weekly hansard - Queensland Parliament - Queensland Government

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23 Aug 2005 Questions Without Notice 2561 We are waiting for federal funding for the Ipswich Motorway—$1.1 billion. We are waiting for funding for the Gateway project. Nothing has been given so we have to hit motorists for higher tolls. The Brisbane urban corridor project and the road-rail overpass at Beaudesert Road, Acacia Ridge are others. I have spoken with a number of members of the National Party about the second range crossing in Toowoomba and I am getting good cooperation from them about it. However, the Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Liberal Party have not called on the federal government to do anything about it. Queensland has about one-fifth of Australia’s population. Queensland’s share of the Telstra proceeds would be $4.1 billion. Sure, we need to spend money on telecommunications in the bush, but what about roads in the bush? What about the Toowoomba range upgrade that will benefit people in the bush? What about that part of the ownership that the people in south-east Queensland have of Telstra? Those opposite ought to get on their high horse and tell the federal government to do something in terms of federal funding for Queensland roads as well. Under the first five years of AusLink we got $574 million. That is a drop in the ocean compared to what we need done on federal roads and a drop in the bucket compared to what we are doing on our state roads. We have spent $1.6 billion on the Gateway upgrade alone. Instead of pillorying Campbell Newman, it is about time that those opposite actually congratulated him and emulated him. Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Scientific Reports Mr SEENEY: My question without notice is to the Minister for Natural Resources and Mines. Minister, I table for the information of the House a leaked departmental document which sets out the ‘process for the approval of scientific publications prepared by NR& M staff’. I also quote from the document, where it says— There is a duty of care for NR&M staff to ensure that any published scientific article presents science of a high quality and is not inconsistent with the policy direction of the NR&M. Why is it necessary for the minister to censor his department’s scientists to ensure that their publications are in accord with the government’s political policies? Mr PALASZCZUK: I thank the honourable member for the question. I would need to have a read of this. However, from my interpretation of the member’s interpretation of this document relating to the tenet of his question, I do not agree with that. I will have a look at the document and make further comment to the member later on. Mr SPEAKER: Before I call the member for Broadwater, I recognise in the gallery the teachers, parents and students of Kilkivan State High School and welcome them to Parliament House. Industrial Relations Reforms Ms CROFT: My question without notice is to the Minister for Employment, Training and Industrial Relations. The Howard government is still to tell people exactly what industrial relations reforms will be included in the legislation it will introduce next month. Minister, apart from reading tea-leaves, how can the average member of the public gain any insights into what is actually planned based on what John Howard and his unfortunate minister, Kevin Andrews, are saying? Mr BARTON: I thank the member for Broadwater for the question, because as demonstrated by the debate here a fortnight ago, the member actually knows from first-hand experience just what the implications of those proposed reforms are. We have confusion and chaos reigning supreme even within the federal Liberal ranks and opposition ranks. One day Kevin Andrews announces one thing. Soon after, John Howard backtracks or hedges on the proposal. Meanwhile, concerns about the thrust of the reforms keep growing, with small business now pushing for financial help and tax breaks to offset the costs of incorporating, according to an article in the Australian Financial Review yesterday. Today we see that 64 national women’s organisations have joined up to investigate the effects of the workplace and welfare changes on women in the work force. It is very clear that these politically driven reforms, to the extent that anyone can glean any real information about them, are divisive, unnecessary and unworkable. But even federal government ministers and MPs are confused and concerned. One day we have workplace relations minister, Kevin Andrews, backing a Senate inquiry. The next day it is all off because it is not supported by the Prime Minister, John Howard. Then we have Queensland Liberal Senator George Brandis who calls the proposal stupid. The federal government claims that the campaigns against the reforms are scare tactics, and that is laughable. Not only is the federal opposition concerned, but many of John Howard’s own MPs have expressed their doubts, along with Western Australian and South Australian Liberals and presumably the Queensland Nationals, although it did not back its viewpoints when it had the opportunity to vote that way, along with the churches. Thanks to a brilliant trade union publicity campaign, workers are becoming increasingly concerned and now business is coming out with its reservations.
2562 Questions Without Notice 23 Aug 2005 The confusion also extends to every facet of the proposed changes. Smokos, meal breaks and public holidays have been ruled up for grabs by Peter Costello. They could be traded away despite the National Party’s leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaile, telling the parties at the Queensland annual conference that they would be protected as minimum conditions of employment. Mr Andrews then said that ordinary working hours would be 40 per week, only to be overruled by the Prime Minister who said it is 38. Peter Costello also says that unfair dismissal laws should be removed completely. But the Prime Minister says, ‘No, only for companies with up to 100 employees.’ We then saw Kevin Andrews defending the move to allow workers to cash in up to two weeks annual leave each year only to backflip the next day and say that that is not on the cards. These types of inconsistencies and turnabouts have been repeated on a range of issues, including long service leave, minimum pay and uncertainty over awards. Mr SPEAKER: Before I call the member for Darling Downs, when I welcomed the students from the Kilkivan State High School I omitted to mention that they come from the electorate of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. I apologise for that, Mr Seeney. First Responders, Rural and Remote Communities Mr HOPPER: My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services. Will the minister allow first responders in rural and remote communities to become nominated ambulance drivers, or does he think that it is acceptable for an injured person to wait 22 hours before arriving at the treating hospital, such as the situation that recently occurred at Greenvale? Mr PURCELL: I thank the member for the question. Twenty-two hours for anybody to get anywhere is unacceptable for any service. First responders will get there as soon as they possibly can. I do not know all of the information about the Greenvale matter, and I will endeavour to get that information for the member as quickly as I possibly can. First response ambulance officers, given the opportunity to get there, get there in a timely manner. With regard to first responders, I do know that they have to be trained to drive the ambulances correctly. We must make sure that they can do that safely. We are training numerous people to be able to do that, and I will get back to the member with that information. Motorcycle Accidents Ms MALE: My question without notice is to the Minister for Police and Corrective Services. Minister, the number of motorbike accidents on our roads is on the rise. Could the minister advise the House how police are working with the community to help reduce the number of accidents? Ms SPENCE: I thank the member for Glass House for the question. I know that she is very concerned about road safety issues in her electorate and for all Queenslanders. Sadly, last weekend was the blackest weekend on Queensland’s roads since 2002. In fact, from Friday to Monday morning, 12 people died on Queensland roads as a result of motor vehicle accidents. While we have heard a lot about that dreadful accident that happened in Townsville over the weekend, every single one of those accidents is certainly a tragedy that in most cases could have been avoided. I thank the member for bringing to the House’s attention the issue of motorcycle accidents, because in fact three people died in motorcycle accidents on Friday alone. Those accidents occurred at Mount Nebo, Advancetown and Maroochydore. It turns out that, in terms of motorbike accidents, 2005 is shaping up to be Queensland’s worse year. So far this year, 41 motorcyclists have been killed on our roads. This compares to the whole of 2004 where there were a total of 48 motorcyclists killed in Queensland. Police advise that the major contributing factors associated with fatal motorbike crashes to date this year are as follows: inattention was the cause of 37.5 per cent of the cases, speed in 17.5 per cent of accidents, alcohol and drugs were a factor in 12.5 per cent of crashes, 7.5 per cent of crashes involved fatigue, another 7.1 per cent involved an illegal manoeuvre, and 12.5 per cent involved inexperience, with over 5.4 per cent including wet roads as a major contributing factor. As members can see, many of these accidents are preventable. But I just want to give the House a few more statistics and look at how motorbike registrations have increased in Queensland. In fact, they have risen from 74,000 five years ago to 99,000 today. They, of course, remain overrepresented in terms of road toll statistics. For example, in 1998 motorcycle fatalities accounted for nine per cent of the Queensland road toll. In 2000, they accounted for 10.4 per cent of fatalities. This year, they have already contributed to 20.8 per cent of our fatalities. Given that motorcycles represent three per cent of Queensland’s registered vehicles, they are certainly overrepresented in terms of fatalities. So what are the police and the Queensland government doing about it? We acknowledge that we have a role to play in educating the community about road safety and particularly about motorcycle safety. The Queensland police recently had a very successful day at Brookside Shopping Centre. It was a day called Talk to the Blue where they got motorcyclists out there to talk to them about these issues. I congratulate the Police on this very important initiative.
Page 1 and 2: PROOF ISSN 1322-0330 WEEKLY HANSARD
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents — Tuesday, 23 A
Page 5 and 6: 2536 Papers 23 Aug 2005 PAPERS PAPE
Page 7 and 8: 2538 Ministerial Statement 23 Aug 2
Page 19 and 20: 2550 Scrutiny of Legislation Commit
Page 21 and 22: 2552 Private Members’ Statements
Page 23 and 24: 2554 Questions Without Notice 23 Au
Page 29: 2560 Questions Without Notice 23 Au
Page 33 and 34: 2564 Members’ Ethics and Parliame
Page 35 and 36: 2566 Matters of Public Interest 23
Page 45 and 46: 2576 Constitutional and Other Legis
Page 47 and 48: 2578 Transport Legislation Amendmen
Page 49 and 50: 2580 Transport Legislation Amendmen
Page 51 and 52: 2582 Housing Legislation Amendment
Page 53 and 54: 2584 Education (Queensland College
Page 55 and 56: 2586 Succession Amendment Bill 23 A
Page 57 and 58: 2588 Succession Amendment Bill 23 A
Page 59 and 60: 2590 Queensland Competition Authori
Page 69 and 70: 2600 Racing Venues Development Amen
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2630 Child Safety Legislation Amend
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2642 Adjournment 23 Aug 2005 One pa
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2644 Adjournment 23 Aug 2005 years.
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2646 Adjournment 23 Aug 2005 Finall
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