Sue Pennicuik in Parliament

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- The Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill is an omnibus bill, as has been mentioned, but fortunately it is not the size of a telephone book like omnibus bills often are.

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.

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- I too would like to make a few brief comments on the discussion paper from the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee on the Audit Act 1994 on which the committee will conduct a review this year.

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.

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.

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- Last Monday I had two interesting experiences on our train system. Waiting for a delayed train on a crowded platform at Elsternwick station, I was thinking it was very unlikely that everyone would be able to get on whenever the train arrived.

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- The Consumer Affairs Legislation Amendment Bill that we have before us is an omnibus bill which makes changes to 30 pieces of legislation that I can count, including repealing 9 pieces of legislation.

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- The Greens have serious concerns about the proposed amendments to the Summary Offences Act and the Control of Weapons Act under the Summary Offences and Control of Weapons Acts Amendment Bill 2009. Our concerns go to the issue of incrementally increasing police powers once again. We know police are always fond of having their powers increased. There is no need for these increases in police powers.

Herald Sun opinion piece - 'Goodbye rights, an election is coming' here.

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- My question is to the Minister for Planning, and it refers to stories in the Frankston Standard Leader on 2 and 9 November.

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- The Education and Training Reform Amendment (Overseas Students) Bill is a very simple bill that makes some very small amendments to the regulation of providers dealing with the functions of the VRQA (Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority). I appreciate the work that the library staff have done in preparing a research brief on this bill.

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- Tomorrow it will be one year since Tyler Cassidy was shot dead by four police officers in Northcote. He was only 15 years old. I would like to read a statement prepared by his mother, Shani Cassidy:

It is one year ago since Tyler was killed and my family is still searching for answers and for action to prevent further police shootings. We have tirelessly campaigned for an independent investigation of his killing, but to no avail.

To view news footage commemorating the anniversary of Tyler's death, click here      courtesy of Channel 7

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- On Monday night I attended the Port Phillip City Council meeting where Cr Frank O'Connor was re-elected as mayor and moved an urgency motion in which he announced an in-principle agreement with Citta` Group to terminate the development agreement for the St Kilda Triangle.

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- I move: That this house calls on the government to abandon plans for the construction of the Peninsula Link or Frankston bypass and instead implement alternative, local and less costly solutions to reduce bottlenecks and peak time congestion on existing arterial roads and upgrade public transport services in Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula.

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- In my inaugural speech I said:

In Australia we are lucky that we can exercise our democratic right to take to the streets to protest against government decisions or for issues we believe in.
Certainly over the years I have been involved in many street protests and in other protests -- --

Hon. T. C. Theophanous -- Haven't we all!

Ms PENNICUIK -- Including against forest logging and channel deepening, for example. As Mr Theophanous says, many others in this place have also been involved over the years.

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- It is great to see that the minister on duty is so engaged in the proceedings here on the land revocation bill!

My colleague Ms Hartland has talked about some aspects of the bill before us, the Land (Revocation of Reservations and Other Matters) Bill 2009, which deals with a bunch of revocations of reserves on public land and Crown land at Yarra Bend, Caulfield, Royal Park, Western Oval and Kananook Creek.

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- The Greens will support the Fair Work (Commonwealth Powers) Amendment Bill 2009.

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- I would like to pay tribute to two groups today. The first is the group of 25 police officers and firefighters called Run for a Safe Climate, who are taking their message that climate change has become a community safety issue from the northern tip of Australia down the east coast and along the Murray River.

Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee: exceptions and exemptions to the Equal Opportunity Act 1995

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- I move:

That this house calls on the state and federal governments to reform laws relating to political donations, with the aim of banning donations from entities such as unions and corporations and limiting the size of donations from individuals.

The system of political donations in Victoria is in urgent need of reform, not only because it now lags behind significant moves in the commonwealth and other states -- notably, New South Wales and Queensland -- but because it is broken.

The Victorian government bathes itself in a false glow of moral piety.
 

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- As I mentioned yesterday in the second-reading debate, the Greens are supportive of clause 3, which inserts a new aggravating factor. The minister would know that the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee raised concern about clause 4. In its report the committee said:

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- As Mr Tee and Mr Dalla-Riva have outlined, this bill of 62 clauses makes a range of amendments to seven acts and consequential amendments to another seven.

Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) -- The Greens, like everybody else in the community, are appalled and concerned when crimes are perpetrated against persons because they may belong to or be associated with a particular group.