Tuesday, 27 August 2024

Program

Mary-Anne THOMAS (Macedon – Leader of the House, Minister for Health, Minister for Health Infrastructure, Minister for Ambulance Services) (12:11): It is a pleasure to rise today to commend the Allan Labor government’s business program to the house. There is plenty to talk about this week. I move:

That, under standing order 94(2), the orders of the day, government business, relating to the following bills be considered and completed by 5 pm on 29 August 2024:

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Trust Amendment Bill 2024

Residential Tenancies and Funerals Amendment Bill 2024

Health Legislation Amendment (Regulatory Reform) Bill 2024.

As I was saying, it is a pleasure to be here with the Allan Labor government’s government business program for this week. I might start at the end, because I am pleased that one of my bills is going to be debated, the Health Legislation Amendment (Regulatory Reform) Bill 2024. This bill comes off a long body of work that started under one of my predecessors the Honourable Jill Hennessy MP, former Minister for Health. There was the Gorton review, a very important review into the way in which IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies are regulated here in Victoria. The health legislation amendment bill looks at that as well as a whole range of other regulatory functions in order to ensure that we look to have a modern, contemporary regulatory framework for health regulation in this state. I know that many members on this side of the house will look forward to speaking on that bill.

We will also be discussing the Residential Tenancies and Funerals Amendment Bill 2024. This builds on our government’s commitment to providing more transparency for Victorian consumers, and it builds on our commitment to rental reform no matter where Victorians live. Our government has already initiated a whole range of reforms to ensure that people who rent – an increasing proportion of the population – have the necessary protections in place. These include a ban on rental bidding, new minimum rental standards, no eviction without reason and provisions around urgent repairs.

Many of these reforms were initiated in 2021. They build upon successive bills and pieces of work. This is what this bill aims to do. I know again that this is something that members on this side of the house have long advocated for. The bill particularly looks to improve standards for people who live in residential parks. I have a residential park in my electorate, and I have always been concerned that people that live in these accommodations do not understand the rights that they have or indeed do not have, but we are here to strengthen those and look after what is a particularly vulnerable group of our population.

We are also looking of course to debate the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Trust Amendment Bill. The changes in this bill have been requested by the trust itself, and they make important governance changes to the Melbourne convention centre and the Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre, which are critical to the state’s reputation as a host of major events.

I might point out that you can only make changes to the governance of the Geelong Convention and Event Centre if you actually build a Geelong Convention and Event Centre, and that is exactly what our government has done. Indeed as the former Minister for Regional Development it was wonderful to be able to play a small part in the development of this magnificent facility. I know because the whole of our party room was abuzz about the great success of the multicultural dinner, which was held for the first time in Geelong, and on this side of the house we are very proud to represent the entirety of Geelong and surrounding communities. We have done that for a long time, and it is something that we intend to keep doing. It is through bills like this that we will deliver for the people of Geelong, deliver for the tourism and convention industry more broadly and ensure that Victoria remains, as it is right now, the major events capital of Australia.

This is a really good government business program. I look forward to the many contributions from this side of this house, and I commend the program to the house.

James NEWBURY (Brighton) (12:16): The coalition will be opposing the government business program. I will tell you why. The government business program has become a joke. It has become an absolute joke. Whatever is written on the program will bear no resemblance to what the government actually deals with in a week. We saw only last week the government rush through an urgent bill that came into the chamber – ‘We have to get this bill through today. We have to introduce this bill, get it through the lower house and through the Council on Thursday’ – until the government voted against bringing their own bill on on Thursday in the Council. They voted against bringing their own bill on despite saying it was a matter of extreme urgency. What an outrage. It just shows how fake the government are and how their government business program is a complete waste of paper.

What we also know is that the government this morning gave notice that the house would be dealing with the Youth Justice Bill 2024 Council amendments first up today. Well, we skipped over that, didn’t we? What happened to that? What happened to the government’s own notice paper for today? Again, chaos. We have skipped over it. I am not sure whether the Leader of the House forgot or whether the government was embarrassed by the youth crime crisis that is actually occurring on our streets. I tell you what, it is happening on Church Street in Brighton. We saw that on Friday. There was a knife fight on Church Street in Brighton – a full Church Street, kids going up and down the street – and chairs were being thrown and bottles were being thrown at 3:45 in the afternoon. It is no wonder, is it, that the government has skipped over dealing with the Council amendments on that bill, because they are embarrassed. We might see that item come back to the chamber today. How would we know? All we have to rely on is the daily program, where it is listed, and it was skipped, just like the government business program last week. We had a business program written down in black and white, but it bore no resemblance to what was actually dealt with in the week.

When it comes to the Parliament the government is in chaos. In both chambers the government is in chaos, because the government tries to push the items it wants through the Parliament, and then they sit in the upper house until it can trade away and do a deal with the crossbench and get enough votes to get them through that place. They bring these items through the lower house and call for urgency, call for immediacy, in terms of getting these bills through. Then they sit there in the upper house waiting for the horsetrading to occur, waiting for members’ votes to be bought off until there are enough votes for the government to get their bad legislation through the Council. It is obvious for the world to see. That is why the coalition will be opposing the government business program.

I do note the government has given notice again – and here I am standing up for the Labor members again – of dealing with the budget motion. Last week we saw the government allow 1 hour of debate on the budget motion – the embarrassing budget that the government wants to hide. No wonder they want to hide it. Every single week the government lists and will allow debate on the budget motion, and yet there are some 20 members on the government benches who have not had a chance to speak on it and about a third on our side who have not had a chance to speak on it. We know what we want to say. We want to say that we have been neglected. We want to talk about the fact that we have been neglected and our communities have been forgotten year on year on year. But for the government to ignore their own backbench – no wonder the Premier is wandering around the room shoring up her numbers. It is because the members are being neglected by their own government in the Parliament.

Mary-Anne Thomas: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, a contribution on the government business program is not an opportunity to sledge the government.

The SPEAKER: The member for Brighton will come back to the business program.

James NEWBURY: The truth hurts.

Tim RICHARDSON (Mordialloc) (12:21): It is great to rise on the government business program and to follow my bayside colleague, the member for Brighton, who gave a stirring rendition of how to get excited about the opposition opposing the government business program. I thought the member for Brighton might come in and it might be a little bit refreshing to see the opposition support the business program.

I also feel a little bit cheated this afternoon. On the government business program we have three really important bills, and I will talk to their importance and why the timing of those coming forward is really important. I was disappointed because I came in for chamber duty – I am here until 1 – and I thought, ‘There’s got to be some notices of motion; there’s got to be some bills introduced.’ I was going, ‘We probably won’t get to this bill until 2 or 3 o’clock.’ I came in, and have people missed the memo? Where are all the notices of motion? Where are the bills being introduced? It has just been a bit docile. I was just hoping for a bit of a pulse. Maybe they just missed it on the program. I was waiting for the endless – I think last time it was 80 – notices of motion. I thought, ‘Could they just crack the ton?’ We are coming out of footy season and into cricket. They all sounded a little bit similar. They all sort of seemed centrally produced – a bit like carbon copies and just off they go. And it is the job of opposition, obviously; you see them oppose once again. But this is an opportunity to speak on these important bills.

The Health Legislation Amendment (Regulatory Reform) Bill 2024 has had a long journey to this point around reproductive care and treatment. I think everyone in this place has an important connection and knows someone who is impacted and will benefit, so I think that is a really important bill to come forward. I would have liked a little bit of commentary from the member for Brighton on some of the bills – to say, ‘Well, this is important for our team. We want to talk about this today, and we want to put this on the record.’ This is something government members will be really keen to speak on. The list is as long as the day of people coming forward to make a contribution on that.

We know the opportunities for these bills to come forward are really important. You set them on the program and give members an opportunity on behalf of their communities to speak to them. We know how important some of the residential tenancy work is. The funerals area is interesting. I did, as Parliamentary Secretary for Health Infrastructure, support the Minister for Health in some of that work previously. With the tenancies part of that and the huge, storied reform that has gone on, there is another opportunity for members of Parliament to reflect on some of that reform. It is a really important bill to be on the government business program and to reflect on.

Of course the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Trust Amendment Bill 2024 is on a really important strategic asset for Victorians, so that bill coming forward is another important thing, with the changes and impacts that the trusts are making on behalf of Melburnians and Victorians for what is an internationally renowned precinct, affectionately known as Jeff’s Shed. Time and time again it has events and events – over and over and over.

I feel a little cheated. I thought there was a chance today for multipartisanship. When the member for Brighton got up to make a contribution, my heart was racing with expectation. Then we got the same old drollery, the same old attacks and the same old theme. But the legislative program is pretty predictable. How can putting these bills on the record, that are pretty consistent, pretty aspirational and pretty inspiring, suddenly be government out of control? If you are Henny Penny and the sky is falling every other day, then people think you are a bit out of control. I just think, member for Brighton, maybe mix it up a little bit. Maybe do the faux outrage that you do so well – you have got a bit of a trademark in that – then maybe try and do the multipartisan statesperson-type gig. Maybe we could see a little bit more of that. The member for Sandringham does that really well. He does the gravitas and then the reach across the chamber.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member will come back to the government business program.

Tim RICHARDSON: I was waiting, Speaker, for a point of order, but I think they are happy with the running commentary we are doing. But it is an important opportunity. There is an important thing, because we hear a number of those opposite complain about how much time they get to speak on the government business program. There is an opportunity this week where there are a number of bills. We will be looking at the program. We will be seeing the contributions. There are numbers of hours available. We have heard the commentary from those opposite around how much time or how much work is dedicated to this. We will be watching closely how those speaking lists look and the contributions that are made. Some have been wanting. They have been attending, but they might as well have not attended the precinct as they are speaking so little. We are looking now to see those contributions on a really packed government business program.

Martin CAMERON (Morwell) (12:27): I rise to talk on the government business program today. As the member for Brighton says, we will be opposing the government business program even though we will be pleased to stand up and talk about the Health Legislation Amendment (Regulatory Reform) Bill 2024, which the previous member just spoke about. Then I need to go back. I am sure the constituents down in the Latrobe Valley – who will be huddled in the coffee shops reading through how we are going to have to stand up and talk about the Melbourne Convention Centre and Exhibition Trust Amendment Bill 2024 – are probably standing there and they have got their coffees and they are thinking, ‘Well, how is that going to affect me moving forward with my local member having to stand up?’ And I will stand up and talk on it, because that is the role when we come down here. The government business program is put down and I will stand up and talk. They will be wanting me to talk on other things that are on the business program that we could be talking about.

One of those things is the Youth Justice Bill 2024, which I thought that we would have been talking on this morning. It should have been straight up, because it affects the people in my community. They are a part of the Youth Justice Bill reforms, which we spoke about last sitting week or the sitting week before, because of the Gordon family. Their son Dr Ash Gordon was tragically killed in Box Hill. There are other members in the chamber who have had members of their communities affected by the Youth Justice Bill and the bail laws. I think that we should have been up-front, put that straight up and moved on with that so we could pass those reforms and make sure that we are doing something tangible for the community right across Victoria. It is very, very important that we do get this done. To have it first up and then bump it down the pecking order – I just hope that we do have the opportunity to stand up and relay what is going on out in the community around Victoria, not only in the CBD, the city, but also in regional Victoria.

Now to another one, the Residential Tenancies and Funeral Amendment Bill 2024, which we are going to do. There might be some members in here that will be really excited to talk about that one. I am looking forward to being able to talk about that because the residential tenancies of people that are living in caravan parks in permanent homes which they own do have their issues. It would be great to be able to tick off on that to give them a little bit more security about where things lie going into the future.

We do need to talk about the business program and do the day-to-day business of dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s, but there is a lot more important stuff that every single Victorian who resides here needs us to be talking about. As I said, the justice bail bill is one. When I go back to my community, they are talking about health, and we do have a health bill here. They are talking about energy, they are talking about the cost of living, they are talking about roads, and these are things that we can have on the business program, that we can get our teeth into and make sure that we are representing our communities to the best of our ability as their local MPs. That is my role: to come in and do that.

As the member for Brighton articulated earlier, we will be opposing the motion on these grounds. There are other more urgent things that we could be spending our time in this chamber talking on that are actually going to make a difference to people’s lives in Victoria. We do not want to hide behind the business program. We want to make sure that we debate the hard stuff that we need to have conversations about. It may not be to the liking of members on the other side, but bring them on so we can discuss them, because we are doing this for every single Victorian who is living in regional Victoria and also metropolitan Melbourne. It may not be the nice conversation they want to have, but these conversations are needed. As the member for Brighton said before, the business program has been very, very light on. Let us bring on the stuff that people in Victoria want us to talk about. Bring it to the fore, let us stand up in the chamber and have the debate for the people of Victoria. That is why we will be opposing the business program this week.

Pauline RICHARDS (Cranbourne) (12:31): I am very much looking forward to this government business program debate through the course of the week. I mean, I am shocked really. I am just shocked that the opposition is opposing the government business program. In fact what I am most shocked about is the lack of heckling for my good friend here the member for Mordialloc. We have a great government business program, but it feels a little bit like groundhog day or one of those terrible dreams where you wake up and you think you have missed the bus going to school. I must have felt like I had been here before because I do feel the outrage of those opposite in opposing the government business program is confected. We have some terrific legislation that we will be debating.

I did have a look to see how much work we have been doing because, gosh, there has been a lot going on, and I noticed that in the last few months alone, since the budget in fact, we have been working hard to pass – and I checked – more than 12 pieces of legislation, legislation that we have been able to pass and continue to pass as we get on with the incredibly important and hard work of debating and contributing on legislation. Just in the last few months we have passed legislation relating to First Nations people, justice reforms, policing improvements, environmental legislation and so much more. But of course we are not stopping there. We heard the Leader of the House acknowledge that there is some important legislation that has been quite a while in development, and that is why it is so important that we bring this legislation here this week.

I was going to say we have got legislation from the cradle to the grave. We have got really important health legislation about artificial insemination and we have important legislation that ensures that people are able to access funeral arrangements and get a fair deal when they are making arrangements at a time in people’s lives that can be incredibly stressful. We also have the important Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Trust Amendment Bill 2024, so other important legislation to debate.

I have to disagree with my friend the member for Morwell that these are not pieces of legislation that are needed by our community. This is important legislation that people want us to bring forward. I did think, in the context particularly of the health legislation that the Leader of the House in her capacity as Minister for Health will be bringing forward, of the Democratic convention I was listening to last week. I heard Coach Walz talk about the importance of being able to form a family in whatever way is possible and making sure that these types of regulations are in place and apply in a way that is fair and reasonable.

I am very much looking forward to hearing the debate from both sides, because I know that these types of issues are important to everyone in the Victorian community. I am particularly conscious of people in regional Victoria and people in rural Victoria and the outer suburbs and all the way through the middle-ring suburbs being able to access the type of health care they need at a time and a place that is close to home, and this legislation is important legislation to ensure that fairness and equity.

I am hoping that there is no sort of affected walkout this week. That would be disappointing. As the member for Mordialloc pointed out, I do not know where they go from the walkout, because I am not sure what is next. But there will be of course not just important debates on legislation but also opportunities for people to be able to contribute by asking questions and bringing forward matters for action by ministers to bring forward the important services and outcomes that are at the centre of our community.

I am very pleased to be able to contribute to this government business program. I am particularly looking forward to debate on the health legislation. I am always wanting to hear what people have to say about bringing fairness and equity, especially as it relates to funeral services and residential parks. I commend the business program, and I am looking forward to being able to stand up one day and congratulate those opposite on working in a more collaborative way. That will be a terrific day. I think I will be having a cup of tea to celebrate. In the meantime, let us get on with this important reform. There is a lot to get done, and we will be getting it done this week.

Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (12:36): I too rise to oppose the government business program and support the Manager of Opposition Business’s comments that this is an absolute joke. Here we have a community where Victorians are trying to say to the Allan Labor government that we are in trouble as a state. We have got a cost-of-living crisis, and today we see another tax introduced into the Parliament. There have been 55 increased charges or taxes. We have got a health crisis. We have got a homelessness situation. We need to build more houses, and the government are putting more and more taxes in place to prevent people from being able to get a roof over their head. Here we have a government business program that completely ignores what the Victorian community are saying to the Labor government – that they should raise and address these issues and use the Parliament’s time to do so. We even saw last week the government introducing an urgent bill. This is such a chaotic government that in last week’s government business program they introduced an urgent bill, and then they pulled it. This is just so chaotic, and Victoria is certainly seeing it.

We heard the member for Cranbourne talk about rural Victorians. Well, if you were listening to rural Victorians, you would know the roads are in an incredibly bad state and they need urgent attention. You would know there is a teacher exodus and that the families and South-West Coast and all across rural Victoria need the government to back in their teachers, back in the police, back in the nurses and back in the professionals, like the ambulance officers, who are doing their best in rural Victoria. But this is a government who puts a business program out that has issues that certainly need addressing but not in this urgent way, unlike some of these things that I have just raised, like the increased cost-of-living pressures on families, who cannot get a childcare placement to be able to get back to work so that they can actually meet their mortgage repayments and meet their grocery bills and meet the ability to open up their energy bill and not absolutely fall over with fright about how high it has got since they last got their energy bill. This is a government that continually says it is bringing down the price of energy and bringing down the price of the cost of living, but quite the opposite. That is where this government business program falls down, because Victorians want to see a government that is focused on families, on outcomes and on results.

Today we were supposed to have in the government business program – and we saw it in the daily program – the Youth Justice Bill 2024 coming back from the upper house first thing. That was the plan, but again the chaos that is reigning in this place is demonstrated right here and now, because where is this Youth Justice Bill with its amendments? We have weaker bail laws than we had in March. These amendments are not doing what needs to be done and actually strengthening the crime laws and the bail laws so that we have less crime. Quite the opposite: the government is not giving direction and is not giving the message that there are boundaries and there are consequences. It is the exact opposite, and that is why we are seeing youth crime exploding and Victorians feeling very unsafe in their own homes.

We see in this government business program the Residential Tenancies and Funerals Amendment Bill ‍2024, which puts some security around people living in caravan parks in permanent dwellings. We have 10,000 people living in caravan parks, and that is predicted to double because there are not enough houses being built. The government’s own targets of 80,000 homes per annum – 800,000 over the next decade – they have pulled back. This is the chaos of this government. And last year we did not even see 55,000 homes being built right across Victoria. So of course we are going to see more people needing assistance and having to live in caravan parks instead of being able to get a roof over their own head.

This is the chaos of a government that is clearly unravelling, and Victorians see it. We saw it last week at the rally in Bendigo, where the Premier herself was trying to convince regional Victorians that she is doing things for regional Victoria. But every person, I am sure, who went to that rally went on a road and would absolutely know –

Mary-Anne Thomas: On a point of order, Speaker, the member for South-West Coast knows that the contribution on the government business program is not an opportunity to attack the government.

The SPEAKER: The member for South-West Coast will come back to the government business program.

Roma BRITNELL: Yes, I am not surprised you stopped me when I talked about the rally and how abused the Premier got, because Victorians are –

The SPEAKER: Order!

Assembly divided on motion:

Ayes (53): Juliana Addison, Jacinta Allan, Colin Brooks, Josh Bull, Anthony Carbines, Ben Carroll, Darren Cheeseman, Anthony Cianflone, Sarah Connolly, Chris Couzens, Jordan Crugnale, Lily D’Ambrosio, Daniela De Martino, Steve Dimopoulos, Paul Edbrooke, Matt Fregon, Ella George, Luba Grigorovitch, Bronwyn Halfpenny, Katie Hall, Paul Hamer, Martha Haylett, Mathew Hilakari, Melissa Horne, Natalie Hutchins, Lauren Kathage, Sonya Kilkenny, Nathan Lambert, Gary Maas, Alison Marchant, Kathleen Matthews-Ward, Steve McGhie, Paul Mercurio, John Mullahy, Tim Pallas, Danny Pearson, Pauline Richards, Tim Richardson, Michaela Settle, Ros Spence, Nick Staikos, Natalie Suleyman, Meng Heang Tak, Jackson Taylor, Nina Taylor, Kat Theophanous, Mary-Anne Thomas, Emma Vulin, Iwan Walters, Vicki Ward, Dylan Wight, Gabrielle Williams, Belinda Wilson

Noes (27): Brad Battin, Jade Benham, Roma Britnell, Tim Bull, Martin Cameron, Annabelle Cleeland, Chris Crewther, Wayne Farnham, Sam Groth, Matthew Guy, David Hodgett, Emma Kealy, Tim McCurdy, Cindy McLeish, James Newbury, Danny O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, Kim O’Keeffe, John Pesutto, Brad Rowswell, David Southwick, Bill Tilley, Bridget Vallence, Peter Walsh, Kim Wells, Nicole Werner, Jess Wilson

Motion agreed to.