Assembly Wednesday, 9 September 1998
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WESTERN AUSTRALIA Parliamentary Debates (HANSARD) THIRTY-FIFTH PARLIAMENT SECOND SESSION 1998 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Wednesday, 9 September 1998 Legislative Assembly Wednesday, 9 September 1998 THE SPEAKER (Mr Strickland) took the Chair at 11.00 am, and read prayers. CONNOLLY DRIVE, CLARKSON AND KINROSS Petition Mr MacLean presented the following petition bearing the signatures of 224 persons - To the Honourable the Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia in Parliament assembled. We the undersigned petitioners respectfully request that Parliament supports the joining of Connolly Drive between Clarkson and Kinross so that residents can access Currambine train station and also Joondalup City Centre. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that you will give this matter earnest consideration and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. [See petition No 33.] ONE NATION Petition Mr Kobelke presented the following petition bearing the signatures of 84 persons - To the Honourable the Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia in Parliament assembled. We, the undersigned condemn the failure of the Federal and State Liberal Governments to take a principled stand against the One Nation Party which was recently reported on the 16th August in the "Sunday Times" as casting a racist slur against Australians of Iranian descent. Australia has a proud record of freedom, tolerance and respect for ethnic diversity which is now under challenge from a vocal minority. Many Iranians are now proud to call Australia their home and are hard working and law abiding citizens. They do not deserve to be falsely maligned in this way. And your petitioners therefore humbly pray that you will give this matter earnest consideration and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. [See petition No 34.] SENTENCING LEGISLATION Petition Mr Baker presented the following petition bearing the signatures of 690 persons - To the Honourable the Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia in Parliament assembled. We, the undersigned residents of the new City of Joondalup demand that new legislation be introduced as a matter of priority implementing: 'Truth in sentencing' Zero tolerance for all crimes - particularly crimes involving violence against the person Mandatory minimum sentences for violent criminals, and Mandatory abstinence drug treatment programs for heroin addicts. We, our children and our elderly, want to feel safe in our homes and in places of public resort! Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that you will give this matter earnest consideration and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. [See petition No 35.] [Wednesday, 9 September 1998] 1053 GRAFFITI AND VANDALISM Petition Mrs Hodson-Thomas presented the following petition bearing the signatures of 176 persons - To the Honourable the Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia in Parliament assembled. We, the undersigned residents of the suburbs of Carine, Duncraig, Karrinyup, Trigg, North Beach, Waterman, Marmion, and Sorrento respectfully call for specific legislation to deal with the proliferation of graffiti and vandalism in our suburbs, which should include provisions - 1. Restricting the sale of spray paint to juveniles; 2. Deeming that any juvenile in possession of spray paint in a public place after dark be deemed to be in possession of the same with intent to graffiti until the contrary is proved; 3. Mandatory sentencing for juvenile graffiti offenders to include compulsory clean-up work with specially established Weekend Graffiti Removal Task Forces; 4. Prohibiting any juvenile convicted of criminal damage by graffiti from possessing spray paint for a period of 5 years after the date of the last such conviction. 5. Increased civil and criminal protection for members of the public who elect to apprehend suspected juvenile graffiti offenders and vandals; and 6. Making custodial parents more responsible for damage caused by their children in the form of graffiti and vandalism to property. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that you will give this matter earnest consideration and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. [See petition No 36.] XEROX INTERNATIONAL TRIATHLON SERIES Petition Mr Baker presented the following petition bearing the signatures of 38 persons - To the Honourable the Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia in Parliament assembled. We, the undersigned residents and avid sports men and women of the City of Joondalup, request that EventsCorp WA support our local Member of Parliament's proposal to conduct 3 stages of the 1999 Xerox International Triathlon Series in the Joondalup area. The City of Joondalup has beautiful beaches, an excellent road system, an efficient public transport system, well equipped parks and recreational facilities and would make an ideal venue for such a series. Further, the national and international TV coverage associated with the event would greatly assist in promoting the Joondalup region and its various tourist facilities, hospitality industries and other attributes. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that you will give this matter earnest consideration and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. [See petition No 37.] NORTHERN SUBURBS RAILWAY LINE EXTENSION Petition MR MacLEAN (Wanneroo) [11.08 am]: I have a petition couched in the following terms - To the Honourable the Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia in Parliament assembled. We the undersigned petitioners request Parliament support in the extension of the northern suburbs railway line from Currambine station to Merriwa and that this extension be commenced during this term of Government. 1054 [ASSEMBLY] Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that you will give this matter earnest consideration and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. The petition bears 203 signatures and I certify that it conforms to the standing orders of the Legislative Assembly. There were another 276 signatures to this petition which, unfortunately, do not conform to the standing orders of the Legislative Assembly. The SPEAKER: I direct that the petition be brought to the Table of the House. [See petition No 38.] COMMON LAW DAMAGES Petition Mr Kobelke presented the following petition bearing the signatures of 17 persons - To the Honourable the Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia in Parliament assembled. We, the undersigned express our total opposition to the move by the Court Government to deny injured workers the right to make claims for common law damages for negligence through the "second gateway" in section 93D of the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act. To abolish "second gateway" claims would: 1. deny many seriously injured workers the legal right to seek recompense through the common law, when they have suffered a loss due to the negligence of their employer, 2. remove an incentive for employers to improve health and safety in the workplace and thus lead to more accidents and injuries to Western Australian workers and 3. deny injured workers fair compensation for their loss and suffering so that insurance companies can make bigger profits. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that you will give this matter earnest consideration and your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. [See petition No 39.] WORKSAFE WESTERN AUSTRALIA COMMISSIONER Statement by Premier MR COURT (Nedlands - Premier) [11.11 am]: Yesterday the Leader of the Opposition called on me to sack Neil Bartholomaeus, WorkSafe WA Commissioner, as a result of findings by the Commissioner for Public Sector Standards. I advised I took the findings seriously and had sought assurances from Mr Bartholomaeus that workplace safety had not been compromised. However, I also advised I was concerned that the report did not provide sufficient basis for a "suspicion" that Mr Bartholomaeus had breached a code of ethics or a code of conduct or a standard that would justify commencing disciplinary proceedings against him. It is important to understand that in dealing with disciplinary matters in the public sector, a process is required to be followed. No employer, including a minister, is able to simply decide that a person should be dismissed without observing due process. The Public Sector Management Act introduced a new framework for the disciplinary process. That process is set out in part 5 of the Act, commencing at section 76. In January 1996 the then Public Sector Management Office published a booklet called "A Practical Guide to Discipline" which was intended to serve as a comprehensive working guide for human resource practitioners and managers. At page 8 it states that the principles that apply to the disciplinary process are set out in sections 8 and 9 of the Act. In particular under section 8(1)(C), it states - All employees are to be treated fairly and consistently and are not to be subjected to arbitrary or capricious administrative acts. An explanation of the disciplinary process required to be followed begins at page 12 of the booklet. [Wednesday, 9 September 1998] 1055 Basically, the procedure commences at section 81 of the Act which states that when an employing authority suspects that a person has committed a breach of discipline, it may give the person a reasonable opportunity to submit an explanation. This is an essential precondition to the commencement of any disciplinary process. According to paragraph 8.1.2 of the PSMO publication, however, that notice should not be given until the employing authority has undertaken a preliminary investigation and has determined that enough evidence can support its suspicions. If, after considering the employee's explanation, the employing authority continues to suspect the employee has committed a breach of discipline, an investigation may be established. An investigation can find that there was no breach or that there was a minor or a serious breach. A serious breach will lead to charges being laid.