Legislative Council
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14380 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Wednesday 2 March 2005 ______ The President (The Hon. Dr Meredith Burgmann) took the chair at 11.00 a.m. The Clerk of the Parliaments offered the Prayers. AUDIT OFFICE Report The President announced the receipt, pursuant to the Public Finance and Audit Act 1983, of a performance audit report of the Auditor-General entitled "Follow-up of Performance Audit: Maintenance of Public Housing", dated March 2005. Ordered to be printed. GENDER VIOLENCE IN SPORT Motion by Ms Lee Rhiannon agreed to: 1. That this House: (a) recognises that gender violence in sport is a national issue and not only limited to football, (b) commends the National Rugby League (NRL) for commissioning the University of Sydney's "Playing by the Rules Project" and committing to the project's recommendations, and (c) commends the Australian Football League (AFL) for releasing "Discussion Document Re Development of AFL Response to the Issue of Violence Against Women" and inviting public comment. 2. That this House supports Football Fans Against Sexual Assault (FFASA) in: (a) submitting a proposal for change "Towards Champions: A Better Culture, A Better Game", to the AFL and NRL on behalf of over 1,000 football fans and citizens Australiawide, and (b) calling on the AFL and NRL to become national and international leaders in the area of gender violence prevention in sport. 3. That this House calls on the AFL and NRL to consider and implement FFASA recommendations, in particular recommendations to: (a) foster increased Australian-based research and expertise in the area of gender violence prevention in sport, (b) include fans and the broader football community in culture change strategies by hosting a "Weekend of Champions" during the 2005 season, whereby players and the football community don purple armbands, (c) invite leading gender violence prevention activist and ex-All Star American footballer, Jackson Katz, to Australia to increase public awareness of how gender violence may be combated in sport, (d) work with the Federal and State governments in developing annual awards aimed at recognising integrity, innovation and leadership in sport, and (e) increase the participation of women in the game. 4. That this House calls on: (a) the AFL and NRL corporate sponsors to sponsor the “Weekend of Champions” by providing purple armbands that can be worn by the football public, and (b) the Hon. Sandra Nori, MP, Minister for Sport and Recreation and Minister for Women, and Senator the Hon. Rod Kemp, Federal Minister for the Arts and Sport, to work with the AFL, NRL and other sports bodies in developing annual awards aimed at recognising integrity, innovation and leadership in sport. 2 March 2005 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 14381 ROYAL NATIONAL PARK COASTAL SHACK LICENCES Production of Documents Motion by Ms Lee Rhiannon agreed to: That, under standing order 52, there be laid upon the table of the House within 14 days of the date of the passing of this resolution the following documents, created since 1 January 2003, in the possession, custody or control of the Minister for the Environment and the Department of Environment and Conservation [DEC], including the former National Parks and Wildlife Service [NPWS], in relation to coastal shack licences in the Royal National Park: (a) a briefing document from the former NPWS to the Minister for the Environment, concerning the proposed Royal National Park licensing scheme, entitled "NPWS Briefing document to Minister ROYAL NATIONAL PARK PROPOSED LICENSING SCHEME, Electorate Heathcote Paul McLeay, TRIM DOC 02/06781", (b) any correspondence from the Independent Commission Against Corruption to the former NPWS concerning a proposed probity audit in relation to the handling of shack issues, that comments on the level of public consultation undertaken by the former NPWS in developing appropriate management arrangements for the shack areas, (c) any correspondence, including faxes and emails, between the former NPWS, or the current National Parks and Wildlife Division of DEC, and consultants, Graham Brooks and Associates, regarding the current finalisation of a conservation management plan in relation to the Royal National Park coastal shacks, (d) the minutes of any meetings of the NPWS Advisory Council at which Mr Mike Patrick, Regional Manager of the former NPWS, made a presentation on shack issues, including copies of any papers or slides presented by Mr Patrick and any subsequent correspondence or communication between the NPWS Advisory Council and the Sydney South Region of the former NPWS on this matter, and (e) any document which records or refers to the production of documents as a result of this order of the House. PETITIONS Crown Land Leases Petition requesting the withdrawal of changes to the rental structure of Crown land leases, particularly enclosed road permits, received from the Hon. Rick Colless. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE Postponement of Business Government Business Orders of the Day Nos 1, 2 and 4 postponed on motion by the Hon. Tony Kelly. PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT OPERATIONS ACT 1997: DISALLOWANCE OF THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT OPERATIONS (NOISE CONTROL) AMENDMENT (MOTOR CYCLE NOISE CONTROL EQUIPMENT) REGULATION 2004 The PRESIDENT: Order! Pursuant to standing orders the question is: That the motion proceed as business of the House. Question agreed to. Motion by the Hon. Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans agreed to: That the matter proceed forthwith. The Hon. Dr ARTHUR CHESTERFIELD-EVANS [11.09 a.m.]: I move: That under section 41 of the Interpretation Act 1987 this House disallows the Protection of the Environment Operations (Noise Control) Amendment (Motor Cycle Noise Control Equipment) Regulation 2004, published in Government Gazette No. 204, dated 24 December 2004, page 9677, and tabled in this House on 22 February 2005. I did not particularly want to move this disallowance motion, but this regulation was not the Christmas present the motorcycle riders of New South Wales wanted. The issue concerns stickers on exhausts. Basically, the Government has gone down a completely wrong track. Because it is difficult to enforce noise regulations, the 14382 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 2 March 2005 Government has changed direction, to now enforcing stickers on exhausts. The number of motorcycles on the road in New South Wales has increased by 42 per cent over recent years, from 74,000 in 1995 to over 105,000 in 2004. The number of people in New South Wales with a motorcycle licence in 2003 was 400,370. A number of members of this House have a motorcycle licence, including the Hon. John Tingle, the Minister for Roads, and the Hon. Charlie Lynn, who rides his Harley to Parliament. I imagine a number of members representing country areas also have motorcycle licences. There has been a growth in the popularity of motorcycle riding in the past 10 years—as mentioned, a 42 per cent increase. This includes a lot of older riders returning to riding, and a lot of young people who have taken to the ease of riding scooters round the city. The regulation of motorcycles now affects a large number of the population of New South Wales. I have had discussions with the Motorcycle Council of New South Wales, which is of the view that excessively loud motorcycles do not contribute to a good public image for riders. The council is in agreement with reasonable limits for all vehicles, including motorcycles. It is recognised that a very small number of relatively noisy vehicles creates a problem for all the community. Hence regulations need to be directed to capturing the excessively noisy ones. However, this is not what this Environment Protection Authority [EPA] regulation actually does. The EPA regulation is retrospective and, having no margin for test error, is almost impossible to comply with. Its enforcement is trapping the ordinary rider and generating self-serving enforcement statistics. Almost any motorcycle is captured, leading to this new law being used for other purposes. The Christmas Eve changes to regulations fail to solve the problems of retrospectivity and the ability of motorcyclists to comply with noise levels. The changes missed the point when the regulation continues to entrap riders, is seen as a sticker tax with revenue as the objective, and has no environmental benefit. Motorcycles, like any other vehicles, need to have their mufflers replaced from time to time. Most vehicle owners do not purchase the original factory part, but purchase from aftermarket suppliers. Any car owner is familiar with this practice. Locally made or imported mufflers can be supplied for less than half the cost of the original part. A typical replacement motorcycle muffler from an original supplier will cost in the order of $1,500—significantly more than a car muffler. An EPA regulation now retrospectively demands an aftermarket muffler be fitted with a label, or the rider will be fined $200. If the matter is taken to court, the rider is exposed to the criminal provisions and a fine of $5,500. When this regulation was introduced in 1999 there were no labels generally available to riders so that they could comply with this retrospective law. Only the Motorcycle Council of New South Wales has made labels generally available since 2004, despite its opposition to the retrospective regulations. The Motorcycle Council of New South Wales has been pointing out to the EPA since 1999 that these labels are retrospective. Yet the EPA has refused to acknowledge this, and has provided no infrastructure at all for the supply and fit of labels specified by its regulation, nor has it provided sound test facilities other than at its enforcement station at Lidcombe. The EPA has been relying on a volunteer organisation, the Motorcycle Council of New South Wales, for implementation of the authority's retrospective regulation. The EPA technical inquiries line even refers requests for labels to the Motorcycle Council of New South Wales! The aftermarket labels required under the EPA regulation are retrospective for all motorcycles, not just those built prior to July 1988, as the Christmas changes to regulations suggest.