REPORT ON VISIT TO MELBOURNE BY HON DR BOB SUCH MP ...

REPORT ON VISIT TO MELBOURNE BY HON DR BOB SUCH MP, MEMBER
FOR FISHER
Saturday 31 January to Thursday 5 February 2004
Objectives of the travel:
• Gather information including reports, first-hand interviews etc regarding
procedures and practices at the Parliament of Victoria.
• Gather information, including printed material, relating to the various
museums in Melbourne, including the new Museum, the Immigration
Museum, the new National Gallery of Victoria and the new Federation
Square project, with a view to replicating some of these features here in
South Australia, ie a social history museum for South Australia.
• Gather information specifically related to Select Committee work, including
the Juvenile Justice Select Committee, Code of Conduct for MPs Select
Committee, and the revision of Standing Orders as they pertain to the
Parliament of Victoria.
• Gather information relating to youth programs and the provision of youth
facilities and services.
Organisations visited:
• Visits to the Parliament of Victoria and their publications and sales office
which is situated at 157 Spring Street, Melbourne – met with staff.
• Mornington Peninsula Shire – community information and support centre at
Hastings – met with staff
• Immigration Museum, Flinders Street – met with staff.
• New Museum of Victoria
• National Gallery of Victoria (NGV)
• Federation Square Project
• Peter Booth exhibition in the Gallery in Federation Square
Documents/publications obtained
See attached list
Summary of the study areas pursued/summary of the results achieved
The visits to the Parliament of Victoria have highlighted once again the need for
the South Australian Parliament to have a look at its publications and educational
material made available to members of the public, including students. The
Parliament of Victoria has 30 fact sheets listing various aspects of parliamentary
activity including the role of petitions, the role of the Clerk, the role of the
Speaker, etc etc (see full list on attachment). They provide also a lot of in house
papers, some of which we do provide, eg list of Members, which are also
available to the general public. They have detailed information readily available
ranging from television and broadcasting proceedings, to a guide to normal sitting
days. Clearly Victoria is a much more populous State and hence has greater

esources than South Australia but we could do a lot more and be a lot better in
making the public aware of how Parliament operates. (New South Wales
Parliament also provides a lot more information by way of brochures etc to the
public than we do here in South Australia.)
One of the most significant documents obtained is the recent Report on the
Modernisation of Standing Orders – Legislative Assembly Standing Orders
Committee, Parliament of Victoria, copies of which I have given to members of
our Standing Orders Committee and other MPs. This report by the Legislative
Assembly Standing Orders Committee may act as a "spur" for us to modernise
our standing orders! Such changes as detailed in the Victorian Report would
allow Parliament to operate more efficiently and make its processes more easily
understood by the general public. It would be more open and accountable.
Some of the issues contained in the Report will require additional research and it
is intended that an additional Report will be presented later in the 55 th Victorian
Parliament.
The Parliament of Victoria encourages the public to use their dining facilities and
through their publications and sales office at 157 @ Spring Street not only sell a
wide range of souvenirs including gold Parker pens with the parliamentary crest,
gold watches with a parliamentary face, but also take bookings for the dining
room and make available the dining room menu to the public. The opening of the
dining rooms to the public has proven to be very popular and there has been no
criticism from the restaurant or hotel industry, even though there are many
restaurants and hotels in that vicinity. It is something that we could consider here ,,---
in South Australia. As we know, our Parliament is stretched for space and
thought could be given to establishing a shop front facility similar to the Victorian
Parliament's shop which is across the road from the parliamentary building itself.
The Parliament of Victoria's shop front is clearly more user-friendly than the
Parliament itself due to the modern nature of the shop compared to the traditional
and "heavy" architecture of the parliamentary building itself.
In the long term we should be looking at a 4 or 5 storey building to be situated on
the north-west corner of the Parliament House land on North Terrace and this
would free up space for the better provision of education materials and the
opportunity for a shop front perhaps in the Old Parliament House building.
It is worth noting that the Parliament of Victoria offers a very extensive range of
souvenirs, as does the New South Wales Parliament, and the range of souvenirs
in both cases is much more innovative and exciting than those offered by our
Parliament. We need to look at the range and quality of souvenirs on offer for
Members as well as for the general public, with tourists often looking to purchase
a suitable souvenir to take home with them. This opportunity can be available in
a way which does not detract from the standing of Parliament.
The new Museum in Victoria, which was commissioned and largely built during
the Kennett years (but as is often the case opened by a subsequent Government)
is a magnificent facility and has displays highlighting Aboriginal art as well as
three dimensional displays of human physiology, DNA testing, MRI scans, and in
that respect demonstrates the versatility of what we call museums. The Museum
of Victoria is supplemented by the Immigration Museum located in Flinders Street
and is linked in with the National Gallery of Victoria to the point where they have

an integrated ticketing system (one ticket will cover the three venues, including in
the case of the NGV where payment is required to visit an exhibition, eg Peter
Booth exhibition at Federation Square).
Like South Australia, Victoria has what I would call disjointed Museum facilities
which have been done for political reasons, ie a specialised Immigration Museum.
This, I believe, is unfortunate because it would be better to have one integrated
Museum covering social and political issues, something that we should be doing
here in South Australia where we have an Immigration Museum as a stand alone
facility. I am very keen that South Australia develop a social/political/economic
museum covering all aspects of our history here in South Australia including
immigration. We have an excellent Natural History Museum but do not have the
equivalent in regard to our social history.
There has been much interest in South Australia in skate park facilities, including
in the electorate of Fisher where there has been ongoing debate about the
location of those type of facilities. I was interested to visit the Mornington
Peninsula Shire which has addressed the issue by having mobile skate park
facilities. These facilities are towed from site to site according to a well publicised
roster and, according to staff at the Shire, this scheme has worked very well.

Index of Brochures & Publications collected from visit to Victoria
by the Hon Dr Bob Such MP, Member for Fisher
Saturday 31 January to Thursday 5 February 2004
Getting around in Melbourne
Fares and Travel Guide 2004, your complete guide to travelling on Melbourne's
trains, trams and buses;
Safer Design Guidelines for Victoria, an introduction
Miscellaneous - General
A4 Sheet – Mobile Skateboard ramp timetable [A4]
Booklet – Do you have an unflued gas heater?
Booklet – Forward Together by National Council of Women of Aust
Booklet – The Pratt Foundation
Brochure – Food safety when shopping by Food Safety Campaign Group
Brochure – School – Community Drug Forums
Postcard – Calling for volunteers to the Brotherhood of St Laurence
Miscellaneous - Vehicles
Arrive alive – Slow down in town by Vicroads
Living together in rural Victoria
Parking, the law & you
Miscellaneous – Democracy and Voting
Explore citizenship and democracy with us! by AE
Federation Square
Your vote: A guide to your Electoral System by AEC
Mornington Peninsula Shire
Brochure – Hastings Police Senior Citizens Register
Brochure – Mornington Peninsula Family History Society inc
Brochure – Youth Services for youth aged 12-25 [A4 folded]
Community Information Directory
Fact file – Fines: we don't want your money!
Fact file – Rate Information 2003/2004
Land Sustainabilty Rebate – A4 pamphlet
Peninsula Prospects – [A4 x 3 folded]
Sheet – "Do you have teenage children? Do you know where they are tonight?"

Museum
Design in Italy — 1945-2000
Discovery Passport
Get a grasp of science at Scienceworks
Old Melbourne Gaol
Brochure promoting museum
Visitor Guide
The Virtual Room
What's on / Summer 2003 [A2]
Your guide to Museum Victoria's 150 th anniversary celebrations
Museum - Immigration
Booklet — Immigration Museum
Brochure — Death: Mortality and Religious Diversity
Brochure — Immigration Discovery Centre
Brochure — Immigration Museum — Visitor Guide
Card with magnet — What's on at the Immigration Museum
Factfile — Cultural Diversity: A focus on indigenous & multicultural Australia
National Gallery of Victoria
Brochure — "Peter Booth: Human / Nature"
Brochure — "What's on February 2004"
Victorian Parliament House
Information for the General Public:
Book — ANZAC Parliamentary Review of Anzac Day Laws
Book — Report — "Inquiry into Motor Vehicle Theft"
Booklet — Birth of a Building: A History of Parliament House
Booklet — Report on the Modernisation of Standing Orders
Booklet — Parliament of Victoria
Booklet — Parliamentary Committees: Progress on Investigations
Booklet — Victorian Parliamentary Investigatory Committees
Booklet — Women in Parliament
Bookmark — Parliament of Victoria on the internet
Brochure — Environment and Natural Resources Committee" [C5]
Brochure — Victorian Parliamentary Investigatory Committees [C5]
Information Sheet — No. 1 — The Legislative Council
Newsletter — Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee
Postcard - Victorian Parliament House
Pamphlet — How a law is made in Victoria [A3 folded to A4]
Pamphlet — Woman suffrage: The vote and the politics of purity
Fact Sheets Series — Legislative Assembly [C5]:
Fact Sheet No. 1 - A typical day in the House
Fact Sheet No. 2 - Adjournment Motions
Fact Sheet No. 3 - Reasoned Amendment
Fact Sheet No. 4 - Parliamentary terminology
Fact Sheet No. 5 - Opportunities for debate
Fact Sheet No. 6 - Personal explanation
Fact Sheet No. 7 - Decorum in the House

Fact Sheet No. 8 - Petitions
Fact Sheet No. 9 - Messages
Fact Sheet No.10 - Matters of Public Importance
Fact Sheet No.11 - Right of reply by persons referred to in the House
Missing - Fact Sheet No. 12 - Victoria's Parliamentary history
Fact Sheet No.13 - Tracking legislation on the internet
Fact Sheet No.14 - Why is the Assembly green?
Fact Sheet No.15 Guide for visitors to Question Time
Fact Sheet No.16 - Understanding a Bill
Fact Sheet No.17 Amendments to Bills – A practical guide
Fact Sheet No.18 Documents tabled in the Legislative Assembly
Fact Sheet No.19 The Serjeant-at-Arms
Fact Sheet No.20 - Elections
Fact Sheet No.21 - The Clerk
Fact Sheet No.22 Finding information about Parliament
Fact Sheet No.23 The Speaker
Fact Sheet No.24 Casting votes
Fact Sheet No.25 - Altering Victoria's constitution
Fact Sheet No.26 Opening of Parliament
Fact Sheet No.27 Parliamentary committees
Fact Sheet No.28 Sub judice
Fact Sheet No.29 Adjournment of the House
Fact Sheet No.30 Roles within the Legislative Assembly
Form inviting readers to provide feedback on fact sheets
In-house papers etc:
Guide to normal sitting days
Liberal Shadow Ministry
Members of the Legislative Assembly
Members of the Legislative Council
Menu – Parliament House Dining Rooms
National Party Portfolios
Portfolios and Contact Details of Ministers of 55 th Parliament
Presenting Petitions in the Legislative Assembly
Status of Bills as at the end of the Spring Sitting 2003
Status of Whistleblowers Protection Act 2001
Status of Register of Members' Interests
Televising and broadcasting of proceedings
Members of the Legislative Assembly
Members of the Legislative Council
Parliament House identifying venue and facilities
Hansard – Legislative Assembly Daily Hansard – Proof
Legislative Assembly of Vic – Questions on Notice
Legislative Assembly of Vic – Notice Paper
Legislative Assembly of Vic – Sessional orders and Sum of Time Limits
Legislative Council of Vic – Notice Paper
Memorandum – Autumn Sitting 2004 Legislative Assembly
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