Queensland Parliamentary Debates [Hansard] Legislative Assembly TUESDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER 1989 Electronic reproduction of original hardcopy Pariiamentary Reporting Staff 5 September 1989 297 TUESDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER 1989 Under the provisions of the motion for special adjoumment agreed to by the House on 10 August 1989, the House met at 10 a.m. Mr SPEAKER (Hon. K.R. Lingard, Fassifem) read prayers and took the chair. Mr Burns interjected. Mr SPEAKER: Order! Honourable members will maintain the dignity of the House. PARLIAMENTARY REPORTING STAFF Retirement of Chief Reporter; Appointment of Acting Chief Reporter and Acting Deputy Chief Reporter Mr SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have to inform the House of the retirement of Mr Warwick Trotman Foote as Chief Reporter on 1 September. From 4 September Mr Peter Bradshaw Rohl will be Acting Chief Reporter and Mr Alan John Watson will be Acting Deputy Chief Reporter. Hon. M. J. AHERN (Landsborough—Premier and Treasurer and Minister for State Development and the Arts) (10.02 a.m.): I would Uke to take this opportunity to say a few words in recognition of the work done by Warwick Foote as Chief Reporter of the Queensland Parliament. I am sure that he has eamed the respect of all honourable members. He was here during my total period in this Parliament. I have learned to respect him, and I am sure that he goes into retirement with the goodwill of all parties in the House. MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Changes in Ministry Hon. M. J. AHERN (Landsborough—Premier and Treasurer and Minister for State Development and the Arts) (10.03 a.m.), by leave: I desire to inform the House that His Excellency the Governor— (a) on 29 August 1989 (i) Accepted the resignations of— the Honourable Robert Carl Katter, the Honourable Paul John Clauson and the Honourable Theo Russell Cooper, as members of the Executive Council of Queensland; (ii) Accepted the resignations of— the Honourable Robert Carl Katter, as Minister for Community Services and Ethnic Aflfairs of Queensland; the Honourable Paul John Clauson, as Minister for Justice and Attomey- General and Minister for Cortective Services of Queensland; and the Honourable Theo Russell Cooper, as Minister for Police and Minister for Emergency Services and Administrative Services of Queensland. 298 5 September 1989 Pariiamentary Reporting Staff (b) on 31 August 1989 (i) Accepted the resignations of— the Honourable Ivan James Gibbs, as Minister for Health of Queensland; the Honourable Martin James Tenni, as Minister for Mines, Energy and Northern Development of Queensland; the Honourable Robert Edward Borbidge, as Minister for Industry, Small Business, Technology and Tourism of Queensland; the Honourable Brian George Littleproud, as Minister for Education, Youth and Sport of Queensland; and the Honourable Craig Arden Sherrin, as Minister for Family Services of Queensland; (ii) Appointed— Andrew Anthony FitzGerald, Huan Donald John Fraser and Thomas John George Gilmore, to be members of the Executive Council of Queensland; (iii) Appointed— the Honourable Ivan James Gibbs, to be Minister for Health and Attomey- General of Queensland; the Honourable Martin James Tenni, to be Minister for Mines and Energy of Queensland; the Honourable Robert Edward Borbidge, to be Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Tourism of Queensland; the Honourable Brian George Littleproud, to be Minister for Education, Youth, Sport and Recreation of Queensland; the Honourable Craig Arden Sherrin, to be Minister for Family Services and Corrective Services of Queensland; the Honourable Andrew Anthony FitzGerald, to be Minister for Justice of Queensland; the Honourable Huan Donald John Fraser, to be Minister for Industry, Small Business, Technology and Administrative Services of Queensland; and the Honourable Thomas John George Gilmore, to be Minister for Com­ munity Services, Ethnic Affairs and Northern Developent of Queensland. I lay upon the table of the House copies of the Queensland Government Gazettes of 29 August 1989 and 31 August 1989 containing the relevant notifications. Whereupon the honourable member laid the documents on the table. PARLIAMENTARY REPORTING STAFF Retirement of Chief Reporter; Appointment of Acting Chief Reporter and Acting Deputy Chief Reporter Mr GOSS (Logan—Leader of the Opposition) (10.06 a.m.): I rise simply to endorse the remarks of the Premier and, on behalf of the Opposition, to record our appreciation to Mr Foote and his staff The work of the reporting staff is, of course, often arduous, for long hours, and on those rare occasions when things are volatile and fast-moving in this place, their task is certainly not an easy one. Members of the Opposition certainly extend their good wishes to Mr Foote. Mr INNES (Sherwood—Leader of the Liberal Party) (10.07 a.m.): I would like to associate the Liberal Party with the comments that have been made with regard to Mr Supply 5 September 1989 299 Foote. Of course, I have known Mr Foote personally since the days when he was a reporter in the law courts. His standards are typical of those achieved by the service in this House. The members of the Hansard staff are an extraordinarily competent group of people. We are greatly indebted to them for their services, and Mr Foote was a very good leader of those people who serve us so well. PAPERS The following papers were laid on the table, and ordered to be printed— Reports— Department of Freehold Land Titles for the year ended 30 June 1989 Rural Lands Protection Board for the year ended 30 June 1989 Registrar of Co-operative Housing Societies for the year ended 30 June 1988. The following papers were laid on the table— Orders in Council under— Motorways Agreements Act 1987-1988 Commission of Inquiry Act 1950-1989 Brisbane and Area Water Board Act 1979-1988 and the Statutory Bodies Financial Arrangements Act 1982-1988 Sewerage and Water Supply Act 1949-1988 Harbours Act 1955-1989 Judges' Salaries and Pensions Act 1967-1989 Auctioneers and Agents Act 1971-1988 Magistrates Courts Act 1921-1988 Liquor Act 1912-1988 District Courts Act 1967-1988 Regulations under— Fire Brigades Act 1964-1988 Collections Act 1966-1989 Rule under the Coroners Act 1958-1988 Reports— Lang Park Tmst Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 1988 Financial Statements of the Queensland Coal Board for the year ended 30 June 1989 Tmst Company of Australia Limited for the year ended 28 Febmary 1989. SUPPLY Constitution of Committee Hon. B. D. AUSTIN (Nicklin—Minister for Finance and Minister Assisting the Premier and Treasurer) (10.10 a.m.), by leave, without notice: I move— "That the House will, at its next sitting, resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole to consider the Supply to be granted to Her Majesty." Motion agreed to. 300 5 September 1989 Ministerial Statement WAYS AND MEANS Constitution of Committee Hon. B. D. AUSTIN (Nicklin—Minister for Finance and Minister Assisting the Premier and Treasurer) (10.11 a.m.), by leave, vrithout notice: I move— "That the House will, at its next sitting, resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole to consider of Ways and Means for raising the Supply to be granted to Her Majesty." Motion agreed to. MINISTERIAL STATEMENT Effect of Airline Pilots Dispute on Tourism Industry Hon. V. P. LESTER (Peak Downs—Minister for Employment, Training and Indus­ trial Affairs) (10.11 a.m.), by leave: Late yesterday, my colleague the Honourable the Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Tourism and I met with senior represen­ tatives of the Queensland business community and leaders from the tourism industry to discuss the catastrophic effects of the ongoing airline pilots dispute and to take action. Mr Casey: Are you going to leam to fly? Mr LESTER: Why don't Opposition members just listen? That shows how inept the Labor Party is. As a consequence of that meeting, today the Queensland Govemment will approach the Federal Industrial Relations Commission to request it to force a meeting between the pilots and the airlines in an attempt to find a solution to this awfiil problem. Representatives from the Queensland Confederation of Industry, the Metal Trades Association, the State Chamber of Commerce and Industry, retailer groups, the Queens­ land Government, the Federation of Travel Agents, Qintex, the Queensland Tourist and Travel Corporation, major intemational hotels and the Gold Coast Visitors and Con­ vention Bureau have fully supported the Queensland Govemment's taking a stand against the industrial lawlessness of the airline pilots and the crippling effect that their action is having on the economy. Queensland is more susceptible than any other State to this type of industrial blackmail as our State is Australia's leader in tourism. The Queensland Government just cannot stand back and let it all go on. The Australian Tourist Industry Association has already begun implementing plans to appoint an independent mediator whom both parties can approach confidentially il the Federal commission continues to refuse to settle this dispute. At present, Australia is in an awful position because it has a Federal Industrial Relations Commission, which is funded by tax-payers' money, sitting back and doing nothing. The people in the tourism industry have had to find their own mediator. That is not on, and it should not happen. However, I make it very clear that, if it must happen, the Queensland Government will back those people to the hilt. The settiement of the airline pilots dispute is, without a doubt, a Federal problem. The onus is on the Federal Government and its instrumentalities to find a solution to it. But, for all his rhetoric, the Prime Minister has refused to bite the bullet and take hard action against the strikers. It is a good thing that Bob Hawke was not the one who had to solve the SEQEB dispute in 1985.