Ms Patten: In the last month, like many members, I have spoken with a range of organisations working incredibly hard during this difficult Covid19 crisis. I have met with all local councils in my area, those on the front line supporting their communities and local economies; I can tell you that their issues are wide and varied. I urge the Local Government Minister to deploy more resources to working with all our local councils – they need our help, and will for some time. I am reminded of a Chinese proverb at this time.. “Crisis is opportunity riding a dangerous wind.” Well this is...

Statement from Fiona Patten MP Member for Northern Metropolitan and Leader of the Reason Party It is with great disappointment that I note the High Court of Australia’s decision in the matter of George Pell this morning. In my view, justice has not been served in this case. Australians know the real truth about George Pell. No amount of holy water can wash the stain of child sexual abuse away from the Catholic Church. There have been other accusations against George Pell and they should be fully investigated by authorities. In 2001, I released a book called ‘Hypocrites’ detailing sexual abuse in the Catholic Church....

 

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (09:51): Yarra city’s International Women’s Day awards is a special event to celebrate the unique and important contribution that women make to our community and culture and to progressive social change. We celebrated it in its seventh year just last week. The awards are open to individuals and groups of people who identify as female, who live, work or study in Yarra and who have made significant contributions to the community through paid or unpaid work. All of the nominees were deserving. There were so many winners. I will not name them here, but...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (10:00): Last week a wonderful celebration was held to celebrate the life of Patricia O’Donnell, an important and influential figure in the hospitality, culinary and cultural life of Victoria. Patricia was a restaurateur, hotel owner and publican and a facilitator of cultural events at the institutions she owned and managed. From 1978 to 2002 Patricia was the owner and manager of the heritage-listed Mietta’s Queenscliff Hotel, which earned many hospitality and tourism awards. She also established the North Fitzroy Star as a much-loved and sought-after inner-city dining and events venue. She was a volunteer with Lifeline, the...

Ms PATTEN: On another note, I want to extend an invitation to all members to attend the huge clash between the mighty Pascoe Vale Central and Tewantin-Noosa cricket clubs this Saturday, 7 March. It is a T20 match. It starts at 9.00 am on the front oval at Pascoe Vale, celebrating International Women’s Day. I am conflicted somewhat. While I will be barracking for the women of Pascoe Vale, my very good sister Kirsty is playing for the Noosa side. This may be the very first time in our lives that I will be cheering against her. I wish both teams,...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (09:53): I had the pleasure of touring the Brunswick workshop of KE Design last week. KE is a business making a real difference in my community, providing 14 jobs for people living with a disability. They make brilliant tea towels and homewares; however, it was their range of beach towels that were my favourite. They tell me that they are sand repellent, but I have not had the opportunity to test that yet. I would like to thank the director, Michael Krutsch, and his team of fabulous workers for their warm reception.   Ms PATTEN: I was also excited to...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (17:59): Last Sunday I had the great pleasure of participating in the Midsumma Pride March. I think it was my seventh or eighth time marching. Hundreds of community groups across Melbourne marched in solidarity and support for our LGBTI+ community.

I saw several members from this place, including Ms Taylor, Ms Shing and Mr Davis, and of course the Premier. The Reason Party this year marched to the tune of an original song by the wonderful David Peake called Love is the Reason, sung by the super-talented Jacob Leaney. And let me tell you, it...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (09:52:04): I would like to recognise the Inner North Community Foundation, an independent community organisation based in Northern Metro. The foundation was established in 2007 as an initiative of IntoWork Australia and is supported by Moreland, Yarra and Darebin councils. They manage philanthropic dollars to provide funds for projects that create prosperous, connected and cohesive communities in the inner north, particularly encouraging pathways to employment. They have an emphasis on investing in local not-for-profit organisations through grants and other supports, connecting donors to local community groups by managing a donor network for people to contribute small and large...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (09:46): I rise to acknowledge the incredible work of the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. A friend of my office, at a very fit and healthy 38 years of age, recently went from feeling 100 per cent to the ICU at the Royal Melbourne in the space of a few days, with an aggressive cancer that had metastasised to multiple sites in his body and compromised his liver function. Chris Farrington, a talented barrister and active father of six- and nine-year-old boys, was given just weeks to live. But in the background, a team...

  Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (09:43): It was an honour to attend the third Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Australia Region Conference in Adelaide recently. The CWP conference is a non-partisan event for women parliamentarians and this year celebrated 125 years of women’s suffrage in South Australia. Unsurprisingly the conference had a key focus on gender equality in Australian parliaments. There should be equal representation of men and women leading our communities in our legislature, and a great deal more work on this still needs to be done. I also had the great pleasure of addressing the National Press Club of Australia last week in my...