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 industries and, I would say, certain vulnerable industries. I met a number of workers who will be positively impacted by this change. They were cleaners who might have been cleaning the exact same building for 25 years; it is just that they had eight different employers...
Prevention of Family Violence Bill 2018
Aug 23, 2018
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 a lack of respect is one of the causes not only of family violence but of violence in our community, so I am very pleased to support this bill.
I am very pleased that this bill and the establishment of Respect Victoria is entirely about prevention...
Environment Protection Amendment Bill 2018
Aug 9, 2018
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 Protection Act 1970 to prevention. I would have thought that this was quite natural. I suppose that prior to coming to this place and learning so many things, I would have just assumed that environmental protection meant prevention, but this bill really does fundamentally look...
Tabling of report: Civics and electoral participation in Victorian state parliamentary elections
Aug 9, 2018
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 are finding less interest in the parliamentary process in Victoria. This has been an ongoing issue and is certainly something that the Electoral Matters Committee has considered over the last few years, whether it has been in the general review of the 2014 election or in our...
Environment Protection Amendment (Container Deposit Scheme) Bill 2018 – Second Reading Debate [unread]
Aug 8, 2018
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 empty beverage containers.
A container deposit scheme has the support of a significant Majority of Victorians (84 per cent). It is a concept long familiar to South Australia and is commencing in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. As Mr Davis mentioned earlier, it was even a...
Justice Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Bill 2018
Jul 26, 2018
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 preventative detention scheme to 14-year-olds, it changes shoot-to-kill provisions and it creates presumptions against parole, amongst other things. Ms Pennicuik and certainly Mr O'Donohue went into great detail on the bill, and I appreciated that as well as the second-reading speech in the lower house.
I appreciate...
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 complete support from the coalition for the increase in funding to their parties. One only has to read the second-reading speeches in the other house to gather that. In fact from a small party perspective I actually felt that we were completely locked out...
Electoral Legislation Amendment Bill 2018
Jun 22, 2018
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 bill will deliver some important changes and transparency for our Parliament. While it delivers on a number of the recommendations from the Electoral Matters Committee Inquiry into the Conduct of the 2014 Victorian State Election, some of those recommendations were repeats of the recommendations from...
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 years but thousands of generations. In coming here today I want to pay my respects to my fifth cousin Herb Patten, who is not only a wonderful elder from the Gunnai nation but also a professional gum leaf player; and his relative Jack Patten,...
National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse (Commonwealth Powers) Bill 2018
Jun 7, 2018
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 provide eligible survivors with payments of up to $150 000, counselling, psychosocial services and a direct personal apology from the responsible institution. It also offers an alternate path to litigation.
This bill gives effect to the recommendations of the royal commission and the Betrayal of Trust...