… in relation to remand, there are too many women on remand. I completely agree with that.

As we know, remand numbers are directly related to bail laws. They are two sides of the same coin. Someone is only remanded in custody if they are refused bail. As this state’s...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:43):  My constituency question is for the Minister for Housing. My constituent is a single mum with two children, and she resides in one of the North Richmond towers. She observes what she describes as basically a free-for-all of non-residents accessing the building and using the lifts and stairs. This has been affecting her family’s quiet enjoyment, but it has also made her feel very unsafe at times. It seems that security is not checking for residential status and people are just walking in and out freely of her building. The current redevelopment of the...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:03): My question is for the minister representing the Minister for Health. On 29 April the Coroners Court handed down its findings into the death of Mr S, who was 20 years of age. He died on 28 June 2020, and I would like to extend my sincere condolences to Mr S’s family. Mr S died of mixed-drug toxicity. Coroner Gebert’s principal recommendations flowing from this inquest were that she was satisfied that: … a drug checking service and drug early warning system are necessary elements of any strategy to reduce these harms. She recommended:

… pursuant to section 7(2)...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:39): (1780) My constituency question is for the Minister for Education. My constituent is a parent at Coburg High School. They ask why the following non-government Catholic schools have received capital funding since 2019—St Fidelis School, St Paul’s Primary School, Penola Catholic College and St Francis de Sales—whereas Coburg High School has not received any capital funding. While Coburg High School has grown exponentially over the last six years and has a population of 1250 students—well in excess of any nearby inner-north secondary school—Coburg High has only two permanent specialist rooms, resulting in an under-entitlement of six...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (13:18): My question is for the Minister for Workplace Safety and relates to medicinal cannabis. As I raised with you in the house earlier this year, and you confirmed, 90 per cent of medicinal cannabis patients are being denied remuneration for reasonable costs resulting from their injuries when those costs relate to medically prescribed medicinal cannabis. This is despite it working and despite these patients having exhausted all other treatment options. Where we as a state have an office for medicinal cannabis, where we have a medicinal cannabis industry development plan and where the government’s own...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:50): (1753) My constituency question is for the Minister for Roads and Road Safety and relates to the Bell Street bridge in Coburg. Local residents have welcomed recently announced traffic-calming treatments at this location but remain concerned about pedestrian safety. Their concerns include: footpaths that in some places are narrower than 1 metre in width, contrary to Australian safety standards; no separation between the bridge footpath and traffic; and slope guttering that makes the kerb easy for cars to mount. Slip lanes at both ends of the bridge are extremely dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists, and unfortunately the...