11146 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL Wednesday 12 November 2008 ______ The President (The Hon. Peter Thomas Primrose) took the chair at 11.00 a.m. The President read the Prayers. PHOTOGRAPH OF LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL The PRESIDENT: I advise members that before the House proceeds with business an official photograph will be taken of members and officers of the Legislative Council. For this purpose I ask members and officers to follow the instructions of the photographer. TRANSPORT ADMINISTRATION AMENDMENT (RAIL AND FERRY TRANSPORT AUTHORITIES) BILL 2008 Bill received from the Legislative Assembly, and read a first time and ordered to be printed on motion by the Hon. Tony Kelly, on behalf of the Hon. John Della Bosca. Motion by the Hon. Tony Kelly agreed to: That standing orders be suspended to allow the passing of the bill through all its remaining stages during the present or any one sitting of the House. Second reading ordered to stand as an order of the day for a later hour. MINISTRY The Hon. TONY KELLY: I inform the House that, on 11 November 2008, His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor directed that it be notified that he had removed from office and withdrawn the commissions of the Hon. Anthony Paul Stewart, MP, as the Minister for Small Business, Minister for Science and Medical Research, and Minister Assisting the Minister for Health (Cancer), and as a member of the Executive Council. I further inform the House that His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor has appointed the Hon. Jodi Leyanne McKay, MP, as Minister for Small Business, Minister for Science and Medical Research, and Minister Assisting the Minister for Health (Cancer). REPRESENTATION OF MINISTER IN THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY The Hon. TONY KELLY: I inform the House that in the representation of Government responsibilities in this Chamber, the Hon. John Della Bosca, in addition to representing the Hon. Jodi McKay, MP, in her capacity as Minister for Tourism, and Minister for the Hunter, will also represent Minister McKay in her capacity as Minister for Small Business, Minister for Science and Medical Research, and Minister Assisting the Minister for Health (Cancer). BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE Take-note Debate on Mini-budget 2008-2009 Motion by the Hon. Tony Kelly agreed to: 1. That the House take note of the Mini-Budget. 2. That, on Friday 14 November 2008: (a) the House meet at 9.30 a.m. for the purpose only of conducting a take-note debate on the Mini-Budget, (b) that debate on the Mini-Budget take precedence of all other business on the notice paper that day, (c) that, notwithstanding anything contained in the standing or sessional orders, no other business, including formal business and questions without notice, will be conducted on Friday 14 November 2008, 12 November 2008 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 11147 (d) that each speaker on the motion be limited to 15 minutes, (e) that the House continue to sit from 9.30 am until 5.00 pm with no interruptions, (f) that if any division is called, it will be deferred and set down as an order of the day for the next sitting day, to be determined after question time on that day, (g) that if debate on the motion has not earlier concluded, at 5.00 pm business be interrupted to allow a Minister to move the adjournment motions, (h) the following adjournment motions are to be put without amendment or debate: 1. That this House at its rising do adjourn until Tuesday 25 November 2008 at 2.30 pm. 2. That this House do now adjourn. SESSIONAL ORDER Take-note Debate on Mini-budget 2008-2009 Motion by the Hon. Tony Kelly agreed to: That, if debate on the motion that the House take note of the Mini-Budget is not concluded on Friday 14 November 2008: (a) the order of the day for resumption of the debate be set down on the notice paper for the next day on which debate on Budget Estimates 2008-2009 takes precedence, (b) that the take-note debate on the Mini-Budget be considered concurrently with the debate on the Budget Estimates 2008-2009 under the sessional order relating to the Budget Estimates 2008-2009 provided that at the conclusion of the debate the questions be put separately, and (c) that during the debate, any member who has already spoken to the motion that the House take note of the Budget Estimates 2008-2009 may speak a second time, but only in relation to the Mini-Budget. UNPROCLAIMED LEGISLATION The Hon. Penny Sharpe tabled a list detailing all legislation unproclaimed 90 calendar days after assent as at 11 November 2008. TABLING OF PAPERS The Hon. Penny Sharpe tabled the following papers: (1) Annual Reports (Statutory Bodies) Act 1984—Report of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal for the year ended 30 June 2008. (2) Report of the Independent Transport Safety and Reliability Regulator entitled "Implementation of the NSW Government's Response to the Final Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Waterfall Accident— Reporting period July-September 2008", dated 31 October 2008. Ordered to be printed on motion by the Hon. Penny Sharpe. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE Withdrawal of Business Private Members' Business item No. 144 outside the Order of Precedence withdrawn by Dr John Kaye. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE Suspension of Standing and Sessional Orders: Order of Business Ms LEE RHIANNON [11.28 a.m.]: I move: That standing and sessional orders be suspended to allow a motion to be moved forthwith that Private Members' Business item No. 130 outside the Order of Precedence, relating to woodchipping, be called on forthwith. 11148 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 12 November 2008 The motion calls on the Government to end woodchipping in south-east New South Wales native forests; not to allow the owners of the Eden chip mill, South East Fibre Exports Pty Ltd, to establish a biomass energy plant based on native forest wood to power the chip mill and feed surplus electricity into the grid; and to prepare a restructuring and training package for the chip mill workers and management so that the plant is completely closed by the end of 2008 unless it can make a full transition to plantation resource. The motion is urgent because, as we speak, more logging of native forests has commenced around Bermagui on the New South Wales far South Coast. These forest operations by Forests New South Wales, targeting compartments 2004 and 2005 in the Bermagui State Forest, began last month and will continue into 2009. The motion must be dealt with today because the logging operation poses such a sizeable threat to the local forest ecosystems in the Bermagui River area that there will be a negative impact on the local economy. I urge members to support bringing on this matter about logging native forests in south-east New South Wales by urgency and not to be swayed by any argument from Government Ministers, who often try to argue that the Regional Forest Agreement [RFA] justifies this forest destruction. The RFA was set in 1998 and not reviewed in 2003 as required; indeed, it never has been reviewed. In fact, the handling of the RFA is another reason that the matter is urgent. Clearly there is a need to review the RFA in the context of the latest study on forests and greenhouse gas emissions as this work reveals that the Government has seriously underestimated the contribution that native forests can make to both mitigating and adapting to climate change. The motion is a matter of urgency because every day that logging occurs in these two compartments— an area of over 400 hectares—it lays the basis for long-term damage to the local economy. This logging is occurring on the north-western edge of Bermagui and so the runoff drains into Bermagui River very close to the harbour. Experience of past logging in regional catchments demonstrates that the logging will quickly silt up the Bermagui River, damaging fishing and oyster leases and impacting on harbour access. The motion must be debated today as it is time that NSW Forests stopped native forest logging in south-east New South Wales, conducted at a loss to the public, and concentrated on the plantation and plantation-based processing sectors that are the economic and jobs growth future for the timber industry in this region. The motion should be given added urgency because the south-east of New South Wales is on the eve of its peak tourist period and visitors will not be impressed to see degraded forests around Bermagui and silted waterways. It is the last thing the local tourist industry needs. Damage to the pristine environment will impact on tourist numbers, which will lead to local job losses that the region can little afford. An end to native logging in the south-east will not reduce forestry jobs, as research undertaken by Dr Judith Ajani of the Australian National University has found that supplies of plantation timber are now at a sufficient level to allow a huge scaling back of native forest logging while still producing enough hardwood and softwood for domestic use and export. The assertion that the closure of the woodchip mill will lead to a loss of forestry jobs is misinformation. A critical issue that highlights the level of urgency of this motion is that native forest logging generates almost 10 per cent of Australia's greenhouse gas emission. Professor Brendan Mackey's report "Green Carbon— The role of natural forests in carbon storage" shows that over 18 million tonnes of carbon dioxide is generated every year by logging for woodchips in south-east New South Wales and East Gippsland.