Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:35): My question is to the Minister for Health. There seems to be a great deal of confusion right now in relation to the medication ibuprofen. We have been hearing stories circulating, particularly in the UK and in France, saying that it is dangerous to take if you have the coronavirus. In fact they are saying things like it could have grave and serious side effects. We know that people do take ibuprofen or paracetamol to bring their temperature down when they have got flu-like symptoms, and obviously older people are quite commonly taking ibuprofen regularly....

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (13:10): My question is for the Minister for Public Transport. A recent RACV survey found South Kensington station to be the worst train station in Victoria—rated by commuters. The biennial survey saw commuters calling out safety concerns and complaining of a lack of shelter and lack of parking as their key gripes. The station scored just 2.48 out of 10, the lowest score recorded by any station since the survey began in 2013. The station has been completely neglected over the last 15 years. My question is: what is the minister doing to ensure that upgrades are made...

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:54): My constituency question is for the Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Jacinta Allan. An active community group in my electorate called the Upfield Corridor Coalition have been widely supportive of the Level Crossing Removal Project in their area; however, they do have some concerns. These concerns are centred around the design for the new Coburg station. The current design has no access on the northern side of the station, meaning that half of the commuters will have to cross busy Bell Street for access, which means that the level crossing itself is very much underutilised. This is...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:39): My question is for the Minister for Health and concerns the closure of the catering company I Cook Foods. Dr Brett Sutton, who was the acting chief health officer at the time and ordered the closure, has stated that he was satisfied from the report of an authorised officer of the department’s food safety unit that the food being prepared, sold or otherwise handled at the premises was unsafe. However, I Cook Foods was never given a copy of that report. I understand that FOI requests were refused in relation to obtaining these documents and...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:24): Keeping with the theme, my question is for Minister Jennings. Last night on the ABC’s 7.30 report there were serious concerns raised about the hugely popular social media app TikTok. TikTok is a Chinese-owned organisation that is proven to have significant ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Some of Australia’s top cybersecurity experts are concerned about how much data users hand over, and the Australian Defence Force has now barred TikTok from all work devices. The Premier is an enthusiastic user of TikTok and other social media apps, so I ask the minister: given the apprehensions around...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:39): My question is for the Minister for Workplace Safety. My constituent Cameron badly damaged his foot after a workplace accident last year and is unable to attend work for some time. In order to be paid his salary he is forced to visit his local doctor at least every 28 days and have a form signed stating he is unable to work. This is then sent to his insurer, who then processes it and sends it to his employer. The current WorkCover system requires a three-pronged process between the GP, the insurer and the employer. If there...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:43): My constituency question today is for the Minister for Public Transport. My constituent Darren commutes to work by bike and train each day, a practice this government has encouraged. Recently Darren became stuck in the city with his bike when buses were replacing trains due to works on the Mernda line, as he was told he could not take his bike on the bus. When he asked Metro attendants if there were any buses coming that did have bike racks, they simply told him they did not know. With much more work yet to be done on level...

 

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (18:13): My question is for the Minister for Road Safety and the TAC and relates to roadside drug testing.

A study published in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis last year called into question the reliability of the two drug-testing devices used by our police, the Securetec DrugWipe and the Dräger DrugTest 5000.

The study found that the devices frequently failed to detect high concentrations of THC, with false negative rates of 9 and 16 per cent respectively. They also recorded false positive rates of 5 and 10 per...

    GAMBLING HARM Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:26): My question is for the Minister for Health and relates to gambling harm. I refer the minister to the Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Plan 2019–2023. In Victoria the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 imposes a responsibility on state and local governments to plan for, protect and improve health and wellbeing, which is reflected in that health and wellbeing plan. Except for the cursory and only mention under ‘Improving mental wellbeing’, gambling harm is not considered in the plan, despite the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation estimating that gambling accounts for...

  Mr LIMBRICK (South Eastern Metropolitan) (12:38): Thank you, President. I appreciate your patience in allowing me to have another go at this unusual process. My question is for Ms Patten, regarding item 170 on the notice paper. This refers to her motion concerning the medically supervised injecting room. Given that this has been quite topical in the media recently and in the news a lot, I was wondering if Ms Patten could please inform the house of when she wants to bring this motion forward for debate.   Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:39): I thank Mr Limbrick for his question. It...