, who remarked that it was fortunate for the parents of the Silkwood district that the facility was not being run by ABC Learning. The new kindergarten is a welcome investment by the Cairns Catholic education office in the future of the early education of young children in the Silkwood district. I congratulate St John’s on its 60th anniversary. In recent weeks my electorate of Hinchinbrook has experienced two very different outcomes as far as reviews of the future viability of individual schools are concerned. Firstly, we have experienced a very positive outcome at Moresby State School, where the minister for education has resolved to give the school a 12-month reprieve to demonstrate its ongoing viability, which I am confident it will do. I was pleased to lend support to Moresby State School. The school is well served by a dedicated principal and P&C. I thank the minister for education in relation to Moresby State School. The other decision by the minister for education to close Lucinda Point State School was not unexpected and, I concede, probably unavoidable. It is regrettable that after 112 years of delivering quality education to students at Lucinda, that school has closed. However, the written advice to me from Education Queensland indicates that the Lucinda Point State School site will be disposed of. I have communicated my views to the minister that the Lucinda Point State School site needs to be maintained for community use or perhaps even an alternative educational purpose, rather than being sold off. The education of young Queenslanders is an issue about which I care deeply. I have over 40 schools in my electorate and each one of them has my full support and commitment to work on their behalf. Tilt Train Accident; Bornhoffen PCYC Centre for Youth and Community Development Mrs REILLY (Mudgeeraba—ALP) (5.48 pm): I reiterate the words of the member for Hinchinbrook in relation to the very tragic crash today. My sympathies and those of the members of the House go to the families involved. I also back up the words of the member for Hinchinbrook in relation to the special privilege that we enjoy in our position in being able to see, through attending all the school award nights in our electorates, the wonderful achievements and the very impressive work and commitment of the young people in our electorates. Last Saturday I had the pleasure of officiating at the 30th anniversary of the Bornhoffen PCYC Centre for Youth and Community Development near Natural Arch in the picturesque Numinbah Valley. The day was also an opportunity to open some new walking tracks and celebrate 60 years of PCYCs in Queensland. Countless young people have passed through the gates of Bornhoffen in the past 30 years, and the centre now attracts more than 12,000 people each year. The team at Bornhoffen does a fantastic job delivering important youth development programs. It provides 24-hour support to customers, serves more than 35,000 meals a year, maintains a 98-hectare property and runs a 188-bed facility. Like all PCYCs, Bornhoffen has made a positive contribution to the community, helping young people to make the transition into young adulthood in a safe and supervised drug- and alcohol-free environment. The new walking tracks will enable the centre to expand its services and create a unique opportunity to experience some of the most beautiful natural environment in the valley, including waterfalls and rainforests abundant with wildlife. The development of these new tracks reflects exactly what Bornhoffen is famous for, as it is a community effort involving the federal government’s Green Corp, local staff and low-risk prisoners from the Numinbah Valley Correctional Centre and PCYC staff and volunteers. PCYCs like Bornhoffen make a significant difference to the lives of many young people, and we heard firsthand from some of those young people that day and others who have passed through the centre since it started operation in the late 1970s. There are 45 PCYCs around the state and they continue to grow, with a membership of more than 75,000 and an annual attendance of almost two million people supported by 2,000 volunteers and 66 police officers. In the past 18 months the state government has provided almost $3.5 million in Sport and Recreation funding for upgrades to Queensland PCYCs and we will be spending a further $7.6 million over the next four years to expand PCYCs into the cape to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. I congratulate all of those involved in Bornhoffen PCYC over the years. 3922 Adjournment 27 Nov 2008

I also had the opportunity to open the new supervised school crossing at Clover Hill State School, and I congratulate Queensland Transport and the Gold Coast City Council on their collaboration in establishing this supervised crossing on what has become a busy road—Clover Hill Drive—which is the only way in and out of the newly developed and growing Clover Hill residential estate. I congratulate school principal Gayle Allesio and the P&C who identified the need for the crossing.

Recycled Water Mr RICKUSS (Lockyer—LNP) (5.51 pm): I rise to say a few words about the recycled water project that there has been much debate about, because I want to give the House the history of the recycled water debate. It actually started in the Lockyer Valley. Some time between 1996 and 1998 there was an initiative by some local farmers who realised that there was a great resource of water being dumped into the bay. Unfortunately, the water was fairly nutrient rich, which was not doing the bay any good and would actually benefit the farmers greatly in the Lockyer Valley. The nutrients would only have been more of a management issue than a detriment to the Lockyer Valley, as a lot of the nutrients are used in fertiliser anyway. City to Soil was formed which was an organisational group which had over 200 farmer members and was very proactive in encouraging the government to be involved. Darling Downs Vision 2000 also got involved around the same time because it could see that there were hundreds of thousands of megalitres of water that could be pumped from south-east Queensland’s sewage plants. In 2004 I had the pleasure of flying around south-east Queensland and the Darling Downs with Minister McGrady who was the then state development minister trying to encourage him to support this recycled water project. Unfortunately, through a lack of vision by the Labor government at the time, it just could not see that recycled water was a resource and was floundering about what to do with it. It was not until 2005 or 2006 when south-east Queensland became bereft of what the government thought was going to be enough drinking water supplies that it started to realise that this water could be used for better purposes. The Lockyer Valley water forum, which has taken over from City to Soil, has been involved in the process all the way along due to the fact that it realised that there was always going to be some water left over. It has been negotiating with the Queensland Water Commission, but the Queensland Water Commission is talking about a price of over $400 a megalitre which puts it out of reach of the average farmer. This seems extremely dear given that Jim Soorley, when the proposal was first put up, said that he would give it to the farmers in the Lockyer Valley for free. That slowly started to climb and went to $50 a megalitre and now it is over $400. The Victorian government, through the Cranbourne scheme, is supplying it to farmers for $180 a megalitre. I do not know whether Victoria is that much more efficient than the Queensland government or if it is just a bit more realistic. A price of $180 would be more like the realistic price that Queensland farmers should be paying. As the project has now had over $2 billion spent on it, surely the agricultural industries should be the ones that get the benefit of some of the capital outlay that the state government has made over the last couple of years. We went to the last election— Time expired.

Tilt Train Accident; Brisbane Youth Detention Centre Mrs ATTWOOD (Mount Ommaney—ALP) (5.54 pm): I, too, want to extend my sincere sympathies to the families of those killed and injured today at the incident near Ingham. Earlier this month I was able to represent communities minister, Lindy Nelson-Carr, to celebrate achievements of graduates of the certificate IV in youth work. Senior staff from the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre encouraged and supported its teams to take up this professional development opportunity. Today’s young people face their future in a society which is becoming increasingly complex. Department of Communities staff, in particular those at the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre, are committed to working with young people to help them reach their full potential and become valuable contributing members of society. Dedicated detention centre teams provide an extensive range of vocational, recreational, therapeutic, cultural, spiritual, health and educational programs. On top of that, they also manage activities such as the Maori cultural program and graduation, an annual art exhibition at Parliament House which is currently underway, career expos, NAIDOC celebrations and the Duke of Edinburgh Award program. This busy group has now taken the next step to ensure that the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre is delivering the best support, guidance and programs for young people in detention. The Certificate IV in Youth Work (Juvenile Justice) usually takes two years to complete. However, assessors from the Sunshine Coast Institute of TAFE noted the significant experience and commitment of our youth workers and their participation in departmental and external training. Accordingly, they reduced the study period to reflect their learnings and achievements. 27 Nov 2008 Adjournment 3923

I want to acknowledge the Sunshine Coast Institute of TAFE for working in partnership with the Department of Communities to develop the certificate IV in youth work for our graduates. Returning to study after a long time away from the books can be a daunting and challenging experience, particularly when balancing work and family life. All 23 graduates from the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre should be congratulated on their enthusiasm and commitment to expanding their knowledge and experience. The certificate IV in youth work enhances the skills required to respond to critical situations, work with culturally diverse clients, communicate to build strong relationships, and instil safe workplace practices. Participants earned a nationally recognised qualification which acknowledges their skills and experience and provides opportunities for them to further their careers. These professional staff will continue to provide high-quality guidance, support and supervision for young people with complex and challenging needs at a time of high vulnerability. With the hard work of dedicated and professional staff, we can break the cycle of offending by providing young people with the opportunities and skills necessary to address behavioural problems and avoid lifetime criminal activity. Tilt Train Accident; Central Queensland Dental Services Mrs CUNNINGHAM (Gladstone—Ind) (5.57 pm): I also pass on my sympathies to those directly and indirectly involved in the accident this afternoon and also particularly to the train driver and crew, who are always so heavily traumatised. I seek leave to table a non-conforming petition in relation to decay in dental health services in central Queensland. The petition states— The Oral Health Service for the Central Queensland Health District is providing a valuable service in the way of dental treatment through the public system for adults and children. This service has in the last 5 or so years gone from the bottom in providing oral health outcomes to the top of Queensland Health Districts. Dental waiting lists have been reduced and targets have been exceeded. In spite of this, Queensland Health management for the Central Queensland Health District persist in treating oral health workers with disdain by failing to give many of them permanent jobs because of an outdated, archaic and unrealistic ‘funding model’. This means that oral health workers, particularly dental assistants working with children, are forced onto short term temporary contracts that could be cancelled with as little as 2 weeks notice, with the constant threat that these temporary contracts won’t be renewed. This promotes fear and gives no security to workers and flies in the face of Premier Anna Bligh’s ‘Advance Health Action’ that says in effect children should receive top level dental treatment through the school dental program, amongst other things. The Queensland government has admitted that poor oral health has a significant impact on the general health and wellbeing of people and that poor oral/dental health results in high personal and community costs. Removing these temporary dental assistant positions will have a detrimental impact upon public services, including but not limited to— • A huge increase of numbers on waiting lists • Quality of service • Quantity of service • Reflection on the professionalism of workers and management • Concerns for child safety Your petitioners therefore request the House to stop the management dental rot and seek a solid commitment from Queensland Health to maintain and improve Central Queensland Oral Health Services, particularly for children, by— • Increasing the establishment for Central Queensland Dental Assistants by 9 positions • Filling these positions permanently while maintaining or increasing all other Oral Health staffing and establishment levels These are very genuine concerns that have been raised by the union that represents these workers. I also seek leave to table a non-conforming petition that was attached to the fluoride referendum petition that was tabled this morning, with 80 signatures. These signatures were attached to sheets with headers. Leave granted. Tabled paper: Non-conforming petition regarding decay in dental health services in central Queensland. Tabled paper: Non-conforming petition regarding a fluoride referendum. Tilt Train Accident; Logan Hospital Mrs SCOTT (Woodridge—ALP) (6.00 pm): Might I just say that an accident of this nature is one that fills all of us with horror. I send my deepest sympathies to those injured and to the families who have lost loved ones today. I regularly receive accolades in my office for the exceptional care given by health professionals and staff at Logan Hospital. It is a hospital that services an area where young families predominate, an area with a high level of patients with chronic disease and many refugees and migrants who require interpreters and who have backgrounds requiring sensitivity and specialised services. The hospital has an emergency department that, although it has recently been upgraded and enlarged, can struggle to cope with the growing volume of patients, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights when, unfortunately, many of the injuries and illnesses are self-inflicted. If the incidence of binge drinking, smoking, drug taking and unhealthy lifestyles were to be reduced substantially, we would be in a far better position to deal with genuine emergencies. 3924 Adjournment 27 Nov 2008

However, the brightest, happiest department within any hospital is the maternity section, and in Logan Hospital this is a very busy place. From recent family experience—in fact as recently as yesterday morning—I can say that it is a great place for many mothers in Logan and beyond to obtain good prenatal care and then to give birth and have the best possible start for their new bubs. Yesterday my youngest son and his wife became proud parents for the second time when Casey gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, a little sister for Benjamin, aged two, who was also born at Logan Hospital. Due to a previous difficult birth, Casey was scheduled for a caesarean and so I was able to apply for leave to look after Benjamin to allow Neil to be present at the birth. It is one of the great joys in life to see your children mature, and particularly to see your sons gently cradling their newborn and taking an equal partnership in parenting their young children. While awaiting Casey’s return from the birthing area, we spent a little time speaking with her obstetrician, Dr Janet Draper—a young mother of two herself. How reassuring it is to know that our mothers are in the safe hands of doctors of Dr Draper’s calibre. I want to thank her for what I have observed of the very best of care throughout Casey’s pregnancy and now the birth of little Sienna Paige, and also for the care of midwife Robyn Day and other staff. Sienna is a precious addition to our family. We now look forward to our fourth grandchild, who will be born in Melbourne early next year. At Logan Hospital the obstetricians and maternity staff have the privilege—and it is a privilege—of caring for one of the most multicultural areas of the state, where mothers from very diverse cultures and religions come to receive care. I gain great joy from seeing our beautifully dressed women from Africa— Time expired.

Tilt Train Accident; Department of Child Safety Mr MESSENGER (Burnett—LNP) (6.03 pm): I also would like to extend my deepest sympathies to the north Queensland tilt train accident victims and their families. Today I have a couple of important messages for the Minister for Child Safety. Firstly, I would like to congratulate her, because earlier this week she was kind enough to speak personally with me about the case of a little five-, almost six-year-old Wide Bay-Burnett girl who has been living with her grandparents since the age of 2½. The child was placed in the care of her grandparents 3½ years ago because as a 2½-year-old she was sexually assaulted while in the care of her biological father by a family friend while the father was ‘off his face on drugs’. It has been alleged that the father has an extensive criminal record and has been charged and found guilty of kidnapping, torture, assault, stealing, fraud, car theft and break-and-enter crimes and the young victim’s biological mother has been charged with assaulting police. Both biological parents are also alleged to have a strong involvement with illicit drugs and both have spent time in jail. Secondly, today I ask the minister to please think very carefully and quickly before she allows this young girl to be taken away from her Queensland grandparents and her loving, caring, stable and safe environment and given back to her biological father, who lives in New South Wales. I had not intended to bring this matter before the House, because I wanted to give the minister time to investigate and act. But time is running out. The child will be taken away on the 22nd of next month—three days before Christmas. After speaking this afternoon with the child’s grandmother, who has not been contacted by the department in the past two days, I have decided to give voice to their fears and their anguish and publicly ask in this place their very important questions. Is it true that the department refused to make the father undertake blood and hair sample tests because it infringed on his civil rights? Can the department guarantee that this little girl is being returned to a drug-free environment? Has the department investigated the claim from the biological mother that both she and the biological father had shared a hit of heroin a few months ago? Why have the child’s sexual assault social worker’s expert assessment and recommendations been ignored? Why have the Commission for Young People and Child Guardian’s independent assessment and recommendations been ignored? I call on the Premier to intervene and conduct an investigation into the grandparents’ concerns. Every member of this House is personally responsible for the future safety and wellbeing of this little girl.

Tilt Train Accident; United Bonded Fabrics Mr HINCHLIFFE (Stafford—ALP) (6.06 pm): I commence tonight by extending my heartfelt sympathies to those who have been affected by today’s tragic tilt train accident north of Ingham. In the context of the recent global economic turmoil and competition from low-cost manufacturers, this afternoon I had the pleasure to represent the Minister for Tourism, Regional Development and Industry, the Hon. Desley Boyle MP, at the official opening of a state-of-the-art polyester plant that is operated by United Bonded Fabrics Pty Ltd in Kedron. This polyester plant is indeed one of the largest in Australia. It is very good to see this commitment to manufacturing in the northern suburbs of Brisbane on a site that has historically been associated with textile manufacturing for very many years. 27 Nov 2008 Adjournment 3925

Manufacturing is a key contributor to Queensland’s prosperity. The manufacturing industry in Queensland is valued at $17 billion annually and employs more than 192,000 people. The Bligh government particularly recognises the importance of manufacturing to the Queensland economy. It is really great to see United Bonded Fabrics Pty Ltd further expanding its national operations with this new plant, which is right in the heart of Brisbane’s north side. Mr Bombolas: In your electorate. Mr HINCHLIFFE: Absolutely—in the electorate of Stafford. It is well known that United Bonded Fabrics has been operating in Kedron since 1961. It produces a range of diverse products—textiles, geotextiles and insulation products. United Bonded Fabrics took over the operations of the Kedron mill, which had been operating on that site since June 1948 when it opened as Bruce Pie Industries—a name that is not unknown to this House since Bruce Pie was the member for Windsor and the first leader of the Queensland People’s Party, the forerunner to the Liberal Party in this place. Bruce Pie was the owner of that important business, which provided a lot of employment for people on the north side. This new facility extends the massive range of products that are produced on that site for insulation, air-conditioning filtration, bonded wadding for the apparel industry, as well as the traditional carpet underfelt, which has been the mainstay of the business for a very long time, certainly since United Bonded Fabrics took over the facility. Environmental impacts have been minimised with this new polyester plant. Up to 85 per cent of the products are made from recycled bottle fibres. The ozone-depleting potentials, or volatile organic compounds, are not used in the production. Time expired.

Bundaberg Steam Train Preservation Society

Mr DEMPSEY (Bundaberg—LNP) (6.09 pm): I recently had the honour of attending the Bundaberg Steam Train Preservation Society’s 30th anniversary dinner. This society trades as the Australian Sugar Cane Railway and is located in the beautiful Botanic Gardens of North Bundaberg and operates the only working cane railway museum in Australia. This railway is a vital part of not only Bundaberg’s rich heritage but also Queensland’s proud past and is run by a group of highly dedicated volunteers. Bundaberg was once the sugarcane capital and the city’s most famous product, Bundaberg Rum, continues to be derived from Bundaberg’s quality sugar. The society’s fleet also reflects the progress of steam locomotives used in the district from 1907 to 1978. A group of six people met and formed the society in 1978 and no-one could have envisaged what would transpire over the next 30 years. The train network has operated every Sunday since 1998 and more frequently during school holiday periods to meet demand and special requests. One special person who has been there since day one is Ross Driver, whose wife Wendy is the current president and has also given many years of outstanding service. Geoff Mitchell officially opened the track on 20 November 1988, Australia’s bicentennial year, and what a magnificent 200th birthday gift the Australian Sugar Cane Railway has been and continues to be for Bundaberg. After 10 years of planning and hard work, the society commenced with one locomotive named Germany and in 1993 Invicta loco came into the society’s possession. After 10 years of hard work and restoration, this special loco was re-commissioned. In 2002, No. 1 Bundaberg Fowler was donated by Bundaberg Sugar and a diesel was also purchased by the society in 2004. During the past two decades, the society has carried over 300,000 passengers and recently won the Australian Tourist Heritage Railways Association award for the Best Locomotive Restoration Project in 2008. These achievements are a great tribute to Ross and Wendy Driver and their son Scott, who featured in last year’s Disability Services Queensland ‘Share Your Story’ calendar. Society members, who now total 80 in number, range in age from 12 to 80 years of age. A special thank you also to Terry Olsson, President of the Australian Narrow Gauge Railway Museum, who was also on hand to help celebrate this special night. However, the biggest heroes are the dedicated members who have given almost a staggering 300 years of service. Each five years members are presented with a new cap displaying their years of membership, and it is hats off and a toast to not only Ross Driver for 30 years of membership but also Ces Jensen for 25 years, Tony Burchardt for 20 years, Harry Symons and Flo Webb for 15 years, Bruce McKay for 10 years, and Graham and Jenny McLucas, Robbie Prickett, David Twiss, Harvey Flanders and Denise Fehlaver for five years. These dedicated volunteers donate time not for rewards but because they enjoy what they are doing and have great fellowship in doing so. We could all certainly take a leaf out of their book and do a little bit more to help preserve important parts of the past for current and future generations. 3926 Attendance 27 Nov 2008

Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors Worldwide Australian Wildlife Hospital; Crocodiles Ms MALE (Glass House—ALP) (6.12 pm): I rise this afternoon to inform the House of the opening of the new Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors Worldwide Australian Wildlife Hospital at Beerwah. On Saturday 15 November, Steve Irwin Day, I joined with Senator Mark Furner, Terri Irwin and her children, Robert and Bindi, to do the unveiling. The wildlife hospital is one of the biggest conservation projects that the Irwin family has undertaken. The hospital is a $3.7 million state-of-the-art facility which will play a vital role in native Australian wildlife conservation, incorporating wildlife rescue, surgery and rehabilitation, with a focus on education and research. Our much-loved Steve Irwin, whom we all miss terribly, had always said that wildlife, habitat and people all depend on each other; and a healthy environment requires an investment in humanity and the support of a global community—that is what nature intended. Here we see the Wildlife Warriors, Australia Zoo, the federal, state and local governments, business and the community all coming together to make his vision a reality. The new hospital has the capacity to treat up to 10,000 wildlife patients every year. I am so proud of the work that all of the team do at the hospital, especially Dr Jon Hangar and Gail Gipps. I also want to comment briefly on the appalling lack of environmental awareness in relation to crocodiles that the Liberal National Party has displayed. Its usual motto of ‘if it grows knock it down, if it moves shoot it’ continues to apply. The crocodile research program which the LNP so disparagingly refers to is a successful program that encompasses the tracking of crocodiles both by satellite and acoustic telemetry and is producing results that have worldwide impact and application regarding the movement patterns and activities of estuarine crocodiles. Professor Franklin of the University of Queensland, in collaboration with the late Steve Irwin and the EPA, has been doing groundbreaking work in relation to crocodile behaviour since 2003. This research will now continue at the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve on Cape York Peninsula. This research has the overriding goal of providing much-needed information that will aid in the management and conservation of crocodiles. The LNP sees fit to denigrate this research and to misguide people into thinking that this work was in some way connected with a recent fatality at the Endeavour River at Cooktown and an earlier one at Lakefield National Park. These are completely unrelated matters and it reflects very badly on the opposition that it should try to link them for cheap political reasons. The minister has asked that the crocodile management program be reviewed now and continuously in the future. Scientific experts and interested parties have been consulted as part of this review and their knowledge needs to be incorporated in any changes that are made. I love the wild areas that we have in this state and whenever I am in crocodile territory I obey the rules which will keep me safe: do not go into water or stay on the water’s edge when in north Queensland and do not camp beside the water. There are very basic rules which ensure your safety and if everyone obeyed them then there would not be any problems. Humans are supposed to be the smartest creatures on earth. It is about time that we proved it by staying out of the crocodile’s territory. Question put—That the House do now adjourn. Motion agreed to. The House adjourned at 6.15 pm.

ATTENDANCE Attwood, Barry, Bligh, Bombolas, Boyle, Choi, Copeland, Cripps, Croft, Cunningham, Darling, Dempsey, Dickson, Elmes, English, Fenlon, Finn, Flegg, Foley, Fraser, Gibson, Grace, Gray, Hayward, Hinchliffe, Hobbs, Hoolihan, Hopper, Horan, Jarratt, Johnson, Jones, Keech, Kiernan, Langbroek, Lavarch, Lawlor, Lee Long, Lee, Lingard, Lucas, McArdle, McNamara, Male, Malone, Menkens, Messenger, Mickel, Miller, Moorhead, Mulherin, Nelson-Carr, Nicholls, Nolan, O’Brien, Palaszczuk, Pearce, Pitt, Pratt, Purcell, Reeves, Reilly, Rickuss, Roberts, Robertson, Schwarten, Scott, Seeney, Shine, Simpson, Smith, Spence, Springborg, Stevens, Stone, Struthers, Stuckey, Sullivan, van Litsenburg, Wallace, Weightman, Welford, Wellington, Wells, Wendt, Wettenhall, Wilson

GOVERNMENT PRINTER, QUEENSLAND—2008