Book 8 - Parliament of Victoria

MEMBERS STATEMENTS
Wednesday, 1 June 2011 COUNCIL 1599
charity. The CWA also has a scholarship fund,
particularly for tertiary study opportunities, to assist
members with their family’s education.
I would like to congratulate Mrs Helen Christie, the
outgoing state president, on her two years at the helm,
and I send my best wishes to the incoming president,
Mrs Carol Clay, on her term as president of the Country
Women’s Association of Victoria.
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Research Organisation: manufacturing
partnerships
Ms CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) — Last
Friday morning the President of the Legislative Council
extended an invitation from the CSIRO to all members
of this Parliament to attend what was a most
informative session at CSIRO in Clayton. The CSIRO
is well known around the world and is an icon both
within and outside the Australian scientific
communities.
During our tour we were given a fascinating insight into
some of the work being undertaken by certain divisions
of CSIRO and reminded of some of the innovations that
have been developed by the organisation, including
Aerogard, Softly washing powder, Relenza cold and flu
tablets, various forms of cotton and the plastic
banknote. Innovations such as these have been exported
around the world and have contributed significantly to
the Victorian and Australian economies. We were
given demonstrations of innovations such as cold spray
technology and organic photovoltaics. In developing
these innovations CSIRO has had productive working
partnerships with both industry and government which
assist in enabling it to continue the great work it
undertakes.
One such partnership is with Boeing, situated in
Fishermans Bend in Port Melbourne. Fishermans Bend
is also home to a number of other major companies
involved in manufacturing, engineering, education and
research, including GM Holden, Toyota Australia and
GKN Aerospace Engineering Services, to name a few.
Manufacturing is important not only to Southern
Metropolitan Region but to Victoria’s economy. It
produces 15.4 per cent of Victoria’s gross state product,
and it employs more than 310 000 Victorians.
CSIRO’s ongoing relationships with companies such as
Boeing are important for future innovations and for the
ongoing development of future export opportunities.
Innovation and partnerships such as these will be
encouraged by the Baillieu government as it continues
to support our manufacturing and export industries.
Rail: Seymour service
Ms BROAD (Northern Victoria) — The Star
Wallan, Kilmore, Broadford newspaper reported on
14 April that the Minister for Public Transport in the
Baillieu-Ryan government, Mr Mulder, had promised
commuters that he would ask V/Line to investigate
whether an extra carriage could be added to one of the
Seymour peak services, because the number of
commuters using those services has increased over the
last six months and many people have to stand for long
periods as a result. Yesterday the Star newspaper
reported that it had asked Mr Mulder whether he had
carried out this promise but that it had received no
response. Responses from V/Line about the possibility
of an extra carriage any time soon were not
encouraging.
Meanwhile the Star newspaper reported that the
member for Seymour in the Assembly, Ms McLeish,
had presented a petition from commuters to the
Minister for Public Transport and requested that he
review the adequacy of services. This, too, is not
encouraging for Seymour commuters, who already
know that services are not adequate.
The truth is that the Baillieu-Ryan budget failed to
deliver any new rail carriages or new regional trains for
the V/Line network and that the government has no
plans to improve public transport links across Victoria.
Once the current rollout of the new V/Locity rail
carriages ordered by Labor is complete, no more trains
or carriages will be on the tracks. The Star newspaper
and Seymour commuters deserve an explanation from
Mr Mulder and the Premier, Mr Baillieu, about why
they are not a priority.
St Andrew’s Parish Primary School, Clayton
South: parliamentary visit
Mrs PEULICH (South Eastern Metropolitan) — I
would like to take the opportunity to welcome to the
Victorian Parliament students from Clayton’s
St Andrew’s Parish Primary School who are involved
in observing our democracy in action in two groups and
will be enjoying a nice morning tea in the gardens of
Parliament House. What a wonderful opportunity this is
for them to see in action a government that has their
educational future in its hands — a future which is
being well prepared for through a range of initiatives
that have been announced as a part of the recent budget,
including a commitment of additional initiatives in
maths and science to the tune of $29.7 million, the
introduction of maths and science specialists to the tune
of $24.3 million, science graduates scholarship