Albury Electorate Community Achievements 2660 Asylum
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ALBURY ELECTORATE COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENTS 2660 ASYLUM SEEKERS CENTRE 2658 AUSTRALIAN REPTILE PARK ZOO AND SNOOZE 2659 AUSTRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE 2631 BLUE MOUNTAINS ELECTORATE SPORTS PARTICIPATION 2658 BUDGET ESTIMATES AND RELATED PAPERS 2643 BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE 2598 CABRAMATTA ELECTORATE VESAK DAY CELEBRATIONS 2660 COFFS HARBOUR ELECTORATE EVENTS 2666 COMMUNITY RECOGNITION STATEMENTS 2656 CONNECTED COMMUNITIES PROGRAM 2662 CURE BRAIN CANCER FOUNDATION FUNDRAISER 2658 DISABILITY CARE HUB 2636 DISABILITY SERVICES 2668 DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE 2669 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 2632 EDUCATION WEEK 2015 2675 ELECTRICITY PRICES 2637 FAIRFIELD ELECTORATE RAILWAY STATION EASY ACCESS PROGRAM 2598 GASFIELD FREE NORTHERN RIVERS 2660 GLEN INNES QUOTA CLUB 2614 GLOUCESTER AND GREAT LAKES RURAL FIRE SERVICE MEDAL RECIPIENTS 2665 HANNAH WORSLEY, LIONS YOUTH OF THE YEAR 2622 HUNTER MANUFACTURING 2673 INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY FOUNDATION OF ST GEORGE 2661 KIAMA STUDENT LEADERS FORUM 2674 LEGISLATION REVIEW COMMITTEE 2624 MACLEAN PUBLIC SCHOOL SESQUICENTENARY 2657 MAX POTENTIAL PROGRAM 2676 MOORE PARK 2617 NARELLAN ROTARY CLUB 2672 NEED A FEED AND CARESOUTH 2666 NSW JUSTICES ASSOCIATION CUMBERLAND BRANCH 2658 PETITIONS 2639 PORT MACQUARIE-HASTINGS REAP FOOD RESCUE 2660 PORT OF NEWCASTLE 2626, 2628, 2670 PRINCE OF WALES HOSPITAL FUNDRAISER 2667 PRIVATE MEMBERS' STATEMENTS 2661 QUESTION TIME 2626 RESIDENTIAL STRATA AND COMMUNITY SCHEMES 2629 SERBIAN FOLKLORIC FESTIVAL 2657 SHAUN FARMER, NSW STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE YOUNG VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR 2659 SINGLE-USE LIGHTWEIGHT PLASTIC BAGS 2653 SMALL BUSINESS 2627 SMART AND SKILLED REFORMS 2663 SOUTH WEST SYDNEY ACADEMY OF SPORT AWARDS 2656 STATE INSURANCE AND CARE GOVERNANCE BILL 2015 2598, 2640 SURF LIFE SAVING LOWER NORTH COAST BRANCH AWARDS 2656 SYDNEY JEWISH MUSEUM 2661 SYDNEY SPORTS INFRASTRUCTURE 2633 TRIBUTE TO CONNOR MCLEOD 2659 TRIBUTE TO DAN HUNT 2657 ULLADULLA MARINE RESCUE BASE 2664 VAL ANGEL AND DOREEN SCRIVEN, MUSWELLBROOK RED CROSS VOLUNTEERS 2659 VISITORS 2625 WARIALDA HIGH SCHOOL UNDER 16 GIRLS RUGBY UNION TEAM 2659 WASTE LESS, RECYLE MORE INITIATIVE 2635 WESTCONNEX 2603 WORKERS COMPENSATION AMENDMENT BILL 2015 2598, 2640 WORONORA MILITARY MEMORIAL 26 57 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Thursday 13 August 2015 __________ The Speaker (The Hon. Shelley Elizabeth Hancock) took the chair at 10.00 a.m. The Speaker read the Prayer and acknowledgement of country. WORKERS COMPENSATION AMENDMENT BILL 2015 STATE INSURANCE AND CARE GOVERNANCE BILL 2015 Messages received from the Legislative Council returning the bills with amendments. Consideration of Legislative Council's amendments set down as orders of the day for a later hour. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE Notices of Motions General Business Notices of Motions (General Notices) given. Pursuant to sessional order General Business Notices of Motions (General Notices) proceeded with. FAIRFIELD ELECTORATE RAILWAY STATION EASY ACCESS PROGRAM Debate resumed from 6 August 2015. Mr RAY WILLIAMS (Castle Hill—Parliamentary Secretary) [10.13 a.m.]: I move: That the motion be amended by leaving out all the words after "That" with a view to inserting instead: "this House commends the Government for further investing $890 million over four years in the Transport Easy Access Program, which has already delivered more than 380 projects across New South Wales, and will continue to deliver further projects to benefit commuters utilising the public transport network in the future." Mr Mark Coure: Just a small amendment—a minor amendment. Mr RAY WILLIAMS: It is only a minor amendment. This Government is incredibly proud of its investment in public transport and the improvements that have been made to enable easy access to stations across New South Wales—improvements that are carried out on a needs basis not a political basis. When Opposition members spoke in debate on this motion they talked down this Government's investment in their electorates. The member for Fairfield, who moved this motion, denigrated the Government for not investing in his electorate. However, any amount of research will reveal that the Labor Government allocated an abysmal amount of funding for upgrading railway stations in his electorate—an issue to which my colleague will refer later in debate. Contrast the funding of the Labor Government with the three-quarters of a billion dollars that has been invested by this Government since 2012 for easy access stations in New South Wales and the additional $890 million that will be injected into our public transport network in the future. Mr Guy Zangari: Point of order: My point of order relates to relevance under Standing Order 76. Paragraph (1) of my motion refers to Carramar, Villawood, Canley Vale and Yennora railway stations. So far the comments of the member for Castle Hill do not relate to any aspect of the motion. The SPEAKER: Order! The member moved an amendment to the motion and, therefore, his address to the House so far has been in relation to that amendment. Therefore, it is accepted. Mr RAY WILLIAMS: If Opposition members continue to take vexatious points of order they will never be re-elected. If members of the Opposition choose to talk down their electorates and the fact that this Government has made record funding announcements for projects in their backyards, they will never be re-elected. I refer to Fairfield station and to the improvements to Canley Vale station. Earlier in debate the member for Prospect referred to his long-suffering wife who struggles to access Pendle Hill station. I have great news for the member for Prospect: This Government will be investing an additional $890 million into the Easy Access Program to afford commuters better access to public transport. Pendle Hill station is currently going through the design process and construction will commence before the end of this year. I also advise the member for Prospect that he could take his long-suffering wife to Wentworthville station—a three-minute walk from Pendle Hill station—as lifts have already been installed at that station and his wife would no longer have to struggle up the stairs. This Government has made massive investments into the North West Rail Link and the South West Rail Link, which will make it easier for commuters to access our public transport network. This Government believes in the value of public transport but, unfortunately, Opposition members do not. Mr NICK LALICH (Cabramatta) [10.18 a.m.]: I support the motion moved by the member for Fairfield regarding the Easy Access Program for commuters at Yennora, Villawood, Carramar and, in particular, Canley Vale railway stations. Mr Mark Coure: Just say you're sorry. Mr NICK LALICH: I am sorry. It is important to install a lift at Canley Vale station as it services a large number of residents living in surrounding suburbs, including Cabramatta, Fairfield and Smithfield. It is a disgrace that this Government has turned a blind eye to the problems at these stations, which urgently need lifts to be installed as many people who use them have disabilities, are elderly or have mobility impairments. As nursing homes are located on either side of Canley Vale station the people who are accessing it are inevitably disabled and in need of support. It is all right for the member for Castle Hill to say that they can walk three minutes down the road but at Canley Vale station there is a 300-metre walk to the roadway that goes to one platform and another 300-metre walk to cross to the other platform. I thank the Government for the renovations to Canley Vale station that give people access to the platform from the road—that was great—but people also need to be able to cross easily over the tracks between the platforms. The member for Castle Hill said that the Government has invested $800 million in railway station easy access programs. We are happy that the Government is doing that throughout New South Wales, but it is not helping Canley Vale station. As I said, there are two nursing homes on either side of Canley Vale station. Those people need to be able to cross over tracks to catch their train. They could hop on the train and go to Fairfield or Cabramatta, which are the next stations in each direction, but that will take too long if they have to wait 10 minutes for a train and then change platforms using lifts at those stations. It causes problems for people, so what will they do? People who have private vehicles will not use public transport as the Government and Opposition want them to. They will say, "Blow this; I will just go into town in the car." That will cause congestion on the roads. Government members talk about easy access and encouraging people to get out of their cars and use public transport. Unfortunately, it is not working at Canley Vale. The other day the Parliamentary Secretary, the member for Drummoyne, opened the new car park at Canley Vale station. I thank him very much for doing that. Dr Geoff Lee: Did you get invited? Mr NICK LALICH: I was there with him. While he was at Canley Vale station he saw the two nursing homes located on either side of the station and he is now more sympathetic to the problems that are being experienced than he was when he spoke in debate last week. I again thank him for visiting my electorate the other day. We need lifts at Canley Vale station. I implore the Government to give us the money to install those lifts. We probably only need $500,000, which is not a great deal of money. The lifts will help those poor people at the nursing home, the elderly and the disabled who need to cross from one platform to another at the railway station. Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) [10.22 a.m.]: The member for Cabramatta today apologised to the House.