Legislative Assembly Wednesday, 24 March 2004 THE SPEAKER (Mr F. Riebeling) took the Chair at 9.00 am, and read prayers. HEALTH SERVICES, WARREN-BLACKWOOD DISTRICT Petition Mr P.D. Omodei presented the following petition bearing 124 signatures - To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Parliament of Western Australia in Parliament assembled: We, the undersigned, say:- That we, the people of the Warren-Blackwood District are deeply concerned about moves by the Premier . and Health Minister . to cut funding and services in our local hospitals. Further, many of us have great difficulty in accessing health care and services in Bunbury and Perth. Now we ask that the Legislative Assembly advise the State Labor Government that we believe that Health Care and Health Services should be restored to our towns so that the majority of people can be cared for in our hospitals close to home and family. [See petition No 316.] EXPIRY OF NOTICES OF MOTION NOS 22 AND 23 Statement by Speaker THE SPEAKER (Mr F. Riebeling): I advise members that private members’ notices of motion Nos 22 and 23, notice of which was given on 16 September 2003, will be removed from the next Notice Paper unless written notification is provided to the Clerk requesting that the notices be continued. FUNDING FOR SPORTING GROUPS Statement by Minister for Sport and Recreation MR R.C. KUCERA (Yokine - Minister for Sport and Recreation) [9.04 am]: Over the past couple of days in Albany, I have had the pleasure of meeting a number of accomplished and budding sports participants. They are men, women, boys and girls from all walks of life who well and truly recognise the benefits of an active and healthy lifestyle. Many of those people told me that sport is not only about playing the game, but also team building, leadership, commitment to a common goal, self-discipline and much more. Having the opportunity to meet so many active locals of Albany is very timely because recently, through the Department of Sport and Recreation, the Gallop Government provided $2 million worth of special initiatives funding for the development of sporting programs. Each year, the Department of Sport and Recreation and Lotterywest provide significant financial support to sporting bodies in Western Australia through the sports lotteries account. The package is different this year because it has been specially designed to provide funding for the delivery of targeted sporting programs, with an emphasis on increasing physical activity, which will lead to better health outcomes. Although the funding is provided to sporting groups, we are urging them to form partnerships with local governments and not-for-profit organisations. We are looking for programs that will increase opportunities for seniors to become active and for young people- particularly those at risk- to participate and to get other groups with lower than average rates of participation moving, including women, ethnic communities and people with disabilities. This funding is a golden opportunity to genuinely build better communities. More than 120 stakeholders have already signalled their interest in the possibility of developing innovative programs that will reach people who are currently inactive. Perhaps now more than ever, as an Olympic year is unfolding, we can all find the inspiration to participate. I thank Emma George, an Australian Olympian, for her magnificent effort in working with young people this week while she has been in Albany. It is important to remember that not all of us have to strive to win gold medals - we just need to become active. The Gallop Government is committed to ensuring that all Western Australians have fair access to a wide range of sporting and recreational opportunities. This funding package is a working example of that commitment. I hope that all my parliamentary colleagues will join me in actively marketing this funding package to their local sporting groups. Expressions of interest are currently being sought and formal applications will close on 31 May 2004. 1024 [ASSEMBLY - Wednesday, 24 March 2004] SEA TRANSPORT POLICIES Statement by Minister for Planning and Infrastructure MS A.J. MacTIERNAN (Armadale - Minister for Planning and Infrastructure) [9.07 am]: Australia occupies the largest ocean territory in the world - some 16 million square kilometres of ocean floor. Our sea links are vital to our economy, as 80 per cent of Australia’s production is exported. However, although the country is awash with land transport policies, we find that the cupboard is bare of sea transport policies. The current federal government policy on sea transport is to have no policy. The State Government has been arguing for the past two years that this must change. Half of the country’s volume of exports is exported through Western Australia, which amounts to a quarter of the value of Australia’s exports. Three of the top six Australian ports are located in Western Australia and nearly of a quarter of the commercial vessels that came to Australia called into Western Australian ports. Western Australia’s coastline is 17 000 kilometres long, which provides enormous potential for coastal shipping. The case for a strong domestic shipping policy - as can be found in most other developed countries - is based on significant strategic and economic criteria. If Australian vessels carried just 20 per cent of our overseas trade, the national fleet would number 500 vessels rather than the present 50 vessels. Enormous economic spin-offs would result from such a situation, and the benefits would impact on insurance, maritime law and shipping finance, for example. All those activities are currently exported, with damaging consequences for Australia’s balance of payments. As a result of the case being put to Canberra by many people, including Hon Peter Morris, a former federal minister, and me, the federal Minister for Transport and Regional Services, Hon John Anderson, has at last made a limited commitment to review various aspects of government policies that impact on shipping in this country. The State Government welcomes that news. However, let us hope that it is not a case of too little, too late. The Australian shipping industry is facing a watershed. Old vessels need replacing and an ageing labour force needs invigorating. Major investments need to be made to halt the downward spiral that has characterised the industry over many years. This will occur only against a background of policy certainty; it will not occur against a background of policy limbo, which is the current situation. I have recently made an approach to a major international shipping company that is keen to establish a new coastal service between Western Australia and the eastern States, which would use Australian crews. This company is facing the prospect of having to make a considerable investment to establish this service. Its decision is made more difficult by the failure of the federal Government to confirm that foreign vessels with Third World crews and costs will not continue to be given permits to carry this domestic trade. I welcome the recent acknowledgment of the needs of the Australian shipping industry, but there is much more to be done. I will continue to make the case. However, as Western Australia is the major user of shipping in this country, I hope that all members of the House will consider joining me in having the Howard federal Government understand the national importance of this issue. SOCIAL ISSUES Grievance MR C.J. BARNETT (Cottesloe - Leader of the Opposition) [9.10 am]: My grievance is to the Premier. Yesterday in a debate on regional development and the Gallop Government’s poor performance, the response from the Premier was that it is all about social justice. I fail to see the connection, but that was his response. Yesterday the Premier chose to make another speech about Anzac Day and the Anzac tradition. I gather the Premier tried to gain some political advantage from that. However, let me comment. My father went to war, as some members in this Chamber probably did and as many of our parents did. My father was a Rat of Tobruk. He was wounded in El Alamein. My uncle was a prisoner on the Burma railway and a prisoner in Japan in coalmines. I do not think my father, my uncle or people of that generation would think much of the Premier’s social agenda. The Premier raised the Anzac tradition yesterday. I know what that generation and those who have followed would think of the Premier’s agenda. What has it been? There has been gay and lesbian reform. The Government has given homosexual couples the right to adopt children and to access in-vitro fertilisation procedures, and they have been given access to the Family Court. What does that do to the principles of marriage and family? With the Premier’s support, the Minister for Electoral Affairs sought to change our electoral system so that this Parliament would have had only 15 members from country Western Australia compared with 42 from the city. That is the Government’s idea of social justice for country people. Even now, the Government wants to remove any reference to God in our oaths. What is wrong with saying in an oath in a court or in a Parliament, “I swear by Almighty God”? I do not find that offensive. Seventy per cent of the people of Australia and of this State describe themselves as Christians - of Judaeo-Christian background. If people find a reference to God in any way offensive, they can make an affirmation. Why would the Government change a tradition and a basic pillar of our society to cater for a small minority? When the Speaker opened our Parliament this morning, he made reference to God, and he read the Lord’s Prayer.