Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (21:26): I also am very pleased to rise to speak to the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Amendment Bill 2021. I was pleased to speak to the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Amendment (Consent) Bill 2019 and the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Amendment Bill 2020, so this has been an ongoing process to consider in particular the Gorton review.
I am particularly happy—as I was back in 2020—that, as Mr Meddick mentioned, we amended the legislation to remove police checks for people seeking assisted reproductive treatment. That was an amendment that I had put up in the 2019 bill. I think this goes...
Mental Health Amendment (Counsellors) Bill 2021
Oct 6, 2021
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (15:58): I rise to speak to Ms Crozier’s bill, the Mental Health Amendment (Counsellors) Bill 2021. You know, I do not think there is a single person in this chamber who does not passionately believe that a child’s mental health is crucially important and mental health support in our schools is very important. I am also clearly of the view that we should have highly qualified mental health support available to Victorian students, but I have to say I am perplexed by this bill, albeit we have only looked at it over the last few days....
Suburban Rail Loop Bill 2021
Oct 5, 2021
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (19:46): I think this is actually kind of exciting, and I am sorry that we have diminished it to conceiving children, council oversight and concrete. This is the biggest infrastructure project in the state’s history and I think Mr Davis also said possibly in Australia. That is quite extraordinary. To be here thinking about something that will be the biggest infrastructure project in my life—well, actually, not in my life. I probably will not be alive to see this, unless those stem cells that I have been taking actually work and those vitamins I have been...
Standing and sessional orders
Sep 15, 2021
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (13:51): I would like to rise to speak to the substantive motion but also Dr Ratnam’s amendment, which I have to say was a bit of a team effort. I almost feel still out of breath from some of the running around that has occurred over the last 24 hours in finding a compromise position to enable in particular the crossbench to have their opinions recorded when they are not able to be in the chamber to do so, and we know that this is coming. We know that any number of us may find ourselves...
Psychiatric assistance dogs
Sep 15, 2021
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (13:15): I too am very pleased to rise to speak to this motion. I had the privilege of meeting Ron Fenton and Yogi a year or so ago. Not only did Yogi bring joy to Ron and assist Ron, he actually really could fill a room. He was a really wonderful—I do not know; yes, you can say it—charismatic dog. He really was—
Mr Grimley: Beautiful eyes.
Ms PATTEN: Gorgeous, gorgeous eyes. I think, listening to the story about the background of the connection between Benni and Yogi and Ron, it has got all the makings of a...
Fire services workplace safety
Sep 15, 2021
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:41): I am pleased to rise to speak to Mr Davis’s motion 621. As Mr Davis quite eloquently put, this is a simple documents motion. It is simply suggesting, as the Bret Walker advice to the New South Wales Parliament stated, that this Parliament does have the ability to compel independent organisations or statutory organisations to provide documents to this Parliament. Under our evidence act, under our Parliamentary Committees Act 2003, we see this. In fact, the Legal and Social Issues Committee has used that power a number of times in recent years to compel witnesses...
Horseracing
Sep 15, 2021
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (09:56): I rise to speak briefly on this motion. I was just reminded of how beautiful horses are and how wonderful it is to see them run. I was reminded because across the river from our property is actually one of those places that Ms Shing spoke about, a place where retired horses actually do go. Watching them race up the hill in the morning, racing against each other—it was such a natural state of being, and it was so beautiful.
So we know that these horses love to run, and it is a natural state of...
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan)
Incorporated pursuant to order of Council of 7 September:
I rise to speak on the Forests Legislation Amendment (Compliance and Enforcement) Bill 2019, which principally makes a number of improvements to the regulation of timber harvesting and firewood collection.
In late 2018, the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change directed the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning to initiate an independent review of timber harvesting regulation.
The independent review was tasked with an initial assessment of whether further regulatory or legislative reform was required to ensure modern, best practice regulation of timber harvesting in Victoria.
The independent review made...
Illegal tobacco
Sep 8, 2021
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (13:19): I am really pleased to speak on this motion, and I thank Ms Maxwell for bringing it here. I will commit to speaking very briefly on this motion because I know it is Dr Kieu’s smoko time very soon.
Australia was a leader in tobacco harm reduction, tobacco reduction. We were a leader in reducing people smoking. We are no longer. We have stalled, and as a result of that we are also losing control of the market. As Ms Maxwell stated in her contribution, we are seeing that the illicit tobacco market is growing and organised...
Mental health
Sep 8, 2021
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (12:17): I am pleased to speak on Ms Crozier’s motion, which I support. I think it is really important to consider what we are doing in talking about mental health. In some ways the commentary around mental health has been almost more damaging than the pandemic. We have been using it, you know—there have been sound bites, there has been misrepresentation of the statistics, and quite often we are frightening the same young people that we are here to protect. I note today a new survey from Mission Australia and the Black Dog Institute was released,...