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. This has nothing. It may get a few more Facebook likes—

Ms Mikakos: I’m going to quote you in future.

Ms PATTEN: Taking that up, Ms Mikakos, Minister, when I put something forward—I will put forward a bill,...

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 a pandemic, and we have all been learning to deal with it. We have all been learning to work with it, but it is hard.

I know that many of us will...

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 injecting
room in our area’.

This was in regard to the announcement and the recommendation from the expert panel reviewing the supervised injecting room in North Richmond. There was a recommendation from them that a second centre be opened and be located in the...

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 been mishandled, problems have emerged and there have been issues at all levels.

But it does not mean we do not need quarantine. You know, we had Ms Crozier voting against the...

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 say.

This is religious discrimination, it is happening in the Victorian public school system, and it is happening now.

The Victorian Department of Education and...

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 not think Mr Barton would mind me calling it the bus-sharing motion.

Mr Barton interjected.

Ms PATTEN: Ridesharing-on-a-bus motion. But I must say when I looked at the motion I thought, ‘Hang on, we’ve done...

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 doubt that the government does want to sit and that the government does want to progress its legislative agenda. In fact we have nine bills sitting on our notice paper today. But I do express some...

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 of the report.

It is good timing to be introducing this interim report in the week of homelessness. This interim report I think really is...

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 that this Parliament was due to come back today. We knew that this house was due to sit today. We were very clear about that in our adjournment motion back in June. There was adequate time, I would have thought,...

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 to.

Ms PATTEN: I move:

That the Council take note of the report.

Before I just speak briefly on this report, I would very much...