Nicholson Street, Coburg
Nov 9, 2016
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — My adjournment matter tonight is directed to the Minister for Roads and Road Safety, the Honourable Luke Donnellan. I am asking the minister to look into measures to improve pedestrian safety on Nicholson Street outside the Coburg IGA. This section of Nicholson Street outside the shopping centre is a really dangerous area for pedestrians. There is a speed limit of 60 kilometres an hour. There are more than 100 apartments in the area, numerous local shops, a mosque and a church.
Tragically, Helene Khouzi, a much-loved grandmother who was helping her son at one of the local cafes, was...
Drug Testing
Oct 27, 2016
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — My adjournment matter today is for the Minister for Mental Health, Mr Foley. The request that I am making and the action I am calling for is that the government immediately introduce a substance testing pilot scheme.
In the last week we saw another tragedy unfold with the death of Riki Stephens from the Heathcote Saints Football club. He was one of 16 people who were hospitalised on the Gold Coast as a result of taking something — we are not sure what. It could have been one of the synthetic substances called NBOMe; it could have been another called Flakka....
AFL Women’s league
Oct 13, 2016
Ms Patten (Northern Metropolitan):
My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Sport. I would like to ask him to get behind the BootsOff campaign to help fund the AFL Women's league. Whilst I was celebrating yesterday's historic AFL Women's draft I was just a little bit disappointed with what then came out about it. Despite the fact that everyone is very proud that we have finally got a professional women's AFL, the women are being paid $5000 for the whole season while the men are being paid $300 000 on average. That does not include my hero Buddy Franklin, who is on...
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — My adjournment matter today is for the Minister for Public Transport, Ms Allan. It is in regard to the compensation package being offered to taxi owners and taxi plate owners, and the action I am seeking is a review of the compensation package and of how they are going to calculate it and provide it.
As we have all probably had, I have had many emails from many taxi owners. This changing technology of ridesharing is severely disrupting their industry. I appreciate that; I probably have a closer understanding of it than many in our community. I have...
Wattle Day
Aug 31, 2016
Ms Patten (Northern Metropolitan) : My adjournment matter is for the Special Minister of State, Gavin Jennings, on the matter of national Wattle Day. As we know, tomorrow is the first day of spring — not a moment too soon — and I hope it may bring some joy even into this house. Wattle Day was conceived as a way of celebrating patriotism and Australia, and it was first celebrated in 1910. It was also about recognising children. It was used as a day for children's charities to collect donations but also to recognise the civic duties of children as well as to recognise and...
Goods and Services Tax
Jun 22, 2016
Ms Patten (Northern Metropolitan) — My adjournment matter is for the Treasurer. Last Saturday I attended the birthday celebration of the Melbourne Period Project. This is a wonderful organisation that grew in Northern Metropolitan Region, my electorate, and it now exists the whole way along the east coast of Australia. It supports women experiencing homelessness by providing sanitary products, help and advice. It has moved out to Geelong and a few regional areas in Victoria also.
In 2011 the census found that almost 23 000 Victorians were homeless. That number is constantly increasing and is even higher today. I know that we have all seen it...
Parkville College
Jun 8, 2016
Ms Patten (Northern Metropolitan) — My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Families and Children, Minister Mikakos. On 31 May I visited the Melbourne Youth Justice Centre in Parkville, and I was very lucky to be shown around by the director of secure services, Ian Lanyon, and to meet his incredible staff. Yet again I was at a corrections facility being so impressed and moved by the compassion, care and dedication of the staff.
What was particularly inspiring was to see a fully functioning school, Parkville College, operating within the corrections centre. I went into one of the classes, a science class for the...
Post-correctional Housing
May 24, 2016
Ms Patten (Northern Metropolitan) — My adjournment matter is for the Honourable Steve Herbert in his role as Minister for Corrections, and the action I am seeking is regarding post-correctional housing. Last Friday I toured the Metropolitan Remand Centre and the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre. Both of these maximum security facilities are run by incredible, hardworking individuals, and their dedication to supporting the inmates is really commendable. However, they are working with limited funding and overwhelmingly negative public sentiment at times, and they seem to be fighting an uphill battle. Seeing prisoners leaving and returning time and time again would wear most of...
Body Safety Education
May 5, 2016
Ms Patten (Northern Metropolitan) — My adjournment matter is for the Honourable Steve Herbert in his role as Minister for Training and Skills. Body safety education aims to teach children about physiology, body autonomy, consent and communication in a safe, inclusive and age-appropriate way. It adds to and complements our respectful relationships program. I think it is an important component of our battle against family violence.
We know that curriculum should be delivered by classroom teachers and lessons should be embedded throughout the year rather than in one-off lessons or in a set of lessons. However, given the prevalence of family violence in the community,...
Sex work in Victoria
Mar 24, 2016
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation. I am calling on the minister to investigate ways to modernise our approach to sex work in Victoria.
On Sunday I had the great pleasure of attending the 10th birthday of Madame Brussels. Obviously Madame Brussels would have been a lot older than 10, but I was attending the establishment called Madame Brussels. As many members would know, the real name of Madame Brussels was Caroline Hodgson. She was a successful Melbourne businesswoman, so successful that she had the first telephone outside Parliament for her establishment so...