Administration of the Government of the State
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ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE .......................................................... 49 ASSENT TO BILLS ................................................................................................................................... 50 AUDIT OFFICE ......................................................................................................................................... 50 BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE .................................................................................................................... 50 CENTENARY OF FIRST WORLD WAR ................................................................................................ 46 COMMITTEE ON THE OMBUDSMAN, THE POLICE INTEGRITY COMMISSION AND THE CRIME COMMISSION ........................................................................................................................................... 50 DEATH OF RONALD JOSEPH MULOCK, A FORMER MINISTER OF THE CROWN AND MEMBER FOR THE ELECTORATES OF NEPEAN, PENRITH AND ST MARYS ............................................... 49 DEATH OF WILLIAM ARTHUR WADE, A FORMER MEMBER FOR NEWCASTLE ...................... 49 ELECTORAL DISTRICT OF CHARLESTOWN ..................................................................................... 49 ELECTORAL DISTRICT OF NEWCASTLE ........................................................................................... 49 GOVERNOR'S SPEECH ........................................................................................................................... 48 GOVERNOR'S SPEECH: ADDRESS-IN-REPLY ............................................................................ 68, 100 JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE ON SENTENCING OF CHILD SEXUAL ASSAULT OFFENDERS67, 101 LAW OF EVIDENCE BILL (PRO FORMA) 2014 ................................................................................... 48 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY .................................................................................................................... 46 OFFICE OF TRANSPORT SAFETY INVESTIGATIONS ...................................................................... 50 OPENING OF SESSION BY HER EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR ................................................. 48 PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICER ................................................................................................ 49 RESTORATION OF BUSINESS OF THE PREVIOUS SESSION .......................................... 66, 101, 101 SESSIONAL ORDERS .............................................................................................................................. 51 SITTING SCHEDULE SPRING 2014 ....................................................................................................... 51 STATE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE .................................................................. 50 46 NEW SOUTH WALES PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) ___________ SECOND SESSION OF THE FIFTY-FIFTH PARLIAMENT ____________________ LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Tuesday 9 September 2014 ______ The House met at 11.00 a.m. pursuant to the proclamation of Her Excellency the Governor. The Speaker (The Hon. Shelley Elizabeth Hancock) took the chair at 11.00 a.m. The Speaker offered the Prayer and acknowledgement of country. The Clerk read the proclamation. CENTENARY OF FIRST WORLD WAR The SPEAKER: I draw the attention of the House to important historic events from a century ago during World War I. On 8 September 1914, on the motion of the Premier and with the unanimous support of the House, the member for Armidale and the member for Willoughby were granted leave to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force, which the House noted was "being raised to assist the Empire in the present deplorable war". There could hardly have been two less similar characters than Lieutenant Colonel George Frederick Braund and Edward Rennix Larkin. Braund, English-born and highly educated, had migrated to Australia with his family and prospered with them in the business community of Armidale, where they became leaders of the community. In 1913 he was elected as the Liberal member for that electorate. A conservative local magistrate, President of the Chamber of Commerce and an officer, theosophist, teetotaller, vegetarian and fitness fanatic, he became the first Australian parliamentarian to enlist for active duty. Larkin, who was born in North Lambton, was a foot-constable in the Metropolitan Police Force, represented Australia in international rugby and demonstrated that code-switching is no recent phenomenon. He later played for the Kangaroos and became the first full-time Secretary of the Australian Rugby League. He joined the Australian Labor Party [ALP] and in 1913 was elected the member for Willoughby—the first ALP member to win an electorate on the North Shore. Mr Adrian Piccoli: And the last. The SPEAKER: I would like to complete the statement with some respect from members. Larkin served on the board of Royal North Shore Hospital and agitated for the building of the harbour bridge. In his final address to the New South Wales Parliament on 18 August 1914 Larkin said, "I cannot engage in the work of recruiting and urge others to enlist unless I do so myself." Both landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 and both died there. Ted Larkin and his brother, Martin, both fell on the first day. They have no known grave and their names are recorded on the Lone Pine memorial. Frederick Braund died in the early hours of 4 May 1915 and lies in the Beach Cemetery at Anzac Cove. They were the only two Australian parliamentarians to lose their lives in the great conflict of World War I: Different indeed, but united in doing what they saw as their duty. They were willing to pay the ultimate price for their beliefs—and together, they did. I invite other members of the House to also mark the historical significance of the end of World War I through some short statements. 9 September 2014 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY 47 Mrs ROZA SAGE (Blue Mountains) [11.06 a.m.], by concurrence: As we all know, this year is the beginning of the commemoration of the Centenary of Anzac—the 100-year milestone of the beginning of World War I, the Great War, and the war to end all wars. As history shows us, unfortunately this was not the war to end all wars, but it was the war that changed the world forever. As the centenary commemorations progress through to 2018, we will shift our focus from Turkey and Gallipoli to the Western Front in Belgium and France before the conclusion of the war and the armistice is remembered. The drums of war reached into all regions of the new nation of Australia. Every city, town and region in the State was touched, including the Blue Mountains. More than 8.8 per cent of the entire population of New South Wales enlisted: Every family in the State had a representative—a brother, a father, a husband, a nephew or a cousin—serving in the Australian Imperial Force [AIF]. Blue Mountains historical organisations have a vast treasure-trove of information about the area during those war years. As was common in most small towns during the war, the communities were very committed to the war effort, despite the action taking place far from Australia and the safety of the Blue Mountains. Extracts from historian Peter Rickwood tell of Blue Mountains villages quickly mobilising to support the boys at the front. Residents of Lawson, as they did in some of the villages, quickly organised fundraising events, while Katoomba established a Patriotic Fund. The Leura group had the intention of purchasing comforts for the troops and giving support to families deprived of a breadwinner. Residents of Blackheath chose to commence preparing garments, so the ladies of Blackheath took to sewing and knitting. In 1915 a movement known as the Coo-ee March came through our own Blue Mountains enlisting recruits during stops at Mount Victoria, Katoomba, Lawson and Springwood. I am indebted to local historian Ken Goodlet for information about the Coo-ee March in his excellent book Blue Mountains Journeys, which was written for the bicentenary of the crossing of the Blue Mountains by Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth. Three Gilgandra men—William (Bill) Hitchen, Alex Halden (Joe) Miller and John Lee—had the idea of a recruitment March from Gilgandra in the Central West, all 320 miles over the Western Road, now the Great Western Highway, to Sydney. All the way men entered the coo-ee call, walking to volunteer to fight against the Germans and their allies in World War I. The Gilgandra men put the idea of the march to the Defence Department, which was less than impressed, so the Gilgandra Recruiting Association raised its own resources. They commenced their march on 8 October 1915 to great fanfare. They marched up to Mount Victoria on 4 November along Berghofers Pass and were greeted by local dignitaries, the Reverend Heffernan of the Church of England, the local shire president and councillor to unfurl the flag, the Union Jack. The marchers were treated to a campfire concert filled with songs and recruitment speeches. This was a grand affair for the 476 residents of Mount Victoria. As the marchers progressed over the mountains it was reported that each village vied to extend lavish hospitality. They were not planning to stop at Blackheath, but were waylaid by the generosity of the residents and had a short spell under the palms at the Hydro Majestic Hotel in Medlow Bath. Katoomba gave the marchers a civic reception. It was reported in the local newspaper that almost the entire population