Book 8 - Parliament of Victoria

MEMBERS STATEMENTS
1538 COUNCIL Tuesday, 31 May 2011
(1) order of the day 2, relating to government election
commitments;
(2) notice of motion 32 standing in the name of Ms Hartland
relating to the introduction of the Environment
Protection Amendment (Beverage Container Deposit
and Recovery Scheme) Bill 2011;
(3) notice of motion 99 standing in the name of Mr Barber
relating to the production of advanced metering
infrastructure documents;
(4) notice of motion 92 standing in the name of
Mr Somyurek relating to the Australian Synchrotron;
(5) notice of motion 94 standing in the name of Mr Barber
relating to the production of documents relating to the
relocation of the VicForests office;
(6) notice of motion 78 standing in the name of Mr Barber
relating to a review of the operating rules for major
water storages;
(7) notice of motion 91 standing in the name of
Ms Pennicuik relating to the production of Australian
Grand Prix Corporation documents; and
(8) notice of motion 85 standing in the name of Mr Barber
relating to a review of the Members of Parliament
(Register of Interests) Act 1978.
Motion agreed to.
Filming of proceedings
The PRESIDENT — Order! Just before I call
members statements I might just reconfirm — and I
know that one of the clerks has conveyed this
information, and I thank him for that — the
requirements of this house in regard to media reporting,
and particularly the filming of the proceedings of the
Parliament. Media outlets are allowed to film only
members of Parliament. Under our standing orders that
is permissible. But under no circumstances are they
entitled or allowed to film members of the public sitting
in the public gallery. I know that information has been
conveyed to a media outlet that is not always present in
this house, and I appreciate its cooperation. I thank it
for that.
MEMBERS STATEMENTS
Battle of Greece and Crete: 70th anniversary
Mr TARLAMIS (South Eastern Metropolitan) —
The month of May marks the 70th anniversary of the
battle of Greece and Crete where a desperate and
ill-fated battle to save the country from invasion and
halt the advance of the fascists took place during the
Second World War. I recently had the honour of joining
other members of Parliament, members of the Greek
community, veterans of the Australian armed forces
and thousands of Greek citizens to commemorate this
event.
This battle saw Australian, New Zealand and British
allies fighting side by side with Greeks and Cretans and
was only the second — and last — time Australian and
New Zealand forces united under the Anzac banner.
During this battle the Greek mainland was ultimately
occupied by the invading Nazi Germans, who then
proceeded to invade the island of Crete. On the Greek
mainland 320 Australians lost their lives, with
494 wounded and more than 2000 taken prisoner.
Withdrawing to the island of Crete, the Allied troops
attempted to fight off an airborne invasion where a
further 274 Australians lost their lives and over 3000
were taken prisoner. These losses paled in comparison
to the estimated 500 000 Greek and Cretan lives that
were lost during the war.
Six Australian veterans from this conflict returned to
Greece and Crete to mark this occasion, including
Norm Maddock, OAM, from Bentleigh, who enlisted
in the army in June 1940 aged 17 years and was
captured and became a prisoner of war before escaping
from Crete by boat. After many days at sea he landed
on the North African coast, and he then returned to
active duty to continue to serve his country. There are
many more like Norm who fought valiantly to defend
democracy and freedom, and we should never forget
the contribution and sacrifice they made for the
freedoms we enjoy today. The battle forged a mutual
respect and great friendship between the Greek and
Australian nations that has never wavered — a
friendship that is as enduring and strong today as it was
during that terrible conflict.
Leongatha Recreation Reserve: irrigation
Mr O’DONOHUE (Eastern Victoria) — On 7 May
I was pleased to attend the opening of two irrigation
projects at the Leongatha Recreation Reserve on behalf
of the Minister for Sport and Recreation,
Minister Delahunty, and to join the mayor of the Shire
of South Gippsland, Cr Warren Raabe, and Cr James
Fawcett. The government provided $83 000 for the
Woorayl Golf Club’s new automated watering system
and $20 000 for the new irrigation system on the main
oval of the reserve. I congratulate the president of the
golf club, Graeme Winkler, and the committee of the
Leongatha football and netball club — in particular Phil
Poulton.