Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- An article at www.dredgingtoday.com has come to my attention. I found it very interesting. The website states:

Environment has always been a 'hot' topic for the dredging industry, but when the debate around climate change started to heat up several years ago the dredging industry was in the forefront and ready to act.

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- The bill before us, the Accident Compensation Amendment Bill, is an important bill. As has already been mentioned, it is about the same size as -- --

The ACTING PRESIDENT (Mrs Peulich) -- Order! I ask that members as well as members of the gallery keep their voices down for the member who is on her feet making a contribution to important legislation.

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- I would like to thank Mr Viney, Mr Rich-Phillips and Mr Scheffer for making contributions on my motion that the government abandon plans for the Peninsula Link, formerly called the Frankston bypass. I want to make some comments on the remarks made by the speakers aforementioned.

Mr Viney outlined that he -- and, I presume, the government, but he in particular -- is and has been supportive of the project for some time. He says it is even more important because of EastLink. He mentioned the congestion that occurs, particularly on Friday evenings and public holidays, where the Frankston Freeway meets Cranbourne Road. I raised that in my contribution.

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- My adjournment matter is for the attention of the Minister for the Arts and relates to the composition of the Victorian College of Arts and Music (VCAM) review committee. The review committee was established by the University of Melbourne to review submissions to its discussion paper Defining the Future for the VCA and Music at the University of Melbourne which was launched on 10 November 2009. More than 200 submissions have been received from students, staff, graduates, former arts ministers and the wider community.

* 2010 Annual Statement of Government Intentions, page 32.

Taking part in the 15th annual pride march yesterday, Greens MP Sue Pennicuik, reiterated her determination to resist the plan by Attorney General Rob Hulls to continue to allow religious schools to discriminate against job applicants on the grounds of sex, sexuality, marital and/or parental status.

"In September last year, the Attorney General announced his intention to allow these exemptions or exceptions to continue under the Equal opportunity Act", said Ms Pennicuik. "There is no excuse to allow such a blatant breach of human rights to continue under Victorian law".

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Education. It regards the so-called Australian schools index and the policy of naming and shaming schools who perform below the average in national literacy and numeracy testing which are then published on the 'My School' website.

Ms Pike has stated she is against simplistic school league tables, but she has done nothing to prevent the NAPLAN (national assessment program literacy and numeracy) test results of Victorian schools from being included on the federal government's 'My School' website. Information on the website provides the data necessary to construct league tables.

Victorian Greens justice spokesperson, Sue Pennicuik MLC, today welcomed the news that the final four defendants in the long-running Gunns 20 case can finally get on with their lives.

"More than five years has passed since Gunns issued their terrible writ against the 20 defendants", Ms Pennicuik said. "Now, on the eve of going to trial, Gunns Ltd has pulled the pin and opted to pay out the remaining four defendants, rather than go to trial".

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- I will start my contribution to the debate on Ms Lovell's motion by reading from the World Health Organisation's Strategies to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol -- Report to the Secretariat, which was presented to the 61st World Health Assembly in March 2008.

The recent closure of the Tote in Collingwood has generated a lot of public debate about Victoria's liquor licensing regime. Contrary to recent reports, the security requirements for venues with live music were not part of the bill that passed state parliament late last year. The requirement for live music venues to provide security staff is not enshrined in any act of parliament – it is something the government started requiring of licensees long ago.

“The Commissioner can remove the link between live music and the requirement for security at any time, and she should do so now,” Victorian Greens spokesperson for the Arts, Ms Pennicuik said today.