September Parliamentary Political Report.
Yet again Labor’s Upper House team was able to hold the Berejiklian Government to account in our latest Parliamentary sitting. The Liberals and Nationals have been in absolute chaos, Labor used the September Parliament sitting to highlight that our State needs stable Government and we are not getting that from the Coalition.
Labor brought forward a motion stating that the Nationals were so distracted by bitter infighting over leadership that they were failing to address the pandemic and the most serious economic recession that NSW has experienced this century. Labor noted that comments by Liberal Party Ministers criticising the Deputy Premier, John Barillaro and expressed concern over the chaos within the Berejiklian Government. Labor won the vote 23 – 17.
University workers
The Berejiklian Government has abandoned University workers and our communities that are supported by Universities across NSW. During Parliament, I called on the Berejiklian Government to step in with a survival package that will guarantee that jobs are saved.
Thousands of casual and fixed term contract workers have already lost their jobs, and up to one in five jobs are at risk at campuses across NSW. Universities directly employ thousands of people in both metropolitan and regional areas, and as a result, they indirectly support thousands more workers and businesses. Labor’s fundamental concern is saving thousands of jobs and livelihoods. Tertiary education is vital, it is our fourth largest export after iron ore, coal and natural gas and it has been amongst the hardest hit sectors of the NSW economy during the Covid-19 crisis. Protecting these jobs is crucial to our state’s economic recovery – the Victorian State Government has provided support and I argued that the Premier cannot turn her back on our University workers and she must take action now.
Please sign the Petition to call on the Berejiklian Government to ensure that no job is lost from a public University in NSW.
Please read my speech here or take a look at the video below:
Safety issue in the Heathcote electorate
I raised a significant issue in Parliament regarding Heathcote Road and the bridge over the Woronora River at Engadine. Heathcote Road is the most dangerous road within the Sutherland Shire LGA, with a number of tragic deaths and serious accidents due to its narrow bridge. Time and time again the Liberal Member for Heathcote, Lee Evans has misled the community about this issue, he promised the bridge would be duplicated and have two lanes on both sides and has failed to deliver.
Despite the election promise and pleas from concerned residents, the Government has determined that the bridge will remain one lane in each direction, with no barriers and only minimal widening of the single lanes, which will close the bridge for over six months. I highlighted in Parliament that Lee Evans is now faking a fight with his Liberal colleagues and petitioning his own Government about the issue, what a farce. If there is one key job a local member has to do it is to deliver on government promises and yet after 10 years as the local member, he can’t even get his own Minister to tell the Department to do a proper job once and for all by duplicating the bridge: it is just another example of mismanagement and chaos from the Berejiklian Government.
This week, I followed up by organising a gathering in Heathcote, which included our Leader Jodi McKay, President of Heathcote SEC, Maryanne Stuart, Labor Councillors and Labor branch members, which was attended by media. This was done in an effort to highlight the safety issue that Lee Evans has persistently failed to adequately address. I will continue to call upon the Liberals and Nationals to deliver on its promises and prioritise the safety of our residents in the Heathcote electorate.
Please read my speech here or take a look at the video below:
Holding the Government to account
I have been using one of the most powerful instruments of the Upper House, which is the ability to call for information pertaining to Government departments and agencies. This means that if we win the debate in the house, the Berejiklian Government is compelled to produce documents related to certain issues we specify.
On the 16th of September, I led Labor’s Upper House team in a debate to obtain documents and information regarding all workers compensation claims currently being managed by iCare for Transport workers that have been exposed to asbestos. This is extremely important, as information I was able to obtain in the House previously had revealed that the transport cluster is being mismanaged, there has been serial instances of asbestos exposure and major issues with safety protocols, which has been endangering workers.
This is especially pertinent with the recent revelations regarding iCare. They have demonstrated complete and utter incompetence and maladministration when it comes to handling workers compensation claims and have been attempting to institute policies that would hurt our state’s injured workers. We won the vote on the call for papers 20 to 18, which means we will now get to see this crucial information.
Please read the debate here or take a look at the video below of me leading the debate:
On the 23rd of September, I also led our team in a debate to obtain documents relating to electricity entities, including proposals for further sales or leasing. As the Berejiklian government has been considering the further sale of these entities, I argued that it is in both the public interest, and the interest of the remaining employees of those organisations that such considerations are made publicly available, given there has been so many job losses and the reliability of the networks has deteriorated.
It has been reported by the Australian newspaper on many occasions, that the Treasurer and other Ministers are wanting to once again engage in sell-offs and further privatisations - at the moment the government still retains just under half of Ausgrid and Endeavour Energy and 100% of Essential Energy. As recently as the 16th of June this year in Parliament, the Treasurer said he hoped to continue considering asset recycling opportunities. We also have reason to believe that there has been a large rise in mental health issues arising out of the industry. I therefore argued it was important to gain information around suicide policies, so we know to what extent these organisations are investigating suicides and what steps they have taken to mitigate this in their policies and procedures.
We were again able to win the vote 20-18 to obtain these very important documents.
Please read the debate here or take a look at the video below of me leading the debate:
Labor’s Upper House team was able to win a number key votes, which will allow for Orders for papers to be made on the following issues:
Wages Policy Taskforce, Infrastructure and Job Acceleration Fund, Procurement by transport agencies, Long Service Corporation, The Stronger Communities Fund, NSW Commercial Fisheries Business Adjustment Program Barclay Report, Treasury and iCare, Government Asset Management Plans and Schools Infrastructure NSW projects.
Labor's Bills
On the 23rd of September, Labor introduced three important Bills to the Upper House, the debate on these Bills will continue when we return back to Parliament.
State Insurance and Care Governance Amendment (Employees) Bill 2020
Our Shadow Minister for Finance, Daniel Mookhey MLC introduced Labor’s Bill which will ensure that the CEO and staff at iCare are not entitled to outrageous performance-related bonuses or incentive payments when they are running the State’s workers compensation scheme into the ground. We know this legislation is much needed as eight executives at iCare were paid 8 million dollars in salaries and bonuses in the last two years and two hundred iCare staff members were also paid bonuses. The scheme’s finances are in ruins and at least 12 million dollars that is meant to help injured and sick workers has been paid to executives and staff.
Restart NSW Fund Amendment (Rural and Regional Infrastructure Funding) Bill 2020
Our Shadow Treasurer, Walt Secord MLC introduced a Bill to ensure that at least 30 per cent of the total payments from the $33.3 Billion Restart NSW Fund will be allocated to rural and regional areas in each financial year for the life of the fund. The purpose is to ensure that rural and regional areas benefit from high-priority infrastructure projects that improve the State’s economic growth and productivity.
Currently, rural and regional communities have been short-changed by the Berejiklian Government. Labor’s Bill will provide critical infrastructure funding, especially for those that have been impacted by devastating drought and bushfires and are now contending with high unemployment due to the Covid-19 crisis. The Bill will ensure that residents in these communities across NSW will get the fair share of what they were promised by consecutive Liberal and National Governments.
Liquor Amendment (Right to Play Live Music) Bill 2019
Our Shadow Minister for Music and the Night Time Economy, John Graham MLC introduced a Bill that is aimed at promoting jobs for musicians, including removing outdated bans and restrictions on live music in hundreds of venues across NSW. The Right to Play Music Bill will tackle liquor licence conditions that impose arbitrary bans and restrictions on live music. There are fears that 85% of NSW music venues could be forced to close in the next twelve months if they do not receive urgent assistance. The Bill will also grant local councils the ability to remove such restrictions from their development consents.
Congratulations to Graham Kelly OAM
In Parliament I congratulated Graeme Kelly on his 30-year anniversary working for the United Services Union and the 10-year anniversary of his appointment as its General Secretary. It is an outstanding achievement, Graeme is renowned for building and growing his Union, he works incredibly hard to represent over 30,000 local government, energy, airline and clerical and administrative workers throughout both metropolitan and regional areas in NSW. Graeme’s commitment to the trade Union movement is unwavering and workers are lucky to have him as a tireless advocate for ensuring they are given a fair go.
Please read my speech here or take a look at the video below:
We’ll return to Parliament on the 13th of October for two weeks, where we will continue to hold the Berejiklian Government to account and make the case for a Labor Government!
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