Fiona’s own Bail Amendments
Jun 22, 2017
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I would also like to speak to the Bail Amendment (Stage One) Bill 2017. I will also be moving amendments to this bill, although they are echoed in Ms Pennicuik's amendments 3, 4 and 5, and I believe her amendments will take precedence. Largely and principally today I would like to make a contribution about those amendments. I also intend, in my contribution, to actually speak about the bill. I do not think Mr Finn mentioned bail once in his contribution. He certainly did not appear to have any interest in this piece of very important legislation.
It is quite right...
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I would like to speak on Ms Pennicuik's amendments, which really return this bill to the way it should be — the way that Mr Coghlan recommended. The government asked Mr Coghlan to review our bail system and to make recommendations, and he recommended that the wording should be 'show good reason'. It is that second tier of our bail system. The suggestion is that 'good' and 'compelling' mean the same thing. I think Mrs Peulich as a former English teacher would agree with me that 'good' and 'compelling' are very different.
The Attorney-General said to me in a letter that 'good' and...
Support for committee – Fire Services Bill
Jun 21, 2017
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I am pleased to speak to Mr Rich-Phillips's motion on establishing this select committee. I am not going to repeat the words that everybody else has spoken today. I will try and make my contribution fairly brief. This motion is in regard to some fundamental reforms to our fire services in Victoria. This issue has been deeply personal and deeply emotional for many people in this house and also certainly for many people in our community. Like all of you, I have received hundreds, if not thousands, of very thoughtful, very personal stories, emails and phone calls about...
E-petition tabled to save Queen Victoria Market
Jun 20, 2017
Legislative Council electronic petition:
The petition of certain citizens of the state of Victoria draws to the attention of the Legislative Council the City of Melbourne's proposal to redevelop the Queen Victoria Market that will dismantle and remove heritage-listed structures at Queen Victoria Market in order to excavate and construct underground storage space and convert the market into an entertainment, dining and event precinct — none of which is in the interest of a fresh food market. The Queen Victoria Market is where family businesses provide personal contact, quality fresh produce and merchandise, colour and noise, and diversity and price competitiveness, and...
Patten Vs Ramsay: Greater Geelong Bill
Jun 9, 2017
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I would like to rise to speak briefly on the City of Greater Geelong Amendment Bill 2017. From the outset, we are certainly all aware of the issues facing that council and the toxic environment that councillors and staff alike were experiencing. I think Terry Moran's report was very telling and very explicit in the issues that it raised, and there certainly needed to be some sort of brake switch on what was going on there. With what ultimately happened with the sacking of the council, I think there was nothing else that could have been done,...
Vale Anthony Foster
Jun 8, 2017
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (By leave) — I too would like to add my voice to the thousands of people expressing sorrow for the death of and praise for the life of child protection advocate Anthony Foster. History will show that both he and his wife, Chrissie, made one of the most outstanding contributions to child protection in Australia under probably the most difficult circumstances of all. Many people deal with their grief in a private and personal way and I am sure Anthony Foster did that as well, but by taking his grief into the public arena and refusing to...
A call for more future planning in our budgets
Jun 8, 2017
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — In rising to speak to the Appropriation (2017–2018) Bill 2017 I think it is probably quite a nice time to do this at this point, because I would actually like to give some credit where credit is due. I would like to congratulate the government on the sale of the port of Melbourne and the infrastructure spending that that sale is facilitating. I compliment them on the Metro Tunnel, regional rail announcements and, on behalf of Northern Metropolitan Region, the north-east link proposal. But this is a long time coming, and certainly Victoria has been bereft of...
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I will speak briefly on this motion by my colleague Dr Carling-Jenkins. I feel like we had this discussion in October last year. I did not support the motion in October last year, and I do not support the motion now. I do not feel that this motion is all that different. I am sure many of us would love to see the full adoption of article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; I am sure we would like to see that within our own legislation. But, sadly, I do not think that this motion actually...
Increasingly bad drug laws
May 19, 2017
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I am not sure I am pleased to be making a contribution to this bill, because I do not think this bill makes a contribution to reducing harm in our society, sadly. I look at the first preliminary purpose of this bill, which is:
to prohibit the production, sale and advertising of psychoactive substances …
I do not think I have seen a drug bill that does not start off with the notion that we are going to prohibit something. Even in my short time in this Parliament I have seen numerous drugs bills that start...
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I would like to just briefly speak to the Building Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Bill 2016.
An honourable member — Briefly.
Ms PATTEN — I know; it is a big bill, and I have got 45 minutes to speak on this rather large bill, so shall I start with 'At the preliminary point'?
Honourable members interjecting.
Ms PATTEN — No, I will not, Mr Dalidakis and Mr Melhem. I am going to confine my remarks on the bill specifically to proposed section 16B, which as we know arose largely from the illegal demolition — and the tragic...