Tuesday, 21 February 2023
Business of the house
Program
Business of the house
Program
That, under standing order 94(2), the orders of the day, government business, relating to the following bills be considered and completed by 5 pm on 23 February 2023:
Health Legislation Amendment (Information Sharing) Bill 2023
Human Source Management Bill 2023.
Once again, in the second sitting week of the 2023 parliamentary year, it is great to be back with two very important Labor government bills. The Health Legislation Amendment (Information Sharing) Bill is my own bill, and I am very pleased that it is back in the house and will be debated. This is a bill that will save lives, so it is very important that it be given due consideration in this place. I know that on this side of the house we will have many speakers. Many of our members will take the opportunity, including those that are newly elected, to get up and speak to this bill and the importance of this enabling legislation that will enable our health service clinicians to share information. It is already shared, by the way, by a range of mechanisms, but this is an enabling piece of legislation to ensure that we do not take a step backwards but in fact make sure that we make it as easy as possible for our healthcare workers to have the information in front of them that they need in order to make decisions in a timely way to ensure the very best treatment for people under their care. That is, as I said, a very important bill, and I look forward to hearing the debate. Again, I know that members on this side will be up on their feet, and I encourage those across the house to get up and take the opportunity to speak on this important piece of legislation.
The other bill that is on the program is the Human Source Management Bill. That is a bill that seeks to regulate Victoria Police’s registration, use and management of human sources. The bill itself responds directly to the royal commission’s findings and seeks to implement those to ensure that human sources are only ever used in ways that are ethical and justifiable. It delivers on the 25 recommendations of the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants. That final report was delivered on 30 November 2020. I congratulate the Attorney-General in the other place on all the work that she has done in being able to bring this bill to the house.
We have got a busy program this week. We have got these two bills. All of our members are ready and itching to get up and speak to them. Not only that, we have got the opportunity to continue our address-in-reply to the Governor’s speech, and we will still be hearing from new members this week. Inaugural speeches are always something that we enjoy listening to – we know how important they are to members and to their families – and this week we will hear from two more Labor members.
We also take the opportunity from this side of the house – and as the Leader of the House – to welcome the new member for Narracan, and he is going to get up on his feet today. Well done. One might say he has had some time to consider his inaugural speech, but on behalf of the house I am sure I can say that we welcome the member for Narracan, and we look forward to his contribution later in the day.
Again, it is an important program and one that I look forward to the house considering – those bills that are before us for debate.
Talking about the address-in-reply to the Governor’s speech, and we will be spending quite a bit of time on that today: this is a speech that returning members, I know, enjoy very much, particularly returning members on this side of the house, because we have got so much to say in response to the Governor’s speech – about all of the election commitments that we have made that we know will be delivered and of course about our record of achievements. Not everyone in this place can lean back on a record of achievement, but everyone that occupies the government benches in this place knows that we have got eight years of achievement under the Andrews Labor government and another four years ahead of us. We have locked in a range of election commitments. We all look forward to delivering them, and I commend the business program – (Time expired)
James NEWBURY (Brighton) (12:16): I rise to speak on the government business program, and I start by saying the opposition will be opposing the government business program this week.
A member: Why?
James NEWBURY: Calm down. We will get to it. But before I do get to the reason we will be opposing the program, can I start, on behalf of the coalition, by welcoming our newest member, the member for Narracan. It is wonderful to see the member for Narracan enter this place. What he went through is quite extraordinary. It was an extraordinary election that many of us would never see, a terrible circumstance in his electorate throughout the election day and a shock, I am sure, for the community and people in the broader area in terms of those events – terribly sad. But the now member for Narracan worked his tail off up until election day. I know that on our side of the chamber we would all endorse that he worked his guts out in his seat, and he, I am sure, would have been elected handsomely on election day. So to go through that twice –
James NEWBURY: I do not want to take up the member for Nepean’s interjection. I will ignore that one. But the member for Narracan effectively ran two election campaigns. Those who have gone through an election know how difficult it is – how incredible it is to meet the community but how much you throw into that campaign. By election day, I am sure, every member of this place had given 100 per cent to that campaign, so to go through that twice is a significant ask of anybody. To see him walk in today: he is very welcome in this place, and certainly we are very happy to have him on our side of the chamber. We are very happy to see him here, and we are very much looking forward to him giving his address-in-reply later this evening, just before 5 I would expect. I hope that all members come in and see his first speech. It is going to be a terrific speech, I am sure. I know he has been putting his heart and soul into it. On behalf of the coalition, welcome, and we look forward to seeing that speech later today, member for Narracan.
In terms of the government business program more broadly, other than the address-in-reply, the Leader of the House did speak about two bills the government is considering this week – the Health Legislation Amendment (Information Sharing) Bill 2023 and the Human Source Management Bill 2023. Both of those bills are not new, as the Leader of the House pointed out. They are bills that were part of or seen by the last Parliament.
In relation to the health legislation bill, it was introduced in the last Parliament with a sense of urgency from the government, an absolute need to get that legislation passed – so much so they did not pass it. They had the capacity to move that bill forward and chose not to. There were issues with that bill, and I do not want to pre-empt the debate other than to say there were concerns and those concerns will remain. That is not to take away from the comments the Leader of the House made in relation to the importance of sharing information and making sure that our health system has the capacity to share information. That clearly is an important feature of the way our health system should work in best practice, but making sure that that information is used appropriately, accessed appropriately and shared appropriately are genuine issues. I think that every Victorian would have concerns about making sure that whichever framework we put in place is one that properly takes those issues into account, and the shadow minister will certainly lead that debate.
The Human Source Management Bill – I know the Shadow Attorney-General is going to speak strongly on the bill, has consulted very widely on the bill and has a lot to say about that bill. So we have two bills that there are a number of issues with, and we will have a vigorous debate. The opposition did seek the opportunity to take the Human Source Management Bill into committee, and unfortunately that was not made available, so on the basis of that we will be opposing the government business program. Other than a division on that issue, we do look forward to seeing the member for Narracan’s speech later today.
Paul EDBROOKE (Frankston) (12:21): Look, I listened to that speech for 5 minutes and I still do not quite understand why the opposition are belligerently opposing the government business program. They are opposing progress, they are opposing looking after Victoria and they are opposing looking after Victorians. Maybe it is just opposition for opposition’s sake. Maybe it is just that they are a little esoteric group that no-one is really listening to, as we saw at the election. You can sit there in a pious kind of way and talk about how we should take this to committee, but as the member for Brighton said, this bill is not new. It has been considered, and I think it is time to put it through this Parliament. I would like to thank the minister at the table, the Minister for Health, and also the Attorney-General for the hard work that they, their teams and their departments have done on these bills. I would also say welcome to the member for Narracan. You know, it is a hard position you are in, and welcome to the chamber. It would be great if we had you voting for the government business program – sorry to put you on the spot already – so we could actually get you up and speaking about these bills that are so important to your community. They are important to your community.
The SPEAKER: Member for Frankston, through the Chair.
Paul EDBROOKE: Thank you, Chair, for bringing me back to you. So we have inaugural speeches. It is always interesting to hear different members, whatever their politics, speak about where they have come from, what they have done, what their values are and what they would like to achieve for their local community and the state of Victoria in Parliament, but also we have got the address-in-reply. It is amazing to come back and have one more member in this house post election to do an inaugural address-in-reply, and of course address-in-reply is very important for local communities. It sets out what local members believe are important in their local communities, what their aspirations are, what their commitments in the electorate were and how they wish to improve their local community and the lives of Victorians as well.
As far as the government business program bills go, as we have heard, we have got the Health Legislation Amendment (Information Sharing) Bill 2023. Essentially, as the minister at the table said, this is about saving lives. This is about bringing a process that is in some ways archaic into the present and into the future as well and making sure that information can be traded safely between hospitals and doctors, doctors and specialists, and that people’s private information is secure and they can have confidence in that process.
We have also got the Human Source Management Bill 2023, which, as we have heard, responds to the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants and its findings and recommendations on how to utilise human resources from Victoria Police’s perspective in an ethical way, a way that can be justified legally. We saw the royal commission and the recommendations that came out of it and what has happened since then. I think this bill – we have heard the opposition might want to say a lot on it. I am sure people on this side of the house will have a lot to say in deep support of this bill.
The government business program again really shows how busy this government has been for the last eight years, and we are starting off on the front foot in 2023. It has been an amazing start by this new government, and I think this government business program really shows Victorians what we stand for. We stand for hard work. We stand for improving their lives. We stand for representing them. We stand for listening to them and acting on their concerns. And when you have something like a royal commission and recommendations from that royal commission come out, it is the responsibility of this Parliament to see that those recommendations are put through Parliament, are passed and gain royal assent on behalf of our communities.
In regard to the health legislation amendment bill – which, of course, is about information sharing – we have seen this bill before. We have seen the strategies of, ‘Oh, we would like to see a consideration-in-detail process.’ I totally disagree with the fact or any thought that we need one. Again, this is a bill that improves the lives of Victorians, and we are here to do that, not hear people argue about why we should not. No-one in this chamber is in here to stop progress and stop the lives of Victorians becoming better, and this bill will do that. So I commend the ministers involved and would like to see the government business program passed.
Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (12:26): Yes, it is another busy program this week, and there is plenty of room, as the Leader of the House stated, for everyone to contribute.
The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Wendouree!
Jade BENHAM: Wouldn’t it be nice, though, if we could contribute and debate these bills in their entirety, clause by clause. Careful consideration – wouldn’t that be nice. We have all been elected to this place to be a voice for our communities and, collectively, a voice for the state, and together we form a loud voice. Having said that, the need for robust debate is hampered by our inability to consider these bills in detail, clause by clause. I have been contacted, particularly about the first item, the Health Legislation Amendment (Information Sharing) Bill 2023, by several people over the course of the last week. They agree the concept of this bill will save lives; however, good concepts can become very, very flawed when we do not have the ability to scrutinise and go through each of the clauses – such as an opt-out clause, such as the FOI.
Regarding the second bill on the program this week: again I was contacted by many people throughout my community and my electorate, and yet we will not be able to debate each clause and consider it all in detail, which is what I thought this place was all about. This is where we come for robust debate and to be a voice for our community. This bill will enshrine a wrong in legislation, and it could be avoided if the government’s program took into consideration that they are to govern for all Victorians. Victorians should get a say via us, their representatives; by not being able to consider these bills in detail, you are taking that away from Victorians in our electorates on this side of the table.
A member: Excellent points.
Jade BENHAM: Thanks. So I would also like to welcome the member for Narracan. I cannot wait to hear his address-in-reply and see him get animated throughout his term. I am sure the member for Narracan would also like to contribute more to robust debate and consider all of these bills in detail, if the government would let us consider them in detail. So I welcome the member for Narracan and look forward to his address-in-reply as well as the addresses-in-reply also to come from other members this afternoon – mostly yours.
So all in all, yes, there are great concepts within the bills that are on the program this week; however, they are ruined by horrendous flaws. By refusing consideration in detail, as I have said, of the bills on the business program this week we are robbing my community and yours – not just mine, yours as well – of having their say on every aspect of business, which in turn affects every Victorian. I plead with the government to allow us to have consideration in detail of these bills and of every bill going forward so that every Victorian – they profess to govern for all Victorians; take that into consideration – can have their say in detail on every bill that is on every program in this place. It is the only way we can give every single Victorian – that, again, they profess to govern for – a voice through us. That is our job. That is what we have been elected to do, and that is what I plan to do if we have the opportunity to debate in this place.
Nina TAYLOR (Albert Park) (12:31): We heard some interesting words being used across the aisle there – concepts ruined, horrendous flaws. That kind of embellishment makes one consider the credibility of the arguments being put forward, does it not? I appreciate certain points and underlying aspersions that are being sought to be cast. However, I wish to allay those concerns, because I can assure you that if you want to get up in the chamber and let it rip, you will be given sufficient opportunity within the ambit of the rules of the chamber.
A member interjected.
Nina TAYLOR: No, no. No, no, I can see you are embellishing once again. What I am saying –
The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Albert Park, through the Chair.
Nina TAYLOR: Sorry. You will be free to debate in the chamber. That is what we are doing. That is what debate is. You are discussing each of the matters and each of the elements of the bill. And let it be known: it is live streamed. Your community can watch this debate as you speak, can they not? Pardon me; my greatest apologies to the Chair. I had directed that in the wrong direction; I shall now redirect it to you. I am greatly concerned about the aspersions being cast about what are some fundamental reforms that are very much needed when it comes to what has already been said in the chamber, saving lives and also regulating the management of human sources and responding to the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants. These are very serious issues. I think – I am just putting it out there – one should be very careful when using rather exaggerated language or language which serves to diminish the significance of the legislation that is being put forward and also undermines the premise of the rigour with which this legislation has been drafted and the significant consultation that has been undertaken to ensure that the legislation actually delivers on what it is intended to deliver on and has appropriate caveats in place. Again, concepts ruined, horrendous flaws – not credible. I suggest that you might wish to take a different perspective. And by all means, when we debate you can speak to the bill. You can absolutely speak to the bill.
Emma Kealy: On a point of order, Speaker, I note that the member for Albert Park continues to refer to ‘you’. I would like you to bring her back to referring to you in the proper way.
The SPEAKER: Yes, member for Lowan. I did notice that. I ask all members to not use ‘you’ in the chamber. It is a reflection on the Chair.
Nina TAYLOR: My sincerest apologies. No offence was intended in any way. Let us go to a little positive now. We have some brilliant inaugurals coming, and I am sure we are all very much looking forward to those. We have John Mullahy, the member for Glen Waverley; Belinda Wilson, the member for Narre Warren North; and Ella George, the member for Lara. Are we not excited? Yes. I would also like to welcome the member for Narracan. You are very much welcome in this chamber. I have got a little more time; that is excellent.
Further to the issue of the address-in-reply, the reason we have so much to say is because we are delivering on every front, so there is no embellishment on that account either. We are speaking to the facts. Whether it is delivering on school upgrades, whether it is level crossing removals, whether it is upgrading our roads, energy efficiency, the power saving bonus – you name it – we are delivering on all fronts, and hence there is so much to talk about. And talking about our community, they want to know what is happening as well, and this is a perfect opportunity, I say, for this side of the chamber and for the other side of the chamber, to speak to all that is happening in their communities, because this is the place of democracy.
So I hope that with the debate today no-one would be intending to in any way infer that democracy is in any way being diminished. We can see for ourselves that we all have the opportunity to debate each of the bills and speak as we see fit within the ambit of the rules of the standing orders. On that note I am very much looking forward to the government business that we shall be transacting this week, and I am assured that we shall be undertaking it with goodwill but making sure that we are cautious, careful and prudent with the language that we use when speaking to the respective bills.
Sam GROTH (Nepean) (12:36): It is my pleasure to rise to speak to the government business program, and as my good friend here the Manager of Opposition Business, the member for Brighton, said, we will be opposing the government business program for this –
Members interjecting.
Sam GROTH: I know. I know it is disappointing for the member for Frankston. We have already heard that the member for Frankston is very, very disappointed that we will be opposing his government’s –
Members interjecting.
Sam GROTH: It is a good question.
I want to first welcome the member for Narracan to the chamber. I was lucky enough on the opening day of this Parliament to be able to deliver my inaugural speech in the address-in-reply to this chamber, and I know, having spent a lot of time down in Narracan during the two election campaigns that he had to run – he actually had hair at the start of the first one – it has been a very stressful few months for the now member for Narracan. It has been a very, very stressful few months, but he has done incredibly well to earn his place in this chamber and to win the respect of those constituents in Narracan that have put him here. I welcome the member for Narracan. I look forward to your inaugural speech. I am sure that for members on our side of the chamber and the others there will be a few zingers in there for them to be able to listen to. For me it was a pleasure to be able to deliver my inaugural speech, to speak about what is important to the people of Nepean.
I notice that another health bill comes up, and once again the Minister for Health, the Leader of the House, has had the audacity to actually speak across the chamber and say that this is not about me. But it is about my community as well, and the health minister has not been to my electorate in over five years, so it would be lovely if she would come down and have a visit.
Members interjecting.
Sam GROTH: Maybe for holidays, sorry. I know they only visit my area –
Members interjecting.
The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Melton!
Mary-Anne Thomas: On a point of order, Speaker, not only is the member for Nepean being disorderly, he has strayed very far from the debate, which of course is a rather simple proposition. It is the government business program debate, and I ask you to bring him back to talking about the bills that are to be debated on the government business program.
James Newbury: On the point of order, Speaker, a number of new members have taken the opportunity to speak on the government business program. The opposition chose to go nowhere near the mess that was the member for Albert Park’s contribution. It is a wideranging debate, and so therefore it is an opportunity for members to get up and speak, perhaps a little bit broadly, led by the Leader of the House earlier today. It has been a broad debate.
The SPEAKER: A couple of things: it is not a wideranging debate. The government business program motion is on the government business program, and I ask members to stick to the government business program. A little bit of information for new members who are speaking: it is inappropriate to respond to interjections across the table. The member for Narracan had strayed somewhat from the government business program. I ask him to come back to the government business program.
Sam GROTH: My apologies. I am new, and I am the member for Nepean. I am proud to represent my electorate.
A couple of bills are on the government business program. For me, as a new member of this chamber, I would hope that I would get the chance to come in and debate new legislation. We are getting a bill that is being recycled for the third time I believe in this chamber. I am hoping that the government have it correct this time with what they have put forward. The Health Legislation Amendment (Information Sharing) Bill 2023 that we will be debating is a very important bill. We understand that health information sharing for the Victorian community will save lives, but these things need to be debated properly, and I look forward to that debate. The Human Source Management Bill 2023 that the Shadow Attorney-General will speak to – we wish this one could be consulted on properly and we could go into consideration in detail to debate it clause by clause. Unfortunately the government has denied us that opportunity. But other than that, it is going to be another big week in here, my second full week.
Tim READ (Brunswick) (12:42):(By leave) I just want to briefly outline why the Greens will be voting against the government business program. It is because we strongly support the argument that we should be going into consideration in detail for this legislation. We think that considering legislation in detail should be the work of this place, and we look forward to that happening during the life of this Parliament.
Assembly divided on motion:
Ayes (51): Juliana Addison, Jacinta Allan, Colin Brooks, Josh Bull, Anthony Carbines, Ben Carroll, Darren Cheeseman, Anthony Cianflone, Sarah Connolly, Chris Couzens, Jordan Crugnale, Lily D’Ambrosio, Steve Dimopoulos, Paul Edbrooke, Will Fowles, Matt Fregon, Ella George, Luba Grigorovitch, Bronwyn Halfpenny, Katie Hall, Paul Hamer, Martha Haylett, Melissa Horne, Natalie Hutchins, Lauren Kathage, Sonya Kilkenny, Nathan Lambert, Gary Maas, Alison Marchant, Kathleen Matthews-Ward, Steve McGhie, Paul Mercurio, John Mullahy, Tim Pallas, Danny Pearson, Pauline Richards, Tim Richardson, Michaela Settle, Ros Spence, Nick Staikos, Natalie Suleyman, Meng Heang Tak, Jackson Taylor, Nina Taylor, Mary-Anne Thomas, Emma Vulin, Iwan Walters, Vicki Ward, Dylan Wight, Gabrielle Williams, Belinda Wilson
Noes (28): Brad Battin, Jade Benham, Roma Britnell, Tim Bull, Martin Cameron, Annabelle Cleeland, Chris Crewther, Wayne Farnham, Sam Groth, Matthew Guy, Sam Hibbins, David Hodgett, Emma Kealy, Cindy McLeish, James Newbury, Danny O’Brien, Michael O’Brien, Kim O’Keeffe, John Pesutto, Tim Read, Richard Riordan, Brad Rowswell, Ellen Sandell, David Southwick, Bill Tilley, Bridget Vallence, Kim Wells, Jess Wilson
Motion agreed to.