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...

  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...

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:12:19): My question is to the minister representing the Assistant Treasurer. The money laundering scandal that has been engulfing Westpac Banking Corporation has now forced its CEO, Brian Hartzer, and chairman, Lindsey Maxsted, to resign. The bank has been accused by the financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC of breaching Australia’s money laundering and counterterrorism financing legislation over 23 million times. Some of these transactions have been shown to involve those involved in child exploitation and sex slavery all over the world. My question to the minister is: does the Victorian government hold any accounts with Westpac, and if...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (13:11:22): My constituency question is for the Minister for Public Transport. A resident of Nicholson Street has written to me in relation to Public Transport Victoria’s plans to close Nicholson Street for 17 days in January. The residents have been told that they will have no access to the street while the tram works are underway and that all cars will need to be removed from their homes before 1 January or they will be inaccessible for the entire period. It has also been suggested that there will be no pedestrian crossing permitted along...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:13): My question is for the Minister for Local Government, Mr Somyurek, and it concerns allegations of corruption in the City of Greater Dandenong. Recently we have seen allegations of criminal behaviour by council officers in relation to the closure of catering company I Cook Foods. A whistleblower, Ms Kim Rogerson, who worked as an environmental health officer at the council, has provided a sworn statement explaining how council officers illegally manufactured evidence in order to close I Cook Foods down and that this was known by managers at the City of Greater Dandenong. Given these serious allegations...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:48:23): My question today is for the Minister for Education. Newlands Primary School is a small but important local state school that services the Preston, Coburg and Reservoir catchments. In just seven years the school has seen its population explode from 88 to 236. This is expected to increase beyond 400 by 2024. With such a growth in enrolments there are now serious capacity issues at the school. The school is having to relocate its library next year at some cost, and parents tell me that without new building works being brought forward to ensure that the capacity...