Tuesday, 22 March 2022

Bills

Puffing Billy Railway Bill 2022

Second reading

Debate resumed on motion of Mr PAKULA:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Ms McLEISH (Eildon) (12:54): I rise to make a contribution to the Puffing Billy Railway Bill 2022. This is a bill that was brought into the house only 13 days ago, and we made a little bit of a fuss about that at the time. It ended up, with the long weekend, being actually only 12 days, but the minister has now agreed to go into a consideration-in-detail stage for this bill, and I am extremely appreciative of him taking the time to do this, because it is not something that has been happening in the lower house particularly. I want to thank the minister’s office for arranging the briefing and being very responsive to my questions. I know some of the questions that I had may have been a little bit challenging, and some of them certainly required a bit of research to come back. So I would particularly like to thank Sarah Wilson for her role there, and thank the staff from the departments who participated in that briefing as well.

I think most people in this house know about Puffing Billy. It is one of Victoria’s iconic tourist destinations. Many of us as children would have gone on that trip, with legs dangling over the sides—there was a time when children could do that. And as families many members of this chamber would have also taken their children there, because it is a particularly iconic tourism destination. It winds itself through the Dandenongs, through the ranges, through fern gullies and through beautiful mountain ash, and it is really particularly scenic as it starts at Belgrave and winds itself up through a number of gorgeous little stations and areas: Selby, Clematis, Menzies Creek—which has one of the most quaint old stations that you could see—Emerald, Lakeside, Cockatoo and Gembrook. It is quite the journey and it is quite the day out, and I think everybody who goes there really enjoys it.

We all think of Puffing Billy as being a very fun place, a happy place for families where everybody particularly enjoys themselves, but that is not entirely the case. There have been a number of issues during the journey that have made that a very unhappy place, and at the moment there is a very broken relationship between the key group of volunteers at the Puffing Billy Preservation Society and the Emerald Tourist Railway Board—that is quite broken. What we have here today is the result pretty well of an Ombudsman’s report, because, as many organisations that had experienced child sexual offences in the past did, they had been covered up. There were plenty of people in the organisation, whether through the volunteer network or through the paid employees, who knew about the offences that were taking place. The Ombudsman did a report, and that was tabled in 2018. I will go into detail.

One of the things the Ombudsman talked about was improving the governance of the organisation, the Emerald Tourist Railway Board. When they had a good look at it, as I am advised by the department, they reviewed the existing legislation and decided it was pretty well out of date. This was an opportunity to modernise the legislation and make a number of other changes. Some of these changes can be quite controversial, but certainly making sure that the right things are reported to the minister in the right way I think is extremely important.

If we think about the purpose of the Puffing Billy Railway Bill 2022, it repeals the Emerald Tourist Railway Act 1977 and it establishes the new act. It also provides for the ongoing management and sustainability of Puffing Billy as a significant tourism attraction, and it updates provisions relating to corporate governance practices and the operation of the railway. Many provisions of the bill respond to the findings of the Ombudsman’s report, Investigation into Child Sex Offender Robert Whitehead’s Involvement with Puffing Billy and Other Railway Bodies, which was tabled in June 2018. As I have already said, the Ombudsman recommended a review of the current structure, and following the Ombudsman’s report I understand that there was also another report that was commissioned by one of the major consultancy firms, which also led to the development of this bill.

Before I go into the details around the Ombudsman’s report and some of the real nitty-gritty of the bill, I just want to give a broad overview of the things that it covers. It repeals the Emerald Tourism Railway Act, which was put in place in 1977, and it changes the name. We currently know it as the Emerald Tourist Railway Board, ETRB, and it is now changing to the Puffing Billy Railway Board. It provides objectives, functions and powers for the board, as you would expect when you are setting up a new or a transitioned board. The board mix is moving to transition to a skills-based board comprising a maximum of 10 members; I think there are a minimum of five. One of the things that has been quite appreciated by a number of people is it enables a new board to enter into contracts and arrangements to the value of $1 million without ministerial approval. Currently the limit is $200 000. With the number of rebuilds and big projects that are on the way there will be some of those contracts that are maybe in the $400 000s. It provides the board with the ability to make those decisions. It also provides for the growth and development of the railway, including the requirements of contemporary business and strategic planning, and I think this is really important as we get into some of the nitty-gritty a little bit later.

Absolutely of great importance is the significance of heritage, and I will talk about this. This railway line has been in existence for a very long time, and it is particularly significant—and I know that there are many other tourism railways in the state that also form part of our significant heritage railways. Absolutely of importance is its recognition of the role of volunteers in the ongoing operation of the railway. Now, this is particularly important, because volunteers have played and should play a very important role going forward.

But I want to have a look first of all at the history of the railway. It has been operating for 121 years—it was built in 1900—and that steam train originally transported passengers, timber, livestock, mail and food. If we take ourselves right back, we can imagine what this historic railway did. The steam railway has transported over 11 million passengers in that time. Now, what happened was: in 1954 there were a number of financial losses, they had a very damaging landslide and it was closed. The Puffing Billy Preservation Society was formed. They saved not only the railway but also Puffing Billy, because they worked very hard and long to actually get on top of something that they loved and were very passionate about, the steam rail. In 1977 the Emerald Tourist Railway Board was formed pursuant to the Emerald Tourist Railway Act 1977, and that was the means of taking over the infrastructure which had previously been owned by Victorian Railways.

Pre pandemic there were 500 000 visitors annually. As I said, it was an iconic tourist destination and is gaining momentum again now that we have come out of our monumental lockdown. This has been a major contributor to Victoria’s visitor economy—60 per cent international markets and 40 per cent domestic, and that is going to be certainly changing. They have Puffing Billy education programs available from early years to year 8 to teach people about the history, about steam trains, about the community and about the design and the technology that has been used, and this is really integral to creating a sustainable future. You can visit the Menzies Creek Museum—and there are lots of things to do in that neck of the woods.

One of the things I want to talk about now is the Ombudsman’s report and the seriousness of not just the allegations but the offences that took place there, which resulted in the minister making an apology which was absolutely fully supported by everybody in this chamber. Robert Whitehead committed child sex offences allegedly from 1947 to 1982; that is a very long period of time. The total number of victims is actually unknown, but he was involved with Puffing Billy Railway for decades, beginning in 1961. That was the year after he was released from Pentridge, where he was imprisoned for child sexual offences and child abduction. So he began there after that time.

In 1987 a fellow volunteer at Puffing Billy, Anthony Hutchins, was convicted of 66 child sexual offences. In 2015 Whitehead was convicted of 24 child sexual offences. Both predators were confronted about the accusations in 1985 by the then president, Lon Wymond, and board member John Robinson, Hutchins admitting to his crime, Whitehead not—and Whitehead was then appointed as the archivist at Puffing Billy. Now, he had been involved with and employed by Victorian Railways since 1947. He had been terminated after he was convicted and jailed—a six-month sentence—and then he rejoined Victorian Railways 10 days after leaving jail, as I said. And he was employed until 1988. In 1973 he was forced to resign from the Australian Railway Historical Society, where he had worked from 1960, due to the allegations that had been made about child sexual abuse. He quickly—this is quite shocking—became one of Puffing Billy’s most active and valued volunteers during the late 1970s. So somebody with this history, with known allegations, became absolutely valued. I am quoting here from the Ombudsman’s report on page 12:

… the investigation found that Whitehead’s reputation preceded him and each rail group he joined saw his contributions as a volunteer as being more important than protecting their young members from the risk he posed.

That is shocking—absolutely shocking. The Ombudsman, on page 4, said:

Although Puffing Billy’s management denied any knowledge of his past conviction there is ample evidence that rumour abounded.

Victims and their parents had reported abuse to management, who never forwarded those complaints to police. In 1976–79 Puffing Billy vice-president Philip A’Vard warned his son to stay away from Whitehead. This all formed part of the Ombudsman’s investigation. On page 4 she also said:

When Whitehead resigned in 1985—not coincidentally when he was the subject of a police investigation into child sexual abuse—Puffing Billy’s Board expressed its effusive thanks. Months after his resignation, he returned to Puffing Billy as its archivist—with unencumbered access to its records, including any records of complaints, even drafting a policy that complaints were not to be stored in the archives.

This is absolutely manipulative and shocking from a truly dreadful person. During his time at Puffing Billy Whitehead supervised overnight working parties, had leases on railway property where some of his offending occurred and in the 1980s he was with others responsible for the lax volunteering screening procedures. He ended the volunteering officially in 1991 with his legacy praised. Again from the Ombudsman, page 4:

Whitehead was a life-long offender whose abuse was facilitated by the wilful blindness, indifference or ineptitude of a succession of organisations.

It is particularly sad, reading through the Ombudsman’s report and understanding how the safety of our children was put down the ladder in terms of this man’s work, being very involved in a number of different areas there.

The nature of the victims’ complaints to ministers and government agencies led the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources—DEDJTR—at the time to refer the matter to the Ombudsman in 2017. There had been the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and an in-depth investigation for that had ranged for more than five years. There were thousands of records and extensive historical documentation received from the 2014 Victoria Police criminal investigation into Whitehead, the Office of Public Prosecutions Victoria, the County Court, the Public Record Office Victoria, Puffing Billy’s offices at Belgrave, its Emerald archives and members of the public, and there were 18 people who provided information and 16 interviews with witnesses. Scrutiny over the structure of the board from 1977 to 2002 occurred. All three levels of Puffing Billy management were controlled by the executive of the society and the board responsible for overseeing the accusations. We had the report tabled, and in November 2019, on the back of work that was done by the former minister, the member for Lara, the current Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events tabled an apology in this place.

There were victims that I will just mention briefly. Victim Wayne Clarke had contacted many people through this. He met Mr Whitehead in 1975, and in 1976 he began being groomed at a historical rail event. He wrote to the Ombudsman:

I also find it incomprehensible that Mr Whitehead, a dangerous sex offender, was given two leases on railway stations …

He wanted that investigated. Justin Drew was 12 years old when he was abused. In an article in the Age around the apology he said:

It’s been very hard … They had a responsibility to keep an eye on what the Emerald Tourist Railway Board was doing. They didn’t do that.

It means they’re accepting liability, which they didn’t years ago …

He wanted that sorted out. Those that were involved in the board at the time and also with the society have all since resigned but have left a trail of destruction. On the back of that there are changes in the governance here.

In looking at this for my contribution, other than the Ombudsman’s report, I spoke with tourism bodies locally in the Yarra Ranges in my area, and extensive submissions were received from the volunteers and former volunteers and members of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society. I was overwhelmed with the responses, the input, that I received from those people. They range from several paragraphs to pages and pages. They were not proforma. We know that in this place when people are really pushing their cause they will get many people to send proformas. I did not get one proforma. I got very detailed information about the role of the volunteers going forward under this bill. It is very clear that there are so many volunteers out there who have a love and a passion for the train, the railway, its history and its future, and they certainly want to have continued involvement. But as I have said, there has been a very fractured relationship with the current board, and that board will be transitioned to the Puffing Billy Railway Board. There will not be any changes, as I have been advised. The relationship between the society and the board is fractured, it is toxic, it is broken, and I am not sure that this bill will fix that because there remain a lot of questions unanswered. Having said that, we will not be opposing it in this place because I think we do need to update the governance arrangements so that the appropriate reporting requirements are in place, because that is indeed important.

I will turn now to a couple of changes. What is outlined up-front in the purposes clause at  1(f) is:

to recognise the importance of volunteers to the operation of the Puffing Billy Railway …

and this is particularly important. There is no pathway forward, as I can understand yet, of how to engage the volunteers constructively and how to provide them a positive pathway forward and a line of sight to what their future with the railway looks like. That is mentioned, and I am pleased to see that the role of the volunteers is mentioned in the bill because I think that is particularly important.

I am just going to touch on a little bit about the Puffing Billy Preservation Society, which I will call ‘the society’, because they have a very long and proud association with the railway. It was established in 1955, and the initial role was to provide a financial guarantee against the loss to the Victorian Railways at the time, who operated the train. Now, they have made enormous contributions. They have fundraised, they have bought land, they have taken on donations of steam trains and they have worked tirelessly in the museums.

In 2017 they had, I believe, 900 volunteers, and they have got 300 now. The Puffy Billy master plan from 2017 estimated the volunteer base would increase from 900 to 1100. Now, it was due to the COVID lockdowns that they were unable to operate. They were not able to do so for 21 weeks last year, and in fact for 35 weeks they were not able to operate, from the commencement of the March COVID lockdowns. With that, they saw a loss, but the tabling of the Ombudsman’s report and the investigations also saw a loss of volunteers. According to the recent annual report, the value of the volunteers has fallen from $6.5 million in 2019 to $1.3 million. If we look at that $6.5 million volunteer contribution, that is so significant. You can see how invested people are from their spending so much time.

The society holds many freeholds—they made purchases from private vendors between 1964 and 1980—and they lay claim to a lot of rolling stock. Volunteers are no longer involved in jobs with any planning or decision-making functions. Previously every department had a volunteer member as part of the team. They were once heavily relied on in the retail settings and in some clerical roles, and these are all paid positions. The organisation has moved from being totally volunteer based to having some paid members; in 2021, 54 full-time and 33 part-time—87 employees—but in the previous two years it was 103 employees. Making that transition is extremely difficult because at the same time you need to understand and value the work that the volunteers have done. At the moment they work as firemen, drivers, guards, stationmasters and conductors, writing rosters and booking officers, doing some gardening and some engine cleaning. They feel very much undervalued because some of the roles that they have been undertaking require years of training—the stationmasters, guards, firemen and drivers—but they are given jobs that require them to turn up, do the job and just go home. They do not have a say anymore. They used to have a couple of positions on the board, and now those positions are not on the board they are wondering how their voice is going to be heard. They are really quite dismayed and would like to see this delayed to allow for greater consultation.

With regard to the animosity that is there at the moment, I am just going to quote from some of the people that have contacted me. There are concerns about a:

… group of people making decisions, without the intimate knowledge held by those who do the day to day tasks of running the railway.

Some think it is ‘unfair’ because:

The writers of the legislation have conveniently forgotten that it was …

the society

who saved the railway, and helped rebuild it (for free) to what it is today.

Somebody else:

The railway I think is only running because of the volunteers efforts the last 70 or so years … and … the board … only wants the best for the Railway …

and members really now do not get a say. Somebody else:

The love of the train is foremost in their minds.

Somebody said to me:

As the railway grew … it became … a commercial operation, paid staff were employed. I spent a day a week in the workshop in 2001 where … skilled Fitters and Machinists were paid $38,000 . A Marketing Manager was reputed to have been paid $80,000 plus had a car provided …

They actually wondered then where the value was: was the value in running the railway or was the value in bringing people there? Now, you need to have both; they are important roles, but they felt then that volunteers were certainly undervalued.

Moving to a skills-based board I think is absolutely important, and I would like to think that the boards in these last few years have been moving that way rather than being stacked at times with people that have political motivations. One of the functions of the board is operating, managing and maintaining the infrastructure and the assets, and this is where one of the huge disputes lies. The legislation does not forge a path forward here, and I cannot see how this is easily resolved because on the rail corridor, which extends—we are looking, say, from Belgrave to Gembrook—a considerable 40-odd kilometres there are some 67 different parcels of land. That is quite extraordinary. There are multiple ones around each station. Not only are they multiple but they all have different owners. You can have a look. I have been provided with information about the property status and the current use. The railway board have freehold title to some rail infrastructure. There are government roads on Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning land. The railway preservation society have freehold land. There is reserved and unreserved Crown land. There is such a mix of ownership within that. The volunteers are very concerned that after the work that they have done in purchasing it, the ownership of the land is now just going to be stripped from them.

I was interested to find that there is a particular steam engine housed at Menzies Creek under the ownership of the society, a Shay engine number 14. It was designed by Ephraim Shay, and it is the only such engine outside of Taiwan. Taiwan is watching very closely what happens here, because they look at these Shay engines as national treasures. They donated one; the only one outside of Taiwan is sitting in a museum. Volunteers say to me that the Taiwanese government donated it to the society and they are unsure where that asset is going to end up—what is going to become of that. These are the intricacies and the complexities that sit below the surface.

With the skills-based board that we have, there is a strong need for conflict resolution. Having worked in the area of conciliation and mediation, I understand that a small issue if not addressed can become a bigger issue. And if that is not addressed either and becomes scratchy, you can end up with this gaping chasm, and that is what we have at the moment—a toxic environment, a toxic relationship there. We should not have to have volunteers going to court to resolve this and spending millions of dollars. That should not have to happen. I fear that that may be what is going to happen through this. With that conflict resolution, the board needs to actually include people, whether they co-opt them onto the board or they bring them onto the board for a proper board term, to deal with some of these issues. We cannot have volunteers treated like that. We cannot have these disputes going on and on. The volunteers feel like they are being shafted and being forced out of the railway.

We have the legislation now that acknowledges the volunteers, but it is about how that happens. We need people on the board that are skilled in change management and bringing people along and setting a pathway forward about how this can happen. Whilst there are a lot of things in this legislation that I am fine with, and I am fine with its purposes, we do not know how it is going to be implemented. This is where all the questions arise. How are they going to resolve some of those disputes and have a culture that is positive, that is welcoming and warm? When the public go there and enjoy their experience at the railway line, they think what a positive place this is, how fantastic this place is, but behind the scenes there are a lot of issues.

I implore the minister and I implore the government to have a look at what the pathway forward is to resolve this. We cannot have one of our most iconic, prized and highly visited destinations falling apart behind the scenes. The volunteers rebuilt this railway from scratch. They got it running. At that time, in the 1950s, the government was not interested. Once it became a success—it was paying its way—it did very well. At the minute we are being told that the railway board is debt free, but I have had a look at some information that we gained through freedom of information, and they have had enormous government handouts—some for projects but some to just keep them afloat. They need to be self-sustaining, and I think that should happen.

Mr EREN (Lara) (13:24): I will have been in this place for 20 years at the end of this year and have been fortunate enough to be in government for most of those years that I have been a member of Parliament. We have seen some wonderful bits of legislation come through this house. I am very proud of every single one that we have implemented as a government. But there comes certain legislation before this house that has a profound impact on people’s lives, and this is one of them. Of course the Puffing Billy Railway Bill 2022 is one that will have a profound impact on those people that have been offended against by certain individuals that were involved with this organisation. I want to thank the minister for finally having closure on the recommendations that were made by the Ombudsman back in 2018. This is, I suppose, the final chapter in terms of that whole saga that inflicted so much pain on children that loved railways, that loved Puffing Billy. Puffing Billy is iconic, with 500 000 people attending—those from around the nation but also international visitors. It is 121 years old and in the Dandenong Ranges. It belongs to the seat of Monbulk, which is fantastic, and the Minister for Education is very proud of that iconic attraction.

I was the Minister for Tourism and Major Events and Minister for Sport in the last government—people called it the ‘Minister for Fun’, which was mostly true, but it was a heavy responsibility. Sport is worth about $7 billion to our economy, and the tourism sector is worth about $300 billion, with about 320 000 jobs associated with it, so it is very important work.

But I came to earth with a thud when some of the revelations of what occurred came to my desk. I want to particularly thank Wayne Clarke, who brought to our attention some of the atrocities that occurred on that iconic attraction. Still to this day, having spoken to every single one of those surviving victims through that saga, through my time as the minister, I still get goosebumps about how it had a profound impact on their lives and continues to do so. Obviously on 27 November 2019, when we invited most of those victims to this Parliament—some of them could not come because of anxiety, and I feel for them—they attended and heard the public apology that was made to all of those victims, and it was gratifying to all of those people that were offended against by particularly one person, Robert Whitehead.

At the time, I remember in the media conference that I did break down a bit because of some of the evidence that I read and the conversations that I had with victims, which were traumatic to say the least. There is nothing more abhorrent than child sexual abuse and for that to happen under any government’s watch, where obviously there is a duty of care. If you do not have certain protocols in place, some of these things do happen. It is important to acknowledge them and apologise accordingly, and that is exactly what we did. When Wayne Clarke brought this to our attention I had intensive meetings with the department, and then we thought that we needed an investigative body that could thoroughly investigate everything about these allegations. Then the department referred this off to the Ombudsman, and I thank the Ombudsman for her work in that very important investigation that she did. I remember at the media conference that again I was anxious. Finally, there was some closure in terms of the investigation. We promised as a government that we would implement all of the recommendations by the Ombudsman over time. We have, and this is probably the final chapter.

I did say through that media conference that there were a couple of perpetrators that were known—Anthony Hutchins and Robert Whitehead obviously. Robert Whitehead had passed away, died. I said that I hoped he was burning in hell. I am not necessarily a religious person, but you would hope that death is not the end and that they do suffer after death. You wish that they are suffering in some way, shape or form after death, forever and ever, burning in hell. I think that resonated with victims to a certain extent, because they wanted some justice even after death. That is why I made those comments, and I hope he is still burning in hell and will be burning in hell forever and ever.

When it came to vulnerable children who love the railways, these people, these predators, were out to maximise their deviancy in terms of how they could prey on vulnerable children because of their love of railways. This is something that is atrocious, obviously. When you think about those victims—and some of them did not survive it; some of them committed suicide and some of them died of other causes—certainly for those survivors we had to do what we could as a government. And that is indeed what we did; we supported them all the way. From some of the conversations I had with some of the victims—Bill Elms and others—they were very appreciative that they finally had closure.

I understand the opposition has spoken to the volunteers, and I spoke to the 300 or so volunteers, who were very distressed at the time when these revelations occurred. Of course Puffing Billy could not operate without the volunteers, and I think it was very important that we listened carefully, as we did back then, to how we could structure Puffing Billy—and about the love that we have for Puffing Billy—so that these sorts of incidents will not ever occur again and no child will ever have to go through what those children in previous years went through.

Once I implemented the interim board—and I thank all of those; I will not go through all of the names on the interim board at that time when we implemented the interim board—they worked very closely with the volunteers, because they were ashamed to be part of an organisation that in some way, shape or form had stuck its head in the sand and pretended things were rosy when they were not and where these perpetrators had got away with what they had done to children. It was very much about making sure that we do not lose the volunteers, because they are a critical part of the operations of Puffing Billy. They were very appreciative of the instant action that the government had taken in relation to these allegations, and that gave them a bit of a sense of pride in what they were doing as volunteers.

Now COVID has chucked a big spanner in the works in terms of Puffing Billy, and I hope that going forward Puffing Billy will regain that confidence, will regain that reputation and will regain its status as the wonderful attraction that it is to worldwide audiences right across the globe so that they will come to our wonderful state to expend their money through the tourism opportunities—500 000 people is a lot of people to visit that region.

I know that other members will cover some of the changes. I just wanted to put on the record some of the historical facts of what happened leading up to this day, but I am sure that other members speaking after me will put on the record some of the changes that are occurring through this bill. I want to reiterate that this is a bill which has a profound impact on all of those people that have been victims, the survivors of those awful acts that occurred over many decades, and we want to ensure that this never happens to any child ever again through this organisation. That is why there are checks and balances that we have incorporated into this bill to ensure that children are as safe as possible when it comes to their health and wellbeing. I mean, there is nothing more important for us as parliamentarians than to protect children, the most vulnerable in our society, and regardless of the colour of their politics it is incumbent upon governments to ensure that they have mechanisms in place to prevent this sort of psychological and physical trauma that lives with people for the rest of their lives. Again, I was pleased to have been involved with this bill coming to this place, and I wish it a speedy passage.

Mr McCURDY (Ovens Valley) (13:34): I am delighted to rise and make a contribution on the Puffing Billy Railway Bill 2022. As we have heard, it establishes the Puffing Billy Railway Act 2022, and it will repeal the Emerald Tourist Railway Act 1977. Primarily the bill provides for its ongoing management and sustainability as a significant tourist attraction, and the bill has certainly come about, as we have heard from the member for Lara, most of whose contribution was talking about it, as a result of that Ombudsman’s report in 2018 and that investigation that subsequently followed. It is fair to say that many of the provisions within this bill have come about as a response to the Ombudsman’s findings.

First of all, within the bill it recognises the heritage significance of the railway and the importance of volunteers, and I am pleased to see that this government is making a good footnote on volunteers. We certainly hope it does not end up down the path of the CFA—these volunteers have been walked over by the government for Melbourne. But in this legislation it supports volunteers apparently, so let us hope that that is a step forward by this government.

The bill changes the name of the Emerald Tourist Railway Board to the Puffing Billy Railway Board. It also transitions the board to a government-stacked board that will hold the balance of power, and that is the way they roll. Now, this board will be able to enter into contracts up to $1 million—they can currently enter into contracts worth up to $200 000. So the bill is doing all the things it should be doing in a regional rail perspective.

When we look at regional rail in north-east Victoria, unlike Puffing Billy, we are in a disastrous state. I mean, the federal government has spent a lot of money on our rail lines, and we just still continue to wait for rolling stock from this government. Certainly when we talk about Puffing Billy in north-east Victoria, many people see that as the VLocity for us, because it is faster and more reliable than the current trains that we have. I know that from genuine experience. It happened yesterday again: I was at Shepparton trying to catch a train that would get into Melbourne at 12.21 pm, which turned into a bus that got in an hour and a quarter later—and this is not a one-off event, this happens quite regularly. So in terms of reliability, I can certainly say that Puffing Billy is far more reliable than the north-east trains.

Ms Green: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, it is quite clear that this is not a bill about public transport. It is about Puffing Billy and a set of very serious issues, and I think the member for Ovens Valley is making a meal out of it and actually demeaning those serious issues.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: On the point of order, on relevance, yes, I did see the connection briefly, but I do ask the member to come back to the bill.

Mr McCURDY: Thank you, Deputy Speaker. The bill also outlines how the assets will be maintained and how the assets will remain in safe working order. Puffing Billy has been operating since 1962, as we have heard from others, and attracts over 500 000 tourists per year, and that is significant. Over the years Puffing Billy has seen its fair share of financial and operational issues—and again, that is not dissimilar to the north-east corridor, but we will not go into that.

Certainly Puffing Billy has gone from being predominantly a volunteer organisation to having nearly 70 employees. We know the tension that does exist between the board and the volunteers, and that is a concern. As I say, just like the CFA and FRV, we want to make sure that this board functions properly and it is not just a takeover and an opportunity to roll over a perfectly good volunteer organisation.

Ms Green: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, on relevance again, this bill before the house is incredibly serious. It has nothing whatsoever to do with fire services.

Mr McCURDY: On the point of order, Deputy Speaker, the member for Lara spoke about the Ombudsman’s report rather than what the bill is covering. I am trying to cover off on the bill—

Members interjecting.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

Mr McCURDY: I am trying to cover off on what the bill actually talks about, not just one section of the bill.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I would ask members to be mindful of what is in the bill and to speak to the bill.

Mr McCURDY: Thank you, Deputy Speaker. Now, the Ombudsman’s report was as a result of sexual offences against children which needed to be addressed within the Emerald Tourist Railway Board, and consequently the report recommended the review. But as always, the review became, again, the government for Melbourne’s excuse to move on the volunteers and put in place Labor, like-minded supporters, and that happens in every bill that we see that comes through this place.

Ms Green: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, seriously, on relevance, is the member for Ovens Valley able to address any of this bill?

Ms Staley interjected.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I will rule on the point of order, member for Ripon. This is a point of debate, it is not a point of order.

Mr McCURDY: Thank you, Deputy Speaker, and I hope the member for Yan Yean gets her opportunity to speak on the bill somewhere down the track.

The concerns that I have around this bill are about the ongoing role of volunteers, and it is unclear how their service will be recognised—or their significance as volunteers—both historically and into the future. Currently there is no pathway for the resolution of their significant issues, which have been raised. Further to those volunteer concerns, I have received correspondence from volunteers, and they attest to the fact of the way the government for Melbourne has undermined their volunteer base—so they have genuine concerns about that. As the member for Eildon said, if not for the volunteers that saved the railways in the 1950s and 60s, there simply would be no Puffing Billy. And the way this government has treated volunteers has caused many to leave and to cease community involvement.

Now, I can see genuine problems within the old legislation and the Emerald Tourist Railway Board, and changes are generally required. Misconduct was highlighted in the Ombudsman’s report, and certainly general management and asset management are concerns. But again we have got to make sure that we do not just turn this into another Labor model like we have seen in various other boards that have been formed. We have seen that through the alpine resorts, water boards and many others as we have gone through this term of Parliament. Victoria should be concerned about the way some of these boards have been set up, and that is what I am trying to put to the house today. If you remove the entire board, as is happening in this example, then all of a sudden the Labor government continues and puts in their new model, and then it goes forward from there.

The bill will be going into consideration in detail later in the week, which I am pleased to see. Time will tell if that is genuine or just a token gesture, but I certainly hope it is genuine and we get considerable time for that consideration in detail. But Puffing Billy has always been seen as a happy place, as the member for Eildon said, a fun place. But the Ombudsman’s report suggests that is not necessarily the case, and I think if you listen to the volunteers, they will also agree with that. With that, I commend the bill to the house.

Ms GREEN (Yan Yean) (13:42): I have great pleasure in joining the debate on the Puffing Billy Railway Bill 2022. As a number of other members have said, this has been an iconic tourism activity and business for decades in Victoria. I recall as a little child being taken many times from my home in regional Victoria to visit the beautiful Dandenong Ranges and to take a ride on the train. My family were kooky railway nuts, gunzels, and I have many of my local community volunteers who are gunzels themselves, particularly the Campbell family, who until recently lived in Hurstbridge. Dad David and sons Lachlan and Blair have volunteered for years and years and years, and they are a really pivotal part of the operation of the Puffing Billy Railway. But as the member for Lara outlined, there are extremely good reasons why this bill is before the house—extremely serious reasons.

We need to commend the work of the volunteers over the years and recognise the economic benefit that Puffing Billy has brought to the Dandenong Ranges, but we cannot gloss over the appalling events that have happened within this primarily volunteer organisation. There are many memories that I will take with me from my almost 20 years in Parliament, having come in at the same time as the member for Lara—we will be departing, walking out the door, as mates, just as we walked in—but I will never forget his emotion when he and the department publicly referred this iconic organisation to the Ombudsman. I will never forget when the Ombudsman’s report was completed and we had the apology before this house. I see the member for Croydon at the table, and I know that he and others on both sides of the house—the Premier, the then opposition leader and a number of members from the outer east—all spoke on this.

I say this as a longstanding member of a volunteer organisation: we as a government have an obligation and responsibility to ensure that there is good governance in those organisations. We can put volunteers up on a pedestal, but there were some terrible things that occurred around the poor culture that was there from staff and volunteers. We need to protect volunteers into the future, and that is the absolute intention of this bill.

I must say, given the unanimity that we saw following the horrific findings in the Ombudsman’s report and the inexcusable nature of how a convicted paedophile and murderer could have been recruited and kept on the books, it is just unfathomable. We have had many, many reports before this Parliament, including Betrayal of Trust. I grew up in the Catholic Church, and I draw no comfort from the fact that the Catholic Church was not the only organisation that had a poor culture, a culture of cover-up and a culture of harm to children. And the fact that it happened in this organisation that has always been there for children I found even more horrific. I commend my dear friend the member for Lara, who has again doubled down on saying that he hopes that those perpetrators do burn in hell, and there is really nothing more that can be said about that time. That is why the new Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events has said root and branch we need to have a new structure, a skills-based board.

I must say, I neighbour the member for Eildon, and she is a good person. We serve on a parliamentary committee together. But really, as the opposition’s lead speaker, she made some mention of political appointments to the board and things like that. I think that is really beneath her, and that the opposition should be supporting this bill. They should not just be saying ‘We’re not opposing it’; they should be supporting it. There is some political pointscoring that is being done by the opposition’s lead speaker and certainly the member for Ovens Valley. If we have learned anything with all these reports over the years, Betrayal of Trust and others, it is that all these matters should be above politics. They should absolutely be above politics, and I hope that further speakers from the opposition will keep this in mind.

I pay tribute to those who, like Wayne Clarke, were just relentless in saying that these perpetrators needed to be held to account and that the damage that they had done needed to be redressed. It is not easy to speak up about those matters, and I am sure that that has taken a huge toll on his and his family’s lives, but we are eternally grateful for that.

The new governance structure repeals the ETR act, the Emerald Tourist Railway Act 1977, and establishes a new Puffing Billy Railway Act 2022 as the new principal act. It introduces a framework to provide for the ongoing management and sustainability of the iconic railway, and that sustainability is predicated on volunteers—and I decry comments by those in the opposition saying that we as a government do not recognise that; nothing could be further from the truth. It changes the name of the Emerald Tourist Railway Board, the ETRB, to the Puffing Billy Railway Board, PBRB. It introduces modern corporate governance reporting mechanisms. It updates the functions of the PBRB and outlines clear objectives relevant to the operation of the railway as a state significant tourism attraction. It changes the titles of the persons appointed to the PBRB to ‘directors’ rather than ‘members’ to remove any ambiguity with members of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society.

It transitions the PBRB to a skills-based directorship, conferring the power to appoint directors to the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the minister. It permits the making of regulations to support the day-to-day operation and management of the railway. The bill supports the growth and sustainability of the PBRB while also recognising the heritage significance of the railway, the significance of its volunteers and its importance to local communities. The bill adopts a framework that aligns with modern standards and addresses findings from reviews of the ETR act and the governance structure at the ETRB.

I want to commend those that have worked so hard for this change, whether it is the current minister; the previous minister, my good friend the member for Lara; or the new CEO, Steve O’Brien. I know Steve O’Brien well; he used to work for the City of Whittlesea. He is a good egg, he is a good human being, and he understands the importance of good governance and of working with staff and volunteers. I really wish the Puffing Billy society and all its volunteers well and hope that they continue their great work, and also the staff that work at this fantastic tourism asset. It has been so disappointing with that beautiful brand and all the thousands and millions of hours of enjoyment that the railway has given people from all over the world, from local areas and from regional Victoria and interstate. I as a child and my children have had the benefit of that, and I hope one day I will have grandchildren—I have not got them yet; they had better hurry up, those two boys of mine—and ride that train again and sit on the sill and hang my legs over the side with my grandchildren. I commend the bill to the house.

Mr HODGETT (Croydon) (13:52): It is a pleasure to rise and make a contribution on the Puffing Billy Railway Bill 2022. As previous speakers have already outlined, we all know Puffing Billy, a great iconic asset in the Dandenong Ranges. Puffing Billy has operated as a heritage tourist railway since 1962, and it is a major Victorian tourism attraction. It sees around 500 000 visitors each year. I have spent some time on the Yarra Ranges council as a councillor and mayor, along with other members of the Parliament here, and been a resident in the Yarra Ranges. We all know Puffing Billy well and the important part it plays in its position in tourism in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges.

To the purposes of this bill, as have been outlined: the bill establishes the Puffing Billy Railway Act 2022 and repeals the Emerald Tourist Railway Act 1977, it provides for the ongoing management and sustainability of Puffing Billy as a significant Victorian tourist attraction and it updates provisions relating to corporate governance, practices and the operation of the railway to align with modern standards. From listening to the lead speaker and speakers on both sides of the house, I think we are all in agreement about the need for the corporate governance practices and operation of the railway to align with modern standards.

This bill is the result of the Victorian Ombudsman’s2018 report Investigation into Child Sex Offender Robert Whitehead’s Involvement with Puffing Billy and Other Railway Bodies and a subsequent consultant’s report. Many of the provisions of the bill respond to the findings of the Ombudsman. I spoke on the apology for child sex abuse linked to Puffing Billy in this house on 27 November 2019, and as the member for Yan Yean in her contribution said, I do well remember the member for Lara’s very moving contribution. The member had a great deal to do with it at the time, and I respected and remember well his contribution on that very serious, sensitive and important issue. In reviewing the existing legislation it was determined that the act contained too many outdated provisions and sections and a new act was required. You will get no argument from us on this side of the house; we concur with the need for that. We are in agreement with that, so there is no argument with that part of the bill.

In summary, and as the member for Eildon outlined in her contribution, the bill changes the name of the Emerald Tourist Railway Board to the Puffing Billy Railway Board; it provides for the objectives, functions and powers of the new board; it transitions to a skills-based board with a minimum of five and maximum of 10 members; it enables the new board to enter into contracts and arrangements to the value of $1 million without ministerial approval, where the current limit is $200 000 in the current act; and it provides for the growth and development of the railway, including requirements for contemporary business and strategic planning. Anyone who has had anything to do with tourism or Puffing Billy out there knows the importance for the board members and the society or people involved with Puffing Billy to have that provision for growth and development of the railway included in the requirements for contemporary business and strategic planning. I think that was identified as a shortfall, and that is a great need that the bill addresses. The bill also recognises the heritage significance of the railway and the importance of volunteers to the ongoing operation of the railway, and there have been a few people that have mentioned volunteers. I will come back and make a few comments on that, time permitting. It will manage and maintain the infrastructure and assets of the railway—and I will come back to focus on that—and a rail corridor plan outlining how assets are to be maintained must be prepared and approved.

Before my current shadow portfolio of education I did wear the tourism, major events and sport shadow portfolio hat for a couple of years in this term, so I am acutely aware of some of the issues around Puffing Billy and the Emerald Tourist Railway Board and what was required. As I said, I had spoken on that apology for child sex abuse linked to Puffing Billy, so I am aware of the issues and I am aware of how the bill has arrived at the house today.

I did want to focus a major part of my contribution on the asset ownership. It is best described as an ugly dispute about the asset ownership. I do want to focus there. I have had some dealings with the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events on that specific issue and I had some productive meetings, I might add, with the minister when I was wearing that shadow tourism hat. But they are still in some ways unresolved. Therefore I note from the earlier discussion on the government business program that this bill will be going into consideration in detail. I am sure our lead speaker will seek to explore some of those issues with the minister for tourism to try and get answers around the asset ownership. I might come back to that after I speak a bit more about the background of the bill.

Puffing Billy, as I said, has operated as a heritage tourist railway since 1962 and is now a major Victorian tourist attraction, seeing around 500 000 visitors each year—pre COVID of course, and we look forward to those numbers getting back to the pre-COVID case and growing. Over the years the railway has had its fair share of financial and operational issues. It was closed in 1954 and was reopened in 1955 by Victorian Railways with the help and support of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society, also established in 1955. In 1977 the Victorian government established the Emerald Tourist Railway Board as a statutory authority under the Emerald Tourist Railway Act 1977. Under this act, until July 2018 the Puffing Billy Preservation Society occupied four seats on the board.

Puffing Billy has moved from being a volunteer-dominated organisation to now having some 70 employees. For a number of years there has been considerable tension between the board and volunteers, and maybe I will come back and speak a little bit about that in terms of the asset ownership. But with the culture being described as toxic, ownership of assets in dispute and the Puffing Billy Preservation Society claiming to own several parcels of land and rolling stock at considerable value, members of the Puffing Billy Preservation Society are aggrieved that they have gone from being a large and dedicated volunteer resource—

Business interrupted under sessional orders.