Speeches

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:55): I rise to speak on this bill. Despite Mr Finn’s assertions that this is some giant conspiracy for some amorphous, foreign force to take us over and take the information out of our brains and do some other conspiratorial things, this is actually a very sensible piece of legislation….

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:46): I would like to briefly speak on the Casino Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Implementation and Other Matters) Bill 2022. I think, as we have heard from some of my colleagues here today, it is quite pleasing to come to the end of this term with some positive work done…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (09:53): I would just like to make a couple of points and to concur with the chair of the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee, Mr Gepp, on the incredible work of the team, lead very well by Helen Mason, and the insight that Jeremy Gans has been able to…

  Petition of certain citizens of the State of Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Council that Coburg High School (CHS) is the largest school in the Pascoe Vale electorate with 1,225 enrolments in 2022, yet it is consistently overlooked for critical infrastructure funding. After a long community campaign, CHS was reopened in…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) Incorporated pursuant to order of Council of 7 September 2021: I rise to pay my respects and recognise the significant contribution made by Queen Elizabeth II in seven decades as head of state of Australia and this state, Victoria. I, like most Australians, have known no other head of state….

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:58): I am pleased to rise to speak briefly to the Justice Legislation Amendment (Sexual Offences and Other Matters) Bill 2022. It has been interesting and really fruitful listening to this debate. I think when the public thinks about what we do, to hear the very heartfelt and sensible comments…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:32): Pursuant to standing order 23.29, I lay on the table a report from the Legal and Social Issues Committee on the inquiry into extremism in Victoria, including appendices and a minority report. I further present transcripts of evidence, and I move: That the transcripts of evidence lie on the…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:53): I am pleased to rise briefly to speak on this bill. And I will speak briefly, because we have heard so many really terrific contributions to this legislation today. It is incredibly important work for this Parliament. As Ms Shing recently mentioned, it will set a new course in…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:59): I am pleased to rise to make a very brief contribution to Mr Hayes’s Planning and Environment Amendment (Wake Up to Climate Change) Bill 2022. I think we need to give Mr Hayes credit. I think this is the best title of a bill this term. It is very…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:47): I am just so pleased to rise to speak to this bill. This is a really significant occasion, but it is one that is long overdue—hundreds and hundreds of years overdue. The action of this Parliament today truly does mark respect for the traditional owners of this land. As…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:59): I rise to speak to the Sustainable Forests Timber Amendment (Timber Harvesting Safety Zones) Bill 2022, a bill that purports to improve Victoria’s legislative framework for safe timber harvesting. The bill is said to respond to increased dangerous forest protest activity in timber harvesting safety zones, but the government have…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:15): Pursuant to standing order 23.29, I lay on the table a report from the Legal and Social Issues Committee on the inquiry into children affected by parental incarceration, including appendices. I further present transcripts of evidence, and I move: That the transcripts of evidence lie on the table and…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:32): I am saddened but privileged to be part of this condolence. I too cannot actually remember the time that I met Jane, but I remember a particular time when—I had met her many times before that—I had just been elected. It was in 2014 and I was sitting in…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:21): I cannot say I am pleased to speak on this motion, but I am compelled to. This morning I second read a bill that was something really important, and it was really important to the majority of people in Victoria, around access to reproductive health from public health providers….

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (13:10): I move: That the bill be now read a second time. When the USA Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and with it nearly 40 years of women’s abortion rights, it caused shock waves here. In Victoria, thousands took to the street in protest. My sense was that the loss of…

  Ms Patten: President, I present a petition bearing 1,320 signatures from certain citizens of Victoria requesting that the Legislative Council call on the Government to reject the permit for the proposed quarry in the Beveridge northwest precinct and introduce legislation to prevent the development of quarries within the urban growth boundary in Mitchell Shire….

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (18:39): I rise to speak to this cognate debate and in doing so respond to the state budget, and I think it is not surprising that the headline issue on this budget is the state’s health system. We know that this budget does go to trying to ease some of those pressure…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:01): I would like to rise to speak briefly on this bill. As speakers before have said, this is a very broad piece of legislation that covers a number of other acts and a number of areas of our agriculture industry. I note Dr Cumming’s contribution. I think many of…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:20): I rise to speak in support of Mr Meddick’s motion. It was interesting hearing Mr Grimley talking about the long experience of Mr Hinch in this area. Certainly as someone who has got a conservation reserve of some 300 acres that backs onto the Snowy Mountains national park, I…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:13): I rise to speak just briefly on Mr Barton’s motion. It is sensible. Mr Barton and I did not come to fisticuffs, but we possibly did not see eye to eye in the last term when I introduced the Ridesharing Bill 2016 that was about recognising ridesharing, recognising that…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:09): I would like to rise to speak quite briefly on this bill. It is a fairly varied bill, but it does deal with notifiable diseases and bloodborne diseases and it certainly looks at the gathering of testing data et cetera. So it does go to various places, as Ms…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:51:551:): I rise to speak about the petition that was tabled in this house just yesterday—a petition calling for a review of roadside cannabis testing laws. This is about equality. This is about the 172 000 patients who have been prescribed medicinal cannabis. All they are asking for is equal…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:32): Well, I do not know. It feels like parents fighting, doesn’t it? We know that both of the major parties are able to manipulate legislation and to manipulate the system to their advantage. And I know that I heard Mr Finn crying poor and Mr Tarlamis saying, ‘We would…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:03): I am very pleased to rise to speak to Mr Grimley’s motion today. You know, it is frightening: 87 per cent of people who are sexually assaulted do not report that assault to the police, so something is terribly wrong about that process. I know this government is introducing…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:15): I rise to speak to this bill. The fond memories and the fun stories that Ms Shing told about Puffing Billy are so true, and it is this wonderful, iconic part of Victoria and part of our history, part of many of our childhoods and part of happy childhoods…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:20): I would like to rise to speak briefly to the Conservation, Forests and Lands Amendment Bill 2022, and I have to say from the outset I feel like it is deja vu. I feel that we have traversed this issue many times, certainly in recent years, and we do…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:07): Pursuant to standing order 23.29, I lay on the table a report from the Legal and Social Issues Committee on the inquiry into Victoria’s criminal justice system, including appendices, extracts of proceedings and a minority report. I further present transcripts of evidence and a summary booklet, and I move:…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:44): I am delighted—well, I am disappointed that we are not talking about a duck bill, we are talking about a duck motion. I would not say that I am disappointed; I just wanted to be able to say ‘duck bill’. The motion does very much what the duck bill…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (18:05): I would like to speak in favour of this motion for a short and sharp inquiry into a very specific part of this omnibus bill, being the extension of presumptive rights to mechanics and those that work in workshops. I do not think any of us oppose the notion…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:54): I am pleased to rise to Ms Maxwell’s motion today. It is one that Ms Maxwell, Ms Watt and I have probably lived for the last year or so as part of our inquiry into the criminal justice system. These issues were very pertinent and were really expressed by…

  We can reduce harm and save lives. We can reduce costs to the criminal justice system and in acute health care. We can reduce stigma. We can intervene early to change the trajectory of a person’s life. We can do this by treating drug use as a health issue with a health solution, not…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (21:15): I am very pleased to speak somewhat briefly and somewhat specifically to the Children, Youth and Families Amendment (Child Protection) Bill 2021, which as we have heard from Ms Bath just now, is an omnibus bill with lots of features and tendrils to it. But I would like to…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:46): I am pleased to speak to the Sex Work Decriminalisation Bill 2021—2021. We first started fighting for the decriminalisation of sex work in Victoria in the 1980s, so it has been nearly 40 years in the making. We have gone through many iterations. We have had two steps forward,…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:31): I am not sure I am pleased to speak on this motion, but I must say I have listened to this with interest. I am sure Mr Somyurek has too. This has certainly been quite a change from the chorus that he normally would have got from that side…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:18): I am just so pleased and it is such a pleasure to rise to speak to the Equal Opportunity (Religious Exceptions) Amendment Bill 2021. I have to say I feel like we are all on the same page. I mean, everyone is saying, ‘No, we love everyone! We don’t want to…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:47): I am pleased to rise to speak to the Casino and Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 2021. As some will recall, a couple of years ago I did bring a motion of urgent public importance to this chamber in relation to Crown. Now, it may not have been successful then—in…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:52): I am pleased to rise—I will try and make it brief—to speak on the Windfall Gains Tax and State Taxation and Other Acts Further Amendment Bill 2021. As we know, the bill does several things, but I think one of the areas that probably I was most interested in…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:33): I rise to move my motion 654: That this house notes that: (1) loneliness has emerged as one of the most serious public health challenges being faced around the world; (2) loneliness is a better predictor of premature death than physical inactivity, obesity or smoking 15 cigarettes a day; (3) lonely…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:06): I am pleased to rise to make a short contribution to Ms Maxwell’s motion. From the outset I would like to acknowledge Lee, Michelle and Jana, who I have seen wandering around the Parliament today, and I certainly saw them outside this morning. I am pleased that they actually…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:55): I too would like to speak to Dr Ratnam’s motion on pairing. This is something that has been missing in this chamber—the ability for the crossbench to have a pairing process—and it became so apparent last year during COVID when we were all at risk of not being able…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:33): As a member of the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee I take great offence at Mr Davis’s description of the work we did. But I would also just like to note that the Liberal members of SARC are rarely there. Mr Smith, certainly we have not seen him…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:44): I am pleased to rise to speak on this legislation. Let us just remember—and let us be really clear—that if our government and this Parliament had done nothing about COVID, then our health system would have been overwhelmed and thousands of Victorians would have died, gasping for air, many…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:27): I am not going to speak for long on this bill, because I think everybody has fully acquitted the legislation and there is no point repeating those words. So I would like to just focus on the amendments that I am proposing to this legislation, and they actually go…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:16): I rise to make a few comments on this legislation. I do not often say it, but I tend to agree with Mr Quilty, unusual as that may be. I think he does make some good points. This is concerning legislation, and certainly I also echo a number of…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:41): I am pleased to rise to speak on Mr Limbrick’s motion, and I am pleased to see that Mr Limbrick is enjoying some of his freedoms at the moment. It looks like he is at an early opener nightclub going by the red lights that we are seeing, which…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (19:46): It is very sad that we are all not as perfect as the Liberal Democrats. I mean, what did we do without them before this? I do not know how we managed without Mr Quilty showing us the light. How on earth did we get on? I do not…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:00): Pursuant to standing order 23.29 I lay on the table the second report from the Legal and Social Issues Committee on the inquiry into the closure of I Cook Foods Pty Ltd, including appendices, transcripts of evidence, extracts of proceedings and a minority report. I move: That the report…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (20:32): I am pleased to have this opportunity. I thought I had quite a few people in front of me. I am really delighted to get up and speak on this motion, and I am supportive of this motion. I am very interested to see what these documents say—as much…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (19:05): I am pleased to rise and support this motion. I think this motion is in many ways about recognising that we are in a climate emergency. It is recognising that we have to do things differently. I acknowledge a lot of the government’s comments about the actions that they…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (21:53): I am pleased to rise to speak to this omnibus bill on firearms, control of weapons, sex offenders registration and Victoria Police. I support much of this legislation. I certainly support responsible gun ownership, and I think that many parts of this bill go towards that and go to…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (21:26): I also am very pleased to rise to speak to the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Amendment Bill 2021. I was pleased to speak to the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Amendment (Consent) Bill 2019 and the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Amendment Bill 2020, so this has been an ongoing process to consider in…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:58): I rise to speak to Ms Crozier’s bill, the Mental Health Amendment (Counsellors) Bill 2021. You know, I do not think there is a single person in this chamber who does not passionately believe that a child’s mental health is crucially important and mental health support in our schools…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (19:46): I think this is actually kind of exciting, and I am sorry that we have diminished it to conceiving children, council oversight and concrete. This is the biggest infrastructure project in the state’s history and I think Mr Davis also said possibly in Australia. That is quite extraordinary. To…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (13:51): I would like to rise to speak to the substantive motion but also Dr Ratnam’s amendment, which I have to say was a bit of a team effort. I almost feel still out of breath from some of the running around that has occurred over the last 24 hours…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (13:15): I too am very pleased to rise to speak to this motion. I had the privilege of meeting Ron Fenton and Yogi a year or so ago. Not only did Yogi bring joy to Ron and assist Ron, he actually really could fill a room. He was a really…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:41): I am pleased to rise to speak to Mr Davis’s motion 621. As Mr Davis quite eloquently put, this is a simple documents motion. It is simply suggesting, as the Bret Walker advice to the New South Wales Parliament stated, that this Parliament does have the ability to compel…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (09:56): I rise to speak briefly on this motion. I was just reminded of how beautiful horses are and how wonderful it is to see them run. I was reminded because across the river from our property is actually one of those places that Ms Shing spoke about, a place…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) Incorporated pursuant to order of Council of 7 September: I rise to speak on the Forests Legislation Amendment (Compliance and Enforcement) Bill 2019, which principally makes a number of improvements to the regulation of timber harvesting and firewood collection. In late 2018, the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (13:19): I am really pleased to speak on this motion, and I thank Ms Maxwell for bringing it here. I will commit to speaking very briefly on this motion because I know it is Dr Kieu’s smoko time very soon. Australia was a leader in tobacco harm reduction, tobacco reduction….

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:17): I am pleased to speak on Ms Crozier’s motion, which I support. I think it is really important to consider what we are doing in talking about mental health. In some ways the commentary around mental health has been almost more damaging than the pandemic. We have been using…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (09:49): I am pleased to rise to speak on Dr Cumming’s bill. Integrity in politics is the cornerstone of my party’s platform. In fact the first line on our website reads, ‘The public deserves a political system where their representatives act with integrity and in good faith’, and that is…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:56): Just very quickly, I absolutely support this motion. The crossbench recognises that we need to live in a COVID-normal way and that, as a quarter of this chamber, we should have the right to have our position recorded, to have our position on legislation recognised. Now, this is not…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (09:22): Pursuant to standing order 23.29, I lay on the table a report from the Legal and Social Issues Committee on the inquiry into the management of child sex offender information, including appendices and a minority report. I further present transcripts of evidence, and I move: That the transcripts of…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:20): I am pleased to rise to speak on the Judicial Proceedings Reports Amendment Bill 2021, just as I was pleased to speak on it last year as well. This, as Mr O’Donohue mentioned, is the second or third time around for this legislation. The background, as we know, is…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:26): Pursuant to standing order 23.29, I lay on the table a report from the Legal and Social Issues Committee on the inquiry into the use of cannabis in Victoria, including an appendix, extracts of proceedings and minority reports. I further present transcripts of evidence, and I move: That the…

  The Petition of certain citizens of the State of Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Council that the Government has created municipal councils to service the needs of their communities. Despite the rigour and precision applied in determining councils and their boundaries, substantial geographic, demographic, and economic differences exist, and will always…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:06): I am rising to speak to Mr O’Donohue’s motion on a range of things, but I think most importantly a select committee to review the casino regulators. Two years ago I sought a motion of urgent public importance in this chamber to launch a parliamentary inquiry. It was not…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:57): I am very pleased to rise to speak to this motion, and it is a very simple one. It is about freedom and it is about fairness, and it is that simple but it is that profound. From the outset, and let us make this clear, I am not against…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:49): I am sorry to disappoint Mr Finn again, but I do not go along with your line of argument there, and I think where you lost me was that you had not actually contacted the Ombudsman about this. If I was this concerned, the first thing I would have…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:23): I am pleased to rise to speak to Mr Grimley’s motion. I think, following on from Mr O’Donohue, for the Legal and Social Issues Committee’s inquiry into the justice system: challenge accepted. You are right: the system is broken, and we do need to repair it and we do…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:40): I rise today to speak to this Education and Training Reform Amendment (Protection of School Communities) Bill 2021. From the outset I am greatly troubled by this bill. I think the objectives of the bill are obviously commendable. The process in 2019 where there was a task force that…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:33): I rise to speak on the State Taxation and Mental Health Acts Amendment Bill 2021. We could be forgiven for thinking that that is not what we were speaking about when we were listening to Mr Finn. This bill does a lot of things. It looks at first home…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:55): I move: That this house: (1) acknowledges that Wednesday, 26 May, is National Sorry Day, where we remember and recognise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now refer to as the stolen generations; and (2) urges all…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:53): I am pleased to rise to speak to this bill. It has been really interesting listening to the somewhat patronising comments that have come not only in this chamber but on social media and the fearmongering that has been rampant about what I would have thought was a very…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:44): I am pleased to rise to speak to this amendment bill, the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment Bill 2020. I am pleased that we are speaking about it today, because tomorrow is International Harm Reduction Day and this bill is a harm reduction bill. This bill is not—as…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:14): I am pleased to rise today to speak on the Cemeteries and Crematoria Amendment Bill 2021. It has been a long time coming, this bill, and there were recommendations for work like this to be done. But it was the work of Karen Williams’s family that finally made this…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:48): I move: That this house: (1) recognises that: (a) the ability to petition the Parliament is a right of all Victorian citizens; (b) petitions are the only way an individual or group of citizens can directly place grievances before the Parliament; (c) petitions provide an important tool for improving…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:05): Not surprisingly, I join my crossbench colleagues in opposing this motion. In some ways if this motion had been more nuanced, if this motion had been about how do we get the best out of the Legislative Council, how do we get the best for the people of Victoria,…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:49): I must say: the revolutionary talk that is coming out of this place! I mean, normally we would be expecting to try and bring down the federal government coming from the other side of the house. That was a very interesting contribution, Mr Finn. From the outset, I actually…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:51): I, too, am very pleased to rise to speak to this Spent Convictions Bill 2020. When I was thinking about what to say about this bill, I actually found it quite hard to resolve where I would begin on this. Over the last few years I have had a…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:48:218:): Thank you, Mr Limbrick. I actually feel like I understand a few things better as a result. I cannot say that I necessarily agree with Mr Limbrick in his assessment, but I certainly listened with interest to that contribution. He is absolutely right, and, as Ms Watt says, it is…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:10): Pursuant to standing order 23.29, I lay on the table the final report from the Legal and Social Issues Committee on the inquiry into homelessness in Victoria, including appendices. I further present transcripts of evidence and the final report and summary booklet and I move: That the transcripts of…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:28): I am very pleased to rise to speak to Mr Meddick’s motion today, and I agree with Ms Crozier: I think it is an extremely good motion to be debating today, and I have been really moved by quite a few of the contributions. As we know, family violence…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:46): I could say it feels like groundhog day again, but I do not want to say that, because this is different. After a number of sleepless nights and after a number of weeks of negotiations with the government on this bill, I am satisfied to support this bill. Not…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:22): I am pleased to rise today to make a contribution on the debate on the decriminalisation of public drunkenness. Let me be very clear from the outset, the Reason Party will be supporting this legislation today. We think it is a very important step to start framing substance use…

    Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:32): I am pleased to rise to speak on the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Provisional Payments) Bill 2020. Let me say from the outset that the Reason Party will support this legislation. I think it goes to the idea of early intervention on mental health issues. It goes,…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:48): We have heard today people say, ‘I oppose conversion practices and suppression practices, but’ and ‘We are against conversion practices and suppression practices. However’. There should be no buts and there should be no howevers on this bill today. This is good legislation. I thank Ms Terpstra for outlining some of…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:25): I prepared to speak to one motion, but with the rather substantial amendment to that motion, will there be three original words in the motion now? Mr Davis interjected. Ms PATTEN: There will be four, will there? Right—four original words in the motion. I do not know if I was…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:12): I would like to rise briefly to speak to Mr Barton’s motion, which is fundamentally a documents motion. I am never sure if my support for Mr Barton helps him or hinders him. Knowing my position on ridesharing and some of the work that I did in the previous Parliament on this,…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:17): I rise to make some brief comments on the Consumer and Other Acts Miscellaneous Amendments Bill 2020, and an omnibus bill it is. To start with, just to look at the amendments to the Gambling Regulation Act 2003 in regard to the wagering and betting of keno and the monitoring of licences,…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:28): I present the transcripts of evidence and move: That the transcripts of evidence lie on the table and the report be published. Motion agreed to. Ms PATTEN: I move: That the Council take note of the report. It is a nice coincidence that the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee report…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:22:502:): I too would like to just make some quick comments about the SARC Alert Digest No.1 of 2021, and I completely concur with Mrs McArthur. The Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities is upheld by the role that the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee plays. It an absolutely crucial part…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:58): I rise to speak to the Appropriation (2020–21) Bill 2020, and in doing so I would like to respond to the state budget. This year has been quite a year. It has been one of grief, isolation and emotional and economic hardship but also of collective resilience, and it is a…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:58): There is a slight feeling of groundhog day because I think when we started this motion earlier this year I spoke after Ms Terpstra did. I would just like to start by congratulating Ms Terpstra and Mr Finn on successfully quitting tobacco and successfully quitting smoking. As both of you attest, it is…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (18:03): I am pleased to rise to the Appropriation (Parliament 2020–2021) Bill 2020. Before I move on to some of the other aspects, I certainly would just like to thank everybody for what an extraordinary year this has been. I know that for our community it has been tough. I know that…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (18:01): I am pleased to rise to speak to the Justice Legislation Amendment (Drug Court and Other Matters) Bill 2020. Yet again this is another omnibus bill. It amends numerous pieces of legislation, and I think the one that we have heard most of today is the amendment to the County Court…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:41): I too am very pleased to rise to speak to the Human Tissue Amendment Bill 2020. I noted, as I was thinking about this bill, that I had my DonateLife badge sitting on my desk today. Certainly, as Mr Tarlamis mentioned, donating your organs or your tissue can save not just one…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:53): I rise to make just a fairly short contribution to this bill, which is a very broad and wideranging bill. I did just want to touch on some of the points that were made by Mr Gepp and also Mr Grimley at the beginning. The road toll in Victoria, as Mr Gepp quite…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (13:07): I am pleased to rise to speak to the Food Amendment Bill 2020. As previous speakers have said, this does aim to support a more consistent and transparent regulatory process for the regulation of our food businesses, our cafes and all of those businesses that we are so pleased to be…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:26): I am very pleased to rise to speak on this motion. I just want to make note of the kind of graffiti amendment that the opposition has put forward today. It is almost like they crossed out some of the letters so the word means something different altogether—omit ‘Green New…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (18:51): I rise briefly to speak to Mr Grimley’s motion. I think it is interesting having this motion coming off the back of the debate that we held yesterday, which really talked about the very pointy end of sex crimes. I know I said yesterday, ‘How do we reduce sex crimes? Well,…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:19): I am pleased to speak on the Justice Legislation Amendment (Supporting Victims and Other Matters) Bill 2020. I feel quite privileged to have been in this chamber and listened to so many of the contributions—and some extraordinarily heartfelt contributions. We know that many of the issues that this bill does cover are…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:32): I am pleased to rise to briefly speak about the Safe Patient Care (Nurse to Patient and Midwife to Patient Ratios) Amendment Bill 2020—or 2019 because, yes, it is one that has been sitting on our pink for quite some time. Certainly I was fortunate to be here in 2015 when…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:22): I think today is a very good day to speak about the report into a legislated spent convictions scheme—a controlled disclosure of a criminal record information framework for Victoria—because today the government introduced a bill for spent convictions. This is a very memorable day because it is a day that…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:04): I do not plan to speak for long, because hopefully I will be chairing this inquiry. I think it is a very important inquiry and I thank Ms Crozier for bringing this inquiry referral to the Legal and Social Issues Committee. It will be a quick inquiry, and the Legal and…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:40): I would just like to say a couple of words about the Alert Digest No. 10, and while I concur with much of what Mrs McArthur has said, this has been very difficult for the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee (SARC) to produce that scrutiny in a timely fashion given the…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:12): I would like to join this motion as well. I obviously did not have the pleasure of working with Ron Best here. Although he did not remember, we did meet while he was a member of Parliament here and I was trying to sell him on the idea of changing…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:06): I am pleased to rise very quickly. I actually have been giving this some thought, because certainly Dr Cumming has had this motion on the paper for some time. It has been an issue that has been around. With therapeutic medicines I think we have all spoken about the benefits of…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:27): I am pleased to rise to speak somewhat briefly to the Police and Emergency Legislation Amendment Bill 2020. This bill does a range of things, as the previous speakers have mentioned and talked to: expanding the definition of the designated places for PSOs; enabling someone who is in jail for one…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:29): This year has been, it does feel—many of the days feel—like groundhog day, particularly as we are coming back to debate the COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2020, which amends the legislation we debated in March, earlier this year. Although, it was quite different last time we…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:40): I rise to speak to the Liberal Democrats motion on opening schools for term 4. And as Dr Cumming said, put it on its merit. Yes, I will—it has no merit. Seriously, for anyone playing at home today, just remember: this does nothing. This has zero effect whether it passes or not….

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:40): I would like to rise to speak to the COVID-19 Commercial and Residential Tenancies Legislation Amendment (Extension) Bill 2020. As we know, in March 2020 we saw businesses across this state closed, and it was not their fault, nor was it the fault of anyone. It is a virus, it is…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:19): I rise to speak and make some brief comments on a petition that was tabled by Mr Ondarchie yesterday. It was a petition calling on this Legislative Council to call ‘on the Andrews Labor government to reverse the decision and not put an injectingroom in our area’. This was in…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:17): I will obviously be very brief. I too would actually like to congratulate a lot of the workers at DHHS who have been working incredibly hard during this time. There is no road map for a pandemic. We do not know the pathway. However, mistakes have been made, things have…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (09:53): I move: That the bill be now read a second time. You may not realise it, but to get a job as a youth worker at Dorset Primary School or Craigieburn Secondary College—or many other public schools across Victoria—you have to be a Christian. That is what the job advertisements…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:59): Just before I start, I have a memory of Mr Finn talking about his time on the school bus with the sticky seats and the shorts! With that visual, I am quite happy to support Mr Barton’s motion to further explore how we can better use the school bus program. I do…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:28): I do think it is disappointing that we are here with the same temporary orders. I was hopeful at the last sitting that we would have been able to progress adequate ways for us to meet in a more fulsome way. I am pleased and I have no reason to…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:01): Pursuant to standing order 23.29 I lay on the table an interim report from the Legal and Social Issues Committee on the inquiry into homelessness in Victoria, and I include its appendices. I move: That the report be published. Motion agreed to. Ms PATTEN: I move: That the Council take note…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:30): I rise to speak to this motion and reluctantly support the motion. I think the scrutiny of the Parliament, the scrutiny of the executive, is as important to the safety of our community as the chief health officer’s advice about this Parliament. I will be very interested, because we knew…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:13): Pursuant to standing order 23.29, I lay on the table a report from the Legal and Social Issues Committee on the inquiry into the closure of I Cook Foods Pty Ltd, including appendices, transcripts of evidence, extracts of proceedings and a minority report. I move: That the report be published. Motion agreed…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (21:19): I feel quite privileged to speak after Mr Grimley. Even though we may diverge on some of our views on mandatory sentencing, what we do not diverge on is our huge admiration and respect for our first responders. Knowing Mr Grimley’s firsthand experience in this and the many times that he has…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:58): I rise to speak relatively briefly on the Justice Legislation Miscellaneous Amendments Bill 2019. This bill does a variety of things of a fairly technical nature across the range of justice acts but most significantly, as we have been debating today, it amends the Supreme Court Act 1986 to provide for group…

Legislative Council Electronic Petition The Petition of certain citizens of the State of Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Council that Victoria’s famous music scene is on the brink of collapse and there is no relief in sight. We are calling on the Government to step in and save our proud music culture…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:15): I am really pleased to speak on the Review of the Medically Supervised Injecting Room, which probably comes as no surprise to many of you in here, given my long interest in this. I must say that for many of us the announcement in this report for a second injecting…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:13): I am very pleased to stand up to speak to the Wildlife Rescue Victoria Bill 2020. Again, it is a crossbench bill that is borne out of the passion of the person who brought it to the house. This is a bill that really exemplifies why Mr Meddick is in this place…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:43): I rise to support this motion, I think echoing the previous members, with a great degree of sadness, a great degree of disappointment. When I also watched this unfolding on television and then in the newspapers the next day, sadly I was not surprised and sadly I do not think…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:22): I am very pleased that this bill has finally made it to this house. I have to say it was nine months ago—almost exactly, which is a lovely coincidence—that I put the amendment up to remove the police checks from this legislation, and as the minister said at the time,…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:14): I welcome and am thankful for having the opportunity to speak about a four-day work week trial. We know during COVID we have been doing so many things differently, and for some of us that has been a struggle. I know for many people working from home or not having…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:06): I rise to speak to Ms Maxwell’s motion. It is interesting following the opposition and the government both kind of touting that they have done better than the other, and I would have to say that I do not think either of them have done well in addressing the growing problems…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:34): I am pleased to speak to the bill, for what will probably be a $16 billion 26-kilometre freeway that will be expected to open in six or seven years. Certainly Dr Ratnam and I are acutely aware of that and our constituents are certainly speaking to us considerably. But I will not…

  Ms Patten: I rise to speak (metaphorically) to this cognate debate. As a state, we entered this financial year with strong growth, retail trade, employment and construction; and as the best performing economy in the country, buoyed really, by construction levels 25 percent above average. Beyond anyone’s control, we were met by devastating bushfires,…

  Ms PATTEN: I would like to rise in favour of this amendment. It is imperfect and I do not think that it actually solves some of the issues that we have been raising throughout the day, and in actual fact throughout the last few weeks, in trying to find a way for independent scrutiny…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:58): I would like to rise in support of Dr Ratnam’s motion. These are uncertain times, and I think scrutiny and transparency is paramount to this. I would like to open by also acknowledging the information that the government has been providing on a daily basis and acknowledging the very…

  I rise today to speak (metaphorically) to the Covid-19 Omnibus Bill. President, never has Victoria faced a challenge of the likes of this. This is, as so many have said, is unprecedented in living memory. Before I turn my attention to the specifics of this emergency bill, can I take the time to thank…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:31): I would like to rise to speak to support this motion; it is quite complicated for one day of sitting. To find the support and the collaboration of over 11 different parties in this, I think, was very good work and was very good collaboration. Most importantly, as Dr…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (18:03): I rise with some disappointment and sadness to speak to this bill. It is rushed. I do not feel that the report is actually as compelling as other reports that we have seen when we have been asked to sack an elected government, to sack 11 elected representatives. In…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:09): I am very pleased to rise to speak on this important issue. Following on from Ms Terpstra, I just want to correct a couple of things. This motion does not suggest that vaping is completely safe. This motion in fact says that it is ‘not without risks’, but it…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:32): I am very pleased to speak on Mr Quilty’s motion, and I have to say, for a man who is normally brief, this is not the briefest of motions. It almost speaks for itself in the facts that it lays out within the motion and really paints a very…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:27): I rise to speak briefly to the Health Services Amendment (Mandatory Vaccination of Healthcare Workers) Bill 2020. As previous members have said, this enables the secretary to direct public hospitals, health service establishments, ambulance services and those employees to be required to be vaccinated or prove immunity to certain…

  Ms PATTEN: I would like to just make a couple of comments now that we are in schedule 1 of this bill that we quite rightly have debated for nearly 25 hours—and it has been in committee for nearly 25 hours. And guess who has been in that committee for that 25 hours? The…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (23:50): I rise to speak briefly to the Road Safety and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2019. We know that politics is personal; it is something that we often say, but it is true. Like many in this chamber I pay my respects and extend my sympathy to the people in the…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:09): I am pleased to rise to speak to the Local Government Bill 2019, having had many conversations in the last term about the Local Government Bill 2018. By all accounts, in 2019 and 2020, the 2018 bill won. In fact most people who came to speak to me said,…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:27): I am pleased to rise. I will make a fairly short contribution, but I would like to congratulate Dr Ratnam for bringing this committee referral to the house because I think this is very important. I have listened to ‘nothing to see here’ from the previous speaker—’You should have…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:34): It is a great pleasure to rise to speak to the Gender Equality Bill 2019, and I think it is really fitting that we are debating this bill on the World Day of Social Justice. As other speakers have mentioned and as we all know, this bill introduces measures…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:59): Before I move motion 162 in my name I would seek leave to amend slightly the reporting date that was set in this motion at April 2020. I seek leave to extend that date to August 2020.   Leave granted.   Ms PATTEN: I move: That this house: (1)…

    Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:23): It gives me no pleasure to get up to speak on this bill. I must say I do get quite disturbed when we do this in this chamber. This is not the first time we have done this, but certainly I think I am more troubled by this circumstance…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:08): I am very pleased to rise to speak in favour of Mr Davis’s motion to hold a regional sitting. As has been mentioned by previous speakers, the crossbench have also been talking about what we can do to support the regional areas and what we can do to learn directly…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:39): I would just like to rise to make a small contribution to the Melbourne Strategic Assessment (Environment Protection Mitigation Levy) Bill 2019. This bill effectively is trying to legislate what has been practised in policy for the last decade or so using the old Melbourne strategic assessment, and that…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (19:09): I move: That the bill be now read a second time. In Victoria, right now, there are around 11 000 children unable to live with their parents, and find themselves in the statutory care of the state. That is, their legal guardian or parent is the government. This may…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (13:16): I am very pleased to join in this condolence motion today. John Cain—member for Bundoora; Labor leader; three-term Premier; husband to Nancye; father to John, James and Joanne; grandfather and great-grandfather—was a true son of Northern Metropolitan. His father, the 34th Premier, was a long-serving member for Jika Jika,…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:17): On behalf of the Reason Party I would like to extend my sincere condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in the recent bushfires across our state, the men who were defending us and died in that service, David Moresi, Mat Kavanagh and Bill…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:10:34): I would very much like to rise and speak to this motion that was brought to the house by the crossbench, by Mr Meddick. World AIDS Day has been commemorated in this country since 1988, and I have been commemorating it since that day. In 1989 Darren Hook was…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:50:01): I am very pleased to rise to speak to Mr Limbrick’s motion. It is a very simple one, and I am somewhat disappointed that neither the government nor the opposition would support a very simple call to just evaluate what we are doing. This is not saying to stop…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:29): I lay on the table a statement of compatibility with the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006:   In accordance with section 28 of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (the charter), I make this statement of compatibility with respect to the Crimes Amendment…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:59:34): I too rise to speak to the Workplace Safety Legislation Amendment (Workplace Manslaughter and Other Matters) Bill 2019. As many other speakers before me have noted and outlined, it amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 to introduce a new criminal offence of workplace manslaughter. The bill aims…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:00:32): I will just rise to make a few comments on the Building Amendment (Cladding Rectification) Bill 2019. I must say I have had some reservations about this bill, and certainly this has been an issue that I am sure most of us have received a lot of correspondence on. Fundamentally…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:50:37): It is not often we see this level of consensus in the room, this warm feeling. I am not sure that that is just thinking about—   Members interjecting.   Ms PATTEN: This is a good bill, and the Reason Party is very, very pleased to be supporting Mr…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:38:02): I will speak briefly on this as well. I commend Mr Hayes for this bill, and I know that this is something that he has been passionate about. I have really actually enjoyed listening to the other speakers who have experience on local councils and local government. I must…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:43): I rise to make comment on the threatened species inquiry motion put forward by Dr Ratnam today. Native species are dying out. Climate change is real. This is the most important issue before us. You can debate all the laws you like in this place, and it will not…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:49): I actually thank Ms Crozier for this motion because it does give us an opportunity to speak about the medically supervised injecting room in North Richmond. I have to note that the government have taken a third of the time that has been given to this chamber to speak…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:42:41): I am pleased to rise to speak to the Primary Industries Legislation Amendment Bill 2019. As previous speakers have mentioned, this is largely an omnibus bill that covers many areas of the industry. In fact it is very diverse. It really covers everything that has been on my plate…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:32:09): I rise to speak to this bill, the Health Legislation Amendment and Repeal Bill 2019. As many others who have spoken before me have said, this is an omnibus bill that covers a whole range of areas, particularly around information-sharing. I will not go into those segments of the…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:10:29): I would like to make a few points about the Renewable Energy (Jobs and Investment) Amendment Bill 2019. As we know, the bill seeks to establish a renewable energy target of 50 per cent of electricity by 2030 and provides for a determination of the minimum amount of renewable…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:13:53): I am pleased to rise to speak to Ms Maxwell’s motion. I think all of us absolutely do acknowledge the selfless dedication and commitment of our state’s emergency workers. We would all be unanimous in that and unanimous in reaffirming that emergency workers have the right to be protected, just…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:16:22): I move: That the bill be now read a second time. The Road Safety Amendment (Medicinal Cannabis) Bill 2019 proposes a reasonable change to the Road Safety Act 1986, to allow people who have been prescribed medicinal cannabis to drive—so long as they can drive safely. The bill provides…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:13:53): I am pleased to rise to speak to Ms Maxwell’s motion. I think all of us absolutely do acknowledge the selfless dedication and commitment of our state’s emergency workers. We would all be unanimous in that and unanimous in reaffirming that emergency workers have the right to be protected, just…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:34:32): I rise to speak to the Public Administration Amendment Bill 2019. This is a bill designed to clarify the standards that apply to public sector bodies in relation to the publication of public sector communications. Effectively this is designed to look at the types of advertising that the state…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (13:15:05): I move to introduce a bill for an act to amend the Road Safety Act 1986 to provide that prescription medicinal cannabis that does not impair driving is to be treated in the same manner as other prescription drugs and for other purposes, and I move: That the bill…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:01:24): Thank you to all the previous speakers who have spoken on this piece of legislation, and in particular Mr Gepp. I think Mr Gepp has just so beautifully and eloquently illustrated why we are doing this, why we must do this and why this bill will not solve what has…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:37:08): I move: That this house: (1) notes that International Overdose Awareness Day is on 31 August and aims to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma of drug-related deaths and that: (a) drugs continue to be a major contributor to accidental mortality in Australia; (b) the number of…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:14:26): I am very pleased that we were able to put this motion on the table today. This will be a special day. Many of us have been touched by organ donation as loved ones have donated their organs and loved ones have received those organs. I encourage everybody to become…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:02:08): I move: That the bill be now read a second time. Opinion columnist Amy Gray has regularly received abusive and threatening messages. ‘You are just another bipolar whore who (bleep) and (bleep) (bleep) for cash and free drinks ugly pig’. In response to a column about global terrorism—she received messages…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (18:01:48): I guess in many ways I am sad to be speaking to this bill again. We spoke about it in December 2016. Many of us in this chamber will remember that particular day, and I am sure many of the people in the gallery will also remember that particular day,…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (13:05:36): Pursuant to standing order 23.29, I lay on the table a report from the Legal and Social Issues Committee on the inquiry into a legislated spent convictions scheme, including appendices, extract of proceedings and a minority report. I further present transcripts of evidence, and I move: That the transcripts of…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:47:37): I am pleased to rise to speak to the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Amendment (Consent) Bill 2019. I must say I do not think it was something I was really planning to speak on or to be involved with, and oddly enough my interest in this bill was drawn out…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:05:42): I must say, it has been a very energetic day in here, so it is always nice to talk about energy. I rise to speak on Mr Limbrick’s motion that requires the Environment and Planning Committee to inquire into the potential benefits of removing prohibitions from the Nuclear Activities…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:18:54): I am pleased to rise to speak to the Public Health and Wellbeing Bill 2019. I appreciate Ms Shing’s comments in regard to stigma, and I would just like to read a quote from Ban Ki-moon when he was United Nations Secretary-General. He said: HIV stigma remains the single-most…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:11): I rise to speak to the Firefighters’ Presumptive Rights Compensation and Fire Services Legislation Amendment (Reform) Bill 2019 again. Certainly this bill has been with us for quite a number of years now. I have spoken to many people over those years and also in more recent times. I…

  MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:57:03): I too would like to speak briefly on Mr Barton’s motion, which I think is a very sensible one and one which I am very pleased incorporates much of my region of Northern Metropolitan with the extension of the free tram zone around the universities. It is effectively 6…

  MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:10:06): I am delighted to rise to speak to Dr Cumming’s inaugural motion to this house. Congratulations on bringing this forward. It is an important motion, and I think it is great to speak about this alongside the recycling inquiry that is being undertaken. I think it adds some greater…

  MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:56:00): I rise to speak on the Appropriation (2019–2020) Bill 2019 and in doing so respond to the budget as well. Probably unlike some of our previous speakers, I will give credit where credit is due. I was chastised for the way I did my grading of the budget on…

  MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:13:14): I move: That this house: (1) notes that: (a) according to Victoria Police, the illegal cannabis industry in Victoria is worth an estimated $8.1 billion per annum; (b) the largest cohort of cannabis users in Victoria are young people; (c) significant police and justice resources are committed to the…

  MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:14:28): I would like to begin this address-in-reply by acknowledging the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, who are the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which this Parliament meets, and to whom during the 59th Parliament I hope we can pay the ultimate respect of a fair…

  MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (13:17:15): I too rise to join this motion to offer my condolences, and specifically I would also like to acknowledge Dr Ratnam and Mr Ondarchie and the very deep and close connection that this has to them. Like so many across the world and in this chamber, I was appalled…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:51:18): I would like to briefly speak to the Transport Legislation Amendment (Better Roads Victoria and Other Amendments) Bill 2018. I note that this bill implements the Better Roads Victoria Trust Fund, which will hypothecate the traffic camera fines to suburban, rural and interface roads. I think this is very sensible,…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (20:49:45): (By leave) Thank you, President, and I thank the house for allowing this. I think today was quite a day for us all in speaking about New Zealand and in speaking about the effects that religion can have on people in the most horrific ways, in what we saw in…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:51:00): I too rise on this motion to offer my condolences. Like so many across the world and in this chamber, on Friday I was shocked, I was appalled, I was frightened and I was so incredibly sad upon hearing the news of the awful terror attacks in Christchurch and the…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:20:53): I rise to also speak to the Justice Legislation Amendment (Police and Other Matters) Bill 2019. As has been stated by many of the other previous speakers, this is an omnibus bill. It covers a wide range of legislation and makes a wide range of amendments. In its fragmentation it…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:57:34): I rise to speak briefly on the Parliamentary Committees Amendment Bill 2019, which somewhat curiously plans to abolish the non-statutory parliamentary joint house committees, as well as providing pay rises for certain government members. I say it is curious because we have got an independent remuneration tribunal bill coming up…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:19:30): I rise to speak on the Integrity and Accountability Legislation Amendment (Public Interest Disclosures, Oversight and Independence) Bill 2018, and I am still considering where I am going with this bill. I am pleased to support many parts of this bill, and I am still questioning in my mind some…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:01:07): I am very pleased to rise to speak to the Safe Patient Care (Nurse to Patient and Midwife to Patient Ratios) Amendment Bill 2018. It has been some time in coming, and certainly we nearly got there last year and I felt terrible that we did not get there. However,…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:36:24): I rise to speak to Mr Bourman’s motion that effectively says that we allow suitable people to obtain and use items designed for non-lethal self-defence in the wake of a number of random attacks on women. The victims of the four most recent attacks we are talking about—Jill Meagher, Eurydice…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:39:48): I rise to briefly speak on this condolence motion, and I think of all those people for whom tomorrow may well be a very difficult day. As they say, their life will never be the same. But they also mention that this tragic event has brought a deeper resilience and…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:07:56): I move: That the bill be now read a second time. Ryan is an Indigenous man in his 40s from rural Victoria. He became a member of the Country Fire Authority (CFA) when he was a teenager, helping to keep his community safe from fire, just as his family has…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:30:01) — I would just like to take this time to thank all of the people here who have made this four years quite a journey, and in fact overall an incredibly pleasurable one. It seems like a long time ago that we were standing here being sworn in, but in actual fact…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:55:57) — I rise to speak briefly on the point of consumption tax and the Gambling Regulation Amendment (Wagering and Betting) Bill 2018. I am pleased that we are seeing it in the house today. Certainly at one stage it was looking quite shaky as to whether we would get to this bill…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:46:47) — I rise to make a contribution on this largely omnibus bill. As previous speakers have gone through all of the various wideranging areas of this bill, I will not, although I will just give a shout-out to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, which was very pleased to see that some…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:18:47) — I too would like to commend this report and also again thank all of the staff from the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee, both present and past. I have to say that I think this report is an incredibly good, concise report. It very well depicts the work of the Public…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:17:59) — I too would like to make a brief contribution to Mr Elasmar’s motion to amendment the standing orders and Ms Pennicuik’s amendments to that motion as well. I come from a position where I do not really know Parliament without the existing sessional orders that we have had, and I have to say…

MS PATTEN — I do support this amendment because I really do support the community health sector, and I support the fact that they have had a portable long service leave program for a number of years. This bill — and I think it was unintended — does overlap on that and does give them a quite incredible…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:24:31) — I would like to make a brief contribution to the Long Service Benefits Portability Bill 2018. As many of the speakers before me have said, and as we all know from the amount of time this bill has been on the notice paper, this bill provides portable long service benefits to certain…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (18:02:32) — I rise to briefly speak on the Prevention of Family Violence Bill 2018. As previous speakers have said, this is a new principle-based approach to family violence and, most importantly, to the prevention of family violence. We know that inequality is one of the causes of family violence. We know that…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:18:26) — I will make a brief contribution to the debate on the Environment Protection Amendment Bill 2018. As others have mentioned, the bill reforms the legislative framework for the protection of the environment and human health from pollution and waste. What the bill fundamentally does is shift the focus of the Environment…

MS PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (09:39:28) — I move: That the Council take note of the report. I encourage everyone to have a look at this report, Inquiry into Civics and Electoral Participation in Victorian State Parliamentary Elections. We are still finding increased informal voting in Victoria, we are finding a decrease in youth electoral participation and generally we…

This speech was not read as Fiona’s duties as deputy acting President precluded her from contributing to the debate. I rise to make a short contribution to this Bill. A Bill that amends the Environment Protection Act 2017 to establish a container deposit scheme for Victoria in order to promote recovery, reuse and recycling of…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:27:53) — As promised I will speak very briefly on the Justice Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Bill 2018. I have been listening to the debate in my office with great interest. If this bill is passed, it will allow for terrorism subjects to be detained and questioned for four days without charge. It extends the…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:27:55) — I would like to take the opportunity of speaking in the third-reading debate of the Electoral Legislation Amendment Bill 2018. I do find it somewhat surprising to think that the coalition has been so morally opposed and adamant about their opposition to this bill when there was no doubt that there was…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:22:06) — I am very pleased to stand and speak on the Electoral Legislation Amendment Bill 2018. I have to say that at the beginning of this week I was not going to be saying what I am saying now. At the beginning of this week I approached this with quite some ambivalence. This…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:27:16) — I rise to speak briefly on the Advancing the Treaty Process with Aboriginal Victorians Bill 2018. In doing so I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land across Victoria and any elders past and present here today. I recognise that Aboriginal people have been here for not only thousands and thousands of…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:49:32) — I am very pleased to rise to speak briefly to the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse (Commonwealth Powers) Bill 2018. As the title quite clearly states, it refers state powers to the commonwealth in order to facilitate a national redress scheme; a scheme that will run for 10 years and…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:41:21) — Thank you, Mr O’Donohue, for providing me with an audience. Mr Finn — Not for long. Ms PATTEN — I listened to you, Mr Finn. I rise to speak, albeit relatively briefly, on this very large Serious Offenders Bill 2018. It establishes a number of things. It expands the post-sentence scheme for existing sex offenders to include violent offenders,…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:49:28) — I am actually quite delighted to rise to speak to this motion. It was such a beautiful day walking into Parliament today, and I was thinking ‘It is a gorgeous sunny day, and I am going to get to speak about the supervised injecting centre today. Today is a good day’. I…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:34:14) — I would like to rise to speak to the Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017. I will not go through the details of the bill; I think they have been very well canvassed by previous speakers in this house. Certainly in listening to the contributions and spending probably a lot more time…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:02:10) — I am very pleased to rise to speak to the Legal Identity of Defendants (Organisational Child Abuse) Bill 2018. Mr Rich‑Phillips went through the bill in detail, but in a nutshell it abolishes the Ellis defence that was founded in 2007 in the New South Wales Court of Appeal. As Mr Rich‑Phillips and…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:09:31) — I rise to speak to the Justice Legislation Amendment (Access to Justice) Bill 2018. I am not going to go through the entire bill, but there are just a couple of areas that I would like to touch on, in particular the changes to the Legal Aid Act 1978. I would…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:37:08) — I move: That this house notes that — (1)   many for-profit businesses are avoiding certain Victorian taxes by claiming charitable status, despite not engaging in objectively charitable work; (2)   principally, the businesses engaged in this avoidance are owned by religious institutions and take advantage of the charitable head of ‘advancement of religion’ to…

Legislative Council electronic petition: The petition of certain citizens of the state of Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Council that urgent action is required to address an illicit drug market that is increasingly complex and hazardous. Experts throughout Australia have warned that more deaths are expected if urgent action is not undertaken to…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:49:53) — I would just like to rise to speak for a few moments on this omnibus Primary Industries Legislation Amendment Bill 2017. I specifically want to speak about the amendments to the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 in part 4 of the bill. This is in regard to the regulation of industrial…

Legislative Council electronic petition: The petition of certain citizens of the state of Victoria, including of the children, parents, teachers and friends of Merri Creek Primary School (MCPS), draws to the attention of the Legislative Council the need to fund the next stage of the MCPS masterplan in the Victorian government’s 2018 budget. Merri Creek Primary…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:18:48) — I move: That the Council take note of the report. In doing so, I would like to recognise that this is a very significant report in weight but also in the thoughtfulness and the work that was done here. I do attest that this is probably one of the most comprehensive parliamentary…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:44:41) — I would like to speak briefly to this bill, as I was intending to do last May, I believe it was. These notes and these thoughts have been around for a while. I have looked at this legislation. I looked at it back in May. I looked at it prior to that….

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:25:33) — I must say that I have been incredibly torn on this. I think this legislation is much needed. I think it is also innovative and in some ways quite unique, which, as Ms Springle said, will lead to unintended consequences. I think we are seeing that with the number of amendments that the…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) tabled following statement in accordance with Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006: In accordance with section 28 of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006, (the charter), I make this statement of compatibility with respect to the Charities Amendment (Charitable Purpose) Bill 2017. In my opinion, the Charities Amendment…

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:00:22) — I move: That the bill be now read a second time. Sanitarium, the manufacturer of Australia’s iconic breakfast cereal Weet-Bix, is a charity. As a nation we buy and consume more than 1.4 billion Weet-Bix per year, yet as a consequence of its charitable status, Sanitarium pays no company tax in Australia,…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (11:25:06) — I rise to speak somewhat briefly on the motion moved by Mr Davis that seeks to revoke the various planning permits relevant to the West Gate tunnel project. It is interesting that this is just one of two of these revocation motions that we will be debating today. I think this is partly…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:43:20) — I will sadly only get to speak briefly on this very important motion that has been put forward by Dr Ratnam, yet again another revocation motion. I did want to speak at length on this issue because this is something I think is important. Unfortunately we heard Mr Dalidakis speak in a limited way…

Ms PATTEN — Thank you, Acting President, and I appreciate you allowing me to speak briefly on Mr O’Donohue’s amendment. I support this amendment. I find this bill largely problematic in many aspects. I find that it is incredibly discretionary in that once a firearm prohibition order has been made it allows police officers, without warrant or consent,…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:28:40) — I am very pleased to rise to speak to the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Medically Supervised Injecting Centre) Bill 2017. I am also pleased to be following the passionate, if somewhat simple, words of Mr Finn. Honourable members interjecting. Ms PATTEN — It is simple: ‘Just stop drugs’. Mr Finn — Yes, that’s right. Ms PATTEN — ‘Just…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) introduced a bill for an act to amend the Charities Act 1978 to exclude the advancement of religion as a charitable purpose, to amend the Duties Act 2000, the Payroll Tax Act 2007 and the Land Tax Act 2005, and for other purposes. Read first time.

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:31:23) — I would like to rise and make a few brief comments about the State Taxation Acts Further Amendment Bill 2017, that being the second state taxation bill we have seen before this house. I do not think I can possibly go to the detail that Ms Shing or previous speakers have gone to,…

Debate resumed from 28 November; motion of Mr JENNINGS (Special Minister of State). Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:42:57) — I am rising to speak to the Gambling Regulation Amendment (Gaming Machine Arrangements) Bill 2017. I note that the bill states that its objectives are responsible gambling codes of conduct, self-exclusion programs and standard conditions of agreement, all relating back to…

To the Legislative Council of Victoria: The petition of certain citizens of the state of Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Council the City of Melbourne’s proposal to redevelop the Queen Victoria Market, that will dismantle and remove heritage-listed structures at Queen Victoria Market in order to excavate and construct underground storage space and…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (16:55:42) — I am very pleased to rise to speak on the Commercial Passenger Vehicle Industry Amendment (Further Reforms) Bill 2017. This is something I have taken a great interest in really since I was first elected into this house. This bill is establishing a new and modernised regulatory regime for the commercial passenger…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (14:57:10) — I rise to speak because I think this is a very good amendment and it really adds to the bill. I think that has been illustrated by the second-reading speeches from both sides tonight — or, no, when was it? Two weeks ago? I think, I think, I think I can. Whenever it…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:01:53) — I, too, would like to rise briefly to speak about Ms Springle’s motion, which almost feels like it had been taken over by the government. It is exciting news on this wonderful ‘yes’ day. It might look like I am even supporting the Tigers today, which would be a rather remarkable day as…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I would like to rise to briefly speak on the Corrections Legislation Further Amendment Bill 2017. I was almost not going to speak on it — until I heard the minister’s statement today and her being so pleased at the work that they are doing on hepatitis C and increasing the treatment being…

Debate resumed from 2 November; motion of Mr JENNINGS (Special Minister of State). Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (09:38:44) — I feel privileged to rise to speak on the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2017. As many of you know, the issue of voluntary assisted dying has been a constant part of my term here since I was elected, so it is a…

Legislative Council electronic petition: The petition of certain citizens of the state of Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Council the findings put forward in the cross-party Legal and Social Issues Committee report on its inquiry into end-of-life choices that: (1)   assisted dying already occurs within and outside medical settings without necessary safeguards; (2)  …

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I am pleased to rise to speak to this bill. I think it is an important and very progressive piece of legislation, and I am pleased to support it. I am saddened and sometimes just a little bit embarrassed about what our federal government is doing at the expense of logic, the…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I move: That this house notes that — (1)   there are no express services on the South Morang train line during the morning and afternoon peak travel periods (in the direction of peak travel); (2)   all peak direction express services that run between Clifton Hill and Jolimont stations are Hurstbridge line services; (3)   as…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I am pleased to rise to speak on the Justice Legislation Amendment (Protective Services and Other Matters) Bill 2017. As previous speakers have said, this bill does a number of things, but its main objective is around expanding the powers of protective services officers (PSOs). As we have heard, it also addresses some…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I would like to speak to the motion, and I fully support it. There is a significant joint committee inquiry into drug regulation and drug policy being held right now. It is due to report in March. It is looking at the issue that this bill goes straight to, which is synthetic substances…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I too would like to speak to this report, and I would very much like to thank the secretariat staff and my committee colleagues for the work that they undertook on this report. We received some very emotional submissions. The evidence was overwhelming and compelling: a trial of a medically supervised injecting centre…

Ms PATTEN — I am honoured to rise to speak on this condolence motion put by the Leader of the Government. I feel somewhat nervous following such a wonderful contribution from Mr Dalidakis. That was incredibly beautiful, as have all the contributions been today. I too would like to offer my great sympathies to Fiona’s mother, Veronica; her…

Debate resumed. Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I rise to speak to the home education disallowance motion briefly. With many issues that come before this chamber I learn a lot in the process of the passage of legislation. I am one of the few members who has to be across every bill that comes before the house to vote…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I would like to speak briefly on the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Public order) Bill 2017. As previous speakers have mentioned, this bill does a number of things. Firstly, it codifies the offence of affray and also introduces the offence of violent disorder. This is obviously a natural extension from codifying affray. It seems…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I rise to speak briefly on the Children and Justice Legislation Amendment (Youth Justice Reform) Bill 2017. As my colleagues are aware, I sit on the Legal and Social Issues Committee which is holding an inquiry into youth justice in Victoria. We have received over 65 submissions and gathered days of expert evidence via…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I too rise to speak to the Commercial Passenger Vehicle Industry Bill 2017. It has been 12 months since I introduced my ridesharing bill into this house, which was a response to this government’s and the previous government’s inactivity on this issue, and also in recognising these emerging technologies. The ridesharing industry has been…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I move: 1.     Clause 1, line 6, omit “transactions; and” and insert “transactions— “. 2.     Clause 1, after line 6 insert— “(i)   to recover the cost of transitional assistance provided to certain participants in the commercial passenger vehicle industry; and (ii)   to partly fund the regulation of the commercial passenger vehicle industry; and”….

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I will speak briefly on the State Taxation Acts Amendment Bill 2017. I have to say I was kind of drawn towards speaking to it after listening to opposition members with their ‘No new taxes’ rhetoric, but I did not hear a single solution. They say, ‘No new taxes, but we want to…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I would also like to speak to the Bail Amendment (Stage One) Bill 2017. I will also be moving amendments to this bill, although they are echoed in Ms Pennicuik’s amendments 3, 4 and 5, and I believe her amendments will take precedence. Largely and principally today I would like to make a contribution about…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I would like to speak on Ms Pennicuik’s amendments, which really return this bill to the way it should be — the way that Mr Coghlan recommended. The government asked Mr Coghlan to review our bail system and to make recommendations, and he recommended that the wording should be ‘show good reason’. It is that second tier…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I am pleased to speak to Mr Rich-Phillips’s motion on establishing this select committee. I am not going to repeat the words that everybody else has spoken today. I will try and make my contribution fairly brief. This motion is in regard to some fundamental reforms to our fire services in Victoria. This issue…

Legislative Council electronic petition: The petition of certain citizens of the state of Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Council the City of Melbourne’s proposal to redevelop the Queen Victoria Market that will dismantle and remove heritage-listed structures at Queen Victoria Market in order to excavate and construct underground storage space and convert the…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I would like to rise to speak briefly on the City of Greater Geelong Amendment Bill 2017. From the outset, we are certainly all aware of the issues facing that council and the toxic environment that councillors and staff alike were experiencing. I think Terry Moran’s report was very telling and very explicit…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (By leave) — I too would like to add my voice to the thousands of people expressing sorrow for the death of and praise for the life of child protection advocate Anthony Foster. History will show that both he and his wife, Chrissie, made one of the most outstanding contributions to child protection…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — In rising to speak to the Appropriation (2017–2018) Bill 2017 I think it is probably quite a nice time to do this at this point, because I would actually like to give some credit where credit is due. I would like to congratulate the government on the sale of the port of Melbourne…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I will speak briefly on this motion by my colleague Dr Carling-Jenkins. I feel like we had this discussion in October last year. I did not support the motion in October last year, and I do not support the motion now. I do not feel that this motion is all that different. I…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I am not sure I am pleased to be making a contribution to this bill, because I do not think this bill makes a contribution to reducing harm in our society, sadly. I look at the first preliminary purpose of this bill, which is: to prohibit the production, sale and…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I would like to just briefly speak to the Building Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Bill 2016. An honourable member — Briefly. Ms PATTEN — I know; it is a big bill, and I have got 45 minutes to speak on this rather large bill, so shall I start with…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I would like to rise to briefly speak about the Family Violence Protection Amendment Bill 2017. As many of the other speakers have quite rightly pointed out, the statistics regarding family violence are just simply staggering. Noting the increase in reports of family violence I hope is a reason that…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I move: That the Council take note of the report. I am very pleased to present the Electoral Matters Committee’s report on its inquiry into electronic voting. As many members will recognise, this is a very current issue and certainly one we have all discussed at the pub or around…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I was actually quite pleased with this bill. I did not mind it much, really. It seemed to be doing some good things. Early in my term of being elected I met with Geoff Browne. I was not aware of a lot of the work that the Victorian small business…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I move: That the Council take note of the report. The reference for this inquiry came from Mr Purcell, who asked that the committee investigate the impacts of lowering the probationary driving age in Victoria, including assessing the link between the driving age of 18 and youth unemployment in regional areas, and the correlation…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I rise to speak to the Wrongs Amendment (Organisational Child Abuse) Bill 2016. I will not restate the purpose; I think it has been canvassed very well by the previous speakers. But in addressing child abuse the effect that this most abhorrent epidemic has had on our community is literally unquantifiable….

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I rise to speak on the motion moved by Ms Springle on behalf of the Greens. Equality is a founding plank of my policy platform, and I stand in a strong position and have a strong record on anti-discrimination issues. At this very moment I have two motions on the notice paper…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I am very pleased to rise to speak to this motion and I am very pleased that e-petitions will become a reality in the Victorian Legislative Council — and hopefully in the Victorian Legislative Assembly in the not-too-distant future. I have to note that the motion that I put on the notice…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I too would like to say a few brief words about the inquiry into the retirement housing sector. It was a fascinating inquiry. It is probably just the beginning of many in addressing this fast growing sector of housing requirements. Seeing the variety of retirement housing as part of the inquiry…

Second Reading PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I am very pleased to rise to speak on the Resources Legislation Amendment (Fracking Ban) Bill 2016. I will not restate the purposes of the bill, because I think they have been covered in great detail and very well by previous speakers. I have always supported a ban on fracking,…

Second Reading Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I thank all the contributors here today. I understand that time is of the essence, so I will be incredibly brief. I do appreciate everything that everyone has said. Even Mrs Peulich and I do agree on one thing: that this is not going to solve everything. This is just…

PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I move: That the bill be now read a second time. In December of last year I sat through a coronial inquest. Her name was suppressed, but the deceased was a young mother, 34 years of age. She overdosed in a fast-food restaurant toilet in North Richmond, where she was found with a…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I would like to rise to briefly make a contribution on Ms Crozier’s motion. I do not know whether it is my personality or that I am in my first term, but this type of debate to me does not seem terribly constructive. I have certainly taken an interest in Parkville and…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I would like to support the condolence motion moved by the Leader of the Government. As we have heard from others today, the events of 20 January have just been etched not only on our minds but on the whole public consciousness of not only Victoria but Australia. Tragically, the six people…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) introduced a bill for an act to amend the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 to provide for the licensing and operation of a medically supervised injecting centre for a trial period of 18 months. Read first time.

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — By leave, I move: That the resolution of the Council of 11 November 2015 requiring the Law Reform, Road and Community Safety Committee to inquire into and report by 3 March 2017 on illicit and synthetic drugs and prescription medication be amended so as to now require the committee to present its report…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) introduced a bill for an act to amend the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 to provide for the pilot of a safe consumption room at a specific location and for the pilot of the testing of specified substances by certain authorised health practitioners at public events and for other…

Second Reading PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — In my contribution on the Equal Opportunity Amendment (Religious Exceptions) Bill 2016 I am not trying to speak to Mr Finn, Dr Carling-Jenkins or Mrs Peulich, because they look to a constituency of deeply religious voters for their support and they will happily work up a rage in that constituency with false descriptions…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — Talk about wasting time! Mr Finn, who spoke against the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment Bill 2016, spent 15 minutes with nonsensical arguments and imaginary hypotheses. He was dismissing real people. This bill is about real people, and I would be happy to introduce Mr Finn to them. This bill is important for…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I would like to just speak very briefly on the Housing Amendment (Victorian Housing Register and Other Matters) Bill 2016. I cannot help thinking that a bill that facilitates the creation of a Victorian Housing Register to enable greater social housing opportunities and to allow Victorians in housing need, instead of…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I am pleased to make a contribution to the debate on the Transport (Compliance and Miscellaneous) Amendment (Abolition of the Penalty Fares Scheme) Bill 2016. The Australian Sex Party will be supporting this bill. We, alongside many Victorians, will be very happy to see this bill pass this house today, because…

Second Reading Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I am very pleased to be rising today to speak on the Medical Treatment Planning and Decisions Bill 2016. As members are aware, I was fortunate enough to be on the Standing Committee on Legal and Social Issues when they conducted the end-of-life choices inquiry. I am also very…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I rise to speak on the Sentencing (Community Correction Order) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2016. Given the contributions of Ms Pennicuik and Mr Rich-Phillips, I will not restate the purposes of this bill — they have already been canvassed in this house — but I have to wonder what the Attorney-General was thinking when…

Second Reading Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I rise to speak briefly on Ms Pennicuik’s Equal Opportunity Amendment (Equality for Students) Bill 2016, and that is what it is — it is an equality for students bill. We keep hearing this talk about religious freedom and that this is all about religious freedom. This is not; this is…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I will not speak on this motion for long, as I actually do not want to dignify the position presented and particularly because, in spite of all of the strong support for the Safe Schools program and the positive effect it is having in schools, I am not going to change…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I would like to speak also to the Owners Corporations Amendment (Short-stay Accommodation) Bill 2016. I have to say that when I looked at this bill I had very mixed views about it. On the one hand it is about the government realising that there is a sharing economy that brings…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I rise briefly to speak to this bill. When I first looked at it I looked up what a private act is. I thought this is a very interesting piece of legislation — a private act — where a private organisation can come to the Parliament and request that it has a private act…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I am pleased to rise to speak in relation to Ms Crozier’s motion. I promise I will try to keep it brief so we can get through this. I appreciate that Ms Crozier has been asking many questions about this issue over the past few weeks and the past few months, and I commend…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I think I would like to take a novel approach in my contribution and actually speak to the bill. Honourable members interjecting. Ms PATTEN — I know, yes. Not often is that heard in this house at the moment. But in fact I am going to keep it brief, because I only want to…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I rise to speak briefly on what I think is one of the most unnecessary pieces of legislation we have seen, the Crimes Amendment (Carjacking and Home Invasion) Bill 2016. Apparently this bill creates new offences of carjacking, aggravated carjacking, home invasion and aggravated home invasion. I do not know whether anybody…

Ms Patten (Northern Metropolitan): I rise briefly to speak to the National Domestic Violence Order Scheme Bill 2016. As we have heard, this bill gives effect in Victoria to a national domestic violence order (DVO) scheme, which will provide automatic mutual recognition of an enforcement of domestic violence orders no matter where they are issued. This…

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I rise today to speak about the Tobacco Amendment Bill 2016. The Australian Sex Party believes that governments should treat adults as adults and children as children. I think this bill in some ways goes towards treating children as children, but I do not think it goes many places in treating adults as…

Ms Patten  (Northern Metropolitan) — I rise to speak briefly to the Transport (Compliance and Miscellaneous) Amendment (Public Safety) Bill 2016. I have to say that I am pretty cynical about this bill, and I also think that the community is very cynical about it. The bill has been touted, to use a taxi word, as a public…

Ms Patten(Northern Metropolitan) — This report is the culmination of hundreds of conversations and over 1000 submissions, and I am very honoured to have been part of this inquiry. I can honestly say it has been one of the best experiences of my working life. I would like to thank my fellow committee members and of course Lilian…

Ms Patten (Northern Metropolitan) — I move: That this house — (1)   notes that the Victorian Parliament has failed to keep up to speed with technology and electronic petitions (e-petitions), which are common throughout Australia and in everyday use in the Queensland, ACT and federal parliaments, and should be an accepted practice in Victoria; (2)   notes that in…

Ms Patten (Northern Metropolitan) tabled following statement in accordance with Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006: In accordance with section 28 of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities, I make this statement of compatibility with respect to the Ridesharing Bill 2016. In my opinion, the Ridesharing Bill 2016, as introduced to the Legislative Council, is…

Ms Patten (Northern Metropolitan) introduced a bill for an act to impose duties on facilitators of ridesharing, to amend the Transport (Compliance and Miscellaneous) Act 1983 to exempt ridesharing from the provisions of that act relating to commercial passenger vehicles and to amend the Transport Integration Act 2010 to recognise the undertaking of rideshare journeys as…

Ms Patten (Northern Metropolitan Region — Legislative Council) — Thank you, Speaker and President. Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the people in the gallery and in Queen’s Hall who have bravely and fearlessly campaigned for this wrong to be righted. In his 1858 book called On Liberty, John Stuart Mill wrote: … the only purpose for which power…

Ms Patten (Northern Metropolitan) — In reflecting on trying to debate this bill in its entirety today, I probably had about 20 pages to contribute to the debate, but I do not intend on doing that today. I obviously do not intend on supporting the Infant Viability Bill 2015 either. I think my position on this issue has been…

Ms PATTEN — I had never been to a prison, so I only knew what I had seen on television. I had watched Prisoner as a kid; I knew what The Freak was like. So I was very much impressed by the dedication and compassion of those custodial officers. It was clear that they love their jobs….

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I move: Clause 17, page 20, lines 1 to 12, omit all words and expressions on these lines and insert— “(i)   an offence involving fraud; or (ii)   an offence involving dishonesty, drug cultivation or trafficking, sexual slavery or servitude, child pornography or violence, a sexual offence or an offence against section 5(1), 6(1), 7(1), 8(1) or 9(1),…