Slug-gate probe
By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A State Parliament inquiry has been launched into the forced closure of commercial caterer I Cook Foods by Greater Dandenong Council and the state’s health department.
The Legislative Council’s legal and social issues committee will investigate actions by Greater Dandenong Council, chief executive John Bennie and council officers, as well as the Department of Health and Human Services…
…Chaired by Reason Party MP Fiona Patten, the inquiry will comprise a minority of State Government MPs.
Read full article on Dandenong Star Journal.
Melbourne to open new safe injecting room
By Marnie Banger
Victoria will have a second safe injecting room in the heart of Melbourne after a review found its first site had saved at least 21 lives.
But the state government has acknowledged it has more work to do to improve perceptions of safety issues near the original centre in North Richmond…
…Reason Party MP Fiona Patten, who was a driver for the establishment of the North Richmond centre, said the review proved the facility was a lifesaver.
Read full article on the Newcastle Herald.
Fiona Patten MP Welcomes Second Safe Injecting Facility
| Friday 5 June 2020 Fiona Patten MP Welcomes Second Safe Injecting Facility in Melbourne CBD North Richmond MSIR trial extended for three years Member for Northern Metropolitan and Leader of the Reason Party, Fiona Patten, has welcomed the announcement by the Victorian Government that it has accepted all recommendations of the independent review of Victoria’s first Medically Supervised Injecting Room (MSIR), including extending the trial in North Richmond and opening a second facility in the City of Melbourne. The Department of Health and Human Services has recommended a site for the second service at CoHealth Central Melbourne on Victoria Street. The report, chaired by Professor Margaret Hamilton, found the MSIR in North Richmond is doing vital work with 119,000 visits since it opened its doors. It identified that the centre has safely managed 3,200 overdoses and saved at minimum 21 lives since opening. Staff have also provided more than 13,000 health and social support referrals for issues like mental health, housing and family violence. “For those of us who have been heavily involved with the establishment and operation of the Medically Supervised injecting Centre in North Richmond, these positive statistics come as no surprise,” said Ms Patten. “We know this facility has been saving people’s lives and I am glad that it will now be extended for another three years.” The report shows that MSIC has taken pressure off emergency departments, reduced ambulance call outs, and lead to a decrease in public drug use around the area. It also found that North Richmond is the busiest supervised injecting room in the nation with 4,350 people registering since it opened. Opening a new facility in the Melbourne CBD would help reduce the pressure on the existing centre Ms Patten noted. “North Richmond has been a huge success,” she said. “No one can be in any doubt now that we need more of these facilities. I have long suggested that a medically supervised injecting centre is needed in areas such as St Kilda and Footscray for instance. “We just need look at the injecting centre in Vancouver, the first of its kind to open in North America. That facility, co-managed by a community services organisation and Vancouver Health, is a place where users can connect their addiction to health care and other community services. It’s a supervised harm reduction service for injection drug users that has been instrumental in tackling this problem since 2003 – and saved thousands of people.” Ms Patten said legislation will also need to pass the parliament to establish the second site. “I will be supportive of any legislation that the government brings forward to establish a second safe injecting facility, but I will be looking to see if we can allow for flexibility for further trials so as we don’t have to keep returning to Parliament on this issue each time,” she said. Ms Patten also welcomed $9 million in investment to improve the area around the North Richmond facility. “Upgrades and landscape works have been needed there for some years,” said Ms Patten. “I am also glad to see that of that $3 million will be used for work suggested by residents.” |
Parliamentary inquiry launched into closure of Melbourne catering company I Cook Foods
By state political reporter Richard Willingham
The closure of a Melbourne catering business that claims authorities planted a slug in its kitchen will be examined by a Victorian parliamentary committee.
Last year, I Cook Foods — which supplies packaged foods for nursing homes, Meals on Wheels and hospitals — was temporarily shut down by Dandenong council and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) after the death of an elderly woman was initially attributed to listeria…
…Reason Party MP Fiona Patten will chair the inquiry.
She said the allegation a slug had been planted was serious.
“There is a lot of concern about what went on that led to those 96 charges,” Ms Patten said.
“What was obvious is that they were all false charges because they were all dropped. So how did this happen? Who did it? And how can we ensure this never happens again?”
Read full article on ABC.
Covid-19 Shows Four-Day Work Week Achievable
Leader of the Reason Party and Member for Northern Metropolitan, Fiona Patten, has called on the Victorian Government to commence a trial of a four-day work week and other flexible work programs.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that Victorians are adaptable,” Ms Patten said.
“Many employees and employers alike are finding that allowing for flexible working arrangements can benefit both the worker and the organisation. The Government has indicated they want to keep the positives we have discovered during these trying times, and flexible work arrangements is certainly one of them.
“Research shows that a four day work week makes people happier and more productive, plus it saves HR money with less people taking stress and sick leave.”
Ms Patten requested a costing from the Victorian Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) for a trial of a four-day workweek at the Department of Treasury and Finance. It found that even a very small limited trial in just one department would conservatively save the state’s budget nearly $4 million in just twelve months.
“If the trial is favourable, the State Government could roll it out right across the public sector – which accounts for around 11% of the Victorian workforce. The implementation across the public sector would generate a flow on effect to the private sector. It would be a boon for workers, as companies strive to compete to make themselves attractive to workers, you can’t put a price on time with your kids.”
In March 2018, New Zealand company Perpetual Guardian held a six-week trial of a four-day workweek. Under the trial, staff continued to receive their full pay while undertaking the same work but were able to nominate one-day a week as a rest day. The company has now made the trial permanent given its success, and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has recently suggested widening the program across her country.
“With no loss of productivity and the advantages of improved employee satisfaction, less time lost to sick leave and better work life balance, this can be a real win-win,” said Ms Patten.
“It will mean less cars on the road and extra seats on the train. We have seen the reduction of traffic on our roads during lock-down measures, imagine if we could make some of that permanent. We could stop building freeways and get to our destinations quicker,” said Ms Patten.
Ms Patten has requested a meeting with Victoria State Treasurer Tim Pallas to seek his support in moving the idea forward.
– Ends –
To organise an interview with Fiona Patten, please phone Jorian directly.
Media Contact: Jorian Gardner
Phone: 0466 694 197
Reason Party leader Fiona Patten pushes forward with four-day work week talks
SHANNON DEERY | Picture: AAP
Millions of dollars could be pumped back into the state budget if Victoria moved to a four day work week, preliminary costings have shown.
Now Reason Party leader Fiona Patten has called on the Victorian government to trial a four day work week with the view to implementing it across the entire public sector.
Ms Patten has requested a meeting with Treasurer Tim Pallas to seek his support in moving the idea forward…
…
“If the trial is favourable, the State Government could roll it out right across the public sector – which accounts for around 11 per cent of the Victorian workforce,” she said.
“The implementation across the public sector would generate a flow on effect to the private sector.
“It would be a boon for workers, as companies strive to compete to make themselves attractive to workers, you can’t put a price on time with your kids.”
Ms Patten said flexible working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic had shown the Victorian workforce was adaptable…
…
Read the full article on the Herald Sun’s website.
“It will be catastrophic, absolutely catastrophic”: The Bendigo Hotel’s plea to save live music venues
WORDS BY TOM PARKER
A chat with Guy Palermo, the man leading the charge to save Melbourne’s live music venues.
On Monday March 16, Melbourne’s beloved rock music cauldron The Bendigo Hotel shut its doors as the coronavirus flexed its muscle. Venues were dropping left, right and centre in the wake of an unprecedented parasite that no one ever anticipated.
The slippery slope began on March 13 when it was revealed that non-essential indoor gatherings of 500 people would be forbidden; on March 18 that was reduced to 100 people. For Bendigo Hotel owner Guy Palermo, that was the writing on the wall – few venues have a capacity of less than 100 people…
…
Palermo and his petition have been running side-by-side with Donovan and Fiona Patten from the Reason Party, who themselves have devised their own separate proposals to take to parliament.
Aspects of Patten’s proposal include introducing a moratorium on the immediate costs venues face as well as revisiting the Creative Spaces programme currently in place – providing artists with more affordable options to make music when things die over.
Read full article on Beat.
Vaping ban divides the community
By Tamara Clark
The City of Melbourne has unanimously passed a motion proposing a ban on e-cigarettes and vaping in selected areas throughout the city.
The move comes after councillors voted in favour of a motion to amend council’s local law to align with the Tobacco Act 1987 by including vaping using an e-cigarette at the Future Melbourne Committee meeting on May 5…
…However, the move by the council has been met with widespread criticism from many in the community, with Reason Party leader Fiona Patten stating, “vaping isn’t smoking” and that councillors were misinformed about vaping.
“I am concerned that the council has been misinformed on the issue and that a ban will do more harm than good,” she said. “The council needs to listen to what the experts are saying – that vaping is a significant help for those trying to quit.”
“There is no reasonable case for banning vaping on health grounds as there is no evidence of risk from passive vaping. The UK Royal College of Physicians, which have been a leader in research on this issue, agreed declaring that so far there is, ‘no direct evidence that passive exposure is likely to cause significant harm’.”
Read full article on CBD News.
Joy 94.9: Tom & Jess – Pokies Reform
With poker machine venues currently out of action due to the pandemic, Victorians are not only saving millions of dollars, but it’s saving lives and livelihoods of problem gamblers. Fiona Patten says now is the time for pokies reform.