Parliamentary Debates (HANSARD)
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Parliamentary Debates (HANSARD) THIRTY-NINTH PARLIAMENT FIRST SESSION 2014 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Thursday, 23 October 2014 Legislative Assembly Thursday, 23 October 2014 THE SPEAKER (Mr M.W. Sutherland) took the chair at 9.00 am, and read prayers. LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY DAILY PROGRAM — CORRECTION Statement by Speaker THE SPEAKER (Mr M.W. Sutherland): Before we start, I want to tell members that there is a typo on the pink slip. Question time will be from 2.00 pm to 3.00 pm, so there is no need for undue concern. PAPERS TABLED Papers were tabled and ordered to lie upon the table of the house. WORLD WAR ONE — 100TH ANNIVERSARY — ALBANY AND FREMANTLE COMMEMORATION Statement by Premier MR C.J. BARNETT (Cottesloe — Premier) [9.02 am]: I rise to inform the house that in just over a week, Albany and Fremantle will come into the national and international spotlight when we pause to mark the 100th anniversary of the departure of the first convoy of ships that carried the Australian Imperial Force and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force to the First World War. One hundred years ago, more than 40 000 men and women from Australia and New Zealand were about to set sail from Albany and Fremantle for the battlefields of the First World War. These men and women would take their place in history and become known as the Anzacs. Almost all Australian and New Zealand troops who departed for Egypt, and then Turkey, in 1914 left from Albany. The Western Australian contingent left from Fremantle after training at Blackboy Hill near Midland. They included the men of the 11th Battalion, which was the first battalion to be raised in Western Australia and among the first ashore on 25 April 1915 at Anzac Cove. For many, it would be the last time they would see Australia, with one-third of the men being killed during the war. The experiences encountered on those battlefields shaped the two young nations they left behind and have left a legacy of national characteristics, such as courage, dedication to duty, humour and mateship. Over the next four years, the Anzac Centenary will commemorate those men and women, and the eyes of the nation will shortly turn west and focus on the historic port cities of Albany and Fremantle. The state government has worked closely with the Western Australian branch of the Returned and Services League of Australia, the commonwealth government, the Cities of Albany and Fremantle and the Shire of Mundaring on a program of events to appropriately commemorate the departures. From 30 October to 2 November, we will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the departure of the first convoy of ships with a series of activities in Albany, Blackboy Hill and Fremantle. These events will mark the national launch of the Anzac Centenary, which will be commemorated between 2014 and 2018. The state government is funding a series of events to mark the departure, including a community event at Greenmount Primary School, the site of the Blackboy Hill training ground; overnight cadet bivouac; a departure service at Blackboy Hill; a heritage train journey from Blackboy Hill to Fremantle; and a commemorative service in Fremantle. Tens of thousands of visitors are expected to make the journey to Albany to experience and participate in events, including a troop march, a commemorative service, a symbolic departure of naval ships and supporting community events, including a free concert with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. The state government has committed more than $9 million towards Anzac Centenary infrastructure initiatives in Albany. A significant component of this allocation is the upgrade to the Padre White Lookout, the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial on Mt Clarence and the National Anzac Centre funded by both the commonwealth and state governments. The National Anzac Centre will officially open on 1 November 2014 as part of the commemorations. It is envisaged that Albany will become a place of pilgrimage for people wishing to commemorate those who died in the First World War for many years to come. It is my sincere hope that the upcoming Albany commemorations will prompt our community to learn more about Australia’s military history and the courage of those who have served this country in times of conflict. ROAD SAFETY — SPEED MONITORING SURVEYS Statement by Acting Minister for Road Safety MR J.H.D. DAY (Kalamunda — Acting Minister for Road Safety) [9.05 am]: To monitor the effectiveness of the government’s efforts to reduce excessive speed–related road trauma, speed monitoring surveys have been conducted by Main Roads WA on an annual or biennial basis since 2000. Main Roads has completed 2013 speed surveys for the Perth metropolitan and Western Australian regional road networks. The 2013 compliance survey [ASSEMBLY — Thursday, 23 October 2014] 7865 has shown some encouraging results, with the highest ever metropolitan compliance rate of approximately 64.3 per cent, which is 11.3 per cent higher than in the baseline speed survey from 2000. There has been a two per cent increase in compliance on rural roads from the previous year, which was 10.2 per cent higher than the 2000 survey. Interestingly, the survey found that the greatest compliance with speed limits in metropolitan Perth occurs between Mondays and Wednesdays, falling on Thursdays and Fridays, with a significant reduction in compliance on Saturdays and Sundays. In country regions, the best compliance occurs between Tuesdays and Fridays; however, there is no significant reduction in compliance on the weekend. There is no doubt the improved behaviour can be attributed, in part, to the Liberal–National government’s $24.5 million enhanced speed enforcement program. The program, which commenced in 2010, included the introduction of speed and red-light intersection cameras in Western Australia. Located at 30 sites, the intersection cameras have resulted in a 60 per cent reduction of serious injury crashes at the intersections at which they have been installed. In addition, mobile vitronic speed cameras are able to measure the speed of up to four different lanes of traffic concurrently, significantly increasing the efficiency of mobile deployment. The enhanced program has directly led to a significant increase in the number of drivers monitored for speeding over the past five years. For example, in August, more than 4 217 490 vehicles were monitored for speeding. This is more than triple the five-year average for August of 1 370 221 vehicles. Most importantly, the increased compliance is resulting in reduced road trauma. In 2013, Western Australia experienced the lowest number of fatalities in which excessive speed was a factor since records began. Although the results of the 2013 speed monitoring survey are encouraging, it is clear that more needs to be done to ensure that drivers comply with the speed limit and trauma on our roads is reduced. I make the observation that the number of fatalities in the current calendar year has tragically increased, which highlights the point that more needs to be done in this area. CORRECTIVE SERVICES — FOETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDER SCREENING TOOL Statement by Minister for Corrective Services MR J.M. FRANCIS (Jandakot — Minister for Corrective Services) [9.08 am]: Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, or FASD, is a terrible disorder that can rob young people of their future. FASD is caused by foetal exposure to alcohol. It is a spectrum disorder that can produce a range of symptoms, including behavioural issues, learning problems, physical problems and deformities and intellectual impairment. FASD does not discriminate; indeed, it can affect young people living in the affluent suburbs of Perth just as easily as it can ruin the lives of young people from the most remote parts of our north. Research from Australia and other parts of the world tells us that young people with FASD are much more likely to come into contact with the criminal justice system than are other young people. Once they come into the system, they do not tend to fare well. Young people with FASD often have poor impulse control and short attention spans. They can be hyperactive and frequently suffer from nervousness and anxiety, which means that they are more likely to miss appointments and fail to stick to rehabilitation regimes. Generally, they are also more likely to be led astray. All this adds up to a simple fact; that is, a child with FASD is much less likely to be diverted away from the justice system and is much more likely to end up in detention. We do not know how many young people in the justice system are affected by FASD. Anecdotal estimates put the figure at around 30 per cent, but we do not know for sure because no FASD screening tool is available in Australia. Detailed diagnostic tools are available in Australia, but these require rigorous specialised testing that needs to take place within a medical setting. This sort of testing is neither feasible nor useful in a youth justice setting. A FASD screening tool is needed that can be used by Department of Corrective Services staff to identify FASD in young people as early as possible so that the justice system can deal with them more appropriately. I am pleased to inform the house that a team of researchers from Telethon Kids Institute is undertaking, in partnership with the Department of Corrective Services, to develop a foetal alcohol spectrum disorder screening tool. This screening tool will be unique in that it is being developed specifically for use on the Australian population. The department is finalising the scope of the research, and it is anticipated that a pilot will commence at Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre in February 2015.