Thursday, 28 October 2021
Members statements
COVID-19
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Commencement
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Announcements
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Business of the house
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Business of the house
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Members statements
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Bills
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Questions without notice and ministers statements
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Constituency questions
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Bills
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Adjournment
Members statements
COVID-19
Ms STALEY (Ripon) (09:38): Today I want to talk about one of my constituents. She wants to remain anonymous, but I can attest that she is a real person just trying to provide for herself and get by. I will call her Kate. Kate works as a barista in Daylesford and at a police facility in Melbourne. She is fully vaccinated. This is not a story about vaccination status. It is a story of bureaucratic overreach and nonsensical rules being made up as the government goes along. Supposedly for COVID response reasons all police staff were asked to provide details of any other work they do. Kate did this and was subsequently asked to provide the COVID-safe plan from her second job. Kate complied. No problem with the plan was raised. Kate was then required to front some sort of review board where she was told she either had to give up her work at the police facility or her other job. Remember, Kate is not a police officer or a PSO, she is a barista. Kate has ended her longstanding Daylesford job at a time when the regions are crying out for workers, so not only has Kate left a job she liked and reduced her income, a regional small business is now left searching for staff. On what grounds is this reasonable?