Issue 225 9 October to 12 November, 2017 Letter From
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Issue 225 9 October to 12 November, 2017 Letter from MelbourneA monthly public affairs bulletin, a simple précis, distilling and interpreting public policy and government decisions, which affect business opportunities in Victoria and Australia. Saving you time for twenty-four years. The Hospital Back up Edition In This Issue: • By-election • Wind in the West • New Mp coffee • Fwacked gas, or gas • Student say on chart free to hard without fracking Principal copy subscribers • Liberal Fund Fight • Next edition • Vale Sir Ninian • Dairy Farmers upccoming Events Stephen • Great Forest in Melbourne National Park • Dog corner Letter From Melbourne // Issue 225 Letter from Melbourne About Us Since 1994. A monthly public affairs newsletter distilling public policy and Affairs of State govern-ment decisions which effect business opportunities in Victoria, 43 Richmond Terrace Australia and beyond. 2,500,000 words available to search digitally. Richmond, Melbourne, 3121 Victoria, Australia Contents P 03 9654 1300 [email protected] Editorial ....................................................3 Business & Investment ...........................10 www.affairs.com.au Feature ......................................................3 Industrial Relations ............................... 11 Letter From Melbourne is a monthly public affairs bulletin, a simple précis, distilling and Governance ............................................. 4 Justice ..................................................... 11 interpreting public policy and government decisions, which affect business oppor- Federal .....................................................7 Local Government .................................12 tunities in Victoria and Australia. Written for the regular traveller, or people Agriculture ...............................................7 Melbourne ..............................................12 with meeting-filled days, it’s more about business opportunities than politics. Arts & Events ...........................................7 Planning ................................................13 Letter from Melbourne is independent. It’s Energy, Environment & Conservation ...7 Transport ...............................................13 not party political or any other political. It does not have the imprimatur of govern- Education ................................................ 8 Society ....................................................14 ment at any level. Letter from Melbourne developed a federal and national coverage. Health ..................................................... 8 Dog Corner ............................................15 This spawned Letter from Canberra (www. letterfromcanberra.com.au) nine years ago. Vale ........................................................15 The only communication tool of its type, ALISTAIR URQUHART, BA LLB Letter from Melbourne keeps subscribers ABOUT THE EDITOR— abreast of recent developments in the policy Alistair Urquhart graduated from the Australian National University in Canberra, in Law, arena on a local, state and federal level. History and Politics. He may even hold the record for miles rowed on Lake Burley Griffin. Published by A.B Urquhart & Company He was admitted as a barrister and solicitor to the Supreme Court of Victoria, and remains a (non-prac- Pty Ltd trading as Affairs of State. ticing) member of the Law Institute of Victoria. Previously, he graduated from high school in Bethesda, Maryland, and had many opportunities to become aware of the workings of Washington D.C. Disclaimer: Material in this publication is general comment and not intended as advice For 30 years, he listened every Sunday evening to the late Alistair Cooke and his Letter from America. Alistair’s on any particular matter. Professional advice early career was mostly in the coal industry, where he became involved with energy, environmental and water should to be sought before action is taken. issues, and later in the SME finance sector. Material is complied from various sources He found time to be involved in a range of community activities where he came to understand including newspaper articles, press releases, gov- some of the practical aspects of dealing with government and meeting people across the political ernment publications, Hansard, trade journals, etc. spectrum. He now chairs a large disability employment service, including its British operations. Copyright: This newsletter is copyright. No part may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission from the publisher. Affairs of State respects your privacy. While we do believe that the information contained in Letter from Melbourne will be useful to you, please advise us if you do not wish to receive any further communications from us. Edited words in this edition 13867: Staff Editor Alistair Urquhart [email protected] Sub-editor-Will Pasznyk [email protected] Design-Bronson Walker [email protected] Subscriptions & Advertising Alistair Urquhart, as above. Editor exchanging sock stories at Spring Street Cafe 2 9 October to 12 November, 2017 of the dreamers will realize that as with Bath said after months of deliberation she had VAD, there are many facts which make up decided against supporting the bill, The Age. a reliable 12 month energy scheme. It remains unclear whether the proposed Just a few words. Your Editor declared at euthanasia bill has enough support to pass the time that Melbourne traffic hit ‘very both houses. This comes as new polling slow’ 17 hours a day as at 15 February of 9,000 people commissioned by lobby 2015. Time moves on and it is incredibly group Go Gentle showed overwhelming worse. Public transport is about 15 per cent support for the legislation. Liberal Robert worse. This is a personal reality check Clark, the former state Attorney-General, has written to all MPs outlining a range of Crime is up by 10 per cent across the range EDITORIAL concerns about loopholes in the legislation. of serious and ..less.. serious crimes. Housing The Voluntary Assisted Dying (Bill) has been ownership is as we know, not for more than half the main attraction in the Parliament this of the next generation, though Geelong etc are past month. There are so many facts and so He argued the laws would allow as few as two good places, as long as local jobs are available. many other considerations. In particular, the GPs to operate clinics dedicated to ‘death with personal or Family experiences of people in dignity’. Two senior doctors are required to sign the last days of their lives. This brings both Cover off on a patient’s wish to access assisted dying. objective and subjective considerations. Many Growing Melbourne This claim has been rejected by Professor Brain tears in the Parliament as the stories were Owler, the chair of the ministerial advisory told. Many of Melbourne’s, and Australia’s best FEATURE panel, who says one of the doctors must be medical people, are and have been involved. an expert in the patient’s condition, The Age. Upper House Challenge It literally would take a person without too Victoria’s voluntary euthanasia laws appear much experience in this arena, such as ‘a unlikely to pass without major changes as normal parliamentarian’, many weeks to read Euthanasia Bill Passes Lower House three MPs insist on amendments. The life up and hear up about, and consider and muse After four days, 330 proposed amendments and expectancy of those allowed to seek voluntary upon the right way to go. Most MP’s have a 26-hour marathon sitting, historic voluntary euthanasia is a key issue, with the current 12 been flooded by all means of communication. euthanasia laws have passed Victorian months likely to be reduced to six months. At Many people have changed their mind, Parliament’s lower house. The assisted dying least two upper house MPs maintained they Parliamentarians or others, and as they might bill will become legal in Victoria if the upper would not support the bill in its present form. hear the next chapter, or another perspective. house passes the laws in a final vote expected in November. In the end, weary MPs voted 47 to 37 in favour of the Andrews government’s bill. Liberal Simon Ramsey has joined indepen- Doctors have a range of views. Some dent James Purcell in saying he wanted groups of doctors have come together: amendments to the legislation. Mr Ramsey general practitioners, geriatricians, and But there were times during this long said he supported an assisted dying regime other specialties. As have some other week on Spring Street where it felt much but held strong concerns that he wanted non-medical people. All influencing done closer than that. The Andrews government to address. Mr Ramsey confirmed he was professionally and not in a noisy way. started quietly confident it could get its finalising his set of amendments to the bill. Euthanasia bill through. The government was even hopeful it could be done in two Any reader who wants to read fifteen full days, perhaps not paying enough attention to Professor Brian Owler, who chaired the pages of detail on VAD, please ask Editor. conservative Liberal Robert Clark’s notice of ministerial advisory panel on voluntary assisted amendments and his determination to resist dying, says extensive consultation had gone what he believed was a deeply flawed bill. into the current bill. ‘It’s difficult to ignore the