Legislative Council
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15503 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Thursday 20 September 2012 __________ The President (The Hon. Donald Thomas Harwin) took the chair at 9.30 a.m. The President read the Prayers. Pursuant to sessional orders Formal Business Notices of Motions proceeded with. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE Formal Business Notices of Motions Private Members' Business items Nos 921, 924 and 925 outside the Order of Precedence objected to as being taken as formal business. PAKISTAN AUSTRALIA BUSINESS COUNCIL Motion by the Hon. AMANDA FAZIO agreed to: 1. That this House notes that: (a) the Pakistan Australia Business Council was launched on Thursday 6 September 2012 in conjunction with the Pakistan Association of Australia's annual Eid Milan Party, which is traditionally held at Parliament House, and (b) Mr David Landers, the General Manager of International Operations for Growth and Emerging Markets from Austrade, was the guest speaker and highlighted the opportunities for expanded trade and investment with Pakistan. 2. That this House notes that: (a) the mission of the Pakistan Australia Business Council [PABC] is to encourage networking within Australia, be a think tank of Pakistanis living in Australia on trade and commerce, and to improve bilateral trade between Pakistan and Australia, to help overall ties via its trade facilitation between the two countries, (b) the Pakistan Australia Business Council has recognition from the Pakistan Government Board of Investment Chairman as the only active business council in Australia for Australia-Pakistan trade related matters, (c) the office bearers of the Pakistan Australia Business Council are: (i) President, Mr Iftikhar Rana, (ii) Senior Vice President, Mr Kashif Amjad, (iii) General Secretary. Mr Sadaqat Siddiq, (iv) Honorary Legal Counsel, Mr Awais Ahmad, and (d) the patrons of the Pakistan Australia Business Council are: (i) Federal: Mr Ed Husic, MP, member for Chifley, (ii) Federal: Mr Alex Hawke, MP, member for Mitchell, (iii) State: the Hon. Amanda Fazio, MLC, (iv) State: the Hon. Shaoquette Moselmane, MLC, (v) State: Mr David Elliott, MP, member for Baulkham Hills. 3. That this House congratulates the members of the Pakistan Australian Business Council for their initiative in establishing this body. 15504 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 20 September 2012 BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE Formal Business Notices of Motions Private Members' Business item No. 928 outside the Order of Precedence objected to as being taken as formal business. MULTICULTURAL MEDIA AWARDS Motion by the Hon. AMANDA FAZIO agreed to: 1. That this House notes that: (a) the first Multicultural Media Awards were held at a Gala Dinner on Friday 14 September 2012 at the Parliament of New South Wales, (b) the Australian Foreign Minister, Senator the Honourable Bob Carr, was the official guest and presented some of the awards, (c) Sky TV's Kieran Gilbert was the master of ceremonies, and (d) the event was attended by 200 people including representatives from the diplomatic corps, the multicultural media, the Community Relations Commission, peak multicultural organisations and a number of members of Parliament. 2. That this House notes that: (a) the Multicultural Media Awards are the first of its kind for multicultural and Indigenous journalists, (b) the awards are designed to celebrate the achievements of remarkable people in Multicultural and Indigenous Media, (c) the awards focus on all multicultural journalists, the people who bring communities together and break down social and cultural barriers, (d) the Awards were judged by the following panel: (i) Adjunct Professor Philip Bell, Media Studies, UTS, (ii) Dr Fawzy Soliman Senior Lecturer Management, UTS, (iii) Mr John Choeifate, Executive Producer, Channel 7, (iv) Ms Liz Foschia, State Political Reporter, ABC News, (v) Dr Zoran Becvarovski, Specialist, St George Private Hospital, (vi) Ms Sheba Nandkeolyar, CEO, Multicall Connexions, (vii) Councillor Earnest Wong, Burwood City Council, (viii) Mr Afif Malkoum, Media Director, Etcom, (ix) Mr Yang Joo, Executive Producer Korean Language, SBS, (x) Mr David Giang, Vietnamese Media, (xi) Mr Kashif Amjad, Pakistan Australia Business Council, (e) 10 winners for nine categories were selected from 132 entries coming from four States and Territories across Australia, and the winners were: (i) Multicultural Journalist of the Year: Pawan Luthra, Indian Link, (ii) Multicultural Journalist of the Year: Majida Abboud, SBS Radio, (iii) Coverage of Community Affairs in Australia: Romeo Cayabyab, The Filipino Australian, (iv) Coverage of Community Affairs Abroad: Wing Yam Lee, Sing Tao Daily, (v) Contribution to Social Inclusion and Multiculturalism: Lina Lee, Top News, (vi) Coverage of Indigenous Affairs: Gerry Georgatos, National Indigenous Times, 20 September 2012 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 15505 (vii) Editorial / News Reporting: Pawan Luthra, Indian Link, (viii) Investigative Reporting and Feature Writing: Gerry Georgatos, National Indigenous Times, (ix) Multicultural Photographer of the Year: Oi Ling Lee, Sing Tao Daily, (x) Online Innovation in News Blog or News Website Design: Pawan Luthra and Indian Link, Indian Link, (f) the Awards were sponsored by Joe Rizk, CEO, Arab Bank Australia, Australian Arab Business Network, Ella Rouge Beauty, Doltone House and Nimco Foods, (g) organisational assistance was provided by John Townsend and helpers Louay Mustapha, Jeanette Wang, Abdullah Allouei, and Fadwa Kebbe, and (h) video coverage was provided by Mohamed Zakaria from Australian Arab Media. 3. That this House congratulates the winners and the instigator and organiser of the awards, the Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane, MLC, who is also the Chairman of the Multicultural Media Awards Inc. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE Formal Business Notices of Motions Private Members' Business items Nos 930, 932, 933, 935 and 936 outside the Order of Precedence objected to as being taken as formal business. IRREGULAR PETITION Leave granted for the suspension of standing orders to allow the Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane to present an irregular petition. Community Building Partnership Program Petition objecting to cuts to the Community Building Partnership Program and requesting the reinstatement of the program with $300,000 per State electorate for local community groups, received from the Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane. SPECIAL ADJOURNMENT Motion by the Hon. Duncan Gay agreed to: That this House at its rising today do adjourn until Tuesday 16 October 2012 at 2.30 p.m. [The President left the chair at 9.42 a.m. The House resumed at 10.27 a.m.] APOLOGY FOR FORCED ADOPTION PRACTICES The PRESIDENT: Before I invite the Minister to move the motion, I would like to briefly address some administrative matters in connection with this morning's proceedings and also to acknowledge some guests in my gallery. I wish to advise the House that, in accordance with the broadcasting resolution of this House most recently adopted on 28 June 2007, I have approved footage of proceedings of the House being made available on the Parliament's new YouTube website. Proceedings in the Legislative Assembly will be available in the same manner. This is in addition to the normal live webcast of these events. The footage of proceedings from the House on the YouTube site will be divided into segments according to speaker. I can also advise members that a page will also be established on the Parliament's website that will include links to the relevant transcripts from Hansard and the Minutes of Proceedings. This page will be accessible through the "What's New" section of the Parliament's homepage. At the conclusion of the debate and after the question is put I will be leaving the chair until the ringing of a long bell at 12 noon. Members and visitors are invited to attend a morning tea in the Strangers Dining Room between 11.00 a.m. and 12 noon. Members of the public are also invited to sign the Apology Book, which will be located near the entrance to the Strangers Dining Room. The book will be here in Parliament House for signing until Friday 19 October 2012. After this time, the book will be kept at the New South Wales State Library. 15506 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 20 September 2012 The Legislative Council Standing Committee on Social Issues has undertaken two pivotal inquiries concerning adoption. In October 1989, under the chairmanship of the Hon. Max Willis, the Standing Committee on Social Issues tabled its report on accessing adoption information. The committee examined the procedures and restrictions relating to accessing adoption information in New South Wales. The inquiry stemmed from concerns within the adoption community that the Adoption of Children Act 1965 imposed unnecessary restrictions on access to identifying adoption information. The committee unanimously recommended that adoptees over the age of 18 years be allowed to access their original birth certificate and that birth parents should be able to access their child's amended birth certificate upon the adoptee reaching adulthood. Two years later these recommendations were given force in the Adoption Information Act 1990, which was passed by the New South Wales Parliament in 1991 with the support of all political parties. Nine years later, in June 1998, the Standing Committee on Social Issues, chaired by the Hon. Ann Symonds, received a reference to examine past adoption practices from 1950 to 1998, and in particular, the professional practices in the delivery of adoption services, whether any of these practices were unethical or unlawful and if so what measures would assist people experiencing distress as a consequence of these practices. The committee, under the chairmanship of the Hon. Jan Burnswoods, MLC, tabled its final report entitled, "Releasing the Past", in November 2000. The report makes a significant contribution to our understanding of adoption practices during this period and, most importantly, the experience of individuals affected by these practices. Two of the 20 recommendations in the report are of particular relevance today. Recommendations 16 and 17 called for an acknowledgement that past adoption practices were misguided and for the issuing of an apology to the mothers, fathers, adoptees and their families who have suffered as a result of past adoption practices.